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doc-en-6602 | The vibraphone is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is usually played by holding two or four soft mallets and striking the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a vibraphonist, vibraharpist, or vibist.
The vibraphone resembles the marimbaphone and steel marimba, which it superseded. One of the main differences between the vibraphone and other keyboard percussion instruments is that each bar suspends over a resonator tube with a motor-driven butterfly valve at the top. The valves connect together on a common axle, which produces a tremolo or vibrato effect while the motor rotates the axle. The vibraphone also has a sustain pedal similar to a piano. With the pedal up, the bars produce a muted sound. With the pedal down, the bars sustain for several seconds, or until muted with the pedal.
The vibraphone is commonly used in jazz music, in which it often plays a featured role and was a defining element of the sound of mid-20th-century "Tiki lounge" exotica, as popularized by Arthur Lyman. It is the second most popular solo keyboard percussion instrument in classical music, after the marimba, and it is part of the standard college-level percussion performance education. It is a standard instrument in the modern percussion section for orchestras, concert bands, and marching bands (as part of the front ensemble).
History
Around 1916, instrument maker Herman Winterhoff, of the Leedy Manufacturing Company, began experimenting with "vox humana" effects on a three octave (F-F) steel marimba. By attaching a motor, he could create vibrato effects, hence the name "vibraphone". This instrument was marketed by the Leedy Manufacturing Company in the United States starting in 1924. However, this instrument differed significantly from the instrument now called the vibraphone. The Leedy vibraphone did not have a pedal mechanism and had bars made of steel rather than aluminum. The Leedy vibraphone achieved a degree of popularity after it was used in the novelty recordings of "Aloha 'Oe" and "Gypsy Love Song" in 1924 by vaudeville performer Louis Frank Chiha.
The popularity of Leedy's instrument led competitor J.C. Deagan, Inc., the inventor of the original steel marimba which Leedy's design was based on, to ask its chief tuner, Henry Schluter, to develop a similar instrument in 1927. However, instead of just copying the Leedy design, Schluter introduced several significant improvements: making the bars from aluminum instead of steel for a more "mellow" tone, adjustments to the dimensions and tuning of the bars to eliminate the dissonant harmonics in the Leedy design (further mellowing the tone), and the introduction of a foot-controlled damper bar allowing musicians to play it with more expression. Schluter's design became more popular than the Leedy design and has become the template for all instruments now called "vibraphone".
However, when Deagan began marketing Schluter's instrument in 1928, they called it the "vibraharp". Since Deagan trademarked the name, other manufacturers were forced to use the earlier name "vibraphone" for their instruments incorporating the newer design.
The use of the vibraphone in jazz was popularized by Lionel Hampton, a jazz drummer from California. At one recording session with bandleader Louis Armstrong, Hampton was asked to play a vibraphone that had been left behind in the studio. This resulted in the recording of the song "Memories of You" in 1930, a song often considered to be the first instance of an improvised vibraphone solo.
The first classical composers to use the vibraphone were Alban Berg, who used it prominently in his opera Lulu in 1935, and William Grant Still, who used it in his piece Kaintuck''' in the same year. While the vibraphone has not been used quite as extensively in the realm of classical music, it can often be heard in theatre or film music, such as in Bernstein's West Side Story.
The initial purpose of the vibraphone was to add to the large arsenal of percussion sounds used by vaudeville orchestras for novelty effects. This use was quickly overwhelmed in the 1930s by its development as a jazz instrument. As of 2020, it retains its use as a jazz instrument and is established as a major keyboard percussion instrument, often used for solos, in chamber ensembles, and in modern orchestral compositions.
Manufacturers
Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, each manufacturer attracted its own following in various specialties, but the Deagan vibraphones were the models preferred by many of the emerging class of specialist jazz players. Deagan struck endorsement deals with many of the leading players, including Lionel Hampton and Milt Jackson. The Deagan company went out of business in the 1980s and its trademark and patents were purchased by Yamaha. Yamaha continues to make percussion instruments based on the Deagan designs.
In 1948, the Musser Mallet Company was founded by Clair Omar Musser, who had been a designer at Deagan. The Musser company continues to manufacture vibraphones as part of the Ludwig Drum Company and is considered by many to be the industry standard.
As of 2020, there are numerous manufacturers of the vibraphone that make vibraphones with ranges up to 4 octaves (C3–C7). The list includes Adams, Bergerault, DeMorrow, Majestic, Malletech, Marimba One, Musser, Premier, and Yamaha.
Range
The standard modern instrument has a range of three octaves, from the F below middle C (F3 to F6 in scientific pitch notation). Larger - or 4-octave models from the C below middle C are also becoming more common (C3 to F6 or C7). Unlike its cousin the glockenspiel, it is a non-transposing instrument, generally written at concert pitch. However, composers occasionally (for example, Olivier Messiaen) write parts to sound an octave higher.
In the 1930s several manufacturers made soprano vibraphones with a range C4 to C7, notably the Ludwig & Ludwig Model B110 and the Deagan Model 144. Deagan also made a portable model that had a -octave range and resonators made of cardboard (Model 30).
Construction
The major components of a vibraphone are the bars, resonators, damper mechanism, motor, and the frame. Vibraphones are usually played with mallets.
Bars
Vibraphone bars are made from aluminum bar stock, cut into blanks of predetermined length. Holes are drilled through the width of the bars, so they can be suspended by a cord, typically parachute cord. To maximize the sustain of the bars, the holes are placed at approximately the nodal points of the bar (i.e. the points of minimum amplitude, around which the bar vibrates). For a uniform bar, the nodal points are located 22.4% from each end of the bar.
Material is ground away from underside of the bars in an arch shape to lower the pitch. This allows the lower-pitched bars to be a manageable length. It is also the key to the "mellow" sound of the vibraphone (and marimba, which uses the same deep arch) compared with the brighter xylophone, which uses a shallower arch, and the glockenspiel, which has no arch at all. These rectangular bars have three primary modes of vibration. The deep arch causes these modes to align and create a consonant arrangement of intervals: a fundamental pitch, a pitch two octaves above that, and a third pitch an octave and a major third above the second. For the F3 bar that usually forms the lowest note on a vibraphone, there would be F3 as the fundamental, F5 as the first overtone and A6 as the second overtone. As a side effect, the arch causes the nodal points of the fundamental vibration to shift closer towards the ends of the bar.
After beveling or rounding the edges, fine-tuning adjustments are made. If a bar is flat, its overall pitch structure can be raised by removing material from the ends of the bar. Once this slightly sharp bar is created, the secondary and tertiary tones can be lowered by removing material from specific locations of the bar. Vibraphones are tuned to a standard of A = 442 Hz or A = 440 Hz, depending on the manufacturer or in some cases the customer's preference.
Like marimbas, professional vibraphones have bars of graduated width. Lower bars are made from wider stock, and higher notes from narrower stock, to help balance volume and tone across the range of the instrument. The bars are anodized, typically in silver or gold color, after fine-tuning and may have a smooth or brushed (matte) finish. These are cosmetic features with a negligible effect on the sound.
Resonators
Resonators are thin-walled tubes, typically made of aluminum, but any suitably strong material can be used. They are open at one end and closed at the other. Each bar is paired with a resonator whose diameter is slightly wider than the width of the bar and whose length to the closure is one-quarter of the wavelength of the fundamental frequency of the bar. When the bar and resonator are properly in tune with each other, the vibrating air beneath the bar travels down the resonator and is reflected from the closure at the bottom, then returns to the top and is reflected back by the bar, over and over, creating a much stronger standing wave and increasing the amplitude of the fundamental frequency. The resonators, besides raising the upper end of the vibraphone's dynamic range, also affect the overall tone of the vibraphone, since they amplify the fundamental, but not the upper partials.
Oftentimes, vibraphones, and other mallet instruments, will include non-functional, decorative resonator tubes with no corresponding bar above to make the instrument look more full.
There is a trade-off between the amplifying effect of the resonators and the length of sustain of a ringing bar. The energy in a ringing bar comes from the initial mallet strike, and that energy can either be used to make the bar ring louder initially, or not as loudly but for a longer period of time. This is not an issue with marimbas and xylophones, where the natural sustain time of the wooden bars is short, but vibraphone bars can ring for many seconds after being struck, and this effect is highly desirable in many circumstances. Therefore, the resonators in a vibraphone are usually tuned slightly off-pitch to create a balance between loudness and sustain.
A unique feature of vibraphone resonators is a shaft of rotating discs, commonly called fans, across the top. When the fans are open, the resonators have full function. When the fans are closed, the resonators are partially occluded, reducing the resonance of the fundamental pitch. A drive belt connects the shafts to an electric motor beneath the playing surface and rotates the fans. This rotation of the fans creates a vibrato effect along with some volume changes creating a tremolo effect.
In 1970, Deagan introduced a model "Electravibe", which dispensed with resonator tubes entirely and took a signal directly from the bars, adding a tremolo in a preamplifier. This sought to improve the portability of the instrument and solve the problem inherent in all tuned mallet instruments; miking the bars evenly.
Damper mechanism
For the first few years of production, the original Leedy Vibraphone did not include a mechanism for damping, or stopping, the sustaining tones. In 1927, the J.C. Deagan company introduced a pedal mechanism that has not changed substantially since. A rigid bar beneath the center of the instrument is pressed upward by an adjustable spring and engages a long felt pad against the sharps and the naturals. A foot pedal lowers the bar and allows notes to ring freely; releasing the pedal engages the damper and stops any vibrating notes. One common flaw of this damping mechanism is that the bar is often supported at one point in the middle, causing it to damp the instrument unevenly in the upper and lower registers. To combat this, some manufacturers have made silicone- or liquid-filled damper pads whose fluid shape can conform evenly around the bars.M-58 Piper Vibe User Manual Ludwig
Motors
Vibraphones usually have an electric motor and pulley assembly mounted on one side or the other to drive the disks in the resonators. Often, mainly in classical music or in non-jazz ensembles like a percussion ensemble or front ensemble, the vibraphone is played with the motor off and the disks not moving. In those cases having the motor off is the norm and is not used unless specifically called for.Nelson, R. 1969. Rocky Point Holiday. Boosey and HawkesReich, S. 1984. Sextet. Boosey and Hawkes
The early vibraphones used motors that were intended to power record-player turntables and had limited or no speed-adjustment capabilities. Whatever speed adjustments were possible were made by moving the drive belt among a small number of pulleys (usually three) of varying diameters. Later, variable-speed AC motors became available at reasonable prices. These motors allow the adjustment of the rotating speed by a potentiometer mounted on a control panel near the motor. They typically support rotation rates in the range 1–12 Hz. These motors remained the preferred solution until the 1990s and are still in use by some manufacturers.
During the 1990s, some manufacturers began using computer-controlled stepping motors. These motors are capable of slower rotating speeds, approaching 0 Hz. The computer control also allows operations that are not possible with an analog motor, such as the ability to synchronize the rotation of the two resonator sets and stop the rotation at a desired state (e.g. all open, all closed, all half-open, etc.).
Frame
The vibraphone frame offers a number of challenges to designers. It must be sturdy enough to endure the torsional forces created by the damper/spring/pedal assembly and the stresses of repeated transport and playing, while still being light enough for easy transport. Considering the weight of the bars alone, this does not leave much margin for the frame. The bars must also be securely attached to the frame, but not rigidly. Each bar must have some independent flex for it to ring.
The motor is attached to the frame at one end. The hinges for the damper bar are attached at each end, and the spring assembly and the pedal are usually aligned in the middle. Two banks of resonator tubes are laid into grooves in the frame so that they straddle the damper bar. The resonators are not firmly fastened to the frame. The ends of the shafts that gang the disks are connected to the drive of the motor through a drive belt similar to an O-ring.
A bed for the bars is made by laying four wooden rails onto pins on the end blocks. Like the resonators, these rails do not firmly attach to the frame. Each rail has a series of pins with rubber spacers that support the bars. The bars are arranged into two groups, and a soft cord passes through the nodal holes in the bars of each group. These bars lay between the support pins, with the cord hooking the pins. On the outside rails, the pins have U-shaped hooks, and the cord rests in the bend. the inside pins have a hook that grasps the cord and holds the bars in place against the force of the damper pad. The two ends of the cord attach with a spring at one end to provide tension and flex.
Mallets
Vibraphone mallets usually consist of a rubber ball core wrapped in yarn or cord and attached to a narrow dowel, most commonly made of rattan or birch and sometimes of fiberglass or nylon. Mallets suitable for the vibraphone are also generally suitable for the marimba.
The mallets can have a great effect on the tonal characteristics of the sound produced, ranging from a bright metallic clang to a mellow ring with no obvious initial attack. Consequently, a wide array of mallets is available, offering variations in hardness, head size, weight, shaft length, and flexibility.
Classical players must carry a wide range of mallet types to accommodate the changing demands of composers who are looking for particular sounds. Jazz players, on the other hand, often make use of multi-purpose mallets to allow for improvisation.
Technique
The world of vibraphone players can be roughly divided into those who play with two mallets and those who play with four. The division is not strict: many players switch between two, three and four mallets depending on the demands of their current musical situations.
Two-mallet style
The two-mallet approach to vibes is traditionally linear, playing like a horn rather than comping like a guitar or piano. Two-mallet players usually concentrate on playing a single melodic line and rely on other musicians to provide accompaniment. Double stops (two notes played simultaneously) are sometimes used, but mostly as a reinforcement of the main melodic line, similar to the usual use of double stops in solo violin music. In jazz groups, two-mallet vibraphonists are usually considered part of the "front line" with the horn players, contributing solos of their own but contributing very little in the way of accompaniment to other soloists.
Two-mallet players use several different grips, with the most common being a palms-down grip, which is basically the same as the matched grip used by drummers. The mallets are held between the thumb and index finger of each hand, with the remaining three fingers of each hand pressing the shafts into the down-facing palms. Strokes use a combination of wrist movement and fingertip control of the shaft.
Another popular grip is similar to French grip, a grip used on timpani. The mallets are again held between the thumb and index fingers and controlled with the remaining three fingers, but the palms are held vertically, facing inward towards each other. Most of the stroke action comes from the finger-tip control of the shafts.
Passages are usually played hand-to-hand with double-sticking (playing two notes in a row with the same hand) used when convenient in minimizing crossing the hands.
The player must pay close attention to the damper pedal to play cleanly and avoid multiple notes ringing unintentionally at the same time. Because the notes ring for a significant fraction of a second when struck with the damper pad up, and ringing bars do not stop ringing immediately when contacted by the pad, players use a technique called after pedaling. In this technique, the player presses the damper pedal slightly after striking the bar—shortly enough so the recently struck note continues to ring, but long enough so that the previous note stops ringing.
In another damper technique—half pedaling—the player depresses the pedal just enough to remove the spring pressure from the bars, but not enough to make the pad lose contact with the bars. This lets the bars ring slightly longer than with the pad fully up and can make a medium-fast passage sound more legato without pedaling every note.
Four-mallet style
The four-mallet vibraphone style is multi-linear, like a piano. "Thinking like a pianist, arranger, and orchestrator, the vibist approaches the instrument like a piano and focuses on a multi-linear way of playing." In jazz groups, four-mallet vibraphonists are often considered part of the rhythm section, typically substituting for piano or guitar and providing accompaniment for other soloists in addition to soloing themselves. Furthermore, the four-mallet style has led to a significant body of unaccompanied solo vibes playing. One notable example is Gary Burton’s performance of "Chega de Saudade (No More Blues)" from his Grammy-winning 1971 album "Alone at Last".
Although some early vibes players made use of four mallets, notably Red Norvo, Adrian Rollini, and sometimes Lionel Hampton, the fully pianistic four-mallet approach to jazz on the vibraphone is almost entirely the creation of Burton. Many of the key techniques of the four-mallet style, such as multi-linear playing and the advanced damping techniques described below, are easily applied to playing with two mallets and some modern two-mallet players have adapted these devices to their playing, somewhat blurring the distinctions between modern two- and four-mallet players.
The most popular four-mallet grip for vibraphone is the Burton grip, named for Gary Burton. One mallet is held between the thumb and index finger and the other is held between the index and middle fingers. The shafts cross in the middle of the palm and extend past the heel of the hand. For wide intervals, the thumb often moves in between the two mallets, and the inside mallet is held in the crook of the fingers.
Also popular is the Stevens grip, named for marimbist Leigh Howard Stevens. Many other grips are in use, some variations on the Burton or Stevens, others idiosyncratic creations of individual vibes players. One common variation of the Burton grip places the outside mallet between the middle and ring fingers instead of between the index and middle.
Four-mallet vibists usually play scalar linear passages much the same as two-mallet players, using one mallet from each hand (outside right and inside left for Burton grip), except that four-mallet players tend to make more use of double strokes, not only to avoid crossing hands, but also to minimize motion between the two bar rows. For example, an ascending E flat major scale could be played L-R-R-L-L-R-R-L, keeping the left hand on the "black" bars and the right hand on the "white". For linear passages with leaps, all four mallets are often used sequentially.
Pedaling techniques are at least as important for the four-mallet vibist as for two-mallet players, but the all-or-nothing damping system of the pedal/pad presents many obstacles to multi-linear playing, since each line normally has its own damping requirements independent of the other lines. To overcome this, four-mallet players use a set of damping techniques referred to as "mallet damping", in addition to the pedaling techniques used by two-mallet players. There are many benefits of being proficient in this technique as a vibraphonist. As it allows a player to hold out one chord and add or subtract any individual pitch desired, a vibist can transition between chords much more smoothly than a pianist who cannot stop a string from vibrating without reaching inside the instrument when the pedal is down. Most modern vibraphonists are highly skilled in this technique. The mallet damping techniques "are to the vibist as garlic and fresh basil are to the Northern Italian chef" and contribute significantly to expressive four-mallet playing.
Mallet damping includes "dead strokes", where a player strikes a bar and then, instead of drawing the mallet back, directly presses the head of the mallet onto the bar, causing the ringing to stop immediately. This produces a fairly distinctive "choked" sound, and dead strokes are often used just for that particular sound in addition to the damping aspects.
In hand-to-hand damping, the vibist plays a note with one mallet, while simultaneously pressing another mallet onto a previously ringing bar. Usually the damping mallet and the striking mallet are held in different hands, but advanced players can, in some circumstances, use two mallets from the same hand. This is the most powerful of the mallet damping techniques, as it can be used to damp any note on the instrument while simultaneously striking any other note.
Slide damping can be used to damp a note that is physically adjacent to the new note being struck. The player strikes the new note and then controls the rebound of the mallet so that it slides over and onto the note to be damped. Sometimes slide damping can make the new note sound "bent" or as if there is a glissando from the damped note to the ringing one, as the two notes normally ring together for some short period of time.
Hand damping (also known as finger damping) can be used to damp a white note while striking a nearby black note. As the player strikes a black note with a mallet, they simultaneously press the heel of their hand or the side of their pinky finger onto the ringing white bar, using the same hand to strike the black note and damp the white note. Using both hands, it's possible to damp and strike two notes at once.
Specialty techniques
Five or six mallets
To achieve denser sound and richer chord voicings, some vibraphonists have experimented with three mallets per hand, either in both hands for a total of six mallets or in just the left hand for a total of five.
Bowing
Like many other metallophones, percussionists can use an orchestral bow on the vibraphone to achieve sustained tones that neither decay, nor have a percussive attack.Smith, Joshua. (2008). Extended Performance Techniques and Compositional Style in the Solo Concert Vibraphone Music of Christopher Deane. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc9030/m2/1/high_res_d/dissertation.pdf (pg. 14)
Classical works with the vibraphone
Although the vibraphone has been predominantly used for jazz music, many classical pieces have been composed using the instrument, either as featured soloist or with a prominent part. Notable works include:
Ferde Grofe: Grand Canyon Suite (1931)
Alban Berg: Lulu (1935)
Roy Harris: Symphony No. 3 (1939)
Morton Gould: Harvest, for vibraphone, harp, and strings (1945)
Darius Milhaud: Concerto for marimba, vibraphone, and orchestra, Op. 278 (1947)
Benjamin Britten: Spring Symphony (1948–1949)
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Sinfonia antartica (Symphony No. 7) (1952)
Alan Hovhaness: The Flowering Peach, incidental music to the play by Clifford Odets, for clarinet, alto saxophone, timpani, tam-tam, vibraphone, glockenspiel, harp, and celesta, Op. 125 (1954)
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 8 (1955)
Pierre Boulez: Le marteau sans maître for contralto and six instrumentalists, with prominent part for vibraphone (1955)
Benjamin Britten: The Prince of the Pagodas (1957)
Siegfried Fink: Concerto for vibraphone and orchestra (1958–59)
Karlheinz Stockhausen: Refrain, for piano, vibraphone, and celesta (1959)
William Walton: Symphony No. 2 (1960)
Leonard Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story (1961)
Jean Barraqué: Concerto for vibraphone, clarinet, and six instrumental groups (1962–68)
René Leibowitz: Trois Caprices for vibraphone op.70 (1966)
Igor Stravinsky: Requiem Canticles (1966)
Mieczysław Weinberg: The Passenger (1968)
Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 14 (1969)
Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 15 (1971)
Alan Hovhaness: Spirit Cat, suite for soprano, vibraphone, and marimba, Op. 253 (1971)
Benjamin Britten: Death in Venice (1973)
Stuart Saunders Smith: Links series, 11 works (1975–1994)
Tomáš Svoboda: Morning Prayer, for four percussionists, Op. 101 (1981)
Tomáš Svoboda: Baroque Trio, for vibraphone, electric guitar, and piano, Op. 109 (1982)
Steve Reich: Sextet, for four percussionists and two keyboardists (1984–1985)
Franco Donatoni: Omar (1985)
Pierre Boulez: "...explosante-fixe......explosante-fixe...", version for vibraphone and electronics (1986)
Morton Feldman: For Stefan Wolpe for chorus and two vibraphones (1986)
Philippe Manoury: Solo de vibraphone (1986)
Lior Navok: V5—for vibraphone and string quartet (1994)
Emmanuel Séjourné: Concerto for vibraphone and orchestra; Concerto for vibraphone and piano (1999)
Karlheinz Stockhausen: Strahlen for vibraphone (optionally with glockenspiel) and ten-channel electronic music (2002)
Karlheinz Stockhausen: Vibra-Elufa for vibraphone (2003)
Gil Shohat: Tyre and Jerusalem (2003)
William P. Perry: Jamestown Concerto (2008)
Gil Shohat: The Child Dreams (2010),
Luigi Morleo: Diritti: NO LIMIT Concerto for Vibraphone and String Orchestra (2013)
Tommy Vig: Concerto for vibraharp and orchestra (2013)
Fabian Müller: Concerto for Vibraphone and Orchestra (2014)
Pascal Schumacher: Windfall Concerto for vibraphone and orchestra (2016)
Use in film scores
Bernard Herrmann used the vibraphone extensively in many of his film and television scores, most notably in his scores for Fahrenheit 451 and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour''.
See also
Balafon
Lithophone
Metallophone
List of vibraphonists
References
Further reading
Introduction to Jazz Vibes; by Gary Burton; Creative Music; 1965.
Contemporary Mallet Method – An Approach to the Vibraphone and Marimba; by Jerry Tachoir: Riohcat Music; 1980
The Mallet Percussions and How to Use Them: by Wallace Barnett; J.C. Deagan Company: 1975
The Story of Mallet Instruments: 16mm and DVD: by Barry J. Carroll J.C. Deagan Company: 1975
External links
Mallet Damping – demonstration by Gary Burton
C instruments
Jazz instruments
Keyboard percussion
Metal percussion instruments
Percussion instruments invented since 1800
Pitched percussion
Plaque percussion idiophones
American inventions
Music performance | en |
doc-en-870 | In music, notes inégales (; ) refers to a performance practice, mainly from the Baroque and Classical music eras, in which some notes with equal written time values are performed with unequal durations, usually as alternating long and short. The practice was especially prevalent in France in the 17th and 18th centuries, with appearances in other European countries at the same time; and it reappeared as the standard performance practice in the 20th century in jazz.
History
Pre-modern era
The practice of notating pairs of unequal note lengths as pairs with equal notated value may go as far back as the earliest music of the Middle Ages; indeed some scholars believe that some plainchant of the Roman Catholic Church, including Ambrosian hymns, may have been performed as alternating long and short notes. This interpretation is based on a passage in Saint Augustine where he refers to the Ambrosian hymns as being in tria temporum (in three beats); e.g. a passage rendered on the page (by a later transcriber) as a string of notes of equal note value would be performed as half note, quarter note, half note, quarter note, and so on, in groups of three beats.
The rhythmic modes, with their application of various long–short patterns to equal written notes, may also have been a precursor to notes inégales, especially as they were practiced in France, specifically by the Notre Dame School. However the gap between the late 13th century ars antiqua use of the rhythmic modes and the middle of the 16th century, when Loys Bourgeois first mentioned notes inégales, is a large one, and little trace of the practice can be found in the fluid polyphony of the intervening period.
French origins
It was in France, beginning in the late 16th century, that notes inégales began to take on a critical role in performance practice. The earliest treatises that mention inequality of notes in performance indicate that the reason for this practice is to add beauty or interest to a passage which otherwise would be plain. Over 85 music theory and performance treatises from France alone mention the topic between 1550 and 1810, with the large majority written between 1690 and 1780. Within this body of writing there is considerable inconsistency, but by the late 17th century a consensus practice began to emerge.
The typical rule, from the late 17th century until the French Revolution, is that notes inégales applies to all notes moving stepwise which have a duration of one quarter the denominator of the meter, for instance, eighth notes in a meter of , or sixteenth notes in a meter of ; and one half the denominator of the meter in cases of triple or compound meter, for instance, eighth notes in , sixteenth notes in , and . In addition, the inégales could only function on one metrical level; for example, if sixteenths are to be played long–short, long–short, an even eighth-note pulse must be carefully maintained for the music to retain its shape.
In Georg Muffat's codification of notes inégales in the Lullist tradition, he says it is the first level of diminution that is subject to inequality procedure.
Sometimes the notes inégales are notated as unequal, for example in some of the keyboard works of François Couperin, where he uses a dot to indicate the lengthened note. This and similar passages by Rameau (in his first Gavotte) clearly show that this means to apply an even greater amount of inequality to dotted eighth–sixteenth note pairs than to eighth–eighth pairs, which are already understood to be played unequally. The exact amount of inequality required is also unspecified, and most of the treatises leave this detail to the taste of the performer. It may have varied from double-dotted to minimally perceptible, depending on the context. Some recent papers and books include a full analysis of this topic as well as practical guides for the performer. Also, musical clocks have been discovered from the period that show the dotting very clearly as such devices have "preserved performances of notes inégales that are often as subtle as a 3:2 ratio (i.e. three fifths of a beat for the first note, two fifths for the second in the pair), as well as the more obvious 2:1 ratio (triplets), and 3:1 (dotted eighth–sixteenth pairs and their multiples).
There were situations which were understood to be exempt from application of notes inégales. A broken arpeggiated figuration in the left hand, such as an Alberti bass, was always understood to be played regularly. Sometimes one sees the explicit marking: croches égales meaning equal quavers or eighth notes. Passages which mixed note values may have been exempted from the practice. Occasionally a long slur printed over a series of notes was understood to imply that all the notes should be played evenly, except that the first note under the slur could be accented. Passages which were highly disjunct were also less likely to be played unequally than conjunct passages, although the sources are not unanimous on even this.
If the effect of a passage was dotted, the compelling rhythm of the dotted notes, or notes inégales, would sometimes simply override all the rules. The Handel Fugue in D Minor from the First Sett of Suites 1709 in its first editions shows the first few notes of the theme with dotted rhythms, but the dots stop after 4 note for the first two entries; the next two entries Handel only bothers to dot the first two notes. The energy of the piece seems such that the dotted texture might best remain throughout, however the long–short notes inégales can occasionally be supplanted with some "short–long" moments, still retaining the dotted effect, or as John O'Donnell describes it, "The Majestic Style", but some variance can work quite effectively, and still adhere to many of the rules.
In particular, in much of French music, and a lot in Handel as well, there are problems the performer faces, and the most prevalent one is this: sometimes at the approach of cadences in an notes inégales texture, the composer suddenly writes some dotted notes out explicitly and sometimes then stops; the inconsistency of dotting has continued to be a problem for every musicologist, theoretical and performer. Anthony Newman has suggested in an article, that there was an undocumented convention that the dotted texture recedes generally at the approach to a cadence, all other musical factors and concerns being equal, and that is why the dots stop and start sometimes quite oddly towards the approach to cadence.
Slurred long–short pairs
Often, the long–short version of notes inégales was indicated by slurred pairs of notes throughout the French repertoire in François Couperin, Jacques Duphly, Antoine Forqueray, Pierre Dumage, Louis-Nicolas Clérambault, Jean-François Dandrieu, and Jean-Philippe Rameau, to cite the more prominent keyboard composers from the French Baroque.
Lullist short–long pairs
Occasionally the long–short version of notes inégales was reversed to a short–long, known sometimes as the Lombard rhythm or the Scotch snap.
The practice of slurred pairs of notes being possibly an indication of short–long "notes inégales" has been suggested to extend further than France to "French (Lullist) modelled" compositions throughout Europe, especially Germany, Austria, and England, and even to influence the performance of slurred pairs of notes in the fast movements of Beethoven (and other non-French and non-Baroque composers), such as in the Sonata in F major, Op.78, among other sonatas, where the tempo and the slurred pairs can only result in a Lombardic or snapped short–long "notes inégales" performance.
In Restoration England, in the French modelled, Lullist influenced works of Henry Purcell, William Croft, Jeremiah Clarke and their contemporaries, the short–long slurred pairs of notes inégales can be found throughout the musical literature, and often variant sources "write out" the short–long "snapped" notes inégales rhythms explicitly.
Imitation of the French style outside France
One of the best sources for understanding the situation of notes inégales in France is the notation of music by composers from other European countries who wrote imitations of it. Music from Italy, Germany and England all borrowed this feature of French music, with the difference that the inequality of note values was often notated, since not all performers could be expected to add the notes inégales themselves (though evidence from Georg Muffat and Telemann strongly suggests that German performers would certainly be familiar with them).
Prevalence outside France
Application of notes inégales to contemporary performance of music not written in France, for example the music of J.S. Bach, is extremely controversial, and indeed resulted in one of the most heated debates in 20th-century musicology. One school of thought attempted to show that the French practice was actually widespread in Europe, and performance of music by composers as diverse as Bach and Scarlatti should be suffused with dotted rhythms; another school of thought held that even-note playing was the norm in their music unless dotted rhythms were explicitly notated in the score. Evidence on both sides of the argument is compelling; for example 17th-century English writings recommending unequal playing (Roger North's autobiographical Notes of Me, written around 1695, describes the practice explicitly, in reference to English lute music), as well as François Couperin, who wrote in L'art de toucher le clavecin (1716), that in Italian music, Italians always write the notes exactly the way they want them played. Then again, the practice may have been more widespread in some areas, such as England, than others, such as Italy and Germany.
J.S. Bach famously imitated the style in Contrapunctus II from the Art of Fugue; however, in this piece the notes inégales are written out as dotted rhythms.
But in Contrapunctus VI, fully embracing notes inégales, a composition written in the complex texture of the "Ouverture", in Stile francese, Bach uses "the dotted style" in augmentation, and writes out the notes inégales although many treatises describe the assimilation of upbeat notes to have the slower rhythms become "in sync" with the shorter notes of the fast upbeat note groups, as well as the "short" notes of the inégales pairs.
And perhaps most significantly, in Contrapunctus 16 – actually two Fugues one normal and its pair in mirror inversion, the notes inégales are written out in a texture of running triplets, showing the varying value of the dot, as well as the varying "swing" of notes inégales. And it is of interest to note that in the keyboard arrangements of this work, the notes inégales are not written out, and this suggests strongly that the practice of notes inégales, of rhythmic alteration, was known to Bach and his circle. In his teens, Bach travelled and studied at the French-modelled Court of Georg Wilhelm in Celle (near Lüneburg) in northern Germany, where there was an orchestra modelled on the Concert Royal of Lully. During this time it is believed he studied and wrote compositions in the French Style, such as a five-part incomplete Fantasie and Fugue for organ, BWV 562, that is based exactly on the voicing, texture, and structure of the works of the French baroque composer De Grigny, and would make it eligible for notes inégales. His later work, the Fantasia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 537, also uses the same mostly 8th note texture, is written in the same time signature, features a similar texture, and responds well to the application of long–short notes inégales to the evenly notated 8th notes, and short–long to the slurred 8th note pairs, also typical and consistent to classic baroque French notes inégales procedures.
Handel
Handel also seemed to use and understand notes inégales in many of his works. However, like often in the French literature, there are also inconsistencies which have never been fully explained where dots start and then stop for no clear reason, but as Newman has observed, mostly this happens towards the approach to cadences. But in general, in many of his suites, and even his orchestral music, the application of notes inégales finds a solid home in Handel. Most obvious are in some of the Ouvertures, but there are many movements where a subtle notes inégales works well, such as in the Sarabande of the E Minor suite (from the set of Eight Great Suites; his earliest compilation); and numerous Menuets throughout his keyboard and even some of his orchestral works. Even in his orchestral music, and vocal music, Handel can have some very "French" moments – some of the menuets in particular, keyboard as well as orchestral, can work well with a subtle notes inégales, despite Handel's very intercontinental lineage. Whether in Germany or England, he was clearly a master at the French notes inégales as well as the Ouverture style. He was strongly influenced by Georg Muffat's nephew, who will be discussed below, and perhaps that is a part of Handel's reception of the French Style of playing. And occasionally one finds movements that don't seem necessarily "French", as over the years, Handel did develop a very strong "English" style that was unique to him, but nonetheless, sound very much more "revealed" when subjected to notes inégales aka inequality procedure.
Georg Muffat
The entire corpus of stylistic practices related to the Lullist model, of which notes inégales was one of the most significant features of rhythmic alteration, was perhaps widely spread throughout late 17th and early 18th-century Germany and Austria by the Austrian composer Georg Muffat. He went to the Lullist court to study and codify the Lullist performance practices and did it in an exhaustive foreword to his Florilegium Secundum, a collection containing orchestral suites based on the models and performance practices of Lully, synthesized with Muffat's studies with Corelli in Italy, which he previously presented to the musical public in his Armonico Tributo and Florilegium Primum.
Writers have long credited Muffat's impact with his publication of an explicitly detailed foreword in German, French, Italian and Latin in 1698, where he codifies more explicitly than any other writer (and primary performance practice source) the Lullist Manner of Playing. Through the impact of his Florilegium Secundum, following his earlier also significant works, Muffat has been credited by many, including the great 18th century writer and music critic Charles Burney to introducing the "French Ouverture" throughout the rest of Europe, but Muffat can be perhaps even more credited as "creating" the German style – as a remarkable and unique synthesis of the Italian and French styles into a "new, hybrid, amalgamated style"; creating a uniquely identifiable texture what has come down to us as the beginnings of a true, unique, German musical style.
Bach
Certainly this new complex transformation and amalgamation of the Italian style with the new "Fashionable" Lullist/French style is evident in the complex French Ouverture textures found throughout Bach's works, and explicitly formed the models of Bach's own Orchestral Suites, and the Ouverture nach Französischer Art, BWV 831, which Bach published along with the Italienisches Konzert, BWV 971, which show a profound intensification of texture compared to the Austrian and German Music that preceded J.S. Bach.
In Bach's textures, the French composer's 8th notes which were eligible notes inégales became Bach's 16th notes. But at the same time, other rhythms were "sharpened" and certain types of three note sixteenth note figures were often "compressed to three 32nd note upbeat figures. And upbeat 8th notes became upbeat 16th notes. (All the would be evenly written eight notes are written out in long–short notes inégales). Bach's texture was very much more complex than that of the Lully and Muffat. As a result, there was ambiguity for what notes would be eligible for notes inégales performance.
In an earlier version of Ouverture nach Französischer Art, there is a manuscript in a student of Bach's hand, Johann Preller, the three note 32nd notes are not yet notated as such. Instead the texture is full of 16th notes which have Preller's ornaments in all the places that would suggest notes inégales of the long–short variety – most of Preller's trills and mordents are on the first and third note of every group of four 16th notes – the notes that if subjected to standard long–short notes inégales would become longer by a dot – and have more time for an ornament; indeed the ornaments that happen on would be the third 16th note would consequently make the unanchored groups of three impossible to sharpen rhythmically into upbeat 32nd notes, aka, in stile francese; or as Burney describes; the groups of short and fast upbeat figures that define the texture of the [French] Ouverture.
However, preparing the work for publication, Bach realized his complex texture was misunderstood, and that in fact most of the 16th notes were to be played not notes inégales, but in "Ouverture style", where the groups of three "unanchored" (meaning the first of each group of four 16th notes was either tied, or a rest) the following three 16th notes could be said to be "unanchored". Such 16th notes are "compressed to become 32nd note upbeat figures throughout most of the "Ouverture" section of the movement. However, in the 13th measure there is a passage with anchored 16th notes which in fact are eligible for long–short notes inégales, and Bach "leaves them be". A performer may apply notes inégales to the 16th notes in that passage effectively. Again, consistent with the Lullist model, throughout the rest of the overture, there are no evenly written 8th notes; they have all be "written out" in notes inégales like Contrapunctus 2 of Die Kunst der Fuge as dotted 8ths and 16th notes. In performance, it is likely that the notes inégales will end up even sharper, with the long note of the long–short pairs becoming longer, so the short upbeat note can fit in with the last of the groups of the upbeat 32nd notes; all of which is consistent with the flexibility of notes inégales, as well as the concept of "upbeat assimilation", another legacy of in stile francese. In one way, to the 17th- and 18th-century composer/performer, notes inégales was an interdependent consequence of "ouverture style", or in stile francese.
Other movements by Bach in Ouverture Texture, where the 16th notes can be played in long–short notes inégales are the Fugue in D Major, WTCI; the Gigue in the French Suite in D Minor; the fugue in D Minor from WTC II – where the 16th notes can be played in long–short notes inégales against the general triplet texture (not unlike the fugue from the Kunst der Fuge in the keyboard arrangements, and the 16th notes in Ouverture from the D Major Partita, in the slow Ouverture section.
Outside of the keyboard literature, in the cello and lute suites, the suite in C Minor has two versions, and the suite opens with a Prelude that is in stile francese. The early version is like the early version of the Ouverture; mostly 16th notes that could? be eligible for notes inégales. However, Bach rewrites the later version again shows a clarification of the evenly written 16th notes that are unanchored, being subject to "overture style" rhythmic alteration where the unanchored three 16th note groups are assimilated into groups of three 32nd notes upbeats, against a texture that is mostly full of long–short notes inégales dotted eight note/sixteenth note pairs.
J.K.F. Fischer
Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer, a highly influential composer, who lived a generation before Bach, also "adopted" this new transformation of an Austrian/German national musical style. A study of Fischer is outside the scope of the topic of notes inégales, but his large Chaconne in G Major – a copy of which was made by Purcell's teacher, John Blow, surely not a coincidence – is written solely in even eighth notes in the first of its two G Major sections (as well as the Chaconne dénouement conclusion). Fischer's Chaconne greatly resembles the Chaconnes of Louis Couperin and Nicolas Le Bègue in key, time signature, texture and affect, both of whom are contemporary to Lully, and fully qualify for notes inégales treatment of the evenly notated eighth notes.
Fischer's influence on J.S. Bach
With the application of notes inégales to the evenly notated eighth notes in the Fischer, the work even more comes alive as the French dance that is the Chaconne. Fischer's collection of suites published as Musicalischer Parnassus are also strongly evident of Muffat's amalgamated stylistic influence, and Fischer's compositions also foreshadow the complexity of Bach. Bach knew the works of Fischer and numerous fugue themes from the Well Tempered Clavier are taken from Fischer's own earlier collection preludes and fugues, some note for note. Fischer's most famous suite in D minor – Uranie from his collection of very French influenced suites found in the collection Musicalischer Parnassus – feature and Allemande and Courante that "need" notes inégales; and with the application of notes inégales Fischer's strong artistic compositional hand become even more evident.
Georg Muffat
In the first work of the Florilegium Secundum, Fasciculus I. – Nobilis Juventus. 1. Ouverture, Georg Muffat writes an Ouverture in stile Francese, in which he writes out the notes inégales in the topmost part, the Violino, in an approximate performance "realization" where the long–short pairs are explicitly notated in dotted eighth/sixteenth note pairs as the stylistically correct performance practice of long–short notes inégales. In the Violetta part immediately below, Muffat writes out the part in conventional, unrealized, notation. This can be seen when stepwise eighth notes are introduced in measure 12. In the Violino, they are realized in explicitly long–short pairs; in the Violetta, they are still "encoded" as they would traditionally appear in the guise of evenly notated 8th notes; the composer clearly expecting the performer to perform them in long–short notes inégales.
The practice of writing out an explicatio, often in the first instance, can be found in Francois Couperin's Premiere Ordre where he writes out samples of the kinds of embellishments he expects the performer to add upon repeat. He also writes out the long–short notes inégales fully rhythmically "realized" as well. Couperin does this in the Courante and the Gavotte, expecting the performer to take the various embellishments, rhythmic alterations and ornaments, and apply them "le bon gout" (in good taste) throughout his oeuvre. This practice of giving an explicatio was also followed by J.S. Bach in the Sarabande of his French Suite in D Minor, BWV 812, and similarly, in the Sarabande of his English Suite in G Minor, BWV 808. It is clear there was a precedent by composers to give models for the correct study and realization of performance practice issues in the works themselves, often in the context of an oral tradition where there was no need to write a treatise.
Muffat, publishing his Florilegium with multilingual prefaces, clearly intending his work to be widely published (which it was), and as there would be no opportunity for an oral tradition to transmit the performance practices, he decided in order for the music to be played correctly, he would codify the Lullist practices – with musical examples of how to perform the ornaments, interpret the various rhythmic alterations including notes inégales, as well as tempo instructions, and bowing instructions, and when and where to apply notes inégales and all the variety of Lullist embellishment and ornamentation, especially when there is no obvious indication. His extremely detailed codification of notes inégales and the Lullist performance practices, and in practical combination with his suites, and including further explication by explicit half encoded/half written out solutions to demonstrate the correct and appropriate application of notes inégales in the Premiere suite of the Florilegium Secundum, would achieve a clarity of understanding the rhythmic alteration procedure of notes inégales to a huge musical circle beyond his personal scope and of his musical circle which included his colleague Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber's world in 17th century Salzburg, Austria.
Henry Purcell
In England, style Francese was deliberately introduced in the 17th century by order of the King, sending a 14-year-old exceptionally talented chorister and composer, the young Henry Purcell, to the Lullist court to study and master the style of Lully and the Lullist orchestra "Chapel Royal" which had become famous throughout Europe, after which Purcell was to return to England to form an English version of the Chapel Royal. Purcell's orchestral music and keyboard music are, like Muffat's synthesis of the Italian and French style, a synthesis of the English and French style into a much more complex English style where the application of notes inégales to the music of Purcell and his contemporaries is essential to correct performance of the music. Also of great importance for Purcell and his contemporaries – in explicio – are the varying versions of numerous movements from the suites with notes inégales unwritten, and written out explicitly in some MS. versions, and completely encoded in other MS. versions.
With respect to the short–long, snapped version of notes inégales, this rhythmic and stylistic feature – the lombardic snap – became a recognizable stylistic cliche in Purcell's music, and in the music of his contemporaries. The snapped pair is often stepwise, but is nearly as often found in slower textures in downward snapping pairs of notes, the second of which note, the longer, destination note, together with the first note of the notes inégales, form a diminished 4th to a leading tone (especially in minor keys), but can often be found used in various non-stepwise intervals, seemingly at odds with the "general rules" of notes inégales; nonetheless, this usage is pervasive in the music of Restoration period England by Purcell and his contemporaries.
Perhaps one of the most famous instances of notes inégales, which for many years was incorrectly heard (and played) is in the so-called "Masterpiece Theatre" trumpet tune. This famous trumpet tune is actually a French baroque work, Fanfare-Rondeau, by Jean-Joseph Mouret incorrectly attributed to Jeremiah Clarke. It is often heard played as even eighth notes, but its correct performance would almost certainly be that all of its evenly notated 8th notes would be performed in long–short notes inégales!
England in the Classical Period
Roger North prohibits the placing of triplets against duplets; and the conclusion must be that either the triplet must be assimilated into the duplet, or the duplet must be assimilated into the triplet, by subjecting the duplet into a form of notes inégales. One of the phenomena noted above was the adoption in England of notes inégales especially by Purcell and his contemporaries. In English Music during the time of Purcell, as well as just before and after, notes inégales were often applied in French modeled works, such as courants, and other "French" dance movements where the notes inégales are not written out. It must be decided on a case by case basis. However one of the forms of the notes inégales, the "Lombardic or 'scotch' snap", became very popular in English music in the post-Elizabethan period, and that predilection continued throughout the Baroque and into the Classical period. It is usually written out, but not always. The short–long notes inégales, or "scotch snap" can be found to be nearly begging for use at the ends of certain phrases, typically in a triplet based texture, and for instance especially in a Menuet that features triplets, where often at the cadential points, the triplets fall away and playing the evenly notated 8th notes seem to invite a short–long rhythmic alteration. This can also be found in the transitional music such as that found in Musicks Hand-maid, (1678), (John Playford, editor), as well as in typically English composers such as Thomas Augustus Arne in his keyboard sonatas. Arne in particular wrote many variation movements that would sometimes start in duplets, but sometimes used a great deal of triplets, and often in the transitions one finds even notes that when leading to a triplet section, applying long–short (or even occasionally short–long) notes inégales proves very effective. This also often occurs in the Gallant, Empfindsamkeit, and Classical music of J.C. Bach and Haydn and their contemporaries. (further citations and examples to come SJ)
Alternative Entasis Theory
An alternative point of view is that this idea of Notes Inégales as uneven beats with a fixed perfectly regular amount of swing as in modern Jazz is completely wrong. Instead the idea might have been to install a sense of musical surprise and unpredictability in the listener, a sense that every note is new. This alternative interpretation arises out of a detailed understanding and familiarity with other concepts that would have been well known to musicians of the time.
Evidence from mechanical clocks to the contrary isn't too convincing once you have this alternative interpretation, because musical clocks, by their nature, are of course mechanical. It could just be a limitation of the craftsmen in ability to reproduce the fluidity of the rhythms of musicians of the time in a clock.
Present day
Jazz
A similar practice to notes inégales occurs from the 20th century to the present day, in jazz, although the term "swung note" is used by jazz musicians and listeners. Indeed, it is so universally understood that a stream of eighth notes is to be rendered unequally that the phrase "straight eighths" is used whenever a jazz arranger wants a performer to play eighth notes evenly. In jazz practice, in addition, it is common for the notes not only to differ in duration but in intensity. Swung eighths written on the beat are generally read as a pair of triplet eighth-notes tied together, while notes written on off-beats are played as single triplet eighth notes. Therefore, the underlying rhythmic grid to most jazz music is an eighth note triplet pattern. Most musicians don't do the math involved in playing notes, instead simply feeling an uneven subdivision. Occasionally, sixteenth notes are swung and played fitting into a thirtysecond-note triplet grid.
The similarity to the rule of 17th-century France is striking, in that jazz is organized in rhythmic layers, with chord changes often at the level of the bar or half-bar, followed by a quarter-note beat, and an eighth-note level in which notes are played freely, and almost always unevenly. Some scholars (2) have speculated a connection by way of the influence of French music in New Orleans on early jazz styles.
Sacred Harp
Traditional Sacred Harp singers often sing in the rhythm of notes inégales, thus deviating from the printed notes; for details see Performance practice of Sacred Harp music.
See also
Dotted note
Notes
References and further reading
Archibald Davison and Willi Apel, Harvard Anthology of Music. Two volumes. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1949.
David Fuller: "Notes inégales," in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980.
The New Harvard Dictionary of Music, ed. Don Randel. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1986.
Manfred Bukofzer, Music in the Baroque Era. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1947.
Anthony Newman: Bach and The Baroque. Pendragon Press, NYC, NY, 1985, rev 1995.
Scott Ryan Johnson: Georg Muffat and the French Modeled works of J.S. Bach. Unpublished Manuscript, LA/NYC. 1993
Kenneth Cooper, Julius Zsako and Georg Muffat, "Georg Muffat's Observations on the Lully Style of Performance", The Musical Quarterly. Vol. 53, No. 2 (Apr., 1967), pp. 220–245. Published by: Oxford University Press
Georg Muffat, Edited and translated by David K. Wilson from a collation prepared by Ingeborg Harer, Yvonne Luisi-Weichsel, Ernest Hoetzl, and Thomas Binkley "Georg Muffat on Performance Practice – The Texts from Florilegium Primum, Florilegium Secundum, and Auserlesene Instrumentalmusik — A New Translation with Commentary". (1653-1704). Series: Publications of the Early Music Institute. Indiana. 2001.
Sol Babbits – details to come -
– Frederic Neumann
– John O'Donnell: "The Majestic Style". Early Music Magazine. Oxford University Press;- details to come -
Anthony Newman: The Twentieth Century Interpreter of 18th Century Music". Music and Letters. – details to come -
Anthony Newman: Bach's Prelude in B-Minor; a study in Performance Practice. The Diapason – details to come -; Dissertation, Boston University Press – details to come -
J. Quantz "On playing the Flute". G Schirmer Music. – details to come -
C.P.E. Bach – The True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments – details to come – Essay on the True Art of Playing Key Board Instruments, by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. Translated and Edited by William J. Mitchell
John Byrt - An Unequal Music (An Unequal Music )
External links
Rameau: Allemande in a from Nouvelles Suites. Claudio Di Veroli, harpsichord (YouTube video) – example of a Notes inégales playing style.
French music history
Baroque music
Classical period (music)
Rhythm and meter
Articles containing video clips
French words and phrases | en |
doc-en-8175 | The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was the 54th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Moscow, Russia, following the country's victory at the with the song "Believe" by Dima Bilan. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Channel One (C1R), the contest was held at the Olimpiysky Arena, and consisted of two semi-finals on 12 and 14 May, and a final on 16 May 2009. The semi-finals were presented by Russian model Natalia Vodianova and television presenter Andrey Malahov, while the final was presented by Russian television presenter Ivan Urgant and former Russian contestant Alsou Abramova, becoming the first and so far only time that two different sets of presenters had hosted the semi-finals and finals.
Forty-two countries participated in the contest - down one from the record forty-three the year before. Slovakia returned to the contest for the first time since , while San Marino did not enter due to financial issues. Latvia and Georgia originally announced their intention not to participate, but it was later stated by the EBU that both countries would indeed participate. However, Georgia later decided to withdraw after the EBU rejected its selected song as being a breach of the contest rules.
The winner was Norway with the song "Fairytale", performed and written by Alexander Rybak. The song received a record-breaking 387 points out of 492, at the time the highest total score in the history of the contest. Iceland, Azerbaijan, Turkey and the United Kingdom rounded out the top five, with the latter achieving their best placing since . Iceland's second-place finish was the country's best placing in a decade.
After criticism of the voting system in , changes in the voting procedure were finally made prior to this contest, with the re-introduction of a national jury alongside televoting for the final, while the format of the semi-finals remained the same.
Location
The contest was held in Russia following its victory in the 2008 contest in Belgrade, Serbia, with Dima Bilan's "Believe". Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of Russia, stated that the contest would be held in Moscow.
It was proposed by Channel One that the contest be held in Moscow's Olimpiysky Arena, and this proposal was evaluated by the EBU and confirmed on 13 September 2008. The Director-General of the venue, Vladimir Churilin, refuted rumours of emergency reconstruction of the building, saying: "It will not be required for the Eurovision Song Contest. We now can take up to 25 thousand spectators."
Format
Thirty-seven countries participated in one of the two semi-finals of the contest, with the "Big Four" countries (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom) and the host (Russia) pre-qualified for the final. In addition to those pre-qualified, the final also included the ten selected countries from each semi-final, making a total of twenty-five participants.
A discussion on changes to the format of the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest had taken place at an EBU meeting in Athens, Greece in June 2008 where a proposal was made that could have resulted in the "Big Four" losing their automatic place in the final of the contest. However, it was confirmed that the "Big Four" countries would continue to automatically qualify for the final at the 2009 contest.
Graphic design
Host broadcaster Channel One presented the sub-logo and theme for the 2009 contest on 30 January 2009. The sub-logo is based upon a "Fantasy Bird", which can be used with many colours. As in previous years, the sub-logo was presented alongside the generic logo. 2009 was the first year since 2001 without any slogan for the contest.
The stage was designed by New York-based set designer John Casey, and was based around the theme of contemporary Russian avant-garde. Casey, who had previously designed the stage for the Eurovision Song Contest 1997 in Dublin, was also involved in design teams for the 1994 and 1995 contests. He explained that "even before [he] worked with the Russians on the TEFI Awards in Moscow in 1998, [he] was inspired by and drawn to art from the Russian Avant Garde period, especially the constructivists... [He] tried to come up with a theatrical design for the contest that incorporates Russian avant-garde art into a contemporary setting, almost entirely made up of different types of LED screens." Casey explained that together, the various LED shapes form the finished product. Furthermore, large sections of the stage can move, including the circular central portion of curved LED screens, which can be moved to effect and allow each song to have a different feel.
Postcards
The music accompanying the postcards used to introduce each participating country was written and produced by British electronic musician Matthew Herbert.
The postcards opened with the words "Moskva 2009" (Москва 2009), the transliterated Russian way to say "Moscow 2009". It continued with the appearance of Miss World 2008, Ksenia Sukhinova of Russia, and then a group of famous landmarks from the participating country were shown in computer animation. The animation would simulate a pop-up book, with each "page turn" showing different landmarks. Then Sukhinova reappeared again, wearing a hat comprising all of the landmarks shown (as well as having different hairstyle & make-up each time) and a T-shirt with the colours of the respective country's flag. The Russian video had the exact appearance of Sukhinova shown in the first part of every video, and no different hairstyle was shown for the Russian entry.
Then, on the right, the 2009 contest logo appeared with the name and the flag of the country. Finally a phrase in transliterated Russian word and its English translation were shown. The words shown were as were as following, listed in alphabetical order:
Ikra (Caviar)
Potselui (Kiss)
Sibir (Siberia)
Valenki (Winter boots)
Karavai (Round loaf of bread)
Veselo (Cheerfully)
Bud Zdorov (Bless you)
Krasota (Beauty)
Matryoshka (Russian doll)
Druzhba (Friendship)
Privet! (Hi!)
Ded Moroz (Santa Claus)
Gagarin (Surname of Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, first man in history to go to space)
Na zdarovie! (Cheers!)
Lublu (Love)
Poehali! (Let's go!)
Vsego dobrogo (Good luck)
Mir (Peace/World)
Sneg (Snow)
Balalaika (Music instrument)
Horosho (Good/OK)
Borsch (Beetroot soup)
Kosmos (Space)
Klassno (Great/Cool)
Sazka (Fairytale)
Chudo (Miracle)
Dobro Pojalovat! (Welcome!)
Zima (Winter)
Babushka (Grandmother)
Vecherinka (Party)
Pozhalusta (Please)
Tantsui (Dance)
Davai-Davai (Come on!)
Schastie (Happiness)
Medved (Bear)
Vmeste (Together)
Spasibo (Thank you)
Muzika (Music)
Vesna (Spring)
Kak dela (How are you?)
Shick! (Glamour)
Zazhigai! (Let's Rock!)
Semi-final allocation draw
On Friday 30 January 2009, the draw to decide which countries would appear in either the first or second semi-final took place at the Marriott Royal Aurora Hotel. The participating countries excluding the automatic finalists (France, Germany, Russia, Spain & the United Kingdom) were split into six pots, based upon how those countries have been voting. From these pots, half (or as close to half as is possible) competed in the first Semi Final on 10 May 2009. The other half in that particular pot will compete in the second Semi Final on 12 May 2009. The draw for the running order of the semi-finals, finals, and the order of voting, occurred on 16 March 2009 at Cosmos Hotel.
Voting
In response to some broadcasters' continued complaints about politically charged, neighbourly and diaspora voting, the EBU evaluated the voting procedure used in the contest, with the possibility of a change in the voting system for 2009. Contest organisers sent a questionnaire regarding the voting system to participating broadcasters, and a reference group incorporated the responses into their suggestions for next year's format. Telewizja Polska (TVP), the Polish broadcaster, suggested that an international jury similar to the one used in the 2008 Eurovision Dance Contest be introduced in the Eurovision Song Contest to lessen the impact of neighbourly voting and place more emphasis on the artistic value of the song. A jury would lead to less political and diaspora voting as the jury members, mandated to be music industry experts, would also have a say in addition to "random members of the public".
It was decided that for the contest final, each country's votes would be decided by a combination of 50% televoting results and 50% national jury. The method of selecting the semi-final qualifiers remained the same for the most part, with nine countries, instead of the ten as in years past, qualifying from each semi-final based on the televoting results. For the tenth qualifier from each semi-final, the highest placed country on the back-up jury scoreboard that had not already qualified, was chosen for the final. At the final, each country combined their 1–7, 8, 10,12 points from the televote with their 1–7,8,10,12 jury points to create their "national scorecard". The country with the most points received 12 points, the second placed country received 10 points, the third placed country received 8 points and so on to 1 points. If a tie arose, the song with the higher televote position was given the advantage and the higher point value. National juries were originally phased out of the contest beginning in 1997, with televoting having become mandatory for nearly all participants since 2003.
Edgar Böhm, director of entertainment for Austria's public broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF), has stated that the 2008 format with two semi-finals "still incorporates a mix of countries who will be politically favoured in the voting process," and "that, unless a clear guideline as to how the semifinals are organised is made by the EBU, Austria will not be taking part in Moscow 2009." Despite the inclusion of jury voting in the final, Austria did not return to the contest in 2009.
Juries
"In each of the 42 participating countries, a jury of five music industry
professionals (including one jury chairperson) will judge the entries taking part
in the Final. Their decision will be based on the second dress rehearsal. The names of the jury members must be revealed by the respective participating
broadcasters before or during the Final.
Each jury member of each national jury will make a ranking of his or her ten favourite songs and award points from 1 to 8, 10 and 12 points. The chairperson will allocate 12 points to the song having obtained the highest number of votes from all jury members, 10 points to the song having obtained the second highest number of votes, 8 points to the song having obtained the third highest number of votes, 7 points to the next, and so on down to 1 point for the song having obtained the tenth highest number of votes from all jury members. In the event of a tie for any of the above positions, the order of the tying songs shall be ascertained by a show of hands by the jury members (abstentions are not allowed).
The jury should consist of a variety of members in terms of age, gender and background. All jury members must be citizens of the country they are representing.
None of the jury members must be connected with any of the participating songs/artists in such a way that they cannot vote independently. The participating broadcasters must send a letter of compliance with the voting instructions together with signed declarations by each jury member stating that they will vote independently. The jury voting will be monitored by an independent notary and auditor in each country". – Quotes from Eurovision.tv
Participating countries
Following the release of the final participants list by the EBU, 42 countries confirmed their participation in the 2009 contest, including Slovakia, which returned to the contest after 11 years. Georgia originally announced that it was not to participate in the contest due to the Russo-Georgian War in protest of the foreign policies of Russia, but later decided to return to the contest, inspired by its win at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2008, as well as Russia's 12 points to it in the same contest. The country eventually withdrew from the contest due to its entry being deemed to contain political references, including in the title a play on words of Russia's prime minister's surname.
Rumours arose surrounding the participation and return of San Marino and Monaco. Télé Monte Carlo (TMC), the Monegasque broadcaster, confirmed that there were talks with the EBU over a Monegasque return to the 2009 contest. At the same time, rumours spread that San Marino's broadcaster, Radiotelevisione della Repubblica di San Marino (SMRTV), would not participate in the contest due to poor placing at the 2008 contest. In the end, after originally confirming their intent to participate in Moscow, SMRTV was forced to withdraw from the event due to financial difficulties that prevented a second entry.
The Latvian broadcaster, Latvijas Televīzija (LTV), had reportedly withdrawn from the 2009 contest on 17 December 2008, three days after the final participation deadline. This came about due to budget cuts of over 2 million lati (2.8 million euros) from the LTV budget, hindering their ability to pay the participation fee. LTV confirmed that they had informed the EBU of their intent to withdraw based solely on financial difficulties. LTV then went into discussions with the EBU in an attempt to find a solution that would keep the country in the contest. On 20 December 2008, LTV announced that it would be withdrawing from the contest, and that both the EBU and Channel One had agreed not to force a financial penalty on the late withdrawal of the broadcaster from the 2009 contest. LTV also announced its intent to be at the 2010 contest. However, on 12 January 2009, it was announced that Latvia would participate in the 2009 contest. Each country chose its entry for the contest through its own selection process. Some countries selected their entry through an internal selection, where the representing network chose both the song and artist, while others held national finals where the public chose the song, the artist, or both.
Thirty-seven countries participated in one of the two semi-finals of the contest. The semi-final allocation draw took place on 30 January 2009, while the draw for the running order was held on 16 March 2009.
Returning artists
Semi-final 1
The first semi final took place in Moscow on 12 May 2009. The United Kingdom and Germany voted in this semi-final. Before its withdrawal, Georgia was originally drawn to perform in this semi-final.
Semi-final 2
The second semi final took place in Moscow on 14 May 2009. France and Russia voted in this semi-final. Spain was also scheduled to televote in this semi-final, but due to scheduling errors at TVE, the semi-final was aired late and Spanish viewers were not able to vote, so the Spanish jury's vote was used instead.
Final
The finalists were:
the four automatic qualifiers , , and the ;
the host country ;
the top nine countries from the first semi-final plus one wildcard from the juries;
the top nine countries from the second semi-final plus one wildcard from the juries.
The final took place in Moscow on 16 May 2009 at 23:00 MST (19:00 UTC) and was won by Norway.
Scoreboard
There were a few glitches out of the 84 total televote counts from the two semi-finals and grand final. In the second semi final, Spain's and Albania's delays in broadcasting the show meant that their results were provided by the back-up juries. In the final, SMS voting was the only method used to provide the Hungarian public voting scores as the televotes could not be counted due to a technical problem, and Norway's jury vote was used because a technical mistake by the local telephone operator rendered the televotes and SMS texts unusable. The full split jury/televoting results of the final were announced by the EBU in July 2009.
Semi-final 1
12 points
Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points each country awarded to another in the 1st semi-final:
Semi-final 2
12 points
Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points each country awarded to another in the 2nd semi-final:
Final
12 points
Below is a summary of all 12 points in the final:
Below is a summary of the split number one selection, by respectively each country's jury and televoters in the final. Countries which gave the maximum 12 points apiece from both the professional jury and televoting to the specified entrant are marked in bold.
Spokespersons
The voting order and spokespersons during the final were as follows:
Maureen Louys (co-presenter of the )
Pauline Agius
Thomas Anders
Petra Šubrtová
Sarah Dawn Finer
Þóra Tómasdóttir
Yann Renoard
Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė
Roberto Meloni (Latvian representative in as memebr of Bonaparti.lv and as member of Pirates of the Sea)
Jovana Vukčević
Brigits García
Jari Sillanpää (Finnish representative in )
(Bulgarian representative in as member of Deep Zone)
Ignas Krupavičius
Duncan James (UK representative in as member of Blue)
Frosina Josifovska
Elvir Laković Laka (Bosnian representative in )
Marysya Horobets
Meltem Ersan Yazgan
Leon Menkshi
Jovana Janković (co-presenter of the )
Sophia Paraskeva (co-presenter of the )
Yolanthe Cabau van Kasbergen
Laura Põldvere (Estonian representative in as member of Suntribe and with Koit Toome.)
Mila Horvat
Helena Coelho
Alina Sorescu
Derek Mooney
Sandu Leancă
Peter Poles
Sirusho (Armenian representative in )
Éva Novodomszky
Stian Barsnes-Simonsen (co-presenter of the )
Broadcasts
Most countries sent commentators to Moscow or commentated from their own country, in order to add insight to the participants and, if necessary, provide voting information.
International broadcasts
– Although Australia was not eligible to enter, the contest was broadcast on Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) as in previous years. The first semi-final was broadcast on Friday 15 May 2009, the second semi-final on Saturday 16 May 2009, and the final on Sunday 17 May 2009, with all shows broadcast at 19:30 local time (09:30 UTC). This year, instead of airing the United Kingdom's commentary, the broadcaster sent its own commentators, Julia Zemiro and Sam Pang. They also anchored a number of behind the scenes and interview pieces, which were inserted during assigned the various broadcasts. In recent years the contest has been one of SBS's highest-rating programmes in terms of viewer numbers. The contest rated well for SBS with 482,000 viewers tuning in for the final, with 414,000 for the second semi-final and 276,000 for the first semi-final.
SBS also broadcast the Junior Eurovision and Eurovision Dance Contests for 2008 in the lead-up to the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest. The Eurovision Dance Contest 2008 was broadcast on SBS on Wednesday 6 May 2009 at 13:00 local time (03:00 UTC), while the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2008 was broadcast on Wednesday 13 May at 13:00 local time (03:00 UTC). SBS also broadcast the EBU produced Eurovision Countdown shows on 13, 14 and 15 May 2009 at 17:30 local time (07:30 UTC) before the semi-finals and final.
– Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) confirmed that, despite having no Austrian entry in the competition, they would broadcast the contest on television. Both semi-finals were broadcast on ORF on a time delay, beginning past midnight CET. A song presentation show was broadcast on the night of the final, before broadcasting live the voting in the final. The entire Eurovision final was broadcast later that night. In all three shows the commentator was Hitradio Ö3 radio presenter Benny Hörtnagl.
– Although New Zealand was not eligible to enter, the final of the contest was broadcast on Triangle TV's satellite channel STRATOS on 17 May 2009. They also did a compilation of the two 2008 semi-finals on 3 May 2009 and the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 final on 10 May 2009. This was the first time in 30 years that the contest has been broadcast in New Zealand. The 2009 final was broadcast in local prime time, about 10 hours after the show has finished in Moscow.
A commentated live broadcast of the Eurovision Song Contest was available worldwide via satellite by broadcaster streams such as:
: BVN
: BNT Sat
: HRT Sat
: RIK Sat
: ERT World
: LTV World
: MKTV Sat
: TVCG Sat
: BVN
: TVP Polonia
: RTP Internacional
: TVR International
: RTS Sat
: TVE Internacional
: TRT AVAZ
Additionally, the official Eurovision Song Contest website also provided a live stream without commentary via the peer-to-peer medium Octoshape.
Incidents
The 2009 contest experienced several controversies and incidents during its lead-up, including the interpretation of over Georgia's entry as an attack against the Russian prime minister, conflicts between Armenia and Azerbaijan stemming from the inclusion of a monument in a disputed region to represent Armenia in a video introduction, Spain's broadcaster showing a semi-final on tape delay after a scheduling conflict, and protests over Russia's treatment of LGBT people to coincide with the contest.
Armenia and Azerbaijan
Armenia and Azerbaijan experienced several conflicts during the 2009 contest.
After the first semi-final, representatives for Azerbaijan complained to the EBU over the introductory "postcard" preceding the Armenian entry, since the video clip had included a depiction of We Are Our Mountains, a monumental statue located in the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh republic, which is considered to be a de jure part of Azerbaijan. As a result of the complaint, the statue was edited out during the finals. However, Armenia retaliated during the results presentations by having the monument displayed on a video screen in the background, and having presenter Sirusho read the results from a clipboard decorated with a photo of the monument.
There were also allegations that no number had been shown for the public to call and vote for Armenia's entry during the telecast in Azerbaijan. Representatives denied these allegations by showing a video that showed an untampered signal during the Armenian performance. However, a subsequent EBU investigation found that the Azerbaijani broadcaster, Ictimai TV, had blurred out the number for Armenia's entry and distorted the TV signal when the Armenian contestants were performing on stage. The EBU fined Ictimai TV an undisclosed sum and is said to have threatened to exclude the broadcaster from the competition for up to three years if further infractions of the Eurovision Song Contest rules are made.
In August 2009, a number of Azerbaijanis who had voted for Armenia's entry during the 2009 contest were summoned for questioning at the Ministry of National Security in Baku, during which they were accused of being "unpatriotic" and "a potential security threat". This incident initiated an EBU investigation that resulted in a change to the Eurovision rules to allow a country's participating broadcaster to be liable "for any disclosure of information which could be used to identify voters". Despite the conflict, Armenia gave Azerbaijan 1 point in the final, the only time the two countries have exchanged points
Broadcast delays in Spain
Due to its commitments to broadcast the Madrid Open tennis tournament, Spanish broadcaster Televisión Española (TVE) broadcast the second semifinal on a tape delay on its channel La 2, approximately 66 minutes after the show began in Moscow. As a result of the tape delay, the broadcaster also utilized a backup jury rather than televoting to decide its votes. TVE had already switched to voting in the second semi-final due to another scheduling conflict, which had already sparked criticism from the neighboring Andorran and Portuguese delegations, who stated that a Spanish vote would have positively influenced their performance in the first semifinal.
On the day following the semi-final, local newspaper El Mundo speculated that RTVE may have administered the delay on purpose in order to prevent Spain from winning the contest, claiming that the broadcaster would not be ready to host the contest if Spain were to win. A statement in ABC had cited technical difficulties for the delay.
After the semi-finals, the EBU announced that Spain would face sanctions for their actions in the contest, but also stated that their participation in the 2009 contest in Moscow would not be affected. The Spanish entry, "La noche es para mí", did not fare well in the contest itself, placing 24th during the finals.
Georgian entry disqualification and withdrawal
After being placed to compete in the first semi-final on 12 May, a national final was held in Georgia to select its entry. The selected entry, Stefane & 3G with "We Don't Wanna Put In" gained coverage and controversy due to perceived political connotations within its lyrics relating to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The EBU rejected the song due to these political connotations, calling it a clear breach of the contest's rules. The EBU then asked the Georgian broadcaster Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) on 10 March to change either the lyrics of the song, or to select a new song to compete for the country. GPB refused to change the lyrics or the song, claiming that the song contained no political references, and that the rejection by the EBU was due to political pressure from Russia. As such, GPB withdrew Georgia from the contest on 11 March. The band admitted the political content of the song and their intention was just to embarrass Putin in Moscow.
LGBT protests
Russian gay rights activist Nikolai Alekseev used the contest's presence in Russia as a platform for promoting the country's position on the rights of LGBT people, countering Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov's view that homosexuality is satanic. Alekseev announced that the 2009 edition of Moscow Pride, the city's annual gay pride parade, would coincide with the finals on 16 May, the day before the International Day Against Homophobia. The parade was also renamed "Slavic Pride", to promote gay rights and culture across the entire Slavic region of Europe. The parade was denied authorisation by Moscow officials on the basis that it would "destroy morals in society" and statements were issued stating that protesters would be treated "toughly", and that "tough measures" would be faced by anyone joining the march.
The rally was broken up by Moscow police, and 20 protesters were arrested including Nikolai Alekseev and human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who exclaimed that "this shows the Russian people are not free" as he was taken away by police. Sweden's representative Malena Ernman supported the cause saying that she is not homosexual herself but would be proud to call herself gay to support her fans, stating that she was sad that the Moscow government would not allow a "tribute to love" to occur. The winner of the contest, Norway's Alexander Rybak, also referred to the controversy in an interview when he called the Eurovision Song Contest itself the "biggest gay parade".
The Dutch group De Toppers made news by member Gordon threatening to boycott the final if the gay parade was violently beaten down. However, the group's failure to qualify for the final left this threat redundant.
Other awards
In addition to the main winner's trophy, the Marcel Bezençon Awards and the Barbara Dex Award were contested during the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest. The OGAE, "General Organisation of Eurovision Fans" voting poll also took place before the contest.
Marcel Bezençon Awards
The Marcel Bezençon Awards, organised since 2002 by Sweden's then-Head of Delegation and 1992 representative Christer Björkman, and 1984 winner Richard Herrey, honours songs in the contest's final. The awards are divided into three categories: the Artistic Award, the Composers Award, and the Press Award.
OGAE
OGAE, an organisation of over forty Eurovision Song Contest fan clubs across Europe and beyond, conducts an annual voting poll first held in 2002 as the Marcel Bezençon Fan Award. After all votes were cast, the top-ranked entry in the 2009 poll was also the winner of the contest, Norway's "Fairytale" performed by Alexander Rybak; the top five results are shown below.
Barbara Dex Award
The Barbara Dex Award is a humorous fan award given to the worst dressed artist each year. Named after Belgium's representative who came last in the 1993 contest, wearing her self-designed dress, the award was handed by the fansite House of Eurovision from 1997 to 2016 and is being carried out by the fansite songfestival.be since 2017.
Official album
Eurovision Song Contest: Moscow 2009 was the official compilation album of the 2009 contest, put together by the European Broadcasting Union and released by EMI Records and CMC International on 11 May 2009. The album featured all 42 songs that entered in the 2009 contest, including the semi-finalists that failed to qualify into the grand final.
Charts
Notes and references
Notes
References
External links
Eurovision Song Contest official site
Lyrics from Diggiloo Thrush
2009
Music festivals in Russia
2009 in Russia
2009 in Moscow
Music in Moscow
2009 song contests
May 2009 events in Europe
Events in Moscow | en |
doc-en-10082 | The Knights Templar trace their beginnings to the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem in when nine Christian knights, under the auspices of King Baldwin II and the Patriarch Warmund, were given the task of protecting pilgrims on the roads to Jerusalem, which they did for nine years until elevated to a military order at the Council of Troyes in 1129. They became an elite fighting force in the Crusades known for their propensity not to retreat or surrender.
Eventually, their rules of secrecy, their power, privileges and their wealth, made them vulnerable to the King of France's accusations and, with the Pope's unsuccessful attempts to prevent it, their destruction. The Templar leader, Master Jacques de Molay had recently come to France for meetings with the pope. In 1307, members of the Templar order in France were suddenly charged with heresy and arrested. In France, many ultimately, including their leader, were burned at the stake while others were sentenced to perpetual imprisonment. The events in France led to a series of trials in other locations, not all of which had the same outcome.
Humble origins
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Jesus Christ, commonly known as the Knights Templar, originally began c.1120, when a group of eight Christian Knights approached Warmund, Patriarch of Jerusalem and requested permission to defend the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Baldwin II of Jerusalem gave them quarters in the Temple of Solomon. Hugues de Payens was elected their master and the Patriarch Warmund charged them with the duty of keeping the roads safe from thieves and others who were routinely robbing and killing pilgrims en route to Jerusalem, which they did for nine years until the Council of Troyes in 1129, when they became a military order sanctioned by the Church encouraged substantially by the patronage of Bernard of Clairvaux, a leading churchman of the time. The Rule of the Order was based on that of the Cistercian Order, that of obedience, poverty and chastity. Their role was eventually expanded to fight in the Crusades. The Crusades wound down, and were eventually expelled from the area.
Throughout these years, the Templar Order became wealthy and powerful. They received massive donations of money, manors, churches, even villages and the revenues thereof, from Kings and European nobles interested in helping with the fight for the Holy Land. The Templars, by order of the Pope, were exempt from all taxes, tolls and tithes, their houses and churches were given the right to asylum and were exempt from feudal obligations. They were answerable only to the Pope.
Events in France
Prelude
While the Templars had started off well and were at times considered the model of Christian knighthood, it was not long before resentment of their privileges, of their being "rich as kings", and criticism of some of their actions in war began to surface. For example, at the siege of Damascus in 1148, the Templars as well as the Hospitallers were accused of accepting bribes to convince King Conrad III of Germany to abandon the effort. There was other criticism of their actions as well. Following the disastrous battle at the Horns of Hattin and the subsequent fall of Jerusalem, which some blamed on the Templars; they were left with almost no discernible military purpose in the Holy Land. Other critics also questioned their morals. The chronicler William of Tyre was often critical of the order and in one instance accused them of ransoming Nasr-al-Din, the sultan's son, for six thousand gold florins. When the Grand Master Odo de St Amand died in 1179, William called him "a wicked man, haughty and arrogant, in whose nostrils dwelt the spirit of a fury, one who neither feared God nor revered man" and that he was "mourned by no one". When the Templars took up banking and lending the criticism only increased. Both Walter Map and John of Salisbury accused the Templars of avarice. Matthew Paris sometimes praised them while at other times was severely critical of the Templars. The loss of the last foothold in Syria, Tortosa in 1302, was yet another failure that left them vulnerable to their critics. As the obvious surprise and shock of their arrests in 1307 indicate, nobody thought the Order was flawed to the point it needed disbanding.
During this time period the power of the papacy had declined and most of the popes of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries found themselves either fleeing Rome or not allowed to enter at all. Also at this time antipopes backed by the German Emperors were common fixtures in the Emperors' bitter struggle with the Church. One of the last thirteenth century popes was Peter Morrone, an old man selected to be pope as a compromise, who as Pope Celestine V proved too old and too ineffective to rule the Church and upon realizing this himself, he abdicated. This caused a tremendous protest throughout the western Church and had a divisive effect on the next pope, Boniface VIII. Pope Boniface was in many ways the opposite of his predecessor in that he was very capable, determined and even bold, but many held that a pope could not abdicate and that Celestine remained the true pope. Boniface in turn captured the old pope, who had sought nothing more than to retire in peace, imprisoning him until his death in 1296. Boniface VIII continued to impose his control on secular authorities, Edward I of England and Philip IV of France, who both protested against his authority, but Philip IV of France proved his most formidable opponent. Philip attempted to tax the church, which Boniface refused, beginning a long series of struggles between the two. Finally in 1303 Guillaume de Nogaret, Philip IV's lawyer drew up a list of 29 charges including black magic, sodomy, heresy and blasphemy against Pope Boniface. In turn Boniface announced that he intended to place the kingdom of France under interdict. This threat to Philip might have led to revolution so de Nogaret and Sciarra Colonna leading a force of 1600 men attacked Anagni, where the pope was in residence, captured Boniface and for three days held him prisoner. After four days however the residents of Anagni rose up and expelled the invaders and took Boniface to Rome in triumph. But the ordeal had been too much for the 86‑year‑old pope and he died days later. Philip IV was determined not to have a pope interfere with his plans again and after a year the conclave was still unable to decide, so an outsider was suggested in the person of Bernard de Goth, Archbishop of Bordeaux. He had been a supporter of Boniface, but Philip arranged a meeting promising to support him as pope if he would certain conditions, including reconciliations between France and the Church and absolution for any of Philip's men who had fought and captured Boniface. Bernard de Goth became Pope Clement V on 14 November 1305.
Philip IV of France, like his predecessors, employed Templars in his royal treasury in Paris to oversee a variety of financial functions of the French kingdom. There was little to indicate he had less than full trust in their integrity. In 1299, the Order loaned Philip the substantial sum of five hundred thousand livres for the dowry of his sister as well as his need of funds to fight the Flemish War, at which time he imposed taxes until his subjects were in revolt. When he debased the coinage, it led to an insurrection in Paris. The Knight Templar defended and gave the king refuge during the incident. But Philip had a history of seizing property and persons when it suited his needs, such as from the Lombards in 1291 and the Jews in 1306. In a meeting between Grand Master Molay and the pope, in either March or April 1307, the discussion revolved around problems in the order. In turn, in a letter to the King, Clement V told Philip that he intended a full investigation of the Templar order (Latin: on/concerning the state of the Templars) in mid-October later that year. About a week before his planned formal investigation Clement V received a surprising message that members of the order had been arrested, imprisoned and charged with heresy by an inquisition the pope had not convened.
Plan and the arrest
On 14 September 1307, all bailiffs and seneschals in the kingdom of France were sent secret orders from King Philip IV ordering preparations to be made for the arrest and imprisonment of all members of the Order of Templars; the arrests were to be executed a month later. At dawn on 13 October 1307, the soldiers of King Philip IV then captured all Templars found in France. Clement V, initially incensed at this flagrant disregard for his authority, nonetheless relented, and on 22 November 1307 issued a papal decree ordering all monarchs of the Christian faith to arrest all Templars and confiscate their lands in the name of the Pope and the Church. The order went out to England, Iberia, Germany, Italy and Cyprus. The leader, Templar Grand Master Jacques de Molay, and Hughes de Pairaud, a Templar, referred to in various documents as "the visitor of France", who was the collector of all of the royal revenues of France owing to the Order, were both arrested, as were many other Templars in France.
Philip used his ministers and agents Guillaume de Nogaret and Enguerrand de Marigny who collected a list of charges against the Templars. Other witnesses were said to have been made up of expelled Templar members, previously removed for their misdeeds. Under the orders of the French king, they were arrested and severely tortured.
Soon after, in 1307, the Pope sent two cardinals to interview Jacques de Molay and Hugues de Pairaud. At that time they recanted their confessions and told the other Templars to do the same.
The specific charge of heresy
Several significant changes in legal procedures had been made by 1230 that affected later trials, especially those of the Templars. No longer did a witness need fear reprisals if his accusations were proved untrue. Instead, a new system relying on the testimony of witnesses, judicial latitudes and the inquisitorial procedure began to dominate criminal trials in most of Europe. In France, the issuance of Cupientes in 1229 by Louis IX of France, Philip's grandfather, gave the kings of France the duty to eliminate heresy in his kingdom. Additionally, from 1230 on, the inquisitors in northern Italy had been given special powers by Pope Honorius III which allowed them to examine even the exempted and protected orders of the Hospitallers, Cistercians and Templars, but only in cases where heresy was suspected. When the Albigensian Crusade was over, these special powers were never revoked but simply forgotten. Philip's royal lawyers concentrated their charges on this one vulnerable exception, that of heresy, to an otherwise untouchable order, one which answered only to the Pope.
Charges against the Templars
The initial charge against the Templars was heresy; more specifically "when professing, the brothers were required to deny Christ, to spit on the Cross, and to place three 'obscene kisses' on the lower spine, the navel and the mouth; they were obliged to indulge in carnal relations with other members of the order, if requested; and finally they wore a small belt which had been consecrated by touching a strange idol, which looked like a human head with a long beard." On August 12, 1308, the charges would be increased stating that the Templars worshipped idols, specifically made of a cat and a head, the latter having three faces. The lists of articles 86 to 127[3] would add many other charges. None of these "idols" were ever produced.
The inquisitional trials
Of the various trials held in France, the first, and one of the larger trials, ran from 19 October to 24 November 1307 and was held in Paris. A total of 138 prisoners gave a full testimony and almost all admitted guilt to one or more charges. Since torture was used to elicit these confessions, the reliability of their testimony before this and other inquisitional tribunals remains an open question. What is known is these earlier confessions contradicted later testimony before the 1310 papal commissions in Paris. Another important trial that was held at Poitiers between 28 June and 2 July 1308 where at least 54 Templars testified before the pope and his commission of cardinals. Here too a considerable number of defendants confessed to one or more of the charges. When asked if their statements were freely given many said that, while they had been tortured or threatened, restricted to bread and water and other forms of harsh treatments had been imposed on them, their confessions were not the results of any torture. But in 1310 at least three said they had lied in front of the Pope and now wished to defend the order.
Templar Peter (Pierre) of Bologna was trained as a canon lawyer and was the Templar representative to the papal court in Rome. On April 23, 1310, Peter, with others, went before the commission and demanded what amounts to full disclosure of their accusers and all the information and evidence gathered in the case. They also requested a ban on witnesses conversing with one another, and that all proceedings should be kept secret until they were sent to the Pope. In May 1310, the Archbishop of Sens, Philippe de Marigny, took over the trial of the Templars from the original commission. De Marigny conducted the proceedings against the Templars until his death in 1316. Pope Clement V interceded and directed that actual trials take place; however, Philip sought to thwart this effort, and had several Templars burned at the stake as heretics to prevent their participation in the trials. Two days after this change, 54 Templars were burned outside of Paris. When the papal commission met on November 3, 1310, they found the Templars had no defenders and adjourned until December 27. At this time the prisoners insisted that Peter de Bologna and Renaud de Provins again defend them but were told the two priests had appeared before the commission of the Archbishop of Sens and that both de Provins and de Bologna were found guilty and had been imprisoned. Peter de Bologna, however, had managed to escape his confinement.
Recantation and death of Templar leaders in France
Eventually King Philip's Inquisitors succeeded in making Jacques de Molay confess to the charges. On 18 March 1314, de Molay and de Charney recanted their confessions, stating they were innocent of the charges and they were only guilty of betraying their Order by confessing under duress to something they had not done. They were immediately found guilty of being relapsed heretics, for which the punishment was death. This effectively silenced the other Templars. Philip continued to pressure and threaten the Pope to officially disband the Order, and things came to a dramatic end in 1314 with the public execution by burning of leader Jacques de Molay and Geoffroi de Charney.
Trial timeline in France
*Source for the majority of timeline: Malcolm Barber, Trials p 258
Outcome
After commissions of the Council of Vienne had reviewed all documents regarding the Templars, on 22 March 1312 Clement V issued the Papal bull Vox in excelso suppressing the Order of the Templars. In May 1312 by the bull Ad Providam provided that all assets of the Order of the Temple were to be given to Knights Hospitaller, to maintain the original purposes of the gifts to aid the Holy Land. It further made a distinction between Templars who remained unrepentant and those not found guilty of any crimes or who had been reconciled to the Church. Philip IV, however, confiscated a huge sum from them in "compensation" for the "costs" of the proceedings against the Templars. Also, in England where inventories were made of Templar lands and assets, the papal order had no immediate effect. There were so many delays and stalling in handing over these lands that even as late as 1338 the Hospitallers had only nominal control of former Templar lands.
Trials in England, Ireland and Scotland
In 1307, the Templar Order in the British Isles was thought to be rich in possessions but few in members. At the time of the arrest of the Templars in France, Edward II doubted the accusations against the Order and summoned Guienne de Dene, his seneschal in Agen to give his account of the matter. Upon reading the report Edward was still unconvinced and on October 30 sent letters to Pope Clement V, and to the Kings of Portugal, Castile, Aragon and Sicily defending the Order of the Templars and encouraged them to do the same. Edward then wrote again to the Pope on December 10 in which he states: "...he is unable to credit the horrible charges against the Knights Templar who everywhere bear a good name in England". He also requests more proof of the accusations and noted that the financial and other dealings between the English Monarchy and the Templars had always been straightforward and honest, and that they had fought alongside King Richard in the defense of the Holy Land. On December 20, 1307, he received the order from the Pope to arrest the Templars. Edward finally issued orders to his officers to arrest all Templars in England, Ireland and Scotland, and to confiscate and inventory all their properties. But despite the Pope's order, Edward went about the handling of the Templars in a very different way than Philip. Many Templars were allowed an easy confinement, received allowances and remained in relative comfort. In 1308 the situation changed with the exile of Edward's favorite, Piers Gaveston. Edward requested help from both Clement V and Philip IV in order to have Gaveston returned to England. In turn it was perhaps more than coincidental he hardened his attitude towards the Templars.
On September 13, 1309, two Inquisitors were brought to England and allowed to question the Templars but in the presence of English prelates and as of November 1309, none of the Templars would confess to the charges. At that time torture was rarely used in England, while the legal system was well-formed and used regular jurors as opposed to the "professional witness, accusers and jurors" frequently used by Philip as tools to enforce his will. In December, the Pope put pressure on England and other countries to allow the Inquisitors to use "their" methods, namely "torture", and reluctant approval was given by the King of England. The conditions that the Templars were living in were radically changed and, as with continued pressure by the Pope and Inquisition on the King and local prelates, the inevitable result was obtained. The English Templars were sent to the Count of Ponthieu which did not adhere to English Law. Various confessions, different in many ways, were nonetheless obtained and the Templars were either executed or sent to prison for life.
Two Templars, both from England, were examined by the Bishop of St. Andrews in Scotland and ended up with confessions of minor offenses, while in Ireland, fourteen Templars subjected to three trials netted likewise minor confessions that amounted to nothing.
Trials in Cyprus
The Templars, along with the Hospitallers had moved their main bases of operations to Cyprus after the fall of Acre in 1291. The Hospitallers, however, attacked and in 1308 captured the island of Rhodes and moved their headquarters there leaving Cyprus to the Templars. This made Cyprus of particular importance to the pope since it was now the Templar base of operations. In May 1308 a letter from the pope was brought to Cyprus by Prior Hayden which ordered the arrest of all the Templars on the island. Amalric, Prince of Tyre was ruling Cyprus at the time and had overthrown his brother Henry II of Cyprus with the help of the Templars. Amalric was slow to implement the arrests giving the Templar knights ample time to prepare their defenses. But in June the Templars surrendered, their properties and treasure seized, and they were held at Khirokitia and later Yermasoyia, then finally Pano Lefkara, where they remained for three years. May 1310 found king Henry II restored to his throne and unlike his brother he complied with the pope's demands to bring them to trial. They seemed to have received a fair trial in spite of Henry II's dislike for the order. All seventy-six Templars denied the charges and numerous witnesses testified as to their innocence. The trials ended in acquitting all Templars of all charges. The pope demanded Henry II hold new trials and sent a personal delegate, Dominic of Palestrina to insure the pope's wishes were carried out. The result of the 1311 trials was not recorded but they were still in prison when the pope decreed the order to disband the order and transfer all their possessions to the Hospitallers. But the Hospitallers received the properties only, the treasure and movable goods were retained by Cypriot authorities to cover the unusually high costs of the trials. The leaders were never released and died in prison.
Events in Germany
The records in Germany of Templars, not nearly as numerous in Germany as in France, drew little attention in German annals and chronicles. Proving how little was actually known in Germany regarding the demise of the Templars, one annalist recorded the Templars were destroyed, with the approval of Emperor Henry, for their collusion with the Saracens and for the reason they intended to establish a new empire for themselves. The writers weren't even aware of the actual charges leveled by Philip IV of France. But in a letter by the German king, Albert I of Germany dated 13 January 1308 replying to Philip IV of France, the king expressed himself regarding the arrests of the Templars. He wrote 'although a crime of such evil infamy ought to be reprehensible and damnable in all persons, nevertheless it is known to be more reprehensible among the religious, who ought by the splendour of their life to be mirror for others and an example'.
The actions taken against Templars in Germany varied by provence. Burchard III of Magdeburg, already hostile towards Templars, returned from the papal court in 1307 reinstated Christendom by Pope Clement, and in 1308, ordered the Templars in his province seized. He had some Templars burned and then attempted to keep their property for himself which led to a war with the Templars. In 1318, the Hospitallers had still not received the Templar property from him and as Clement was dead, they complained to Pope John XXII. Despite the orders of the papal bull issued in 1307, and other than the events in Magdeburgh, the papal orders received little attention in Germany. At times witnesses found the Templars innocent though the Pope was adamant.
In 1310 at Trier near Luxembourg, an inquest with seventeen witnesses, including three Templars, was heard. Though their property was seized, they were acquitted. At Mainz, the Templars' leaders testified that since the crosses on the mantle of the Templars did not burn, it was a miracle and a sign of their innocence. Despite mounting pressure, popular opinion stayed with the Templars. Though they were told by the Pope to go back and do their work, the result again was acquittal.
Events in Spain and Portugal
After the infamous trials of the Templars in France and the subsequent orders of Pope Clement V to dissolve the order, most countries complied, ceding Templar lands to the Hospitallers. Kings Denis of Portugal and James II of Aragon both proclaimed they found no fault of heresy, blasphemy or immorality in the Templars in their respective realms. This was not surprising since the Templars had become key to the success of the Reconquista in Aragon and Portugal and their vast holdings were critical to the continued security of these kingdoms. Ceding the Templar holdings to the Hospitallers posed a threat of foreign control of significant portions of both countries. Both kings sought to circumvent these outcomes and in Aragon King James convinced Pope John XXII in 1317 to form the Order of Montesa which received the bulk of Templar lands in Aragon and Valencia. In Portugal, the result of long negotiations with the pope by King Denis resulted in the formation of another new order, the Order of Christ formed in 1320, which saw not only the vast holdings in Portugal ceded to this new order, but also a great number of Templars themselves quietly joined the order. The problems caused by the downfall of the Knights Templar Orders in Valencia and Portugal were solved by the creation of two new orders, the difference being the Order of Montesa was given Templar and Hospitaller lands while the Order of Christ was simply a transition of the Templars and their holdings in Portugal.
The Chinon Parchment
Pope Clement V absolved 72 of the Knights Templar in July 1308 at Poitiers after hearing their confessions. However, King Philip still withheld access to the leaders of the Order and it was not until August 1308 that a papal commission finally was allowed to hear from them and also grant them absolution. The evidence of these hearings has been based on indirect evidence until the discovery of the Chinon parchment in September 2001 by Barbara Frale in the Vatican Archives. The document had been previously overlooked by Vatican researchers for some time due to its damaged condition and being misfiled among other unrelated documents. The importance of the Chinon parchment is that it is an authentic copy under the seal of three of the cardinals sent by Clement V, Bérenger Fredoli, Etienne de Suisy and Landolfo Brancacci, who were authorized to judge the Templars in his name. There was another account of the trials at Chinon, namely a second-hand report held in the French Chancery, described in the register of Pierre d'Étampes, which was the only available account up until the discovery of the original parchment (and its authentic copy) in the Vatican archives. A comparison between the two shows the French copy provides a somewhat different account of events at Chinon. The Chinon parchment shows the hearings were held by the Church only and that royal lawyers were not present, while the French document gives a different impression, that the official proceedings were held under the auspices of the Pope and the French king. Other discrepancies between the two lead to the conclusion that the French document was an indirect copy based on verbal accounts and not from having access to the original parchment. There is one unresolved question as to the chronology, however. In the bull Faciens misericordiam (showing mercy) the Clement V announced to Philip IV that Jacques de Molay and the other Templar leaders were absolved and reconciled to the Church; and that any power to judge them again was reserved to the Pope alone. This bull was dated 12 August 1308, eight days before the hearings with these leaders was actually held. Whether this was an internal error in dating or the Pope was certain of the outcome before the hearings is not known and needs to be investigated further. While it remains less than clear as to what exactly happened at Chinon castle between 17–20 August 1308, further investigations may provide new answers.
Notes
References
Further reading
Alain Demurger, La persécution des templiers. Journal, 1307-1314, Paris, Payot & Rivage, 2015.
Sean L. Field, "Royal Agents and Templar Confessions in the Bailliage of Rouen", French Historical Studies, 39/1, 2016, p. 35–71.
Sean L. Field, "Torture and Confession in the Templar Interrogations at Caen, 28-29 October 1307", Speculum, 91/2, 2016, p. 297–327.
Addison, C. G., The Knights Templar History New York; Macoy Publishing and Masonic Supply Co. 1912. (reprinted 1978)
Julien Théry, "Philip the Fair, the Trial of the 'Perfidious Templars' and the Pontificalization of the French Monarchy", in Journal of Medieval Religious Culture, 39/2 (2013), pp. 117-148, online
Julien Théry-Astruc, "The Flight of the Master of Lombardy (13 February 1308) and Clément V's Strategy in the Templar Affair : A Slap in the Pope's Face", Rivista di storia della Chiesa in Italia, 70/1 (2016), p. 35-44, online.
Knights Templar
Trials in France
Inquisition
Catholicism in the Middle Ages | en |
doc-en-6169 | Niddah (or nidah; ), in traditional Judaism, describes a woman who has experienced a uterine discharge of blood (most commonly during menstruation), or a woman who has menstruated and not yet completed the associated requirement of immersion in a mikveh (ritual bath).
In the Book of Leviticus, the Torah prohibits sexual intercourse with a niddah. The prohibition has been maintained in traditional Jewish law and by the Samaritans. It has largely been rejected by adherents of Reform Judaism and other liberal branches.
In rabbinic Judaism, additional stringencies and prohibitions have accumulated over time, increasing the scope of various aspects of niddah, including: duration (12 day minimum); expanding to prohibition against sex to include: sleeping in adjoining beds, any physical contact, and even passing objects to any male, including ones spouse; and requiring a detailed ritual purification process.
Since the late 19th century, with the influence of German Modern Orthodoxy, the laws concerning niddah are also referred to as taharat hamishpacha (, Hebrew for family purity), an apologetic euphemism coined to deemphasize the impurity of the woman (a concept criticized by the Reform movement) and to exhort the masses by warning that niddah can have consequences on the purity of offspring.
Etymology and usage
Niddah has the general meaning of “expulsion” and “elimination”, coming from the root ndd, "to make distant" (the Aramaic Bible translations use use the root rhq, "to be distant"), reflecting the physical separation of women during their menstrual periods, who were “discharged” and “excluded” from society by being banished to and quarantined in separate quarters. Later in the biblical corpus, this meaning was extended to include concepts of sin and impurity, which may be related to ancient attitudes towards menstruation.
Literally, the feminine noun niddah means moved (i.e. separated), and generally refers to separation due to ritual impurity. Medieval Biblical commentator Abraham ibn Ezra writes that the word niddah is related to the term menadechem (), meaning those that cast you out.
Hebrew Bible
The noun niddah occurs 25 times in the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible. The majority of these uses refer to forms of uncleanliness in Leviticus. For example, in Leviticus, if a man take his brother's wife, then that is "uncleanness", niddah. The five uses in Numbers all concern the red heifer ceremony () and use the phrase mei niddah, "waters of separation". includes a single exhortation of Hezekiah to the Levites, to carry forth the niddah (translated: "filthiness"), possibly idols of his father Ahaz, out of the temple in Jerusalem. Usage in Ezekiel follows that of Leviticus. Finally, the Book of Zechariah concludes with an eschatological reference to washing Jerusalem: "In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin (ḥaṭ’at) and for uncleanness (niddah)" ().
Rabbinic injunctions
The copious laws of niddah contained in the Jewish rabbinic writings are almost entirely made-up of "fences" (), or safeguards, built around the Torah. The general rule which applies is that a woman is clean from the standpoint of the Torah until she feels uterine blood discharge from its source within her body. However, the rabbis have declared a woman to be unclean although she has not felt any discharge of blood, but has merely seen either a red or black blood stain on her body, or on her white garment or sheet, and which blood stain is larger in diameter than a fava bean (about 20 mm), in which case she must separate herself from her husband until she can complete seven clean days and can be purified in a ritual bath (mikveh). A blood stain that is a dark brown color leaning towards the color of coffee and the color of chestnuts defiles a woman and renders her niddah, on the condition that she feels its discharge. However, if she saw the same color while checking herself with an inspection cloth, but had not felt any discharge of blood, she is clean. Conversely, a vaginal discharge that is white in color, or either light yellow, green or blueish in color, do not render the woman niddah. There are, yet, many other conditions that need to be met, by rabbinic ordinances, in order to render uncleanness to a blood stain.
The daughters of Israel have behaved stringently with themselves, insofar that even if they should see a drop of blood as a mustard grain, they would wait over it seven days of cleannessMaimonides (1974), Hil. Issurei Bi'ah 11:3–4
Although the Written Law () explicitly enjoins women to count seven days of cleanness (see infra) when they have seen irregular blood sightings (the irregularity occurring only from the eighth day of the start of her regular period and ending with the conclusion of the eighteenth day), the Sages of Israel have required all women who have experienced even their regular and natural purgation to count seven days of cleanness before they can be purified.
Application of the Torah
The Leviticus description of niddah is essentially composed of two parts: the ritual purity (tumah and taharah) aspect and the prohibition of sexual intercourse aspect.
Ritual purity aspect
The Biblical regulations of Leviticus specify that a menstruating woman must "separate" for seven days (). Any object she sits on or lies upon during this period is becomes a "carrier of tumah" (midras uncleanness). One who comes into contact with her midras, or her, during this period becomes ritually impure () In addition, a man who has sexual relations with her is rendered ritually impure for seven days—as opposed to one day of impurity for coming into contact with her or her midras ().
While the purity laws still exist in theory, in modern times there is generally no practical consequence to becoming impure (as, e.g., the Temple in Jerusalem cannot be visited), so the laws have no practical expression.
Some later rabbinic authorities encouraged (but did not require) avoiding the midras of the niddah, as a remembrance for diasporic Jews so as to not forget the purity laws. This encouragement was only for the Biblically prescribed seven-day period, not the five-day extension due to Rabbi Zeira's stringency. The Lubavitcher rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson discouraged abstaining from the midras of a niddah in modern times.
Sexual relations
Leviticus further prohibits sexual intercourse with a woman who is in her niddah state. "And to a woman in her (state of) niddah impurity you should not come close (with intent to) reveal her nudity" ().
The Torah concludes by imposing the punishment of kareth on both individuals (man and woman) if the prohibition is violated () This issur (prohibition) component of physical relations with the niddah is considered in full effect and mandatory for all children of Israel.
Practical laws
Terms and definitions
Zavah, a woman having an abnormal bloody emission
Niddah, a woman emitting blood as a result of menstruation; more generally, a woman who has an impure status due to either niddah or zavah blood who has not yet purified herself by immersion in a mikveh
Mikveh, a ritual bath for immersion after the niddah period has ended
Vestot, days during which the woman is likely to see her menstrual flow
Onah Benonit, the 30th day after the beginning of previous menstruation
Veset HaChodesh, the same day of the Jewish month on which began the previous menstruation
Veset HaFlagah, the days (or half-days, per Chabad minhag) between menstruation
Bedikah, cloth with which to check whether menstrual blood has finished
Ben niddah (male) or bat niddah (female), a person conceived when their mother was niddah
Start of menstruation
According to rabbinical law, a woman becomes a niddah when she is aware that blood has come from her womb, whether it is due to menstruation, childbirth, sexually transmitted disease, or other reasons. If menstruation began before she sees evidence of it, the rabbinic regulations regard her as not being niddah until she notices. Until this point, the regulations do not come into force.
It is not necessary for the woman to witness the flow of blood itself; it is sufficient for her to notice a stain that has indications of having originated in her womb; bloodstains alone are inadequate without such evidence, for example, if she finds a stain just after cutting her finger, she does not become a niddah, as the blood is not obviously uterine. If she notices a bloodstain of uncertain origin, for example on her underclothing, there are a series of complicated criteria used by rabbinical law to determine whether she is niddah or not; the woman herself is not expected to know these criteria, and must seek the assistance of a rabbi.
Duration of niddah status
According to the Torah, the niddah period is 7 days; however, in Ashkenazi communities, the Rabbis added a stringency increasing the minimum duration period to 12 days. (See section "Seven days of cleanness" for differences in custom).
The Biblical definition of niddah is any blood emission occurring within seven days from the beginning of the menstrual period. After this seven-day period, the woman may immerse in the mikveh immediately (if she has stopped menstruating). Any blood found after these seven days is considered abnormal (zavah) blood and is subject to more stringent requirements, depending on the duration of said abnormal blood flow.
In the days of the Amoraim, because of possible confusion in determining when menstruation began and ended and hence whether blood was normal menstrual (niddah) or abnormal (zavah) blood, it became the accepted practice and practical halacha, that all women treat any emission as a continued abnormal flow (zavah gedolah—זבה גדולה), which requires counting seven abnormal-discharge-free days from the end of menstruation. This lengthening of the niddah period is known as Rabbi Zeira's stringency. All Orthodox and some Conservative authorities rule that these "seven clean days" must be observed.
Practices during niddah
In the Orthodox Jewish community, women may test whether menstruation has ceased; this ritual is known as the hefsek taharah. The woman takes a bath or shower near sunset, wraps a special cloth around her finger, and swipes the vaginal circumference. If the cloth shows only discharges that are white, yellow, or clear, then menstruation is considered to have ceased. If discharge is red or pink, it indicates that menstruation continues. If it is any other color, like brown, it is subject to further inquiry, often involving consultation with a rabbi. The ritual requires that the cloth used to perform this test is first checked carefully to ensure that it is clean of any marks, colored threads, or specks; the cloth itself can be any clean white cloth, although there are small cloths designed for this ritual, known as bedikah cloths (meaning checking).
In the Orthodox Jewish community, further rituals are practiced toward assurance regarding the cessation of the menstrual flow. After the hefsek taharah, some women insert a cloth (or, in modern times, a tampon), consequently known as a moch dachuk, for between 18 minutes and an hour, to ensure that there is absolutely no blood; this must be done carefully, as it could otherwise irritate the mucous membrane, causing bleeding unrelated to menstruation. If there is any fear of irritation causing bleeding, a rabbi may waive this practice. The "bedikah" is repeated each morning and evening of the seven days after the end of menstruation. Another tradition is the wearing of white underwear and use of white bedding during this period; conversely, the rest of the time, when not counting the "seven clean days", some women who suffer from spotting deliberately use coloured underwear and colored toilet paper, since it is only when blood is seen on white material that it has any legal status in Jewish law. When not during their seven "clean" days, all women are advised to wear colored undergarments, for this reason. It is furthermore strongly recommended that women make an effort to refrain from looking at the toilet paper after wiping to avoid possible resultant questions.
Physical contact during niddah
As with most forbidden relationships in Judaism, all physical contact in an affectionate or lustful manner is rabbinically forbidden when a woman is in her niddah status. Such contact is forbidden whether or not the man and woman are husband and wife.
In the case of husband and wife, however, the sages added on extra restrictions, including touch that is not in an affectionate or lustful manner, passing of objects even without touching, and sleeping in the same bed; these restrictions are to avoid the risk of leading to sexual contact. These laws are termed harchakot, meaning "the laws of separation," and imply the prohibitive rules regulating the passing of objects from hand to hand, as well as to taking distinctive measures used to remind them of their separation, such as placing some object at the dinner table which is not ordinarily placed there. The laws of separation (harchakot) are derived from a biblical command: "You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness so long as she is separated for her [menstrual] uncleanness" (). Some have suggested that by physically distancing oneself from his spouse there is an enhanced need for relationships to develop in non-physical ways, such as emotional and spiritual connections.
Some Conservative poseks are considerably more lenient in reference to the harchakot than Medieval or contemporary Orthodox authorities. In a responsum written in the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Rabbinical Assembly, Miriam Berkowitz ruled that the "harchakot are to be observed as much as possible, but left up to the discretion of each couple". In another responsum for the committee, Susan Grossman stated that touching that would be appropriate between siblings is permissible.
The classical regulations also forbid sexual relations on the day that a woman expects to start menstruating; there are three days that fall under this regulation, known as the veset, namely the same day of the month as her previous menstruation began; the day exactly 30 days after the previous menstruation started; and the day that is the usual interval from the end of her previous menstruation. If the woman is not actually menstruating during a veset day, then there are certain circumstances wherein sexual activity is permitted according to most authorities, for example, if a woman's husband is about to travel, and will return only after menstruation has begun.
Seven days of cleanness
When blood from a menstruant (niddah) has ceased altogether, shortly before sunset she performs on herself a "cessation of uncleanness", known by its Hebrew euphemism hefseq be-ṭaharah ( = lit. "cessation of purification"), during which time she checks herself to verify that all uterine bleeding has indeed stopped. This is done by bathing, and, afterwards, inserting a clean piece of white cotton or linen cloth within her vagina and examining it after swiping the area inside, followed by leaving in that place a snugly fitting cotton wad for the duration of about 20 minutes (preferably during the evening twilight). When there are no signs of blood, the woman begins counting seven days of cleanness on the following day, during which seven days she is still prohibited to have any physical contact with her husband. During each of the seven days, the woman checks herself once in the morning and once in the evening, by using a soft and white, absorbent cotton cloth.
In Sephardic Jewish tradition, a woman who has had no physical contact with her husband within the 72 hr. period (3 days) prior to the start of her menstruation, she is permitted to immediately conduct the hefseq be-ṭaharah (see supra) after all uterine bleeding has stopped, and, on the following day, she begins to count seven days of cleanness, which culminate in an immersion. Differences in custom, however, exist between the Ashkenazim and the Sephardic Jewish communities as to when to begin the counting of seven days of cleanness if she cohabited with her husband within those 72 hours (three days) prior to her seeing blood.
Ashkenazim: According to the halachic ruling of Moses Isserles, in all cases, whether a woman cohabited with her husband within the past 72 hours or did not cohabit with her husband, whether the woman saw blood for only 2 or 3 days, or merely a blood stain, she does not begin to count seven days of cleanness until 5 days have passed from the time that she ceased seeing blood, and only then does she proceed to count seven days of cleanness. For example, if she ceased to see blood on a Sunday, she can begin her hefseq be-ṭaharah (see supra) on a Thursday, and then on a Friday to start her first day of seven days of cleanness. These days are not to be interrupted by any blood sighting in-between, and after concluding these seven clean days, she immerses herself in a ritual bath (mikveh) on that coming night. At this time she is no longer a menstruant, but is deemed clean, and she is permitted unto her husband.
Sephardic Jews: For Jews that largely hail from North Africa, Spain, Turkey, and the Middle East (including Iran), they will usually follow the practice of the Shulhan Arukh, which is to wait 4 days from the time the couple last cohabited together (i.e. last time in which they engaged in sexual intercourse) before she begins to count seven days of cleanness. This will allow for the discharge of semen from her body that is suspected of having been mixed with the blood of her menstruation. For example, if the couple last cohabited on a Saturday, and she then saw blood on a Sunday, she can begin her hefseq be-ṭaharah (see supra) on a Tuesday (on the condition that all blood has stopped), and then on a Wednesday to start her first day of seven days of cleanness. These days are not to be interrupted by any blood sighting in-between, and after concluding these seven clean days, she immerses herself in a ritual bath (mikveh) on that coming night. At this time she is no longer a menstruant, but is deemed clean, and she is permitted unto her husband.
For the Sephardic Jewish community, waiting four days before beginning to count seven days of cleanness only refers to when there were conjugal affairs between a man and his wife, leading up to her menstrual period. If, however, there was no sexual intercourse between the couple in the days leading up to her menstrual cycle, and, subsequently, there was no fear of her body discharging of her husband's copulative seed that had been mixed with her menstrual blood, there is no need for her to wait four days, but she may presently begin her hefseq be-ṭaharah (see supra), followed by counting seven days of cleanness. Another factor used to determine when to begin the counting of seven clean days (among Sephardic Jews) is that, had the woman merely found on her an unclean blood stain (where there was no sensation of any active blood flow), after concluding that all such sightings have stopped, she can begin to count seven days of cleanness after two days have passed since the last time she cohabited with her husband. However, among Ashkenazim, even if a woman merely saw an unclean blood stain, when the blood has ceased to appear, she waits 5 days before beginning to count her seven days of cleanness.
Maimonides mentions a former custom where the menstruants of some Jewish communities would wait a standard 7 days before beginning to count seven days of cleanness, even if the woman had seen blood for only one or two days. This custom, though widely practised in the 20th century among the Jews of Yemen, Djerba, parts of Morocco, as also with a few families in Baghdad, was later rejected and abandoned by many, as Maimonides calls it an errant practice.
Niddah and fertility
Because the night that the woman ritually traditionally immerses is about 12 days after menstruation began, it often coincides with a woman's ovulation, and thus improves the chances of successful conception if sexual relations occur on that night. However, for certain women, this period extends far past the date of ovulation, and in combination with the ban on sexual relations during the niddah state, effectively results in the woman being unable to conceive, a situation sometimes called "halachic infertility". In the case of this effective infertility, rabbis try on a case-by-case basis to relax halakhic strictures in order to facilitate conception. There have been some calls within Orthodox Judaism for the custom to be modified so that the time between the end of menstruation and the end of niddah is shorter for these women. Another suggestion is to take hormone tablets to lengthen the ovulation cycle.
Checking by bedikah
The bedikah cloth or "checking cloth", called an eid ["witness"] in Hebrew, is a clean piece of white cloth used in the process of purifying a niddah. It is used by observant Jewish women to determine whether they have finished menstruation. The cloth is inserted into the vagina, and if no blood is found, the woman may start counting the seven blood-free days. On each of these days, she performs this examination in the morning and in the later afternoon before sunset. If no blood is found, she may go to the mikveh on the eighth evening after nightfall, and then engage in intercourse with her husband. Such cloths are about two by four inches, and are available at local Judaica stores, the local mikveh, stores in Orthodox neighborhoods in Israel, or may be cut from clean all-white soft cotton or linen fabric.
This practice is also occasionally used by Jewish men to check if he has gotten blood on himself from his wife after intercourse to determine whether she menstruated during intercourse.
Immersion in water
After a woman has counted seven days of cleanness (see supra), she is then required to immerse in a ritual bath (mikveh) that has been constructed in accordance with the Jewish laws of ritual purity. After concluding her seven days of cleanness, she is not allowed to immerse during the daytime, even on the eighth or ninth days, because of a rule introduced on account of her daughter's immersion () and which was enacted for the sake of conformity, so that the daughter will not see her mother immerse during the daytime and wrongly presume that it was her mother's seventh day of counting, and think that it was alright to immerse on the seventh day before nightfall, without realizing that her mother had already concluded her seven clean days. This enactment, therefore, was to prevent an occasion for miscalculation and stumbling. Even if a woman has no daughter, this rule of immersing only in the night still applies, as the Sages did not make any distinction, but have prohibited all women from immersing themselves during daylight hours of the eighth day, or of any day. Under extenuating circumstances, however, the rabbis have also permitted to immerse in the day, after fully completing seven days of cleanness.
There are differing customs about how many immersions are performed at each visit to a mikveh. It is the custom of many in the Orthodox community to immerse at least twice. Accordingly, they would immerse, recite the blessing, then immerse again. The other opinion states that like other commandments, here too the blessing should be recited before performing the commandment.
Immediate preparation for a mikveh includes a bath or shower wherein every part of the body (including the ears and underneath the nails) is thoroughly washed; plus other routine hygiene practices which include trimming fingernails and toenails, brushing and flossing the teeth, and combing the hair. Prior to every immersion, the woman is required to inspect herself to make sure that there is nothing clinging to her skin and hair that would obstruct the water from making contact with it during her actual immersion, or what is known as ḥaṣīṣah = "interposing objects" (e.g. clay, dough, paint, gum resin, etc.). At the mikveh itself, a female attendant is present to make certain that the woman immerses herself fully, including her hairs. Though that is the attendant's foremost duty, she may also help by checking a woman's back or answer questions regarding proper ritual protocol.
Newlyweds
According to all Orthodox authorities, the first time a virgin has intercourse, she also becomes niddah as a result of her "dam betulim" (Hebrew: "hymenal blood flow"). This is observed even if no blood was discovered. However, a bride counts only four days before performing a hefsek taharah (Hebrew: lit. pause of purity), instead of the usual five. The hefsek taharah simply entails a woman checking herself to make sure that all uterine bleeding has stopped, by inserting a piece of inspection cloth within her vagina and having it come out clean, in order to begin on the following day her seven days of cleanness. Some Conservative authorities rule that a woman is not a niddah in such a case unless uterine bleeding is observed.
Privacy of the niddah process
Out of tzniut (Hebrew for "modesty"), many Orthodox Jews and some Conservative Jews follow a custom of keeping their times of niddah secret from the general public.
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism authorities teach that the laws of family purity are normative and still in force, including the requirement to refrain from sexual relations during niddah, yet there is a difference of opinions over how much other strictures need to be observed, such as whether there should be complete prohibition on any touching during niddah and whether women are required to count seven "clean" days before immersing in the mikveh.
In December 2006, the Rabbinical Assembly's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards passed three responsa discussing the extent of Biblical requirements and continuing applicability of rabbinic prohibitions concerning niddah for Conservative Jews. Each responsum advocated different standards of observance; three responsa were passed as majority opinions - one by Susan Grossman and one by Avram Reisner, the third responsum, by Miriam Berkowitz.
The majority of orthodox rabbis contend that the seven days of cleanness still apply to all menstruant women today, even though it is only a rabbinic injunction. According to two lesser opinions representing the movement of Conservative Judaism, one by Grossman and the other by Reisner, whose views are not shared by orthodox Jewish circles, the "seven clean days" need not be observed today and women may immerse and resume sexual relations after seven days from the beginning of menstruation, or after its cessation, if it lasts longer than seven days. Grossman and Berkowitz ruled that women may rely on their own discretion about when menstruation has ended, and need not routinely engage in bedikah as described above.
Despite the official stance, the practices related to family purity have often not been widely followed by Conservative Jews. However, in an issue of the United Synagogue Review that focused on issues of mikvah and niddah (published in conjunction with the passing of the responsa mentioned above, in Fall/Winter 2006), Rabbi Myron S. Geller, a member of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, wrote about an upswing in the observance of the laws of family purity within the Conservative Jewish community:
Conservative Judaism has largely ignored this practice in the past, but recently has begun to reevaluate its silence in this area and to consider the spiritual implications of mikvah immersion for human sexuality and for women.
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism and other liberal denominations have largely rejected many of the rituals and prohibitions associated with menstruation, particularly the use of a mikveh.
See also
Culture and menstruation
Jewish views on marriage
Menstruation hut
Mikveh Calendar
Negiah (guidelines for physical contact)
Niddah (Talmud)
Role of women in Judaism
Women in Judaism
Yoetzet Halacha
Further reading
References
Bibliography
(first edition: 2003)
, s.v. Hil. Issurei Bi'ah
, Hil. Niddah and Miqwa'ot
Reisner, Avram (2006), Observing Niddah in Our Day, Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, Rabbinical Assembly
(reprinted in 1974 by Eshkol publishers, Jerusalem )
External links
Medieval Responsa Literature on Niddah: Perspectives of Notions of Tumah by Haviva Ner-David.
Yoatzot.org, "The Women's Health and Halacha Website"
Evyatar Marienberg, "Traditional Jewish Sexual Practices and Their Possible Impact on Jewish Fertility and Demography," Harvard Theological Review 106:3 (2013), pp. 243–286
Evyatar Marienberg, “What is Niddah? Menstruation in Judaism”, Polin: Museum of the History of Polish Jews, Warsaw, November 23, 2017
Jewish marital law
Jewish ritual purity law
Mishnah
Talmud
Menstrual cycle
Judaism and sexuality
Sex segregation and Judaism
Jewish life cycle
Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish law | en |
doc-en-15486 | is a Japanese television series in the Metal Hero Series franchise. It is the sequel to Juukou B-Fighter, taking place five years after the preceding B-Fighter series. Kabuto aired from 1996 to 1997. The action footage and props were used for the Beetleborgs Metallix series.
Plot
Five years after the destruction of Jamahl, Earth has returned to peace again. The Earth Academia has become the , a scientific research organization, where Takuya Kai works with Sage Guru on a new generation of Insect Armor in the event of another threat to the Earth.
This threat is realized when a Cosmo Academia exploration submarine comes across a fissure in the ocean floor, out of which rises a huge flying fortress of the ancient tribe Melzard. This clan has been resting for millennia and seeks to destroy mankind. Matriarch Mother Melzard sends her oldest sons Raija and Dezzle to lead the attack with Raija's Elebamamoth. By then, Guru has infused the Neo Insect Armor with Insect Power, creating the three Command Voicers to link three humans with the armor. Kengo Tachibana and Ran Ayukawa, who have been selected to wear the new armor, ready themselves and become B-Fighter Kuwagar and B-Fighter Tentou. But the person to become B-Fighter Kabuto had not been chosen when the remaining Command Voicer flies out the window. Ran and Kengo follow it to meet Kouhei Toba, a star athlete at his school who is losing badly to Elebammoth who froze the boy's sister as the last Command Voicer flies into his hand. Kengo and Ran are shocked that this high school student is to be B-Fighter Kabuto, but they go to him and teach him how to transform. He changes into Kabuto and the three of them attack Elebammoth and several henchmen, with Kabuto killing Elebammoth.
Refusing to accept defeat, Mother Melzard continues her attacks, with Raija and Dezzle working against each other in their attacks on the B-Fighters.
Characters
New Generation of B-Fighters
is a 17-year-old (later 18 year-old) high-school student at Hijiri Sei High School in the second grade (3rd grade later) who is dragged into the fight. A star athlete, Kouhei is a very courageous fighter, although he is sometimes impetuous. He lives with his younger sister Yui, whom he cares for and overprotects. As Kabuto (and like Blue Beet before him), Kouhei dons armor modeled after a Japanese rhinoceros beetle. Kabuto is the only B-Fighter who can wield the Astral Saber to become one with and gain control of the giant robot, Kabuterios. He is in love with Sophie. After the final battle, He leaves for the United States with Sophie for college studies and training in 2 New York offices of Cosmo Academia.
is a serious, 22-year-old environment investigator. He originally had no respect for Kouhei, because Kouhei was chosen to become Kabuto instead of himself and Kouhei was younger, although they eventually became friends. As Kuwagar (and like G-Stag before him), Kengo donned armor modeled after a stag beetle. At the end of the series, Kuwagar was able to wield the Geist Axe and take control of the giant robot, Kuwaga Titan, which was formerly being used by Descorpion and Mother Melzard for evil but was not actually evil. In episode 11 is revealed who his father is a diplomat.
is an 18-year-old cyber engineer, who sometimes thought too much about mechanics and ignored the natural side. She had feelings for Julio when he taught her to appreciate nature. Ran loved to eat and was skilled at playing the shamisen, a stringed Japanese instrument. She left her parents' home at 15. As Tentou (unlike Reddle before her), Ran's armor was modeled after a ladybug. After the death of her father, her mother moves to United States to study hotel management.
New B-Fighters
The were four individuals from the New York head office, South American, Peking, and Paris branches of Cosmo Academia who used the , a variant of the Command Voicer that stored their Neo Insect Armor which activated when they inserted their respective data card and shouted . They consumed most of their power to destroy a crystal Mother Melzard had that ignited detonators inside various humans. Afterwards, their Insect Commanders merged with the Geist Axe in the finale.
: Mac was from the New York office, a master of boxing and aikido chosen by the Dragonfly Insect Medal to become Yanma. He posed as an exchange student in Kouhei's school, becoming the boy's rival as a result. He eventually revealed himself as a B-Fighter when the three were attacked by B-Crushers, making an enemy out of Mukadelinger and losing to him until Kabuto comes to his aid. After giving him his Tonbou Gun, Mac left for America after telling them of the three other Insect Medals. Mac was outgoing, flirting with Japanese girls at every chance and pigging out on sushi. As Yanma, Mac's armor was modeled after a dragonfly. His attacks were the spin attack, and the , a tornado spin attack.
was a Peruvian archeologist/agent from the South American Cosmo Academia branch. He played a reed flute with strange powers that he gave to Ran as a memento of their time together. He was chosen by the Firefly Insect Medal to become Genji, whose armor was modeled after a firefly.
is a 35-year-old from the Peking branch of Cosmo Academia. Li was an elementary schoolteacher who loved children and often put on magic shows in parks for children, and was also a good cook. He was a peaceful man who hated the fight between the B-Fighters and Melzard, and at first refused to cooperate when he obtained the Cicada Insect Medal. However, Kengo made him realize that the B-Fighters fight in order to stop the fighting, and so he agreed to help as Min, whose armor was modeled after a cicada. His attacks are the and the , fires from his antennae.
17 years-old who was born on 10 May 1979. From the Paris branch, Sophie was a master violinist at 14 years-old an study in a Paris Art University at age of 10. At first, she had no idea how to use her Insect Commander. She is in love with Kouhei, and her song was able to awaken the Astral Saber from its sleep. She was chosen by the Butterfly Insect Medal to become Ageha, whose armor was modeled after a butterfly. She used her Kniving Radar to scan for a fast-moving enemy.
Arsenal
are the transformation devices used by all seven B-Fighters. They store the Neo Insect Armor which is activated when the users of the Command Voicer insert their respective data card and shout . The Command Voicers disappeared with the Astral Saber and Geist Axe after Jadow Mothera is defeated.
: Sidearms for the main three B-Fighters. Activated with the Input Cards. Numbers as follows:
IC-01. : Standard energy blast
IC-02. : Blast of fire
IC-03. : Blast of disrupting sound waves that stun enemies
IC-04. : Blast of small needle-like darts
IC-05. : Blast of cement that hardens when it hits its target
IC-06. : Freezing blast of cold
IC-07. : Blast of powerful air at high speeds
: For the main three B-Fighters. These can fire , crossing two or three.
: Kabuto's Finish Weapon. Its finishing attacks are the and on the Road Kabuto.
: Kuwagar's Finish Weapon. Its finishing attack is the .
: Tentou's Finish Weapon. Its finishing attack is the .
New B-Fighter Weapons
: Genji's weapon. Its attack is .
: Min's weapons
: Ageha's weapon, transforms from her Insect Commander and "Flower Weapon" Input Card. Its attacks are the and the .
: Secondary weapons given to the main B-Fighters by the New B-Fighters
: At first B-Fighter Yanma's weapon. Later given to B-Fighter Kabuto, who can attach in front of the Input Cardgun.
: At first B-Fighter Genji's weapon. Later given to B-Fighter Tentou, who can attach it to the top of the Input Cardgun and fire the and the , used to ruin or restore. Also usable as a tranquilizer. Attaching it to the Input Cardgun, it can fire the and the .
: At first B-Fighter Min's weapon. Later given to B-Fighter Kuwagar to attach to the back of the Input Cardgun and give elemental powers of the six including Water Power, Thunder Power, Flame Power, Light Power, Storm Power, and Earth Power. Attaching it to the Input Cardgun with the Bright Pointer, it can fire the , used to heal Kabuto, Tentou and Min.
: Combination of Input Cardgun and the three Beet Arms. The Input Rifle is much more powerful than any other in the B-Fighters' arsenal. Normally held by Kabuto, who fires the , a ball of destructive energy. Once, however, Kuwagar with Yanma and Min used the Input Rifle and fired a similar ball called the .
: The Astral Saber is a red and gold short sword with a red crystal ball in its hilt. Within this ball is a small mechanical kabutomushi beetle that is actually the giant Kabuterios. The Astral Saber was sleeping in a cave until Sophie Villeneuve's song woke it. Upon having the Dragonfly, Firefly, Cicada, Butterfly, Scorpion, Centipede, Mantis and Hornet Insect Medals put into the handle of the Astral Saber, B-Fighter Kabuto was able to call Kabuterios forth from the saber and join with the giant robot, gaining the B-Fighters a powerful ally. After Kabuterios and Kuwaga Titan first defeat each other, the hilt of the Astral Saber turns into stone, returning to normal in episode 41. It disappears after the final battle.
: The Geist Axe is a green axe with a green crystal ball similar to the Astral Saber's in its hilt. Within it is a mechanical stag beetle that becomes the giant Kuwaga Titan. Initially, Descorpion was the wielder of the Geist Axe and the commander of Kuwaga Titan. After Kabuterios and Kuwaga Titan defeat each other, its hilt turned to stone, returning to normal in episode 41 with Mother Melzard as the new wielder. She lost the Axe in the next episode. Later in the finale, with the New B-Fighters' Insect Commanders merging into it, B-Fighter Kuwager got possession of the weapon and used the power of Kuwaga Titan for good. It disappears after the final battle.
Road Beetles
Each B-Fighter has a providing his primary transportation. Their names are , and .
is Professor Osanai's prototype of the Road Beetle that can change into . Its name stands for "Operating system of Self-Awake Navigation with Accelerate-Interface-set-in 0 (zero)-Unit".
Neo Beet Machines
The are the B-Fighters' super machines that they use to fight Melzard airborne and ground vehicles. They emerge from the , the B-Fighter's base of operations following the command "Neo Beet Machines, launch!". The Beetle Base was blown up along with the Neo Beet Machines thanks to the efforts of Killmantis, Beezack, Dezzle and Dord near the finale.
is Kabuto's Neo Beet Machine, a gold and black 6-wheeled vehicle with a rhinoceros beetle horn on the front. From this horn it can fire a powerful energy blast, the . It can open its wings to reveal jets that let it fly for . It can also tilt downward for so that its horn can dig a trench in the ground to dig up underground enemies, and can throw an enemy in the attack.
is Kuwagar's Neo Beet Machine, a black tank with two pincer-like horns on the front. The Kuwaga Tank can grab enemies in these horns and toss them about. On top, it has a double-barreled gun, the . It can convert to Battle Formation, the front rising up and folding back, and can fire off its horns to hit enemies at long-range in the attack.
is Tentou's Neo Beet Machine, a small plane with two large turbines on its tail and two large wings with hover turbines on them. The Stealth Gyro can fire a blast of energy from its . In , it can transport the two Neo Beet Machines, attaching Kabutron and Kuwaga Tank to the underside of its wings.
Shell Gods
The two are giant insect robot gods from space. Kabuterious and Kuwaga Titan were allies that fought a great battle and were swept into a vortex that defeated an evil foe. They were eventually encased inside two weapons, the Astral Saber and the Geist Axe, until they would be found in the present.
is the gold and black Shell God that can change into a giant robot from a . It normally stays inside the Astral Saber but can emerge and enlarge itself when needed. B-Fighter Kabuto can join with Kabuterios and control it. Kabuterios fights with the that can block laser blasts from Fly Gidorbas and can fire a powerful blast of fire, the , or fire eye beams called the , and an energy beam from its chest, the .
is the green and black Shell God that can change into a giant robot Build Mode from a . It stays inside the Geist Axe until called forth, and was originally controlled by Descorpion, later by Mother Melzard, and was used for evil. However, Kuwaga Titan was (despite his title) not actually evil and once fought alongside Kabuterios. At the end of the series, the Geist Axe was claimed by the B-Fighters and allowed B-Fighter Kuwagar to use it to fight for good. Kuwaga Titan can fire a blast of energy, the using the (it can be used to block Kabuterios' Big Flare), shoot lightning from its left fist called the ; or a blast of lightning from either its eyes or antennae.
Allies
is the Japan branch chief of Cosmo Academia.
is the artificial lifeform in the computer of the Beetle Base that sends out alerts and analyzes data on enemies.
is Kouhei's younger sister and his self-proclaimed manager, covering for him when he leaves school to fight Melzard. She is in love with Kengo. She was once put under a spell, when Mother Melzard gave her a pink/white flower armor-themed warrior.
gave the original B-Fighters their powers. Though aged, he is still able to help the B-Fighters using his extensive knowledge of the Melzard. Guru died trying to protect the insects of the world from the "Dark Wave Motion" power of Dargriffon. He was buried in the cave where Takuya first found him as the B-Fighters' technology eventually fades, from the First Generation to the New Generation once they had defeated the Melzard.
is Guru's son who left his father one hundred years before and traveled across the dimensions as a supplier of weapons and equipment. He returned to Earth to visit his mother's grave, bringing with him the Beet Ingram to give to Takuya Kai/Blue Beet years ago. When his father Guru died, he returned again to visit his father's grave.
First Generation of B-Fighters
The B-Fighters of the first generation sometimes appear and help out the new generation. After destroying the Jamahl, they were transferred to the Cosmo Academia branch. They occasionally aid the New Generation B-Fighters before Guru dies, destroying their ability to become B-Fighters.
is the team leader who developed the Neo Insect Armors as the chief of the development project of the new B-Fighters. Now 28, he works at the New York office.
is also 28 and works at the Europe branch.
is 24.
Arsenal
is a cannon type weapon that was developed at the New York head office.
is a combination attack that upgraded the Sonic Flap.
Melzard Tribe
The are an ancient race that have existed since prehistoric times. They dwell in the fortress , which Mother Melzard is an extension of.
is a monster with a snake-like teal instead of legs who leads Melzard. She gave birth to the members by eating a fossil of any animal or plant with one of her tendrils and spitting it back out as an egg which instantly hatches into a Melzard. After the battle in which Kabuterios and Kuwaga Titan defeat each other, Mother Melzard fell asleep, gaining an eye on her left breast upon waking up and taking control of Kuwaga Titan. After a battle on the moon with Kabuterios, the Geist Axe was lost. Mother Melzard then proceeded to use a rain to implant bombs in all humans in a scheme to wipe out the entire population. When the B-Fighters entered her fortress, she fought them personally before activating the bombs, leaving only Kabuto unaffected. Severing her connection to the Melzardos, the New B-Fighters destroyed the detonator as the Melzardos crashes. But using the energy of the Earth, Mother Melzard evolved into a larger monster and gained a new form called . She then went on a city-smashing spree while overpowering Kuwaga Titan until he chopped her tail off. When Kabuterios was summoned, the two Shell Gods destroy Jadow Mothera.
is the eldest son of Melzard. A powerful warrior with red Ceratopsia-like armor, he commanded the Melzard monsters based on land-dwelling creatures. Raija frequently quarreled with Dezzle, each trying to outdo the other. Sent to obtain the Insect Medals, Raija battled Kabuto one-on-one after his clone creation was destroyed. Though seemingly killed by Kabuto, Raija managed to take the Scorpion Insect Medal as his body petrified. Raija was later revived by Mother Melzard in a new maroon armored form, empowered by the magma deep within the earth. He found a rival in Descorpion, who also sought to defeat Kabuto. Surviving the Melzardos, Rajia overpowered Kuwagar before battling Kabuto and before being mortally wounded.
is the second son of Melzard. Dezzle was Raija's constant rival and wore an elaborate blue costume with fins and an anglerfish-like helmet. He commanded the Melzard monsters based on water-dwelling creatures and often actively sabotaged Raija's plans. After Raija was killed, Dezzle was granted greater power from Mother Melzard and became where he wields a trident. He was defeated by the Input Rifle with only his head remaining. Dord placed Dezzle's head on a tank. Dezzle was later revived by Mother Melzard in a new, mysterious form. His new form, giving him new power from the darkness of the deep sea, had a small torso, a black cape, and a white mask which hid his face. Dezzle later found the B-Fighters' base of operations, assuming Professor Osanai's form to activate the BF Base's self-destruct along with a virus to spread to the other branches. He overpowered Kuwagar and Tentou as Kabuto arrived. They took the fight outside while Professor Osanai deleted the virus. He almost killed Kabuto until he was hit by the Input Rifle. He accidentally fell into the Kabuto Lancer still latched unto Dord before he is killed by the Input Rifle.
is Raija's comrade, a female warrior in light green insectoid armor who wields two red swords. When Raija was seemingly killed, she stayed by his petrified body until he awakened. Miolra survived the Melzardos only to die fighting Tentou.
is the captain of Dezzle's Bodyguards, a squat creature whose head resembles an ammonite fossil. Dord looked after Dezzle's head after he was blown to pieces and remained as his loyal servant until Dezzle returned in his new form. Dord was killed alongside Dezzle by B-Fighter Kabuto with the Input Rifle after his shell was impaled by Kabuto's lance.
are the Melzard's primary fighters against the B-Fighters. Raija and Dezzle gathered 4 of the 8 Insect Medals (first obtaining the Centipede Insect Medal, than the Bee, Mantis and the Scorpion Insect Medal afterwards) for Mother Melzard using energy gathered by Dezzle. She had four of her larval offspring merge into suits of armor powered by the medals. In their debut, the B-Crushers lured the B-Fighters into the open and sprang a trap. The B-Crushers overpower them until Mac Windy comes to aid as B-Fighter Yanma. Descorpion ordered a fall back as they proved their superiority. But in the second match, Kabuto defeated them. After B-Fighter Kabuto activated Kabuterios, the B-Crushers were injured and had to be cocooned until their wounds had healed. Afterwards, they gained possession of the Geist Axe. They also came to be at odds with Raija, Dezzle and their crew.
is the leader of the B-Crushers. His armor was modeled after a scorpion. Also known as the , he is an honorable warrior by nature, preferring to fight fair compared to his teammates' methods. He uses the on his right to grab and strangle enemies and a claw-attachment for his left forearm slashing attacks. His rival is Raija, who also wants to defeat Kabuto. Once tried to kill Kabuto using a bomb attached to his belt buckle. He wielded the Geist Axe until Mother Melzard took it from him. When the B-Fighters enter the Melzardis, Descorpion fights them as Rajia and Miolra join in. Surviving the Melzardos' crash, Descorpion battles Kabuto. Accepting defeat, he was killed by Kabuto's Liner Blast.
is the polar opposite of Descorpion, with armor modeled after a centipede. Also known as the , his weapon is the trident and he can open his chest to reveal the . He uses the centipede legs on his armor to control ordinary humans via mind control, such as when he attempted revenge on Yanma. Leaving Melzard, he challenged the B-Fighters despite learning that he had a bomb inside him and then took Yui hostage. The New B-Fighters arrived and used their signature moves to weaken Mukadelinger before Kabuto defeated him with the Input Rifle. Mother Melzard activated the bombs and destroyed Mukadelinger.
is a mantis-armored expert at using bladed weapons. Also known as the , his two sickles allow him to cut through millions of peaches in blinding speed with lightning-fast strikes and used in his attack. Sent with Beezack to the Neo B-Machine hangar to destroy the mecha, Killmantis learned they'd been sent on a suicide mission where Kabuto wounded them. Near death, Killmantis sacrificed himself to complete his mission.
is a hornet-armored master of disguise and illusion assuming human guides to lower his enemies' guard. Also known as the , he can hide himself and attack from shelter with his weapon. Sent with Killmantis to the Neo B-Machine hangar to destroy the mecha. Like Killmantis, Beezack did not know they'd been sent on a suicide mission and sacrificed himself.
are Melzard's foot soldiers who belong to either Raija and Dezzle. They seem to be made from the fossils of land animals; 2 Stegoceras, 2 Pteranodons, and 2 Prehistoric Spiders; while seem to be made from the fossils of sea creatures; 2 Prehistoric Fish, 2 Prehistoric Jellyfish, and 2 Prehistoric Squids. They are disintegrated by Mother Melzard in episode 42.
: Giant worm-like tanks can transform into the aerial fighters, and vice versa.
Melzard Monsters
Monsters of the land and sea given birth by Mother Melzard.
Raija's Monsters
Raija's monsters are land-based creatures.
is a deformed monster who was born from a woolly mammoth fossil. He was sent to begin a new Ice Age and kill all of humanity. Elebammoth froze everything in his path with his liquid nitrogen gas. When he froze Yui, Kouhei battled it and lost until the last Command Voicer flies into his hand as Kengo and Ran arrived. As Kabuto, Kouhei killed Elebammoth with the Cavalier Lancer attack.
was born from a Tyrannosaurus fossil. Dinozaura had three heads, two Tyrannosaurus-like arms, and two tails for extra arms. He was sent to destroy the power lines and sources in the city to prevent Cosmo Academia from setting up the Neo Beet Machines. Dinozaura was soon defeated by the B-Fighters. He returned with powerful bombs in his heads for a kamikaze attack to take out the Neo Beet Machines. When the B-Fighters realized Dinozaura was not attacking powerlines as before, they got him to follow them to the countryside to finally kill him after his heads detached from his exploding body.
was born from a mole fossil. He was weak at first until he ate a special fruit that empowered him. Mogerado was killed when Tentou blasted his sunglasses off, leaving him blinded by sunlight and vulnerable for the deathblow by Tentou's Crossway Slicer.
was born from a Titanomyrma fossil. She was sent to lay her eggs around Mount Fuji and as the eggs neared hatching, they began to rise in temperature, threatening to cause an eruption. Dezzle, intend on sabotaging his brother's plan, gave medicine to Baeria that would raise her body temperature. However, the temperature in Baeria kept rising making her a living bomb. Kabuto managed to freeze Baeria to reduce her temperature so he could finish her off without an explosion.
was born from a giant kangaroo fossil. He stole the talents of various athletes by swallowing them in his pouch. He also swallowed Kengo. Gangaroo was killed by Kabuto after a lengthy battle.
was born from half of a cactus fossil. He was finished off by Tentou. Zabodera's spirit was later summoned by Zanshoror.
was born from a prehistoric giant vampire bat fossil. He was killed by Kabuto's Liner Blast. Zyren's spirit was later summoned by Zanshoror.
(16) was born from a Smilodon fossil. Dorafire looked like a near-skeletal mouse with a second tiger-striped smilodon's head on his forehead and smilodon-like hands. Dorafire could blast flamethrowers from his tiger head. After being briefly frozen, he was killed by Kabuto's Cold Laser/Liner Blast combo.
was born from a fern fossil. Groba could sprinkle a destructive pollen from her head in battle. Killed by the combined weapons of all 3 B-Fighters.
was born from a pineapple fossil. Pineappler was killed by one punch from Kabuto.
was born from a Teratornis fossil. With flaps of his wings or a blast from his breath, Zarst could cause immense heatwaves. This lasted until the B-Fighters killed him.
was born from a horned chameleon fossil. Killed by B-Fighter Tentou.
was born from a salamander fossil and looks like it was composed of many salamanders. Zanshoror brought the spirits of Zabodera, Zyren, and Isogilala to life. Kuwagar killed him.
was a Triceratops monster born from a part of Raija's body. Driceraija could breathe fire and use a sword. He accompanied his parent in taking the Insect Medals from the powerless B-Fighters, setting the forest on fire to flush Kouhei and Takuya as they and the other B-Fighters were gathered in one place to be executed. Once the team regain their transformation abilities, Driceraija was killed by the B-Fighter's teamwork.
Dezzle's Monsters
Dezzle's monsters are water-based creatures.
was born from a trilobite fossil and was sent to abduct the girls at Kouhei's school. His mission was to absorb the lifeforce from people through his tentacles and use it to enlarge himself to giant size. Zazanyoda was almost invincible until the B-Fighters fired at his weak point, the small trilobyte on his forehead. Reduced to his normal size, he was killed by the B-Fighters.
was born from an Archelon fossil. The powder scraped from his shell was sold as a calcium supplement called "Bone-Health", but that hardened skin into bone. B-Fighters attacked Gamegeron, but his shell was too hard to be cracked. Gamegeron's only weaknesswas his belly, which he covered. Kabuto's determination finally shattered the monster's shell.
was born from a prehistoric starfish fossil. He could possess people and enhance their aggressive behavior. Targeting Kazuya Yano, the son of Kengo's late sensei Ryuzaburo Yano, he used the man's hatred for Kengo to wreak havoc across town. He uses smaller starfish parasites from his body to possess people, turning them into violent slaves under his control. The B-Fighters were forced to retreat as a result. The B-Fighters dispatched Kengo to fight Kazuya, while Kabuto and Tentou handled the angry mob. The two fortunately learned that electricity was the starfish-parasite's weakness. They freed the people with the Electric Shockwave just as Kengo freed Kazuya from Hitodenajiru's control, forcing the monster out of him. Once gathered, the B-Fighters learned that Electric ShockWave was useless on Hitodenajiru. But Kazuya's Triple Lightning Kick severely weakened Hitodenajiru enabling B-Fighter Kuwagar to finish him off.
was born from a coelacanth fossil. B-Fighter Kuwagar singlehandedly killed him after Coelaganaza murdered Kuwagar's sister.
was born from a Beelzebufo fossil. Hellgama was killed by Kabuto.
was born from a sea anemone fossil and killed by Tentou's Crossway Slicer. Isogilala's spirit was later summoned by Zanshoror.
was born from a sea scorpion fossil. In battle, Kaizazora could detach/blast its arms and its combined head and stinger tail at opponents. After B-Fighter's Kabuto and Tentou hit his weak spot, he was killed by Kuwagar's Gravity Crush.
is a Kappa-themed monster with no backstory. He was killed by Kuwagar.
was born from a scorpionfish fossil. Okozezeze could blast stinger darts from its mouth in battle. Okozezeze was killed by Kabuto's Liner Blast.
Other Monsters
Some of these creatures were both Raija and Dezzle's monsters.
was a hybrid monster born from a rat fossil and a clam fossil, combining both their strengths. Nezugaira suffered a split personality: he was both a gentle creature and a sadistic monster. He was eventually killed by Tentou's Crossway Slicer.
is a monster that resembles a gorgon from Greek Mythology with snake-headed tendrils and has no backstory. She was sent to retrieve the case containing four Insect Medals. Though killed by Super Blue Beet, Hebyusa's snake-headed tendrils infected the B-Fighters with her venom (first Kuwagar, then Tentou, G-Stag, Blue Beet, Reddle, and Kabuto), turning the two teams against each other until the viral venom is removed from the commanders.
is a hybrid monster born from a porcupine fossil and a stingray fossil. Almost impossible to kill, Arajibiray could encase its victims in a cocoon that eventually killed them. With the help of a crystal that Genji found, Tentou used Impact Flash to finally kill Arajibiray.
is a hybrid monster born from a swordfish fossil, a mole fossil, and a chameleon fossil. He could fire an acid that could melt the Neo Insect Armor (affecting both Kabuto and Tentou and later Min), change color to be invisible, and disappear, and digs underground. Tokasuzura was killed by the four B-Fighters: by Min with his Ringer Swords, Kuwagar with Gravity Crash, Tentou with Crossway Slicer, and Kabuto using the Input Rifle.
is a monster that resembled a unicorn and has no backstory. She was finished off by Kuwagar using the Input Rifle in a technique he called "Kuwagatic Buster".
is a devil monster with no backstory. After using the Input Cardguns and Bloom Cannon to destroy Zadan's horn, he was killed by the B-Fighters' signature attacks.
is a 2-faced griffin monster born from a cave lion fossil and an eagle fossil where it has an eagle head with a lion head above it. He is able to emit dark shockwaves from his chest to affect everything insect-related, and ensure the spread of darkness. Though he overpowered the new team, the first-generation B-Fighters arrive and managed to slow Dargriffon down with their newest weapon. The monster later returns. The B-Fighters hold it at bay until the original B-Fighters again appeared while Guru sacrifices himself. The original B-Fighters negated Dargriffon's power, so the new team could finish him off with their signature attacks.
Episodes
: written by Junichi Miyashita, directed by Shohei Tojo
: written by Junichi Miyashita, directed by Shohei Tojo
: written by Junichi Miyashita, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
: written by Junichi Miyashita, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
: written by Nobuo Ogizawa, directed by Hidenori Ishida
: written by Akira Asaka, directed by Hidenori Ishida
: written by Junichi Miyashita, directed by Shohei Tojo
: written by Yasuko Kobayashi, directed by Shohei Tojo
: written by Nobuo Ogizawa, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
: written by Akira Asaka, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
: written by Junichi Miyashita, directed by Osamu Kaneda
: written by Kyoko Sagiyama, directed by Osamu Kaneda
: written by Akira Asaka, directed by Hidenori Ishida
: written by Yasuko Kobayashi, directed by Hidenori Ishida
: written by Junichi Miyashita, directed by Shohei Tojo
: written by Junichi Miyashita, directed by Shohei Tojo
: written by Junichi Miyashita, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
: written by Kyoko Sagiyama, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
: written by Akira Asaka, directed by Hidenori Ishida
: written by Nobuo Ogizawa, directed by Hidenori Ishida
: written by Yasuko Kobayashi, directed by Shohei Tojo
: written by Junichi Miyashita, directed by Shohei Tojo
: written by Nobuo Ogizawa, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
: written by Kyoko Sagiyama, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
: written by Junichi Miyashita, directed by Osamu Kaneda
: written by Junichi Miyashita, directed by Osamu Kaneda
: written by Junichi Miyashita, directed by Osamu Kaneda
: written by Junichi Miyashita, directed by Shohei Tojo
: written by Junichi Miyashita, directed by Shohei Tojo
: written by Kyoko Sagiyama, directed by Hidenori Ishida
: written by Nobuo Ogizawa, directed by Hidenori Ishida
: written by Akira Asaka, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
: written by Akira Asaka, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
: written by Junichi Miyashita, directed by Shohei Tojo
: written by Junichi Miyashita, directed by Shohei Tojo
: written by Yasuko Kobayashi, directed by Hidenori Ishida
: written by Kyoko Sagiyama, directed by Hidenori Ishida
: written by Junichi Miyashita, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
: written by Nobuo Ogizawa, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
: written by Yasuko Kobayashi, directed by Shohei Tojo
: written by Akira Asaka, directed by Shohei Tojo
: written by Junichi Miyashita, directed by Hidenori Ishida
: written by Akira Asaka, directed by Hidenori Ishida
: written by Kyoko Sagiyama, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
: written by Nobuo Ogizawa, directed by Kaneharu Mitsumura
: written by Yasuko Kobayashi, directed by Shohei Tojo
: written by Junichi Miyashita, directed by Shohei Tojo
: written by Junichi Miyashita, directed by Shohei Tojo
: written by Junichi Miyashita, directed by Hidenori Ishida
: written by Junichi Miyashita, directed by Hidenori Ishida
Cast
Kouhei Toba, Clone Kouhei (15): (Played as )
Kengo Tachibana, Clone Kengo (15): (Played as )
Ran Ayukawa, Fake Ran (30):
Masaru Osanai:
Yui Toba:
Mack Windy:
Sophie Villeneuve:
Li Wen:
Julio Rivera:
Dinosaur Warrior Raija:
Insect Swordswoman Miola:
Voice actors
Artificial Life Bit:
B-Fighter Yanma:
Shell God Seal Sword Astral Saber:
Mother Melzard:
Deep Sea Fish-man Dezzle:
Rock Shell Chamberlain Dord:
Deadly Poison Armored General Descorpion:
Cold-Blooded Armored General Mukaderinger:
Demon Blade Armored General Killmantis:
Mirage Armored General Beezack:
Guest Stars
Takuya Kai (1, 25-27 & 47): Daisuke Tsuchiya
Sage Guru (1, 25–29, 32–35, 47): Yasuo Tanaka
Megumi Nakajima (2): Reiko Okabe
Takashi Nakajima (2): Kyohei Iizuka
Akane (3): Asuka Yamaguchi
Atsuko Endo (5): Mika Omine
Akio (5): Hiroshi Sakamoto
Yumiko (5): Eri Shimizu
Genzo (6): Kenichi Matsuno
Kikonosuke (6):Takeshi Yamazaki
Tatsuyoshi (6): Enryu Sanyutei
Yano Family (7)
Kazuya Yano: Kotaro Yoshida
Natsumi Yano: Masumi Ogawa
Ryuzaburo Yano: Satoshi Kurihara
Toshiya Hirano (8): Koichi Nagata
Teacher (8, 16): Yuzo Ogura
Shinosuke Ima (9): Shintaro Mizushima
Master (9): Takuya Haronobu
Eiji (10): Hidenori Tokuyama
Toru (10): Yoshiko Tonawa
Yamada (10): Akira Amamiya
Kohei's Friend (10, 14): Tsuyoshi Sugawara
Erika Shiraishi (11, 50): Tina Kawamura
Hiroshi (12): Kenta Uchino
Shunsuke (13, 50): Yūta Mochizuki
Haruka Satsuki (14): Megumi Nishimura
Mari Hayase (15): Rina Sato
Kazue Hayase (15): Mariko Sakai
Nurse (15): Hiroko Kamei
Naoya (16): Yasuyuki Fukuba
Doctor (17): Yoshiaki Wakao
Staff Member(17): Hirofumi Ishigaki
Lia/Kana (18): Asuka Umemiya
Lia (voice - 18): Yukari Nozawa
Marina (19): Misao Oka
Swimming Club's Captain (19): Yoshiyuki Uchiyama
Yoshizo Hiraoka (20): Kazuma Suzuki
Tokuko Hiraoka (20): Kanako Nakatake
Kyoichi Nakagawa (21): Masahide Hirai
Reporter (21): Hideki Fukushi
Bunzo Kariya (23): Bunmei Tonamiyama
Bullies (23): Yugo Mori, Yuki Takamura, Yuichi Tada, Kazuki Ogawa
Chikako (24): Akane Kaiho
Daisaku Katagiri (25-27 & 47): Shigeru Kanai
Mai Takatori (25-27 & 47): Chigusa Tomoe
Beezack's human form (30): Akemi Fuji
Beezack's human form (32): Michihiko Hamada
People who listen Sophie's performance (32): Yoko Koyanagi
Songs
Opening theme
Lyrics:
Composition:
Arrangement:
Artist:
Ending theme
(1-49)
Lyrics: Yoko Aki
Composition: Ryudo Uzaki
Arrangement: Eiji Kawamura
Artist: Nobuhiko Kashiwara
(50)
Lyrics: Yoko Aki
Composition: Ryudo Uzaki
Arrangement: Eiji Kawamura
Artist: Nobuhiko Kashiwara
External links
Japanese science fiction television series
Television series about insects
Fictional soldiers
Metal Hero Series
1996 Japanese television series debuts
1997 Japanese television series endings
TV Asahi original programming | en |
doc-en-8173 | Whitstable () is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in southeastern England, north of Canterbury and west of Herne Bay. The 2011 Census reported a population of 32,100.
The town, formerly known as Whitstable-on-Sea, was famous for its 'Native Oysters' which were collected from beds beyond the low water mark from Roman times until the mid-20th century. The annual Whitstable Oyster Festival takes place during the summer.
In 1830, one of the earliest passenger railway services was opened by the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway Company. In 1832 the company built a harbour and extended the line to handle coal and other bulk cargos for the City of Canterbury. The railway has closed but the harbour still plays an important role in the town's economy. The railway route, known as The Crab and Winkle Line, is now a cycle path which leads to the neighbouring city of Canterbury.
History
Archaeological finds indicate that the Whitstable area was inhabited during the Palaeolithic era, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. Oysters were harvested in the area in Roman times. The remains of a Roman building have been found in the centre of the town. Charters indicate that there were Saxon settlements where salt production and coastal trade occurred.
The town was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, under the name Witenestaple, meaning "the meeting place of the white post", a reference to a local landmark. At that time, Witenestaple was the administrative centre of the hundred of Witenestaple which stretched from the coast to the village of Blean, north of Canterbury. In addition to Witenestaple, the hundred contained three manors at Seasalter, Northwood and Swalecliffe.
The Seasalter and Swalecliffe manors were owned by the church, and the manor at Northwood was run by a noble family on behalf of the king. Fisheries were located at the Seasalter manor, saltworks were at the Northwood manor, and pigs were farmed at the forest in Blean. By 1226, the name of the area had evolved into Whitstaple. Saltworks were opened at the Seasalter manor around the turn of the 14th century, and a sea wall was built there in 1325 to prevent coastal flooding. The history and development of the town has determined and been determined by the shape and location of the coast which has changed over recorded history due to natural events and human interventions.
By 1413, the three manors had combined to form the Whitstaple manor, and had been sold to a religious foundation in Essex. The manor was seized by King Henry VIII during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century, and was given to the Minter family, originally from Ickham. Branches of the Minter family survive today in the same area). A royal patent was granted in 1574 to the manor owner for the fishing of its oyster beds, and in the same year, the lands at Tankerton were incorporated into the manor. A copperas works was established at Tankerton in 1588, which operated until about 1830. By 1610, the name Whitstaple had become Whitstable.
Around the mid-18th century, goods and passengers began to be transported by ship between London and Whitstable, and a toll road was built to the cathedral city of Canterbury. These improvements in transport led to the town's development as a seaside resort; the first advertisements for bathing machines at Whitstable appeared in 1768. In 1790 the manor was sold to private landowners, and three years later the rights to harvest the oyster beds were bought by the newly established Company of Free Fishers and Dredgers of Whitstable, the successor to the Whitstable Company of Dredgers. Between roughly 1775 and 1875 the well smacks or early longliners out of Barking and other local fishing ports would collect lugworms and whelks from Whitstable's bait-diggers and dredgers before beginning their tour for prime fish north to Iceland. Whelks suspended in net bags in the well could live for a while due to circulating water. In the 1880s, Whitstable was described as having "an unrivalled, and indeed unchallenged, position in the oyster world".
On 3 May 1830, the world's first entirely steam-hauled passenger and freight railway service was opened by the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway Company. Designed by William James, the line ran six miles (10 km) from Westgate in Canterbury to Whitstable town centre. The railway line's initials—C&WR—and Whitstable's shellfish industry eventually led to its nickname, the Crab And Winkle Railway.
Trains were driven by a locomotive for part of the journey, but on inclined planes were pulled on ropes by steam-driven stationary winding engines located at Tyler Hill and Clowes Wood. The locomotive used was the Invicta, an 0-4-0 inclined cylinder tender locomotive built by Robert Stephenson, the son of engineer George Stephenson. Whitstable harbour was opened by the railway company in 1832, and the rail line was extended to enable goods, mainly coal, to be directly transferred from ships onto the trains. In 1834, the world's first season tickets were issued for the C&WR line.
The Invicta locomotive was retired in 1840 and replaced by horses until a third winding engine was built at South Street. The Invicta was kept for scrap, but in 1898 work began on its restoration, which continued intermittently until its completion in 1977 by the National Railway Museum in York. On 3 May 1980 the locomotive was returned to Canterbury to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the line. On Sunday 16 June 2019 Invicta was returned to the Whitstable Museum & Gallery.
Around the time of the construction of the Whitstable to Canterbury line, the local Gorrell stream was diverted into what was known as the Backwater reservoir, so as to prevent the railway needing to cross the estuary of the stream on damp and unstable land. The Gorrell Backwater was then filled through the stream itself as well as rain water drainage when the tide was in, and whilst out the water would be released into the newly built Whitstable Harbour. The reservoir unfortunately would contribute to the flooding of the town during years when the reservoir could not be drained, such as in 1897 and 1953 when weather conditions were exceptionally bad. This continued into the late 1960s, when fire engines were used to pump out large quantities of the water to prevent further flooding.
In the early 1970s, the present Gorrell Tank was built underground, with the Gorrell Car Park being in service above ground since.
In 1845, the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway Company was bought by the South Eastern Railway, who introduced steam locomotives capable of operating along the entire length of the railway. A direct rail route from Whitstable to London was established in 1860 when the London, Chatham and Dover Railway opened a station on what is now the Chatham Main Line. On 16 November 1869, 71 buildings in the town were destroyed by a fire which started at a shop near the harbour. In about 1856 the first branch of the Sea Cadet Corps, then known as the Naval Lads' Brigade, was established in the town by the Reverend Henry Barton.
A plant to manufacture tarmacadam was built beside Whitstable Harbour in 1936. The harbour gradually fell into decay after the Second World War, but in 1958 the Whitstable Urban District Council purchased and repaired the harbour with the intention of rejuvenating the town's economy.
By the early 20th century, the Oyster Company of Free Fishers and Dredgers had become the Whitstable Oyster Fishery Company. 'Native Oyster' collection drastically declined in the first half of the 20th century and then ceased due to pollution, disease, bad weather and underinvestment. An attempt to farm Pacific Oysters on the foreshore was initiated in 2016 and is currently the subject of an investigation by the Marine Management Organisation after allegations about the racks causing safety issues and blocking navigation for watercraft and swimmers.
The Crab and Winkle Line finally closed in 1953, but about a third of the line was reopened as a footpath and cycleway in 1999 under the stewardship of a local charity, the Crab and Winkle Line Trust. One of the main developments to the town in recent years was the Horsebridge project. Completed in 2005, it was designed to regenerate a dilapidated area of the town with the construction of new shops and houses, a town square, and a community centre with a performance space and art gallery.
Governance
Since 1918, Whitstable has been in the constituency of Canterbury. The Member of Parliament for the constituency is Rosie Duffield of the Labour Party, who was first elected in the 2017 general election after unseating long-serving Conservative MP Julian Brazier.
Whitstable, along with Herne Bay and Canterbury, is in the City of Canterbury local government district. The town comprises the five electoral wards of Tankerton, Seasalter, Chestfield and Swalecliffe, Gorrell and Harbour. These wards have 12 of the 50 seats on the Canterbury City Council. Following the 2009 local elections, ten of those seats were held by the Conservatives and two by the Labour Party. Whitstable has no parish or town council. In their lieu, the Official Planning Consultee was the Whitstable Society, membership of which is open to all, until Cllr. Ben Fitter-Harding removed it in 2020.
Geography
Whitstable is on the north-east Kent coast. The town lies to the east of the outlet of The Swale into the Thames Estuary. The town is west of the seaside town of Herne Bay, north-east of the town of Faversham and north of the city of Canterbury; several small villages lie in between. The suburbs/villages of Tankerton, Swalecliffe and Chestfield are at the eastern end of the town, Seasalter at the west, and South Street at the south. Chestfield has its own parish council. An area of protected woodland and grassland called Duncan Down lies to the south-east.
The geology of the town consists mainly of London Clay (which covers most of North Kent). Much of the centre of the town is built on low-lying marshland. Sea walls are in place to prevent coastal flooding. The land in the east is higher, with slopes down to the coast at Tankerton. The whole of the north-east Kent coast has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
A very unusual (some say unique) shingle spit locally named "The Street" extends into the sea to the east of the harbour, formed by the local currents. It is exposed at low tide, and visitors, ignoring the warning signs, are sometimes trapped by the advancing tide, needing to be rescued by the local RNLI lifeboat. See Culture: Attractions and Landmarks below.
Climate
In East Kent, the warmest time of the year is July and August, when maximum temperatures average around 21 °C (70 °F). The coolest time of the year is January and February, when minimum temperatures average around 1 °C (39 °F). East Kent's average maximum and minimum temperatures are around 1/2 °C higher than the national average. Whitstable is sometimes warmer than other parts of Kent due to it being backed by the North Downs to the south.
East Kent's average annual rainfall is about 728 mm (29 in); October to January being the wettest months. The national average annual rainfall is about 838 mm (33 in). A recent drought caused Mid Kent Water to impose a hosepipe ban between August 2005 and February 2007.
The nearest Met Office average data for each month as well as the current data reported on the BBC web site are from recording stations approximately away to east and west and do not well represent Whitstable weather.
Transport links
Whitstable railway station is on the Chatham Main Line, which runs between Ramsgate in East Kent and London Victoria. Other stations on this line include Broadstairs, Margate, Herne Bay, Faversham, Gillingham, Rochester and Bromley South. Whitstable is around 1 hour and 30 minutes from London; ten minutes more than in 2009 due to the introduction of HS services up the line. On weekdays, during the morning and evening peaks, there is a direct service to London's Cannon Street station, provided primarily for business commuting. These trains run to Cannon Street in the morning and from Cannon Street in the evening.
A National Express coach service runs between London Victoria and Ramsgate.
There is a Stagecoach bus service branded as the Triangle running about every fifteen minutes to neighbouring Herne Bay and Canterbury, where many Whitstable residents go to work and shop. Also route 5 runs from the Town to Canterbury.
The A299 road, known as the Thanet Way, runs between Ramsgate and Faversham via Herne Bay and Whitstable, and merges with the M2 motorway at Faversham.
Demography
At the 2001 UK census, Whitstable area electoral wards had a population of 30,195 and a population density of 10.3 persons per hectare.
The ethnicity of the town was 98.2% white, 0.8% mixed race, 0.2% Chinese, 0.4% other Asian, 0.2% black and 0.2% other. The place of birth of residents was 95.5% United Kingdom, 0.6% Republic of Ireland, 1.2% other Western European countries, and 2.7% elsewhere. Religion was recorded as 74.8% Christian, 0.3% Muslim, 0.3% Buddhist, 0.2% Jewish, 0.1% Hindu and 0.1% Sikh. 15.8% were recorded as having no religion, 0.4% had an alternative religion and 8.1% did not state their religion.
The age distribution was 5% aged 0–4 years, 14% aged 5–15 years, 4% aged 16–19 years, 28% aged 20–44 years, 26% aged 45–64 years and 23% aged 65 years and over. The town has a high percentage of residents over 65, compared with the national average of 16%. As a seaside town, Whitstable is a popular retirement destination.
Of the town's 13,155 households, 49.0% were married couples, 7.8% were cohabiting couples and 8.0% were lone parents. 30.7% of households were individuals, and 18.0% had someone living alone at pensionable age. 26.4% of households included children aged under 16, or a person aged 16 to 18 who was in full-time education.
Economy
According to the 2001 UK census, the economic activity of residents in the town aged 16–74 was 35.6% in full-time employment, 13.4% in part-time employment, 10.4% self-employed, 2.5% unemployed, 2.4% students with jobs, 3.4% students without jobs, 18.8% retired, 6.7% looking after home or family, 4.5% permanently sick or disabled and 2.3% economically inactive for other reasons. The percentage of retired people was significantly higher than the national figure of 13.5%. The unemployment rate of 2.5% was lower than the national rate of 3.3%. 12% of the town's residents aged 16–74 had a higher education qualification or the equivalent, compared to 20% nationwide.
The main activities at the harbour are fishing, fish processing, cargo handling and boat storage. The harbour area is the site for other industries such as tarmac manufacturing and a maintenance port for an offshore windfarm. Business parks located on the outskirts of the town provide premises for large retailers, offices and light industries.
The town's distinctive character and ambience has led to a strong tourist industry, which is promoted each year by the Oyster Festival. In early 2007, Canterbury City Council were planning to boost tourism by building retail developments in addition to the existing shopping centre.
The 2001 UK census reported the industry of employment of residents of Whitstable as 18% retail, 13% health and social work, 12% manufacturing, 11% education, 10% real estate, 9% construction, 7% transport and communications, 5% public administration, 5% hotels and restaurants, 4% finance, 1% agriculture and 5% other community, social or personal services. Compared to national figures, the town had a relatively high number of workers in the construction, education, and health/social care industries and a relatively low number in manufacturing, finance, and real estate. Many residents commute to work outside the town; at the 2001 census, there were 13,260 employed residents, but only 9,725 jobs within the town.
The high level of employees in teaching is possibly due to the town's proximity to Canterbury, which has three higher education establishments. The elderly population of the town has led to many health and social care jobs at local care homes and at the Whitstable and Tankerton Hospital. At the 2001 census, 1.3% of the town's population resided in a medical or care establishment, compared to the national average of only 0.8%.
Education
Whitstable's secondary school is The Whitstable School, formerly The Community College Whitstable. It is a secondary modern school which changed its name from Sir William Nottidge School in 1998. In 2009, 25% of its pupils gained at least five GCSEs at grades A*–C – this increased to 37% in 2011.
The School was rated 'Requires Improvement' by Ofsted in March 2015.
Many pupils living in Whitstable commute to schools in other nearby towns, especially to the grammar schools in Faversham and Canterbury.
The town's public primary schools are Whitstable Junior School, Whitstable and Seasalter Church of England Junior School, Westmeads Infant School, Swalecliffe Community Primary School, St Mary's Catholic Primary School, St Alphege C of E Primary School, Joy Lane Primary School. The voluntary controlled church schools are owned by the church, but like the other schools, are administered by Kent County Council.
Whitstable Adult Education Centre runs adult learning courses.
Culture
Events and venues
The longest established event is the Regatta dating from a sailing contest between 26 boats from Whitstable and Faversham split into three classes (divisions) in 1792. A reporter at the scene wrote: "Much nautical skill was displayed in the maneuvering of the various squadrons. Every hoy, smack, wherry etc. in the vicinity of Whitstable was crowded with company and formed quite a fair upon the ocean." In addition, at least two of the spectating boats had bands aboard and tents were erected along the shore which was lined with spectators.
The Regatta continued to become the biggest event on the North Kent Coast in the 19th century. It has moved from the original Whitstable to Tankerton for more land based events with fairground and fireworks on the elevated Slopes. For many years run by the council, the Whitstable and Herne Bay Lions Club have taken it on in the last 31 years. Future events will be more sea borne with yachting and rowing, and plans for swimming and even the traditional greasy pole.
May Day is celebrated with the annual Jack-in-the-Green parade, with traditional English dancing throughout the town, a fair at Whitstable Castle and a maypole dance by local schoolchildren overlooking the sea. It has been run by Whitstable and Herne Bay Lions Club for 34 years.
The importance of oysters to the tradition of Whitstable is celebrated with the Oyster Festival in July each year. The nine-day festival starts with an opening parade on the nearest Saturday to St James' Day. The parade starts with the official "Landing of the Catch", followed by the procession of the oysters in a horse-drawn dray through the town, stopping to deliver the catch to local restaurants, cafes and public houses. The rest of the festival consists of entertainment for both adults and children, with local art on display around the town, and many establishments offering local fish dishes.
The Whitstable Museum and Gallery displays artefacts and portraits relating to the town's seafaring traditions, with special features on oysters, diving and shipping. In 2001, the Museum was awarded the international Nautiek Award for services to diving history.
The Playhouse Theatre Whitstable is owned and administered by theatrical group, The Lindley Players Ltd. The theatre is regularly hired out to other local groups such as The Canterbury Players, Herne Bay Operatic Society, Theatrecraft & The Deborah Capon College. More recently Nick Wilty has adopted the venue to host the OyOyster Comedy nights, attracting stars including Harry Hill, Jo Brand and Paul Merton.
The Horsebridge Arts and Community Centre opened in March 2004 as part of the Horsebridge redevelopment. Built with an "upturned boat" design, and three floors totalling , the centre contains an art gallery, a performance space, art workshops, a learning area, and conference rooms. The building in 2004 won the Kent Design Award in the Town and Village Renaissance category.
There are monthly beach cleans carried out alone the Whitstable sea front. They are organised by the Canterbury Council Foreshore service in conjunction with the Marine Conservation Society. The location of the beach clean alternates each month between the beach by the Neptune pub and the Seasalter end. Times and dates can be obtained for the Fore shore services or the MCS South East Groups website, calendar page.
Attractions and landmarks
The town has shingle/sandy beaches flanking the harbour, where sunbathing, swimming and water sports are popular. The beaches east and west are unique amongst seaside towns in the south east of England for having no promenade; making them generally peaceful. An exception is Long Beach to the immediate east of the harbour where there is a base for jet skis. A notable feature of Whitstable is The Street, a natural strip of shingle on clay bank which runs out to sea at right angles to the coast, for a distance of about . It is the last remnant of the Swale river valley to the north of the town lost to sea erosion over millennia. Located to the east of the harbour, The Street is revealed only at low tide, when it is possible to walk out along it as well as swim either side in safe, sandy bottomed shallows. A view of The Street can be seen on the hilltop lawns of Tankerton Slopes. The Slopes are home to the largest population in England of the rare Hog's Fennel.
Whitstable Castle is situated on the border of Whitstable and the suburb of Tankerton. It was originally built as an octagonal tower in 1789 by Charles Pearson, the owner of a copperas company in the town and a future investor in the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway. However, Pearson later added to the building, developing it into a manor house. In 1836 the house, then known as Tankerton Tower, was bought by London businessman and Whig MP Wynn Ellis, who by 1842 had added a west wing, a bell tower and a lodge. The building had become known as Tankerton Castle by 1897, although it is now commonly referred to as Whitstable Castle. Now managed by the Whitstable Castle Trust, the castle grounds are a centre for community activity.
Off the coast of Whitstable is Kentish Flats offshore windfarm, consisting of 30 wind turbines, each high, providing enough electricity to power 70,000 households. The now-redundant Shivering Sands and Red Sands offshore World War II sea forts are visible from the town's coast. Sailing trips are available from the harbour to the windfarm, the sea forts and a seal watching spot in the Thames Estuary.
Island Wall, the closest street to the seafront, has numerous buildings dating from the mid-19th century including the Neptune and Wall Tavern pubs, and the Dollar Row cottages, which were built from the proceeds of a salvage operation on a ship carrying silver dollars. The street is home to the Favourite, one of the few remaining Whitstable oyster yawls. Built in 1890, it is now managed by the Favourite Trust, a charitable trust who undertake fund raising to maintain the historical vessel. A traditional windmill on Borstal Hill, built in 1815, is used as a motel.
The town is criss-crossed by numerous small alleys, once used by fishermen to reach the beach. Many of these are now registered as public rights of way and are still in frequent use. Squeeze Gut Alley whose name suggests (erroneously) that most people have to walk sideways due to its narrowness, is one of the more notable.
The town claims to have the largest village green in England at Duncan Down ().
Sports
The town is a popular destination for watersport enthusiasts. Established in 1904, the Whitstable Yacht Club is one of the oldest yacht clubs in England and takes part in local and national competitions throughout the year. Each year, the town hosts the International Waterski Championships.
In May 2007, Whitstable Town Football Club, based at the Belmont ground, won promotion from the Kent League to the Isthmian League Division One South. Whitstable Rugby Football Club 1st XV also won promotion in 2007, to the London League. The club has a 2nd XV team which play in the East Kent League 2.
Whitstable has a council-owned swimming pool and sports centre with facilities for badminton, 5-a-side football, volleyball, cricket and tennis. A 10-pin bowling centre is located next door to the swimming pool. There is also an outdoor basketball court at the Rec near the swimming pool.
Windsurfing is common off the West Quay, usually at low tide in southwesterly winds. Kite surfing has become popular in recent years usually taking place east of the Harbour, due to its flat water conditions and exposure to the open sea.
Local media
The four local newspapers are the KM Group owned Whitstable Gazette and KM Extra, YourCanterbury part of KOS Ltd., and the Northcliffe Media-owned Whitstable Times.
During the 1960s, several pirate radio stations broadcast from the nearby Shivering Sands and Red Sands offshore sea forts. These included Radio Invicta, KING Radio, Radio Sutch (launched by Screaming Lord Sutch), Radio City, and Radio 390.
Whitstable has a local radio station in KMFM Canterbury which also serves Canterbury and Herne Bay. It was previously known as CTFM, until it was taken over by the KM Group in September 2007. County-wide station Heart Kent (formerly Invicta FM) is based on the John Wilson business park in the town.
Popular culture
The playwright and novelist W. Somerset Maugham was sent to live with his uncle in Whitstable, at age 10, after the death of his parents. His novels Of Human Bondage (1915) and Cakes and Ale (1930) are set in the fictional town of Blackstable. It is likely that he based this town on Whitstable, as the names and description of places around Blackstable, including The Duke of Cumberland Inn and Joy Lane, are identical to places around Whitstable.
Whitstable is the hometown of the narrator, Nancy Astley, in Sarah Waters' 1998 novel Tipping the Velvet. Whitstable also featured in the 2002 BBC drama adaptation. The Old Neptune Pub on the seafront was used as a filming location for the 2006 movie Venus, for which the actor Peter O'Toole earned an Academy Award nomination.
Whitstable features prominently in the 2021 AcornTV series Whitstable Pearl, starring Kerry Godliman, in which a restaurateur fancies herself a private detective in the seaside town.
Notable people
Hervey Alan, operatic bass
Peter Cushing, actor, lived in the town
Alan Davies, comedian
Brian Haw, protester
Val Hennessy, journalist
Dawn Steele, Scottish actress
Harry Hill, comedian, has his primary residence in the town
Matthew Holness, comedian and actor (Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, Man to Man with Dean Learner)
W. Somerset Maugham lived in Whitstable in his early years
Fiona Reid, English-born Canadian actress
Paul Jewell, Liverpool born Premier League English football manager
Violet Wood (1899–2012), formerly the oldest documented living person in the United Kingdom, lived in the town.
Peter Shearing, former professional footballer.
Twin towns
Whitstable is twinned with the following towns:
Dainville, France
Borken, Germany
Říčany, Czech Republic
Albertslund, Denmark
Mölndal, Sweden
Whitstable has friendship links with:
Grabow, Germany
Sisimiut, Greenland
Bolków, Poland
Lviv, Ukraine
East Renfrewshire, Scotland
References
External links
Towns in Kent
Seaside resorts in England
Populated coastal places in Kent
Beaches of Kent
Unparished areas in Kent
City of Canterbury
Ports and harbours of Kent | en |
doc-en-7994 | Chief Emeka Anyaoku, GCVO, CFR, CON (born 18 January 1933) is a Nigerian diplomat of Igbo descent. He was the third Commonwealth Secretary-General. Born in Obosi, Anyaoku was educated at Merchants of Light School, Oba, and attended the University College of Ibadan, then a college of the University of London, from which he obtained an honours degree in Classics as a College Scholar. Aside from his international career, Chief Anyaoku continues to fulfill the duties of his office as Ichie Adazie of Obosi, a traditional Ndichie chieftainship.
Family background
Eleazar Chukwuemeka "Emeka" Anyaoku was born on 18 January 1933 to Emmanuel and Cecilia Anyaoku in Obosi, then a very large village in the eastern part of Nigeria. Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Anyaoku had been educated to the middle school level after his primary education at the CMS school in Onitsha under the guardianship of Reverend William Blackett a Christian Missionary. After his education he worked first with the railways and later in the hospital in Kaduna in the Northern part of Nigeria before becoming a catechist. After serving for a number of years, he went back to his village to farm. He became Ononukpo (Head) of Okpuno Ire, a quarter in Ire, the largest village in Obosi.
Cecilia, née Adiba Ogbogu, was married as second wife by Emmanuel when he returned from Kaduna after following the death of his first wife. Cecilia hailed from a family in Ugamuma quarter of Obosi. She grew up at the home of Rev. Ekpunobi, her guardian, who was the first Obosi citizen to be ordained as an Anglican Priest. He was regarded as one of the most enlightened and educated in the community then. Cecilia stayed with the Ekpunobi family as a ward. Rev. Ekpunobi, on learning of the death of Emmanuel's wife, invited him to his home and subsequently convinced Emmanuel and Adiba to marry each other. Their first child, a girl, did not survive. Thereafter, Emeka was born and he has five siblings.
Education
Emeka Anyaoku at the age of seven was sent to live with his father's only brother, Egwuenu Anyaoku, at Umuahia to start schooling in a very rural school. The highest class then at the school was standard four. The colonial dispensation then generally did not encourage pupils to go beyond standard four or standard six. At the age of 10, in 1943, Emeka was sent to stay with his father's cousin, Nathaniel Enwezor who was Headmaster at CMS Central School at Agbor, 75 km from Obosi.
For his secondary education, the young Anyaoku attended Merchants of Light School (MOLS) at Oba. It was a boarding school founded by a friend of his father's, Dr. Enoch Oli, a Nigerian educationist trained in London and Oxford. Mr. Oli taught Emeka and the other students the importance of hard work, good character and good inter-personal relations.
During this period of his formative years, Anyaoku had begun to stand out as a smart, brilliant young man. At Obosi village during holidays, especially Easter and Christmas times, when the students came home, one of his contemporaries, Chief Godfrey Eneli, recalled that they used to have debates and different kinds of students’ activities organized by the Obosi Students Association. Anyaoku, Eneli said, showed particular signs of leadership qualities. In his words, "I had the idea that he would become a leader, which he exhibited every time we all went home on holidays." He said further, " we used to call him ‘lawyer’, because he was always arguing, and logical in whatever he approached. We would be persuaded by his intellect and by his argument, and his approach to whatever discussions we had."
Another of his contemporaries, S.I. Metu, a classmate who later became a top banker and civil servant, extolled his interpersonal skills. He said of Anyaoku, "one of his popularities was that he was a very good mixer, he virtually had no enemies because of his general friendliness….. from all we now know of Mr. Anyaoku, it is obvious that he was destined to be a diplomat, because he had all the makings – intelligence, friendliness, the ability to get things without offending anybody." Metu also recalled Anyaoku as a very studious student at the Merchants of Light School. He stated, "Anyaoku cannot spare any moment for play – he was always reading or working on something. Or occasionally, when he was tired and wanted to relax, he would crack some very serious jokes and everybody would be laughing." Anyaoku was among the second intake of 60 boys. When they sat for the Cambridge School Certificate examination, he took 10 subjects and earned the school's first grade pass, the highest level.
After his secondary education, Anyaoku in 1952 proceeded to teach at Emmanuel College, Owerri in the then Eastern Region, he was there until mid-1954 lecturing in mathematics, Latin and English. He was reputedly an assiduous young teacher, meticulous in preparing his lesson notes. He gave back to his students the best of what he had learned at MOLS while injecting humor into his teachings.
One of his teachers at MOLS had kindled in him an interest in the Classics. His Latin teacher had inspired in him a love for the languages, laws and culture of the ancient Greeks and Romans, and the classical roots of the English language. Anyaoku then decided to go and study Classics at the new University College of Ibadan, the premier higher institution of its kind in the country, which had been instituted in 1948 as an overseas college of the University of London.
During the mid-1950s when Anyaoku was an undergraduate at the University College, Ibadan, the Nigerian nation was embroiled in debates, discussions and demonstrations on the political future of the country. There were controversies on when Nigeria should gain independence from Britain and with what political structure it should seek independence whether as a unitary or federal state. The city of Ibadan was one of the main epicenters of these debates. And the University College, which had brought together brilliant students, lecturers and politicians from diverse parts of the country, became a centre of what was then described as national radicalism.
Anyaoku was in the thick of this as a student union leader. He along with like-minds in the union leadership campaigned in favour of unitary state, against federalism. They sent petitions and delegations to the three foremost political leaders in the country then, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe in the Eastern region of the country, Chief Obafemi Awolowo in the Western, and Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello in the Northern region.
Anyaoku in 1959 obtained a London University Honours Degree in classics as a college scholar and joined the Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) in Lagos. The corporation sent him as an Executive Trainee to the CDC headquarters in London from where he went on a course at the Royal Institute for Public Administration in London. On 1 October 1960, Nigeria was granted independence by Britain. And Anyaoku was posted back to the CDC West Africa regional office in Lagos at the end of December 1960.
Marriage
In December 1961, Anyaoku then a CDC Executive Officer came in contact with a twenty year old Yoruba lady, Princess Ebunola Olubunmi Solanke, at a bachelor's eve party which he and his flatmate hosted for a friend of theirs in Lagos. The princess, familiarly known by the diminutive "Bunmi", was educated in England at a Christian girls boarding school, St. Mary's School at Hastings. She thereafter attended Pitman College, London. Emeka and Bunmi were married at the Anglican Cathedral Church in Lagos on 10 November 1962.
Career
In 1959, Emeka Anyaoku joined the Commonwealth Development Corporation. In early 1962, Anyaoku came in contact with the then Prime Minister of Nigeria, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Belewa. He had accompanied his visiting boss, Lord Howick, Chairman of the Commonwealth Development Corporation, to a meeting with the Prime Minister on the activities of the corporation in Nigeria and the West African region. The Prime Minister, impressed by Anyaoku's answers to some of his questions on the projects supported by the CDC in West Africa, took an interest in Anyaoku's future and persuaded him to consider joining the Nigerian Foreign Service. After a grueling interview by the Federal Civil Service Commission, he was offered an appointment in the Foreign Service in April 1962. Within a month of his entry, he was appointed Personal Assistant to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry for External Affairs. There he was closely involved in the process that led to the establishment of the Organisation for African Unity (OAU) in May 1963. Following Nigeria's independence, he joined Nigeria's diplomatic service, and in 1963 was posted to its Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York.
In 1966, he joined the Commonwealth Secretariat as Assistant Director of International Affairs. In 1968-69 there was a campaign by the Nigerian military government for the recall of Anyaoku; which said he was not a suitable Nigerian nominee, and they were anxious about his loyalty "to the country of his birth". But "Emeka had resigned from the Nigerian Foreign Service and Arnold had no difficulty in turning aside the demand".
In 1977, the Commonwealth Heads of Government elected him as Deputy Secretary-General. In 1983, Nigeria's civilian government appointed Anyaoku to become Nigeria's Foreign Minister. After the overthrow of the government by the military later that year, he returned to his position as Deputy Secretary-General with the support of the new government in Nigeria and the endorsement of all Commonwealth governments.
At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting at Kuala Lumpur on 24 October 1989, Anyaoku was elected the third Commonwealth Secretary-General. He was re-elected at the 1993 CHOGM in Limassol for a second five-year term, beginning on 1 April 1995.
United Nations
In July 1963, at age 30, he was posted to Nigeria's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York. His first child, Adiba, was born in the New York Lying-In Hospital on 20 November 1963, two days before President John F. Kennedy of the United States was assassinated. A few weeks previously, Nigeria had become a Republic, with Nnamdi Azikiwe as the first President. At his duty post at the United Nations, Anyaoku as Nigeria's alternative representative in the United Nations special committee on Apartheid drafted the resolution – presented to the General Assembly by Nigeria in 1965 – that established a trust fund to enable governments to contribute to the defense of political detainees in South Africa.
He got embroiled in the crisis triggered by the Ian Smith administration in the then Southern Rhodesia in Southern Africa, who announced Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) from Britain. Anyaoku spoke at various forums to condemn this development. It was during one of these occasions that the news of Nigeria's first military coup d'état of 15 January 1966 reached him. The Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the powerful Premier of the Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello, and a number of other leaders of the post-independence state were assassinated during the coup d'état. The coup d'état had taken place just one day after the Prime Minister hosted other Commonwealth leaders including the new Secretary-General, Arnold Smith, to a meeting in Lagos where they discussed the issue of Rhodesia.
Commonwealth years
In July 1965 the decision by Commonwealth Heads of Government to set up a Commonwealth Secretariat was implemented with the appointment of a very distinguished Canadian diplomat, Arnold Smith as the first Commonwealth Secretary-General. The Secretary-General was in the process of assembling a multi-national, multi-cultural team at the core of the new Secretariat.
On his visit to Nigeria in November 1965, Smith had met and told the Prime Minister, Sir Tafawa Balewa in the presence of the then Nigerian's Foreign Minister and the Permanent Secretary, that he was looking for a young Nigerian foreign service officer who would "help him to make nonsense of racist myths." After Smith left, the Prime Minister asked the Foreign Ministry to give him three names that would satisfy the Secretary-General's request. Anyaoku was among the three names suggested and was selected by the Prime Minister for secondment to the new Commonwealth secretariat.
On arrival at the Secretariat in London in April 1966, Anyaoku was particularly impressed with the way the Secretary-General, Arnold Smith was handling the Rhodesia UDI issue. He was made Assistant Director of International Affairs which later became the Political Affairs Division. His first major assignment was to serve as Secretary of a Review Committee set up by the Secretary-General with the approval of Heads of Government to review all existing Commonwealth inter-governmental institutions with a view to determining which should be integrated into the newly established Commonwealth Secretariat.
In July 1967 the Nigerian Civil War broke out. During that period, he and his wife hosted many separate luncheons and dinners in their London home for the Nigerian and Biafran representatives at the peace talks sponsored by the Secretary-General, Arnold Smith. In the middle of the talks, he told the Secretary-General that he was willing to travel home to speak with the Biafran leader, Emeka Ojukwu about the Secretary-General's peace proposals to the two warring parties. He and Ojukwu had been friends since their boyhood. Smith considered it a very risky venture but however, allowed Anyaoku to go.
When he was embarking on the journey, his third child, Obi, who was just about three months old, was very ill in the hospital. The doctors were worried that he might not survive the ailment. When he told his wife, Bunmi, that he had to travel, she was shocked by his seeming insensitivity to their son's condition. Anyaoku told her, "there are many more in worse state, dying every day, in Biafra." She was speechless.
Anyaoku left on a Red Cross flight to Nigeria via Amsterdam and Sao Tome. The day after his arrival at the Biafran enclave, he had a scary experience of a bomb raid during which he had to dive with his two interlocutors in the Biafran Foreign Ministry under the table. He eventually had a dramatic encounter with Ojukwu in his bunker at his headquarters. And when he left Biafra, after also seeing a number of his relations, he had a hair-raising exit on a flight that was evacuating children. It was an aircraft with no seats, which took off from Uli to Gabon.
Anyaoku continued to be involved in various Commonwealth initiatives and negotiations, such as the Gibraltar referendum of 1967, the St Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla constitutional crisis of 1969 to 1970, the problems following Commonwealth Games’ boycotts during the 1980s and the process leading to peace and democracy in Zimbabwe, Namibia and in particular, South Africa.
He also moved up the ladder within the Commonwealth Secretariat. He became the Director of the International Affairs Division in 1971 and in 1975 rose to the position of Assistant Secretary-General. In 1977, Commonwealth Governments elected him deputy secretary-general with responsibility for international affairs and the secretariat's administration.
In October, 1983, he resigned from his post and returned to Nigeria at the invitation of the Civilian President Shehu Shagari to serve as the country's foreign minister. On the overthrow of the government by the military on 31 December 1983, he went back with the unanimous support of the Commonwealth Governments to his previous position as Deputy Secretary-General. In 1989 at their meeting in Kuala-lumpur he was elected by Commonwealth Heads of Government the third Commonwealth Secretary-General. He was re-elected at the 1993 Limassol Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting for a second five-year term.
Apart from striving to strengthen intra-Commonwealth relations and promoting democracy and good governance, one of the major projects he tackled during his tenure was the establishment of democracy in South Africa. He tirelessly championed and spoke in favour of the struggle to rid South Africa of Apartheid. In 1990, on the release of former President Nelson Mandela from Pollsmoor Prison, Anyaoku hosted Madiba to his first official dinner as Commonwealth Secretary-General in London. Between 1 November 1991 and 17 November 1993, he visited South Africa 11 times, using his diplomatic skills to help in breaking deadlocks in the negotiation process that brought the end of apartheid in South Africa.
In 1998, in recognition of Chief Emeka Anyaoku's contribution to the transition in South Africa, and the manner in which he had championed the cause of the progressive movements in Southern Africa, the President of South Africa accorded him the rare honour of addressing a joint sitting of the South African Parliament. President Nelson Mandela wrote the foreword of Chief Emeka Anyaoku's biography, Eye of Fire authored by Phyllis Johnson as well as to Chief Emeka Anyaoku's memoirs, The Inside Story of the Modern Commonwealth.
Anyaoku was involved in numerous interventions to broker peace between several Commonwealth leaders and opposition parties in their countries. He also initiated the use of Commonwealth observer groups to assist elections in various countries. Apart from exerting beneficial influence on the electoral process, the presence of Commonwealth observers made it easier for the parties who had lost to accept the result, if the election was judged by Commonwealth observers to be free and fair. In his ten years as Secretary-General, he sent 51 election observer groups to various Commonwealth countries.
Beginning with President Kaunda in 1991, he intervened to help Zambia and several other Commonwealth nations to transit from one-party state or military regime to multi-party democracies. For example, he in the same year, persuaded President Arap Moi of Kenya to have a constitutional expert come and help the country revise its constitution to adapt it to the requirements of a multi-party democracy and thereafter in early 1992, persuaded the three opposition parties leaders who had rejected the result of the presidential elections to accept it thereby saving the country from a serious political crisis.
These interventions were not limited to Africa. His intervention in Bangladesh was another example that demanded a lot of time and patience. The country's two political leaders were Begum Zia and Sheikh Hasina. Begum Zia had become the prime minister following the assassination of her husband who was the Prime Minister. The leader of the opposition party, Sheikh Hasina, was the daughter of Sheik Abdul Rahman, the first Prime Minister of independent Bangladesh who with his entire family with the exception of daughter Hasina had been killed in a military coup d'état. Hasina was lucky to be out of the country on that fateful night. Anyaoku persuaded the two leaders to agree to his proposal to send an experienced representative to come to Bangladeshi to hold discussions with the Prime Minister, Begum Zia and the leader of the opposition Sheik Hasina with a view to finding a formula for mutual accommodation between their two parties. Anyaoku consequently sent as his special representative, Sir Ninian Steven, a former Australian Governor-General, who spent weeks in Dhaka brokering peace between the government and the opposition parties.
He also intervened in Pakistan during a potentially destabilizing disagreement between the then President, Mr. Farooq Leghari and the Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif.
The most challenging of his interventions was the crisis in his country Nigeria that followed the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election by the then military junta of General Ibrahim Babangida. The election had apparently been won by Chief Moshood Abiola. On the day after the annulment, Chief Anyaoku issued a strident statement, saying that the annulment was a "severe setback to the cause of democracy, particularly at a time when all Commonwealth governments have pledged themselves to promote democratic rule in their countries"; he called it "a bitter disappointment" to all those who had been looking forward to the assumption of office of a democratically elected government in Nigeria.
Anyaoku had a much tougher case when Babangida ‘stepped aside’ and General Sani Abacha after a few months of the contraption called Interim Government took over the administration of the country in a military coup d'état on 17 November 1993. Abacha instituted much more draconian measures. He arrested and jailed the presumed winner of the 12 June 1993 election, Abiola. And the country was thrown into a great turmoil with labour strikes and public demonstrations raging all over.
Abacha exacerbated the crisis further by arresting, detaining and putting on trial Ken Saro-Wiwa and other Ogoni activists on a charge of complicity in the murder of four Ogoni Chiefs who had opposed their campaign methodology. Later in March 1995, the Abacha regime alleged that a coup attempt had been hatched against it. Many observers dismissed this as a phantom coup. The regime, however, embarked on the arrest and detention of many serving and former officers, including erstwhile military Head of State, General Olusegun Obasanjo, and his previous deputy, General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua.
The alleged coup plotters were tried by a military tribunal and were sentenced variously, with Obasanjo being given life imprisonment, while Yar’Adua was sentenced to death. Anyaoku continued to campaign for a peaceful resolution of the crisis by sending messages to Abacha and making public statements, to no avail. The matter came to a boiling point when Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight of his fellow accused were also sentenced to death. Anyaoku made a passionate appeal to Abacha soliciting for clemency for the condemned activists. This appeal fell on Abacha's deaf ears and he eventually had Ken Saro-Wiwa and his colleagues executed on the eve of a meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government in Auckland, New Zealand in November 1995.. In reaction, Commonwealth leaders decided to suspend Nigeria from its membership of the association.
In the meantime, Anyaoku had sought to engage Abacha in discussions aimed at resolving the political crisis in Nigeria. Anyaoku had with Abacha's agreement met in July 1995 with Abiola in detention to discuss his proposal for a dialogue between the two parties with the aim of agreeing arrangements for the acceptance of the outcome of the annulled presidential elections. While Abiola on his part accepted the proposal, Abacha turned it down telling Anyaoku that he would prefer to seek a resolution of the crisis through a constitutional conference to be convened by him.
Following Abacha's sudden death on 8 June 1998, a new military regime under General Abdulsalami Abubakar came in to facilitate a quick return of the country to democratic dispensation. Anyaoku with his Commonwealth team gave full support to this process, including especially the national elections that produced the civilian administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo.
In pursuance of his declared priority from the beginning of his tenure to make the Commonwealth a potent force for the promotion of democracy and good governance, Anyaoku in early 1997, organized the first African Commonwealth Heads of Government Roundtable to discuss democracy and good governance on the continent. He retired from his position as Commonwealth Secretary-General on 31 March 2000.
On his retirement, the University of London established a professional chair at its Institute of Commonwealth studies named after him, the Emeka Anyaoku Professor of Commonwealth Studies. He was also invited to be a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Global Governance, London School of Economics (2000-2002). He was awarded the Freedom of the City of London in 1998 and has received decorations from Nigeria CFR and CON, and the highest national civilian honours of Cameroon, Lesotho, Madagascar, Namibia and Trinidad & Tobago's Trinity Cross (TC) as well as Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) from her Majesty, The Queen in 2000. He was one of the fifty, and also one of the one hundred individuals who were awarded special gold medals for outstanding contribution to the country's development by the Federal Government in the celebrations of Nigeria's independence Golden Jubilee in 2010 and Centenary in 2014.
Emeka Anyaoku is a published author and now holds 33 honorary Doctorate degrees from top universities in Britain, Canada, Ghana, Republic of Ireland, Nigeria, South Africa, Switzerland and Zimbabwe.
Chief Emeka Anyaoku served under three democratically elected Presidents in Nigeria as Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Council on International Relations from 2000 to 2015. He along with Kofi Annan played a seminal role in getting all the presidential candidates and their political parties to commit themselves to a violence-free electoral process by signing in January the Abuja Accord that ensured a relatively peaceful election and transition to a new democratic dispensation in Nigeria of President Muhammadu Buhari in May 2015.
The positions in which Chief Emeka Anyaoku served/is still serving include the following:
1. 1975 Leader, Commonwealth Mission to Mozambique
2. 1979-90 Member of the Council of Overseas Development Institute in London.
3. 1984-90 Member of Governing Council of the Save the Children Fund
4. 1992- Hon. Member of the Club of Rome
5. 1994-96 Member, World Commission on Forests
6. 2000-06 President, Royal Commonwealth Society
7. 2000- date President, Royal African Society
8. 2001- date Member, United Nations Eminent Persons Group to help advance the aims of the World Conference Against Racism
9. 2002-09 President, World Wide Fund for Nature, WWF
10. 2004-05 Chairman, United Nations Secretary-General's Panel on International support to African Development (NEPAD)
11. 2002-10 Member of the Governing Board of the South Centre in Geneva
12. 2005-13 Trustee of the British Museum
13. 2000-15 Chairman, Presidential Advisory Council on International Relations in Nigeria.
14. 2013- date President, Metropolitan Club, Lagos.
Personal life
Installed in 1980 as the Ichie Adazie of Obosi, Chief Anyaoku has continued to fulfill the duties of the office of a traditional Ndichie chieftainship in Obosi. The Ichie Anyaoku has been married to Princess Bunmi Anyaoku since 1962. Princess Anyaoku is an Omoba of Abeokuta, Nigeria. Of their marriage, it was written in the Nigerian Sunday Times, then the widest circulating newspaper in the country, that
They have four children, Adiba; their daughter– an attorney who serves on the board of Old Mutual plc –and three sons; Oluyemisi, Obiechina, and Emenike. Emeka has two grandchildren, born to Adiba and her husband; Irenne Ighodaro and Osita Ighodaro. In 1990, the heads of all the 19 communities of the Idemili Clan in his home State of Anambra accorded Anyaoku a unique honour by investing him with the title of Ugwumba Idemili. His wife, Bunmi, is also a chieftain – Ugoma Obosi and Idemili – in her own right, with a long involvement in welfare work in Nigeria and in the Commonwealth.
Emeka Anyaoku is an Anglican, his father having converted to that faith. He writes that he is
He is also a vice-president of the Royal Commonwealth Society.
References
Emmanuel College, Owerri alumni
1933 births
Alumni of the University of London
Commonwealth Deputy Secretaries-General
Commonwealth Secretaries-General
Foreign ministers of Nigeria
Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
Igbo politicians
Living people
Nigerian Anglicans
Nigerian diplomats
Permanent Representatives of Nigeria to the United Nations
Recipients of the Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo
Trustees of the British Museum
University of Ibadan alumni
Alumni of University of London Worldwide
Igbo diplomats | en |
doc-en-9258 | Knightmare is a British children's adventure game show, created by Tim Child, and broadcast over eight series on CITV from 7 September 1987 to 11 November 1994. The general format of the show is of a team of four children – one who takes on the game, and three acting as their guide and advisers – attempting to complete a quest within a fantasy medieval environment, traversing a large dungeon and using their wits to overcome puzzles, obstacles and the unusual characters they meet along the journey.
The show is most notable for its use of blue screen chroma key, an idea Child utilised upon seeing it being put to use in weather forecasts at the time the programme began, as well as its use of 'virtual reality' interactive gameplay on television and the high level of difficulty faced by every team. Broadcast to high viewing figures throughout its original run, it garnered a cult status amongst fans since its final television episode in 1994. It was revived for a one-off special by YouTube in August 2013.
Format
Each run of the game involves a team of four children, aged around 11–16, and focuses on the same format. One member takes on the game in person, referred to as the "Dungeoneer", but are made blind to their surroundings by the "Helmet of Justice" – a headpiece that blocks their field of vision to just around their feet. The other three act as their advisers, guiding them around, giving them advice to solving puzzles, and making notes on information received. Once the Dungeoneer is ready, they are sent off on their quest, which in most series requires the team to choose which one they will undertake, whereupon the action takes place within a blue screen chroma key studio that is used to display a partly computer-generated, partly hand-drawn fantasy dungeon – only the viewers and the Dungeoneer's advisers can see this. In some cases, filming of a run takes place in real locations, in which the viewpoint of these scenes is done to appear to be from that of the Dungeoneer's. The rest of the team remains in the main studio fashioned as an antechamber of "Knightmare Castle", and provide instructions and descriptions of a location to the Dungeoneer, much in the same fashion of text-based computer games which rely on description and commands rather than any visuals. An example of this could be that a room has a key for a locked door within, so the advisers would describe the room to the Dungeoneer and then instruct them to move towards the key, pick it up, and use it on the door to exit the room.
The objective of the game is for the team to complete three levels of a specially made dungeon designed for them; each team faces a new dungeon of a different design, but with similar features recurring during a series. Each level consists of a number of rooms – some with puzzles, obstacles and challenges that have to be overcome – and a selection of inhabitants – some will help out, while others will either hinder the player unless they give them something they require, or attempt to stop them and end their game. In some cases, the team faces more than one exit, and usually must make a choice about which way to go. Every dungeon has a selection of objects, some of which will help to solve puzzles or get past certain inhabitants, while others are decoys, as well as magic spells – a single word that can be used to solve puzzles, get around hazards and dangerous inhabitants, which require an adviser to spell out the word correctly (i.e. if the spell is Light, then the adviser needs to say L-I-G-H-T).
Each team is required to complete their game within a time-limit, which is represented by an on-screen animated life force meter for the Dungeoneer that depletes over time; the meter is only ever seen by the viewers, but the advisers receive clear hints about its status when they need to take care. Because the amount of time given is not enough, the team must get the Dungeoneer to checkpoints within the dungeon and have them pick up a food item and place it within a knapsack given to them before they begin their run, which restores the Dungeoneer's life-force to full upon doing so. If the team make mistakes that allow the Dungeoneer to take "damage" from minor monsters or hazards, they incur a time penalty, that reduces the amount of time they have to complete the game. If the Dungeoneer runs out of life-force, the game is over; the game is also over if the team makes a bad decision and take a wrong route into a dead end, or the Dungeoneer is "killed" by an enemy character, monster or trap or "falls" into a pit. The appearance of the life-force meter varied during the course of the show's history:
Up until the end of the fifth series, the meter was a computer animated image of an adventurer wearing a helmet. As life-force depletes, pieces of the helmet disappears from the meter, then the skin of the adventurer, and then the skull, until finally the eyes roll past the camera. The background of the image also changes – green when healthy, amber when it moderate, and red when life-force is low. This meter was used again in the one-off YouTube remake.
In the sixth and seventh series, the meter was represented by an animated picture of a walking knight, which loses pieces of its armour over time to reveal a skeleton, which eventually crumbles to bits.
In the final series, the meter was represented by an animated picture of a pie, in which each slice of it slowly dissolves over time.
If the team manages to complete all three levels, they are awarded with their prize, which changed over the years of the show's history. Unlike most other children's shows, Knightmare had no qualms over having a very high difficulty level, and as a result, only eight teams managed to win the game over its eight series. Regardless of whether a team wins or fails, they leave the show once their game is over, and a new team takes their place. This continues until the final episode of the series, whereupon the last team playing in that episode will often always be given an impossible situation that they will fail, in order to allow the series to end. Because each episode is designed to be twenty-five minutes long, should a team's run exceed beyond an episode, editing is done to freeze the action towards the end, and then unfreeze at the beginning of the next episode (referred to in the series context as "temporal disruption"). Only twice in the entire series did temporal disruption coincide with the end of a quest (in both series 2 and series 6 where both teams lost). The nature of the rolling game play being condensed into 25 minute episodes meant occasionally that the start of an episode would feature a team for a very short time before they were eliminated; conversely, some teams had barely begun their quests when temporal disruption occurred.
Characters
A Saxon Knight named Treguard, or Treguard of Dunshelm, was the dungeon master and was played by Hugo Myatt for the show's eight series. Information about his supposed background can be found in the related literature (see merchandise section). During the show, it was Treguard's job to assist the dungeoneer and his team of helpers wherever possible, also explaining a team's cause of death whenever they died.
At first, Treguard directed the contestants on his own. However, from Series 4, Treguard had an assistant: Pickle the elf, played by David Learner, and (from Series 7) after Pickle had "gone back to the forest", Majida, a princess and genie of Arabian descent played by Jackie Sawiris. (Majida originally claimed her name was "Daughter of the Setting Moon Whose Eyes are Like Daggers in the Hearts of Men Who Ride the Great Caravan of the Sultan".). Both assistants gave additional support to teams, in particular younger adventurers who may have been nervous at the start of their quests.
During the early series Treguard was portrayed as a neutral character, most notably between Series 1 and 3. During the start of Episode 14 of Series 3 (when no team had yet completed that series' dungeon) he went as far as to say "we're celebrating an unbeaten record", apparently siding against the dungeoneers. However, from Series 5 onwards there was a clear distinction made between 'The Powers that Be' and 'The Opposition', against which Treguard became less neutral, and more inclined to aid the dungeoneers to complete their quest. Aside from Treguard, no other characters featured throughout the entire run- only warlock (later wizard and then mage) Hordriss and palace jester Motley would have long runs on the show, both being introduced in season 3 and remaining until the series end.
The formal division of characters between The Powers that Be and The Opposition meant that later series started to feature more developed story lines that would be hinted at in earlier quests and developed more as the seasons progressed. Examples of this include the alliance between Lord Fear and Aesandre in series 5 which backfires when she freezes the entire dungeon at the end of the season after her powers have been boosted by her ally. Season 6 saw Lord Fear attempt another alliance with Witch Queen Greystagg which she eventually rejected, leading to him summoning a Red Dragon to destroy the dungeon (which Treguard and Pickle ultimately foiled with a lightning rod that the final team of that season retrieved) but this plan also failed, leading to the destruction of Mount Fear. In season 7, the enmity between Lord Fear and Greystagg developed further after it was revealed he had destroyed her home- Greystagg helps the final team retrieve a magic hammer to stop a giant troll from destroying Knightmare castle. In the final season, Greystagg had been replaced with the sorceress Maldame and both she and Lord Fear fought for control over an underwater domain called the Great Mire; Lord Fear sent another red dragon to destroy her but the ultimate outcome of this was unresolved as the final quest ended.
Over the course of the series Treguard became known for his catchphrase "Ooh, nasty!", regularly used just after a team had died. Intended only as a passing remark, this was originally an ad lib by Myatt. Actors that auditioned for the show were required to demonstrate spontaneity and flexibility- occasionally a team's actions would require quick thinking by Hugo Myatt and/or the other actors in order for the game play to follow the planned path.
In its early series, Knightmare lacked a single major antagonist or 'baddie'. Indeed, originally Treguard was specifically a neutral character, neither on the side of good nor evil. The closest there was to a main villain was Mogdred (portrayed by John Woodnutt), but his main duty was (according to wizard Merlin in the penultimate episode of Series 2) to "scare you into making a mistake", though he did kill two dungeoneers, one in Series 2 and another early in Series 4. In Series 5 (1991), however, changes were made. The majority of the characters were split into two sides: the righteous "Powers that Be", and the villainous "Opposition", the leader of which was Lord Fear played by Mark Knight. By this time, Treguard's stance had now fully evolved into that of a strictly good character.
In 2014 Hugo Myatt lent his "Treguard" voice to the heavy metal band Evil Scarecrow's album Galactic Hunt for the track Enter the Knightmare, whose lyrics are based on the 1980s TV show.
Production
Knightmare was conceived by Tim Child in 1985, inspired by the two ZX Spectrum games Atic Atac and Dragontorc. Realising that if a ZX Spectrum could do these types of adventure game, then a television programme could revolutionise the genre, he enlisted the help of artist David Rowe to design realistic looking backgrounds with an airbrush. Borrowing the technique used in weather forecasts, Child devised a large blue room, which was set up in Studio A of Anglia Studios. The advanced computer graphic environments were created by the Travelling Matte Company using a Spaceward SuperNova computer. Travelling Matte was owned by set designer Robert Harris, who had trained at Central Saint Martin's in stage design and had been working with John Peyre at BBC TV when The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy started to blend digital images with real world studio scenery. Harris had a background in CGI, having trained in 3D animation at Middlesex Polytechnic under Dr John Vince, and experience in playing out "live" graphics for current affairs programmes like Newsnight and Panorama. Knightmare required real time CGI inserts and virtual lighting changes, door reveals and animated monsters in real time, within live action against blue screen using Ultimatte.
Eventually, in early 1986, a 15-minute pilot under the name of Dungeon Doom was recorded. Even at this stage it featured Hugo Myatt, the husband of Christine Webber who was a presenter of Anglia's regional news programme About Anglia. A second 20-minute pilot was filmed on 27 and 28 January 1987, with the name changed to Knightmare, and 'life force' added, an idea borrowed from the computer game Atic Atac, which also influenced the show in other ways. He recruited Robert Harris, who used a Spaceward computer to design an animation of a knight's head that could indicate varying degrees of damage. Child sent this second pilot to the ITV Children's Committee in February, who commissioned a series of eight half-hour episodes.
The show was an instant hit, and a second series twice as long as the first was commissioned the next year, closely followed by a third the year after that. By the time this third series finished, Child felt the dungeon format was getting too restrictive, and he needed something new. Because of this, the fourth series saw the introduction of many 'outdoor' scenes, filmed around places such as medieval castles across the UK, and composited into the blue room using the usual chromakey technique. This series also saw the introduction of the "Eye Shield", which acted as an 'eye' for the dungeoneer. Using pre-recorded footage filmed on location, it followed the progress of the dungeoneers as they explored the dungeon. A new onscreen status bar was also introduced, generated by a Commodore Amiga 2000 computer.
At its peak in 1991/1992, Knightmare attracted approximately 4–5 million viewers per episode with many episodes being directed by Martin Cairns (at that time a very high figure for a children's TV series). By 1993, the year which saw the programme's seventh series, it was the most popular non-animated show on CITV. However, changes had recently occurred. Late the previous year, the ITV Children's Committee was replaced by a single Controller of CITV, Dawn Airey. Although she thought well of Knightmare, the average audience age of CITV was now 6–10, down from 6–15 in 1985. It was believed that the older audience was moving to satellite television and video games, and that programmes for a younger audience were needed. After two meetings, it was agreed that an 8th series of Knightmare would go ahead in 1994, but that it would be a shorter run (ten episodes instead of fifteen or sixteen) and that the remainder of the season's timeslot would be taken by Virtually Impossible, a new virtual reality show from Broadsword, the same production company as Knightmare, and aimed at this younger audience. Shortly after this decision was made, Airey left for Channel 4, and was replaced as Controller by Vanessa Chapman.
Despite the diminishing older audience, Knightmares eighth series performed well, and gained a higher audience than Virtually Impossible did later that autumn. Changes introduced in this series saw a return to the dungeon format of Series 1–3, albeit now completely computer-generated, and a new piece of dungeoneering equipment was added: the wand "Reach". This allowed dungeoneers to push, touch, and open things from a distance. At this point, there was still hope that Knightmare would return for a ninth series in 1995: a postal address for future contestants was displayed on screen after the end of the final episode. The chances of the eighth series being the last were also strong, however, and so the series ended on an ambiguous note.
In the event, Knightmare was 'rested' for the foreseeable future, partly due to the declining older audience, and partly because Tim Child felt that while Knightmare should employ high-quality virtual reality in order to remain a cutting-edge show, such technology was not affordable at that time.
Overseas versions
Two other versions of Knightmare were also made: one in France (Le Chevalier Du Labyrinthe), which ran from 19 September 1990 to 31 August 1991, and the other in Spain (El Rescate Del Talisman) which ran from 29 May 1991 to 1994. Both versions were sponsored by Sega. One of the primary differences with both international versions was that there was no rolling game play (i.e. each team/quest was completed in one episode) and prizes were awarded at the end of each episode.
In 1992, Tim Child and Broadsword attempted to sell the series to American broadcasters with a pilot called Lords of the Game. This pilot used characters, settings and the cast from series 6 with the exception of Hugo Myatt who was replaced with an American actor; there was little interest in the series, primarily due to the potential technical issues with using bluescreen/chromakey and an NTSC recording setup.
Merchandise
A number of items of Knightmare merchandise were produced over the show's run, including seven books written by Dave Morris:
Knightmare: Can you beat the challenge? (, 1988)
The Labyrinths of Fear (, 1989)
Fortress of Assassins (, 1990)
The Sorcerer's Isle (, 1991)
The Forbidden Gate (, 1992)
The Dragon's Lair (, 1993)
Lord Fear's Domain (, 1994)
The first of these, Knightmare, told the story of how Treguard came to inhabit Knightmare Castle, revealed once to have been Dunshelm Castle, which Treguard owned by birthright. The next four books were intended for older readers, and took the format of half-fiction, half-interactive story. In these, the first half of the book was a novelette about one of Treguard's adventures, serving as a lead-in to the second half which comprised numbered sections where the reader directed the narrative, similar to the Choose Your Own Adventure books. The next two books retained the interactive format, but were aimed at a younger audience. Throughout the interactive portions of the books the reader had to keep track of Life Force and objects collected, and some books had additional statistics or special skills to monitor. Finally, Lord Fear's Domain was a puzzle book.
There were also two Knightmare computer games released: the first was in 1987, released on the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, and Commodore 64; and the second Knightmare game in 1991, released on the Amiga and Atari ST. A PC version was proposed for 1995, but the plan was abandoned when the series finished. The latter game was an RPG similar to the Dungeon Master and Eye Of The Beholder games which, whilst well received at the time, had very little to do with the TV series besides the fantasy setting.
A Knightmare board game was also released in 1992, by MB Games.
Transmissions
Repeats
After Knightmare ended on ITV, it was quickly picked up by The Sci-Fi Channel, which broadcast all eight series starting from the channel's launch in November 1995. However, ratings were low, perhaps exacerbated by the satellite sharing that meant UK fans were unable to receive the Sci Fi Channel at the times when the show was being broadcast. (Cable television was also relatively uncommon in the UK at this time, and completely unavailable in some areas, further limiting the show's existing fanbase.) Sci-Fi's contract ran out on 31 October 1998. Knightmare'''s only appearances on television after that were as clips in "40 Years of Anglia" in 1999, and Channel 4's 100 Greatest Kids' TV Shows in 2001, where it came 16th, the highest position on the list for a game show.
In the United States, Series 5 and 6 were shown for a short time on local Long Island, New York independent station WLNY.
In December 2002, the UK satellite channel Challenge held a group of programmes called the "Christmas Cult Selection", featuring a group of classic game shows from the 1960s (The Golden Shot) right through to the 1980s. Knightmare was included in this, and the repeats started on 23 December 2002, with Series 3, Episode 1 preceded by a short 2.5-minute documentary featuring Tim Child and Hugo Myatt. Just over a week later, Knightmare went on to reach first place in an Internet poll held by Challenge, asking viewers to decide the best show out of the Cult Selection.
Reasonable ratings, combined with the high fanbase, ensured that the other seven series went on to be bought and shown over the next two years. It took until 8 July 2004 for all the episodes to be shown, when Episode 16 of Series 2 was broadcast 563 days after the repeats started. Knightmare continued to run on Challenge until 31 March 2007, when the rights to the series expired. By this time only five of the eight series were still being repeated, as the rights to Series 3 expired at the end of 2004, Series 4 on 31 May 2006, and Series 5 on 30 September 2006, the latter two following a final showing of those series.
On 5 and 6 January 2013, the final two episodes from Series 7 were shown on the CITV channel as part of its 'Old Skool Weekend', which celebrated 30 years of ITV's programming block for children. According to Radio Times, Knightmare was the second most watched programme during the 'Old Skool Weekend', only being beaten by Fun House.
On 22 April 2013, Challenge announced that they have re-acquired the first two series of Knightmare. The re-run began its transmission on 10 May 2013 at 10:30pm, shown as part of their 'Late Zone' strand. These repeats now have the ITV Studios logo at the end rather than the Anglia logo.
On 29 June 2015, Challenge announced that they have also re-acquired the third and fourth series. The re-run started airing on 25 October 2015 at 10:00am.
Further developments
Videogame
Activision released a videogame adaptation.
Knightmare VR
On 25 November 2002, only 6 days after the Challenge repeats were confirmed, it was announced that a reformat of Knightmare was to be undertaken by Televirtual, founded by Tim Child. Known as Knightmare VR, this would use avatar technology to place the dungeoneer in a full 3D computer generated world. A £40,000 National Lottery grant for the programme was awarded in July 2003.
In 2004 test images and clips continued to appear on the Televirtual website and finally on 17 August 2004, the full 13-minute pilot was posted on the Internet.
The VR pilot kept a lot of the original elements that appeared in the original show such as Wall Monsters, Clue Rooms and the dark and grimy dungeon setting. Original Knightmare actors Hugo Myatt and Mark Knight reprised their roles as Treguard and Lord Fear respectively, while several additional actors (including Nick Collett and Tim Child himself) were introduced, playing new additions to the cast.
The pilot introduced some new elements, including a new main host named Garstang, who was an orc. Treguard was now relegated to an avatar head who would occasionally appear to give the dungeoneer advice. The dungeoneer and all of the in-dungeon characters were now fully computer generated, along with the rooms themselves, which meant that the dungeoneer could now explore much larger and grander surroundings than previously seen. All of the rooms could now be seen more thoroughly from different camera angles, an element which the original programme could not do easily due to the limits of its technology.
The Helmet of Justice was no longer used, enabling the dungeoneer to now clearly see his surroundings. As a result of this, only one advisor was now needed, instead of three.
Reactions to the pilot were mixed, with some saying that the lack of a Helmet of Justice and the associated "guiding" element meant a lot of the essence of the original show was lost. The new theme tune was dismissed by some as being overly "cheesy" and unrelated to the dark sense of the programme. On 10 May 2005, it was announced that the project was to be shelved, with Child saying that he had decided that Knightmare would work best under a mixture of virtual reality and the original format.
In an interview with The Guardian in April 2013, Child said that although "(t)here will always be hardcore fans clamouring for (Knightmare΄s) return; I think it's best to let it languish in its own deep, dark dungeon".
YouTube
In December 2012, lifelong Knightmare fan James Aukett commemorated 25 years since the first ever episode was shown with a documentary which featured interviews with Hugo Myatt, Tim Child, artist David Rowe (who illustrated the dungeon backgrounds for the earlier series)
and various other actors and contestants who participated in Knightmare during the course of the show's eight series.
In August 2013, a one-off special edition of Knightmare was produced for YouTube's "Geek Week" event, directed and produced by Tim Child and featuring three original cast members – Hugo Myatt (Treguard), Mark Knight (Lord Fear) and Cliff Barry (Lissard), plus Knightmare VR actor Nick Collett and actresses Isy Suttie and Jessie Cave playing new roles. The team of dungeoneers were YouTube content creators Dan Howell, Phil Lester, Emma Blackery and Stuart Ashen. Filming took place in Norwich at the original Anglia television studios.
Knightmare Live
A theatrical version of Knightmare was performed at the 2013 Edinburgh Festival Fringe from 23 July – 15 August 2013. It opened to rave reviews and was performed in London in 2013 and 2016. The show is produced by Objective Talent Management and stars Paul Flannery, Tom Bell and Amee Smith.
Convention
In March 2014, a group comprising the cast and crew of Knightmare and the website knightmare.com launched a successful crowd funding campaign to raise money to run a Knightmare convention in the studios in Norwich where Knightmare was filmed. The convention took place at EPIC Studios in Norwich (where the original series was filmed) on 9–11 May 2014.
The convention allowed visitors to play a room of the Knightmare'' dungeon using the same technology used in the show, as well as to meet with some of the original cast. A copy of the American pilot Lord of the Game was also shown with an introduction by Tim Child.
Cast
References
External links
Official Televirtual site
Episode on YouTube
1987 British television series debuts
1994 British television series endings
1980s British children's television series
1990s British children's television series
British children's game shows
1980s British game shows
1990s British game shows
English-language television shows
British children's fantasy television series
British television shows featuring puppetry
Fictional fortifications
ITV children's television shows
Television shows produced by Anglia Television
Television series by ITV Studios
Witchcraft in television
Wizards in television | en |
doc-en-10097 | Bahadur Shah (; b. 14 October 1643 – 27 February 1712 d.), also known as Muhammad Mu'azzam () and Shah Alam (), was the eighth Mughal emperor in India, ruled from 1707 until his death in 1712. In his youth, he conspired to overthrow his father Aurangzeb, the sixth Mughal emperor, and ascend to the throne. Shah's plans were intercepted by the emperor, who imprisoned him several times. From 1696 to 1707, he was governor of Akbarabad (later known as Agra), Kabul and Lahore. Bahadur Shah was also Aurangzeb's third son.
After Aurangzeb's death, his eldest son by his chief consort, Muhammad Azam Shah, declared himself successor, but was shortly defeated in one of the largest battles of India, the Battle of Jajau and overthrown by Bahadur Shah. During the reign of Bahadur Shah, the Rajput states of Jodhpur and Amber were annexed again after they declared independence a few years previously. Shah also sparked an Islamic controversy in the khutba by inserting the declaration of Ali as wali. His reign was disturbed by several rebellions, the Sikhs under the leadership of Banda Singh Bahadur, Rajputs under Durgadas Rathore and fellow Mughal Kam Bakhsh but all of them except for the rebellion by Banda Singh Bahadur (where he was killed) were successfully quelled. Bahadur Shah was buried in the Moti Masjid at Mehrauli in Delhi.
Early life
Bahadur Shah was born as Mu'azzam on 14 October 1643 in Burhanpur as the third son of the sixth Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb by his wife Nawab Bai.
During the reign of Shah Jahan
During his grandfather's reign, Mu'azzam was appointed vizer of Lahore from 1653 to 1659. Mu'azzam replaced Shaista Khan as the governor of Deccan in 1663. Shivaji raided the outskirts of Mughal Deccan's capital Aurangabad while the indolent Mu'azzam did little to prevent it. Enraged at this, Aurangzeb sent his most able commander Raja Jai Singh to defeat Shivaji and here the historic Treaty of Purandar was signed
During the reign of Aurangzeb
After Raja Jai Singh I defeated Shivaji at Purandar, Mu'azzam was given charge of the Deccan in May 1667 and was assisted by Maharaja Jaswant Singh.
In 1670, Mu'azzam organised an insurgency to overthrow Aurangzeb and proclaim himself the Mughal emperor. This plan may have been hatched at the instigation of the Marathas, and Mu'azzam's own inclinations and sincerity are difficult to gauge. Aurangzeb learned of the plot and sent Mu'azzam's mother, Begum Nawab Bai, to dissuade him from rebellion. Mu'azzam returned to the Mughal court, where he spent the next several years under Aurangzeb's supervision. However, Mu'azzam again nearly revolted in 1680 over Aurangzeb's scorched earth policy during his suppression of Rajput rebellions. Once again, Aurangzeb dissuaded Mu'azzam with gentleness and watched him with greater vigilance.
For the next seven years, from 1681 to 1687, historian Munis Faruqui describes Mu'azzam as a "grudgingly obedient son".
Treason
In 1681, he was sent by Aurangzeb to the Deccan to cut off the retreat of his step-brother Sultan Muhammad Akbar, who was in revolt. According to Faruqui, Mu'azzam deliberately failed in his mission. In 1683, he was ordered by Aurangzeb to march to the Konkan region to prevent the still rebellious Akbar from fleeing the country, but again Mu'azzam failed to achieve the assigned goal. Nevertheless, the emperor still persisted in entrusting his son with responsibilities, and in 1687, Aurangzeb ordered Mu'azzam to march against the sultanate of Golconda. Within weeks, the emperor's spies intercepted treasonous messages exchanged between Mu'azzam and Abul Hasan, the ruler of Golconda. This was something which could not be mistaken for incompetence; it was clearly treason. Aurangzeb imprisoned Mu'azzam and his sons, executed his closest followers, ordered his harem "shipped off to faraway Delhi", and dispersed his staff. Aurangzeb forbade Mu'azzam to cut his nails or hair for six months, gave orders depriving him of "good food, or cold water." He was not to meet anybody without his father's prior consent.
Around 1694, Aurangzeb rehabilitated Mu'azzam and allowed him "to rebuild his household", rehiring some of his officials. Aurangzeb continued to spy on his son, appointing his men to Mu'azzam's household, sending informants to his harem and choosing his representatives at the imperial court. Mu'azzam and his sons were transferred from the Deccan to north India, and were forbidden to lead military expeditions in the Deccan for the rest of Aurangzeb's reign. In 1695, Aurangzeb sent Mu'azzam to the Punjab region to fight the chieftains and subdue a rebellion by the Sikh Guru Gobind Singh. Although the commander imposed "heavy taxation" on the rajas, he thought it necessary to leave the Sikhs undisturbed in their fortified city of Anandpur and refused to wage war against them out of "genuine respect" for their religion. That year Mu'azzam was appointed governor of Akbarabad, and in 1696 he was transferred to Lahore. After the death of Amin Khan (governor of Kabul) he assumed that position in 1699, holding it until his father's death in 1707.
Reign
War of succession
Without appointing a crown prince, Aurangzeb died in 1707 when Mu'azzam was governor of Kabul and his younger half-brothers (Muhammad Kam Bakhsh and Muhammad Azam Shah) were the governors of the Deccan and Gujarat respectively. All three sons intended to win the crown, and Kam Bakhsh began minting coins in his name. Azam prepared to march to Agra and declare himself successor, but was defeated by Mu'azzam at the Battle of Jajau in June 1707. Azam and his son, Ali Tabar, were killed in the battle. Mu'azzam ascended the Mughal throne at age 63 on 19 June 1707, with the title of Bahadur Shah I.
Annexations
Amber
After ascending the throne, Shah made plans to annex Rajput kingdoms who declared independence after Aurangzeb's death. On 10 November Shah began his march to Amber (in Rajputana, present day Rajasthan state of India), visiting the tomb of Salim Chishti in Fatehpur Sikri on 21 November. In the meantime, Shah's aid Mihrab Khan was ordered to take possession of Jodhpur. Shah reached Amber on 20 January 1708. Though the monarch of the kingdom was Jai Singh, his brother Bijai Singh resented his rule. Shah ruled that because of the dispute, the region would become part of the Mughal empire and the city was renamed as Islamabad. Jai Singh's goods and properties were confiscated on the pretext that he supported Shah's brother Azam Shah during the war of Shah's succession and Bijai Singh was made the governor of Amber on 30 April 1708. Shah gave him the title of Mirza Rajah, and he received gifts valued at 100,000 rupees. Amber passed into Mughal hands without a war.
Jodhpur
Jaswant Singh was the leader of the Rathore in Jodhpur (in Rajputana, in present-day Indian state Rajasthan) during Aurangzeb's reign. During a war of succession Singh sided with Aurangzeb's older brother Dara Shikoh, who was killed by Aurangzeb. Singh was pardoned, became titular ruler of the region and was appointed governor of the province of Kabul before his death on 18 December 1678. After his death, Aurangzeb ordered Singh's widows and his son Ajit Singh to be brought to Delhi and with plans of forcefully absorbing Ajit Singh in the Mughal army in the future. Though Durgadas Rathore of the Rathore clan who was ambitious of conquering Jodhpur from the Mughals, took advantage of this opportunity and fought a war to prevent Aurangzeb getting hold of Ajit, he tore through Delhi with his men and successfully escorted the Prince and the widows of Jaswant Singh to Jodhpur. After Aurangzeb's death, during Shah's half brother Muhammad Azam Shah's rule Ajit marched to Jodhpur and took it from Mughal rule.
In Amber he announced his intention to march to Jodhpur when Mihrab Khan defeated Ajit Singh at Mairtha, and he reached the town on 21 February 1708. His men were sent to bring Singh to the city for an interview with him, where Singh received "special robes of honour" and a jewelled scarf. Then, he headed towards Ajmer (in Rajputana, in present-day Indian state Rajasthan) and reached the city on 24 March, where he visited the Dargah Sharif.
Udaipur
The city of Udaipur (in Rajputana, present day Indian state of Rajasthan) was annexed to the Mughal Empire by Akbar the Great in 1576 after Mughal victory in the Battle of Haldighati. However the Sisodias declared independence after the death of Aurangzeb in 1707. Shah also had intention of recapturing Udaipur.
In Jodhpur, Bahadur Shah got the news that the Maharana Amar Singh II had fled from Udaipur to hide in the hills. His messengers gave him the message that Amar Singh got "afraid" by the happenings in Amber and Jodhpur and thought that his kingdom would also be annexed by the Mughals once again. According to the Bahadur Shah Nama chronicle, because of this incident the emperor called Amar Singh an "unbeliever". Bahadur Shah waged war against the king until his brother Muhammad Kam Bakhsh's insurgency diverted him southward.
Rajput Rebellion
While the emperor was on his way to Deccan to punish Muhammad Kam Bakhsh the three Rajput Raja's of Amber, Udaipur and Jodhpur made a joint resistance to the Mughals. The Rajputs first expelled the commandants of Jodhpur and Hindaun-Bayana and recovered Amber by a night attack. They next killed Sayyid Hussain Khan Barha, the commandant of Mewat and many other officers (September, 1708). The emperor, then in the Deccan had to patch up a truce by restoring Ajit Singh and Jai Singh to the Mughal Service.
Kam Bakhsh's uprising
Court rivalry
His half-brother, Muhammad Kam Bakhsh, marched to Bijapur in March 1707 with his soldiers. When the news of Aurangzeb's death spread through the city, the city's monarch, King Sayyid Niyaz Khan surrendered the fort to him without a fight. Ascending the throne, Kam Bakhsh made Ahsan Khan, who served in the army as the bakshi (general of the armed forces), and made his advisor Taqarrub Khan as chief minister and gave himself the title of Padshah Kam Bakhsh-i-Dinpanah (Emperor Kam Bakhsh, Protector of Faith). He then conquered Kulbarga and Wakinkhera.
Rivalry developed between Taqarrub Khan and Ahsan Khan. Ahsan Khan had developed a marketplace in Bijapur where, without permission from Kam Bakhsh, he did not tax the shops. Taqarrub Khan reported it to Kam Bakhsh, who ordered the practise stopped. In May 1707, Kam Bakhsh sent Ahsan Khan to conquer the states of Golkonda and Hyderabad. Although the king of Golconda refused to surrender, Subahdar of Hyderabad Rustam Dil Khan did so.
Taqarrub Khan made a conspiracy to eliminate Ahsan Khan, alleging that meetings of Ahsan Khan, Saif Khan (Kam Bakhsh's archery teacher), Arsan Khan, Ahmad Khan, Nasir Khan and Rustam Dil Khan (all of them Kam Bakhsh's former teachers and members of the then court) to discuss public business were a conspiracy to assassinate Kam Bakhsh "while on his way to the Friday prayer at the great mosque". After informing Kam Bakhsh of the matter, he invited Rustam Dil Khan for dinner; arrested en route, Rustam Dil Khan was killed by being crushed under the feet of an elephant. Saif Khan's hands were amputated, and Arshad Khan's tongue was cut off. Ahsan Khan ignored warnings by close friends that Kam Bakhsh would arrest him, but he was imprisoned and his property seized. In April 1708, Shah's envoy Maktabar Khan came to Kam Bakhsh's court. When Taqarrub Khan told Kam Bakhsh that Maktabar Khan intended to dethrone him, Kam Bakhsh invited the envoy and his entourage to a feast and executed them.
March to South India
In May 1708, the emperor wrote a letter to Kam Bakhsh which he hoped would "be a warning" against proclaiming himself an independent sovereign and began a journey to the Tomb of Aurangzeb to pay his respects to his father. Kam Bakhsh thanked him in a letter, "without either explaining or justifying [his actions]".
When he reached Hyderabad on 28 June 1708, he learned that Kam Bakhsh had attacked Machhlibandar to seize over three million rupees' worth of treasure hidden in its fort. The subahdar of the province, Jan Sipar Khan, refused to hand over the money. Enraged, Kam Bakhsh confiscated his properties and ordered the recruitment of four thousand soldiers for the attack. In July, the garrison at the Kulbarga fort declared their independence and garrison leader Daler Khan Bijapuri "reported his desertion from Kam Bakhsh". On 5 November 1708 Shah's camp reached Bidar, north of Hyderabad. Historian William Irvine wrote that as his "camp drew nearer desertions from Kam Bakhsh became more and more frequent". On 1 November, Kam Bakhsh captured Pam Naik's (zamindar, the landlord of Wakinkhera) holdings after Naik abandoned his army.
According to Irvine, more soldiers deserted as the emperor's group neared. When Kam Bakhsh's general told him that his failure to pay his soldiers was the reason for their desertion, he replied: "What need have I of enlisting them? My trust is in God, and whatever is best will happen."
Thinking that Kam Bakhsh might flee to Persia, the emperor ordered his prime minister Zulfiqar Khan Nusrat Jung to agree with Madras Presidency governor Thomas Pitt to pay him 200,000 rupees for Kam Bakhsh's capture. On 20 December, Kam Bakhsh was reported to have a cavalry of 2,500 and an infantry of 5,000.
Death of Kam Bakhsh
On 20 December 1708, the emperor marched towards Talab-i-Mir Jumla, on the outskirts of Hyderabad, with "three hundred camels, [and] twenty thousand rockets" for war with Kam Baksh. He made his son Jahandar Shah commander of the advance guard, later replacing him with Khan Zaman. On 12 January 1709, Bahadur Shah reached Hyderabad and prepared his troops. Although Kam Bakhsh had little money and few soldiers left, the royal astrologer had predicted that he would "miraculously" win the battle.
At sunrise the following day, the Mughal army charged towards Kam Bakhsh. His 15,000 troops were divided into two bodies: one led by Mumin Khan, assisted by Rafi-ush-Shan and Jahan Shah, and the second under Zulfiqar Khan Nusrat Jung. Two hours later Kam Bakhsh's camp was surrounded, and Zulfiqar Khan impatiently attacked him with his "small force".
With his soldiers outnumbered and unable to resist the attack, Kam Bakhsh joined the battle and shot two quivers of arrows at his opponents. According to Irvine, when he was "weakened by loss of blood", Bahadur Shah took him and his son Bariqullah prisoner. A dispute arose between Mumin Khan and Zulfikar Khan Nusrat Jung over who had captured them, with Rafi-us-Shan ruling in favour of the latter. Kam Bakhsh was brought by palanquin to the emperor's camp, where he died the next morning.
Sikh rebellion
Bahadur Shah, upon hearing of the uprising led by Banda Bahadur in Punjab only a year after Guru Gobind Singh's death, left the Deccan for the north. The Sikhs started moving cautiously towards Delhi and entered the sarkar of Hissar where they started preparation for a military campaign. They stormed Samana in November 1709 and defeated the faujdar in the Battle of Samana whilst sacking the town. Before taking Sirhind in the Battle of Chappar Chiri, Banda captured Shahabad, Sadhaura and Banur. Before Bahadur Shah's arrival in December, Banda had captured the sarkar of Sirhind, several parganas of the sarkar of Hissar, and had invaded the sarkar of Saharanpur.
After the victory at Sirhind, the Sikhs turned towards the Gangetic Doab. With trouble arising in a pargana of Deoband and Sikh converts complaining of imprisonment and persecution by the faujdar Jalal Khan, Banda marched on Saharanpur on the way to Jalalabad. The faujdar of Saharanpur, Ali Hamid Khan, fled to Delhi while the Sikhs defeated the defenders and reduced the town. They next attacked Behat whose Pirzadas were notorious for anti-Hindu acts, especially slaughtering cows. The town was sacked and the Pirzadas killed. They then marched to Jalalabad and Banda asked Jalal Khan to surrender and release the Sikh prisoners, but the Faujdar refused. They came to Nanauta on 21 July 1710 and defeated the local Sheikhzadas. The Sikhs then besieged Jalalabad but withdrew to Jalandhar Doab due to the flooding in the Krishna River.
The Sikhs tried to oust the Mughals from the regions of Jalandhar and Amritsar. They called on Shamas Khan, the Faujdar of Jalandhar, to effect reforms and hand over the treasury. Shamas pretended submission and later started attacking them. He appealed to Muslims in name of religion and declared a jihad against the Sikhs. The Sikhs, being outnumbered withdrew to Rahon and captured its fort after defeating the Mughals in the battle of Rahon on 12 October 1710. At Amritsar, about 8,000 Sikhs assembled and captured Majha and Riarki of central Punjab. They also attacked Lahore, where the mullahs declared a jihad against them with the governor not confronting the Sikhs. The ghazis were defeated by the Sikhs.
Sikhs used their newly established power to remove Mughal officials and replace them with Sikhs. Banda made his capital at Lohgarh, where he established a mint. He abolished the mughal Zamindari system and gave the cultivators proprietorship of their own land.
Efforts at suppression
Bahadur Shah signed peace treaties with Ajit Singh of Jodhpur, and Man Singh of Amber before fighting him. He also ordered the Nawab of Awadh Asaf-ud-Daula, provincial governor Khan-i-Durrani, Moradabad faujdar Muhammad Amin Khan Chin, Delhi subahdar Asad Khan and Jammu faujdar Wazid Khan to accompany him into battle. Shah left Ajmer for the Punjab on 17 June 1710, mobilising groups opposed to Bahadur on the way. When he learned about Shah's plans, Bahadur unsuccessfully appealed to Ajit Singh and Man Singh for help. In the meantime, Shah had reoccupied Sonipat, Kaithal and Panipat en route. In October, his commander Khanzada Nawab Feroz Khan wrote to him that he had "chopped three hundred heads of rebels"; Khan sent them to the emperor, who displayed them mounted on spears.
On 1 November 1710 the emperor reached the city of Karnal, where Mughal cartographer Rustam Dil Khan gave him a map of Thanesar and Sirhind. Six days later, a small group of Sikhs were defeated at Mewati and Banswal. The city of Sirhind fell to the Mughals on 7 December; its besieger, general Mohammad Amin Khan Bahadur, gave him a golden key ring commemorating the victory. After failing to recapture Sadaura he marched towards Lohgarh, where Bahadur was hiding. On 30 November he attacked the Lohgarh fort, capturing three guns, matchlocks and three trenches from the rebels. With little ammunition left, Bahadur and a "few hundred of his followers fled". His follower, Gulab Singh (who was "dressed like" Bahadur), entered the fight and was killed. The emperor issued orders to the rulers of Kumaon and Srinagar that if Bahadur tried to enter their province, he should be "sent to the Emperor".
Suspecting that Bahadur was allied with Bhup Prakash, the king of Nahan, the emperor had Prakash imprisoned in January 1711; his mother begged in vain for his release. After she sent him captured followers of Bahadur, he ordered that "ornaments worth 100,000 rupees should be manufactured" for her, and Prakash was released a month later. Shukan Khan Bahadur and Himmet Diler Khan were sent to Lahore to end Bahadur's rebellion, and their unsuccessful attempt was reinforced by a garrison of five thousand soldiers. Shah also pressed Rustam Dil Khan and Muhammad Amin Khan to join them.
Bahadur was hiding in Alhalab, from Lahore. When Mughal workers came to repair a bridge in the village, his followers disinformed them that he was preparing to attack Delhi via Ajmer. Bahadur received soldiers from village ruler Ram Chand for his march against the Mughals, and besieged Fatehabad in April 1711. After learning from messenger Rustan Jung that he had crossed the Ravi River, the emperor attacked with artillery led by Isa Khan. In the July battle, Bahadur was defeated and fled to the Jammu hills. Forces led by Isa Khan and Muhammad Amin Khan followed but failed to capture him. The emperor issued an edict to the zamindars (landlord) of Jammu to take the Sikh captive if possible.
Bahadur was attacked by Muhammad Amin Khan at the river Satluj, escaping to the Garhwal hills. Finding him "invincible", the emperor went to Ajit Singh and Jai Singh for help. In October 1711, a joint Mughal-Rajput force marched towards Sadaura. Bahadur escaped the ensuing siege, this time taking refuge at Kulu in present-day Himachal Pradesh.
Khutba controversy
After ascending the throne, Bahadur Shah converted to Shiaism and altered the public prayer (or khutba) for the monarch said every Friday by giving the title wali to Ali—the fourth Sunni and the first Shia caliph. Because of this, the citizens of Lahore resented reciting the khutba.
To solve the problem, Bahadur Shah went to Lahore in September 1711 and had discussions with Haji Yar Muhammad, Muhammad Murad and "other well-known men". At their meeting, he read "books of authority" to justify using the word wasi. He had a heated argument with Yar Muhammad, saying that martyrdom by a king was the only thing he wanted. Yar Muhammad (supported by the emperor's son, Azim-ush-Shan) recruited troops against Shah, but no war was fought. He held the khatib (chief reciter) at the Badshahi Mosque responsible for the matter, and had him arrested. On 2 October, although the army was deployed at the mosque the old khutba (which did not call Ali "wasi") was read.
Death
According to historian William Irvine, the emperor was in Lahore in January 1712 when his "health failed". On 24 February he made his final public appearance, and died during the night of 27–28 February; according to Mughal noble Kamwar Khan, he died of "enlargement of the spleen". On 11 April, his body was sent to Delhi under the supervision of his widow Mihr-Parwar and Chin Qilich Khan. He was buried on 15 May in the courtyard of the Moti Masjid (Pearl Mosque) in Mehrauli, which he built near the dargah of Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki. He was succeeded by his son Jahandar Shah who ruled until 1713.
Coins
He issued gold, silver and copper coins, although his predecessors' coins were also used to pay government officials and in commerce. Copper coins from Aurangzeb's reign were re-minted with his name. Unlike the other Mughal emperors, his coins did not use his name in a couplet; poet Danishmand Khan composed two lines for the coins, but they were not approved.
Personal life
Name, title and lineage
His full name, including his titles, was "Abul-nasr Sayyid Qutb-ud-din Muhammad Shah Alam Bahadur Shah Badshah". After his death, contemporary historians began calling him "Khuld-Manzil" (Departed to Paradise). He was the only Mughal emperor to have the title Sayyid, used by descendants of the prophet Muhammad. According to William Irvine, his maternal grandfather was Sayyid Shah Mir (whose daughter, Nawab Bai Ji, married Aurangzeb).
Children
Source: Irvine, pp. 143–144
Depictions
Ancestry
Notes
References
Mughal emperors
1643 births
1712 deaths
People from Agra
People from Burhanpur | en |
doc-en-13560 | Carlisle, in North West England, formed the focus for a number of railway routes because of the geography of the area. At first each railway company had its own passenger and goods station, but in 1847 passenger terminal facilities were concentrated at Citadel station, which is in use today. Goods facilities remained dispersed, and goods wagons passing through were remarshalled, incurring delay and expense.
Congestion at the station increased over the years until in 1877 by-pass lines for goods traffic were provided, although the dispersed terminal facilities largely remained. The passenger station itself, although imposing, remained confined and inadequate.
Carlisle Kingmoor Marshalling Yard opened in 1963, but wagonload traffic was already near the end of its commercial life, and the costly yard facilities were soon reduced as demand declined.
Today Carlisle is an important point on the West Coast main line railway, and a junction for radiating secondary routes. Passenger traffic is buoyant, and long distance freight trains pass through.
Carlisle Canal
The city of Carlisle is in Cumbria in north-west England, at a strategic transport location at the crossing of the River Eden (of which it was the lowest bridging point). The Eden flows westward into the Solway Firth, a wide body of water that forms a natural barrier. Transport by shipping could not be brought to Carlisle due to shoaling in the Solway and Eden. Hilly ground surrounds Carlisle on the landward sides, and land transport routes must either follow river valleys, or cross very high ground. The Tyne Gap eased transport across the country to and from the east coast.
Its location led to Carlisle becoming an important point on transport routes, and as industry developed, the need for cheaper transport of raw materials into Carlisle was a constant theme. In August 1818 £30,000 was subscribed for shares in a Carlisle Canal, connecting a basin in Carlisle to Fisher's Cross, on the channel of the River Eden and accessible to the Solway Firth. The Carlisle Canal obtained its authorising Act of Parliament on 6 April 1819, and it was completed and opened on 12 March 1823.
Newcastle and Carlisle Railway
The land route between Newcastle upon Tyne and Carlisle had long been used for the transport of goods, and there was considerable trade on the east-west route. However, the road was inconvenient and the transit was slow, and a canal connecting Newcastle and Carlisle was proposed. The engineer William Chapman had earlier surveyed a route for such a canal, and he was brought back in 1824 to update his plans; this time he found that while a canal would be practicable, a railway would be cheaper. Chapman's recommendation was subject to considerable controversy over the details of the route and the possible use of steam traction, and it was not until 22 May 1829 that the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway was authorised by Act of Parliament, with capital of £300,000. The early priority for construction was at the eastern parts of the line, but at the western end the line from Greenhead to the Carlisle station at London Road was opened on 19 July 1836. The Newcastle and Carlisle Railway adopted right-hand running on double track sections.
The original intention had been to connect directly to the Carlisle Canal, but this was delayed, and the connection to the canal became a "branch"; the first traffic was grain, which passed on the branch on 25 February 1837, and it was fully opened on 9 March 1837.
Maryport and Carlisle Railway
Maryport had been a significant port further west on the Cumberland coast, and was also in an important area of coal extraction. Following local interest, the Maryport and Carlisle Railway was incorporated on 12 July 1837. It was constructed from the Maryport end at first; then a section at the Carlisle end was opened on 10 May 1843. For the time being there was a gap at the centre of the route, only closed when the line was completed in early 1845.
The Carlisle section of the line formed a junction with the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway at Bog Junction, or Bogfield. (Contemporary reports are inconsistent in nomenclature.)
The Maryport and Carlisle passenger station was at Water Lane, close to the present day St Nicholas Street. It was described by the Carlisle Journal as "nearly on the site of the ancient hospital of Saint Nicholas". The M&CR and the Port Carlisle extension of the N&CR ran alongside one another at this point, and they joined a little to the east; some M&CR trains continued to the N&CR London Road station. All M&CR goods traffic was handled at the London Road station.
The London Road terminus faced eastwards, so that use of it by M&CR trains involved a backshunt. The cramped Water Lane station was only a temporary measure, and the M&CR had acquired land at Crown Street for their intended permanent terminus. Unfortunately the Parliamentary Bill for that was rejected on a technicality in the 1843 session. When it was resubmitted in 1844, it was considered together with the Bill for the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway; both Bills were passed (on 6 June 1844), and serious difficulties later arose. The L&CR and the M&CR schemes both required facilities for a terminus, and for some time it proved impossible to negotiate a mutually acceptable arrangement.
Linking England and Scotland
By 1840 it was obvious that the disconnected local railways in Great Britain must eventually link to form a network; this was already taking shape in England, and much thought was given to connecting the cities of central Scotland with the growing English network. The topography of the intervening land was challenging, with high ground of the Cumbrian Mountains and the Southern Uplands forming natural barriers. The locomotives of the day were not considered capable of hauling trains on a trunk railway over the steep gradients thought to be unavoidable, and many creative schemes were put forward to route round the hilly country. Not all of these schemes were well designed, but the best connected important population centres at the expense of considerable extra mileage. In addition, any route running close to the North Sea coast would have to make the difficult crossings of the River Tyne and the River Tweed.
Carlisle was an obvious routing point for some Anglo-Scottish routes, but Newcastle was strongly advanced by promoters of an east-coast route. For some time it was assumed that only a single Anglo-Scottish route was commercially supportable, and a Government appointed commission was established to select the best route, but its findings failed to quell the enthusiasm of investors, and in the end its report was ignored.
Two factions were able to build Anglo-Scottish routes at this period: although multiple companies were involved in each, the necessary co-operation formed natural alliances, and these became known as the East Coast Route (through Newcastle and Berwick-upon-Tweed) and the West Coast Route (through Carlisle).
Lancaster and Carlisle Railway
The West Coast Route was gradually taking shape, from the origins of the London and Birmingham Railway and the Grand Junction Railway (from Birmingham to Manchester and Liverpool). The northward push was supported by the North Union Railway and the Lancaster and Preston Junction Railway.
The Lancaster and Carlisle Railway was incorporated on 6 June 1844, and it opened its line as far as Carlisle on 17 December 1846, from which date a continuous line between London and Carlisle was available. The issue of the L&CR station at Carlisle was not yet settled, so the first L&CR trains used the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway's London Road station, reached by a sharp south-to-east curve that had been authorised on 21 June 1845, and which (as for the M&CR trains) required a backshunt to enter the station. The train service was not intensive so for the time being this was not a great operating difficulty. However, this was far from convenient for the future Anglo-Scottish trunk route that was clearly forming, and the question of the station at Carlisle was to create a serious difficulty.
Caledonian Railway
The rivalry to operate the principal route from Central Scotland to the English railway network had resulted in two winners. The North British Railway opened from Edinburgh to Berwick on 1 July 1847, linking there with the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway. The East Coast Route was the first to be able to advertise a through route between Edinburgh and London, although rail bridges over the Tweed and the Tyne were not yet ready, and for some time the journey involved a foot (or omnibus) crossing of the rivers.
The Caledonian Railway had delayed a year in seeking authorisation, only obtaining its Act of Parliament on 31 July 1845. It was to form a Y-shape, connecting Glasgow and Edinburgh with Carlisle, and at the 122 miles in extent, was one of the largest railway projects authorised up to this date. In fact the southern end of its system was the first to open, between Carlisle and Beattock, on 10 September 1847. The line northwards to Glasgow was not ready until 15 February 1848, and to Edinburgh on 1 April 1848. However, before the first opening the question of the Carlisle station had to be settled.
Citadel station
As the prime mover in forming a trunk route from the south to Carlisle, the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway hoped to build a Carlisle station, at Court Square. The intention was that all the railways at Carlisle would use it, sharing the construction cost. The companies already in Carlisle, the N&CR and the M&CR, were sore at having spent money on their own terminus (in the case of the N&CR) or the land acquisition for one (in the case of the M&CR), and they demanded that they should be responsible for a reduced share of the cost of the new station. Negotiation over the issue dragged on. On 20 June 1846 the Maryport Company agreed to contribute, and to give up its Crown Street site, which was required for the approach route to the new station and for goods sidings; the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway declined to participate in the new station at all.
The L&CR persevered and obtained an Act of Parliament for the station at Court Square, Citadel Station, on 27 July 1846. In concert with the Caledonian Railway, the L&CR pressed on with the construction of the station, and it opened early in September 1847.
The station was built in a grand style, designed by the architect William Tite, and it remained "quite unrivalled in the whole of the North West. Victorian Tudor in style, its clock tower and lantern had on one side the nine-bay entrance arcade with elaborate buttressing and mullioned windows".
The cost of the Citadel station was supposed to be equally borne by the L&CR and the Caledonian, but the latter had seriously over-reached itself financially in search of expanding its network in Scotland, and the initial opening cost of £60,000 had been entirely funded by the L&CR. By 1854, the total cost had escalated to £178,324, and by this time the Caledonian had almost made up its fair contribution. The station had a single through platform and two bays.
On 10 May 1857 a management committee was formed, the Citadel Station Committee, jointly controlled by the Caledonian Railway and the L&CR; the station and approach track became joint property.
George Hudson and Crown Street station
George Hudson, known as the Railway King, was for long a successful businessman who acquired personal control of a wide network of railways. His methods were aggressive and brutal, and were eventually exposed as shady and worse, leading to his sudden downfall in 1849. However, he managed to take a lease of the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway from 1 August 1848 and of the Maryport and Carlisle Railway from 1 October 1848.
The L&CR main line approaching Carlisle crossed the M&CR line on the level three times; the L&CR laid it out to main line standards, and understood that the Crown Street line was to be removed, and that it was in any case without legal authorisation. M&CR trains crossed the L&CR main line three times approaching Crown Street; if they ran on to London Road station, there was a fourth crossing, and the engine returning to Crown Street for servicing made a fifth crossing. This was hardly tenable in the long term and the L&CR agreed compensation of £7,005 for the M&CR to vacate Crown Street; this seemed to be acceptable to the M&CR directors. On Hudson taking control, however, he demanded £100,000, also threatening to build his own joint station near the site, further obstructing the L&CR. This went to a court of law, and the jury awarded the M&CR £7,171 for the Crown Street site, which the L&CR swiftly paid. Hudson held out and declined to hand over the site. The L&CR had the law on its side and decided not to allow further delay, and decided to take possession.
At 10 am on 17 March 1849, the Under-Sheriff of Cumberland accompanied by the L&CR solicitor, presented himself at Crown Street station and informed the M&CR clerks, that he was giving possession of the station to the L&CR. He then signalled to
a strong force of at least 100 men, armed with crow-bars, pick-axes, shovels, &c., [who] rushed from the goods yard of the Lancaster company, to which they had been brought from all parts of the line, to the ground of the Maryport Company, and, without further ceremony, commenced operation by tearing up the rails. This was the work of a few minutes only, as the men were particularly expert. They next pulled down the sheds of the coal and lime depots; and lastly, having allowed the clerks of the Maryport Company sufficient time carry off the books, they gutted the station, which was certainly only a temporary one, and carried away the building.
The dismantling of the station "was accomplished so quickly that when the next train from Maryport arrived, the driver was informed by a Lancaster Company's policeman, that it was impossible for it to back into the station. It therefore went forward to London Road [station]."
M&CR trains now all ran to London Road station only. Hudson's lease of the M&CR and the N&CR needed to be authorised by Act of Parliament, and this was applied for in the 1849 Parliamentary session. However, at this time Hudson's improper methods were being laid bare, and matters turned against him. His Bill to authorise the lease was rejected, and the lease was void from 1 January 1850, when the N&CR and the M&CR reverted to their independent status. The M&CR continued to use London Road as its Carlisle terminus, paying the N&CR £250 per annum as rent. The Lancaster and Carlisle had got its way, although the M&CR trains (and M&CR trains to the Canal terminal) continued to cross the L&CR main line on the level, but now only once per journey.
Glasgow and South Western Railway
A third trunk route was promoted at this time: its supporters noted that the Caledonian Railway route crossed the heights of the Southern Uplands and passed through few centres of population. A better route between Glasgow and Carlisle, they argued, would take a railway west of the Southern Uplands, and pass through the important towns of Paisley, Kilmarnock and Dumfries as well as several other towns, and such a route could have much easier gradients. This would be at the expense of greater mileage, and inferior connection to Edinburgh. The Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Railway was incorporated on 16 July 1846. From the outset the company was desperately short of money, and the earlier intention of building through to Carlisle had been abandoned. Now the route was to join the Caledonian Railway at Gretna, and Dumfries trains would run over the Caledonian line into Carlisle. Commitment to this from the hostile Caledonian had not been secured, and the GD&CR position was weak in the extreme.
The GD&CR was also unable to build the northern section of its intended route, but that was taken up by another concern. The Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway had opened its main line between Glasgow and Ayr in 1839–1840. It had always intended to act co-operatively with the Dumfries company, and the Ayr company was earning good profits while the Dumfries company was penniless. It was agreed that the two companies would form an end-on junction at Horsecleugh, near Cumnock, and the GD&CR would build the southern part of the route only; on completion of the through route the two companies would merge. The GD&CR opened from a temporary station at Dumfries to Gretna on 23 August 1848, but its trains could not yet run through, so a change to a Caledonian train was necessary there.
Finally on 28 October 1850 the through route was completed and the GD&CR and the Paisley company merged, forming the Glasgow and South Western Railway on the same day. It was not until 1 March 1851 that G&SWR trains were granted running powers to run through to Carlisle Citadel station, as a tenant there on a 999-year agreement. The Caledonian Railway made life as difficult as possible for the unwelcome interloper, and the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway and the Caledonian Railway together ensured that any traffic from England to central Scotland was forwarded over the Caledonian line.
Maryport and Carlisle changes
The Maryport and Carlisle use of London Road station was not convenient to it, and it made sense to transfer its passenger trains to Citadel station; it finalised an agreement to do so on 2 April 1851; a north-to-east spur to enable the trains to get access was laid, and from 1 June 1851 they used Citadel. This involved approaching the flat crossing of the L&CR main line and backing into the station. This was the fourth Carlisle station the M&CR had used in seven years. For the time being M&CR goods traffic continued to use London Road, but the M&CR constructed a new independent goods station, known as Bog Goods Station, in use from 1 January 1852. It was also known as Crown Street, but the site was not the same as the former terminus.
On 8 August 1852 the Maryport and Carlisle Railway opened a west-to-north curve from Forks Junction to Citadel, enabling direct access to Carlisle without reversal; from this time goods traffic also used this new connection. The new approach crossed the Canal line on the level; the M&CR were required to appoint a person to make signals at the passage of trains.
Carlisle and Silloth Bay Railway and Dock Company
By 1850 the superiority of railways over canals was obvious, and railways that had been constructed to Maryport and Whitehaven took away the Carlisle Canal's trade. The proprietors decided to take advantage of the technological progress. The Carlisle Canal was reincorporated as the Port Carlisle Railway on 4 August 1853, with powers to convert the canal to a railway. The N&CR Canal terminus had adjoined the canal basin, and the new railway now made an end-on connection with the N&CR line. The Port Carlisle Railway opened to goods traffic on 22 May 1854; it established a Canal Goods Station on the site of the canal basin; the N&CR goods depot on their section of line became sidings, and exchange traffic now used the Port Carlisle Railway sidings. The Port Carlisle Railway was opened to passenger traffic from 22 June 1854 and its Canal passenger station was located just north of the junction with the N&CR. At this stage there was no passenger service eastward from the Canal station.
Unfortunately the anticipated transformation of profitability as the canal was converted to a railway failed to materialise, and the Port Carlisle Railway lost money from the outset. Part of the problem was that Port Carlisle itself was not free of navigation hazards, being so far up the river, and in view of the increasing size of shipping; moreover there was a serious problem of silting there. The solution appeared to be the creation of another rail connected harbour further west, at Silloth. Accordingly, the Carlisle and Silloth Bay Railway was incorporated on 16 July 1855 and opened 28 August 1856.
The Caledonian hoped to acquire control of the Silloth lines and on 28 June 1858 obtained Parliamentary authority for a connecting line from its main line to Port Carlisle to get access. The short line ran from a junction later named Port Carlisle Branch Junction on the Caledonian to Port Carlisle Junction. The takeover of the Silloth lines did not take place, but the connecting line later had a strategic role.
Citadel station committee
The cost of construction and maintenance of Citadel station, of operating it and the approach lines, was considerable and allocation of it to users was contentious. On 10 May 1857 the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway and the Caledonian Railway formed a Citadel Station Committee, in effect establishing a joint railway. As other users were becoming involved and as traffic increased, this arrangement was formalised by Act of Parliament of 22 July 1861. In 1859 the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway was leased by the London and North Western Railway, (effective from 22 December 1859,) and that company became the joint member of the Committee. (In 1879 the L&CR was fully absorbed by the LNWR.)
North British Railway
The North British Railway had been the first (by a few months) to start a passenger service from Edinburgh to connect with the English railway network at Berwick, part of the East Coast Route. The trade potential of Carlisle and its connections to west coast ports and the mineral reserves of Cumberland were attractive, and from the earliest times the NBR directors had harboured an aspiration to reach Carlisle. The NBR had reached Hawick in 1849, but 43 miles of thinly populated terrain lay between that town and Carlisle.
A difficulty had always been the actual access to Carlisle itself, as the Caledonian Railway and the London & North Western Railway (LNWR) were hostile to the incursion. The NBR had agreed a takeover arrangement with the moribund Port Carlisle Dock and Railway Company and the Carlisle and Silloth Bay Railway and Dock Company. These two lines had a Carlisle station; a connecting line to the Caledonian Railway at Carlisle Citadel station was planned, and they had a west coast port, at Silloth. On 21 July 1859 the Border Union (North British Railway) Act authorising the Carlisle Extension (now named the Border Union Railway) and permitting the acquisition of the Carlisle minor railways received the Royal Assent. It specified that the line "should not be used for the purposes of undue competition with the Caledonian Railway in respect of traffic between Edinburgh and Carlisle", but it did give the NBR power to enter Citadel station, over the short connecting line to the Caledonian, authorised the previous year.
It was to be a long and lonely route from Hawick to Carlisle. The short section from Scotch Dyke (two miles north of Longtown) to Citadel station at Carlisle was ready early in October 1861. The Port Carlisle Junction connecting line had been opened on 30 June 1860 as a single line for goods transfer purposes. At this stage it emerged that the Board of Trade would not sanction opening of the NBR service unless the Caledonian Railway gave a guarantee that they would double the connecting line. This was not instantly forthcoming, and the NBR opened a goods service only from 15 October 1861; there was also a connecting goods service from Longtown to Gretna, for transfer to the G&SWR there. On 29 October 1861 the required BoT sanction was given and the passenger service started operating, worked at first by the Caledonian Railway.
The whole line between Carlisle and Edinburgh was opened for goods trains on 23 June 1862 and for passengers on 1 July 1862. With an eye to marketing, the route was named The Waverley Route. The Caledonian Railway frustrated attempts by the NBR to arrange through workings, or even through bookings, for passengers, and goods traffic was diverted away from the NBR as far as possible. However, the NBR was able to make use of its connection to Silloth to forward goods by coastal shipping.
The Port Carlisle and Silloth Bay railways were leased by the NBR by Act of Parliament dated 3 June 1862; they were fully absorbed in 1880. A station named Port Carlisle Junction was opened in July 1863; located at the convergence of the Silloth line and the Waverley route, it was designed to enable passenger connections between the two systems. At this stage the Silloth trains were not permitted to use Citadel station; however agreement was reached for this and from 1 July 1864 the Silloth trains used Citadel station; both Port Carlisle Junction station and Canal station closed to passengers.
North Eastern Railway
The Newcastle and Carlisle Railway was amalgamated with (in effect absorbed by) the North Eastern Railway, ratified by Parliamentary Act of 17 July 1862. The NER negotiated access to the Citadel station at Carlisle at the same time.
New lines at Carlisle
The alignment of the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway route approaching Carlisle Citadel was unsatisfactory for the increasing volume and speed of main line trains, and Parliamentary powers were obtained on 13 August 1859 to construct a new, more direct, route to the west of the original line, from Upperby Junction northwards. It was opened for traffic on 24 January 1862. The opportunity was not taken to separate the levels, and the new line had a flat crossing with the NER Canal line at St Nicholas. The increasing traffic also resulted in serious congestion in Citadel station itself; the station handled passenger and goods traffic and was by now overwhelmed. Goods lines passing on the west side of the station (but within the station precincts) were authorised on 22 July 1861. The new goods lines were brought into use in 1862.
There was an earlier east-to-north curve at St Nicholas that had been provided for M&CR trains to back into Citadel station in 1851. From the provision of the Forks Junction curve in 1852 M&CR trains ran in direct, and the curve had been used only for turning M&CR engines on the triangle it formed. The spur needed to be relocated to make way for the new main line, and a new east-to-north curve east of the new main line was opened for use by goods traffic on 30 April 1862. It was a single line at first, and was approved for doubling on 13 June 1864.
Meanwhile, North Eastern Railway trains from the Newcastle line used it to enter Citadel station from 1 January 1863, London Road being closed to passengers at this date.
The increasing volume of traffic demanded increased accommodation for goods traffic; the North British Railway obtained powers for a goods yard at Dentonholme, on the west side of the northwards main line, on 5 July 1865. This was part of a NBR attempt to force general expansion of Citadel station's facilities in the face of the owning committee's obstruction. The wider scheme failed completely, but the goods depot, accessed from the Port Carlisle Branch, was duly opened. The following year the NBR concluded an agreement with the Midland Railway for its use of the Dentonholme site.
On 25 May 1867 the LNWR opened a new goods station on the site of the old M&CR Crown Street station; the short connecting line involved a flat crossing of the 1862 east-to-north curve now used for NER trains approaching Citadel station. The cramped St Nicholas goods station was closed at this time, but in 1871 the LNWR opened a new cattle depot on the site of the former St Nicholas goods depot, that had closed in 1867.
Solway Junction Railway
The congestion in passing through Carlisle was a long running difficulty, especially during the passage of heavy and slow mineral trains. The iron ore of Cumberland was increasingly being conveyed to the Lanarkshire iron smelting industries, and considerable volumes of this traffic were passing through Carlisle.
An independent Company was formed to construct a railway crossing the Solway Firth from Bowness to Annan, and connecting lines to form a short cut route from near Aspatria to Kirtlebridge on the Caledonian Railway main line. This remarkable scheme required a viaduct over a mile long crossing the Solway, and the company was authorised on 30 June 1864, with capital of £320,000. The line opened for mineral traffic on 13 September 1869. Some relief was provided to the Carlisle congestion, but by this time the iron industry had gone into a temporary decline, and this ruined the financial viability of the railway company.
On 30 January 1881 ice floes on the Solway at the end of an exceptionally cold spell, seriously damaged the viaduct structure, which was out of use until repairs were completed in 1884. The traffic never revived and when heavy maintenance was overdue, the viaduct and the line were closed, in 1921.
Settle and Carlisle line
The Midland Railway had a large network further south, and for some time had hoped to reach Carlisle. In 1857 it reached Ingleton, and intended to run to Carlisle from there, but the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway obstructed that intention. At the same time both the North British Railway and the Glasgow and South Western Railway were expressing discontent at the obstruction at Carlisle. Both had built expensive trunk routes from the north to Carlisle, but found that the L&CR and the Caledonian Railway prevented them from operating freely through Carlisle.
The key to this eventually emerged as the Settle and Carlisle Railway, which was authorised by a Midland Railway Act on 16 July 1866. The 72-mile line was to run through mountainous and thinly populated terrain, from Settle, north of Keighley, to Carlisle. The construction was to be fearsomely difficult, crossing a summit level 1,025 feet above sea level; the Midland was to raise £1,650,000 in additional capital to pay for it. The scheme had been brought forward at a time of cheap money, but there was a slump in the financial sector, and at the end of 1867 the Midland Railway directors responded to massive shareholder disquiet, and ordered suspension of work on the new line. In the 1869 Parliamentary session the Midland promoted a Bill to abandon the construction, but the abandonment was opposed by other interests, and the Bill was lost. The Midland had to construct an expensive railway which it now wished to abandon.
On 2 (or 3) August 1875 the Settle and Carlisle line opened to goods traffic; it entered Carlisle by joining the Newcastle line at Durran Hill Junction near London Road. The following year, on 1 May 1876, the Settle and Carlisle line was fully open.
Major improvements at Carlisle
Segregating passenger and goods traffic
The opening of the Settle and Carlisle Railway heralded an increase of through passenger traffic at Carlisle, and the already inadequate facilities were to be under severe strain. The Act authorising the construction of the Settle and Carlisle line had required the owners of Citadel station to apply to an arbitrator to determine what enlargement of the station was necessary for the additional traffic, and to submit a Bill for the authorisation of the necessary works. The arbitrator was also to determine the allocation of the costs for the construction and maintenance, in the event of difficulty.
During the period between 1866 and the opening of the Settle and Carlisle line, there were abortive proposals to proceed with the improvement of Citadel station area, and the "difficulty" foreseen in the S&C Bill took the form of persistent obstruction by the LNWR and the Caledonian, and the Board of Trade itself finally appointed an arbitrator, Joseph Cubitt, to make the necessary determination. Unfortunately the arbitrator died before completing his work, and the situation proved so frustrating that the Midland presented its own Citadel Station Bill in an attempt to get a proper allocation fixed. The Bill failed, but the LNWR and Caledonian were motivated to negotiate with the Midland and they made a voluntary agreement, on 16 December 1872. This resulted in the Citadel Station Act of 21 July 1873.
This was a far-reaching project: a new route taking goods traffic away from Citadel was to be constructed, and the existing goods lines at Citadel were to be removed, the space being used for improved passenger train accommodation.
The passenger station
The £334,000 cost of the project was to be paid for by the Midland Railway and the Citadel Committee jointly. The passenger station was massively expanded with a long new island platform and five bay platforms; the glass roof covered acres, and there was an elegant end screen in a gothic style. However, this only provided three through platforms, a fact that limited express passenger train operation, especially in an era when many trains attached and detached portions for multiple destinations, in some cases changing from vacuum to Westinghouse braking on the trains. It was at one time commonplace for a succession of down trains to be held up outside waiting platforms when no up trains were in evidence. Although not fully complete, the new station was inaugurated on 4 July 1880 for the Carlisle Royal Show.
Although the three through platforms were long, they were a limitation on traffic. In 1907 R E Charlewood recorded that
"To accommodate all [the] traffic, the space at Carlisle is very limited ... There are only three main line platform faces... Fortunately, the main platforms are long enough to admit of two trains being dealt with simultaneously."
The start of the grouse season in 1900 occasioned exceptional traffic flows:
On the night of August 10th, thirteen Scotch expresses left Euston and over 300 beds were made up in the trains for first class tourists only. The first portion of the 7.45 pm was filled with first class passengers, all for the Highland Railway via Dunkeld. The second portion was also for the Highland line only. Next train to leave was the first portion of the 8 pm, all of which was for Aberdeen. This express created a record by reaching Carlisle at 2.12 am, exactly at time – a feat never before accomplished on any August 10th. The second portion of the same train was for Aberdeen and Oban. Ten minutes later followed the Stranraer boat [train] express, close on the heels of which ran the special horse and carriage train for all parts of Scotland. The express leaving at 8.50 pm was for Glasgow (Central) only. Ten minutes afterwards followed a heavy train for Edinburgh only, with a second portion labelled for the north. Last of all came the fastest train on the West Coast route: the 11.50 pm in two portions, the first bound for Glasgow and the second for Edinburgh and the north. Nearly all these trains were made up equal to vehicles, but although the weight was so great and the time between each none too long, wonderful time was kept to Carlisle.
The ordinary passenger train service was described:
"Under ordinary circumstances and exclusive of special trains the number of trains dealt with each weekday at the Citadel station is as follows:
London and North Western 61
Caledonian 45
Midland 35
Glasgow and South Western 32
North British 34
North Eastern 36
Maryport and Carlisle 16
Total 259."
Goods routes
The goods by-pass lines were to be controlled by a new Carlisle Goods Traffic Committee, consisting of members of the LNWR, the Caledonian Railway, the Midland Railway, and the G&SWR. (The G&SWR did not fully participate in the controlling committee for some time.)
The Caledonian Railway goods depot was modernised and fully relocated to the west of the realigned northward main line, and new engine sheds were built at Kingmoor.
The G&SWR and the North British Railway saw themselves as allies of the Midland Railway, and they aligned their operating facilities at Carlisle to that company. The G&SWR used new goods facilities and engine accommodation at Petteril, opposite London Road, from the beginning of 1875, but some through goods traffic from the Midland was exchanged at Gretna Green (G&SWR). A new connection was made from London Road through to the M&CR and the Canal line, by lowering and realigning the old N&CR Canal branch; this enabled NBR, NER and Midland goods traffic to run through, and incidentally forming a triangular junction, available from 7 July 1877. The former L&CR main line was again realigned and elevated to pass over these lines, so that full grade separation was at last achieved, and all the companies had access to and from the new goods route, from 6 August 1877.
The new goods lines were primarily through routes, and thought now turned to joint goods terminal facilities. In 1866 the NBR had established its Dentonholme goods depot and opened it to the Midland Railway, although the Settle and Carlisle Line was not yet nearing readiness. On 13 July 1876 the NBR obtained an Act of Parliament authorising both the Midland Railway and the G&SWR to use the site, which was to be enlarged; the new goods by-pass lines now passed alongside. The much enlarged joint goods depot at Dentonholme was opened on 1 October 1883. In fact the NBR continued to use Canal as its primary goods depot, and the G&SWR was the chief beneficiary of the new facility. The multiple goods depot locations in the city resulted in a huge volume of inefficient transfer trip working traffic.
Currock engine shed G&SWR
The G&SWR had been provided with engine shed facilities at Petteril by its ally, the Midland Railway. In December 1894 it opened a new engine shed of its own at Currock, opposite the Maryport and Carlisle shed. It needed running powers over the M&CR to reach it, and these were formalised on 6 July 1895.
World War I and the Grouping
The advent of World War I (1914–1918) resulted in a huge upsurge in goods traffic at Carlisle, and the dispersed goods depots of the individual companies resulted in heavy traffic in trip workings between them. Some beneficial co-ordination was achieved by a (goods traffic) Joint Control Committee from 1916.
After the war, the main line railways of Great Britain were "grouped" following the Railways Act 1921. At the beginning of 1923, four large companies were established and most of the prior independent companies were allocated into one of the groups. The London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) was the dominant group at Carlisle, and the LNWR, the Caledonian Railway, the Midland and the G&SWR were constituents of it. The Maryport and Carlisle Railway became part of the LMS as a subsidiary. The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was dominant on the East Coast Main Line, and the NER and North British Railway were constituents of the LNER, and the Carlisle and Silloth Bay lines followed.
A divided control at Carlisle therefore continued, but some limited rationalisation was possible. The M&CR engine shed at Currock closed in 1923, with that line's engines being serviced at the 1894 G&SWR shed; this in turn was closed in 1924, with Kingmoor and Upperby engine sheds taking over the role. London Road engine shed continued to serve the Newcastle line until 1933 when that role was transferred to Canal shed, and the Midland Railway engine shed at Durran Hill (at the convergence of the Settle and Carlisle line with the Newcastle line) closed on 16 February 1936.
World War II and nationalisation
World War II (1939–1945) again brought a massive upsurge in goods traffic, and the unmodernised network of routes at Carlisle again brought serious operational difficulties. The Durran Hill engine shed, closed in 1936, was reopened, later closing finally on 2 December 1959.
Carlisle Kingmoor Marshalling Yard for up trains had developed at Kingmoor, north of Carlisle, and together with the traffic from the Canal lines there was intensive and congested train working at the northern end of Carlisle station complex. In 1943 quadruple track was provided from Kingmoor, where an up marshalling yard had been established, to Port Carlisle branch junction, from where there was already quadruple track to Caldew Junction.
In 1948 the main line railways of Great Britain were nationalised, following the Transport Act 1947. A Scottish Region was created, managing most of the lines in Scotland, as well as a London Midland Region covering the English (and Welsh) parts of the LMS, and an Eastern Region for the former LNER in England. In fact the apparently simple geographical split brought numerous management inconsistencies, and a number of adjustments were subsequently made. Nevertheless, Carlisle remained a border railway location for some time.
Modernisation
Kingmoor Yard
The return of peace and the enthusiasm of state ownership focused attention on the goods train working at Carlisle. The multiple goods stations persisted, and goods wagons passing through Carlisle were remarshalled at least once in the transit at primitive depots not much changed since 1877; in most cases through wagons were tripped between goods yards laid out by the pre-1923 companies. 30,000 wagons were passing through every week at this period.
In 1956 funding was allocated for a new integrated marshalling yard at Kingmoor, north of Carlisle. Considerable land acquisition—420 acres—took place and in 1959 actual construction started. The scheme was to cost £4.5 million, and 56 track miles of sidings were laid out. The site was miles long. Separate up and down hump yards were provided and a new power signal box was built, as well as a new motive power depot.
The marshalling yard was located north of Carlisle on the west (up) side of the main line, and special arrangements were built to route goods trains to and from the yard.
Quadruple track already existed approaching Rockcliffe, at the north end of the site, and a new flyover was built to carry the up goods line (from the Gretna direction) over the main line to enter the yard. The Waverley Route crossed the former Caledonian Railway main line south of the yard, so approaching goods trains on that line were brought to the former Caledonian line over the old Gretna branch. This line, from Longtown to Gretna, originally intended to give the NBR access to the G&SWR, had been closed to passenger trains on 8 August 1915 and only carried occasional goods traffic to ordnance depots. It was altered to operate in the up direction only, and the north facing connection at Gretna was altered to be south facing, joining at Mossband Junction, from where up Waverly Line goods trains could continue on the up goods line to Kingmoor.
Southbound trains leaving the new yard entered the Dentonholme route at Caldew Junction, giving access to all southward routes.
Northbound goods trains could enter the yard by the same route, and could leave it by joining the former Caledonian main line at the north end of Kingmoor yard. The access towards the Waverley route was more complex. Trains drew southward from the yard to a reversing loop at Stainton Junction, alongside the NBR route; after the engine ran round, the train could proceed directly on the NBR line, crossing the Caledonian main line by the original bridge.
These works were completed in 1963.
Citadel station retrenchment
In 1958 the cost of maintenance of the elegant and extensive roof at Citadel station was a cause for concern, and much of the roof, and also the Gothic end screens, were removed.
The Beeching report
In 1963 the Beeching report was published, The Reshaping of British Railways. The industry had been incurring mounting losses, considered by Government to be unsustainable, and the report indicated how matters might be got under control. Many rural branch lines, and many stations on main lines, were stated to be unremunerative, and were to be closed. Wagonload goods traffic over the whole system was considered to be heavily loss-making and was to be reduced in extent. Sundries traffic was especially unremunerative. Investment was to be concentrated on certain main routes, on accelerating the transition to modern traction and signalling systems, and the introduction of "liner trains" capable of fast transits carrying maritime containers.
Many sections of the public objected to the implications of the proposals as they emerged, but Government was generally insistent on implementing the changes. Wagonload goods had been conveyed in traditional ten-feet wheelbase wagons, in many cases without a continuous brake, and staged from one marshalling yard to another. The improving road network in the country, and the regulated railway freight charges, encouraged effective competition for the business from road hauliers; railway wagonload goods had been declining since the 1930s, and now declined steeply, due not to the Beeching report, but to customers' abandonment of the railway.
Closures
The steep decline of wagonload goods traffic meant that Kingmoor Yard never worked at peak volume. The multiple goods terminals at Carlisle, still not rationalised, began to be closed due to loss of business. On 2 August 1965 Viaduct goods, the former Caledonian Railway goods depot, was closed, followed in July 1965 by Crown Street goods. On 1 February 1966 the Midland Railway yard at Petteril Bridge goods closed, although some private sidings were retained there.
On 7 September 1964 the Silloth branch closed completely. In 1968 the southward spur from Forks Junction to Bog Junction was closed.
On 6 January 1969 the Waverley Route closed to through traffic, together with the connecting spur from Port Carlisle Branch Junction to Canal Junction, and the line to the reversing siding at Stainton Junction for trains from Kingmoor Yard; the last named was only six years old. The portion of the Waverley route as far as Longtown was retained until 31 August 1970, when the line was shortened to serve only RAF Brunthill, just north of the bridge where the Waverley Route had crossing the Caledonian, main line. The line between Mossband Junction and Bush-on-Esk, on the old Longtown to Gretna line, was retained for the time being to serve an ordnance depot, reverting to two-way working for the purpose.
In addition in 1970 the Canal branch closed, Canal goods having closed on 31 May 1969; the M&CR yard at Bog goods closed on 5 October 1970; on 7 December 1970 the LNWRcattle depot at the Crown Street site closed.
Resignalling
If the "modernisation" seemed to concentrate on closing facilities, a major step forward was the resignalling of the Carlisle station area with a modern power signal box early in 1973. 74 route miles of the West Coast Main Line were taken into its control area, together with stubs to fringe signal boxes on many branches. The Bog Junction to Forks Junction route was reinstated as part of this work, to handle steel block trains between Workington and Tyne Yard.
Electrification
A major positive element of modernisation was electrification of the main line. This was completed in 1974, on the 25 kV ac overhead system. Considerable improvements in journey times were achieved.
All wiring north of Oxenholme was completed by June 1973; from 7 January 1974 freight trains were electrically hauled between Kingmoor Yard and Mossend Yard, in central Scotland. The line south of Carlisle was energised on 25 March 1974, and some passenger trains were electrically hauled throughout from London to Glasgow from 22 April 1974. The full electric service started on 6 May 1974.
Kingmoor yard: further decline
In 1973 Kingmoor Down Yard closed. In 1977 British Rail introduced a new wagonload network named Speedlink. Modern wagons capable of 75 mph running worked in a timetabled network, but the network was much reduced; the traditional wagons were phased out, and in 1981 hump shunting at the remaining yard was discontinued.
Derailment and closure of the goods route
Early in the morning of 1 May 1984 a freightliner train was descending from Shap on the main line, and became divided. The front portion of the train continued, but the rear portion slowed but then also continued by gravity. Entering the Carlisle complex it was diverted on to the goods avoiding lines. These were sharply curved and the train portion became derailed, causing considerable damage in the process. The route was closed by the damage caused, and in December 1985 the decision was taken not to restore the route, and accordingly it was permanently closed. Signalling changes at Citadel station were made to facilitate all traffic passing through it.
Passenger revival
In the period following publication of the Beeching report, passenger train services were in constant decline for many years. The process was reversed from about 1990, and intercity and medium distance passenger services have seen a renaissance. Avanti West Coast operate services from London Euston to Edinburgh and Glasgow, while TransPennine Express operates services from Manchester Airport to Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Abellio ScotRail operates an approximately two-hourly service on the former G&SWR route to Glasgow via Dumfries and Kilmarnock. Northern Trains operate an approximately hourly service from Carlisle to Newcastle; some of the services are actually operated by Abellio ScotRail as through services from the Dumfries route. Northern operate an irregular but about 90-minutely service from Carlisle to Barrow-in-Furness via Maryport and Whitehaven.
Notes
References
Further reading
Denis Perriam and David Ramshaw, Carlisle Citadel Station, P3 Publications, Carlisle, 1998,
Railway
History of Cumbria
Rail transport in Cumbria | en |
doc-en-8205 | This is a list of published International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards and other deliverables. For a complete and up-to-date list of all the ISO standards, see the ISO catalogue.
The standards are protected by copyright and most of them must be purchased. However, about 300 of the standards produced by ISO and IEC's Joint Technical Committee 1 (JTC1) have been made freely and publicly available.
ISO 20000 – ISO 20999
ISO/IEC 20000 Information technology – Service management
ISO/IEC TR 20002:2012 Information technology – Telecommunications and information exchange between systems – Managed P2P: Framework
ISO/IEC TR 20004:2015 Information technology - Security techniques - Refining software vulnerability analysis under ISO/IEC 15408 and ISO/IEC 18045
ISO/IEC 20005:2013 Information technology - Sensor networks - Services and interfaces supporting collaborative information processing in intelligent sensor networks
ISO/IEC 20006 Information technology for learning, education and training - Information model for competency
ISO/IEC 20006-1:2014 Part 1: Competency general framework and information model
ISO/IEC 20006-2:2015 Part 2: Proficiency level information model
ISO/IEC TR 20007:2014 Information technology - Cultural and linguistic interoperability - Definitions and relationship between symbols, icons, animated icons, pictograms, characters and glyphs
ISO/IEC 20008 Information technology - Security techniques - Anonymous digital signatures
ISO/IEC 20008-1:2013 Part 1: General
ISO/IEC 20008-2:2013 Part 2: Mechanisms using a group public key
ISO/IEC 20009 Information technology - Security techniques - Anonymous entity authentication
ISO/IEC 20009-1:2013 Part 1: General
ISO/IEC 20009-2:2013 Part 2: Mechanisms based on signatures using a group public key
ISO/IEC 20009-4:2017 Part 4: Mechanisms based on weak secrets
ISO/IEC TS 20013:2015 Information technology for learning, education and training - A reference framework of e-Portfolio information
ISO/IEC 20016 Information technology for learning, education and training - Language accessibility and human interface equivalencies (HIEs) in e-learning applications
ISO/IEC 20016-1:2014 Part 1: Framework and reference model for semantic interoperability
ISO/IEC TR 20017:2011 Information technology - Radio frequency identification for item management - Electromagnetic interference impact of ISO/IEC 18000 interrogator emitters on implantable pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators
ISO 20022 Financial services – UNIversal Financial Industry message scheme
ISO/TS 20026:2017 Intelligent transport systems – Cooperative ITS – Test architecture
ISO/IEC TS 20027:2015 Biometrics interoperability profiles – Best practices for slap tenprint captures
ISO/IEC 20060:2010 Information technology – Open Terminal Architecture (OTA) – Virtual machine
ISO/IEC 20061:2001 Information technology – 12,65 mm wide magnetic tape cassette for information interchange – Helical scan recording – DTF-2
ISO/IEC 20062:2001 Information technology – 8 mm wide magnetic tape cartridge for information interchange – Helical scan recording – VXA-1 format
ISO/PAS 20065:2016 Acoustics – Objective method for assessing the audibility of tones in noise – Engineering method
ISO/IEC TS 20071 Information technology – User interface component accessibility
ISO/IEC TS 20071-11:2012 Part 11: Guidance for alternative text for images
ISO/IEC TS 20071-21:2015 Part 21: Guidance on audio descriptions
ISO/IEC TS 20071-25:2017 Part 25: Guidance on the audio presentation of text in videos, including captions, subtitles and other on-screen text
ISO 20072:2009 Aerosol drug delivery device design verification—Requirements and test methods
ISO/IEC 20113:2004 Information technology – Telecommunications and information exchange between systems – Private Integrated Services Network – Specification, functional model and information flows – Make call request supplementary service
ISO/IEC 20114:2004 Information technology – Telecommunications and information exchange between systems – Private Integrated Services Network (PISN) – Inter-exchange signalling protocol – Make call request supplementary service
ISO/IEC 20115:2004 Information technology – Telecommunications and information exchange between systems – Private Integrated Services Network – Use of QSIG for Message Centre Access (MCA) profile standard
ISO/IEC 20116:2004 Information technology – Telecommunications and information exchange between systems – Private Integrated Services Network – Specification, functional model and information flows – Message centre monitoring and mailbox identification supplementary services
ISO/IEC 20117:2004 Information technology – Telecommunications and information exchange between systems – Private Integrated Services Network – Inter-exchange signalling protocol – Message centre monitoring and mailbox identification supplementary services
ISO 20121:2012 Event sustainability management systems - Requirements with guidance for use
ISO 20128:2006 Milk products – Enumeration of presumptive Lactobacillus acidophilus on a selective medium – Colony-count technique at 37 degrees C
ISO 20155:2017 Ships and marine technology - Test method of flow induced in-pipe noise source characteristics for a ship-used pump
ISO 20160:2006 Implants for surgery – Metallic materials – Classification of microstructures for alpha+beta titanium alloy bars
ISO/IEC 20161:2001 Information technology – Telecommunications and information exchange between systems – Private Integrated Services Network – Use of QSIG at the C reference point between a PINX and an Interconnecting Network
ISO/IEC 20162:2001 Information technology - Data interchange on 300 mm optical disk cartridges of type WORM (Write Once Read Many) using irreversible effects - Capacity: 30 Gbytes per cartridge
ISO 20228:2019 Interpreting services — Legal interpreting — Requirements
ISO/IEC 20243:2015 Information Technology - Open Trusted Technology ProviderTM Standard (O-TTPS) - Mitigating maliciously tainted and counterfeit products
ISO 20245:2017 Cross-border trade of second-hand goods
ISO/IEC 20246:2017 Software and systems engineering - Work product reviews
ISO 20252:2012 Market, opinion and social research — Vocabulary and service requirements
ISO 20275:2017 Financial services – Entity legal forms (ELF)
ISO/TR 20278:2015 Unwanted reflections from the active and inactive areas of display surfaces visible during use
ISO/TS 20282 Usability of consumer products and products for public use
ISO 20283 Mechanical vibration - Measurement of vibration on ships
ISO 20283-2:2008 Part 2: Measurement of structural vibration
ISO 20283-3:2006 Part 3: Pre-installation vibration measurement of shipboard equipment
ISO 20283-4:2012 Part 4: Measurement and evaluation of vibration of the ship propulsion machinery
ISO 20283-5:2016 Part 5: Guidelines for measurement, evaluation and reporting of vibration with regard to habitability on passenger and merchant ships
ISO 20301:2014 Health informatics – Health cards – General characteristics
ISO 20302:2014 Health informatics – Health cards – Numbering system and registration procedure for issuer identifiers
ISO 20308:2017 Traditional Chinese medicine – Gua Sha instruments
ISO 20361:2015 Liquid pumps and pump units – Noise test code – Grades 2 and 3 of accuracy
ISO 20381:2009 Mobile elevating work platforms - Symbols for operator controls and other displays
ISO 20387:2018 Biotechnology — Biobanking — General requirements for biobanking
ISO 20400:2017 Sustainable procurement - Guidance
ISO/TS 20428:2017 Health informatics – Data elements and their metadata for describing structured clinical genomic sequence information in electronic health records
ISO/TS 20440:2016 Health informatics – Identification of medicinal products – Implementation guide for ISO 11239 data elements and structures for the unique identification and exchange of regulated information on pharmaceutical dose forms, units of presentation, routes of administration and packaging
ISO/TS 20452:2007 Requirements and Logical Data Model for a Physical Storage Format (PSF) and an Application Program Interface (API) and Logical Data Organization for PSF used in Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) Database Technology
ISO 20456:2017 Measurement of fluid flow in closed conduits – Guidance for the use of electromagnetic flowmeters for conductive liquids
ISO/TR 20461:2000 Determination of uncertainty for volume measurements made using the gravimetric method
ISO/TS 20477:2017 Nanotechnologies - Standard terms and their definition for cellulose nanomaterial
ISO 20480 Fine bubble technology – General principles for usage and measurement of fine bubbles
ISO 20480-1:2017 Part 1: Terminology
ISO 20484:2017 Non-destructive testing - Leak testing - Vocabulary
ISO 20488:2018 Online consumer reviews -- Principles and requirements for their collection, moderation and publication
ISO 20498 Traditional Chinese medicine – Computerized tongue image analysis system
ISO 20498-2:2017 Part 2: Light environment
ISO/TR 20514:2005 Health informatics – Electronic health record – Definition, scope and context
ISO 20519:2017 Ships and marine technology - Specification for bunkering of liquefied natural gas fuelled vessels
ISO/TR 20526:2017 Account-based ticketing state of the art report
ISO/TR 20529 Intelligent transport systems – Framework for green ITS (G-ITS) standards
ISO/TR 20529-1:2017 Part 1: General information and use case definitions
ISO 20539:2019 Translation, interpreting and related technology — Vocabulary
ISO/TR 20545:2017 Intelligent transport systems – Vehicle/roadway warning and control systems – Report on standardisation for vehicle automated driving systems (RoVAS)/Beyond driver assistance systems
ISO/IEC 20563:2001 Information technology - 80 mm (1,23 Gbytes per side) and 120 mm (3,95 Gbytes per side) DVD-recordable disk (DVD-R)
ISO/TS 20625:2002 Electronic data interchange for administration, commerce and transport (EDIFACT) – Rules for generation of XML scheme files (XSD) on the basis of EDI(FACT) implementation guidelines
ISO/IEC 20648:2016 Information technology - TLS specification for storage systems
ISO 20653 Road vehicles - Degrees of protection (IP-Code) - Protection of electrical equipment against foreign objects, water and access
ISO 20669:2017 Non-destructive testing - Pulsed eddy current testing of ferromagnetic metallic components
ISO 20671-1:2021 Brand evaluation -- Principles and fundamentals
ISO 20674-1:2019 Information and documentation — Transliteration of scripts in use in Thailand — Part 1: Transliteration of Akson-Thai-Noi
ISO 20700 Guidelines for management consultancy services
ISO 20712 Water safety signs and beach safety flags
ISO 20712-1:2008 Part 1: Specifications for water safety signs used in workplaces and public areas
ISO 20712-2:2007 Part 2: Specifications for beach safety flags - Colour, shape, meaning and performance
ISO 20712-3:2014 Part 3: Guidance for use
ISO 20725:2004 Textile machinery – Condensers for cotton spinning – Vocabulary and principles of construction
ISO 20726:2004 Textile machinery – Hopper feeders for cotton spinning – Vocabulary and principles of construction
ISO 20727:2004 Textile machinery – Mixing bale openers for cotton spinning – Vocabulary and principles of construction
ISO/IEC 20741:2017 Systems and software engineering - Guideline for the evaluation and selection of software engineering tools
ISO 20743:2013 Textiles – Determination of antibacterial activity of textile products
ISO/IEC TR 20748 Information technology for learning, education and training - Learning analytics interoperability
ISO/IEC TR 20748-1:2016 Part 1: Reference model
ISO/IEC TR 20748-2:2017 Part 2: System requirements
ISO 20771:2020 Legal translation — Requirements
ISO 20775:2009 Information and documentation - Schema for holdings information
ISO 20785 Dosimetry for exposures to cosmic radiation in civilian aircraft
ISO 20785-1:2012 Part 1: Conceptual basis for measurements
ISO 20785-2:2011 Part 2: Characterization of instrument response
ISO 20785-3:2015 Part 3: Measurements at aviation altitudes
ISO/IEC 20802 Information technology – Open data protocol (OData) v4.0
ISO/IEC 20802-1:2016 Part 1: Core
ISO/IEC 20802-2:2016 Part 2: OData JSON Format
ISO 20807:2004 Non-destructive testing – Qualification of personnel for limited application of non-destructive testing
ISO/TR 20811:2017 Optics and photonics – Lasers and laser-related equipment – Laser-induced molecular contamination testing
ISO 20815 Petroleum, petrochemical and natural gas industries - Production assurance and reliability management
ISO 20816 Mechanical vibration – Measurement and evaluation of machine vibration
ISO 20816-1:2016 Part 1: General guidelines
ISO 20816-2:2017 Part 2: Land-based gas turbines, steam turbines and generators in excess of 40 MW, with fluid-film bearings and rated speeds of 1 500 r/min, 1 800 r/min, 3 000 r/min and 3 600 r/min
ISO/TR 20824:2007 Ophthalmic instruments – Background for light hazard specification in ophthalmic instrument standards
ISO/TR 20831:2017 Health informatics – Medication management concepts and definitions
ISO/TS 20836:2005 Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs – Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the detection of food-borne pathogens – Performance testing for thermal cyclers
ISO 20837:2006 Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs – Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the detection of food-borne pathogens – Requirements for sample preparation for qualitative detection
ISO 20838:2006 Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs – Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the detection of food-borne pathogens – Requirements for amplification and detection for qualitative methods
ISO 20900:2019 ISO 20900:2019 Intelligent transport systems — Partially automated parking systems (PAPS) — Performance requirements and test procedures
ISO 20906:2009 Acoustics – Unattended monitoring of aircraft sound in the vicinity of airports
ISO/IEC TR 20913:2016 Information technology - Data centres - Guidelines on holistic investigation methodology for data centre key performance indicators
ISO 20916:2019 In vitro diagnostic medical devices -- Clinical performance studies using specimens from human subjects -- Good study practice
ISO/IEC 20919:2016 Information technology – Linear Tape File System (LTFS) Format Specification
ISO/IEC 20922:2016 Information technology – Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) v3.1.1
ISO/IEC 20926:2009 Software and systems engineering - Software measurement - IFPUG functional size measurement method 2009
ISO/IEC 20933:2016 Information technology - Distributed Application Platforms and Services (DAPS) - Access Systems
ISO/IEC TR 20943 Information technology – Procedures for achieving metadata registry content consistency
ISO/IEC TR 20943-1:2003 Part 1: Data elements
ISO/IEC TR 20943-3:2004 Part 3: Value domains
ISO/IEC TR 20943-5:2013 Part 5: Metadata mapping procedure
ISO/IEC TR 20943-6:2013 Part 6: Framework for generating ontologies
ISO/IEC 20944 Information technology - Metadata Registries Interoperability and Bindings (MDR-IB)
ISO/IEC 20944-1:2013 Part 1: Framework, common vocabulary, and common provisions for conformance
ISO/IEC 20944-2:2013 Part 2: Coding bindings
ISO/IEC 20944-3:2013 Part 3: API bindings
ISO/IEC 20944-4:2013 Part 4: Protocol bindings
ISO/IEC 20944-5:2013 Part 5: Profiles
ISO 20957 Stationary training equipment — Safety requirements and test methods
ISO 20957-1:2013 Stationary training equipment — Part 1: General safety requirements and test methods
ISO 20957-2:2005 Stationary training equipment — Part 2: Strength training equipment, additional specific safety requirements and test methods
ISO 20957-4:2016 Stationary training equipment — Part 4: Strength training benches, additional specific safety requirements and test methods
ISO 20957-5:2016 Stationary training equipment — Part 5: Stationary exercise bicycles and upper body crank training equipment, additional specific safety requirements and test methods
ISO 20957-6:2005 Stationary training equipment — Part 6: Treadmills, additional specific safety requirements and test methods
ISO 20957-7:2005 Stationary training equipment — Part 7: Rowing machines, additional specific safety requirements and test methods
ISO 20957-8:2017 Stationary training equipment — Part 8: Steppers, stairclimbers and climbers — Additional specific safety requirements and test methods
ISO 20957-9:2016 Stationary training equipment — Part 9: Elliptical trainers, additional specific safety requirements and test methods
ISO 20957-10:2017 Stationary training equipment — Part 10: Exercise bicycles with a fixed wheel or without freewheel
ISO 20958:2013 Condition monitoring and diagnostics of machine systems – Electrical signature analysis of three-phase induction motors
ISO/IEC 20968:2002 Software engineering - Mk II Function Point Analysis - Counting Practices Manual
ISO/IEC 20970:2002 Information technology - Programming languages, their environments and system software interfaces - JEFF file format
ISO 21000 – ISO 21999
ISO/IEC 21000 Information technology – Multimedia framework (MPEG-21)
ISO 21001:2018 Educational organizations - Management systems for educational organizations - Requirements with guidance for use (EOMS)
ISO 21047:2009 Information and documentation - International Standard Text Code (ISTC)
ISO 21063:2017 Prosthetics and orthotics – Soft orthoses – Uses, functions, classification and description
ISO 21064:2017 Prosthetics and orthotics – Foot orthotics – Uses, functions classification and description
ISO 21065:2017 Prosthetics and orthotics – Terms relating to the treatment and rehabilitation of persons having a lower limb amputation
ISO 21067 Packaging - Vocabulary
ISO 21067-1:2016 Part 1: General terms
ISO 21067-2:2015 Part 2: Packaging and the environment terms
ISO/TR 21074:2016 Application of ISO 5725 for the determination of repeatability and reproducibility of precision tests performed in standardization work for chemical analysis of steel
ISO/TR 21089:2004 Health informatics – Trusted end-to-end information flows
ISO 21090:2011 Health informatics – Harmonized data types for information interchange
ISO 21091:2013 Health informatics – Directory services for healthcare providers, subjects of care and other entities
ISO 21101:2014 Adventure tourism – Safety management systems – Requirements
ISO/TR 21102:2013 Adventure tourism – Leaders – Personnel competence
ISO 21103:2014 Adventure tourism – Information for participants
ISO/IEC 21118:2012 Information technology – Office equipment – Information to be included in specification sheets – Data projectors
ISO 21127:2014 Information and documentation - A reference ontology for the interchange of cultural heritage information
ISO/TS 21144:2016 Ergonomics of human-system interaction – Electronic paper display – Indoor use
ISO 21148:2017 Cosmetics – Microbiology – General instructions for microbiological examination
ISO 21149:2017 Cosmetics – Microbiology – Enumeration and detection of aerobic mesophilic bacteria
ISO 21150:2015 Cosmetics – Microbiology – Detection of Escherichia coli
ISO 21183 Light conveyor belts
ISO 21183-2:2005 Part 2: List of equivalent terms
ISO 21187:2004 Milk – Quantitative determination of bacteriological quality – Guidance for establishing and verifying a conversion relationship between routine method results and anchor method results
ISO 21188:2006 Public key infrastructure for financial services – Practices and policy framework
ISO 21210:2012 Intelligent transport systems – Communications access for land mobiles (CALM) – IPv6 Networking
ISO 21212:2008 Intelligent transport systems – Communications access for land mobiles (CALM) – 2G Cellular systems
ISO 21213:2008 Intelligent transport systems – Communications access for land mobiles (CALM) – 3G Cellular systems
ISO 21214:2015 Intelligent transport systems – Communications access for land mobiles (CALM) – Infra-red systems
ISO 21215:2010 Intelligent transport systems – Communications access for land mobiles (CALM) – M5
ISO 21216:2012 Intelligent transport systems – Communication access for land mobiles (CALM) – Millimetre wave air interface
ISO 21217:2014 Intelligent transport systems – Communications access for land mobiles (CALM) – Architecture
ISO 21218:2013 Intelligent transport systems – Communications access for land mobiles (CALM) – Access technology support
ISO/TS 21219 Intelligent transport systems – Traffic and travel information (TTI) via transport protocol experts group, generation 2 (TPEG2)
ISO 21247:2005 Combined accept-zero sampling systems and process control procedures for product acceptance
ISO 21254 Lasers and laser-related equipment – Test methods for laser-induced damage threshold
ISO 21254-1:2011 Part 1: Definitions and general principles
ISO 21254-2:2011 Part 2: Threshold determination
ISO 21254-3:2011 Part 3: Assurance of laser power (energy) handling capabilities
ISO/TR 21254-4:2011 Part 4: Inspection, detection and measurement
ISO 21289:2008 Mechanical vibration and shock – Parameters to be specified for the acquisition of vibration data
ISO 21298:2017 Health informatics - Functional and structural roles
ISO/IEC 21320 Information technology - Document Container File
ISO 21300:2019 Traditional Chinese medicine — Guidelines and specification for Chinese materia medica
ISO/IEC 21320-1:2015 Part 1: Core
ISO 21401:2018 Tourism and related services -- Sustainability management system for accommodation establishments -- Requirements
ISO/IEC 21407:2001 Information technology – Telecommunications and information exchange between systems – Private Integrated Services Network – Specification, functional model and information flows – Simple dialog supplementary service
ISO/IEC 21408:2003 Information technology – Telecommunications and information exchange between systems – Private Integrated Services Network – Inter-exchange signalling protocol – Simple dialog supplementary service
ISO/IEC 21409:2001 Information technology – Telecommunications and information exchange between systems – Corporate telecommunication networks – Signalling interworking between QSIG and H.323 – Generic functional protocol for the support of supplementary services
ISO/IEC 21410:2001 Information technology – Telecommunications and information exchange between systems – Corporate telecommunication networks – Signalling interworking between QSIG and H.323 – Call transfer supplementary services
ISO/IEC 21411:2001 Information technology – Telecommunications and information exchange between systems – Corporate telecommunication networks – Signalling interworking between QSIG and H.323 – Call diversion supplementary services
ISO 21413:2005 Manual methods for the measurement of a groundwater level in a well
ISO/TR 21414:2016 Hydrometry – Groundwater – Surface geophysical surveys for hydrogeological purposes
ISO/IEC TS 21425:2017 Programming languages – C++ Extensions for ranges
ISO 21439:2009 Clinical dosimetry - Beta radiation sources for brachytherapy
ISO/IEC/IEEE 21450:2010 Information technology - Smart transducer interface for sensors and actuators - Common functions, communication protocols, and Transducer Electronic Data Sheet (TEDS) formats
ISO/IEC/IEEE 21451 Information technology - Smart transducer interface for sensors and actuators
ISO/IEC/IEEE 21451-1:2010 Part 1: Network Capable Application Processor (NCAP) information model
ISO/IEC/IEEE 21451-2:2010 Part 2: Transducer to microprocessor communication protocols and Transducer Electronic Data Sheet (TEDS) formats
ISO/IEC/IEEE 21451-4:2010 Part 4: Mixed-mode communication protocols and Transducer Electronic Data Sheet (TEDS) formats
ISO/IEC/IEEE 21451-7:2011 Part 7: Transducer to radio frequency identification (RFID) systems communication protocols and Transducer Electronic Data Sheet (TEDS) formats
ISO/IEC 21481:2012 Information technology – Telecommunications and information exchange between systems – Near Field Communication Interface and Protocol -2 (NFCIP-2)
ISO 21482:2007 Ionizing-radiation warning – Supplementary symbol
ISO 21484:2017 Nuclear Energy - Fuel technology - Determination of the O/M ratio in MOX pellets by the gravimetric method
ISO 21485:2013 Textile machinery – Draw frame for cotton spinning – Vocabulary and principles of construction
ISO 21500 Guidance on project management
ISO 21503:2017 Project, programme and portfolio management – Guidance on programme management
ISO 21504:2015 Project, programme and portfolio management – Guidance on portfolio management
ISO 21505:2017 Project, programme and portfolio management - Guidance on governance
ISO 21527 Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs – Horizontal method for the enumeration of yeasts and moulds
ISO 21527-1:2008 Part 1: Colony count technique in products with water activity greater than 0,95
ISO 21527-2:2008 Part 2: Colony count technique in products with water activity less than or equal to 0,95
ISO 21528 Microbiology of the food chain - Horizontal method for the detection and enumeration of Enterobacteriaceae
ISO 21528-1:2017 Part 1: Detection of Enterobacteriaceae
ISO 21528-2:2017 Part 2: Colony-count technique
ISO 21531:2009 Dentistry - Graphical symbols for dental instruments
ISO 21534:2007 Non-active surgical implants – Joint replacement implants – Particular requirements
ISO 21535:2007 Non-active surgical implants – Joint replacement implants – Specific requirements for hip-joint replacement implants
ISO 21536:2007 Non-active surgical implants – Joint replacement implants – Specific requirements for knee-joint replacement implants
ISO/IEC TS 21544:2018 Programming languages – Extensions to C++ for modules
ISO/TS 21547:2010 Health informatics – Security requirements for archiving of electronic health records – Principles
ISO/TR 21548:2010 Health informatics – Security requirements for archiving of electronic health records – Guidelines
ISO 21549 Health informatics – Patient healthcard data
ISO 21549-1:2013 Part 1: General structure
ISO 21549-2:2014 Part 2: Common objects
ISO 21549-3:2014 Part 3: Limited clinical data
ISO 21549-4:2014 Part 4: Extended clinical data
ISO 21549-5:2015 Part 5: Identification data
ISO 21549-6:2008 Part 6: Administrative data
ISO 21549-7:2016 Part 7: Medication data
ISO 21549-8:2010 Part 8: Links
ISO 21567:2004 Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs – Horizontal method for the detection of Shigella spp.
ISO/TS 21609:2014 Road vehicles – (EMC) guidelines for installation of aftermarket radio frequency transmitting equipment
ISO 21649:2006 Needle-free injectors for medical use – Requirements and test methods
ISO 21667:2010 Health informatics – Health indicators conceptual framework
ISO/TR 21707:2008 Intelligent transport systems – Integrated transport information, management and control – Data quality in ITS systems
ISO/TR 21730:2007 Health informatics – Use of mobile wireless communication and computing technology in healthcare facilities – Recommendations for electromagnetic compatibility (management of unintentional electromagnetic interference) with medical devices
ISO/HL7 21731:2014 Health informatics – HL7 version 3 – Reference information model – Release 4
ISO 21748:2017 Guidance for the use of repeatability, reproducibility and trueness estimates in measurement uncertainty evaluation
ISO/TS 21749:2005 Measurement uncertainty for metrological applications - Repeated measurements and nested experiments
ISO 21807:2004 Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs – Determination of water activity
ISO/IEC 21827:2008 Information technology - Security techniques - Systems Security Engineering - Capability Maturity Model® (SSE-CMM®)
ISO 21849:2006 Aircraft and space - Industrial data - Product identification and traceability
ISO 21871:2006 Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs – Horizontal method for the determination of low numbers of presumptive Bacillus cereus – Most probable number technique and detection method
ISO 21872 Microbiology of the food chain – Horizontal method for the determination of Vibrio spp.
ISO 21872-1:2017 Part 1: Detection of potentially enteropathogenic Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio vulnificus
ISO/IEC 21888:2001 Information technology – Telecommunications and information exchange between systems – Private Integrated Services Network – Specification, functional model and information flows – Call Identification and Call Linkage Additional Network Feature
ISO/IEC 21889:2001 Information technology – Telecommunications and information exchange between systems – Private Integrated Services Network – Inter-exchange signalling protocol – Call Identification and Call Linkage Additional Network Feature
ISO/IEC TR 21890:2001 Information technology – Telecommunications and information exchange between systems – Interoperation of PISNs with IP networks
ISO/TR 21932:2013 Sustainability in buildings and civil engineering works – A review of terminology
ISO 21940 Mechanical vibration - Rotor balancing
ISO 21940-2:2017 Part 2: Vocabulary
ISO/TR 21941:2017 Financial services – Third-party payment service providers
ISO 21969:2009 High-pressure flexible connections for use with medical gas systems
ISO 21987:2017 Ophthalmic optics – Mounted spectacle lenses
ISO/IEC 21989:2002 Information technology – Telecommunications and information exchange between systems – Private Integrated Services Network – Specification, functional model and information flows – Short message service
ISO/IEC 21990:2002 Information technology – Telecommunications and information exchange between systems – Private Integrated Services Network – Inter-exchange signalling protocol – Short message service
ISO/IEC 21991:2002 Information technology – Telecommunications and information exchange between systems – Corporate Telecommunication Networks – Signalling interworking between QSIG and H.323 – Call completion supplementary services
ISO/IEC 21992:2003 Information technology – Telecommunications and information exchange between systems – Private Integrated Services Network – Mapping functions for the tunnelling of QSIG through IP networks
ISO 21998:2020 Interpreting services — Healthcare interpreting — Requirements and recommendations
Notes
References
External links
International Organization for Standardization
ISO Certification Provider
ISO Consultant
International Organization for Standardization | en |
doc-en-11826 | Sir James Hamet Dunn, 1st Baronet (October 29, 1874 – January 1, 1956) was a Canadian financier and industrialist during the first half of the 20th century. He is recognized chiefly for his 1935 rescue and subsequent 20-year presidency and proprietorship of Algoma Steel.
Early life
Dunn was born in the village of St. Peter's, now amalgamated into Bathurst, New Brunswick, Canada. His father owned a shipbuilding company whose fortunes had been all but wiped out by the sharp decline in the demand for wooden ships, and died when he fell into the harbour when James was an infant. His widowed mother, who was a particularly devout member of St. Luke's Presbyterian church, raised him on her meager earnings as a telegraph clerk. The bereft family also had help from the Fergusons, owners of a large farm, where his mother exchanged household duties for room and board. In his posthumous biography, boyhood and lifelong friend Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook remarks on Dunn's exposure to the Shorter Catechism and the creed of John Knox through his mother's devotion. Specifically, Beaverbrook mentions the responses to Questions 74 and 75 (which explicitly command that wealth be acquired only by lawful means) as formative influences on the young Dunn.
From childhood, James Dunn was a voracious reader with an excellent memory. After completing his schooling, he left home to find employment and for a time he worked as a deckhand for an American shipping company on Lake Michigan. After this, he made his way to the east coast where he was employed by a manufacturing company in Lynn, Massachusetts. However, before long he returned home took a job as a clerk at the law firm of George Gilbert, where he worked alongside Richard Bedford Bennett, led him to the decision to apply to Dalhousie University Law School in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The small amount of money he had been able to save was not nearly enough to cover his education costs and Dunn worked at a variety of part-time jobs to pay his way through university, including a position in the university library. He graduated in 1898, then worked as a lawyer in Halifax before setting up a law practice in Edmonton, Alberta. Within a short time, Dunn was drawn to the booming economy of Montreal, Quebec where he landed a position with one of the city's prominent law firms.
The stockbroker
James Dunn became involved in the legal aspects for underwriting activities for companies being listed on the Montreal Stock Exchange and in 1902 he established the J.H. Dunn & Co. stock brokerage company. With $20,000.00 borrowed from his father-in-law, he acquired a seat on the stock exchange. Canadian business at the time was still heavily dependent on investment money from the British financial markets and Dunn became an expert at raising foreign capital for the underwriting of securities as well as selecting the right places to invest. Articulate, outspoken, and with a personality that commanded respect, Dunn had already made contacts with a number of influential people, including a number of railroad executives, one of the most powerful group of entrepreneurs of the day.
As a stockbroker, Dunn's company put together a stock issue for William Van Horne, the former president of Canadian Pacific Railway. Van Horne had invested in the Cuba Railroad Company and wanted to raise capital for his "Havana Electric Company" venture. Already a close friend of fellow New Brunswickers, Max Aitken (the future Lord Beaverbrook) and a bright young lawyer named Richard Bennett, Dunn's brokerage work led to even more business connections with some of the elite of corporate Canada, including George Alexander Drummond, Henry Pellatt and the up-and-coming Izaak Walton Killam. As well, he would become a friend and admirer of the very successful American engineer-turned-entrepreneur, Frederick Stark Pearson.
However, the London financial markets were the centre of the economic universe and encouraged by Pearson, in 1905 James Dunn made the decision to take up residency in London. There he ran a new merchant bank in partnership with the Swiss investment dealer, C.L. Fischer, all the while working in conjunction with his Montreal brokerage.
At a time of rapid development in mechanized industry, as a result of large hydro-electric projects, shrewd investments, underwritings and stock promotions, James Dunn was soon a wealthy man. Dunn's brokerage house underwrote Pearson's ventures and sufficient capital was raised to allow Pearson to create a massive business empire that included the São Paulo Tramway, Light and Power Company in Brazil, the Mexico North Western Railway, the Mexican Tramway Company, and the Mexican Light and Power Company in Mexico, the British American Nickel Company in Canada and the Barcelona Traction, Light and Power Company.
All was not easy and as a director of the Sovereign Bank in Canada that fell victim to the stock market crash of 1907, he experienced severe financial difficulties. Added to this, mismanagement kept hidden by the officers running his Montreal brokerage house, one of whom committed suicide when his discrepancies were revealed, caused Dunn more financial grief. In 1913, his partner Fischer disappeared and went to ground leaving him with monstrous debts, as their firm was a partnership, not a limited liability vehicle, but he managed courageously and with help from his creditors to cover them all. Nine years later, Dunn forgave Fischer when the latter was "in virtual destitution", even to the point of giving him a job.
At the height of the Great War in 1915, his associate Pearson was killed when the Germans sank the RMS Lusitania. Despite these setbacks, he would quickly recoup and go on to become a multi-millionaire. It is reported that Dunn partnered with the Belgian financier Alfred Loewenstein in several business ventures, the duo emerging with more than £1,000,000 profit from their 1920s investment in British Celanese alone.
Dunn's close friendship with Max Aitken continued after the wealthy New Brunswicker also chose to live in England. Still very much in touch with his roots, after a 1911 fire destroyed the bells of Christ Church Cathedral in Fredericton, James Dunn donated the replacements for the original 1849 five-ton bells. The First World War provided him with a number of business opportunities and to the ability to serve Britain. For his World War I efforts, he was created a baronet in the 1921 New Year Honours.
During his lifetime Dunn became a major industry leader rivaling even the Rothschilds as a central figure in British finance. Although he lived primarily in England during his stockbroking years and maintained a villa in France, Dunn frequently traveled to Canada to spend time at his fishing camp on the Nigadoo River not far from his birthplace.
Algoma Steel
A number of Sir James Dunn's Canadian investments were in Northern Ontario mining ventures and he began a business relationship with Algoma Steel, a company in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Founded by Francis Clergue, Algoma Steel had been taken over by Philadelphia, Pennsylvania investors after its 1903 bankruptcy. Overly dependent on the production of rail tracks, the steel company suffered through numerous problems and in 1908 Dunn had partnered with a British group of investors who included Robert Fleming to cooperate with an American consortium to form the Lake Superior Investment Co. to acquire Algoma Steel. Although Dunn's role at the time was important, he was still only a minority player and the American investors had control.
Algoma Steel went through years of ups and downs, marked by a lack of strong leadership, and in 1935 the company was again forced into receivership, and with it went the city: a plaintive cry for help from the mayor to Dunn details the ordeal. This time, at the age of 61, Dunn engineered a takeover so that he became the sole controlling shareholder thereby allowing him to take the tough but necessary reorganization measures to restore profitability to the steel maker. To accomplish this, he raised capital by negotiating bank loans, selling his beloved art collection and taking stock instead of income. As Algoma Steel's president and chairman of its board of directors, he successfully turned it into one of the largest steel mills of the day and for more than twenty years guided the fortunes of the company he would eventually make into one of the most profitable producers in Canada.
However, all was not sweetness and light for the first several years of his presidency: for example, in July 1937, the Bank of Montreal called in its loans—in a repetition of events that had destroyed Algoma under Clergue in 1907—but Morris W. Wilson of the Royal Bank stepped in to carry the day. As Minister for Aircraft Production in wartime Britain, Beaverbrook would appoint Wilson in 1940 to manage his North American ministry.
Dunn's intestinal fortitude is responsible for his claim to at least two significant innovations in the industry. Hematite ore was the foundation of the steel industry in 1935, and it was indeed exploited by Algoma. Next to a hematite deposit owned by Algoma was a mountain more than 1,000 feet high but it contained a low-grade ore called siderite. The experts unanimously declared that Dunn, who wanted to exploit this mountain of siderite, was mad. Nowhere else in the world was an ore of this grade in commercial use. In the early months of 1939, a pilot process seemed to indicate success, but in order to be ascertained it would require full production. Dunn carried the investment through to the end and a positive result was his reward. The next innovation which Dunn developed into production at Algoma was then known as the "Sink-Float process". The need for innovation was due to the exhaustion of ore supplies at the Helen mine. The process, which had been established at Broken Hill Proprietary by Guillaume Daniel Delprat at the turn of the century because of a similar exhaustion, had been tried once or twice in the US but on ore quite different from that at the Victoria. No Canadian mines had developed this technique; no large-scale equipment was available for experimentation and so the pilot plant would be uncertain and expensive. The gamble was a success, and Dunn pioneered again. The Victoria mine was able for a time from 1945 to supplant the Helen mine, while the latter changed from an open-pit to, in 1949, an underground operation.
During the Second World War, the company benefited from the huge demand for steel by the military; however, financial calls from his associates, who needed or wanted to liquidate positions as a result of the French collapse, bedeviled Dunn, who retained in the end his Algoma shares and nothing else. Even then, he mortgaged them to his stockbroker friends. The benefit from a subsidized price for sinter, granted at the corporate nadir of 1935 by the provincial government of Mitchell Hepburn, was cancelled in 1942 by the Conant government. At times Dunn's relationship with the federal government minister in charge of the war effort, C. D. Howe was difficult; Beaverbrook relates a story in which he had to calm Winston Churchill because Howe or Mackenzie King, in the dark days of October 1940, had shredded Dunn's reputation. Howe threatened Dunn on 26 October 1940 with effective expropriation under the War Measures Act and the National Resources Mobilization Act: the government might obtain control of "trading, exportation, importation, production and manufacture" works, and require him "to place [himself], [his] services and [his] property at the disposal of His Majesty in right of Canada, as may be deemed necessary or expedient for securing the public safety, the defence of Canada, the maintenance of public order, or the efficient prosecution of the war, or for maintaining supplies or services essential to the life of the community." A letter to Churchill from Beaverbrook, who at the time was in the former's Ministry, was enough to secure the person and property of Dunn, but his health suffered ill effects, as presently will be related. The week after Dunn had a major surgery, Howe struck again. This time, Howe telephoned on 12 April 1943 to Wilson at the Royal Bank: if Howe's steel experts (likely the same experts Dunn had wrongfooted in the siderite development) were right, either Dunn must stand down from his Chairmanship of Algoma, or he would be forced to expropriate. Many precedents had accumulated over three years, both in the UK and Canada. But Wilson and his Royal Bank stood firm and refused to countenance this extreme. Wilson instead asked for disclosure of the government file, and Howe's bluff was shot. By August 1943, a vice-president at Algoma was removed and the way forward was clear.
Dunn and Howe later became friends, and Howe even acquired a summer manor next door to the Dunn estate, Dayspring, at the seaside resort of St. Andrews in New Brunswick. Howe even served as an Executor of Dunn's estate.
It was during the war that Dunn had two major health crises brought on by old age. These required hospital stays of 17 days and five weeks respectively. He and Christoforides, who throughout was by his side day and night, succeeded by artful means in keeping both stays from the press. Shortly after the end of the first bout with adversity, he married her.
Canada Steamship Lines
In 1944, Dunn was invited to serve on the board of directors of Canada Steamship Lines (CSL), whose ore carriers were an important transporter of ore and coal for the Algoma Steel plant which operated under a geographical disadvantage to its more southerly competitors. Unhappy over CSL's policy of prioritizing service to his steel mill's competition on the lower section of the Great Lakes, with backing from a Winnipeg, Manitoba businessman plus the Montreal publishing magnate, John Wilson McConnell, James Dunn quietly set about buying up shares of the shipping line. He secured a line of credit from the Bank of Montreal and through Earle McLaughlin at the Royal Bank of Canada he raised a war chest that saw him gain effective control of Canada Steamship Lines in 1951. This was followed up by the acquisition of another shipping line with cargo vessels capable of cost-effective delivery of Algoma Steel's products to the southern markets. Within a few years, Dunn was exporting iron ore from his Algoma Ore Properties Limited to American buyers.
Art collection
Sir James Dunn had been an avid art collector for many years. He was introduced to this pastime by van Horne in 1908, and purchased three paintings by Goya before 1911, and a Velazquez by 1912. Dunn was pained when forced by the Fischer debacle to liquidate his art collection in 1914. The transaction included 13 paintings and included Holbein, Bronzino, Manet and El Greco.
Dunn commissioned seventeen portraits of participants at the Versailles Conference by Sir William Orpen, amongst whom were Woodrow Wilson and George Barnes. At the height of the depression, commissioned another dozen, this time of his friends like Lord Greenwood, Lord Castlerosse and Lord Beaverbrook, by a down-on-his-luck Sickert.
In the late 1940s, he and Christofor, Lady Dunn, developed a friendship with Salvador Dalí. The artist went on to paint the portraits of the couple ( Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation)( Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation) which are now on permanent display at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton, New Brunswick along with one of Dalí's greatest pieces, the "Santiago el Grande." As well, the art gallery received other works of art that the Dunns collected including a 1650 painting by Jakob van Loo titled "A Gentleman" and the Augustus John picture, "Dorelia" as well as John's portrait of Sir James Dunn.
Personal
In 1901, James Dunn was married to Gertrude Paterson Price, the daughter of a prosperous Quebec City lumber dealer. They had five children before divorcing in 1926:
Mona Dunn (c. 1902-1928). Widely described as 'the most beautiful girl in England' she became at 17 when he met her in Paris in 1919 the mistress of Lord Birkenhead, later Lord Chancellor in the Coalition Cabinet of David Lloyd George. She married in 1925 Edmund Tattersall, a war hero of the 5th Dragoon Guards with whom she had in May 1927 a daughter, Monica. Her portrait by William Orpen hangs in the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, and may be viewed on their web-site. Her early death on 19 December 1928 from peritonitis was a crushing blow to her father. It became the subject of an occasional poem by Shane Leslie, which was published by the Ashendene Press.
Sir Philip Gordon Dunn, 2nd Baronet Dunn (1905–1976), who was father of two daughters: the author Nell Dunn, and Serena Dunn, later Lady Rothschild.
Kathleen Mabel Dunn (1907-1969)
Joan Molesworth Dunn (1908-1982) who married 1928 (and was divorced 1 November 1929 by) Hubert Duggan, an MP, and stepson of Lord Curzon. Upon her divorce she lost custody of an infant child born on 5 August 1929. She next married her lover Anthony Jenkinson, who subsequently committed suicide in October 1935. She married last in 1943, Charles Dutton, 7th Baron Sherborne.
Brigid Leila Dunn (1919-1991)
Following the divorce from his first wife in 1926, Sir James Dunn married Irene Clarice Richards, the former wife of Francis Archibald Kelhead Douglas, 11th Marquess of Queensberry. The 1928 death of his daughter Mona Dunn from his first marriage sent him into a state of depression and for a time he thought about cutting back on his business activities and returning home to his native New Brunswick. However, in 1929, his new wife gave birth to a daughter, Anne, who lifted his spirits a great deal. Anne Dunn grew up to be an artist, studying under Henry Moore and in Paris, France with Fernand Léger and at the Académie Julian. Nevertheless, Dunn and his second wife divorced in 1942 following which he married his long-time personal secretary, Marcia Anastasia Christoforides. Thirty-six years his junior, "Christofor" as she was nicknamed, was very bright, intensely loyal, and a devoted partner. James Dunn would seek her input on most every business matter for the rest of his life.
Although a workaholic, enjoyed luxury and maintained an active social life. He was one of the first businessman to acquire a Douglas DC-3 as a private business aircraft, in which he traveled frequently between his homes in Europe and Canada. He kept a vast wine cellar from the vineyards of France and frequented New York City, especially Broadway where he was a friend of television host Ed Sullivan.
It was for his service in the Great War that Dunn was knighted in the 1921 New Year's List of Honours. Dunn functioned as a sort of emissary for two Prime Ministers. He first responded when Asquith asked him (and members of the Asquith family) in the autumn of 1914 to write a report on the Army hospital service behind the lines in France. Next, he negotiated with Jacob Borreson an agreement that all of the nickel mined by the Kristiansand Nickel Company of Norway would be sent to Canada for smelting and refining. The British government obtained a virtual blockade on the supply of nickel to Germany, which was forced to purchase nickel from afar (with all the risk entailed by a distant supply) at inflated "spot" prices. Lloyd George requested a situation report from Dunn on the disrupted supply of foodstuffs from Norway, Sweden and Denmark; Dunn's plans for increasing the supply were sound and worked admirably in practice.
In 1949, Dunn was made a King's Counsel in Quebec by Maurice Duplessis. He was a made a member of the bar in five provinces. On 15 August 1950, he was made a Freeman of the City of Bathurst, and in November 1954 the same honour was bestowed by St. Andrews, New Brunswick. The University of New Brunswick, Dalhousie University, St. Francis Xavier University, Laval University and Queen's University all granted him honorary degrees. Sault Sainte Marie awarded him the Freedom of the City.
In January 1956 at the age of 81, after a heart ailment of less than a week Dunn died at his home in St. Andrews, New Brunswick. In commemoration of his birthday, in the same year, Lady Dunn privately published The Ballad of a Bathurst Boy: 1874-1956, a celebration of her late husband's life in verse. Printed by the University of New Brunswick Press in Fredericton, NB, it was sent to friends and family of Dunn. His widow sold the 10,000 acre camp he had acquired near his birthplace the next year. One source places this parcel on Dunn Road near Allardville, New Brunswick.
Lord Beaverbrook (Max Aitken) published in 1961 a detailed biography of his late friend, titled Courage: The Story of Sir James Dunn. The most complete telling of Dunn's life and business career is available in Duncan McDowall's, Steel at the Sault: Francis H. Clergue, Sir James Dunn and the Algoma Steel Corporation 1901-1956 (Toronto:University of Toronto Press, hb 1984 & pb 1988).
At the time of his death, Dunn was president of Algoma Ore Properties Ltd, Cannelton Coal and Coke Company, Fiborn Limestone Company, and Canadian Furnace Company.
Legacy
As a result of the very substantial taxes on the estate left by Sir James Dunn and Nova Scotia's Izaak Walton Killam who had died the year before in 1955, the government of Canada was able to create and provide an endowment for the Canada Council for the Arts. Dunn also left a very significant estate to his last wife who fulfilled his wishes and made numerous contributions to charitable, cultural, and educational works.
Perhaps Dunn's most significant legacy was the discovery of a productive ore near Bathurst, which was exploited by as many as 700 men for half a century from 1953: One of the annual scholarships, that were provided by Dunn in 1947 to the University of New Brunswick, was awarded to a Master's student by the name of A.B. Baldwin, who discovered the ore as his thesis work and thus "greatly enlarged the bounds of provincial prosperity". In fact, Dunn had specified in the deed that the scholarship was to be awarded for only New Brunswick geological work; Baldwin, who was originally interested in samples from Quebec's North Shore, was led by the Dunn gift to examine ore from New Brunswick.
As used here, the James Hamet Dunn legacy includes not only the bequests of his estate, but also significant charitable gifts that he made during his lifetime, and may no longer exist. Two examples from his hometown suffice to demonstrate his essence:
The James Hamet Dunn Hospital in West Bathurst, New Brunswick was consumed by flames in February 1953 after more than forty years' existence. The hospital iniated in northern New Brunswick a school for nurses.
In May 1931, the Our Lady of Lourdes of the Lady Dunn Institution sanatorium for the care of tuberculosis patients was opened north of Bathurst. It was managed by the Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph, and later demolished to become the state-financed Chaleur Regional Hospital.
A number of foundations, buildings and academic Chairs bear (or bore) his name including:
the Sir James Dunn Jubilee Scholarship at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia;
the Sir James Dunn Wildlife Research Fund of the University of New Brunswick;
the Sir James Dunn Residence at the University of New Brunswick, Saint John campus
at Saint Thomas University, Fredericton, New Brunswick:
the Sir James Dunn Hall and
the Sir James Dunn Student Lounge
at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia:
a Chair in Law;
the Sir James Dunn Law Library,
the Sir James Dunn Building for Physics & Atmospheric Science, and
the Sir James Dunn Theatre at the Arts Center;
at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick:
the Sir James Dunn Chair in Geology and
the Sir James Dunn Building for the computer science, mathematics and physics departments;
the Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Centre at the University of Prince Edward Island;
at Queen's University:
a Chair in mining.
In addition, Sir James Dunn has been honoured with numerous buildings and institutions bearing his name such as:
The Sir James Dunn Academy, a high school in St. Andrews, New Brunswick funded after his death by his last wife;
The Sir James Dunn Collegiate and Vocational School in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario;
The Sir James Dunn, a bulk carrier ship (Hull #109) launched in 1951, for Canada Steamship Lines;
The Sir James Dunn Public School in Wawa, Ontario, once Algoma's source for iron ore;
the Lady Dunn Hospital in Michipicoten (now Wawa, Ontario);
The Sir James Dunn Highland Guard of Honor the only highland cadet guard in the Canadian Cadet Movement, attached to 333 RCACS Fredericton NB.
Sir James was a member of the committee that built and opened London's first public golf courses in Richmond Park, which were opened in 1923 and 1925.
Notes
References
Boyhood poem by James H. Dunn, written July 1892 in Grande-Anse, New Brunswick
1874 births
1956 deaths
Lawyers in Nova Scotia
Lawyers in Quebec
Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom
Canadian baronets recommended by the British government
Canadian art collectors
Schulich School of Law alumni
Canadian philanthropists
People from Bathurst, New Brunswick
Businesspeople from New Brunswick
Canada Steamship Lines people
People from St. Andrews, New Brunswick
Canadian Presbyterians | en |
doc-en-12189 | The Alliance–Union universe is a fictional universe created by American writer C. J. Cherryh. It is the setting for a future history series extending from the 21st century into the far future.
To date, the corpus of the Alliance–Union universe consists of 27 science fiction novels along with a series of seven short story anthologies edited by Cherryh and a few other miscellaneous works. It encompasses both books for which Cherryh won the Hugo Award for Best Novel, Downbelow Station and Cyteen, and also incorporates various other series books such as the Faded Sun trilogy, the Chanur novels, the four Morgaine books, and the Merovingen Nights shared universe series.
Description
The Alliance–Union universe is a fictional future history created by Cherryh. It spans the third and fourth millennia, and is centered around humanity's exploration and colonization of space. Three economic powers have arisen, Earth Company, operating from Earth, the Alliance, a confederation of trade merchants operating interstellar freighters between Earth, space stations and colonized planets, and the Union, a breakaway government based on the planet of Cyteen. The Earth Company's attempts to control the expansions into space are defeated during the Company Wars, and the Union clashes with both the Alliance and Earth Company in their quest to expand their territories using cloned humans called azi.
In addition to Cherryh's Company War novels, her Alliance–Union universe also comprises several other novel series, including The Faded Sun Trilogy, the Compact Space series and the Merovingen Nights shared universe. Patricia Monk suggested in her paper "The shared universe: an experiment in speculative fiction" that linking these Alliance–Union series in a common future history creates a "megatext" or "collage novel".
History
As humanity reaches out to the stars, space stations are financed by the private Sol Corporation, eventually known as the Earth Company. Each new station is built by the previous one and is located ever farther away from Earth. In the days before faster-than-light travel (FTL), nine stations are laboriously constructed around nine stars, all lacking habitable planets.
The stationers and the merchanters who man the ships that supply them both develop distinct cultural identities, but remain psychologically and to some degree materially dependent on Earth. Still, directives from Earth, bound by the speed of light, arrive hopelessly out-of-date and are routinely ignored, making the Earth Company's attempts to maintain control increasingly futile.
When Pell's World is discovered in the Tau Ceti system, the fragile economic and political equilibrium is disrupted. Not only is this new planet's biosphere reasonably hospitable to humans – requiring only gas masks and air tanks for survival – but it also supports intelligent alien life, the gentle, technologically primitive Hisa, called "Downers" by humans. Importantly, human crops can be grown on Pell's World, dangerously weakening Earth's economic dominance. After the construction of Pell Station above the planet, colonists expand outward in space with renewed vigor and build additional stations even more distant from Earth.
The first successful FTL probe using newly developed jump technology is launched in 2248. Earth takes advantage of the breakthrough to try to re-assert its authority among the colonists. With a poor understanding of stationers and merchanters alike, its clumsy attempts backfire, provoking first unrest, then occasional armed clashes, and eventually rebellion. As the situation spirals out of control, the Earth Company commissions the building of 50 military carriers, the "Company Fleet", under the command of Conrad Mazian, to enforce its orders.
The situation culminates in 2300 with the declaration of an independent Union by the colonists centered at the Cyteen system, another habitable planet and space station at Lalande 46650, precipitating outright war. Union augments its population and armed forces with genetically engineered and psychologically conditioned human clones, called azi, which are seen as an abomination by Earth.
Fighting between the Fleet and Union forces is fierce during the ensuing "Company War". The stations closest to Earth, disturbed by the azi and other developments on the Union side, remain loyal to Earth; several of these are destroyed by Union action. With sporadic, inadequate support from Earth, the Fleet has no choice but to forcibly requisition equipment and personnel from the increasingly alienated merchanters. However, these measures only serve to maintain the existing warships. Without new ships to replace its combat losses, the Fleet gradually begins to lose a war of attrition.
Caught in the middle are the merchanter families and Pell Station, the primary transit point between Earth and Union space. The conflict comes to a head at Pell in late 2352 and early 2353, as described in the novel Downbelow Station. Faced with the increasingly dangerous situation, many of the merchanter families finally band together to form the Merchanter's Alliance, creating a third, neutral power, soon after a team arrives from Earth to negotiate an end to the conflict.
Mazian refuses to accept the peace, and the Fleet continues to fight on, this time in the service of his ambition. When Signy Mallory, one of his most senior captains, learns of his plans to seize control of Earth itself, she and her ship, Norway, defect to the new Alliance, becoming the core of its militia. The remainder of the Fleet remains loyal to Mazian, but he is forced to launch his coup attempt prematurely. Forewarned, Earth manages to defend itself.
With Earth turned against the "Mazianni", Union sees a chance to finally rid itself of its bitter enemy. Because Union does not dare weaken its forces at this crucial juncture to guard its rear against the newborn state, the Alliance is able to broker a favorable peace treaty, with Pell Station as its de facto home base. The treaty cedes to the Alliance a monopoly on interstellar commerce, even within Union, giving it the power to shut down stations simply by withholding trade.
The Mazianni are gradually driven off, as mentioned in Rimrunners and Merchanter's Luck. In Tripoint, however, it is revealed that they have discovered another habitable world and are establishing a colony there.
As the danger of the Mazianni recedes, a new rivalry develops between the Alliance and Union. Union resents the treaty restrictions, while the Alliance fears being overwhelmed by Union's much larger population. Tensions rise further when Gehenna, a precious habitable planet in the Alliance sphere of influence, is found to harbor a population descended from a secret Union military mission deliberately abandoned there to deny the Alliance an easy acquisition.
Meanwhile, within Union, two political factions vie to determine its future. Unbeknownst to either, brilliant scientist and political leader Ariane Emory has her own agenda.
The events depicted in the first books in the series, Heavy Time and Hellburner, take place shortly after the start of the war. Most of the books set in this universe, however, take place subsequent to the establishment of both the Merchanter Alliance and the breakaway Union, hence the label "Alliance–Union" universe.
Genre
The many of the works in this universe are set in space, and are usually described as space opera, while those set on planets can be seen as planetary romances. Works such as Cyteen and Downbelow Station are also regarded as hard science fiction. The "Company Wars" novels and the Faded Sun trilogy concerning the Mri Wars are examples of the military science fiction subgenre. The Merovingen Nights series takes place on a single planet and features swashbuckling heroes and low levels of technology, and as such might be classified as science fantasy, borrowing elements from the historic sword and planet subgenre; this is also true for the Morgaine Cycle books, set remotely in time and space from the main sequence. Unlike most works in this universe, the novel Voyager in Night also borrows elements from horror fiction.
Books and reading order
For a complete list of works in the Alliance–Union universe, see the article C. J. Cherryh bibliography
Cherryh has stated that with two exceptions, the books set in the Alliance–Union universe can be read in any order, "just like real history." The first exception she notes is the two novels Heavy Time and Hellburner, which should be read in that order (as originally published and as compiled together in the omnibus edition Devil to the Belt). The two are prequels to Downbelow Station, although they can be read either before or after that novel. The second exception is Cyteen and its sequel Regenesis, which are tightly linked and should be read in that order too.
The novels in the Faded Sun trilogy are designed to be read in sequence, as are the books within the Chanur and Morgaine series. The Merovingen Nights series begins with the novel Angel with the Sword and then continues to the short story anthologies, numbered 1 through 7.
Major characters
Pyanfar Chanur, Hani captain of one of her clan's merchant starships, the Pride of Chanur; later leader of the Compact, a loose confederation of diverse species that deliberately excludes humans lest they disrupt the delicate balance of power (the Chanur novels)
Sten Duncan, Alliance Security special forces soldier; human who "goes native" and joins the Mri; serves as mediator between the Mri and humans (the Faded Sun trilogy)
Ariane Emory-1, superb scientist and Union administrator of the influential and politically powerful Reseune research complex, source of most azi innovations (Cyteen)
Ariane Emory-2 PR (Personal Replicate), clone of Ariane Emory created after her progenitor's death (Cyteen, Regenesis)
Damon Konstantin, Pell Station administrator and ex-officio leader of the Merchanter Alliance; husband of Elene Quen (Downbelow Station)
Elene Quen, co-founder of the Merchanter's Alliance; last survivor of the respected Quen merchanter family, casualties of the Company War (Downbelow Station)
Conrad Mazian, brilliant commander of the outnumbered Earth Company Fleet; after the end of the Company War, leader of the renegade Mazianni, the remnant of the Fleet—except ECS Norway—that survived the war (Downbelow Station)
Signy Mallory, captain of the Earth Company military carrier ship Norway; defects to the Alliance after Mazian turns against Earth; her ship (along with the armed superfreighter Finity's End) forms the core of the newborn Alliance's militia (Downbelow Station, Merchanter's Luck)
Elizabeth McGee, Union scientist (Forty Thousand in Gehenna)
James Robert Neihart, senior captain of Finity's End and one of the Merchanter Alliance negotiators (Finity's End)
Kurt Morgan, sole surviving crewman of the Alliance ship Endymion, participant in the Hanan Rebellion and the wars of the Nemet race (Brothers of Earth)
Raen a Sul hant Meth-maren, sole survivor and head of the Sul sept of the Meth-Maren House of the Kontrin company; human mediator with the alien, hive-mind Majat (Serpent's Reach)
Thorn, Hatani guild member; human raised by the Shonunin to be their ambassador to his species (Cuckoo's Egg)
Sentient alien species
Cherryh has been praised for her complex, well-developed alien cultures. Her Alliance–Union universe features numerous sentient alien species, including the following:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Species name!! Home system!! Home planet!! Appearing in!!Notes
|-
| Amaut || || Kesuat || Hunter of Worlds || Industrious, stocky humanoids; little regard for other races that are in the way of valuable resources
|-
| Ahnit || || || Wave Without a Shore ||
|-
| Caliban || || Gehenna || Forty Thousand in Gehenna || Large, semi-reptilians of uncertain and varying intelligence; some bond telepathically with the descendants of 40,000 colonists deliberately abandoned by Union on a planet in the Alliance sphere of influence (to cause trouble for the rival power)
|-
| Chi || || Chchchoh || Chanur novels || Sticklike, yellow methane-breathers; frenetic; linked to T’ca
|-
| Elee || Na'i'in || Kutath || Faded Sun trilogy || Humanoid, artistic, perhaps akin to Mri
|-
| Hani || Ahr || Anuurn (Ahr II) || Chanur novels || Bipedal felines, with many parallels to lions; matriarchal society – only females travel off-planet, as merchants and traders; males are considered too unstable, at least until Pyanfar Chanur changes the rules
|-
| Hisa || Pell's Star (Tau Ceti) || Pell's World (also known as Downbelow) || Downbelow Station, Finity's End, Merchanter's Luck || Peaceful brown-furred bipedal mammalians; called "Downers" by Pell stationers, they use little technology
|-
| Iduve || Kej || Kej IV || Hunter of Worlds || Dangerous, psychic, predatory humanoids who travel in lone, huge, immensely powerful spaceships and terrorize other species with their sometimes incomprehensible behavior; more technologically advanced than any other known civilization; members of several species, including at least one human, have been forcibly taken as slaves
|-
| Kallia || || Aus Qao || Hunter of Worlds || thin, hollow-boned humanoids; vehement pacifists
|-
| Kif || Akkt || Akkht || Chanur novels || Long-snouted bipedal carnivores; extremely competitive; quick to shift "loyalty" to whoever is in power (or likely to take over, in their frequent, often lethal power struggles)
|-
| Knnn || Unknown || Unknown || Chanur novels || Multi-legged methane-breathers; packrats; chaotic; they (along with the Tc'a) control the most advanced jump tech in the Compact, capable of maneuvers no others can match
|-
| Majat || Alpha Hydri || Cerdin (Alpha Hydri II or III, depending on source) || Serpent's Reach || Hive-mind insectoids – the entire species consists of only four distinct hive-minds, identified by the Meth-maren by color (blue, green, red and gold)
|-
| Mahendo'sat || || Iji || Chanur novels || Highly political mammalians and therefore not especially trustworthy; introduced the Hani to space travel
|-
| Mri || Na'i'in || Kutath || Faded Sun trilogy || Humanoid; tripartite caste-based society; militaristic
|-
| Nemet || || || Brothers of Earth || Humanoid; strict honor-based society; reminiscent of Atevi, Mri, and Shonunin
|-
| Regul || Mab || Nurag || Faded Sun trilogy || Xenophobic; juvenile and adult forms are highly differentiated; eidetic memory; averse to direct violence, prefer to employ other species for such to remain out of harm's way
|-
| Stsho || || Llyene || Chanur novels || Hermaphroditic; physically and emotionally fragile
|-
| Sharrh || || || Merovingen Nights series || Advanced; aggressive; territorial
|-
| Shonunin || || || Cuckoo’s Egg || Bipedal mammalians; their technology is less advanced than humanity's, being approximately equivalent to that of 20th-century Earth
|-
| Tc'a || || Oh’a’o’o’o || Chanur novels || Serpentine methane-breathers; multipartite brains; linked somehow to the Chi, though the exact nature of the relationship is not made clear; highly advanced
|}
The novels Port Eternity and Voyager in Night feature additional sentient alien races. The Morgaine books are built around the actions of a humanoid race called the Qual, Khal and similar names, while Morgaine herself is a half-blood member of the "ancestors of the qual", and the third book in the series features an arboreal species called the Harilim.
Planets
Pell's World
Pell's World, also known as Downbelow, is a planet orbiting Tau Ceti; it was discovered by a probe in 2093. It was the first planet in the Alliance–Union universe to be discovered by humans that has an advanced ecosystem and, more significantly, intelligent extraterrestrial life, the Hisa. Pell Station, a space station prominent in this universe, orbits the planet. It was the discovery of sentient life that sent shock waves back to Earth, sparking off moral, religious, philosophical and policy debates. Then, to aggravate an already delicate situation, Pell Station became a source of agricultural goods and other luxuries, hitherto only available from Earth. This economic advantage disrupted the whole balance of power in the Alliance–Union universe, and became one of the main contributing factors to the outbreak of the Company Wars in 2300.
Pell's World and the Hisa feature in a number of Alliance–Union universe novels, in particular Downbelow Station (1981) and Finity's End (1997).
Gehenna
Gehenna is a rare habitable Alliance–Union universe planet in the Zeta Reticuli system, and home to the calibans, sentient lizard-like creatures. Although in Alliance space, it was secretly colonized by the Union, and then abandoned for the Alliance to discover a lost colony on what should have been a pristine planet.
Gehenna features in two Alliance–Union universe novels, Forty Thousand in Gehenna (1983) and Cyteen (1988).
Cyteen
Cyteen is a planet deep in Union territory that was discovered between 2125 and 2201; it was found to have nonsentient life. Two space stations were constructed in orbit around the planet, the Inner and Outer Stations. The planet's atmosphere is toxic to humans and necessitated terraforming and the establishment of enclaves, or semi-encapsulated city-states. Its native life is also toxic, although it was the source of Cyteen's rejuvenation drug.
Cyteen features in several of the Alliance–Union universe novels, most notably Cyteen (1988).
Technologies
In addition to the advanced technologies required to mine the asteroids, send slower-than-light vessels to nearby stars, and establish large space stations there, signature futuristic technologies of the Alliance–Union universe are:
The jump drive, derived from the theoretical physics work of Estelle Bok at Cyteen Station in 2230, allowing faster-than-light travel. When ships jump, they shift into a space parallel to normal space and appear to move at faster-than-light velocity until they re-enter normal space via their trajectory encountering a star-sized mass. Ships emerging from jump possess a large velocity relative to and pointed at the target mass; the jump drive is also used to lower this velocity to more reasonable levels. Jumps of more than about 10 light-years can sometimes result in the destruction of the jumping ship or its permanent disappearance into hyperspace, so ships' courses hop between stars and other nearby stars or jump points (large collections of matter that are not large enough to achieve fusion, such as brown dwarfs or rogue planets). Jumps appear to take days to weeks from the perspective of the crew of the ship, but weeks to months from the perspective of the residents of stations and planets. The experience of jump is unpleasant enough to threaten the sanity of most of those who endure it without being tranquilized – spacers seem to fear few things more than "jump without trank".
Rejuv, a life-extension drug derived from lifeforms on the planet Cyteen sometime in the 2220s. Rejuv leaves users with the mental and physical capacities they had at the time they started using it (usually in a person's 40s) while extending life up to about age 140; when rejuv failure sets in, life functions collapse rapidly in a one- to two-year period. However, once a person begins using rejuv, they must continue to take it regularly or suffer fatal consequences. Side effects include sterility, some bone and muscle mass loss, and whitening of hair. The Earth Company's inability to control the underground rejuv trade with Union is one of the precipitating factors of the Company War.
Human cloning. Human cloning technology is developed to a high degree in Union. The clones require the normal amount of time to reach maturity, i.e. they must be raised to adulthood just as natural-born children are. A small amount of cloning is done to replicate children who die in accidents or to produce "Parental Replicates" for those who can afford them, but the vast majority of cloning is done to produce azi, genetically-tailored laborers, technicians, and soldiers who lack civil rights (although they can acquire them). An azi genetic type's cognitive level is rated using a Greek-letter system similar to that in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World.
Subliminal conditioning and information transfer, known as tape. Tape is used for a variety of purposes: entertainment, teaching both physical skills and advanced concepts, psychotherapy, and social and political indoctrination. The technologies involved do not involve direct brain interface, but instead use visual and auditory stimulation as well as electric muscle stimulation (to provide a kinesthetic component), all while under the influence of drugs to induce a state of suggestibility. Azi use tape extensively for rapid learning of skills required by their jobs as well as a constructed psychological state to make them do those jobs effectively and happily, as well as obey designated authorities. A technology similar to tape, mindwipe, is used to create a blank-slate psychology and artificial amnesia in criminals, those with catastrophic psychological conditions, and deep-penetration secret agents, on top of which regular tape can be used to rebuild the person's psychology as desired.
Terraforming. Terraforming technologies were used by Union to make some areas of the planet Cyteen suitable for Earth-based life; Cyteen's native life is extremely toxic to Earth-based life, although it was the source of the rejuv drug. In the early years of Union this was a brutal "hand over fist" process, but later concerns over potential disruption of the rejuv supply led the Union government to stop the terraforming. During the period of détente after the Company War and Earth's contact with the Compact, Cyteen provides terraforming know-how to Earth, which uses it for bioremediation on Earth itself as well as terraforming on Mars.
Society
A broad trend in the Alliance–Union universe is the divergence of fundamental attitudes in planet-dwellers, space station-dwellers, and starship crews. Planet dwellers (ordinary residents of Earth and Cyteen) seem to have many of the same attitudes and concerns as 21st century people in developed countries. The space-dwelling populations find it strange that planet-dwellers fight over things like energy sources and territory (which are plentiful in space) but act in a cavalier and wasteful manner toward their physical environment (which must be carefully tended in space).
Space station residents (stationers) tend toward extreme caution towards both their physical as well as social and economic environments, since an unplanned change in any of them could be fatal to the entire station population. For example, a great deal of the conflict in Downbelow Station is caused by Pell Station's need to absorb a large refugee population, for which they do not have adequate housing or jobs.
Starship crew (spacers) have an extremely insular world-view engendered by the time-dilation effects of jump; this attitude was even more extreme before the jump drive was developed, when travel between stars took years. Merchant starships are all crewed by extended families, which occasionally fission if the family prospers enough to purchase another ship. Merchanter women will often have unprotected sex while in port in order to become pregnant and preserve genetic diversity in their crew-families. Spacer self-identification is so great that many spacers would rather starve to death than accept "grounding" and a stationer's life. Spacers often feel they can only relate to other spacers, since stationers and planet-dwellers seem to rapidly age and die from their perspective.
Additionally, in Union, there is are cultural and psychological division between the unengineered citizen population ("CITs" or "born-men") and the azi. Azi are treated by CITs on a continuum between outright slavery and the companionship of equals; in many ways they are treated like children, since they are vulnerable to stimuli that lie outside the coping abilities of their artificially-constructed psychologies. The majority view in Union is that azi are necessary to preserve the technological and industrial base of their many space settlements, while a minority wants to abolish the practice and cease azi production. The majority view is apt to be the more stable and persistent, since azi can, in time, become citizens whose children are born CITs, and these children receive their basic values from their parents. This process is the result of deliberate social engineering on the part of Reseune, the Cyteen-based center of all research and development concerning human cloning.
Mazianni
The Mazianni is a term which refers to the military star-ships and their crews who remain loyal to their commander, the charismatic, ambitious Conrad Mazian, when he renounces his allegiance to Earth.
The ships had begun their existence as the 50-ship strong Earth Company Fleet, sent out to enforce Earth's control of its star stations. In the long Company War between Earth and the breakaway Union, their number had been whittled down to 15 patchwork ships with waning loyalty to an increasingly indifferent Earth. Losing a war of attrition, Mazian devises a subtle, dangerous plan to establish a firebreak between Union and Earth. The Fleet retreats to Pell after the war.
Mazian makes the fateful decision to rebel and attempt to take over Earth itself. Downbelow Station ends with his (implied) failure, and the defection of one of his most senior captains, Signy Mallory, and her ship Norway to the newborn Merchanter's Alliance, based at Pell. The remaining ships, outlawed by all three major powers, return to guerrilla warfare: hit-and-run raids and preying on merchant ships for replacement personnel and equipment. At least three subsequent merchanter novels mention the Mazianni. It is suggested that the Mazianni may have secretly discovered and settled their own habitable world.
Songs
C. J. Cherryh wrote a collection of songs about the station trade in the Alliance–Union universe. These were recorded by filk musician Leslie Fish and others, and released in 1985 on an album entitled Finity's End.
Critical reception
Science fiction and fantasy critic John Clute called the Alliance–Union universe Cherryh's "central achievement". Writing in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Clute added that while the universe's structure is "rough at the edges", reading a novel in the series creates the impression that it is part of a larger history yet to be revealed. In a biography of Cherryh in the Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction in Literature'', M. Keith Booker described the Alliance–Union universe as "so far-reaching that its overall outlines remain unclear and continue to develop".
References
Works cited
Further reading
External links
Official Site, run by the author
Star maps of Cherryh's Alliance–Union universe
Star map showing all stars within ~20 light years from Earth
List of Earth Company/Alliance/Union ships
Science fiction book series by C. J. Cherryh
Military science fiction
Future history
Fictional universes
Dystopian novels
Faster-than-light travel in fiction
Cloning in fiction
Genetic engineering in fiction
Fiction about memory erasure and alteration
Novels about extraterrestrial life | en |
doc-en-17115 | The timeline of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 lists events associated with the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370—a scheduled, commercial flight operated by Malaysia Airlines from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Beijing Capital International Airport on 8 March 2014 with 227 passengers and 12 crew. Air traffic control lost contact with Flight 370 less than an hour into the flight, after which it was tracked by military radar crossing the Malay Peninsula and was last located over the Andaman Sea. Analysis of automated communications between the aircraft and a satellite communications network has determined that the aircraft flew into the southern Indian Ocean, before communication ended shortly after 08:19 (UTC+8:00). The disappearance initiated a multi-national search effort that became the most expensive search in aviation history.
In the weeks after Flight 370's disappearance, the search focused on waters in Southeast Asia and an investigation into the disappearance was opened. After a week of searching, Malaysia announced that analysis of communications between the aircraft and a satellite communications network had found that Flight 370 continued to fly for several hours after it lost contact with air traffic control. Its last communication on the network was made along one of two arcs stretching north-west into Central Asia and southwest into the southern Indian Ocean. The northern arc was discounted and the focus of the search shifted to a remote area of the southern Indian Ocean.
On 18 March, a surface search in the southern Indian Ocean, led by Australia, began; it continued until 28 April and searched of ocean. On 24 March 2014, Malaysia's Prime Minister announced that Flight 370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean with no survivors. In early April, an effort to find the signals emitted from underwater locator beacons (ULBs) attached to the aircraft's flight recorders, which have a 30- to 40-day battery life, was made. Some possible ULB detections were made and a seafloor sonar survey in the vicinity of the detections to scan the seafloor was initiated. The seafloor sonar survey ended on 28 May and scanned of seafloor. Neither the surface search nor the seafloor sonar survey found any objects related to Flight 370.
In May 2014, planning for the next phase of the search was initiated. A bathymetric survey was carried out to measure the seafloor topography in the areas where the next phase was conducted; the survey charted of seafloor topography and continued until December that year. An underwater search began in October 2014 but failed to recover anything of value and was suspended in January 2017 after searching of the southern Indian Ocean. On 29 July 2015, a flaperon from Flight 370 was discovered on a beach in Réunion, approximately west of the underwater search area; this location is consistent with drift from the underwater search area over the intervening 16 months.
Disappearance (8 March 2014)
Flight 370 took off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 00:42 local time (MYT; UTC+08:00) en route to Beijing Capital International Airport, where it was expected to arrive at 6:30 local time (CST; UTC+08:00). At 1:19, while Flight 370 was over the South China Sea between Malaysia and Vietnam, Malaysian air traffic control (ATC) instructed Flight 370 to contact the next ATC in Vietnam. The final voice contact from Flight 370 was made when its captain replied, "Good night. Malaysian Three Seven Zero". Two minutes later, the aircraft's transponder stopped functioning, causing it to disappear from ATC's secondary radar. Malaysian military radar continued to track the aircraft as it turned left, crossed the Malay Peninsula near the Malaysia–Thailand border, and travelled over the Andaman Sea.
At 2:22, the aircraft disappeared from Malaysian military radar, north-west of Penang. At 2:25, the aircraft's satellite datalink, which was lost sometime between 01:07 and 02:03, was re-established. Thereafter, the aircraft's satellite data unit (SDU) replied to five hourly, automated status requests between 03:41 and 08:10, and two unanswered ground-to-aircraft telephone calls. At 08:19, the SDU sent a "log-on request" message to establish a satellite datalink, followed by the final transmission from Flight 370 eight seconds later. Investigators believe the 08:19 messages were made between the time of fuel exhaustion and the time the aircraft entered the ocean. After four hours of communication between several ATC centres, the Kuala Lumpur Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre was activated at 6:32. Malaysia Airlines released a press statement at 07:24, stating that contact with Flight 370 had been lost.
March 2014
A search and rescue effort is initiated in Southeast Asia on the morning Flight 370 disappears. Two passengers who boarded with stolen passports raise suspicion in the days after the disappearance, but they were later determined to be asylum seekers. On 9 March, some search efforts are launched in the Andaman Sea at the request of Malaysian officials, based on the possibility that the aircraft may have turned back from its flight path; the following day, officials confirm Flight 370 turned back towards Malaysia.
On 15 March, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced that Flight 370 had remained in contact with a satellite communication network for several hours after it disappeared and that the aircraft was last located by military radar over the Andaman Sea. Analysis of these communications indicate the last communication with the aircraft was made when it was along one of two corridors; one stretching northwest to Central Asia and one stretching southwest into the southern Indian Ocean. The northern corridor was soon discounted and a search of a remote region of the southern Indian Ocean, led by Australia, began on 18 March. On 24 March, Malaysia Airlines and Najib announced that the flight had ended in the Southern Indian Ocean without survivors.
8 March At 5:30, the Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre (ARCC) at the Kuala Lumpur Area Control Center is activated. A search-and-rescue effort is initiated in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand around the location at which Flight 370 lost contact with air traffic control.
At 7:24, Malaysia Airlines issues a press statement saying contact with Flight 370 had been lost at 2:40—later changed to 1:30—and that a search and rescue effort had been initiated. After contacting the passengers' and crew's families, the passenger manifest is released.
In the morning, after the announcement of Flight 370s disappearance, the Royal Malaysian Air Force reviews data collected by military radar. They find that an unidentified aircraft, later determined to be Flight 370, had crossed the Malay Peninsula and was tracked until it left their radar's range at 2:22 while over the Andaman Sea. The satellite communications are not noticed until the following day and are not publicly disclosed for several days, while the radar data is not immediately acknowledged.
Austria and Italy confirm that two people listed on the passenger manifest—one from each country—were not on the flight. Both men's passports had been stolen in Thailand within the last two years.
The US National Transportation Safety Board sends a team of investigators to Malaysia.
Inmarsat hands over its data regarding communications with Flight 370 in response to a request from SITA, the company providing the datalink for Flight 370's communications equipment.
9 March By the end of the day, 40 aircraft and more than 24 vessels from several nations are involved in the search. Thailand's navy shifts the focus of its search to the Andaman Sea at the request of Malaysia. The Chief General of the Royal Malaysian Air Force announces that Malaysia is focused on a recording of radar and there is a "possibility" that Flight 370 turned around and travelled over the Andaman Sea.
Malaysia Airlines sends a team of more than 150 senior managers and caregivers to Beijing (most passengers were from China), where a centre is established for families of those on board to be comforted and await the latest news from the airline. A similar centre is opened in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia Airlines also announces they are beginning to provide financial assistance to the families of those on board and are offering to transport them to Kuala Lumpur.
INTERPOL confirms the passports of the Austrian and Italian men were registered in its database of stolen passports and that no query of the database was made. Officials investigate CCTV video of these passengers taken before they boarded the flight. There are concerns about a possible link to terrorism, but officials say no such links have been found.
9–11 March Staff at Inmarsat look at the data they received from Flight 370 to determine whether they can assist the search. They find the aircraft continued flying for several hours after it lost contact with air traffic control and analyse it to determine the aircraft's location. By the morning of 11 March, they determine the aircraft was last located along one of two arcs and share the information with Malaysian investigators.
10 March The Royal Malaysian Air Force confirms Flight 370 made a "turn back".
11 March Malaysian police announce the two passengers using stolen passports were Iranian men who were likely migrants trying to emigrate to Germany. The tickets for both passengers ended in Frankfurt. The head of INTERPOL says, "the more information we get, the more we are inclined to conclude it is not a terrorist incident".
China activates the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters to aggregate satellite data to aid the search.
Inmarsat provides Malaysia with an initial analysis of the communications with Flight 370. Malaysia discusses the information with US investigators and agrees to allow the US to investigate the Inmarsat data. New Scientist publishes an article saying Flight 370 "sent at least two bursts of technical data back to the airline before it disappeared".
12 March Malaysian officials announce an unidentified aircraft, possibly Flight 370, was last located by military radar at 2:15 in the Andaman Sea, north-west of Penang Island and near the limits of the military radar's coverage.
13 March An article published by the Wall Street Journal says Flight 370 continued to fly for hours after it was last seen by air traffic control, citing undisclosed US investigators. The article originally states that messages about engine performance continued to be sent to engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce; the newspaper soon corrects the article to say the claim is "based on analysis of signals sent by the Boeing 777's satellite-communication link ... the link operated in a kind of standby mode and sought to establish contact with a satellite or satellites. These transmissions did not include data." Malaysia denies the report.
Speaking at a press conference, White House spokesman Jay Carney says, "It is my understanding that based on some new information that's not necessarily conclusive—but new information—an additional search area may be opened in the Indian Ocean".
China criticizes Malaysia's handling of the search coordination and the flow of information.
14 March Inmarsat publicly acknowledges they recorded transmissions from the aircraft for several hours after it disappeared from air traffic control over the South China Sea.
Malaysia Airlines retires the MH370/MH371 flight number pair and begins using MH318/MH319.
15 March In a press conference, Malaysian PM Najib confirms Flight 370 remained in contact with Inmarsat's satellite communication network for several hours after it was lost by air traffic control. He says the ACARS messaging system was disabled early in the flight but the final satellite communication was made at 8:11. The final communication was made along one of two arcs; a "northern corridor" stretching from northern Thailand to Kazakhstan and a "southern corridor" from Indonesia into the southern Indian Ocean. Najib says the search in the South China Sea will be ended and the deployment of assets re-assessed. Malaysia sends diplomatic notes to all of the countries along the two corridors.
A team from Inmarsat arrives in Malaysia to assist in the investigation, which involves Malaysia, the US and the UK.
Investigators visit the homes of both pilots. A flight simulator in the home of Captain Shah is confiscated. Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu Bakar says it was the first visit to the pilots' homes but officials later say they visited the pilots' homes on 9 March.
17 March Australia agrees to lead the search along the southern corridor in the southern Indian Ocean, which mostly lies within Australia's concurrent aeronautical and maritime search and rescue regions. A shipping broadcast requesting assistance in the search is made.
18 March Australia conducts its first aerial search of the southern Indian Ocean, south-west of Perth. The search area was determined by the US National Transportation Safety Board and is approximately in size.
19 March The search area is revised to approximately about south-west of Perth. Three merchant ships have joined the search.
20 March Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announces that satellite imagery taken on 16 March appears to show two large objects floating in the ocean south-west of Perth. The images, taken by Digital Globe and analysed by the Defence Imagery and Geospatial Organisation, show objects that appear to be and in length at .
Aircraft are dispatched to the area of the satellite images but do not find the objects. HMAS Success and a merchant vessel are en route to the area, joining a merchant vessel already there. Six merchant vessels have assisted in the search since a shipping broadcast was made on 17 March.
22 March Officials announce that images captured by a Chinese satellite on 18 March shows a possible object measuring at , approximately west of Perth and from the earlier sighting.
24 March Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak announces at a press conference at 22:00 local time (Malaysia) that Flight 370 is presumed to have gone down in the southern Indian Ocean with no survivors. Shortly before Najib's announcement, Malaysia Airlines tells families it assumes "beyond reasonable doubt" there are no survivors.
The search area is narrowed to the southern part of the Indian Ocean to the west and south-west of Australia. The northern search corridor north-west of Malaysia and the northern half of the southern search corridor—the waters between Indonesia and Australia—are definitively ruled out. An Australian search aircraft spots an "orange rectangular object" and a "gray or green circular object" south-west of Perth.
25 March Around 200 relatives of Flight 370 passengers protest outside the Malaysian embassy in Beijing; a rare event in China. Among the angry, distraught relatives' chants are "Liars!" and "Tell the truth! Return our relatives!" China demands Malaysia hand over the satellite data that led them to determine that Flight 370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean with no survivors. China sends a special envoy to Malaysia.
26 March Officials announce that images captured by a French satellite on 23 March appear to show about 122 floating objects up to in length at , and , which is about north of the earlier satellite observations.
The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) announces they have appointed an accredited representative to join the investigation team in Malaysia. As the state of manufacture of the aircraft's engines (UK manufacturer Rolls-Royce), the AAIB is authorized to join the investigation by ICAO protocol.
27 March Officials reveal that images captured by a Thai satellite on 24 March appear to show about 300 floating objects in size. The possible objects are about south-west of Perth and about south of the French observations.
28 March The search shifts to a new area around north-east of the previous search area.
29 March Malaysia announces that an international panel will be formed to investigate the Flight 370 incident.
30 March The Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC), headed by Angus Houston, is established to coordinate the search effort. It becomes operational the following day and assumes the role of coordinating the search effort and communicating with media, foreign governments, and between Australian government agencies from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA).
April – May 2014
In early April, an intense effort—the "acoustic search"— was made to detect the acoustic signals generated by underwater locator beacons (ULBs, also known as "pingers") attached to the flight recorders on Flight 370. After immersion in water, the ULBs emit an acoustic signal (also called a "ping") at a specific frequency once per second and have a battery life of 30–40 days. Three vessels, including one submarine and a vessel employing a towed pinger locator, tried to detect the acoustic signal along the 7th BTO arc—the centreline of the southern corridor—until 14 April, detecting several possible pings. Analysis of these signals determined they did not match the nominal characteristics of the ULBs; although unlikely, experts determine they may have originated from a damaged ULB. A sonar search of the seafloor begins on 14 April. A search of the ocean surface by aircraft and vessels ends on 28 April and the sonar search—the seafloor sonar survey—ends on 28 May, finding no debris from Flight 370. In late May, work on a bathymetric survey begins in preparation for the next phase of the search.
In early April, Malaysia submits a preliminary report to the ICAO, which is publicly released on 1 May along with recordings of conversations between Flight 370 and air traffic control. On 27 May, the complete log of transmissions between Flight 370 and Inmarsat via satellite are released, following weeks of public pressure.
1 April The International Air Transport Association (IATA), a major industry trade group, announces it will form a task group to enhance aircraft tracking to ensure further aircraft disappearances cannot happen.
2 April The Royal Navy survey vessel HMS Echo makes a possible ULB detection. After tests the following day, the detection is determined to be an artefact of the ship's sonar system.
4 April Chinese patrol ship Haixun 01 makes a possible ULB detection.
The ADV Ocean Shield deploys the first of its two towed pinger locators (TPLs).
5 April Haixun 01 makes another possible ULB detection about west of the previous day's detection and near . Neither detection was recorded. HMS Echo and a submarine were later tasked to the location of the Haixun 01s detections, but unable to make any detections. It was determined the depth of the seafloor, surface noise and the equipment used by Haixun 01 made it unlikely the detections were from ULBs.
The ADV Ocean Shield deploys its second TPL, after the first exhibited problematic acoustic noise. Two detections are made. The first detection, made while the TPL was descending, lasted over two hours before it was lost. This detection was made at 33 kHz, while the ULBs on Flight 370's flight recorders emit a pulse at 37.5±1kHz. When the vessel passed the location in the opposite direction, a second detection lasting 13 minutes was made. Houston calls this the "most promising lead" thus far in the search.
Malaysia reorganizes its investigation team to consist of an airworthiness group, an operations group, and a medical and human factors group. The airworthiness group will examine issues related to maintenance records, structures and aircraft systems. The operations group will review flight recorders, operations and meteorology. The medical and human factors group will investigate psychological, pathological and survival factors. Malaysia also announces it has set up three ministerial committees—a Next of Kin Committee, a committee to organise a Joint Investigation Team, and a committee responsible for Malaysian assets deployed in the search effort.
6 April It has now been 30 days since Flight 370 presumably crashed in the southern Indian Ocean; the minimum battery life of the ULBs on Flight 370's flight recorders. The manufacturer of the ULBs predicts the maximum battery life is about 40 days.
6–16 April Sorties flown by Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion aircraft deploy sonobuoys in locations near the 7th BTO arc where water depths are favourable for detection by sonobuoy. Sonobuoys float on the surface and release a hydrophone that descends and can detect ULB signals up to below the surface. Each sortie can deploy up to 84 sonobuoys capable of searching around . A possible ULB detection is made on 10 April with a sonobuoy close to the location of the ADV Ocean Shield; this is quickly determined to be unrelated to Flight 370's ULBs.
8 April ADV Ocean Shield makes two possible ULB detections, close to those of 5 April, lasting about five and a half minutes and seven minutes. The following day, Houston says the acoustic search will continue for as long as feasible because more and better quality detections will better pinpoint the aircraft's location—if indeed the detections were from Flight 370's ULBs. He also says the batteries will expire soon and the TPL can search six times more seafloor per day than the autonomous underwater vehicle carried aboard ADV Ocean Shield.
9 April Malaysia submits a five-page preliminary report to the International Civil Aviation Organization, the United Nation's civil aviation body. The report, dated 9 April but not publicly released until 1 May, includes a call for better tracking technology for commercial aircraft.
10 April A sonobuoy deployed near ADV Ocean Shield makes a possible ULB detection. The following day, officials say the detection is unlikely to be related to Flight 370.
13 April An oil slick is found from possible ULB detections made by the ADV Ocean Shield. On 17 April, the JACC announces that tests of samples from the oil slick detected neither jet fuel nor hydraulic fluid.
14 April The ULBs have now been underwater for 38 days. Considering their batteries last 3040 days and that no possible detections have been made in almost a week, ADV Ocean Shield stops searching with the TPL and deploys a Bluefin-21, a torpedo-shaped autonomous underwater vehicle equipped with side-scan sonar, to scan the seafloor in the vicinity of the possible ULB detections. Analysis of the detections by the ADV Ocean Shield determine they do not match the nominal characteristics of the ULBs. Experts determine that although unlikely, they may have originated from a damaged ULB. The decision is made to search the seafloor in the vicinity of the detections (near ). During this new phase of the search—the seafloor sonar survey— the Bluefin-21 will be deployed with a programmed area to scan. Each mission scans about of seafloor and takes about 24 hours; two hours to descend, 16 hours spent scanning the seafloor and two hours to return to the surface. Once back at the surface, it is recovered. It takes about four hours to change the batteries and download data from the mission, which is analysed aboard the ADV Ocean Shield. The first mission ends prematurely when the Bluefin-21 reached its maximum operating depth; it needs to be about above the seafloor to obtain a reliable image.
23 April A metal object, appearing to be a piece of riveted sheet metal, washes up on the Western Australian coast, east of Augusta. The next day the ATSB determines that the object is unrelated to Flight 370.
28 April The surface search ends. In a press conference, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott says any debris would likely have become waterlogged and sunk and that the aircraft involved in the surface search were "operating at close to the limit of sensible and safe operation". The surface search in Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean lasted 52 days, during 41 of which Australia coordinated the search. Over of ocean surface was searched. In the Southern Indian Ocean, 29 aircraft from seven countries conducted 334 search flights; 14 ships from several countries were also involved. Although the seafloor sonar survey will continue, Abbott says plans for the next phase of the search, which will involve commercial companies and use towed sonar to more easily scan large areas of seafloor, are being developed.
1 May The interim report submitted earlier by Malaysia to the ICAO, dated 9 April, is released publicly, along with Flight 370's cargo manifest and seating plan, audio recordings and a transcript of communications between Flight 370 and Malaysian air traffic control.
2–22 May The seafloor sonar survey is suspended on 2 May as the AVD Ocean Shield returns to port to replenish supplies and personnel. Within two hours of its first deployment after returning to the search area on 13 May, Bluefin-21 develops a communications problem and is recovered. Spare parts from the UK were required and the AVD Ocean Shield returned to port to collect the parts. The problem is fixed and the seafloor sonar survey resumes on 22 May.
5 MayA tripartite meeting to discuss the next phase of the search is held with representatives from Australia (Warren Truss, Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development), Malaysia (Hishammuddin Hussein, Defence Minister and acting Transport Minister), and China (Yang Chuantang, Transport Minister). During the press conference, Truss announces the US Navy has extended the contract for Bluefin-21 by four weeks.
13 May The Wall Street Journal publishes a commentary by Malaysian PM Najib, who defends Malaysia's response to the disappearance of Flight 370 and acknowledges his government "didn't get everything right".
21 May The Chinese vessel Zhu Kezhen leaves Fremantle to begin conducting the bathymetric survey. Because available bathymetric data for the area is of poor resolution, the survey is necessary for the safe operation of towed equipment that will be used during the next phase of the search.
27 May Malaysia releases the complete log of transmissions between Flight 370 and Inmarsat via satellite after weeks of public pressure.
28 May The seafloor sonar survey is completed. After 30 deployments of the Bluefin-21 to depths of , which scanned of seabed, no objects associated with Flight 370 were found. The following day, after analysis of data from the last mission, the ATSB announces the search in the vicinity of the acoustic detections is complete and the area can be discounted as the final location of Flight 370.
June – September 2014
During this time, preparations are made for the next phase of the search, which was initially scheduled to begin in August, but did not commence until early October. On 26 June, Australia announces details for the next phase of the search—named the "underwater search"—despite the previous underwater towed pinger locator search and sonar survey. A bathymetric survey, begun in May, is necessary to map the seafloor topography before the underwater search. On 6 August, Australia awards a A$50 million tender to conduct the underwater search to Fugro; Malaysia is also contributing assets to the underwater search.
4 June A recording of an underwater sound that could have been that of Flight 370 hitting the water is released by researchers from Curtin University. The researchers believe the sound is probably unrelated to Flight 370. The lead researcher believes there is a small chance—perhaps 10 percent—that the acoustic event is related to Flight 370.
Australia opens the tender process for the underwater search. Bidders may submit proposals until 30 June.
10 June The ATSB hires Fugro, which will use the MV Fugro Equator, which will conduct the bathymetric survey alongside the Zhu Kezhen.
12 June The head of the Malaysian government committee to handle the needs of families of Flight 370 passengers announces that families of missing passengers will receive US$50,000 per person as an interim compensation.
26 June The ATSB releases a report, MH370 – Definition of Underwater Search Areas, discussing the methodology used to determine a new search area along the 7th BTO arc determined by the aircraft's communication with the Inmarsat satellite. The search will prioritise an area of approximately . A bathymetric survey of the region, already underway, will take around three months to complete. The new underwater search is expected to begin in August. Australia and Malaysia are working on a Memorandum of Understanding to cover financial and co-operation arrangements for search and recovery activities. Among other details, the ATSB report concludes an unresponsive crew or hypoxia event "best fit the available evidence" for the five-hour period of the flight as it travelled south over the Indian Ocean, likely on autopilot.
17 July Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 is shot down in a rebel-controlled area of Ukraine. Malaysia's Defence Minister assures the public that the additional incident will not detract from Malaysia's commitment to the search for Flight 370.
21 July Angus Houston, the head of the JACC, is appointed as Australia's special envoy in Ukraine to recover and repatriate bodies of Australian victims and ensure that a proper investigation of the crash of Flight 17 is initiated in accordance with international standards. Around this time, Houston leaves the agency; Deputy Coordinator Judith Zielke assumes leadership of the JACC and is later appointed its Chief Coordinator.
6 August Australia awards Fugro a A$50 million (US$46,6 million) contract to conduct the underwater search. Malaysia also commits vessels to the bathymetric survey and underwater search effort.
8 August Khazanah Nasional—the majority shareholder (69.37 percent) and a Malaysian state-run investment arm—announces its plan to purchase the remainder of the airline, thereby renationalising it. The move has been anticipated because of the airline's poor financial performance, which has been exacerbated by the combined effect on consumer confidence of the loss of Flights 370 and 17.
14 August An HSBC employee and her husband are arrested for allegedly siphoning 111,000 Malaysian ringgit (US$35,000) from bank accounts of several Flight 370 passengers in July.
20 September The Zhu Kezhen finishes bathymetric survey operations and begins its return passage to China.
October 2014 – June 2015
The underwater search commences on 6 October. The search involves four vessels: the GO Phoenix (6 October–20 June), Fugro Discovery (joined search 23 October), Fugro Equator (joined search 15 January), and Fugro Supporter (29 January–early May). The bathymetric survey was suspended on 17 December for the only remaining ship performing the survey, the Fugro Discovery, to be refitted to join the underwater search. During the bathymetyric survey, of seafloor was charted.
On 8 October, the ATSB releases a report on the latest analysis of satellite communications, determining that the most likely location of the aircraft is south of the priority area identified in June. Officials say the search will begin in the area determined in the report. One year after the flight's disappearance, Malaysia declares Flight 370 an accident in accordance with the Chicago Convention in January 2015 and releases an interim report about Flight 370, focusing on factual information.
6 October The underwater search begins. GO Phoenix, which left port at Jakarta on 24 September, begins work about west of Western Australia.
8 October Officials announce that the priority area to be searched is south of the area identified in the June ATSB report. The ATSB releases a supplement to the June report detailing the methodology behind refinements to the analysis of satellite communications, which resulted in the shift of the priority search area.
A peer-reviewed paper is published online by the Journal of Navigation—a journal of the Royal Institute of Navigation—by Inmarsat scientists who analysed the communications with Flight 370. The paper details the methodology of the calculations and the way continual changes, especially during the first few weeks of the search, resulted in the shifting search zones. It was released as an open access article with a Creative Commons Attribution license.
23 October Fugro Discovery commences search operations.
26 October Fugro Equator ends its bathymetric survey operations and leaves for Fremantle, where it will be refitted and mobilised to join GO Phoenix and Fugro Discovery in the underwater search. Over of seafloor have been surveyed. If necessary, bathymetric survey operations may recommence in the future.
16 November Fugro Equator leaves Fremantle to resume work on the bathymetric survey after the arrival of equipment needed for the underwater search is delayed.
19 November The JACC releases a video explaining the work being carried out and the complexities of the underwater search.
17 December Fugro Equator finishes bathymetric survey work and leaves for Fremantle, where it will be refitted for the underwater search. The bathymetric survey charted of seafloor. The ATSB releases a video titled Bathymetry of the MH370 Search Area, which presents a visualisation of the bathymetric data collected in the search area.
15 January 2015 Fugro Equator joins the search. It left Fremantle on 6 January.
18 January Search operations are suspended due to waves caused by Tropical Cyclone Bansi. The search fully resumes by 23 January.
22 January The ATSB calls for expressions of interest for operations to recover Flight 370 so a recovery effort can be quickly and effectively mobolised if and when debris from the aircraft is located. The request will allow the ATSB to determine which organisations can supply equipment and expertise for the recovery effort.
29 January In accordance with Annexes 12 and 13 to the Chicago Convention, the Malaysian government officially declares the disappearance of Flight 370 an accident with no survivors.
A fourth vessel, , joins the underwater search. It is equipped with a Kongsberg HUGIN 4500 autonomous underwater vehicle and will be able to search areas which cannot be effectively searched by the towfish used by the other vessels.
1 February Search operations are suspended due to effects of tropical cyclone Eunice and ex-tropical cyclone Diamondra, which are causing ocean conditions up to sea state 8 with waves of . Search operations are resumed on 5 February by Fugro Equator, 8 February by Fugro Discovery, and 9 February by Fugro Supporter.
8 March On the first anniversary of the flight's disappearance, Malaysia's Ministry of Transport releases an interim report that is required by international protocol. The report focuses on factual information rather than analysis of possible causes of Flight 370's disappearance. One significant issue, not previously revealed publicly, is that the battery in the underwater locator beacon attached to the flight data recorder had expired in December 2013, which may have compromised its performance.
17 March The search resumes after being suspended for several days because of poor weather associated with ex-Tropical Cyclone Haliba.
2 April Fugro Discovery leaves port in Fremantle with a new towfish named Intrepid. After calibration trials at sea, the vessel will leave for the search area on 5 April.
16 April A tripartite meeting between Malaysian, Australian and Chinese officials is held. Over 60 percent of the priority search area has been searched. Excluding significant delays, the search of the priority search area will be completed around May 2015. The officials agree that if no trace of the aircraft is found in the priority search area, the underwater search will be extended to an additional of adjacent seafloor.
Angus Houston was appointed Knight of the Order of Australia in recognition of his military service and his "continued commitment to serve the nation in leadership roles, particularly the national responses to the [Malaysia Airlines Flight 370] and [Malaysia Airlines Flight 17] disasters".
Early May Fugro Supporter withdraws from the underwater search and travels to Fremantle, where the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) it operated is offloaded. Sea conditions during the austral winter are too rough to safely launch and recover the AUV and therefore, AUV operations will be suspended during the winter months. However, the AUV will be kept ready to assist the search at short notice.
13 May The JACC and ATSB announce the discovery of a shipwreck east of the seventh BTO arc at a depth of . Fugro Equator detected a cluster of small objects in an otherwise featureless region of seafloor. It was classified as a "Class 2" feature "of potential interest but unlikely to be related to MH370". Fugro Supporter was sent to investigate the site with its AUVs. A high-resolution sonar scan reveals many small objects, the largest of which is rectangular and on its longest side. Another AUV mission photographed the debris field, revealing the shipwreck and a field of cricket ball-sized coal. The images are sent to marine archaeologists to identify the wreck.
30 May–6 June Search operations are suspended due to rough ocean conditions, including average wave heights of .
3–16 June Go Phoenix leaves the search area to return to port. The supporting frame of the vessel's towfish system was damaged while on the vessel's deck during rough seas; the vessel's supply of gasses for welding was exhausted before repairs could be completed. Repairs were completed and the vessel left port on 10 June, arriving in the search area on 16 June.
20 June GO Phoenix departs the search area to begin passage to Singapore, where it will be demobilized from search activities.
July 2015 – January 2017
On 29 July, a piece of marine debris is found on Réunion—an island in the western Indian Ocean—that resembled an aircraft component. The object is confirmed to be a flaperon from a Boeing 777. A search of the island and nearby waters is launched to locate other possible debris from Flight 370. Other marine debris found on Réunion over the following days is suspected of originating from Flight 370, but only the flaperon is conclusively linked to Flight 370. On 5 August, Malaysia's Prime Minister confirms that the first object discovered is from Flight 370; confirmation from French officials comes on 3 September. In the subsequent months several pieces of debris are determined to be highly likely to have come from Flight 370.
On 17 January 2017 the underwater search for Flight 370 is suspended after a survey of of the Indian Ocean is unsuccessful in locating the plane.
29 July A piece of marine debris resembling an aircraft flaperon, and a suitcase are found on a beach on Réunion, a French island in the western Indian Ocean about west of the underwater search area. The items are transported the following day to Toulouse, France for analysis.
31 July A Chinese water bottle and an Indonesian cleaning product are found on Réunion in the vicinity of the location where the aircraft flaperon and suitcase were found.
2 August The Malaysian Ministry of Transportation announces that the first object discovered is a flaperon from a Boeing 777; they state that the verification was made with investigators from France, Malaysia, Boeing, and the US NTSB.
5 August The Malaysian Prime Minister announces that experts have "conclusively confirmed" that the flaperon found on 29 July is from Flight 370; the debris is the first physical evidence that Flight 370 ended in the Indian Ocean.
6 August Malaysia's Transport Ministry claims that window panes and aircraft seat cushions have washed up on Réunion. This claim is disputed by France.
7 August Maldivian police investigate claims that plane debris has washed up on North Malé Atoll, Maldives. Authorities in nearby Mauritius have also begun searching for debris and sent a piece of a bag found on Îlot Gabriel for inspection.
12 August A packet of Malaysian noodles were found in South Australia and a Malaysia Airlines baggage tag was found in Nowra, New South Wales. The items were turned into Australian authorities, who noted that "It's very challenging for investigators to find something that can be linked to the aircraft – it would really have to be some form of debris from the aircraft. But we encourage people to bring anything unusual or out of place forward. It's far better that we investigate and rule it out."
The debris from North Malé is flown to Malaysia for investigation.
Malaysia's government news agency published a new theory that Flight 370 made a soft landing on the water, floated for a while on the surface, and then sank mostly in one piece. Many experts also believe in this theory.
3 September French investigators affirm "with certainty" that the aircraft flaperon discovered on 29 July is from Flight 370, due to a serial number that matched the records of the Spanish manufacturer that produced portions of the flaperon.
8 September Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) releases a drift analysis that concludes that the finding of the flaperon on Réunion is consistent with the current search area for Flight 370.
3 December The ATSB publishes a report, based on analysis by Australia's Defence Science and Technology Group (DST Group). The analysis determined that the most probable location of Flight 370 when it entered the water is within the southern half of the existing search zone. The JACC also releases a pre-publication draft of Bayesian methods in the search for MH370, a book by the DST Group detailing their analysis.
Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss announces the number of vessels in the search would be doubled to four, and that the undersea search was expected to be completed by June 2016.
5 December The arrives in the search area, becoming the third vessel actively involved in the search. The Havila Harmony is carrying an AUV that will be deployed to search the most challenging underwater terrain.
19 December A second 19th-century shipwreck is discovered.
2 January 2016 The AUV aboard the MV Havila Harmony is used to produce a high-resolution sonar image of an "anomalous sonar contact" made on 19 December that analysis suggested to be man-made and possibly a shipwreck. The AUV sonar imagery confirms the object is a shipwreck.
24 January The towfish being used by the Fugro Discovery collides with an undersea mud volcano. The towing cable breaks and the towfish along with 4,500 metres of towing cable sink to the seafloor.
29 January Australia announces that a fourth ship will join the search. The Dong Hai Jiu 101 is being supplied by China and will employ a towfish operated by Phoenix International Holdings and Hydrospheric Solutions, both companies with previous experience in the search for Flight 370. The ship is expected to join the search in late February.
2 March Media report the discovery of an object, a suspected horizontal stabilizer, found on a sandbar in Mozambique, that may have originated from a Boeing 777. The object, found by an American tourist the preceding weekend, is flown to Australia for examination.
24 March Australian Transport Minister Darren Chester announces that two pieces of debris, the object reported discovered earlier in March as well as an object found in Mozambique by a South African tourist in December 2015, are both "almost certainly" from MH370.
Part of an engine cowling is found on the coast of South Africa.
2 April A piece of debris that is suspected to be a bulkhead from inside the cabin of an aircraft is discovered on the coast of Rodrigues, an autonomous island in Mauritius.
12 May Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai announces that the engine cowling discovered on 24 March in South Africa and the bulkhead discovered on 2 April in Rodrigues are "almost certainly" from Flight 370.
24 June The Australian Transport Minister, Darren Chester, said that a piece of aircraft debris was found on Pemba Island, off of the coast of Tanzania. It was handed over to the authorities so that experts from Malaysia can determine whether it is part of the aircraft. The Australian government released photos of the piece, believed to be an outboard wing flap, on 20 July.
22 July A meeting of senior ministers from Australia, China, and Malaysia is held in Putrajaya, Malaysia. Less than of the high priority search area remains to be searched. The ministers agree that if no credible new evidence pointing to a particular location where the aircraft may be is found, the search will be suspended after the high priority search area is completely searched. Fugro, the survey company hired to search for the plane, believe that the wrong area may have been targeted.
27 July Scientists from the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change publish a paper analysing where wreckage was found with ocean drift. This predicted an area for the crash site, further north than the ATSB search area.
15 September Malaysia's transport ministry confirms that the outboard wing flap discovered on 24 June on Pemba Island originated from Flight 370, due to identifying part numbers and date stamps.
20 December The ATSB releases a report suggesting a new search area north of the current search area. The report noted that "if this area were to be searched, prospective areas for locating the aircraft wreckage, based on all the analysis to date, would be exhausted." However, the Australian government stated that the search would not be extended beyond the current search area without new evidence.
17 January 2017 The underwater search for the wreckage of Flight 370 is officially suspended after the survey of of the southern Indian Ocean fails to recover the plane. The search is reported to have cost $160 million.
Notes
References
External links
Joint Agency Coordination Centre
Australian Transport Safety Bureau – page for the MH370 search
Timeline of AMSA's involvement
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
Articles containing video clips
pt:Voo Malaysia Airlines 370#Cronologia do incidente | en |
doc-en-15377 | The Aspatria Agricultural College was a seat of learning located in Aspatria, Cumberland, England. Established in 1874, it was the second educational institution of its kind in the United Kingdom. It was unique in many respects, being devised, continuously revised, founded and funded by a small group of ordinary individuals. Although these rural gentlemen came from all shades of the political spectrum, they were men who combined across party lines and prejudices to promote an ideal. The College offered both two- and three-year courses in scientific and theoretical instruction along with practical work for both day or boarding students. It provided a wide range of academic agricultural related subjects integrated with traditional scientific subjects, including Business, Construction, Real Estate, Land Management and Dairy instruction. The College closed at the outset of the First World War and never re-opened.
History
Establishment
The primary promoters of the Aspatria Agricultural College were a trio of local agriculturalists William Norman, John Twentyman and Henry Thompson MRCVS; the 'dauntless three', as they became known in agricultural circles. After the establishment of the Aspatria Agricultural Cooperative Society Twentyman became highly impressed with Norman's scientific knowledge, such that he suggested that if northern farmers could not afford to send their sons to the Royal Agricultural College at Cirencester they should bring Cirencester to the northern farmers. Norman was a past student of the Royal Agricultural College and understood the merits of amalgamating science with the practical side of the business. They approached Sir Wilfrid Lawson for advice, who promised both morale and financial support. At a meeting of the Aspatria Agricultural Cooperative Society in September 1873 Norman presented a paper supporting agricultural education, which contained the following statement.
"Landowners desired education, and wished to number among their tenants those who had received, in the widest sense of the term, a good sound agricultural education. Purely practical farmers had never contributed anything to advance agriculture while one individual theorist had done more than all of the practical farmers combined. If the best farmers were those that caused the soil to yield the largest amount of animal and vegetable food fit for human consumption, at the least possible cost, then some special education was desirable."
In February 1874, a provisional committee of twenty-one influential people met to discuss the feasibility of establishing an academic institution. They supported two primary objectives; to educate boys over the age of ten in the various sciences associated with agriculture; and to attract pupils of 'ordinary means', by promoting minimal fees. Lawson not only offered to pay the salary bill for the first year but the free use of the Temperance Lecture hall. The Directors held the first General Meeting of the Aspatria Agricultural School (Limited) in April 1874, where they formed a Joint-stock company with £2,000 of capital in £1 nominal shares.
Early years
The college opened in the summer of 1874 with a small schoolroom, three students and a master named Thomas Edwards. Shortly afterwards the facilities proved inadequate and the directors had to purchase and extend a property known as Beacon House. Lawson provided the majority of this investment, taking out a bond for £2,100; other directors jointly financed the remaining £1,000.
Early information relating to the day-to-day activities of the institution is sparse. We know little about the level of fees, the number of boarders, or the composition of the curriculum. However, by 1876 the prospectus included, Inorganic Chemistry, Advanced Physiology, Geography, and the science of Agriculture. In 1877 Edwards was replaced with a man named Clough, formerly of Liverpool College. He experienced a degree of success; six pupils examined that year obtained a total of 4 First Class and 14 Second Class Certificates in the Examination of the Science and Art Department, London. In 1879, the four pupils examined in the subjects, Commercial Geography, History, English, and Arithmetic; accrued a total of 8 Second Class certificates. Progress was slow, intake dwindled, there were staff difficulties and debts incurred. It appeared that perhaps the experiment had been too ambitious. In the annual report for the year 1880, Lawson indicated that: "The school had not succeeded as well as it ought to have. They had employed a new master and the fate of the school hung in the balance."
When John Taylor, the new master arrived he found only six young attendees. By the end of his first year this figure had risen to 17. In the annual report for the year 1882, Norman stated. "Although we are unable to show any great improvement in the financial conditions, the school is at present in a more prosperous state that it has been for some time". The directors then made a bold decision; they reduced the fees to a level that brought them into the reach of a much larger catchment class. By the end of that year there were 27 pupils; by February 35; and by the end of the summer term 43. In 1882 the school examiner stated: "The high average of last year has been fully maintained in most papers, and in many instances exceeded". The pupils underwent examinations in English Grammar, History, Geography, Latin, French, Arithmetic, Chemistry, Geology and Agriculture. The credit was down to Taylor, "who employed a mixture of skilful patients and prudent teaching methods". Although the intellectual state of the school was highly satisfactory the balance sheet for the year 1884, highlighted working expense's £115 in excess of receipts, which the directors cleared at their own expense. In 1887, the directors welcomed female scholars and although William Lawson offered to sponsor two girls there is no evidence to support female attendance. Although the institution had become an academic success it remained financially unviable. The situation further deteriorated after Taylor accepted a position of head teacher at a new college at Tamworth and took the majority of the students with him.
The arrival of Dr. Henry Webb
By 1886 the status of the school had reached its nadir. The directors had embarked on a legal dispute with their departed master; and the register recorded only one boarder and ten-day pupils. After one director proposed bankruptcy, Lawson offered further financial support on condition they recruited a distinguished Principal. Following the advice of Professor H. M. Jenkins, secretary to the Royal Agricultural Society (R.A.S) they employed Professor Henry J. Webb. In May 1886, Webb commenced the arduous task of converting the school into an esteemed college. Within two years an external examiner from the R.A.S. was including the following in his annual report;
"The questions were intentionally made of as practical a nature as possible, so that a lad that had been about a farm and knew his work practically would be able to score better marks than one who had only read text books. Attention must be made to the thoroughly good work done by the lads at Aspatria School. Some of their answers were so good and showed such an amount of acquaintance with the details of practical work as to earn full marks".
Webb began by reducing the fees to an affordable level, setting the annual charge for day pupils in a range of between £10 and £15; and fixed the charges for boarders at £45; both considerably less than the minimal charge of £150 at the Royal Agricultural College.
The steady increase of students naturally necessitated a corresponding increase in boarding facilities. This was at first facilitated by renting Springfield House. The numbers however continued to increase and the accommodation was still insufficient. Webb resolved the situation in August 1890, when he purchased the combined property of Linden and Yarra House; and Jersey Cottage. He later combined the two adjoining houses to create one spacious building.
Paget commission
The arrival of Henry Webb coincided with the British government adopting a new approach to agricultural education. In 1887, under the chairmanship of Sir Richard Paget, they instigated a Departmental Commission of the Privy Council to look into the working activities of Agricultural and Dairy Schools. Previous to this report, agriculture's only monetary support had come from grants awarded to maintain students sitting for the theoretical examination of the Science and Arts Department, South Kensington, London (the S. & A.D.). The commissioners were very critical and highlighted the national cost of inadequate agricultural education and poor dairy practice. When called to give evidence, Webb described his views as contrary to those held by contemporary authorities in Leeds, Newcastle, Edinburgh, and Cambridge. These administrations, he argued, promoted only scientific and theoretic instruction at the expense of practical work. Webb described his prime objective as reinforcing theoretical knowledge with the practical experience gained from daily instruction on working farms. He also stressed the importance of educating people, irrespective of their age. Webb's advice appears to have carried influence, for the Commission recognised:
"The school at Aspatria is on a very different footing to the other institutions mentioned and is doing very good work in admitting students at lower fees. If anything is done to encourage schools of this kind the claims of Aspatria stand in the first rank, for in consequence of the lowliness of its fees it is struggling under great difficulties, but is a type of school which would be of great use to the small farmer class for their sons."
In their published report, the commission recognised many of the faults appertaining to agricultural education and recommended the need for state aid. Their primary proposal endorsed the immediate creation of five regional Dairy Schools in England, Each endowed with an annual working grant of £500. Grants were also made available for purchasing buildings, while a further award of £200 was available for equipment and fittings. They made one additional grant and this was a sum of £300 awarded to the Aspatria Agricultural College. In the four years that followed Aspatria received a total of £1,350 in government grants. Webb used the grants to sponsor ten annual scholarships, offering free tuition over the initial two-year period, to suitable scholars who had attained a grade of Standard VII in an elementary school. Of the £400 grant awarded in the year 1891, Webb used £250 for scholarships and used the remainder to promote Dairy education. The government may have embarked upon a programme of agricultural education but Britain lagged behind its geographical rivals. According to information given by Sir Jacob Wilson speaking at Aspatria in 1889, the British government's annual allocation for agricultural education was £5,000. France, a country with a similar sized population, spent £170,000; Belgium, with a population little more than London, spent £14,000; Denmark £11,000, Germany £172,000, and the United States of America £615,000. One reason for this lack of government aid was Great Britain employed fewer than 10% of her working population in agriculture, whereas in France the figure was 44%, Germany 39%, Belgium 35%, Denmark 32%, and the United States 37%.
Technical education act
The next significant advance occurred in 1888, after the Local Government Act created Local Authorities, thus establishing Cumberland County Council. The Technical Education Act (1889), allowed these authorities to fund Technical and Manual Instruction out of the rates. Technical Instruction included agriculturally related subjects, while Manual Instruction included "instruction in the use of tools and processes of agriculture." In 1889 the Board of Agriculture finally became a government body with special responsibilities for developing higher education in agriculture.
In 1890 the government under pressure from the Temperance movement introduced a Bill intended to reduce the number of licensed premises. They reinforced their commitment in that year's budget by increasing the tax on spirits by 6d (2.5p) per gallon. However, when this measure failed to meet its objective it left the government with a large surplus ("Whiskey Money") in revenue which they distributed amongst the County Councils; with instruction's to promote technical education. Cumberland's share exceeded £6,000.
Although Aspatria was one of the few institutions in the county that could offer educational facilities it was privately owned. The council had no mandate to spend public money in support of a private venture. Nevertheless, Aspatria was given a substantial grant on condition they establish a working Dairy and facilitate a series of travelling lectures for the surrounding towns and villagers.
Webb’s purchase
The gradual increase in the number of students naturally necessitated a corresponding increase in the size of the establishment. However the directors were unwilling to find the additional capital. The initial reaction was to offer the college for sale to the County Council. Sir Jacob Wilson, the architect of a sister scheme adopted by the Northumberland County Council, urged the council to use every available means to induce Westmorland to join Cumberland and between them acquire the college. He envisaged an escalation in the student population and urged those students who wished to further higher education to proceed with haste directly to the college. Had the members accepted this proposal, the college would have become a county institution with revenue funded from the rates. However the council had limited resources and its failure to adopt the college threw it headlong into a crisis. On 24 September 1891, an extraordinary general meeting of the shareholders passed a resolution to voluntarily dissolve the school company. The official liquidator was Henry Thompson. It was at this junction that Webb offered to not only take over the institution with all its liabilities, but to pay the shareholders half the value of their original shares. The directors sold the school premises with all its liabilities and assets in accordance with the terms of the resolution. On each of the original £1 share the purchaser agreed to pay 10s (50p). The total liabilities amounted to £4,218.
Description of the college
The Mayor of Carlisle officially opened the new college buildings on 23 August 1893. Designed by Carlisle architect Taylor Scott, the building was castellated in style, with a central tower and two side wings in quadrangular plan. At each end of the interior there were glass cabinets containing photographs of prize animals. There was a collection of natural history specimens displayed in each corner of the hall. These included a magnificent Bengal tiger, a large polar bear, and an African leopard, the head of a Highland bull, and numerous stuffed birds and smaller animals. Displayed upon sideboards were Webb's sporting trophies. A corridor ran east to west on the north side of the building giving access to the two wings. In the western wing were two large reception rooms, one a library the second a Dining Hall capable of seating one hundred students. The housekeeper's room and the domestic offices were in adjacent rooms. On the first floor were the private apartments belonging to the Principal; a Billiard room, and the living quarters of the servants. In the east wing were the Lecture rooms, the reading rooms, the two student's common rooms, the lecturer's common room, the chemical laboratory, bath rooms and communal lavatories. The two Lecture rooms were lofty and well lighted. One, arranged in the theatre style, had an elevated seating arrangement and a suitably equipped chemical lecture table; there was also provision for lantern lectures. The chemical laboratory occupied the entire top floor; it comprised twelve working benches and the normal chemical apparatus. The private rooms belonging to the senior students occupied the first floor, each doubling as a study and bedroom; above a large airy dormitory. The biological laboratory occupied the tower. The room furnished with microscopes and other apparatus associated with Botanical and entomological experiments. To the rear of the college were three lawn tennis courts, a Fives court and practicing facilities for cricket and football. The students played competitive cricket on the lawns of Brayton Park, while football took place close to the railway station.
The College Dairy was housed on a triangular piece of land opposite the college and adjacent to the Natural History museum. In addition to a section devoted to soils and specimens of rocks and fossils the museum housed a variety of animal curiosities, chemical manure's, feeding stuffs, dairy implements, models of various farming implements, zoological specimens, a veterinary collection, and a collection of friendly and unfriendly insects. On the walls were a series of hand painted drawings, depicting a variety of insect pests, presented to the college by Eleanor Anne Ormerod, the celebrated entomologist.
To further their practical knowledge students took daily instruction in practical farm works on eight local farms. These comprised Lonning, Hall Bank, West End, Mid Town (north), Mid Town (south), Aspatria Hall, Arkelby Mill and Prospect Farm. The stores of the Aspatria Agricultural Cooperative Society provided the facility to study analysis and value of feeds, seeds, artificial manure's, and animal feedstuff. They also had the use of a Blacksmiths shop where they learned the skills of the smith and take lessons in carpentry and harness repair work. The students also had the use of the West Cumberland Dairy Company, an independent Creamery situated next to the railway station. Those scholars who chose to pursue Forestry had the nearby woods and plantations belonging to the Brayton estate. There was also a small Arboretum containing over 100 different species of tree situated behind the college.
The post Webb era
After Webb's death on 28 November 1893, his wife, following her husbands' instructions, employed as successor, John Smith-Hill, an associate member of the Surveyors Institute with a First Class Diploma from the R.A.S., and a BSc Honours Degree in Botany from London University. Smith-Hill arrived at Aspatria in January 1894 to find a register of 65 scholars and a staff of ten lecturers. He began by expanding the scope of the curriculum such that within two years he had broadened its base and began to specialise in the training of managers required for the empire's emerging estates and farms. He divided the course into three discrete sections. The first, a bridging course, designed to assist the less well educated student, to improve their knowledge in Algebra, English Composition, Book Keeping, Drawing, Arithmetic, Elementary Science and Agriculture. The second, more advanced, included Chemistry, Mensuration, Geology, Botany, Veterinary Medicine; Land Surveying and Agricultural Law. To fulfil the practicable requirements of the final section he added Practical Surveying, Beekeeping and Veterinary Surgery. He established an annual fact finding magazine entitled the College Chronicle. He employed a professional valuer, to teach the skills of property valuation. He also introduced a Mining class specifically designed for those students seeking their fortunes in foreign fields. Finally he changed the entry procedures. He discouraged girls, raised the entrance age to sixteen and introduced an entrance examination. He also increased the fees to a commercial level. By 1900, the minimum annual charges levied on students under the age of 20, was £100. Students above this age paid a surcharge of £10. In December 1896, a commendatory report appeared in the North British Agriculturist, stating that Aspatria College had more students than the combined intake of all those attending agricultural classes in Scotland & Northern England. On 4 August 1896, Smith-Hill married Webbs' widow and became the joint owner of the college. In 1898 he established the Old Aspatrian Club, with over 60 members, which met annually in the Holborn restaurant, London and later in Carlisle.
In 1902, in association with the London Meteorological office, the college established a meteorological station at Aspatria; its aim, to provide a daily district account of a variety of changing climatic conditions. After 1903 students began to specialise in the requirements of the Land Agency and students tended to concentrate on the professional Association Examination of the Surveyors Institution. In the opening two years the college experienced a 100% success rate in each corresponding examination and took the Beadel Prize for best student on both occasions. In 1904 Smith-Hill received a Gold Medal from the Surveyors Institute for a paper entitled Agricultural in Cumberland, reviewing the changes between 1850 and 1900. In 1904 when summarising the career prospects of a number of his past students; he reported that 61 continued to farm in the United Kingdom and of the remainder, 46 were pursuing work in the colonies and the Argentine; 25 were pursuing the Land agency profession; and 9 were following other occupations. He made special reference to John Goodwin, the current Director of a Demonstration Farm at Kalimpong India; and Lawrence Carpenter, the Chief of the Agricultural Office in Nairobi, East Africa. By 1909, in addition to attracting students from the British Empire, scholars were enrolling from Portugal, India, West Indies, South Africa the Middle East and Egypt. In 1914, the final year, the official returns from the Surveyors Institute indicated that of the candidates examined in that year's intake the ratio of success was 60%. However, in the case of Aspatria this figure was 100%.
Closure and the aftermath
As the First World War approached, student numbers declined. Of the four pioneering institutions identified by the Paget commission, Dowton College had closed in 1907 and Hollesley Bay ceased in 1903. Both Aspatria and Cirencester were forced to close for the war though Cirencester reopened in 1922. John Smith-Hill, by now in his mid fifties, had accepted a position as resident agent at Greystoke Castle in 1916, was reluctant to recommence upon the declaration of peace. He had decided that the days of the private college were past and that the future lay in state funded institutions.
The building was used for a large variety of purposes after the closure in 1914. In 1917 the War Office briefly used the building as a Boy Harvester Camp, for harvest work for public and secondary schoolboys. In 1922 Smith-hill tried unsuccessfully to auction the buildings and grounds. By 1925 the local council were using the building for administrative offices. After that for residential purposes and was finally demolished in 1962.
Webb’s methodology
After the great wave of opinion favouring technical education swept over the country, Webb's teaching methods were attracting general attention. In one year alone, no fewer than 30 deputations visited the college to observe and learn from its working methods. This resulted in eight county councils instituting scholarships tenable at the Aspatria College. For many years, the Duke of Westminster and the Marquis of Salisbury both sponsored Aspatria students. In a speech delivered to the House of Lords on 22 March 1888 Lord Norton declared: "The agricultural college at Aspatria is an acknowledged success."
Webb's teaching methods can be summarised by citing the words enshrined on the school emblem, Scientia et labore (theory and practice, go hand in hand). Webb maintained that his methods brought significant benefits. Besides receiving theoretical lessons in the management and operation of farms, students had continuous access to each farm and could engage in actual farm work. Since each farm differed geologically, it allowed the student an opportunity to study the different characteristics of the soil and its effects upon the various crops and livestock upon it. The student therefore could compare at first hand the different methods of cultivation relating to crop rotation and the various varieties of grasses, grains, roots, manures and feeding stuffs, while through daily contact he could gain a familiarity with the excellence and defects of different breeds of cattle and sheep at first hand.
Webb also inaugurated an Experimental Station where farmers could use the college equipment and staff at a nominal cost to not only test their manures, feed stuff, and seeds but to conduct agricultural experiments. Webb also maintained that increased knowledge was useful even if the recipients were highly unlikely to prove it by examination and as such in 1887 he introduced a programme of free evening lectures regularly attended by more than fifty local farm workers.
Examinations
During the forty-year tenure of the Aspatria College, scholars undertook a wide variety of both internal and external examinations, from which they accrued a diverse array of academic qualifications, ranging from elementary prizes to professional Fellowships. Internal prizes came in the form of books awarded to those who gained the highest number of marks from each individual subject. After two years, each successful student received the award of Certificate of the college, while the student who obtained the highest aggregate number of marks received the title Scholar of the college. After three years of study those students who passed a series of practical and theoretical examinations, obtained the 'Diploma of the college, which eventually became a pre-requisite qualification for courses offered by the Council of the Surveyors Institute.
However it was the results obtained from the various external examining bodies that enhanced the reputation of the college. From its inception Aspatria had partaken in the examinations set by the Board of Education, South Kensington, where successful students gained First or Second Class certificates in a diverse range of individual subjects, with passes graded at elementary, advanced and honours level. The Aspatria student who accrued the highest aggregate marks from these examinations also received the internal award of the Norman Prize. Students took the Royal Agricultural Society (R.A.S.) Senior Scholarship for the first time in 1890 and for the final time ten years later. During this period Aspatria scholars obtained a total of 31 First Class Diplomas and 11 Second Class Certificates. In the examination set by the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (H.A.S.S.), students from Aspatria obtained 23 First Class certificates and 26 Diplomas, conferring the title of F. HAS and Life Membership of the Society. After 1899 the two examining bodies combined to form the Joint Examining Board for the National Diploma in Agriculture. This body continued to offer a Gold Medal to the candidate who collected the highest number of marks in this examination. The University of Cambridge also offered candidates a Diploma in Agricultural Science and Practice, in the opening year three Aspatrians' obtained diplomas.
Those students intent on becoming Land Agents could register for the Surveyors Institute examination. Those, whose ages fell between 17 and 21, took the preliminary examination (Division 1) and if successful became Students of the institute. In the second stage, twenty-one-year-olds progressed to the Professional Association (Division 2). The examination, comprising Land Surveying and Levelling; Elements of Trigonometry; Book Keeping; the law of the Landlord and Tenant; Agriculture; Construction of Farm Homesteads; Forestry; Geology and the Composition of Soils; Measuring and Land Drainage. To achieve a pass a candidate required a minimum of 500 marks out of a possible 1000. Those candidates who were not Students of the Institute and were under the age of 21 required an additional pass in Agricultural Chemistry (Division 3). A pass through this route required an additional 200 points from a possible 1200.
In the early years a pass from the R.A.S. Senior examinations automatically entitled the holder to a Life Membership. After 1888 this endorsement became the sole right of the leading five contestants. They also redefined the awards to offer one gold, one silver and three bronze medals. In 1895, George Hurley became the recipient of the first ever gold medal. During the period under review Aspatria students received the largest aggregate number of awards appearing on the list of the top five successful candidates on ten occasions. Aspatria students also obtained twenty-seven £20 scholarships, representing the largest number awarded to any single institution.
In 1897 the five First and two Second class diplomas awarded by the R.A.S. and the five awarded by the H.A.S.S. went to Aspatria students, representing one third and one half of the entire successes. The remainder being shared by the five competing institutions. After which the H.A.S.S. rewrote the rules to debar Life Memberships from those people born outside or not currently residing in Scotland. The Principal also funded a major scholarship valued at £75, which he offered to the second year student who obtained the highest position in the examination for the National Diploma in Agriculture.
The final three years of Webbs' ownership were undoubtedly the zenith of Aspatria College. In 1891, fourteen candidates returned from Edinburgh with three Diplomas and seven First Class Certificates. One under 16-year-old student from Broughton named Joseph Lister became the youngest recipient of the Diploma from the R.A.C.; he was also named Scholar of the college. In the following year examination of the R.A.S. Aspatria students secured six of the ten available scholarships. A 17-year-old student named James Wood finished first and became the third Aspatrian in a row to hold the honour. There were only four passes from the 193 entries at the S. & A. D. Honours examination in Agriculture. Walter White of Brigg finished first and received the Queens Medal. William Wilson, from Goody Hills secured the second scholarship. In 1893, a scholar named Cadwaladr Bryner Jones was placed first at the H.A.S.S. examination, receiving the Diploma and life membership of the society. Also that year he received a First Class Certificate and life membership of the R.A.C...
Sport and related pastimes
Sport and other related pastimes played an important cultural role in the academic life of students attending the Aspatria College. The most popular team games were Rugby Union and Cricket, with both Fives and Tennis preferred to association football. At Rugby, the first fifteen played an average of 12 competitive games each season, primarily against Cumbrian opposition. Between the years 1900 and 1907, fourteen scholars made a combined total of 58 appearances at county level. One player, named Frank Handford, played in all four England international games in the 1908 season. In 1910, he joined the English touring party and played in several representative games in South Africa. Another ex student named Strang, played in a series of representative games touring the Argentine. The club's most successful season was in 1905, when they won all 13 of their fixtures, accruing a total of 205 points against their opponents 42.
The main event in the sporting calendar was Open Week. It began on the third Tuesday in July with an Otter Hunt. Wednesday and Thursday gave way to tennis, with the annual Athletic Sports on Friday. The weekend began with a cricket match and ended with the customary church walks. The sports attracted the attendance of former, present and future scholars. The afternoon activities commenced with the finals of the Inter College Lawn Tennis tournament. In addition to the running events the programme included; a walking race, shot put, high Jump, long Jump, the throwing of a cricket ball, sack race and egg-and-spoon race. The sports closed with the traditional grand finale, a tug of war confrontation. After 1893 students competed for two annual sporting awards. The most prestigious, the Webb Memorial Challenge Shield, went to the competitor who gained the greatest number of points from scratch in all competitions. The Hammock Cup went to the athlete who accrued the greatest number of points from four races held over distances of 100 yards, 200 yards, 440 yards and 1 mile. In 1896, they introduced a cigarette race. The rules required a participant to walk a lap of the field, before hand-rolling a cigarette, then continuing for another lap smoking it, and keeping it constantly lighted.
The students also indulged in a variety of fringe activities, of which billiards was the most popular. For the military-minded, membership of the gun club was a necessity. It started in 1893 when students went game fowl shooting along the sea shore and was later enhanced with clay pigeon shooting. Golf was also popular and available on the nearby Silloth Links. There were also opportunities for those who followed blood sports. They could either run with the local packs of fox hounds or, if less adventurous, the beagles. In 1909, the students inaugurated a motorcycle touring club; an activity encouraging students to explore the nearby Lake District.
Boer war
In July 1904, Colonel Irwin unveiled a Memorial in the college dining hall, donated by members of the Old Aspatrian Club; to the memory of Old Aspatrian's who served in the Boer war. Irwin made reference to the names of the men on the roll, reminding those present that it was the duty of masters of large institutions, to endeavour as far as possible, to instil the feeling of patriotism into the students under their charge. He believed that a student could not call himself an Englishman if he could not spare a small amount of time to come forward in time of need, as these young men did in the time of England's greatest peril in the South African War. The tablet, executed in brass and bronze and mounted on polished oak, is surmounted by the shield and motto of the college- 'Scientia et Labore', on either side of which was the letter A. The inscription read as follows:-
In honour of the Old Aspatrians who served in the South African war, 1899–1902. G.B. Avlen, Rhodesian Horse, died January, 1901, from wounds received at Eland River; J. Hill Irwin, with Col. Plummer, died of enteric fever, 13 May 1900; C.F. Fawcus, Thorneycroft's Horse, fell in action at Spion Kop, 24 January 1900; A.N. James, Worcester Yeomanry, died on 18 May 1901 of enteric fever. Returned J. Banks, Middlesex Yeomanry; W.B. Caverhill, Berwick Yeomanry; T. Custance, Strathcona's Horse; Lieut. D.H. Greig, Imperial Glasgow Yeomanry; A. Jackson, Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry Yeomanry; A.P. Ker, Montgomeryshire Yeomanry; N.F.S. Lane, Paget's Horse; P.E. Lane, Paget's Horse; F.L. Marriott, Kitchener's Fighting Scouts; G.H. Pattison, Imperial Glasgow Yeomanry; C.R. Renny Tailyour, Imperial Devon Yeomanry; Lieut. F.W. Scott Napier, King's Own Scottish Borderers; F.L. Simpson, Imperial Yeomanry; A.S. Tanner, City Imperial Volunteers; W.E. Webb, Strathcona's Horse. This tablet was erected by the Old Aspatrian Club July 1904.
References
Bibliography
Agricultural organisations based in England
Further education colleges in Cumbria
Agricultural universities and colleges in the United Kingdom
Educational institutions established in 1874
1874 establishments in England
Defunct universities and colleges in England
Aspatria | en |
doc-en-5925 | The Museum of Bad Art (MOBA) is a privately owned museum whose stated aim is "to celebrate the labor of artists whose work would be displayed and appreciated in no other forum". It was originally in Dedham, Massachusetts and is currently in Somerville, Massachusetts. Its permanent collection includes over 700 pieces of "art too bad to be ignored", 25 to 35 of which are on public display at any one time.
MOBA was founded in 1994, after antique dealer Scott Wilson showed a painting he had recovered from the trash to some friends, who suggested starting a collection. Within a year, receptions held in Wilson's friends' home were so well-attended that the collection needed its own viewing space. The museum then moved to the basement of a theater in Dedham. Explaining the reasoning behind the museum's establishment, co-founder Jerry Reilly said in 1995: "While every city in the world has at least one museum dedicated to the best of art, MOBA is the only museum dedicated to collecting and exhibiting the worst." To be included in MOBA's collection, works must be original and have serious intent, but they must also have significant flaws without being boring; curators are not interested in displaying deliberate kitsch.
MOBA has been mentioned in dozens of off-the-beaten-path guides to Boston, featured in international newspapers and magazines, and has inspired several other collections throughout the world that set out to rival its own visual atrocities. Deborah Solomon of The New York Times Magazine noted that the attention the Museum of Bad Art receives is part of a wider trend of museums displaying "the best bad art". The museum has been criticized for being anti-art, but the founders deny this, responding that its collection is a tribute to the sincerity of the artists who persevered with their art despite something going horribly wrong in the process. According to co-founder Marie Jackson, "We are here to celebrate an artist's right to fail, gloriously."
History
The Museum of Bad Art was established in 1994 by antique dealer Scott Wilson, who discovered what has become the museum's signature piece—Lucy in the Field with Flowers—protruding from between two trash cans on a Roslindale-area curb in Boston, among some garbage waiting to be collected. Wilson was initially interested only in the frame, but when he showed the picture to his friend Jerry Reilly, Reilly wanted both the frame and the painting. He exhibited Lucy in his home, and encouraged friends to look for other bad art and notify Wilson of what they found. When Wilson acquired another "equally lovely" piece and shared it with Reilly, they decided to start a collection. Reilly and his wife, Marie Jackson, held a party in their basement to exhibit the collection to date, and hosted a reception they facetiously titled "The Opening of the Museum of Bad Art".
Regular showings of the pieces collected by Wilson, Reilly, and Jackson (and those donated by others), became too much for Reilly and Jackson's small home in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, as hundreds of people attended the receptions. The founders' initial attempt at dealing with their constrained exhibition space was to create the Virtual Museum Of Bad Art, a CD-ROM with a cast of 95 people that presented the MOBA art collection in a fictional imaginary museum. This fictional MOBA allowed the visitors not only to view the paintings but to go behind the scenes in the fictional museum.
Word of the museum's collection continued to spread until, according to "Permanent Interim Acting Director" Louise Reilly Sacco, "it got completely out of hand" when a group of senior citizens on a tour bus stopped to see it. In 1995 the display space was moved to the basement of the Dedham Community Theatre, a building with an aesthetic described in 2004 as "ramshackle". The museum in Dedham had no fixed operating hours, instead being open while the theater upstairs was open. As The Boston Globe notes, the art collection was appropriately placed "just outside the men's room", where sounds and smells carry to the collection and the constant flushing of the toilet "supposedly helps maintain a uniform humidity", according to the South China Morning Post.
In MOBA's early days, the museum hosted traveling shows; on one occasion the works were hung from trees in the woods on Cape Cod for the "Art Goes Out the Window—The Gallery in the Woods". Bad music was played during the public viewings to complete the ambiance. In an exhibition titled "Awash in Bad Art", 18 pieces of art were covered in shrink wrap for "the world's first drive-thru museum and car wash". Marie Jackson, formerly the Director of Aesthetic Interpretation noted, "We didn't put any watercolors in there." A 2001 exhibition, "Buck Naked—Nothing But Nudes" featured all of the MOBA nudes hung in a local spa.
MOBA features its works in rotating collections. In 2003, "Freaks of Nature" focused on landscape artwork "gone awry". A 2006 exhibit titled "Hackneyed Portraits" was designed to "pick up some of the slack" when the David Hockney show at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts closed. MOBA unveiled its show "Nature Abhors a Vacuum and All Other Housework" in 2006; this format continues on the museum's website.
A second gallery opened in 2008 at the Somerville Theatre in Davis Square, Somerville, Massachusetts, where the collection was placed near both the women's and men's restrooms. Although the original gallery was free and open to the public, the second is free with admission to the theater or with a pass requested from the museum. Exhibitions titled "Bright Colors / Dark Emotions" and "Know What You Like / Paint How You Feel" have been held in the academic gallery at Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, Massachusetts. One of MOBA's goals is "to take bad art on the road", according to Sacco. Pieces from MOBA's collection have been on display in museums in New York City, Ottawa, Taipei, and Virginia.
In February 2009, MOBA announced a fundraiser to assist the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University, which was seriously considering whether to sell masterpieces because of the global financial crisis of 2008–2009, made worse for the university by some of its donors losing money in Bernard Madoff's investment scheme. Current MOBA curator and balloon artist/musician Michael Frank placed Studies in Digestion—a four-panel piece showing four renditions of the human digestive tract in various media by artist Deborah Grumet—on eBay for a buy-it-now price of $10,000; the first bid was $24.99. It eventually sold for $152.53 and the meager proceeds went to the Rose Art Museum, while both museums gained publicity.
In 2010, the museum opened a third location in the offices of the Brookline Interactive Group.
In December 2012, the branch at the Dedham Community Theater closed to convert the space into a screening room. Another branch later opened at the New England Wildlife Center in South Weymouth. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the locations in Brookline and South Weymouth closed, leaving only the location in Somerville.
Thefts
The loss of two MOBA works to theft has drawn media attention and enhanced the museum's stature. In 1996, the painting Eileen, by R. Angelo Le, vanished from MOBA. Eileen was acquired from the trash by Wilson, and features a rip in the canvas where someone slashed it with a knife even before the museum acquired it, "adding an additional element of drama to an already powerful work", according to MOBA.
The museum offered a reward of $6.50 for the return of Eileen, and although MOBA donors later increased that reward to $36.73, the work remained unrecovered for many years. The Boston Police listed the crime as "larceny, other", and Sacco was reported saying she was unable to establish a link between the disappearance of Eileen and a notorious heist at Boston's famed Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum that occurred in 1990. In 2006, 10 years after Eileen was stolen, MOBA was contacted by the purported thief demanding a $5,000 ransom for the painting; no ransom was paid, but it was returned anyway.
Prompted by the theft of Eileen, MOBA staff installed a fake video camera over a sign at their Dedham branch reading (in Comic Sans): "Warning. This gallery is protected by a fake security camera". Despite this deterrent, in 2004 Rebecca Harris' Self Portrait as a Drainpipe was removed from the wall and replaced with a ransom note demanding $10, although the thief neglected to include any contact information. Soon after its disappearance the painting was returned, with a $10 donation. Curator Michael Frank speculates that the thief had difficulty fencing the portrait because "reputable institutions refuse to negotiate with criminals."
Collection standards
Although the museum's motto is "Art too bad to be ignored", MOBA holds rigorous standards as to what they will accept. According to Marie Jackson, "Nine out of ten pieces don't get in because they're not bad enough. What an artist considers to be bad doesn't always meet our low standards." As stated in the introduction to The Museum of Bad Art: Masterworks, the primary attribute of an objet d'art to be acquired by MOBA is that it must have been seriously attempted by someone making an artistic statement. A lack of artistic skill is not essential for a work to be included; a prospective painting or sculpture for the collection ideally should "[result] in a compelling image", or as honorary curator Ollie Hallowell stated, the art must have an "Oh my God" quality.
An important criterion for inclusion is that a painting or sculpture must not be boring. Michael Frank says they are not interested in commercial works like Dogs Playing Poker: "We collect things made in earnest, where people attempted to make art and something went wrong, either in the execution or in the original premise." Montserrat College of Art used MOBA's exhibition as a demonstration to its students that "sincerity is still important, and pureness of intent is valid".
MOBA accepts unsolicited works if they meet its standards. Frequently, curators consider works by artists who display an intensity or emotion in the art that they are unable to reconcile with their level of skill. The museum dedicated a show to "relentless creativity" in an exhibition titled "I Just Can't Stop" that was covered by local news and CNN. Other artists are clearly technically proficient, but attempted an experiment that did not end well. Michael Frank has compared some of the works at MOBA with outsider art or art brut; some MOBA artists' works are also included in other galleries' outsider collections. Dean Nimmer, a professor at the Massachusetts College of Art (also holding the title of MOBA's Executive Director of Good Taste), noted the parallels between the Museum of Bad Art's standards and those of other institutions: "They take the model of a museum of fine arts and apply the same kind of criteria to acceptance for bad work ... [Their rules] are very similar to a gallery or museum that says 'Well, our area is really installation art or realist paintings or neo-post-modern abstractions.
MOBA does not collect art created by children, or art traditionally perceived as lesser in quality, such as black velvet paintings, paint-by-numbers, kitsch, or factory-produced art—including works specifically created for tourists. Curators are also not interested in crafts such as latch hook rug kits. MOBA curators suggest that more appropriate venues for such works would be the "Museum of Questionable Taste, The International Schlock Collection, or the National Treasury of Dubious Home Decoration".
The Museum of Bad Art has been accused of being anti-art, or taking works that were sincerely rendered and mocking them. However, Scott Wilson insists that a work of art accepted into MOBA is a celebration of the artist's enthusiasm. Marie Jackson reiterated this thought, saying "I think it's a great encouragement to people... who want to create [and] are held back by fear, and when they see these pieces, they realize there's nothing to be afraid of—just go for it." Louise Reilly Sacco agreed, stating, "If we're making fun of something, it's the art community, not the artists. But this is a real museum. It's 10 years. It's 6,000 people on a mailing list. It's recognition all over the world." Curators insist that artists whose works are selected by MOBA enjoy the attention and that it is a win-win; the museum gains another work of art, and the artist receives exposure in a museum. A 1997 article in The Chicago Tribune stated that none of the 10 to 15 artists who had stepped forward to acknowledge their work in MOBA had been upset.
Many of the works in MOBA are donated, often by the artists themselves. Others come from yard sales or thrift stores; the Trash Collectors Union in Cambridge, Massachusetts has donated works rescued from imminent demise. Occasionally a painting may be purchased; at one time MOBA's policy was not to spend more than $6.50 on any piece. More recently, twice and even three times that amount has been paid for an exceptional work. Those pieces not retained by the museum are included in a "Rejection Collection" that may be sold at auction. In the past, some proceeds went to the Salvation Army for providing so many of MOBA's pieces; the museum itself usually benefits from most auctions.
Collection highlights
Each painting or sculpture MOBA exhibits is accompanied by a brief description of the medium, size, name of the artist, as well as how the piece was acquired, and an analysis of the work's possible intention or symbolism. Museums Journal noted that the discussion accompanying each work would most likely have most visitors reduced "to hysterics". The captions—described as "distinctly tongue-in-cheek commentaries" by David Mutch of the Christian Science Monitor—were primarily written by Marie Jackson, until the "dissolution of the MOBA interpretative staff"; the task was then taken over by Michael Frank and Louise Reilly Sacco.
Lucy in the Field with Flowers
Many of MOBA's works generate extensive discourse from visitors. Lucy in the Field with Flowers (oil on canvas by Unknown; acquired from trash in Boston) remains a favorite with the news media and patrons. As the first work acquired by the museum, Lucy is "a painting so powerful it commands its own preservation for posterity", setting a standard by which all future acquisitions would be compared, and causing MOBA's founders to question if Scott Wilson found Lucy or she found him.
Kate Swoger of The Montreal Gazette called Lucy a "gorgeous mistake", describing her thus: "an elderly woman dancing in a lush spring field, sagging breasts flopping willy-nilly, as she inexplicably seems to hold a red chair to her behind with one hand and a clutch of daisies in the other". Author Cash Peters, using less florid language, summarized it as "the old woman with an armchair glued to her ass".
MOBA's statement about Lucy reads: "The motion, the chair, the sway of her breast, the subtle hues of the sky, the expression on her face—every detail combines to create this transcendent and compelling portrait, every detail cries out 'masterpiece'." The Times recounted comments left by a museum visitor regarding the "endless layers of mysteries" the image offers: "What is Norman Mailer's head doing on an innocent grandma's body, and are those crows or F-16s skimming the hills?"
Lucy granddaughter, a Boston-area nurse named Susan Lawlor, became a fan of MOBA after seeing the portrait in a newspaper. She recognized it as her grandmother, Anna Lally Keane (c. 1890–1968); upon seeing the picture, Lawlor snorted Coca-Cola from her nose in astonishment. The painting was commissioned by her mother, and it hung in her aunt's house for many years, despite the trepidation family members felt at seeing the final composition. Says Lawlor: "The face is hauntingly hers, but everything else is so horribly wrong. It looks like she only has one breast. I'm not sure what happened to her arms and legs, and I don't know where all the flowers and yellow sky came from."
Sunday on the Pot with George
Sunday on the Pot with George (acrylic on canvas by John Gedraitis; donated by Jim Schulman) has been deemed "iconic" by Bella English of The Boston Globe, who assures the work is "100 percent guaranteed to make you burst out laughing". Wilson has pointed to George as an example of a technically well-executed piece of art using a subject not usually seen rendered in paint.
Many admirers of the first work donated to MOBA are hypnotized by the image of a portly man wearing "Y-front" underwear while sitting on a chamber pot, in pointillist impressionism similar to the style of Georges Seurat. One critic speculates the pointillist style in George may have been acquired "from watching too much TV". The title refers to the Stephen Sondheim musical Sunday in the Park with George, which contains a dramatic recreation of Seurat's painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. Author Amy Levin suggests that George is a pastiche of Seurat's painting. The subject of this painting has been "tentatively identified" by the Annals of Improbable Research—the creators of the Ig Nobel award—as John Ashcroft, former United States Attorney General.
A visitor was so moved by George he felt compelled to express his gratitude for its display in the Dedham Community Theatre basement, writing "Someone had slipped into the bathroom as I took in this painting and began peeing loudly into a toilet. The reverberating sound of urine splashing while viewing George brought the painting to life, and when the denouement of the flush sounded, I wept." MOBA's accompanying caption introduces questions and observations: "Can the swirling steam melt away the huge weight of George's corporate responsibilities? This pointillist piece is curious for meticulous attention to fine detail, such as the stitching around the edge of the towel, in contrast to the almost careless disregard for the subject's feet."
Bone-Juggling Dog in Hula Skirt
In contrast to the pointillist impressionism of George, the museum also features a "fine example of labor-intensive pointlessism", according to MOBA staff. Mari Newman's Bone-Juggling Dog in Hula Skirt (tempera and acrylic paint on canvas; donated by the artist), inspired this description by MOBA: "We can only wonder what possesses an artist to portray a dog juggling bones while wearing a hula skirt." MOBA enjoys the mystery as much as any other aspect of art, however.
Newman, a professional artist from Minneapolis, responded to the curators' cogitation by describing how the image came into being. She bought used canvases while a poor art student, and was unsure how to use a canvas with these dimensions. Inspired by a cartoon of a dachshund, she chose that as a subject, but was unhappy with the effect until she added a hula skirt she had seen in a magazine, and colored dog bones she spied in a pet store. Newman wrote to them, saying "I almost threw it out until I heard of MOBA. After many years of slashing rejected work, now I wish I had saved them all for you."
Motifs and interpretations
Travel writer Cash Peters identifies six characteristics common to many of the museum's artworks. The first is that MOBA artists are unable to render hands or feet, and mask them by extending figures' arms off the canvas, hiding them with long sleeves, or placing shoes on feet in inappropriate scenarios. Second, Peters compared artists Rembrandt and J. M. W. Turner, masters of landscapes, who "could probably paint with their eyes shut" to MOBA artists who apparently did paint with their eyes shut, as skies are often painted in any color but blue, flora are created without reference to any existing plant organisms, and fauna appear so small in the background it is impossible to discern what kind of animals they are. Third, MOBA artists apply perspective inconsistently, either from one painting to the next, or within a single work. Peters's fourth observation concerns the difficulty MOBA artists seem to have in successfully rendering noses: he writes that a nose will be attempted so many times that the work takes on a third dimension as paint is reapplied over and over. Fifth, bad artists favor "mixed media": if in doubt, they glue feathers, glitter, or hair to their work. Lastly, Peters suggests that artists know their work is bad, but apparently feel the piece may be saved by including a monkey or a poodle in the composition.
Since late 2008, MOBA has been experimenting with allowing the public to title and caption some works. According to the curatorial staff, since some of the works are so puzzling, mere artistic interpretation is not sufficient: they must be "interpretated". The "Guest Interpretator's Collection" is an invitation for MOBA's visitors to include their thoughts on compelling artworks; a contest decides the best analysis and these interpretations are added as each contest ends. A professor at Boston University offered his thoughts: "The location of the museum as much as its collection suggests a commitment to the abject and a belief in the power and force of culture's marginalized effects. I was also reminded that I need to pick up some toilet bowl cleaner on my way home!"
Influence
The Museum of Bad Art has been mentioned in hundreds of international publications, as well as in Boston-area travel guides highlighting offbeat attractions. It has inspired similar collections or events in Australia, Ohio, and Seattle.
Commedia Beauregard, a theatre company whose mission focuses on translation, was inspired by MOBA's mission to create their Master Works series of short play festivals. The company commissioned six playwrights to write short plays based on MOBA artworks. Master Works: The MOBA Plays was originally performed in January and February 2009 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The plays were based on the MOBA pieces Mana Lisa, Invasion of the Office Zombies, My Left Foot, Bone-Juggling Dog in Hula Skirt, Gina's Demons, and Lulli, Fowl and Gravestone. After moving to Chicago, the company again produced The MOBA Plays in March and April 2011, using three of the original plays and translating three new paintings.
Responses to bad art
Museum visitors can sign a guest book, and leave comments. One Canadian visitor wrote: "This collection is disturbing, yet I can't seem to look away...Just like a hideous car accident." Another visitor warns: "Her nipples follow you around the room. Creepy!"
Response to MOBA's opening and continued success is, for some, evocative of the way art is treated in society. MOBA works have been described as "unintentionally hilarious", similar to the atrocious films of Ed Wood. Visitors—and even MOBA staff—often laugh out loud at displays. In Gullible's Travels, Cash Peters contrasted this behavior with what is expected of patrons at galleries such as Southern California's Getty Museum; though viewers might find the art at the Getty equally hilarious, were they to show it they would almost certainly be thrown out.
In 2006, Louise Reilly Sacco participated in a panel discussion with authorities on art and architecture about standards of beauty and ugliness in art, published in Architecture Boston. She remarked that teachers bring high school art students to MOBA, then to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA). Sacco observes, "Somehow MOBA frees kids to laugh and point, to have their own opinions and argue about things. Then they take the experience to the MFA, where they might otherwise feel intimidated... Maybe the ugly ... frees us." Sacco believes that extreme ugliness is more striking than extreme beauty, and it forces people to think more deeply about what is wrong or misplaced. She connects this rigid judgment of what does not conform to beauty with intolerance for physical imperfections in people, noting that such rigidity sometimes causes parents to "fix" the perceived flaws in their children's faces to keep them from suffering later.
Jason Kaufman, a Harvard professor who teaches the sociology of culture, wrote that MOBA is part of a social trend he calls "annoyism", where mass media venues promote performances and artists who mix the deliberately bad with the clever. The Museum of Bad Art happens to embody this trend, and further illustrates its central aim to mock the judgment system by which people identify what is bad from what is not. For Kaufman, "The beauty of MOBA—though beauty is surely the wrong word—is the way it undermines aesthetic criteria from numerous angles." Amy Levin, describing how American history and culture have been shaped by small local museums, suggests that MOBA is a parody of art itself, and that MOBA's commentary, newsletter, website, and publications mock museums as authorities on what is good art. The director of the Ellipse Arts Center, a gallery in Arlington, Virginia, that hosted a traveling exhibition of MOBA works, was astonished to see people's exuberant laughter because no one visiting the Ellipse had ever responded to art this way. She observed, "If I didn't have a sign on the door, people might not think it's so bad. Who's to say what's bad and what's good?"
Deborah Solomon, in The New York Times Magazine, asserted that MOBA's success reflects a trend in modern art among artists and audiences. The arrival of abstraction and modern art in the early 20th century made art appreciation more esoteric and less accessible for the general community, showing that "the American public ... think[s] of museums as intimidating places ruled by a cadre of experts whose taste and rituals [seem] as mysterious as those of Byzantine priests." Bad art is in vogue, as a movement that rejects the anti-sentimentalism that marked earlier disdain for artists such as Norman Rockwell or Gustave Moreau, according to Solomon. Garen Daly, a MOBA fan on several Boston-area art councils, stated in 1995, "I go to a lot of openings, and sometimes they're pretty damn stuffy." Not only does the Museum of Bad Art offer different fare for the eyes, but instead of the wine and cheese that is provided for most museum and art gallery visitors, a MOBA show provides its patrons with Kool-Aid, Fluffernutters and cheese puffs.
Use in academic research
The Museum of Bad Art has been used in academic studies as a standard of reference for the spectacularly awful. In one such study, published in Perspectives on Psychological Science, researchers tested the consistency of responses between people asked to make "gut" judgments versus those who gave conscious well-reasoned responses regarding the quality of various pieces of art. The researchers showed respondents images from MOBA and New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), and asked them to rate each painting on a scale with two ends representing "Very Attractive" and "Very Unattractive". The study found that those who reasoned in conscious thought were neither more accurate nor as consistent in their ratings. Study participants identified and rated MoMA art higher quality, but those who used conscious reasoning did not find MoMA art more attractive than those who rated with "gut" judgments. Furthermore, the deliberators did not find MOBA art as unattractive as those with quicker response times. The study concluded that people who make quick judgments do so more consistently, with no significant change to accuracy.
In another study that appeared in the British Journal of Psychology, researchers tested how respondents considered balance in artwork composition of differing qualities. Fifteen pairs of works from ArtCyclopedia by artists such as Paul Gauguin, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Georges-Pierre Seurat, and fifteen from MOBA by artists including Doug Caderette, Unknown, and D. Alix were shown to participants; in each, an item in the painting was shifted vertically or horizontally, and respondents were asked to identify the original. The researchers hypothesized that respondents would identify balance and composition more easily in the traditional masterworks, and that study participants would find a greater change of quality when items were shifted in traditional masterworks than they would in MOBA pieces. However, the study concluded that balance alone did not define art of higher quality for the participants, and that respondents were more likely to see that original art was more balanced than the altered version, not necessarily that the traditional art was significantly better composed and balanced than MOBA works.
See also
Museum of Particularly Bad Art
Notes
References
External links
Dedham Community Theatre
Somerville Theater
Bad Taste Meets Bad Art: coverage of MOBA from Minnesota Public Radio
Museum Spotlight: Museum of Bad Art: Coverage of MOBA from Museum Bookstore
Museum of Bad Art
Art museums established in 1994
Art museums and galleries in Massachusetts
Museum of Bad Art
Museum of Bad Art
Museum of Bad Art
Museum of Bad Art
Museums in Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Museums in Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Professional humor
Outsider art
American satire | en |
doc-en-8694 | Proas are various types of multi-hull outrigger sailboats of the Austronesian peoples. The terms were used for native Austronesian ships in European records during the Colonial era indiscriminately, and thus can confusingly refer to the double-ended single-outrigger boats of Oceania, the double-outrigger boats of Island Southeast Asia, and sometimes ships with no outriggers or sails at all.
In its most common usage, the term proa refers to the Pacific proas which consist of two (usually) unequal-length parallel hulls. It is sailed so that one hull is kept to windward, and the other to leeward. It is double-ended, since it needs to "shunt" to reverse direction when tacking. It is most famously used for the sakman ships of the Chamorro people of the Northern Marianas, which were known as the "flying proas" for their remarkable speed.
In Island Southeast Asia, the term proa may also sometimes be used, but the terms perahu, prau, prahu, paraw and prow are more common. These differ from the Pacific proas in that they are not double-ended and have a trimaran configuration with two outriggers. These are widely used in the native ships of Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, and continue to be used today as traditional fishing, cargo, and transport vessels.
Proas are traditionally rigged with the crab claw and tanja sails. The modern proa exists in a wide variety of forms, from the traditional archetype still common in areas described, to high-technology interpretations specifically designed for breaking speed-sailing records.
Etymology
The term "proa" originates from Early Modern English "prow" or "praw". It probably entered the English language via Dutch prauw and Portuguese parau, similar to Spanish proa, meaning "bow". It is likely ultimately derived from Malay perahu meaning "boat", from the Proto-Western-Malayo-Polynesian doublets *parahu and *padaw, both meaning "sailboat". Its cognates in other Austronesian languages include Javanese prau, Sundanese parahu, Kadazan padau, Maranao padaw, Cebuano paráw, Ngadha barau, Kiribati baurua, Samoan folau, Hawaiian halau, and Māori wharau.
History
Catamarans and outrigger boats were very early innovations of the Austronesian peoples and were the first true ocean-going ships capable of crossing vast distances of water. This enabled the Austronesian peoples to rapidly spread from Taiwan and colonize the islands of both the Pacific and Indian oceans since at least 2200 BC. The first outriggers evolved from the more primitive double-hulled catamarans. There are two types of outrigger ships based on the number of outriggers: the single-outriggers (which include catamarans with unequal hulls) and the double-outriggers (sometimes called trimarans). Single-outriggers evolved first and are the dominant form of Austronesians ships in Oceania and Madagascar. They have largely been replaced by the more versatile double-outrigger ships in Island Southeast Asia. Double-outrigger forms, however, are absent entirely in Oceania.
Catamaran and outrigger technologies were introduced by Austronesian traders from Southeast Asia to the Dravidian-speaking peoples of Sri Lanka and Southern India as early as 1000 to 600 BC. This is still evident in the terms for "boat" in Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada (paṭavu, paḍava, and paḍahu, respectively), which are all cognates of Proto-Western-Malayo-Polynesian *padaw. Early contact by Austronesians with Arab sailors may have also influenced the development of the lateen sail in western ship traditions, derived from the more ancient Austronesian crab claw sail.
Many of these traditional vessels are now extinct. Either lost during the colonial period or supplanted in modern times by western boat designs or fitted with motor engines.
Historical descriptions of the proa
The Portuguese were the first Europeans to encounter the double-outrigger Southeast Asian ships, initially with derivative vessels from the Malabar Coast, which they called the parau. They applied the same name to similar ships in their colonies in Southeast Asia. Similarly, the Dutch encountered them when they colonized the islands of Indonesia, calling them prauw. This was rendered as "praw" by the British, later evolving to "proa". In French territories in the Pacific Islands, they were known by the more general term pirogue. Although technically restricted to outrigger sailing vessels, European sources often applied the term indiscriminately to any native ships of Southeast Asia.
The earliest written accounts of the single-outrigger Pacific proa (though not by name) were by the Venetian scholar Antonio Pigafetta, who was part of Ferdinand Magellan's 1519–1522 circumnavigation. They encountered the native sakman ships of the Chamorro people in the Islas de los Ladrones (Mariana Islands). Pigafetta describes the outrigger layout of the sakman, and ability to switch bow for stern, and also notes its speed and maneuverability, noting, "And although the ships were under full sail, they passed between them and the small boats (fastened astern), very adroitly in those small boats of theirs." Pigafetta likened the sakman to the Venetian fisolere, a narrow variety of gondola.
The accounts of Magellan's crew were the first to describe the Chamorro proas as "flying." The subsequent colonization of the Micronesia and the Philippines provided further references to proas in Spanish records. They also described double-outrigger ships from the Philippines, like the account of the karakoa in Francisco Ignacio Alcina's Historia de las islas e indios de Bisayas (1668) which describes them as "sailing like birds."
During his 1740–1744 circumnavigation, Lord Anson applied the term proa to the double-ended Micronesian single-outrigger ships. His fleet captured one in 1742, and Lt. Peircy Brett of made a detailed sketch of the proa. Rev. Richard Walter, chaplain of HMS Centurion, estimated the speed of the proa at twenty miles per hour (32 km/h). Although aware of earlier Spanish accounts of the boats of the Spanish East Indies, Anson's account was the first detailed description of a Pacific proa to the English-speaking world. In the subsequent voyages of James Cook in Polynesia, he referred to the similar native single-outrigger canoes there as "proes", differentiating them from the double-hulled catamarans which he called "pahee" (Tahitian pahi).
These accounts fascinated both the British and American public, ushering in a period of interest in the design by sports sailors. Working from the drawings and descriptions of explorers, western builders often took liberties with the traditional designs, merging their interpretation of native designs with Western boat building methods. Thus this Western "proa" often diverged radically from the traditional "proa" to the point that the only shared feature was the windward/leeward hull arrangement.
The Proa darted like a shooting star
Lord Byron, "The Island", 1823
Modern variations
In the Marshall Islands, where the craft were traditionally built, there has been a resurgence of interest in the proa. People hold annual kor-kor races in the lagoon at Majuro, along with events such as a children's riwut race. The kor-kors are built in traditional style out of traditional materials, though the sails are made with modern materials (often inexpensive polyethylene tarpaulins, commonly known as polytarp).
A loose group of individuals from all over the world has formed from those interested in the proa, including people with a historical perspective and those with a scientific and engineering perspective. Many such individuals are members of the Amateur Yacht Research Society.
Early Western proas
In the late 19th century and early 20th century, many in Europe and America became interested in the proa. Western boat builders such as R. M. Munroe and Robert Barnwell Roosevelt (Theodore Roosevelt's uncle) reflected its influence. Into the 20th century, the proa was one of the fastest sailing craft that existed. The proa design is still the basis for many boats involved in speed sailing.
The first well-documented Western version of the proa was built in 1898 by Commodore Ralph Middleton Munroe of the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club. Yacht-design giant Nathanael Herreshoff, a friend of Munroe, may have also had an interest in the project. A small model of the Anson-Brett proa is collected at the Herreshoff Marine Museum in Rhode Island; its maker is uncertain.
Over the following years, Munroe built several more. They were all destroyed by the mid-1930s, when a severe hurricane leveled Munroe's bayside boatshop. At least two of his designs were documented in articles in The Rudder, as was one by Robert B. Roosevelt. Small proas may have been brought back to the United States in the late 19th century, but documentation is sparse. Munroe and Roosevelt appeared to be the first two builders to adapt the proa to Western building techniques.
Royal Mersey Yacht Club
In 1860 a member of the Royal Mersey Yacht Club in England built a copy of a Micronesian proa. He used the traditional asymmetric hull, flat on the lee side, and a decked dugout ama. While no quantitative record was made of its speed, it was noted that the proa would run at speeds that would bury the bows of any other vessel. It carried three times the ratio of sail area to immersed midships section than the fastest yachts in the club and yet drew only .
Munroe's 1898 proa
Since Munroe had no direct experience with proas, all he had to work with was the widely distributed and incorrect plan drawing from about 1742, made during Admiral Lord Anson's circumnavigation of the globe. This drawing had been circulated in the press, for example in William Alden's articles in Harper's Magazine. (These were reprinted in a small book called The Canoe and the Flying Proa.) This proa was one of several either captured or seen under sail when Anson stopped at Tinian during a Pacific crossing. Brett, the draughtsman of the plan, is thought by some to have misinterpreted one key element, showing the mast fixed vertically in the center of the boat. This view as based on the fact that other Micronesian proa masts were raked end-to-end as the vessel shunted and the fact that a raked mast shifts the center of effort of the sail which would influence helm balance. However, Brett's placing of the mast in a vertical position has found to be accurate when replicas of the "Anson" proa were built and sailed by the Marinas-based organization 500 Sails that found that in many points of sail under many conditions the proa sailed well with the mast in a vertical position. 500 Sails also found that the mast could be raked to advantage in many situations and noted that the mast step depicted in the "Anson" drawing could be interpreted as depicting a rotational point rather than a rigid mast step that would not allow raking. 500 Sails canoes employ rotational mast steps that allow mast raking.
Munroe, however, was a talented boat designer who was able to work around any problems with the drawings. His adaptations can be seen in successive proas. Rather than the deep, asymmetric hull of a traditional proa, Munroe created flat-bottomed hulls (similar to the fisolera referred to by Pigafetta), with keels or centerboards for lateral resistance. His first iteration had an iron center fin with a half-oval profile. Rather than the traditional crab-claw sail's spars which meet at the front, Munroe's sails used what could be described as a triangular lug sail or spritsail with a boom, similar to the modern lateen sail with a shorter upper spar.
Munroe's first proa was only long, yet was capable of speeds which Munroe estimated at . His article in The Rudder describes what can only be planing on the flat hull. As this was before the advent of planing power boats, this proa was one of the first boats capable of planing. This helped produce its amazing speed when most boats were limited to their hull speed—they had too little power to achieve planing speed, and yet were not designed to exceed hull speed without planing. For example, a boat with too little power to plane, and with a hull form and displacement that didn't permit it to exceed hull speed without planing, would have a maximum speed of about ; Munroe's proa could reach nearly 2.5 times that speed. This accomplishment was the nautical equivalent to the X-1 breaking the sound barrier.
It is not clear that traditional proas of the Pacific islanders could plane, though the long, slender hull would have a much higher speed/length ratio than other contemporary designs. Munroe was building a "cheap and dirty" sharpie hull made of two planks, a couple of bulkheads and a crossplanked bottom. By lucky accident he may have been the first sailor to plane his boat.
Roosevelt's Mary & Lamb
Robert Barnwell Roosevelt, uncle of American President Theodore Roosevelt, also built a proa at about the same time. He used it sailing from Long Island. It was significantly different but equally creative, and at , much longer. From his 1898 article in The Rudder, it appeared the main hull of Roosevelt's proa was an open wide scow hull; the ama was a smaller, fully decked scow which looked like it could rock on a single aka. The mast was a bipod arrangement with both masts stepped to windward, with a boomed, balanced lugsail suspended from the apex. A balanced rudder at each end managed itself by pivoting 180° when its end was the "bow", and leeboards were used.
Roosevelt's short article is accompanied by photographs showing his proa Mary & Lamb, at rest and under sail. It is not clear if the boat predated Munroe's 1898 proa.
Munroe's 1900 Proa
Since Munroe wasn't aware of the raking mast, his 1900 model used two daggerboards set fore and aft of the mast, which would allow adjustment of the center of lateral resistance to provide helm balance. From the drawings, it appears the mast is higher as well, allowing a larger sail. The sail design also changed, with the upper spar now being slightly longer than the upper edge of the sail, and projecting past the apex slightly to allow the apex to be attached to the hull. The sail was loose footed, with the boom attached to the upper spar near the sail apex, and to the clew of the sail. His article in a 1900 issue of The Rudder included more details on the construction of his second proa. A 1948 book of sailboat plans published by The Rudder includes the following specifications for the 1900 proa:
Length overall
Beam (of main hull)
Draft of hull about
Draft with boards down
Sail area
From the drawings, the distance from the center of the main hull to the center of the aka is about .
Other Western interpretations
Western designers often feel the need to tinker with the proa. They are attracted by the minimalist nature and amazing speeds that proas are capable of (they may still be the fastest sailboats per dollar spent for the home builder) but they often want the proa to do more; adding cabins, different sailing rigs, and bidirectional rudders are common changes made. James Wharram was greatly influenced by the Proa design.
For example, unconventional boat and yacht designer Phil Bolger drew at least three proa designs; the smallest one (20 ft) has been built by several people while the larger two, including his Proa 60, have not been built. For additional examples, see here.
Lee pods
The terms ama and aka have been adopted for the modern trimaran. Since trimarans are generally designed to sail with one ama out of the water, they are similar to an Atlantic proa, with the buoyant leeward ama providing the bulk of the stability for the long, relatively thin main hull. Some modern proa designers have borrowed trimaran design elements for use in proas. Trimarans often have main hulls that are very narrow at the waterline, and flare out and extend over a significant portion of the akas. This topheavy design is only practical in a multihull, and it has been adapted by some proa designers. Notable examples are the designs of Russell Brown, a boat-fittings maker who designed and built his first proa, Jzero, in the mid-1970s. He has created a number of proa designs, all of which follow the same theme.
One of the design elements which Brown used, and a number of other designers have copied, is the lee pod. The akas extend past the main hull and out to the lee side, and provide support for a cabin extending to the lee of the main hull. This is similar to the platform extending to the lee on some Micronesian proas. The lee pod serves two purposes—it can be used for bunk space or storage, and it provides additional buoyancy on the lee side to prevent a capsize should the boat heel too far. Crew can also be moved onto the lee pod to provide additional heeling force in light winds, allowing the ama to lift under circumstances when it would not otherwise. The Jzero also used water ballast in the ama to allow the righting moment to be significantly increased if needed. While Brown's proa was designed to be a cruising yacht, not a speed-sailing boat, the newer Jzerro is capable of speeds of up to .
Sail rigs
One of the issues Western designers have with the proa is the need to manipulate the sail when shunting. Even Munroe's early sails discarded the curved yards of the traditional crabclaw for the more familiar straight yards of the lateen and lug sails. Munroe's designs likely lacked the tilting mast because he was unaware of it, but many designers since have use a fixed mast, and provided some other way of adjusting the center of effort. Most sailboats are designed with the center of effort of the sails slightly ahead of the center of area of the underwater plane; this difference is called "lead." In a proa hull, and in all fore and aft symmetric foils, the center of resistance is not at or even near the center of the boat, it is well forward of the geometric center of area. Thus the center of effort of the sails needs to also be well forward, or at least needs to have a sail which is well forward which can be sheeted in to start the boat moving, allowing the rudders to bite and keep the boat from heading up when the entire sail area is sheeted in. Jzero, for example, and all of Russell Brown's other designs, use a sloop rig and hoist a jib on whichever end is the current "bow". Other designs use a schooner rig for the same effect.
One of the more practical rigs for small proas was invented by Euell Gibbons around 1950 for a small, single handed proa. This rig was a loose footed lateen sail hung from a centered mast. The sail was symmetric across the yard, and to shunt, what was previously the top end of the yard was lowered and became the bottom end, reversing the direction of the sail. Proa enthusiast Gary Dierking modified this design further, using a curved yard and a boom perpendicular to the yard. This allows a greater control of the sail shape than the traditional Gibbons rig, while retaining the simple shunting method, and is often referred to as the Gibbons/Dierking rig.
Foils
While a proa is fairly efficient at minimizing the amount of wave drag and maximizing stability, there is at least one way to go even further. The use of underwater foils to provide lift or downforce has been a popular idea recently in cutting-edge yacht building, and the proa is not immune to this influence.
The Bruce foil is a foil that provides a lateral resistance with zero heeling moment by placing the foil to either or both of the leeward and the windward sides, angled so the direction of the force passes through the center of effort of the sail. Since proas already have an outrigger to the windward side, a simple angled foil mounted on the ama becomes a Bruce foil, making the already stable proa even more stable. Bruce foils are often combined with inclined rigs, which results in a total cancellation of heeling forces. Inclined rigs are also well suited to the proa, as the direction of incline remains constant during shunting.
Another use of foils is to provide lift, turning the boat into a hydrofoil. Hydrofoils require significant speeds to work, but once the hull is lifted out of the water, the drag is significantly reduced. Many speed sailing designs have been based on a proa type configuration equipped with lifting foils.
Variations on the theme
In a non-traditional variant, first seen among Western yacht racers, the "Atlantic proa" has an ama which is always to the lee side to provide buoyancy for stability, rather than ballast as in a traditional proa. Because the Atlantic ama is at least as long as the main hull, to reduce wave drag, this style can also be thought of as an asymmetric catamaran that shunts rather than tacking. The first Atlantic proa was the Cheers, designed in 1968 by boat designer Dick Newick for the 1968 OSTAR solo transatlantic race, in which it placed third. Newkirk's designs are primarily trimarans, and the Atlantic proa's buoyant outrigger follows naturally from a conversion of a trimaran from a tacking to a shunting vessel.
Other proa designers blur the lines between Atlantic and Pacific style proas. The Harryproa from Australia uses a long, thin hull to lee, and a short, fat hull, containing the cabin, to windward. This would normally be more like an Atlantic proa, but the rig is on the lee hull, leaving it technically a Pacific design. This and other similar proas place the bulk of the passenger accommodations on the ama, in an attempt to make the vaka as streamlined as possible, and put much of the mass in the lee side to provide a greater righting moment.
Perhaps the most extreme variants of the proa are the ones designed for pure speed. These often completely discard symmetry, and are designed to sail only in one direction relative to the wind; performance in the other direction is either seriously compromised or impossible. These are "one way" proas, such as world record speed holding Yellow Pages Endeavour, or YPE. While the YPE is often called a trimaran, it would be more correct to call it a Pacific proa, because two of the planing/hydrofoil hulls are in line. This design has been considered by others as well, such as the Monomaran designs by "The 40 knot Sailboat" author Bernard Smith, and these designs been called 3-point proas by some, a reference to the 3 point hulls used in hydroplanes. A previous record holding design, the Crossbow II, owned by Timothy Colman was a proa/catamaran hybrid. Crossbow II was a "slewing" catamaran, able to slew her hulls to allow clear airflow to her leeward bipod sail. Although the hulls appeared identical, the boat had all crew and controls, cockpit etc. in her windward hull; the leeward hull was stripped bare for minimal weight.
Speed records
In March 2009, two new sailing speed records were set by vehicles based on the proa concept, one on land, and one on the water.
On March 26, 2009, Simon McKeon and Tim Daddo set a new C-class speed sailing record of over 500 meters in the Macquarie Innovation, successor to their previous record holding Yellow Pages Endeavour, with a peak speed of . The record was set in winds of 22 to , and came close to taking the absolute speed record on water, currently held by l'Hydroptère. Conditions during the record-setting run were less than ideal for the Maquarie Innovation, which is anticipated to have a top speed of – .
On March 27, 2009, Richard Jenkins set a world wind-powered speed record, on land, of 126.1 miles per hour (202.9 km/h) in the Ecotricity Greenbird. This broke the previous record by 10 miles per hour (16 km/h). The Greenbird is based on a one-way proa design, with a long, thin two-wheeled body with a third wheel to the lee acting as an ama. The aka, which is in the shape of a wing, provides a significant amount of downwards force at speed to counter the heeling force generated by the high-aspect wing sail.
See also
Austronesian languages
Kaep
Lashed-lug boat
Outrigger canoe
Tepukei
Vinta
References
External links
Sources of information on proas
Russel Brown on Proas, and interview with the builder of Kauri, Cimba, Jzero, and Jzerro, sloop rigged Pacific proas of 30 to 37 feet in length.
Guampedia, Guam's Online Encyclopedia Agadna, Chamorro Canoe Builders
The Proa File by Michael Schacht.
German proa website Information and links (mainly in German)
A summary of American proa designs can be found on Craig O'Donnell's Cheap Pages.
wikiproa a wiki dedicated to proas. Mostly home build smaller designs.
A collection of links to Proa-related websites from PacificProa.com
The University of Guam's Traditional Seafaring Society Webpage Micronesia.
Canoes in Micronesia by Marvin Montvel-Cohen; Micronesian working papers number 2, University of Guam Gallery of Art, David Robinson, Director, April 1970
Big collection of photos of ancient proas
2001 Marshall Island stamps, showing the Marshallese walap
Canoe Craze In Marshall Islands, Pacific Magazine, By Giff Johnson. Shows modern kor-kor racers in traditional boats with polytarp sails
Riwuit pictures, and detailed plans on building and tuning a riwuit
The Vaka Taumako Project page on Polynesian proas and sailing
Essay with photos of Kapingmarangi sailing canoes, Caroline Islands.
Duckworks Magazine article on the R.B. Roosevelt and Monroe proas
Waan Aelõñ in Majel (Canoes of the Marshall Islands) is a grassroots non-profit, non-government organization working with young Marshallese people.
Individual proa designs
Proagenesis.org: Hinged vector fin proa
World of Boats (EISCA) Collection ~ Ra Marama II, Fijian Proa
Mbuli – A Pacific Proa
P5 – a 5 m multichine proa
Harryproa website, detailing history and current developments of the Harry type proas
Dave Culp's untested unidirectional, single foil proa
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Gary Dierking's T2 proa design, showing the Gibbons/Dierking rig
Cheers, the first Atlantic proa
Rebuilding Cheers, by Vincent Besin
Video of Cheers' relaunch in 2006
Video of Jeremie Fischer's proa Equilibre shunting
Video of Toroa Micronesian style proa, designed and built by Michael Toy and Harmen Hielkema
Gizmo, an "experimental" minimalist proa by designer Jim Michalak
Madness – a Proa designed by John Harris
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doc-en-12360 | The utility frequency, (power) line frequency (American English) or mains frequency (British English) is the nominal frequency of the oscillations of alternating current (AC) in a wide area synchronous grid transmitted from a power station to the end-user. In large parts of the world this is 50 Hz, although in the Americas and parts of Asia it is typically 60 Hz. Current usage by country or region is given in the list of mains electricity by country.
During the development of commercial electric power systems in the late-19th and early-20th centuries, many different frequencies (and voltages) had been used. Large investment in equipment at one frequency made standardization a slow process. However, as of the turn of the 21st century, places that now use the 50 Hz frequency tend to use 220–240 V, and those that now use 60 Hz tend to use 100–127 V. Both frequencies coexist today (Japan uses both) with no great technical reason to prefer one over the other and no apparent desire for complete worldwide standardization.
In practice, the exact frequency of the grid varies around the nominal frequency, reducing when the grid is heavily loaded, and speeding up when lightly loaded. However, most utilities will adjust the frequency of the grid over the course of the day to ensure a constant number of cycles occur. This is used by some clocks to accurately maintain their time.
Operating factors
Several factors influence the choice of frequency in an AC system. Lighting, motors, transformers, generators, and transmission lines all have characteristics which depend on the power frequency. All of these factors interact and make selection of a power frequency a matter of considerable importance. The best frequency is a compromise among contradictory requirements.
In the late 19th century, designers would pick a relatively high frequency for systems featuring transformers and arc lights, so as to economize on transformer materials and to reduce visible flickering of the lamps, but would pick a lower frequency for systems with long transmission lines or feeding primarily motor loads or rotary converters for producing direct current. When large central generating stations became practical, the choice of frequency was made based on the nature of the intended load. Eventually improvements in machine design allowed a single frequency to be used both for lighting and motor loads. A unified system improved the economics of electricity production, since system load was more uniform during the course of a day.
Lighting
The first applications of commercial electric power were incandescent lighting and commutator-type electric motors. Both devices operate well on DC, but DC could not be easily changed in voltage, and was generally only produced at the required utilization voltage.
If an incandescent lamp is operated on a low-frequency current, the filament cools on each half-cycle of the alternating current, leading to perceptible change in brightness and flicker of the lamps; the effect is more pronounced with arc lamps, and the later mercury-vapor lamps and fluorescent lamps. Open arc lamps made an audible buzz on alternating current, leading to experiments with high-frequency alternators to raise the sound above the range of human hearing.
Rotating machines
Commutator-type motors do not operate well on high-frequency AC, because the rapid changes of current are opposed by the inductance of the motor field. Though commutator-type universal motors are common in AC household appliances and power tools, they are small motors, less than 1 kW. The induction motor was found to work well on frequencies around 50 to 60 Hz, but with the materials available in the 1890s would not work well at a frequency of, say, 133 Hz. There is a fixed relationship between the number of magnetic poles in the induction motor field, the frequency of the alternating current, and the rotation speed; so, a given standard speed limits the choice of frequency (and the reverse). Once AC electric motors became common, it was important to standardize frequency for compatibility with the customer's equipment.
Generators operated by slow-speed reciprocating engines will produce lower frequencies, for a given number of poles, than those operated by, for example, a high-speed steam turbine. For very slow prime mover speeds, it would be costly to build a generator with enough poles to provide a high AC frequency. As well, synchronizing two generators to the same speed was found to be easier at lower speeds. While belt drives were common as a way to increase speed of slow engines, in very large ratings (thousands of kilowatts) these were expensive, inefficient, and unreliable. After about 1906, generators driven directly by steam turbines favored higher frequencies. The steadier rotation speed of high-speed machines allowed for satisfactory operation of commutators in rotary converters.
The synchronous speed N in RPM is calculated using the formula,
where f is the frequency in hertz and P is the number of poles.
Direct-current power was not entirely displaced by alternating current and was useful in railway and electrochemical processes. Prior to the development of mercury arc valve rectifiers, rotary converters were used to produce DC power from AC. Like other commutator-type machines, these worked better with lower frequencies.
Transmission and transformers
With AC, transformers can be used to step down high transmission voltages to lower customer utilization voltage. The transformer is effectively a voltage conversion device with no moving parts and requiring little maintenance. The use of AC eliminated the need for spinning DC voltage conversion motor-generators that require regular maintenance and monitoring.
Since, for a given power level, the dimensions of a transformer are roughly inversely proportional to frequency, a system with many transformers would be more economical at a higher frequency.
Electric power transmission over long lines favors lower frequencies. The effects of the distributed capacitance and inductance of the line are less at low frequency.
System interconnection
Generators can only be interconnected to operate in parallel if they are of the same frequency and wave-shape. By standardizing the frequency used, generators in a geographic area can be interconnected in a grid, providing reliability and cost savings.
History
Many different power frequencies were used in the 19th century.
Very early isolated AC generating schemes used arbitrary frequencies based on convenience for steam engine, water turbine, and electrical generator design. Frequencies between Hz and Hz were used on different systems. For example, the city of Coventry, England, in 1895 had a unique 87 Hz single-phase distribution system that was in use until 1906. The proliferation of frequencies grew out of the rapid development of electrical machines in the period 1880 through 1900.
In the early incandescent lighting period, single-phase AC was common and typical generators were 8-pole machines operated at 2,000 RPM, giving a frequency of 133 hertz.
Though many theories exist, and quite a few entertaining urban legends, there is little certitude in the details of the history of 60 Hz vs. 50 Hz.
The German company AEG (descended from a company founded by Edison in Germany) built the first German generating facility to run at 50 Hz. At the time, AEG had a virtual monopoly and their standard spread to the rest of Europe. After observing flicker of lamps operated by the 40 Hz power transmitted by the Lauffen-Frankfurt link in 1891, AEG raised their standard frequency to 50 Hz in 1891.
Westinghouse Electric decided to standardize on a higher frequency to permit operation of both electric lighting and induction motors on the same generating system. Although 50 Hz was suitable for both, in 1890 Westinghouse considered that existing arc-lighting equipment operated slightly better on 60 Hz, and so that frequency was chosen. The operation of Tesla's induction motor, licensed by Westinghouse in 1888, required a lower frequency than the 133 Hz common for lighting systems at that time. In 1893 General Electric Corporation, which was affiliated with AEG in Germany, built a generating project at Mill Creek to bring electricity to Redlands, California using 50 Hz, but changed to 60 Hz a year later to maintain market share with the Westinghouse standard.
25 Hz origins
The first generators at the Niagara Falls project, built by Westinghouse in 1895, were 25 Hz, because the turbine speed had already been set before alternating current power transmission had been definitively selected. Westinghouse would have selected a low frequency of 30 Hz to drive motor loads, but the turbines for the project had already been specified at 250 RPM. The machines could have been made to deliver Hz power suitable for heavy commutator-type motors, but the Westinghouse company objected that this would be undesirable for lighting and suggested Hz. Eventually a compromise of 25 Hz, with 12-pole 250 RPM generators, was chosen. Because the Niagara project was so influential on electric power systems design, 25 Hz prevailed as the North American standard for low-frequency AC.
40 Hz origins
A General Electric study concluded that 40 Hz would have been a good compromise between lighting, motor, and transmission needs, given the materials and equipment available in the first quarter of the 20th century. Several 40 Hz systems were built. The Lauffen-Frankfurt demonstration used 40 Hz to transmit power 175 km in 1891. A large interconnected 40 Hz network existed in north-east England (the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Electric Supply Company, NESCO) until the advent of the National Grid (UK) in the late 1920s, and projects in Italy used 42 Hz. The oldest continuously operating commercial hydroelectric power station in the United States, Mechanicville Hydroelectric Plant, still produces electric power at 40 Hz and supplies power to the local 60 Hz transmission system through frequency changers. Industrial plants and mines in North America and Australia sometimes were built with 40 Hz electrical systems which were maintained until too uneconomic to continue. Although frequencies near 40 Hz found much commercial use, these were bypassed by standardized frequencies of 25, 50 and 60 Hz preferred by higher volume equipment manufacturers.
The Ganz Company of Hungary had standardized on 5000 alternations per minute (41 Hz) for their products, so Ganz clients had 41 Hz systems that in some cases ran for many years.
Standardization
In the early days of electrification, so many frequencies were used that no single value prevailed (London in 1918 had ten different frequencies). As the 20th century continued, more power was produced at 60 Hz (North America) or 50 Hz (Europe and most of Asia). Standardization allowed international trade in electrical equipment. Much later, the use of standard frequencies allowed interconnection of power grids. It was not until after World War II – with the advent of affordable electrical consumer goods – that more uniform standards were enacted.
In the United Kingdom, a standard frequency of 50 Hz was declared as early as 1904, but significant development continued at other frequencies. The implementation of the National Grid starting in 1926 compelled the standardization of frequencies among the many interconnected electrical service providers. The 50 Hz standard was completely established only after World War II.
By about 1900, European manufacturers had mostly standardized on 50 Hz for new installations. The German Verband der Elektrotechnik (VDE), in the first standard for electrical machines and transformers in 1902, recommended 25 Hz and 50 Hz as standard frequencies. VDE did not see much application of 25 Hz, and dropped it from the 1914 edition of the standard. Remnant installations at other frequencies persisted until well after the Second World War.
Because of the cost of conversion, some parts of the distribution system may continue to operate on original frequencies even after a new frequency is chosen. 25 Hz power was used in Ontario, Quebec, the northern United States, and for railway electrification. In the 1950s, many 25 Hz systems, from the generators right through to household appliances, were converted and standardized. Until 2009, some 25 Hz generators were still in existence at the Sir Adam Beck 1 (these were retrofitted to 60 Hz) and the Rankine generating stations (until its 2009 closure) near Niagara Falls to provide power for large industrial customers who did not want to replace existing equipment; and some 25 Hz motors and a 25 Hz power station exist in New Orleans for floodwater pumps. The 15 kV AC rail networks, used in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, and Norway, still operate at Hz or 16.7 Hz.
In some cases, where most load was to be railway or motor loads, it was considered economic to generate power at 25 Hz and install rotary converters for 60 Hz distribution. Converters for production of DC from alternating current were available in larger sizes and were more efficient at 25 Hz compared with 60 Hz. Remnant fragments of older systems may be tied to the standard frequency system via a rotary converter or static inverter frequency changer. These allow energy to be interchanged between two power networks at different frequencies, but the systems are large, costly, and waste some energy in operation.
Rotating-machine frequency changers used to convert between 25 Hz and 60 Hz systems were awkward to design; a 60 Hz machine with 24 poles would turn at the same speed as a 25 Hz machine with 10 poles, making the machines large, slow-speed, and expensive. A ratio of 60/30 would have simplified these designs, but the installed base at 25 Hz was too large to be economically opposed.
In the United States, Southern California Edison had standardized on 50 Hz. Much of Southern California operated on 50 Hz and did not completely change frequency of their generators and customer equipment to 60 Hz until around 1948. Some projects by the Au Sable Electric Company used 30 Hz at transmission voltages up to 110,000 volts in 1914.
Initially in Brazil, electric machinery were imported from Europe and United States, implying the country had both 50 Hz and 60 Hz standards according to each region. In 1938, the federal government made a law, Decreto-Lei 852, intended to bring the whole country under 50 Hz within eight years. The law did not work, and in the early 1960s it was decided that Brazil would be unified under 60 Hz standard, because most developed and industrialized areas used 60 Hz; and a new law Lei 4.454 was declared in 1964. Brazil underwent a frequency conversion program to 60 Hz that was not completed until 1978.
In Mexico, areas operating on 50 Hz grid were converted during the 1970s, uniting the country under 60 Hz.
In Japan, the western part of the country (Nagoya and west) uses 60 Hz and the eastern part (Tokyo and east) uses 50 Hz. This originates in the first purchases of generators from AEG in 1895, installed for Tokyo, and General Electric in 1896, installed in Osaka. The boundary between the two regions contains four back-to-back HVDC substations which convert the frequency; these are Shin Shinano, Sakuma Dam, Minami-Fukumitsu, and the Higashi-Shimizu Frequency Converter.
Utility frequencies in North America in 1897
Utility frequencies in Europe to 1900
Even by the middle of the 20th century, utility frequencies were still not entirely standardized at the now-common 50 Hz or 60 Hz. In 1946, a reference manual for designers of radio equipment listed the following now obsolete frequencies as in use. Many of these regions also had 50-cycle, 60-cycle, or direct current supplies.
Frequencies in use in 1946 (as well as 50 Hz and 60 Hz)
Where regions are marked (*), this is the only utility frequency shown for that region.
Railways
Other power frequencies are still used. Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, and Norway use traction power networks for railways, distributing single-phase AC at Hz or 16.7 Hz. A frequency of 25 Hz is used for the Austrian Mariazell Railway, as well as Amtrak and SEPTA's traction power systems in the United States. Other AC railway systems are energized at the local commercial power frequency, 50 Hz or 60 Hz.
Traction power may be derived from commercial power supplies by frequency converters, or in some cases may be produced by dedicated traction powerstations. In the 19th century, frequencies as low as 8 Hz were contemplated for operation of electric railways with commutator motors.
Some outlets in trains carry the correct voltage, but using the original train network frequency like Hz or 16.7 Hz.
400 Hz
Power frequencies as high as 400 Hz are used in aircraft, spacecraft, submarines, server rooms for computer power, military equipment, and hand-held machine tools. Such high frequencies cannot be economically transmitted long distances; the increased frequency greatly increases series impedance due to the inductance of transmission lines, making power transmission difficult. Consequently, 400 Hz power systems are usually confined to a building or vehicle.
Transformers, for example, can be made smaller because the magnetic core can be much smaller for the same power level. Induction motors turn at a speed proportional to frequency, so a high-frequency power supply allows more power to be obtained for the same motor volume and mass. Transformers and motors for 400 Hz are much smaller and lighter than at 50 or 60 Hz, which is an advantage in aircraft and ships. A United States military standard MIL-STD-704 exists for aircraft use of 400 Hz power.
Stability
Time error correction (TEC)
Regulation of power system frequency for timekeeping accuracy was not commonplace until after 1916 with Henry Warren's invention of the Warren Power Station Master Clock and self-starting synchronous motor. Tesla demonstrated the concept of clocks synchronized by line frequency at the 1893 Chicago Worlds fair. The Hammond Organ also depends on a synchronous AC clock motor to maintain correct speed of its internal "tone wheel" generator, thus keeping all notes pitch-perfect, based on power-line frequency stability.
Today, AC-power network operators regulate the daily average frequency so that clocks stay within a few seconds of correct time. In practice the nominal frequency is raised or lowered by a specific percentage to maintain synchronization. Over the course of a day, the average frequency is maintained at the nominal value within a few hundred parts per million. In the synchronous grid of Continental Europe, the deviation between network phase time and UTC (based on International Atomic Time) is calculated at 08:00 each day in a control center in Switzerland. The target frequency is then adjusted by up to ±0.01 Hz (±0.02%) from 50 Hz as needed, to ensure a long-term frequency average of exactly 50 Hz × 60 s/min × 60 min/h × 24 h/d = cycles per day. In North America, whenever the error exceeds 10 seconds for the east, 3 seconds for Texas, or 2 seconds for the west, a correction of ±0.02 Hz (0.033%) is applied. Time error corrections start and end either on the hour or on the half-hour. Efforts to remove the TEC in North America are described at electric clock.
Real-time frequency meters for power generation in the United Kingdom are available online – an official National Grid one, and an unofficial one maintained by Dynamic Demand.
Real-time frequency data of the synchronous grid of Continental Europe is available on websites such as and . The Frequency Monitoring Network (FNET) at the University of Tennessee measures the frequency of the interconnections within the North American power grid, as well as in several other parts of the world. These measurements are displayed on the FNET website.
US regulations
In the United States, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission made time error correction mandatory in 2009. In 2011, The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) discussed a proposed experiment that would relax frequency regulation requirements for electrical grids which would reduce the long-term accuracy of clocks and other devices that use the 60 Hz grid frequency as a time base.
Frequency and load
The primary reason for accurate frequency control is to allow the flow of alternating current power from multiple generators through the network to be controlled. The trend in system frequency is a measure of mismatch between demand and generation, and is a necessary parameter for load control in interconnected systems.
Frequency of the system will vary as load and generation change. Increasing the mechanical input power to any individual synchronous generator will not greatly affect the overall system frequency, but will produce more electric power from that unit. During a severe overload caused by tripping or failure of generators or transmission lines the power system frequency will decline, due to an imbalance of load versus generation. Loss of an interconnection while exporting power (relative to system total generation) will cause system frequency to increase upstream of the loss, but may cause a collapse downstream of the loss, as generation is now not keeping pace with consumption. Automatic generation control (AGC) is used to maintain scheduled frequency and interchange power flows. Control systems in power stations detect changes in the network-wide frequency and adjust mechanical power input to generators back to their target frequency. This counteracting usually takes a few tens of seconds due to the large rotating masses involved (although the large masses serve to limit the magnitude of short-term disturbances in the first place). Temporary frequency changes are an unavoidable consequence of changing demand. Exceptional or rapidly changing mains frequency is often a sign that an electricity distribution network is operating near its capacity limits, dramatic examples of which can sometimes be observed shortly before major outages. Large generating stations including solar farms can reduce their average output and use the headroom between operating load and maximum capacity to assist in providing grid regulation; response of solar inverters is faster than generators, because they have no rotating mass. As variable resources such as solar and wind replace traditional generation and the inertia they provided, algorithms have had to become more sophisticated. Energy storage systems, such as batteries, are fulfilling the regulation role to an expanding degree as well.
Frequency protective relays on the power system network sense the decline of frequency and automatically initiate load shedding or tripping of interconnection lines, to preserve the operation of at least part of the network. Small frequency deviations (e.g., 0.5 Hz on a 50 Hz or 60 Hz network) will result in automatic load shedding or other control actions to restore system frequency.
Smaller power systems, not extensively interconnected with many generators and loads, will not maintain frequency with the same degree of accuracy. Where system frequency is not tightly regulated during heavy load periods, the system operators may allow system frequency to rise during periods of light load, to maintain a daily average frequency of acceptable accuracy. Portable generators, not connected to a utility system, need not tightly regulate their frequency, because typical loads are insensitive to small frequency deviations.
Load-frequency control
Load-frequency control (LFC) is a type of integral control that restores the system frequency and power flows to adjacent areas back to their values before a change in load. The power transfer between different areas of a system is known as "net tie-line power".
The general control algorithm for LFC was developed by Nathan Cohn in 1971. The algorithm involves defining the term area control error (ACE), which is the sum of the net tie-line power error and the product of the frequency error with a frequency bias constant. When the area control error is reduced to zero, the control algorithm has returned the frequency and tie-line power errors to zero.
Audible noise and interference
AC-powered appliances can give off a characteristic hum, often called "mains hum", at the multiples of the frequencies of AC power that they use (see Magnetostriction). It is usually produced by motor and transformer core laminations vibrating in time with the magnetic field. This hum can also appear in audio systems, where the power supply filter or signal shielding of an amplifier is not adequate.
Most countries chose their television vertical synchronization rate to be the same as the local mains supply frequency. This helped to prevent power line hum and magnetic interference from causing visible beat frequencies in the displayed picture of early analogue TV receivers particularly from the mains transformer. Although some distortion of the picture was present, it went mostly un-noticed because it was stationary. The elimination of transformers by the use of AC/DC receivers, and other changes to set design helped minimise the effect and some countries now use a vertical rate that is an approximation to the supply frequency (most notably 60 Hz areas).
Another use of this side effect is as a forensic tool. When a recording is made that captures audio near an AC appliance or socket, the hum is also incidentally recorded. The peaks of the hum repeat every AC cycle (every ms for 50 Hz AC, or every ms for 60 Hz AC). The exact frequency of the hum should match the frequency of a forensic recording of the hum at the exact date and time that the recording is alleged to have been made. Discontinuities in the frequency match or no match at all will betray the authenticity of the recording.
See also
Mains electricity
Network analyzer (AC power)
Telechron
Further reading
Furfari, F.A., The Evolution of Power-Line Frequencies to 25 Hz, Industry Applications Magazine, IEEE, Sep/Oct 2000, Volume 6, Issue 5, Pages 12–14, .
Rushmore, D.B., Frequency, AIEE Transactions, Volume 31, 1912, pages 955–983, and discussion on pages 974–978.
Blalock, Thomas J., Electrification of a Major Steel Mill – Part II Development of the 25 Hz System, Industry Applications Magazine, IEEE, Sep/Oct 2005, Pages 9–12, .
References
Electric power | en |
doc-en-7032 | Daniel Paul Issel (born October 25, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. An outstanding collegian at the University of Kentucky, Issel was twice named an All-American en route to a school-record 25.7 points per game for his career. The American Basketball Association Rookie of the Year in 1971, he was a six-time ABA All-Star and a one-time NBA All-Star.
A prolific scorer, Issel remains the all-time leading scorer at the University of Kentucky, the second-leading scorer of all time for the NBA's Denver Nuggets, and the second-leading scorer of all time for the American Basketball Association itself. Upon Issel's retirement from the NBA in 1985, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Julius Erving were the only professional basketball players to have scored more career points. Issel was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.
Early life
Issel was born in Batavia, Illinois, son of Robert and Elanor Issel, and grew up with sister Kathi and brother Greg. Robert Issel owned and operated Issel Painting & Decorating. Issel attended Batavia High School, graduating in 1966 as an All-American playing for Coach Don Vandersnick. Issel led Batavia to Regional titles his last two years. As a senior, Issel averaged 25.8 points on Batavia's 26–3 team.
Growing up in Batavia, Issel's backyard was adjacent to his friend Ken Anderson’s back yard. Anderson became a National Football League quarterback with the Cincinnati Bengals and the 1981 NFL Most Valuable Player. Another Batavia High School teammate was future sports announcer Craig Sager, who was a freshman at Batavia when Issel was a senior. Said Issel of his Batavia teammates: “What Batavia instilled in all three of us — myself, Kenny, and Craig — was a solid work ethic."
According to Sports Illustrated, Don VanDersnick showed Issel how to dunk by training him with a volleyball and had Issel jump up and grab the rim 50 times each day at practice. Issel did not start for Batavia High's basketball team until he was a junior and considered himself fortunate that he had VanDersnick as his coach, saying, "If he'd told us that if we dove off a water tower it would make us better basketball players, there would have been a line waiting to do it."
College basketball career
Issel was recruited by Northwestern, Illinois and Wisconsin, but he chose Kentucky. Issel then played college basketball at the University of Kentucky under legendary coach Adolph Rupp.
As a senior at Kentucky, Issel averaged 33.9 points per game (36.0 in the NCAA Tournament) to help Kentucky reach the Elite Eight.
Issel was at UK 1966–1970 and scored 2,138 points (an average of 25.7 per game) and had 1,078 rebounds, while being named an All American for two of the three seasons he was eligible for the award. His career points total remains the highest among UK men's players.
According to Sports Illustrated Magazine, in a game early in Issel's Kentucky career, teammates were neglecting to give him the ball. Rupp called a timeout and said, "This guy is going to be Kentucky's all-time leading scorer by the time he's through here. I thought you might like to meet him."
On February 7, 1970, Issel scored 53 points in a 120–85 victory over Ole Miss, breaking Cliff Hagan's single-game record of 51. Issel's mark held for almost four decades, until Jodie Meeks scored 54 points against Tennessee on January 13, 2009. Issel also scored 51 at Louisiana State University on February 21, 1970, currently the third-best mark in school history.
Issel's career at Kentucky coincided with that of Pete Maravich at SEC rival LSU, who scored an NCAA-record 3,667 points (44.2 per game). Maravich and Issel finished 1-2 in SEC Player of the Year voting in each of their three seasons.
A three-year starter for Kentucky, Issel led his team to three Southeastern Conference titles and set 23 school records in his career.
Professional basketball career
Kentucky Colonels (1970-1975)
Upon Issel's graduation in 1970, he was drafted by the Detroit Pistons (8th round) of the National Basketball Association and the Kentucky Colonels (1st round) of the American Basketball Association. Issel signed to play basketball for the Colonels and the ABA.
In his first season, Issel led the ABA in scoring with an average of 29.9 points per game, and pulled down 13.2 rebounds per game. He played in the 1971 ABA All-Star Game and was selected to the All-ABA Second Team. Issel shared ABA Rookie of the Year honors with Charlie Scott of the Virginia Squires.
The following season, Issel played in 83 of 84 games and raised his scoring average to 30.6 points per game. He was named the MVP of his second All-Star Game for scoring 21 points and collaring nine rebounds. Issel made the All-ABA First Team of that season.
Led by dominating 7'2" center Artis Gilmore, the 1974–75 Kentucky Colonels won the 1975 ABA championship, with key support from Issel and sharp-shooting guard (and fellow ex-Kentucky Wildcat) Louie Dampier. In six seasons, Issel led the league in total points three times (including a record 2,538 in 1971–72) and was an All-Star each year.
Denver Nuggets (1975-1985)
Prior to the 1975–76 season, the Colonels traded Issel to the Baltimore Claws (formerly the Memphis Hustlers) for Tom Owens and cash. The Claws folded before the season's start, and Issel was subsequently traded to the Denver Nuggets for Dave Robisch and cash.
For his ABA career, Issel was a 6-Time ABA All-Star, 5-Time Member of ABA All-Pro Team, the ABA's 2nd All-Time Scorer (behind Louie Dampier, was the 1972 ABA All-Star Game MVP, 1971 ABA Co-Rookie of the Year, Led ABA in scoring in 70-71 with 29.4 ppg and holds the ABA Record for most points in a season with 2,538 in 71-72.
Issel remained with the Nuggets following the ABA–NBA merger in June 1976, and represented Denver in the 1977 NBA All-Star Game. He remained productive, topping 20 points per game five of his remaining eight years. Retiring following the 1984–1985 season, he received the NBA's J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award in 1985 for his outstanding service to the community.
In nine seasons and 718 NBA games with Denver, Issel averaged 20.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. Wearing number 44, Issel is the Nuggets' second all-time leading scorer. He accumulated over 27,000 points in his combined ABA and NBA career, trailing only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and Julius Erving upon his retirement. Issel currently ranks #11 on the all time combined ABA/NBA scoring list. He missed only 24 games in 15 seasons, earning him the moniker, "the Horse". He was part of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 1993.
Coaching career
After his playing career ended, Issel retired to his Courtland horse farm in Woodford County, Kentucky. He spent a year doing color commentary for Kentucky basketball games then became a Nuggets broadcaster from 1988 to 1992.
Even with no coaching experience, Bernie Bickerstaff recruited him as Nuggets head coach in 1992. In 1994, Issel led his team to the playoffs with their first winning record in four years, after only winning 44 games in the previous two years. That year, the Nuggets pulled off the biggest upset to that date in National Basketball Association (NBA) playoff history, knocking off the Seattle SuperSonics in five games (the first ever 8th seed to beat a 1st seed in the first round). He resigned 34 games into the 1994–95 season after facing criticism for his coaching style, saying he didn't like the person he'd become.
Issel returned to the Nuggets in 1998 as president and general manager. He named himself head coach again in December 1999, yielding his general manager's title to Kiki Vandeweghe. His second tenure was far less successful than his first; the Nuggets did not post a winning season during this time. He was hampered in part by a drawn-out effort to find a new owner; two deals to sell the team collapsed at the last minute. Just before the start of the 1999–2000 season, he told reporters that there were several decisions he simply couldn't make due to the unstable ownership situation. In 2000, Issel faced a team mutiny after he criticized them following a winless four-game Eastern road trip. The Nuggets' team captains called a boycott of their next practice, prompting interest from CNN and other news outlets. The team saw some improvement later in the season, but missed the playoffs with a 40–42 record.
Issel's Nuggets tenure ended in December 2001. On December 11, after a close loss to the Charlotte Hornets, Issel heard a fan taunting him, as he walked off the court at the Pepsi Center. Issel taunted back, "Go drink another beer, you Mexican piece of shit." The incident was captured on Denver's NBC affiliate, KUSA-TV. The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce responded by stating that its members would boycott the team unless Issel was fired. Issel was suspended without pay for four games by the team. He publicly apologized the next day, and on Friday met with Hispanic chamber representatives, who accepted his apology. However, several members of Denver's Hispanic community thought the suspension was insufficient punishment and called for him to be fired. Hours before he was due to return, Issel took a leave of absence to decide whether he wanted to return. He accepted a buyout of his contract and resigned on December 26.
Personal life
Issel's wife Cheri, whom he met at the University of Kentucky, is an accomplished artist. Cheri was a cheerleader at Kentucky. The Issels have two children, Sheridan and Scott.
Greg Issel, Dan's younger brother, was a star forward on Batavia teams in 1968 and 1969, following Dan. Greg Issel died suddenly of heart failure in 1998 at the age of 46.
In 2011, Issel served as executive director at the Bel Air Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles. As of 2014, he lived in Windsor, Colorado, and was employed in the oil and gas business.
In 2017, Issel served as speaker at Batavia High School's gymnasium to honor a family friend, fellow Batavia classmate and national sportscaster Craig Sager, after Sager's death. Sager and Issel were basketball teammates at Batavia High School when Sager was a freshman and Issel a senior.
In February 2018, Issel became president of the Louisville Basketball Investment and Support Group, a Kentucky-based company founded in 2016 to pursue an NBA franchise.
Honors
Issel was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1973.
In 1985, Issel received the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award.
In 1985, Issel's jersey #44 was retired by the Denver Nuggets.
Issel was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 1987.
In 1993, Issel was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Issel was inducted into the University of Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005.
In 2006, Issel was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame.
Issel was inducted into the Batavia High School Hall of Honor in 2015.
In 2018, Issel was inducted into the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame.
In April 2021, Issel joined local radio station ESPN Louisville to host Sports Talk with Dan Issel And Mike Pratt, airing weekdays from 10 to noon.
ABA/NBA career statistics
Regular season
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Kentucky(ABA)
| 83 || – || 39.4 || .485 || .000 || .807 || 13.2 || 2.0 || – || – ||style="background:#cfecec;"| 29.9*
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Kentucky(ABA)
| 83 || – || 43.0 || .486 || .273 || .785 || 11.2 || 2.3 || – || – || 30.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Kentucky(ABA)
|style="background:#cfecec;"| 84* || – || 42.0 || .513 || .200 || .764 || 11.0 || 2.6 || – || – || 27.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Kentucky(ABA)
| 83 || – || 40.3 || .480 || .176 || .787 || 10.2 || 1.7 || .8 || .4 || 25.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6fa;"|†
| style="text-align:left;"|Kentucky(ABA)
| 83 || – || 34.5 || .471 || .000 || .738 || 8.6 || 2.3 || .9 || .6 || 17.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Denver(ABA)
| 84 || – || 34.0 || .511 || .250 || .816 || 11.0 || 2.4 || 1.2 || .7 || 23.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Denver
| 79 || – || 31.7 || .515 || – || .797 || 8.8 || 2.2 || 1.2 || .4 || 22.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Denver
| 82 || – || 34.8 || .512 || – || .782 || 10.1 || 3.7 || 1.2 || .5 || 21.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Denver
| 81 || – || 33.9 || .517 || – || .754 || 9.1 || 3.1 || .8 || .6 || 17.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Denver
| 82 || – || 35.8 || .505 || .333 || .775 || 8.8 || 2.4 || 1.1 || .7 || 23.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Denver
| 80 || – || 33.0 || .503 || .167 || .759 || 8.5 || 2.0 || 1.0 || .7 || 21.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Denver
| 81 || 81 || 30.5 || .527 || .667 || .834 || 7.5 || 2.2 || .8 || .7 || 22.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Denver
| 80 || 80 || 30.4 || .510 || .211 || .835 || 7.5 || 2.8 || 1.0 || .5 || 21.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Denver
| 76 || 66 || 27.3 || .493 || .211 || .850 || 6.8 || 2.3 || .8 || .6 || 19.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|
| style="text-align:left;"|Denver
| 77 || 9 || 21.9 || .459 || .143 || .806 || 4.3 || 1.8 || .8 || .4 || 12.8
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 1,218 || 236 || 34.3 || .499 || .204 || .793 || 9.1 || 2.4 || 1.0 || .5 || 22.6
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| All-Star
| 7 || 1 || 24.7 || .512 || – || .731 || 6.9 || 2.3 || .1 || .1 || 14.7
Playoffs
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|1971
|style="text-align:left;”|Kentucky(ABA)
|19||–||35.3||.505||–||.878||11.6||1.5||–||–||28.1
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|1972
|style="text-align:left;”|Kentucky(ABA)
|6||–||44.8||.412||.000||.760||9.0||.8||–||–||22.0
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|1973
|style="text-align:left;”|Kentucky(ABA)
|19||–||43.4||.497||.167||.795||11.8||1.5||–||–||27.4
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|1974
|style="text-align:left;”|Kentucky(ABA)
|8||–||38.9||.444||–||.848||10.9||1.8||.5||.8||18.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6fa;"|1975†
|style="text-align:left;”|Kentucky(ABA)
|15||–||38.5||.467||–||.811||7.9||1.9||1.1||.8||20.3
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|1976
|style="text-align:left;”|Denver(ABA)
|13||–||36.2||.489||.000||.786||12.0||2.5||1.0||.6||20.5
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|1977
|style="text-align:left;”|Denver
|6||–||37.0||.510||–||.756||9.7||2.8||.8||.7||22.0
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|1978
|style="text-align:left;”|Denver
|13||–||35.4||.486||–||.862||10.3||4.1||.5||.2||20.2
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|1979
|style="text-align:left;”|Denver
|3||–||36.3||.533||–||.806||9.3||3.3||.0||.0||24.3
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|1982
|style="text-align:left;”|Denver
|3||–||34.3||.533||–||style="background:#cfecec;"|1.000*||7.0||1.7||1.0||.3||25.3
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|1983
|style="text-align:left;”|Denver
|8||–||28.4||.507||.000||.862||7.3||3.1||1.1||.6||20.4
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|1984
|style="text-align:left;”|Denver
|5||–||30.6||.510||.500||.821||8.0||1.6||1.2||1.2||27.4
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|1985
|style="text-align:left;”|Denver
|15||4||21.7||.459||1.000||.813||3.6||1.8||.8||.3||12.4
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career
| 133 || 4 || 35.5 || .487 || .250 || .822 || 9.4 || 2.1 || .8 || .6 || 22.1
Head coaching record
NBA
|-
| align="left" |Denver
| align="left" |
|82||36||46||.439|| align="center" |4th in Midwest||—||—||—||—
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
|-
| align="left" |Denver
| align="left" |
|82||42||40||.512|| align="center" |4th in Midwest||12||6||6||.500
| align="center" |Lost in Conf. Semi-finals
|-
| align="left" |Denver
| align="left" |
|34||18||16||.529|| align="center" |(Resigned)||—||—||—||—
| align="center" |—
|-
| align="left" |Denver
| align="left" |
|82||35||47||.427|| align="center" |5th in Midwest||—||—||—||—
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
|-
| align="left" |Denver
| align="left" |
|82||40||42||.488|| align="center" |6th in Midwest||—||—||—||—
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
|-
| align="left" |Denver
| align="left" |
|26||9||17||.346|| align="center" |(resigned)||—||—||—||—
| align="center" |—
|-class="sortbottom"
| align="center" colspan="2"|Career
|388||180||208||.464|| ||12||6||6||.500
See also
List of NCAA Division I men's basketball players with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds
References
External links
Dan Issel stats at Basketball-Reference
Legends profile: Dan Issel
1948 births
All-American college men's basketball players
American color commentators
American men's basketball players
Basketball coaches from Illinois
Basketball players from Illinois
Denver Nuggets assistant coaches
Denver Nuggets executives
Denver Nuggets head coaches
Denver Nuggets players
Detroit Pistons draft picks
Kentucky Colonels draft picks
Kentucky Colonels players
Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players
Living people
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
National Basketball Association All-Stars
National Basketball Association broadcasters
National Basketball Association general managers
National Basketball Association players with retired numbers
Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
People from Batavia, Illinois
People from Windsor, Colorado
Power forwards (basketball)
Sportspeople from Kane County, Illinois | en |
doc-en-7476 | Sport in Israel plays an important role in Israeli culture and is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Sport. The most popular sports in Israel have traditionally been Association football (mainly) and basketball (secondly) - with the first being considered the national sport - in both of which Israeli professional teams have been competitive internationally. Israel is an international center for Jewish sport around the world and since 1932 the Maccabiah Games, an Olympic-style event for Jewish athletes, is held in the country. Despite Israel's location in the Asian continent, the Israeli sports associations in various sports belong to the European associations due to the refusal of many Arab Asian countries to compete with Israeli athletes.
The government's support and budgeting of sports in Israel is relatively low in comparison to other western countries. However, many Israeli athletes and teams managed to gain international success. The Israeli national basketball team has won 2 gold medals in the Asian Games and 1 silver medal at the European Championship, and basketball club Maccabi Tel Aviv is considered one of the best teams in Europe with 6 European titles. The Israeli national football team has won the AFC Asian Cup and the Israel Davis Cup team reached the semifinal of the 2009 Davis Cup. At the Olympic Games, Israel has won 13 medals.
History
Jewish physical fitness was promoted in the 19th century by Max Nordau and his concept of Muscular Judaism. The Maccabiah Games, an Olympic-style event for Jewish athletes inaugurated in 1932 is held every fours years.
In 1964, Israel hosted and won the AFC Asian Cup. In 1970, the Israel national football team qualified for the FIFA World Cup, which was considered a major achievement for Israeli football. Israel was excluded from the 1978 Asian Games due to Arab pressure.
Major sports
Football
Football, or Soccer (, Kaduregel). is the most popular sport in Israel. The sport is under the jurisdiction of the Israel Football Association. It joined the Asian Football Confederation in 1954, but was expelled in 1974 due to political pressure from Arab and Muslim members in the context of the Arab–Israeli conflict. It was admitted to UEFA as an associate member in 1992 and as a full member in 1994, therefore their teams compete as part of Europe in all international competitions.
The matches that draw the largest crowds are those of the Israeli Premier League. In 1967, Hapoel Tel Aviv became the first club to win the Asian Club Championships. In the 2001–02 UEFA Cup Hapoel reached the quarter-finals after knocking out Chelsea, Lokomotiv Moscow and Parma.
Israeli teams were also qualified five times to the UEFA Champions League group stage, including Maccabi Haifa in the 2002–03 and 2009–10 seasons, Maccabi Tel Aviv in the 2004–05 and 2015–16 seasons and Hapoel Tel Aviv in the 2010–11 season.
The Israel national football team hosted and won the 1964 AFC Asian Cup and qualified for the 1970 FIFA World Cup, which was held in Mexico. Mordechai Spiegler scored in a 1–1 draw against Sweden. Israel's Olympic football team qualified for the 1968 Summer Olympics and the 1976 Summer Olympics both times reaching the quarter finals. Israel's highest FIFA ranking was 15th in November 2008.
Famous matches of the Israeli football team include the 3–2 win in France in the 1994 world championship qualifying games, which ended up disqualifying the French team from the championship in the United States, the defeat of Austria 5–0 in 1999 during Euro 2000 qualifications, and a 2–1 win over Argentina in a friendly match in 1998, a game played in Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem.
Successful Israeli players who also played outside Israel include Eli Ohana, Giora Spiegel, Ronny Rosenthal, Avi Cohen, Eyal Berkovich, Haim Revivo, Dudu Aouate and Yossi Benayoun.
Notable Israeli players have included:
Ryan Adeleye, US/Israel, defender (Hapoel Be'er Sheva)
Dudu Aouate, Israel, goalkeeper (RCD Mallorca & national team)
Jonathan Assous, France/Israel, defensive midfielder (Hapoel Ramat Gan)
Gai Assulin, Israel, winger/attacking midfielder (Manchester City & national team)
Pini Balili, Israel, striker (Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv & national team)
Orr Barouch, Israel, striker (Chicago Fire & Israeli national team)
David "Dedi" Ben Dayan, Israel, left defender (Hapoel Tel Aviv & national team)
Tal Ben Haim, Israel, center back/right back (QPR & national team)
Yossi Benayoun, Israel, attacking midfielder (Chelsea, Liverpool, West Ham & national team captain)
Eyal Berkovic, Israel, midfielder (national team)
Daniel Brailovski, Argentina/Uruguay, midfielder (Argentina, Uruguay, & Israel national teams)
Tomer Chencinski, Israel/Canada, goaltender (Harrisburg Islanders)
Avi Cohen, Israel, defender (Liverpool, Rangers, Maccabi Tel Aviv & national team)
Tamir Cohen, Israel, midfielder (national team)
Tvrtko Kale, Croatia/Israel, goalkeeper (Hapoel Haifa)
Yaniv Katan, Israel, forward/winger (Maccabi Haifa & national team)
Gyula Mándi, Hungary, half back (player & coach of Hungarian and Israeli national teams)
Eli Ohana, Israel, won UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and Bravo Award (most outstanding young player in Europe); national team; manager
Haim Revivo, Israel, attacking/side midfielder (national team)
Ronnie Rosenthal, Israel, left winger/striker (national team)
Ben Sahar, Israel, striker/winger (Hertha Berlin & national team)
Giora Spiegel, Israel, Midfielder (Israel national team)
Mordechai Spiegler, Soviet Union/Israel, striker (Israel national team), manager
Idan Tal, Israel, midfielder (Beitar Jerusalem FC & national team)
Nicolás Tauber, Argentina/Israel, goalkeeper (Chacarita Juniors)
Yochanan Vollach, Israel, defender (Israel national team)
Basketball
Basketball (כדורסל, Kadursal) is the second most popular sport in Israel. Hapoel Jerusalem, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Maccabi Tel Aviv dominate the domestic league and are among the top teams in Europe. Maccabi Tel Aviv has won the European championship 6 times, in 1977, 1981, 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2014. Hapoel Jerusalem won the Eurocup in 2004.
The Israel national basketball team has participated 23 times in the European Championship. Their best achievements were a silver medal in Eurobasket 1979, and 5th place in 1953 and 1977. The national team also played in two World Championships and once in the Summer Olympic Games.
Israeli basketball is known for its national under-20 team, winning silver medals twice, in 2000 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship and 2004, and finishing 4th twice (1994, 2005), 5th (1992), and 6th (2007).
Israel U-20 also took place in the U-21 World Championship, finishing twice in 7th place (2001,2005), and 6th place (1993).
Israeli player Omri Casspi previously played in the NBA. Gal Mekel, previously played in the NBA and Shay Doron previously played in the WNBA. David Blatt coached the NBA Cleveland Cavaliers. Other notable Israeli basketball players have included:
David Blu (formerly "Bluthenthal"), US & Israel, Euroleague 6' 7" forward (Maccabi Tel Aviv)
Moshe "Miki" Berkovich, Israel, Eurolrague, 6'4" shooting guard
Oded Katash, Israel, Euroleague, 6'4" shooting guard
Doron Sheffer, Israel,NCAA, Euroleague, 6'5" point guard
Nadav Henefeld, Israel, NCAA, Eurolegue, 6'7 power forward
Tal Brody, US & Israel, Euroleague 6' 2" shooting guard
Lior Eliyahu, Israel, 6' 9" power forward, NBA draft 2006 (Orlando Magic; traded to Houston Rockets), playing in the Euroleague (Maccabi Tel Aviv)
Tamir Goodman, US & Israel, 6' 3" shooting guard
Yotam Halperin, Israel, 6' 5" guard, drafted in 2006 NBA draft by Seattle SuperSonics (Maccabi Tel Aviv)
Amit Tamir, Israel, 6' 10" center/forward (Hapoel Jerusalem)
Alex Tyus, US, Israel, 6' 8" power forward/center, Pallacanestro Cantù, Maccabi Ashdod B.C., Florida Gators, Israel national basketball team
Chess
While chess, as an intellectual sport, has always been played in Israel, the arrival of large numbers of Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union in the 1990s brought many chess grandmasters to Israel and increased interest in the game. Boris Gelfand is the 2009 World Cup winner.
Swimming
Israel Swimming Association is the major swimming federation in Israel. Swimming is popular in Israel's many beaches along the Mediterranean coast, the Sea of Galilee, in the Red Sea at the shores of Eilat, in the Dead Sea and in swimming pools. Famous Israeli swimmers include Eithan Urbach, Michael Halika, Gal Nevo, Yoav Gath, Yoav Bruck, Vered Borochovski, Amit Ivry, and Anna Gostomelsky. At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Israel's team qualified to the final of the prestigious Men's 4 x 100 metre medley relay. Uri Bergman won 12 gold medals at the Paralympic Games, and other paralympic swimmers such as Izhak Mamistvalov and Keren Leibovitch won several gold medals as well.
Rowing
Rowing is a growing sport in Israel, and has seen a major breakthrough in recent years. Dani Fridman, Israel Champion, is currently ranked 10th in the world, and Moran Samuel is Israel's 1st rowing world champion (paralympic). Samuel, won her first Paralympic bronze medal, after coming 3rd at the Rio 2016 Summer Paralympics. Other Rio 2016 participants are Yulia Chernoy and Reuven Magnagey, who rowed together in a double scull boat and finished 9th.
The Daniel Rowing Centre in Tel Aviv is Israel's prime training facility, and the home of the national Olympic and Paralympic squad. The sport is practiced in Tel Aviv Yarkon River, Kishon Port of Haifa and Tiberius Sea of Galilee.
Other prominent athletes are Oleg Gonorovski, Tomer Shvartsman, Roni Iuster and Diana Egerton-Warburton.
The Israeli Rowing Federation is an active member of the International Rowing Federation – FISA.
Tennis
Highly ranked players include Shlomo Glickstein (world ranked #22 at his peak), Amos Mansdorf (ranked #18 at his best), Dudi Sela (ranked #29 at his best), Anna Smashnova (ranked #15 at her best), Shahar Pe'er (ranked #11 at her best) as well as the doubles team of Andy Ram and Jonathan Erlich (world #5 team in 2006 and 2008 Australian Open champions) - all of whom have trained at the Israel Tennis Centers. Since 2008, both men's and the women's teams have qualified for the top groups in the world - the men are in the Davis Cup world group, and the women are in the Fed Cup world group I. In December 2012, 12-year-old Yshai Oliel of Ramla, Israel, won the 51st Junior Orange Bowl International Tennis Championship for his age group.
Track and field
Track and field athletics in Israel are mainly focused around the Maccabiah Games and the international Olympic Games, where Israel has achieved notable successes during its short history. The Soviet-born Aleksandr Averbukh is by far the most successful Israeli track and field athlete, having won three gold medals in the pole vault at European championships (2000 — indoor, 2002 and 2006) as well as two medals at the World championships (1999 and 2001).
Marathons
Long-distance running is popular in Israel. The Tiberias Marathon , Tel Aviv Marathon, and the Jerusalem Marathon take place annually in January, February, and March respectively. Another half marathon is held annually at Ein Gedi, near the Dead Sea. There are various other shorter distance races over the course of the year through very different regions and terrains.
Minor sports
American football
The center of American football in Israel is the Kraft Family Stadium in Jerusalem. Currently, there are 4 leagues playing Flag Football. The WAFI which has 13 teams: high school level which has 12 teams and a youth team, all under the association of The AFI. There're also 3 leagues playing tackle-football: a junior high football league (which has donated equipment), a high school league - IHFL and an adult's league - IFL (Israeli Football League). The IFL has 11 teams coming from Jerusalem, Petah Tikva, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Beersheba and Ramat HaSharon. The game is mainly played by ex-pats from America, South Africa, England and France. The largest league in 2007 was men's contact who competed in the annual Holyland Bowl championship. Some 1000 players are involved in weekly football activities.
In 2015 the Israel national American football team had their first international game, in the qualifier for the European Championship.
Baseball
Baseball was first introduced into the region on July 4, 1927, when baseball equipment was distributed at the Sephardic Orphanage in Jerusalem.
The Israel Baseball League, managed by Larry Baras, was established in 2007. It was the first professional baseball league in the Middle East. In its first and only season it had six teams that played in three stadiums. The first and only champions were the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox managed by Ron Blomberg.
The Israel national baseball team applied, unsuccessfully, to participate in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. They were subsequently invited to participate in the newly created qualifying round of the 2013 World Baseball Classic. During the 2017 World Baseball Classic qualifier Israel qualified for the main tournament and finished in sixth place.
Team Israel won the 2019 European Baseball Championship - B-Pool in early July 2019 in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, winning all five of its games. It thus advanced to the playoffs against Team Lithuania in the 2019 Playoff Series at the end of July 2019 for the last qualifying spot for the 2019 European Baseball Championship. Israel won the best-of-three playoff series 2–0, and thereby qualified for the 2019 European Baseball Championship.
In Round 1 of the 2019 European Baseball Championship, Israel went 4–1. The team thereby advanced to the Championship's eight-team playoffs. In the Championship playoffs, Israel defeated Team France in the quarterfinals, lost to Team Italy in the semi-finals, and came in fourth.
Because Team Israel finished in the top five in the 2019 European Baseball Championship, it earned the right to participate in the 2020 Olympics qualifiers Africa/Europe Qualifying Event. As the winner of that tournament it qualified to be one of the six national teams that competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Every member of the 24-member Team Israel that competed to qualify in the Olympics was Israeli, with four of the players native-born. The others made aliyah to Israel, under Israel's Law of Return, which gives anyone with a Jewish parent or grandparent or who is married to a Jew the right to return to Israel and be granted Israeli citizenship.
Boxing
In Israel, boxing is not just a sport but an educational vehicle for helping young people overcome prejudices. The Israel Boxing Association (IBA) operates certified gyms in cities throughout the country, with 1,800 active members from Arab villages and Ethiopian and Russian immigrant population centers. Boxers as young as 11 train and participate in matches organized by the association. Israeli Yuri Foreman is a former World Boxing Association super welterweight champion. Roman Greenberg is currently International Boxing Organization's (IBO's) Intercontinental heavyweight champion. Hagar Finer is the WIBF champion bantamweight.
Adi Rotem of Tel Aviv is the current world champion in Thai boxing in the under-52 kilogram class. Ilya Grad is considered one of the eight best amateur Thai boxers in the world. In February 2012, Grad won the WCK international title in China and was permitted to enter Malaysia, which has no diplomatic relations with Israel, on an Israeli passport. Ido Pariente is an Israel lightweight Pankration World Champion.
Canoeing
Michael Kolganov, a Soviet (Uzbek)-born Israeli sprint canoer, has been a world champion and won an Olympic bronze in the K-1 500-meter.
Cricket
Israel became an associate member of the ICC in 1974. Israel competed in the 1979 ICC Trophy, the inaugural edition of what is now the Cricket World Cup Qualifier, but failed to get past the first round. They also failed to progress beyond the first round in the 1982 and 1986 tournaments.
They reached the plate competition of the ICC Trophy in 1990 and 1994 and in 1996 competed in their first European Championship in Denmark, finishing eighth in the eight team tournament.
In the 1997 ICC Trophy in Malaysia, they faced political demonstrations throughout the tournament from the Islamic Party of Malaysia. They were the first Israeli sports team to play in the country and finished in 21st place.
In 1998, they finished ninth in the European Championship ahead of only Gibraltar and the following year travelled to Gibraltar to take part in a quadrangular tournament also involving France and Italy.
Israel have been playing in Division Two of the European Championships since 2000, finishing fifth in 2000, fourth in 2002, sixth in 2004 and seventh in 2006.
In November 2007, Israel were defeated in a relegation match against Croatia, in the first international cricket game played in Israel. The loss meant that they were relegated from Europe Division Two to Europe Division Three. In 2009 they were re-promoted to second division with a win over Croatia.
At the 2016 ICC Europe Division Two tournament Israel finished fourth, behind Germany, Sweden, and Spain
There is a night cricket league playing a modified form of indoor cricket.
Curling
Israel national men's curling team has been competing as part of the European playdowns since 2014. Israel has sent teams to the world mixed, world mixed doubles and world men's seniors competitions as well.
Equestrian
Notable Israeli equestrians include:
Daniel Bluman (born 1990), Colombian-born Israeli Olympic show jumping rider
Fencing
Notable Israeli fencers have included:
Boaz Ellis (foil), 5x Israeli champion
Delila Hatuel (foil), Olympian, ranked # 9 in world
Lydia Hatuel-Czuckermann (foil), 20x Israeli champion
Noam Mills (épée), female Olympic fencer, junior world champion.
Ayelet Ohayon (foil), European champion
Andre Spitzer; killed by terrorists
Figure skating
Israel has one regulation ice rink, located in Metulla, a city on the Lebanese border. Israel has been sending teams to the Winter Olympics since 1994. In 2002, Galit Chait (world championship bronze medalist) and Sergei Sakhnovski (world championship bronze medalist) finished sixth in ice dancing. Alexandra Zaretski, Belarusian-born Israeli, ice dancer, Olympian, and Roman Zaretski, Belarusian-born Israeli, ice dancer, Olympian a brother and sister ice-dancing pair, came in ninth in the 2008 world championships and first in the 2009 World University Games.
Other notable Israeli skaters include:
Alexei Beletski, Ukrainian-born Israeli, ice dancer, Olympian
Natalia Gudina, Ukrainian-born Israeli, figure skater, Olympian
Tamar Katz, US-born Israeli, figure skater
Lionel Rumi, Israel, ice dancer
Michael Shmerkin, Soviet-born Israeli, figure skater
Golf
Israel has a single 18-hole golf course named Caesarea Golf & Country Club and located in the town of Caesarea and a smaller 9 hole course called Gaash Golf Club located at kibbutz Ga'ash. Notable Israeli golfers include Rami Asayag, Asher Iyasu and world blind golfing champion Zohar Sharon. Laetitia Beck has won the Israeli Championship five times, including for the first time when she was 12 years of age, and won gold medals in golf in both the 2009 and 2013 Maccabiah Games, and is the first Israeli to compete in an LPGA Tour tournament.
Gymnastics
Israeli gymnast Neta Rivkin won a silver medal in the Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships held in Minsk in 2011, to become the first gymnast of the country to win a medal at the European Championships. Rivkin also won the first world medal for Israel in rhythmic gymnastics at the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships held in Montpellier, France in 2011, and she won the bronze medal at the hoop final. The Israeli rhythmic gymnastic group also won the bronze medal at the event final of 3 ribbons and 2 hoops at the World Championships in Montpellier.
Linoy Ashram became the first Israeli rhythmic gymnast to win an individual all-around medal at the 2017 World Championships. She is the most decorated Israeli rhythmic gymnast, with 6 silver and 5 bronze medals at the World Championships (2017, 2018, 2019), 2 bronze medals at the 2017 European Championships and 2 gold and 2 silver medals at the 2019 European Games and recently at the 2020 European Championships, she won the gold medal in the Individual All-Around Event making her the first Israeli to win an All Around gold medal in the European Championships.
In 2013, Alexander Shatilov won a gold medal at the European championship in gymnastics in Moscow, Russia. In 2017, Artem Dolgopyat, an Israeli artistic gymnast, won a silver medal at the World Championships. In 2021, Artem Dolgopyat, an Israeli artistic gymnast, won a gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Handball
Israel's national handball team participated in the 2002 European Men's Handball Championship in Sweden. Local power Hapoel Rishon Lezion qualified for the quarterfinals of the EHF Champions League in 2000.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey started in Israel in 1986 when the first rink opened in Kiryat Motzkin. Israel has a following of over 1,000 ice hockey players. Israel took part in the 2007 Ice Hockey Division II World Championships.
Notable players have included:
Eliezer Sherbatov, Israel, left wing (Israel national ice hockey team)
Max Birbraer, Russian from Kazakhstan; lived & played in Israel; 1st Israeli drafted by NHL team (New Jersey Devils)
Oren Eizenman (Israel national team)
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is the country's fastest growing sport.
The Israel men's national lacrosse team has competed in the European Lacrosse Championships in 2012 finishing in 8th place, and in 2016 finished 2nd. Additionally they finished 7th at the World Lacrosse Championship in 2014.
Domestically, there are two men's clubs and one women's club that operate within Israel.
Martial arts
Capoeira clubs operate in various locations in Israel.
Krav Maga is taught to most citizens in the army, and practiced recreationally throughout the country. The Association of Martial Arts in Israel is chaired by Hamad Amar, an Israeli Druze member of the Knesset. Nili Block is a world champion kickboxer and Muay Thai fighter. Yulia Sachkov is a world champion kickboxer.
Judo is one of the three sports in which Israeli athletes have won Olympic medals. It is the most successful Israeli sport at the Olympics providing five of the nine Olympic medals Israel has won. In 2013, Yarden Gerbi won a gold medal at the Judo World Championships, and in 2016 she won a bronze medal at the Olympics. Other notable Israeli judokas include:
Yael Arad, Israel, Olympic silver (light-middleweight)
Daniela Krukower, Israel/Argentina, world champion (under 63 kg)
Sagi Muki, Israel, World Judo Championships gold (half-middleweight)
Alice Schlesinger, Israel, World Judo Championships bronze; European junior champion (under 63 kg)
Oren Smadja, Israel, Olympic bronze (lightweight)
Ehud Vaks, Israel, (half-lightweight)
Arik Ze'evi, Israel, Olympic bronze (100 kg)
Motorsport
The Israel Motor-Sport Association was founded in 1990. It has organised rally, autocross, rallycross and drag racing competitions.
Auto racing was legalized in 2011. A 1.5 km permanent racetrack was opened in Port of Eilat, where Formula Israel competitions are held.
Notable Israeli drivers include Chanoch Nissany (Formula One test-driver), Roy Nissany and Alon Day.
Netball
Netball was introduced in Israel in 1999 by Jodi Carreira. Today there are clubs in Raanana, Modi'in, Jerusalem, Kfar Etzion and Tel Aviv, all of which have teams participating in the Israel National Netball League. Israel Netball has sent senior and junior teams to international events, culminating in its first international win in Ireland in June 2008. The netball tournament of the Maccabiah has been hosted by Israel Netball since 2001. Currently ranked 36, Israel is a member of the International Netball Federation (INF) and of Netball Europe (NE).
Rugby
Rugby union is a minor sport brought to the country by British soldiers during the Mandate era. The first game post-independence was in 1951, organized by Leo Camron. A wave of immigration from English speaking countries, and France, since 1967 renewed interest in the sport, particularly in areas with large English-speaking populations such as Ra'anana and Jerusalem. A national league was set up in 1972, and the Israel Rugby Union (now Rugby Israel) formed in 1975. Israel's first international match was away to Switzerland on 25 May 1981, and ended 9–9. The Israel Union joined the International Rugby Board in 1988. Rugby union has also featured at the Maccabiah Games since 1981. Israel has entered the Rugby World Cup Sevens.
The women's rugby league in Israel consists of two teams in Tel Aviv, two in Haifa and one each in Jerusalem, Galilee and Ra’anana. An eighth club is scheduled to open in Beersheba in October 2019.
Softball
The Israel Softball Association (fastpitch) was established in 1979 by a group of immigrants from North and South America. The Israel Softball Association is a registered Non Profit Organization which is recognized by the Sports Authorities in Israel and is a member of "Ayelet" - the Israeli Association of Non-Olympic Competitive Sports.
The activities conducted by the Israel Softball Association have assisted in the social integration of immigrants countrywide, and today its members also include many native Israelis.
The Association consists of 10 men's teams Divided into A Pool and B Pool, 3 women's teams,21 junior boys teams and 4 junior girls teams.
The Israeli National Teams represent the country in European Championships and other International Competitions.
Windsurfing
Israeli windsurfer Gal Fridman won two Olympic medals, gold and bronze, and was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Israeli windsurfer Shahar Tzuberi won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. In March 2012, Israeli windsurfer Lee Korzits won the women's RS-X title in the Sailing World Championships for the third time in a row. Israeli windsurfer Katy Spychakov won a silver medal in the Women's 2019 RS:X World Championships, and was an U21 winner in the Women's 2019 RS:X World Championships.
Wrestling
Seven Israeli wrestlers competed at the 2010 Senior European Championship in Baku. Four were Greco-Roman wrestlers while the others were freestyle. Gotsha Tzitziashvily competed at the Summer Olympics in Athens. He held the world championship title in the 84-kilogram weight class in 2003.
Underwater sports
Stand Up Paddle Boarding
Stand Up Paddle boarding or SUP is becoming increasingly popular in Israel. A very accessible lifestyle sport on flat water there are many expeditions available such as the '4 Seas in 4 days'. SUP Surfing is also very popular in Israel and it can offer some world class conditions.
Maccabiah Games
The Maccabiah Games are an international Jewish athletic event, similar to the Olympics, held every four years in Israel. The first games were held in 1932.
Boycotts and violence against Israeli sportsmen
Israeli athletes and teams are barred from some competitions. In addition, in many worldwide competitions, such as the Olympics, some Arab and Muslim competitors avoid competing against Israelis. Some countries even force their athletes not to compete against Israelis or in Israel. Mushir Salem Jawher, a Kenyan-born marathoner, lost his Bahraini citizenship after competing in the Kinneret Marathon in Israel.
Integration of Arab citizens in sports
Despite the country's political problems, Arab sportsmen have always been full participants in Israeli sports teams, contributing to Israel's success in the international arena, also playing in the Israel national football team. They include Rifat (Jimmy) Turk, Najwan Ghrayib, Walid Badir, Salim Toama, Abbas Suan and more. Another Israeli Arab, Johar Abu Lashin, born in Nazareth, was an IBO Welterweight champion.
Olympic Games
Israel has won ten Olympic medals. Gal Fridman won Israel's first Olympic gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Sports media
Television, radio, newspapers and news web sites discuss Israeli sports.
In 2010, Israel sports radio, the country's first English-language all-sports talk radio station, was established, covering Israeli and American sports.
The main football leagues air on Sport 1, Sport 2 (both owned by Charlton Broadcasting Company) and Sport 5. Other sports channels include Eurosport and Fox Sports.
Facebook page, Follow Team Israel, shares the news of Israeli sport to the world.
See also
List of Jews in sports
Krav maga
Hapoel
Maccabi World Union
References
External links
Follow Team Israel - Sharing the stories of Israeli sport to the world
TourTheIsrael - Israel bike racing organization
The Israel Football Association
Israel Basketball Association
Sports Associations in Israel
Sports in Israel - Photos by Lev Borodulin
Sports in Israel - photos by Lev Borodulin
Sport: Yishuv to the Present
Israel Netball
Stand up paddle boarding in Israel
Sport in Asia | en |
doc-en-10560 | Benjamin Sumner Welles (October 14, 1892September 24, 1961) was an American government official and diplomat in the Foreign Service. He was a major foreign policy adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and served as Under Secretary of State from 1936 to 1943, during Roosevelt's presidency.
Born in New York City to a wealthy, well-connected political family, Welles graduated from Harvard College in 1914. He entered the Foreign Service at the advice of Franklin Roosevelt, who was a family friend. Welles was excited by Woodrow Wilson's ideas about how American principles could reorder the international system based on liberal democracy, free-trade capitalism, international law, a league of nations, and an end to colonialism.
Welles specialized in Latin American diplomatic affairs and served several posts in Washington and in the field. President Calvin Coolidge distrusted Welles because of his divorce and private sex life. He left public service and from bases in his two mansions in the Washington area he wrote a book on the history of the Dominican Republic.
When Roosevelt was elected president in 1932, he put Welles in charge of Latin American affairs as Assistant Secretary of State for Latin American Affairs, Welles became heavily involved in negotiations that removed Cuban president Gerardo Machado from power and replaced him with rival Carlos Manuel de Céspedes y Quesada. He was later promoted to Under Secretary of State, in which role he continued to be active in Latin American issues, but also expanded into European affairs as World War II began in Europe in 1939. In 1940, he issued the Welles Declaration which condemned Soviet occupation of the Baltic states and proved to be a minor point of contention among the Soviets and their Western allies once the U.S. entered the war in 1941. Welles used American power and his senior position to intrude into the domestic affairs of other countries, especially choosing leaders who supported American policies. After the fall of France, he downgraded French affairs because they no longer were a major power. Roosevelt relied on Welles much more than on the official Secretary of State, Cordell Hull, who became the enemy of Welles.
Welles was forced out of government service by Secretary Hull when it was revealed he had solicited two men for sex. Returning to private life, he continued to write books on foreign relations and became an advisor to media organizations. He was a target of the House Un-American Activities Committee during the post-war "red scare", though he was never formally sanctioned. He died in New Jersey in 1961, survived by his third wife and several children.
Early life
Benjamin Sumner Welles was born in New York City, the son of Benjamin Sumner Welles Jr. (1857–1935) and Frances Wyeth Swan (1863–1911). He preferred to be called Sumner after his famous relative Charles Sumner, a leading Senator from Massachusetts during the Civil War and Reconstruction. His family was wealthy and was connected to the era's most prominent families. He was a grandnephew of Caroline Webster Schermerhorn Astor, known as "the Mrs. Astor". Among his ancestors were Thomas Welles, a colonial Governor of Connecticut, and Increase Sumner, Governor of Massachusetts from 1797 to 1799. Although the two men were occasionally mistaken for cousins, Welles was no relation to director Orson Welles.
The Welles family was also connected to the Roosevelts. A cousin of Sumner Welles married James "Rosy" Roosevelt, Jr., half brother of future President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR). At the age of 10, Welles was entered in Miss Kearny's Day School for Boys in New York City. In September 1904, he entered Groton School in Massachusetts, where he remained for six years. There he roomed with Hall Roosevelt, the brother of Eleanor Roosevelt. In March 1905 at the age of 12 Welles served as a page at Franklin D. Roosevelt's wedding to Eleanor.
Welles attended Harvard College where he studied "economics, Iberian literature and culture", and graduated after three years in 1914.
Diplomatic career
After graduating from Harvard, Welles followed the advice of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and joined the U.S. Foreign Service. A New York Times profile described him while he joined the foreign service: "Tall, slender, blond, and always correctly tailored, he concealed a natural shyness under an appearance of dignified firmness. Although intolerant of inefficiency, he brought to bear unusual tact and a self-imposed patience." He secured an assignment to Tokyo, where he served in the embassy as third secretary only briefly.
Latin America
Welles soon became a specialist in Latin American affairs. He served in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1919 and became fluent in Spanish. In 1921, Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes appointed him to head the Division of Latin American Affairs.
In March 1922, Welles briefly resigned from the State Department. He was unsympathetic to the view held by American diplomacy that military might was meant to protect the overseas interests of American business. Hughes brought him back the next year as a special commissioner to the Dominican Republic. His particular assignment was to oversee the withdrawal of American forces and to negotiate protection for overseas investors in the Dominican Republic's debt. Welles remained in that post for three years and his work was accomplished after his departure in a 1924 treaty.
In 1924, President Coolidge sent Welles to act as mediator between disputing parties in Honduras. The country had lacked a legitimate government since the election of 1923 failed to produce a majority for any candidate and the legislature had failed to exercise its power to appoint a new president. Negotiations managed by Welles from April 23 to 28 produced an interim government under General Vicente Tosta, who promised to appoint a cabinet representing all factions and to schedule a presidential election as soon as possible in which he would not be a candidate. Negotiations ended with the signing of an agreement aboard the USS Milwaukee in the port of Amapala.
Years out of government service
Coolidge, however, disapproved of Welles' 1925 marriage to Mathilde Scott Townsend, who had only recently divorced the President's friend, Senator Peter Gerry of Rhode Island. He promptly ended Welles' diplomatic career.
Welles then retired to his estate at Oxon Hill, Maryland. He devoted himself to writing and his two-volume history of the Dominican Republic, Naboth's Vineyard: The Dominican Republic, 1844–1924 appeared in 1928. Time described the work as "a ponderous, lifeless, two-volume work which was technically a history of Santo Domingo, actually a careful indictment of U.S. foreign policy in the Hemisphere". James Reston summarized its thesis: "we should keep in our own back yard and stop claiming rights for ourselves that we denied to other sovereign States".
He served as an unofficial adviser to Dominican President Horacio Vásquez.
During the presidential election of 1932, Welles provided foreign policy expertise to the Roosevelt campaign. He was a major contributor to the campaign as well.
Cuba
In April 1933, FDR appointed Welles Assistant Secretary of State for Latin American Affairs, but when a revolution in Cuba against President Gerardo Machado left its government divided and uncertain, he became instead the President's special envoy to Cuba. He arrived in Havana in May 1933. His mission was to negotiate a settlement so that the U.S. could avoid intervening as U.S. law, namely the Platt Amendment of 1901, required.
His instructions were to mediate "in any form most suitable" an end to the Cuban situation. Welles promised Machado a new commercial treaty to relieve economic distress if Machado reached a political settlement with his opponents, Colonel Dr. Cosme de la Torriente, from the Nationalist Union; Joaquín Martínez Sáenz, for ABC; Nicasio Silveira, for the Revolutionary Radical Cellular Organization; and Dr. Manuel Dorta-Duque, representing the delegation of the University of Havana. Machado believed the U.S. would help him survive politically. Welles promised the opponents of Machado's government a change of government and participation in the subsequent administration, if they joined the mediation process and supported an orderly transfer of power. One crucial step was persuading Machado to issue an amnesty for political prisoners so that the opposition leaders could appear in public. Machado soon lost faith in Welles and denounced American interference as a colonialist adventure. Welles' mediation process conferred political legitimacy on sectors of the opposition that participated and allowed the U.S. to assess their viability as long-term political allies. Unable to influence Machado, Welles met with Rafael Guas Inclan, president of the Chamber of Representatives, at the home of newspaper publisher Alfredo Hornedo, and requested that he initiate impeachment proceedings against the president. When Guas harshly refuted him, Welles then negotiated an end to his presidency, with support from General Alberto Herrera, Colonels Julio Sanguily, Rafael del Castillo and Erasmo Delgado after threatening U.S. intervention under the Platt Amendment and the restructuring of the Cuban army high command.
In 1937, FDR promoted Welles to Under Secretary, and the Senate promptly confirmed the appointment. Indicative of ongoing rivalries within the State Department, Robert Walton Moore, an ally of Secretary of State Hull was appointed the department's Counselor at the same time, a position equal in rank to that of Under Secretary.
World War II
In the week following Kristallnacht, in November 1938, the British government offered to give the major part of its quota of 65,000 British citizens eligible for emigration to the United States to Jews fleeing Hitler. Under-Secretary Welles opposed this idea, as he later recounted:
I reminded the Ambassador that the President stated there was no intention on the part of his government to increase the quota for German nationals. I added that it was my strong impression that the responsible leaders among American Jews would be the first to urge that no change in the present quota for German Jews be made...The influential Sam Rosenman, one of the "responsible" Jewish leaders sent Roosevelt a memorandum telling him that an "increase of quotas is wholly inadvisable. It will merely produce a 'Jewish problem' in the countries increasing the quota."
Welles headed the American delegation to the 21-nation Pan American conference that met in Panama in September 1939. He said the conference had been planned in earlier hemispheric meetings in Buenos Aires and Lima and he emphasized the need for consultation on economic issues to "cushion the shock of the dislocation of inter-American commerce arising from the war" in Europe.
In February and March 1940 Welles visited Italy, Germany, France (he visited President Albert Lebrun on March 7) and England to discuss peacemaking proposals. Hitler feared that the purpose of his visits was to drive a wedge between Germany and Italy.
Soviet occupation of the Baltics
On July 23, 1940, following the principles of the Stimson Doctrine, Welles issued a statement that became known as the Welles Declaration. In the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 23, 1939, Germany agreed to allow the Soviet Union to occupy and annex the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Welles condemned those actions and refused to recognize the legitimacy of Soviet rule in those countries. More than 50 countries later followed the U.S. in this position.
The declaration was a source of contention during the subsequent alliance between the Americans, the British, and the Soviets, but Welles persistently defended the declaration. In a discussion with the media, he asserted that the Soviets had maneuvered to give "an odor of legality to acts of aggression for purposes of the record."
In a 1942 memorandum describing his conversations with British Ambassador Lord Halifax, Welles stated that he would have preferred to characterize the plebiscites supporting the annexations as "faked." In April 1942, he wrote that the annexation was "not only indefensible from every moral standpoint, but likewise extraordinarily stupid." He believed any concession on the Baltic issue would set a precedent that would lead to additional border struggles in eastern Poland and elsewhere.
Rivalries
A New York Times profile described Welles in 1941: "Tall and erect, never without his cane,... he has enough dignity to be Viceroy of India and... enough influence in this critical era to make his ideas, principles, and dreams count."
He appeared on the cover of Time on August 11, 1941, and in that issue Time assessed Welles' role within Hull's Department of State:
Sumner Welles is one of the very few career men ever to become Under Secretary of State, and as matters now stand may eventually become Secretary....Grave, saintly Mr. Hull, never an expert at paper-shuffling, has long left the actual administration of the Department to his chief aide, Sumner Welles. And Cordell Hull may choose not to retire. But even if Welles never becomes Secretary, he will still hold his present power: through Presidential choice, his own ability, background and natural stamina, he is the chief administrative officer of U.S. foreign policy.
Roosevelt was always close to Welles and made him the central figure in the State Department, much to the chagrin of secretary Cordell Hull, who could not be removed because he had a powerful political base.
The clash became more public in mid-1943, when Time reported "a flare-up of long-smoldering hates and jealousies in the State Department". After Welles was forced out of office, journalists noted that two men who shared "aims and goals" were at odds because of a "clash of temperament and ambitions".
Resignation
Welles was a closeted bisexual. In September 1940, Welles accompanied Roosevelt to the funeral of former Speaker of the House William B. Bankhead in Huntsville, Alabama. While returning to Washington by train, Welles solicited sex from two male African-American Pullman car porters. Cordell Hull dispatched his confidant, former Ambassador William Bullitt, to provide details of the incident to Republican Senator Owen Brewster of Maine. Brewster, in turn, gave the information to journalist Arthur Krock, a Roosevelt critic; and to Senators Styles Bridges and Burton K. Wheeler. When FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover would not release the file on Welles, Brewster threatened to initiate a senatorial investigation into the incident. (In 1995, Deke DeLoach told C-SPAN's Brian Lamb on Booknotes that file cabinets behind J. Edgar Hoover's secretary Helen Gandy contained two-and-a-half drawers of files, including information about "an undersecretary of state who had committed a homosexual act.") Roosevelt was embittered by the attack on his friend, believing they were ruining a good man, but he was obliged to accept Welles's resignation in 1943. Roosevelt particularly blamed Bullitt.
In August 1943, reports that Welles had resigned as Under-Secretary of State circulated for more than a week. The press reported it as fact on August 24, despite the lack of an official announcement. Writing in The New York Times, Arthur Krock said that opinion in Washington saw Welles's departure as an attempt to end factionalism in the State Department: "The long-existing struggle disorganized the department, bred Hull and Welles factions among its officials, confused those having business with the department and finally produced pressure on the President to eliminate the causes." Despite the "personal fondness" of the President and his wife for Welles, he continued, the President sided with Hull because supporting a subordinate would promote revolts in other government agencies, Hull was politically connected and popular with Congress, and the Senate, he was told, would not support Welles for Secretary of State or any other office. Krock added a cryptic explanation: "Other incidents arising made the disagreements between the two men even more personal. It was those which aroused the Senate to opposition to Mr. Welles that was reported to the President."
While Welles vacationed in Bar Harbor, Maine, "where he held to diplomatically correct silence", speculation continued for another month without official word from the White House or the State Department. Observers continued to focus on the Hull-Welles relationship and believed that Hull forced the President to choose between them to end "departmental cleavage". Others read the situation politically and blamed FDR's "appeasement of Southern Democrats". Without confirming his resignation or speaking on the record, Welles indicated he would accept any new assignment the President proposed. Finally, on September 26, 1943, the President announced the resignation of Welles and the appointment of Edward R. Stettinius as the new Under-Secretary of State. He accepted Welles' resignation with regret and explained that Welles was prompted to leave government service because of "his wife's poor health". Welles' letter of resignation was not made public as was customary and one report concluded, "The facts of this situation remained obscure tonight." Time summarized the reaction of the press: "Its endorsement of Sumner Welles was surprisingly widespread, its condemnation of Franklin Roosevelt and Cordell Hull surprisingly severe." It also described the resignation's impact: "In dropping Sumner Welles [Hull] had dropped the chief architect of the US's Good Neighbor Policy in South America, an opponent of those who would do business with Fascists on the basis of expediency, a known and respected advocate of U.S. cooperation in international affairs. The U.S. still awaits a clarification of its foreign policy and the forced resignation of Sumner Welles made an already murky issue even more obscure."
Later years
Welles made his first public appearance following his resignation in October 1943. Speaking to the Foreign Policy Association, he sketched his views of the postwar world, including American participation in a world organization with military capability. He also proposed the creation of regional organizations. He also called on the President to express his opinions and help shape public opinion, praising him at length as "rightly regarded throughout the world as the paladin of the forces of liberal democracy" without once mentioning Hull.
Continuing his career-long focus on Latin America, he said that "if we are to achieve our own security every nation of the Western Hemisphere must also obtain the same ample measure of assurance as ourselves in the world of the future." He also foresaw the end to colonialism as a guiding principle of the new world order:
Can the peaceful, the stable, and the free world for which we hope be created if it is envisioned from the outset as half slave and half free?-if hundreds of millions of human beings are told that they are destined to remain indefinitely under alien subjection? New and powerful nationalistic forces are breaking into life throughout the earth, and in particular in the vast regions of Africa, of the Near East, and of the Far East. Must not these forces, unless they are to be permitted to start new and devastating inundations, be canalized through the channels of liberty into the great stream of constructive and cooperative human endeavor?
In 1944, Welles lent his name to a fundraising campaign by the United Jewish Appeal to bring Jewish refugees from the Balkans to Palestine.
The same year, he authored The Time for Decision. His proposals for the war's end included modifications in Germany's borders to transfer East Prussia to Poland and to extend Germany's eastern border to include German-speaking populations farther east. Then, he suggested dividing Germany into three states, all of which would be included in a new European customs union. A politically divided Germany would be integrated to an economically-cohesive Europe. He also "favoured the transfer of populations to bring ethnic distributions into conformity with international boundaries." With the public engaged in the debate over America's postwar role, The Time for Decision sold half a million copies.
Welles became a prominent commentator and author on foreign affairs. In 1945, he joined the American Broadcasting Company to guide the organization of the "Sumner Welles Peace Forum," a series of four radio broadcasts providing expert commentary on the San Francisco Conference, which wrote the founding document of the United Nations. He undertook a project to edit a series of volumes on foreign relations for Harvard University Press.
In 1948, Welles authored We Need Not Fail, a short book that first presented a history and evaluated the competing claims to Palestine. He argued that American policy should insist on the fulfillment of the 1947 promise of the United Nations General Assembly to establish two independent states within an economic union and policed by a United Nations force. He criticized American officials whose obsession with the Soviets required submission to Arab and oil interests. Enforcing the decision of the United Nations was his overarching concern because it was an opportunity to establish the organization's role on the international stage that no other interest could trump.
Later that year, the American Jewish Congress presented Welles with a citation that praised his "courageous championing of the cause of Israel among the nations of the world."
On December 7, 1948, Welles appeared before HCUA as part of its investigation into allegations between Whittaker Chambers and Alger Hiss (part of the Hiss Case). Later that month (and after the death of his friend Laurence Duggan), he suffered a serious heart attack.
In April 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy repeatedly charged that the Institute of Pacific Relations (IPR), an organization that fostered the study of the Far East and the Pacific, was a communist front. Welles was a member of the American branch of the IPR.
He remained always in the public eye. For example, his departure on the Île de France for Europe was noted even as he declined to comment on charges made by McCarthy about communists in the State Department.
He sold his estate outside Washington in 1952, when Oxon Hill Manor became the home of a "huge collection of Americana."
In 1956, Confidential, a scandal magazine, published a report of the 1940 Pullman incident and linked it to his resignation from the State Department, along with additional instances of inappropriate sexual behavior or drunkenness. Welles had explained the 1940 incident to his family as nothing more than drunken conversation with the train staff. His son Benjamin Welles was devoted to his father wrote of the incident in his father's biography as drunken advances to several porters at about 4 a.m. that were rejected and then reported to government and railway officials.
Personal life
On April 14, 1915, Sumner Welles married Esther "Hope" Slater of Boston, the sister of a Harvard roommate, in Webster, Massachusetts. She came from a similarly prominent family that owned a textile empire based in Massachusetts. She was descended from industrialist Samuel Slater and granddaughter of the Boston painter William Morris Hunt. Welles and his wife had two sons:
Benjamin Welles (1916–2002), a foreign correspondent for The New York Times, later his father's biographer,
Arnold Welles (1918–2002)
In 1923, Slater obtained a divorce from Welles in Paris "on grounds of abandonment and refusal to live with his wife".
Welles occasionally gained public notice for his art dealings. In 1925, for example, he sold a collection of Japanese screens that had been on exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for several years.
On June 27, 1925, Welles married Mathilde Scott Townsend (1885–1949), "a noted international beauty" whose portrait had been painted by John Singer Sargent, in upstate New York. Until World War II, the Welles' lived on Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, D.C., in the landmark Townsend Mansion, which later became the home of the Cosmos Club. Mathilde died of peritonitis in 1949 while vacationing in Switzerland with Welles.
Welles spent the bulk of his time a few miles outside of Washington in the Maryland countryside at a 49-room "country cottage" known as Oxon Hill Manor designed for him by Jules Henri de Sibour and built on a 245-acre property in 1929. He entertained foreign dignitaries and diplomats there and hosted informal meetings of senior officials. FDR used the site as an occasional escape from the city as well.
On January 8, 1952, Welles married Harriette Appleton Post, a childhood friend (and a granddaughter of architect George B. Post, designer of the New York Stock Exchange) who had previously married and divorced twice, and had resumed the use of her maiden name, in New York City at the bride's home on Fifth Avenue.
He died on September 24, 1961, at age 68 in Bernardsville, New Jersey. He is buried in Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, D.C.
Legacy
The biography written by his son Benjamin Welles concludes:
Sumner Welles made four major contributions to the Roosevelt era. He conceived and carried out the Good Neighbor policy, arguably the all-time, high-water mark in U.S.--Latin American relations. With Roosevelt, Churchill and Alexander Cadogan, he wrote the Atlantic Charter, the cornerstone of the United Nations. In mid—World War II, at FDR's direction, he drafted the original UN Charter. And during and after the war, he threw his support behind a national homeland for the Jews: Israel. The Good Neighbor policy and the Atlantic Charter are largely memories. The United Nations and Israel endure.
Winston Churchill, who made the phrase "No comment" famous, cited Welles as his source for the cryptic response.
Welles' papers are held by the National Archives at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library in Hyde Park, New York.
The street adjacent to the current Embassy of the United States in Riga, Latvia was named after Sumner Welles (as Samnera Velsa iela) in 2012.
Works
The Time for Decision (Harper & Brothers, 1944)
An Intelligent American's Guide to the Peace (Dryden, 1945)
Where Are We Heading (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1946)
We Need Not Fail (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1948)
Seven Major Decisions That Shaped History (New York: Harper 1951)
Naboth's Vineyard: The Dominican Republic, 1844–1924 (reprint: Arno Press, 1972),
References
Further reading
Devine, Michael J. "Welles, Sumner" in American National Biography (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999), v. 23 available online
Fullilove, Michael. Rendezvous with destiny: how Franklin D. Roosevelt and five extraordinary men took America into the war and into the world (Penguin, 2013).
Gellman, Irwin F., Secret Affairs: Franklin Roosevelt, Cordell Hull, and Sumner Welles (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1995).
Hoopes, Townsend and Brinkley, Douglas, FDR and the Creation of the U.N. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997),
O'Sullivan, Christopher D., Sumner Welles, Postwar Planning, and the Quest for a New World Order, 1937–1943 (New York: Columbia University Press, 2007, full text online
Role, J. Simon. Franklin Roosevelt's Foreign Policy and the Welles Mission (2007)
Welles, Benjamin, Sumner Welles: FDR's Global Strategist: A Biography, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute Series on Diplomatic and Economic History (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997),
Cuba
Kapcia, A., "The Siege of the Hotel Nacional, Cuba, 1933: A Reassessment" in Journal of Latin American Studies v. 34 (2002), 283–309
Lazo, Mario, Dagger in the Heart: American Policy Failures in Cuba (New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1968)
Phillips, R. Hart, Cuban Side Show, 2nd ed. (Havana: Cuban Press, 1935)
Phillips, R. Hart, Cuba, Island of Paradox (New York: McDowell, Obolensky, 1959)
Thomas, Hugh, Cuba or The Pursuit of Freedom (New York: Harper & Row, 1971)
Primary sources
primary documents based on O'Sullivan's book, 2007
External links
Sumner Welles Index at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, Part 1 and Part 2
1892 births
1961 deaths
Ambassadors of the United States to Cuba
Articles containing video clips
Bisexual men
Burials at Rock Creek Cemetery
Harvard College alumni
LGBT ambassadors of the United States
People from Bernardsville, New Jersey
Politicians from New York City
LGBT people from Washington, D.C.
United States Under Secretaries of State
LGBT people from New York (state)
United States Foreign Service personnel
20th-century LGBT people | en |
doc-en-6405 | "Get Me Bodied" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé for her second solo studio album B'Day (2006). It was written by Beyoncé, Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean, Sean Garrett, Makeba Riddick, Angela Beyince, and Solange Knowles, while the production was handled by Dean, Beyoncé and Garrett. Beyoncé was inspired by her sister Solange and former Destiny's Child bandmates Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams for the writing process. Columbia Records and Music World Entertainment released "Get Me Bodied" as the album's sixth and final single in the United States on July 10, 2007.
"Get Me Bodied" is an R&B and bounce song with dancehall and reggae influences. It features Beyoncé as the female protagonist going out an evening in the right dress and the right hair, to steam up any dancefloor and make sure her call to "get her bodied" is irresistible. The song was generally well received by contemporary music critics, who complimented its party sound and Beyoncé's vocals. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) recognized it as the best R&B and hip-hop song of 2007. "Get Me Bodied" initially reached number sixty-eight on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 2007, but due to a viral video reached a new peak of forty-six in 2013.
Its accompanying music video was co-directed by Beyoncé and Anthony Mandler, and inspired by The Frug from Bob Fosse's film adaptation of the Broadway musical Sweet Charity. Solange, Rowland, and Williams make cameo appearances. The video was nominated for Video of the Year at the 2007 VH1 Soul Vibe Awards. "Get Me Bodied" was promoted by Beyoncé with live performances on her world tours and at the 2007 BET Awards. In April 2011, Beyoncé re-recorded the song and retitled it as "Move Your Body" for the Let's Move! Flash Workout campaign. An instructional video of the exercise routine was filmed for distribution to participating schools.
Background and development
Beyoncé began working on her second solo studio album B'Day following the conclusion of filming of Dreamgirls. She revealed: "[When filming ended] I had so many things bottled up, so many emotions, so many ideas". Beyoncé contacted American songwriter and producer Sean Garrett, and booked him at the Sony Music Studios in New York City, New York, where "Get Me Bodied" was recorded. She also called American hip hop producer and rapper Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean, her sister Solange, her cousin Angela Beyince, and songwriter Makeba Riddick. Beyoncé took inspiration from Solange, who helped in the writing process of the song, and former Destiny's Child bandmates Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. In "Get Me Bodied", she mentioned "three best friends" because she was thinking of them while writing. While working on the lyrics, Swizz Beatz and the other producers in the team handled its production.
Release
"Get Me Bodied" and "Green Light" were planned to be released as the next two singles from B'Day, following the lead single "Déjà Vu". Beyoncé aimed the tracks at the international markets and opted for "Ring the Alarm" as the second single, which peaked at number eleven on the US Billboard Hot 100. However, Irreplaceable" was officially serviced as the album's second international and third single in the United States. Instead, "Get Me Bodied" was released as the sixth overall and final single in the United States after the release of B'Days deluxe edition's lead single "Beautiful Liar". A two-track CD single was released on July 10, 2007 in the United States, containing the radio edit and the extended mix of the song. A ringle of "Get Me Bodied" was released on October 23, 2007.
Music and lyrics
"Get Me Bodied" is a moderate R&B and bounce song, which displays influences of dance-pop, dancehall, and funk music. Jim DeRogatis of Chicago Sun-Times wrote that it is a musical mixture of double Dutch rhyming and reggae-rap. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by EMI Music Publishing, the song is written in the key of G minor, and is set in common time at a moderate groove of 100 beats per minute. Beyoncé's vocals range from the note of Bb3 to F5. "Get Me Bodied" progresses on a lurching and turgid beat. Its instrumentation includes drum patterns, surging horns, and synthesizers. The song also utilizes handclaps and syncopated interlocked clicks, which are interspersed with background chants, vocal exclamations, vocal gymnastics, and Texas twang. Sasha Frere-Jones of The New Yorker commented that some notes which begin as "legato exhalations" constrict into shouts. Mike Joseph of PopMatters noted that "Get Me Bodied" is "the glorified version" of Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" (2005).
According to Bill Lamb of About.com, the song "crackle[s] with the spirit and power of a woman who carries her sexuality and spirit with authority." "Get Me Bodied" features Beyoncé as the female protagonist going out an evening; she is suitably dressed to make a lasting impression and get what she is looking for. She is determined to steam up any dance floor she steps onto and make sure that no one resists her call to "get [her] bodied". The lyrics are constructed in the traditional verse-chorus form. "Get Me Bodied" begins with Beyoncé telling her birthdate "9-4-8-1", followed by a group of male voices singing "hey's" and "jump's" for four bars; the first verse then begins. The verses are written like a list where she sings her missions before going to party. It is followed with the chorus and the hook, where Beyoncé sings: "Can you get me bodied? I want to be myself tonight." The second verse follows, the chorus repeats giving way to the bridge, and Beyoncé sings the chorus again, ending the song with "hey!".
Critical reception
"Get Me Bodied" received universal acclaim from music critics who praised its party sound and Beyoncé's vocals. Chris Richards of The Washington Post referred to the track a "club-hungry come-ons" with a "dexterous melody". He further stated that the "skeletal" track "keeps Beyoncé tethered to the ground". Jody Rosen of Entertainment Weekly commented that "a piddly home hi-fi can hardly capture the thunderous grandeur of 'Get Me Bodied,' which sets Beyoncé's harmonies above a pummeling track overseen by rap producer Swiss Beatz". Tim Finney of Pitchfork Media called the track a "percussive, Diwali-esque jam". Us Weekly described "Get Me Bodied" a "snappy dance number." Sasha Frere-Jones of The New Yorker noted that the song sounds "anxious." Mike Joseph of PopMatters noted that the song is very similar to Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" (2005) and expressed further praise about "Get Me Bodied", writing: "['Get Me Bodied' is] Beyonce’s glorified version of a 'Hollaback Girl'-type song. [...] But listen to way she wails and shouts throughout the song! Gwen Stefani certainly isn’t capable of vocal gymnastics like this. When she sings [...] you can visualize beads of perspiration coming off of her as she shakes to this song."
Spence D. of IGN Music added that Beyoncé's "crisp voice" seems at odds with the beats featured in the song. However, he continued saying that it "when it gets muted and overlapped on the chorus, it sounds purely hypnotical." Jaime Gill of Yahoo! Music described the track as a "driving" and "strutting" one. Jon Pareles of The New York Times stated: " [...] rhythm-driven songs, especially 'Get Me Bodied', could be high-tech upgrades of an old African-American form, the ring shout [...]". Darryl Sterdan, writing for the Canadian website Jam!, said that the song manages dancing into a contact sport with the help of cheerleader hand-claps. Dave de Sylvia of Sputnikmusic considered "Get Me Bodied" as one of the three production triumphs on B'Day. Richard Cromelin of Los Angeles Times wrote that "Get Me Bodied" sounds "like fun" for Beyoncé, connecting her with deep, vital cultural roots. He also went on saying that "the playful chant" suggests both children's street game and traditional work song, and the whiff of Louisiana in the beat taps her own Creole heritage.
In 2007, Shaheem Reid, Jayson Rodriguez and Rahman Dukes of MTV News placed the song at number five on his year-end list of 27 Essential R&B Songs of 2007. Beyoncé earned the R&B and Hip-Hop Song accolade for "Get Me Bodied" at the 2008 American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Awards. In 2013, John Boone and Jennifer Cady of E! Online placed the extended remix of the song at number four on their list of ten best Beyoncé's songs. The same year, the writers of Complex magazine put "Get Me Bodied" at number 9 on their list of 25 best Beyoncé's songs. Heather Haynes writing for the magazine, concluded that the song was a proof that Beyoncé could "kill any and every dance song" further adding, "There's no way you don't start dancing or slow-winding when 'Get Me Bodied' comes on".
Commercial performance
Prior to the official release as a single, "Get Me Bodied" debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 on May 26, 2007 at number ninety-eight while "Beautiful Liar" and "Irreplaceable" were still on the chart. It was lurking below top fifty approaching its physical release. On August 4, 2007, "Get Me Bodied" peaked at number sixty-eight, and spent a total of eighteen weeks on the Hot 100. "Get Me Bodied" fared better on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, peaking at number ten. It reached number eighty-eight on the US Pop 100. The song also received heavy rotation from the urban contemporary radio stations in the United States. "Get Me Bodied" was ranked at number twenty-six on the US Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs year-end chart in 2007.
In 2013, a video of a woman named Deborah Cohan and her doctors breaking out dancing to the song before she underwent a double mastectomy was posted on YouTube and went viral. Due to Billboards then-new streaming rules, the song became eligible to chart on the Hot 100, giving it a new peak of number forty-six for the week of November 23, 2013.
Music video
Background and release
"Get Me Bodied" was one of the music videos shot during the two-week filming for B'Day Anthology Video Album. It was conceptualized by Beyoncé and co-directed by Anthony Mandler. The version of the song used in the clip is the extended mix, which is featured on the deluxe edition of B'Day. The video was shot over two days and choreographed by Rhapsody, Todd Sams, Clifford McGhee and Bethany Strong. For the shoot, Beyoncé asked former Destiny's Child band-mates Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams, and sister Solange to appear with her in the video. She said that it "sets the tone of the video". Beyoncé's mother and stylist, Tina created over 60 outfits for Beyoncé and the 50 extras featured in the video. The instructional dance-oriented video was inspired by the 1960s choreographies. Beyoncé cited influences from the Broadway director-choreographer Bob Fosse, Southern and Jamaican movement and the Frug from the musical Sweet Charity; Erika Ramirez of Billboard magazine further noted that the video was inspired by the scene "Rich Man's Frug" from the movie. She said: "It tells you how to do all the dances — it's modern, it's retro, it's vintage, it's stylized, it's all of those things put together." The story moves from a tony party reminiscent of the jet set style of the sixties, followed with dance sequences. The video was released to US iTunes Store as a Video Triple on September 4, 2007. A re-edit of the video was produced for the Timbaland remix featuring Voltio. Although Voltio does not actually appear in the video, unused footages of the original video were replaced during the parts he sings. The re-edited video was posted on the MTV Overdrive on July 26, 2007. It was included on the DVD for Irreemplazable (2007).
Synopsis
The video begins with Beyoncé writing the sequence 9-4-8-1 and B'Day on the mirror with her lipstick. As the song begins, she briefly dances in a silver dress around a red room and later answers a telephone on a black couch. She, Solange, Rowland and Williams then walk across a multi-colored room to a black door where they all pose for the camera. As the chorus begins, Beyoncé, Solange, Rowland and Williams step out of a black limousine; they are all sporting matching silver dresses. They execute some dance steps as they walk inside, where people are partying. As the chorus ends, the song is paused while Beyoncé enters a room, where everyone begin to ask who she is, before she answers, "It's B!" and snaps her fingers to start back the music.
She then walks past several people, dances with several men and women in white and black suits and dresses, as the second chorus begins. Beyoncé and the dancers perform a dance routine together, and soon she meets a man, who dances with her. A particular scene shows all the dancers crouch down to the floor, and follow Beyoncé as she walks, before she blows them back. The bridge starts, and the video moves to Beyoncé in a red room, where she and her dancers dance in short skirts, fishnets and black sparkling dresses. The group is later dance in the red and white rooms together. Leading into the final chorus, Beyoncé dances back in the room with the dancers, while Rowland, Williams and her sister sit on a black couch. As the video ends, Beyoncé stands in front of the mirror she was at the start and fades to black as she stares at the viewer through it.
Direct references to the "Rich Man's Frug" include a nearly shot-for-shot recreation of the "who is it?" introduction, the cage and Greek sculptures surrounding a large stage, the two ladies back-to-back parting to reveal Beyonce with two male dancers, and many dance steps from "The Heavyweight" portion of Fosse's choreography.
Reception
MTV's Tamar Anitai reviewed the video positively, describing it as a "swashbuckling showstopper" and adding, "But, sorry ladies, B shines brightest front and center, looking glittery, glorious and, of course, gorgeous, and more glam than ever before." Anitai further wrote that the "seriously sick" dance sequence in the video spans the history of late 20th-century modern dance, from Jerome Robbins, Bob Fosse, Janet Jackson and Fatima Robinson. He added that the video showcases Beyoncé's metamorphosis into a "highly sophisticated" dancer, and one who can seriously shake it in sky-high stilettos to boot. Anitai concluded his review by writing that Beyoncé unveiled her onstage alter ego Sasha Fierce for the mini movie with "epic" dance scenes while channeling her inner Lena Horne, Chita Rivera and Tina Turner. The music video for "Get Me Bodied" was nominated in the category for Video of the Year at the 2007 VH1 Soul Vibe Awards. In 2013, John Boone and Jennifer Cady of E! Online placed the video at number two on their list of Beyoncé's ten best music videos writing that "She wears a slinky silver dress and has a ponytail ready for whipping, so yeah, she's hot."
Live performances
Beyoncé first performed "Get Me Bodied" at the 2007 BET Awards on June 27. She was wearing a gold robot gear, which she whittled down to sleek gold lame pants and a matching bra top. As she continued singing, her sister-singer Solange Knowles and fellow Destiny Child member Michelle Williams appeared onstage as her back-up dancers. A few moments later, Beyoncé introduced Kelly Rowland to the stage to perform her solo hit "Like This" (2007) with American rapper Eve. After her performance, Beyoncé and Williams appeared onstage with Rowland to complete the Destiny's Child reunion. Sandy Cohen of the Associated Press described Beyoncé's performance as "show-stopping". A writer of Rap-Up wrote that Beyoncé "killed it" with the "best performance of the night". Despite the televised live performance, "Get Me Bodied" was a part of the set list on three of Beyoncé's world tours.
For the performance of the song during The Beyoncé Experience (2007), Beyoncé sported a robot outfit similar to the one she wore at the BET Awards; however, this time she was dressed in yellow and black like a bumblebee. As she started, she declared that she was the "queen bee — or Queen B". During the end of the performance, Beyoncé led the crowd in a dance routine calling out a series of movements and then executing them. While reviewing the performance of the song on August 5, 2007, at the Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, Shaheem Reid of MTV News called it "another roof-burner". Jon Pareles of The New York Times also complimented the performance, writing that the concert was a showcase for Beyoncé's consistently expanding music like the kinetic dance beats of "Get Me Bodied". Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter included the "raising version" of "Get Me Bodied" as a highlight of the evening. While reviewing the concert in Anaheim in September, Lee Hildebrand from the San Francisco Chronicle felt that none of the supporting dancers could upstage Beyoncé during the performance of the "infectiously syncopated" song. Ann Powers of the Los Angeles Times described the performance of the song during the tour as "rowdy" noting that it "foregrounded the connection between Beyoncé's percussive vocal style and her love of street dance". "Get Me Bodied" was included on Beyoncé's live album The Beyoncé Experience Live (2007) which was filmed during her concert in Los Angeles during the tour.
"Get Me Bodied" was also included in the set list of the I Am... World Tour (2009–10) and the revue I Am... Yours which was also part of the tour. Prior to the performance of the song, Beyoncé asked the crowd "Are ya'll ready to dance?" and went on singing it wearing a sequin dress with a big bow on the back while performing dance routines with her background dancers. While reviewing Beyoncé's performance at the O2 Arena in London, Michael Cragg of the website musicOMH noted that the song was executed with "in double-quick time". A writer of Billboard magazine noted that the song was performed with high energy during Beyoncé's concert at the Madison Square Garden. However, while reviewing Beyoncé's concert in Perth in September, 2009, Jay Hana from The Sunday Times felt that the show was "only let down by weaker, less melodic songs such as Get Me Bodied". The song was included on the live albums I Am... World Tour (2010) which contained performances filmed during the tour and I Am... Yours: An Intimate Performance at Wynn Las Vegas filmed during the eponymous revue. In late May, 2012, Beyoncé performed "Get Me Bodied" during her Revel Presents: Beyoncé Live revue in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States' entertainment resort, hotel, casino and spa, Revel. During the performance Beyoncé and her back-up dancers performed a swing dance and formations inspired by Bob Fosse. Chuck Darrow of The Philadelphia Inquirer was positive about the performance of the song during the revue, saying, "As for the music, Beyonce kept the needle in the red zone for much of the show, dealing primarily in such full-throttle, groove-intensive signature tracks as... 'Get Me Bodied'". Brad Wete of Complex magazine wrote that Beyoncé was "shimmying" while performing "Get Me Bodied". In 2013, "Get Me Bodied" was added to the set list of The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour. In 2018, she performed the song with Solange during her Coachella headlining performance.
Cover versions
Girl Talk included a sample of "Get Me Bodied" in the song "No Pause" from his album Feed the Animals (2008). During the finale of the tenth season of American Idol on May 25, 2011, the lady contestants joined together onstage to perform "Get Me Bodied" along with a medley of Beyoncé's other hit singles. Adam Graham from MTV News noted that "each singer [was] working the stage with maximum 'tude."
"Move Your Body"
Let's Move! Flash Workout
Beyoncé reworked her original "Get Me Bodied" into a new song titled "Move Your Body" (2011). She joined forces with US First Lady Michelle Obama and the National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation to promote the national Let's Move! campaign, which aims to combat child obesity by prompting youngsters to become more active. Beyoncé actually reworked "Get Me Bodied" and renamed it "Move Your Body" for the Let's Move! Flash Workout initiative itself. A Spanish version was also created entitled "Mueve el Cuerpo". Concerning the campaign, Beyoncé expressed herself:
"It's all about promoting the benefits of healthy eating and exercise... But what we want to do is make it fun by doing something that we all love to do, and that's dance. I am excited to be part of this effort that addresses a public health crisis. First Lady Michelle Obama deserves credit for tackling this issue directly, and I applaud the NAB Education Foundation for trying to make a positive difference in the lives of our schoolchildren."
The lyrics of the original song were switched to fit the cause. The new lyrics include the line: "A little sweat ain’t hurt nobody [...] Don't just stand there on the wall, everybody just move your body, move your body, move your body." The song is a step-by-step flash dance-style workout that combines elements of hip hop music, Latin music as well as dancehall moves with traditional exercise. Nicole James of MTV Buzzworthy described "Move Your Body" as a "kid-friendlier" version of the original. Risa Dixon of Newsday praised the reworked version, calling it "a fun, yet cardio-intensive workout song to get young people excited about exercising."
Music video
The staff members of Idolator showed high favoritism for the acclaimed the campaign, further stating the fact that "when Beyonce tells people to dance, they tend to listen" and so they considered that it was "a pretty genius move" on Michelle Obama’s part to get Beyoncé in on her 'Let's Move!' campaign to fight childhood obesity. On April 9, 2011, an instructional video featuring a group of teenagers dancing to "Move Your Body" was released online. After a few days, Beyoncé has said that she "would record her own version of the exercise routine" to show kids how it is done by shooting a new music video featuring a series of fun workouts to accompany the track. On April 26, 2011, Beyoncé released a video directed by Melina Matsoukas for "Move Your Body". In the video, students join Beyoncé to perform choreography by Frank Gatson. In the choreography, Beyoncé and the students mix salsa, dancehall, The Running Man, Dougie, stomp. The music video for "Move Your Body" takes place as a four-minute long flash mob. The video begins during lunch hour at what looks like a junior high cafeteria. Everything is normal until Beyoncé, wearing short shorts and green knee-high socks, enters the cafeteria doors to begin the song. After Beyoncé's entry, all the kids jump to their feet, following along as Beyoncé leads the group through all kinds of dances.
The instructional video was distributed to participating schools across the country on May 3, 2011, during a 'dance-in'. Beyoncé was at P.S. 161 middle school in Harlem on that particular date. She taught students the moves from her "Move Your Body" video. Beyoncé appeared in the gym much to the delight of her young fans, who danced alongside her and took photos. Lauretta Charlton of Black Entertainment Television (BET) gave the video a positive review stating that "It's impossible to watch without wanting to, well, move your body." Nicole James of MTV Buzzworthy showed great interest in the video and its message, stating that Beyoncé gets kids heart pumping, "in more ways than one". Genevieve Koski of The A.V. Club added that "if anything can help curb the nation's childhood obesity problem, it is the galvanizing power of Beyoncé Knowles dancing", and further praised how "[the] bunch of cute kids [were] doing the Running Man and The Dougie in the cafeteria with Beyoncé." A writer of Rap-Up described Beyoncé's dance moves in the video as "hot". Mike Barthel of The Village Voice described the video as "adorable" and classified it as an "important moment in the relationship between politics and culture". Barthel also praised the patriotic scene where Beyoncé and the kids wave the American flag, saying that "It doesn't feel jingoistic, or pandering, or aggressive; it just feels celebratory, like they are actually kinda happy about America."
Track listings
US CD single
"Get Me Bodied" (Radio Edit) – 4:00
"Get Me Bodied" (Extended Mix) – 6:18
US CD Maxi Single
"Get Me Bodied" (Extended Mix) – 6:21
"Get Me Bodied" (Timbaland Remix featuring Voltio) – 6:17
"Get Me Bodied" (Timbaland Remix featuring Fabolous) – 4:50
Credits and personnel
Credits for "Get Me Bodied" adapted from B'Day deluxe edition liner notes.
Angela Beyince – writing
Jim Caruana – recording
Sean Garrett – writing, production
Jason Goldstein – mixing
Beyoncé Knowles – vocals, writing, production
Solange Knowles – writing
Mabeka – writing
Swizz Beatz – writing, production, mixing, background vocals
Steve Tolle – assistant mixing
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications and sales
Release history
References
External links
2006 songs
2007 singles
Beyoncé songs
Songs written by Swizz Beatz
Songs written by Sean Garrett
Songs written by Beyoncé
Song recordings produced by Swizz Beatz
Music videos directed by Anthony Mandler
Songs written by Solange Knowles
Songs written by Makeba Riddick
Song recordings produced by Beyoncé | en |
doc-en-2284 | Project Cadmus is a fictional genetic engineering project in the DC Comics Universe. Its notable creations included the Golden Guardian (a clone of the original Guardian), Auron, Superboy (Kon-El) (a clone from Superman's DNA), and Dubbilex (a DNA-alien telepath who resembles a tall grey alien with horns). Its 31st-century descendants run the Justice League 3000 clone project.
Publication history
Project Cadmus was created by Jack Kirby as the DNA Project in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #133 (October 1970), and was run by the former Newsboy Legion.
Fictional organization history
Project Cadmus was founded by Dabney Donovan, Reginald Augustine, and Thomas Thompkins. The Cadmus facilities were originally constructed in a large, abandoned aqueduct outside of Metropolis. Exploration soon uncovered a vast array of caverns close to the facilities. These would become important later.
Dabney Donovan was ultimately fired from the Project because he felt there should never be limits in understanding the potential of the genetic code. Donovan had largely been accredited for the non-human creations of the Project, referred to as "DNAliens" (human beings cloned then genetically altered to discover superhuman potential while also giving them a more "alien" appearance), various normal clones, and monsters based on Donovan's favorite horror films (who lived on a small artificial planet on Earth called Transilvane). One of the DNAliens named Dubbilex became a prominent staff member.
There are also "step-ups" who call themselves "the Hairies", super hippies who have developed an evolved knowledge-base and developed transport and defense technology beyond the understanding of modern-day humans. The Hairies live outside the direct control of Cadmus, living inside a mobile "Mountain of Judgement" that constantly keeps them hidden from the affairs of both Cadmus and society in general. Prior to moving to the mountain, the Hairies lived in a forest of living tree-houses called the Habitat, which is right outside some of Cadmus' main facilities.
The Project has an "opposite number" in the form of the Evil Factory, a monster-creating project set up by Darkseid as part of Intergang and run by two of his servants called Simyan and Mokkari. They were originally created at Project Cadmus, but due to the cruelty of the experimentation they experienced at the hands of Dr. Dabney Donovan, they develop a great deal of hatred towards all humanity. They form a scientific enclave called "Brigadoom" as a means of pleasing Darkseid by creating an army of monstrous genetic constructs. They are constantly creating entities to assist Darkseid in mastering the Anti-Life Equation, clues of which exist on Earth. This would allow Darkseid and his lackeys like Simyan and Mokkari to rule over their surroundings.
Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Project was reintroduced as Project Cadmus, named after the Greek legend of Cadmus, who created warriors from the teeth of a dragon.
Before creating the DNA Project, Kirby had written a cloning story called "The Cadmus Seed" in Alarming Tales.
The Post-Crisis version made its first appearance in Superman (vol. 2) Annual #2 (1988). It was responsible for the creation of the new Superboy, cloned from genetic material obtained from both Superman and Lex Luthor (originally, the human DNA was identified as that of Project director Paul Westfield). Superboy is subsequently freed by the clones of the Newsboy Legion, who now, as adults, are all working for Cadmus. A clone of Guardian, another long-time hero, works at the facility. As before, another prominent staff member is Dubbilex, a "DNAlien" with telepathic powers.
Cadmus is run for a time by Director Westfield. After Superman's death at the hands of Doomsday, Westfield had Superman's body stolen and worked upon by the scientists of Cadmus in The Legacy of Superman #1 (1993). After the nearest approximation of his DNA is created, Westfield has a Guardian clone named Auron assault the Newsboy Legion clones and their adult "fathers" in an effort to acquire it. Auron almost kills the clones, causing them to crash land in the Habitat, before his Guardian memories come to the forefront. He takes the only copy of the DNA into space. The adult Legion then openly defy Westfield and ponder quitting Cadmus.
Dabney Donovan, still insane, returns multiple times to plague Cadmus, such as capturing the adult Legion and subjecting them to various torments. He would also ally himself with forces from Apokolips.
Cadmus goes to war with the forces of Lex Luthor in a Superman story called "The Fall of Metropolis". This story features a "clone plague" with many clones becoming sick and even dying. Westfield is killed by Donovan. Cadmus is seemingly destroyed entirely, but the Project had simply taken the opportunity to go underground.
New management
In Superboy (vol. 4) #57, the Project was put under new management, following the Newsboys' retirement. The new project head is Mickey "the Mechanic" Cannon, a former Suicide Slum resident with a reputation for being able to "fix" anything, a car or a country. The new head of genetics is Dr. Serling Roquette, a teenaged genius with a crush on the Guardian and Superboy. Dabney Donovan is also brought back, under armed guard. Cannon made Cadmus more open to the public.
Shortly after this the Project temporarily came under the control of the Evil Factory, now revealed to be part of an organisation called The Agenda. This is run by Lex Luthor's ex-wife, the Contessa. The Agenda concerns itself with cloning for its own purposes. One of its operatives, Amanda Spence murders Superboy's girlfriend Tana Moon. The Agenda suffers setbacks at the hands of multitudes of superheroes, including mutinous superpowered beings from within their own ranks. Other characters form another resistance cell and ultimately defeat the 'Evil Factory'.
Endings
When Luthor becomes President of the United States, Cannon and the Guardian became uncomfortable with the amount of government pressure on the Project. Following the Imperiex War, the entire project vanishes. The abandoned facilities, three miles below Metropolis, are later seen. Lex Luthor (no longer president) and several of his associates have appropriated the buildings for their own uses.
During the Seven Soldiers maxi-series, it is mentioned that Cadmus had shut down and sold off the rights to the Guardian name and likeness to a New York-based newspaper called The Manhattan Guardian. The newspaper ended up using the name and costume to create its own superhero. During 52, Project Cadmus is shown to be still in existence.
It wasn't until Countdown to Final Crisis Week 33 that the Project actually resurfaces, and it is still led by Mickey Cannon. He chases down Jimmy Olsen, eventually offering the boy a chance to work with Cadmus to help Olsen discover the mysteries of his new superpowers. Upon arrival at the Project, Olsen is greeted by Dubbilex and Serling Roquette. Roquette takes Jimmy aside to help him learn about his powers. However, when his powers start going out of control, he flees the Project rather than risk hurting someone.
In the Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen one-shot (Dec 2008), Jimmy discovers Cadmus was involved in the creation of Codename: Assassin, and returns to the Project. He discovers the facility abandoned, except for Dubbilex. Dubbilex explains that all the Project's assets have been reassigned by the Government to a new military project with an alien-killing agenda. He tells Jimmy the origin of Codename: Assassin, and asks him to find the Guardian. He then dies of his injuries. In Teen Titans (vol. 3) #83, two married scientists named Vincent and Rochelle Barnes are introduced as Cadmus liaisons to the Titans, and are assigned to help the team track down Raven after she is kidnapped by a demon named Wyld. During the course of the ensuing storyline, Vincent is killed by a possessed Miss Martian. In Teen Titans (vol. 3) #87, Cyborg and Rochelle take Miss Martian and Static to Cadmus Labs after the former is rendered comatose and the latter loses his powers following a battle with Wyld.
Later troubles lead to Cadmus concentrating its power in a Vietnam facility. They take control of the Creature Commandos. The villainous Maxwell Lord is using the resources of Cadmus for his own ends.
The New 52
In 2011, "The New 52" rebooted the DC universe. Project Cadmus is located beneath Cadmus Industries. Kevin Kho worked for Project Cadmus as a genetic researcher under Martin Welman. Kevin's co-workers at Project Cadmus include Tony Jay and Kevin's fiancé Jody Robbins. One day during Kevin Kho's employment, Brother Eye activated Kevin's OMAC side and nearly had him level Cadmus Industries to steal its mainframe. It was also revealed that Mokkari had infiltrated Project Cadmus as a researcher on DeSaad's behalf.
Convergence
During the "Convergence" storyline, the Pre-Zero Hour Superboy has lost his powers shortly after claiming his super-identity. In addition to their support for the Metropolis citizens trapped under the dome, the Pre-Zero Hour Cadmus keeps track of the now-human Superboy who is undergoing deep emotional problems.
Overtaken by Leviathan
Cadmus assets are caught up in a war against worldwide intelligence organizations. Batgirl uncovers evidence that Cadmus has been overtaken by a hostile group calling themselves Leviathan.
Members
Dubbilex - Modified psychic human-clone under the label "DNAlien"
Martin Welman -
Mickey Cannon - Security Director.
Jody Robbins - The co-worker and fiancée of Kevin Kho.
Serling Roquette - Geneticist.
Tony Jay -
Former members
Dabney Donovan - insane genetic scientist and former founder. Provided Intergang with weapons and experiments.
Amanda Spence - A scientist and the daughter of Paul Westfield.
Guardian - Head of Security
Kevin Kho - A genetic researcher who is secretly OMAC.
Master - Robby Reed's villain form previously worked at Project Cadmus and had learned how to make his own supervillains from the cell samples of unnamed humans.
Mokkari - He infiltrated Project Cadmus on DeSaad's behalf.
Newsboy Legion -
Anthony Rodriguez - Scientist.
John Gabrielli - Scientist.
Patrick MacGuire -
Thomas Thompkins - A scientist and co-founder of Project Cadmus.
Walter Johnson -
Paul Westfield - Former Director of Project Cadmus and the father of Amanda Spence. Killed by Dabney Donovan.
Creations of Project Cadmus
Superboy - A creation of Project Cadmus who created him by splicing the DNA of Superman and Lex Luthor. Escaped the Project Cadmus facility and joined Young Justice and Teen Titans.
DNAngels - A trio of genetically-engineered female US government agents that were created by Amanda Spence who spliced the DNA samples of different women with the DNA samples of young superheroes. Their creation cost over $2,000,000,000.00.
Cherub - A clone created from the DNA of Superboy's deceased girlfriend Tana Moon and the DNA of Bart Allen. She possesses super-speed.
Epiphany - A clone created from the DNA of an unnamed Caucasian woman and the DNA of Wonder Girl. She has the same powers as Wonder Girl and sports fiery wings.
Seraph - A clone created from the DNA of an unnamed African-American woman and Superboy. She possesses tactile telekinesis.
Hairies - A group listed as "Step-Ups" who called themselves "the Hairies", are a group of DNAlien super hippies who developed an evolved knowledge, and developed transport and defense technology beyond the understanding of modern day humans under the leadership of one called "Jude".
Other versions
All-Star Superman
In the non-continuity book All-Star Superman, Grant Morrison's modern take on the Silver Age includes the D.N.A. P.R.O.J.E.C.T. which was resurrected by a scientist named Leo Quintum. A comment indicates this organization formed off of the military's 'Cadmus' group. Under Quintum, the P.R.O.J.E.C.T. is dedicated to "the engineering of new human forms" including Bizarro worker drones, giants (Voyager Titans) who can travel through space under their own power, and microscopic "nanonauts" unlocking the mysteries of the sub-atomic world. The P.R.O.J.E.C.T.'s ultimate goal is to create a replacement Superman, in case something happens to the original.
It is revealed that the P.R.O.J.E.C.T. created a formula to bestow Superman-level strength and durability on a normal person, but all of their test subjects ultimately burned out. Marked with "Do Not Open Until Doomsday", Jimmy Olsen injects himself the formula and transforms into a hulking, gray skinned figure with bony protrusions. Jimmy succeeds in stopping a black-kryptonite-affected Superman. Both come through their ordeal, shaken but healthy.
Later, Dr. Quintum's assistant asks him what people will do if Superman never returns from the sun. The last page of the story is a splash-panel of Dr. Quintum replying "I'm sure we'll think of something" and looking at a large, sealed door labeled P.R.O.J.E.C.T. and with a Superman S-shield modified to resemble the number 2.
Batman Beyond
In the Batman Beyond universe, Project Cadmus is still active and run by Amanda Waller, Dr. Thawne and others.
Cadmus One Million
The name "Project Cadmus" has survived to the 853rd century. They have a position of authority over this era's Superboy, who is the one millionth clone of the original. He takes two assignments for them; hunting down the JLA Bizzaro Clone Terrorist and searching for the traces of 20th Century DNA Cadmus had detected. Though Cadmus believed the DNA was in the arctic region on Earth, it was found floating in the Solar System's asteroid belt. It was a humanoid being in a stasis chamber and is later implied the humanoid is Lobo.
Earth-51
This alternate dimension features a Project Cadmus that becomes the focal point of the characters Buddy Blank, Kamandi and Brother Eye.
JLA: The Nail
In the Elseworlds story JLA: The Nail, Cadmus Labs appears as an "Alien Research" testing-ground that holds many metahumans both good and evil. Known captives are Eclipso, Silver Banshee, Firestorm, Hawk and Dove, Creeper, Chemo, Black Orchid, Congo Bill, Man-Bat, Animal Man, Dolphin, Star Sapphire and Freedom Beast.
Justice League 3000
In Justice League 3000, a 31st Century version of Project Cadmus has survived for over a millennium featuring clones of the original Justice League members Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Flash and Green Lantern.
In other media
Television
Animation
Project Cadmus plays a significant role in the DC Animated Universe. It was first featured as an adversary of the Justice League in the first season (third overall) of the animated series Justice League Unlimited. It is described by Emil Hamilton as "power brokers, politicians, criminals, and black-ops mercenaries with one thing in common: they're humanity's last hope against metahumans" when he was later confronted by Superman. This version is a combination of the comics version of Cadmus, the Suicide Squad (which appeared in the series as its real name Task Force X in the comics), and Checkmate. In the series, Cadmus is a government project designed to take precautions against the League going rogue. The project was started when Superman was brainwashed by Darkseid into invading Earth at the end of Superman: The Animated Series where the project (called "Project: Achilles") was designed to deal with the Man of Steel if he were to attack the Earth again. It was created by Lex Luthor and his mutual ally General Nathan Hardcastle, who was later killed by Galatea on orders of Cadmus. The project's goals extended to the Justice League as well after the Justice Lords incident. Members of this version of Cadmus include Amanda Waller, Professor Hamilton, Tala, General Wade Eiling, Professor Milo, Maxwell Lord, Hugo Strange, and Doctor Moon. For a short while, they also had turned Captain Atom to their cause. In addition, they also had Task Force X, which is the official name for the organization known in DC Comics as the Suicide Squad, for use in risky field missions. Cadmus was later shown to be backed by Lex Luthor, who only financed the project in a grab for superpowers of his own; a new AMAZO robot with Luthor's conscious mind implanted in it. After taking what he needed to build it from Cadmus and learning the League had figured out his link to the organization, Luthor attempted to destroy the organization by hacking into an immense laser built into the League's Watchtower. Although the building was destroyed, Waller had the facility evacuated after Superman and Huntress broke in to rescue The Question from Moon's captivity. It was then revealed that Brainiac was living inside Luthor at the time, improving upon his physical health and strength while tricking him into funding the project. After they were confronted by Batman and later the rest of the founding members of the Justice League (which Waller had released from custody), Luthor and Braniac escaped to Washington, D.C. to a Cadmus building in order to merge with the Dark Heart, a nanotechnology-like alien being which the League defeated thanks to Atom. After both of them were defeated, Cadmus ceased operations against the Justice League and the League itself announced the establishment of a planet-side base (Hall of Justice) to improve their public relations. However, there were a few former members of Cadmus who were still against the Justice League, such as Tala, who ends up joining Gorilla Grodd's Secret Society, and General Eiling. Cadmus is shown to be in operation years later, as elements of the organization were later brought together by Waller to initiate "Project Batman Beyond" to ensure that there "would always be a Batman" in some form or another as she came to respect the Dark Knight over time. As a result, Cadmus is responsible for the continuation of the DC Animated Universe storyline into the future.
Throughout the organization's appearances, Project Cadmus was responsible for creating the characters Galatea (a clone of Supergirl who resembles Power Girl), Doomsday, the Royal Flush Gang, Volcana, and the Ultimen (a team of genetically engineered heroes who are a pastiche of several heroes created for the Super Friends series). They have also developed some technology that was not only used to create Terry McGinnis (Batman II) but was also stolen and used by the Joker to overwrite his DNA into Tim Drake and make him the host for the Clown Prince of Crime's consciousness.
Project Cadmus appears in Young Justice, first appearing in the series premiere episode "Independence Day". Project Cadmus is headed up by the seven members of Cadmus' Board of Directors that call themselves "The Light", codenamed L-1 (Vandal Savage), L-2 (Ra's al Ghul), L-3 (Lex Luthor), L-4 (the first Queen Bee of Bialya), L-5 (Ocean Master), L-6 (the Brain), and L-7 (Klarion the Witch Boy). According to series creator Greg Weisman, the numbers are based on the order in which they joined the Light. In "Independence Day" and "Fireworks", the Cadmus Building that was seen is run by Dr. Mark Desmond who is served by Dubbilex, Amanda Spence and a brainwashed Guardian. Robin, Aqualad and Kid Flash decide to do some investigating into Project Cadmus although their mentors in the Justice League instructed them to stay out of it while they were fighting Wotan. They fight Dubbilex, Guardian and a group of alien-looking Cadmus creatures called Genomorphs consisting of G-Dwarves (the worker Genomorphs with tentacles), G-Elves (clawed Genomorph warriors), G-Gnomes (small Genomorphs with telepathy), G-Sprites (insect-like Genomorphs that are kept in jars and are capable of generating electricity), G-Trolls (large Genomorphs with super-strength) and G-Goblins (humanoid Genomorphs with telepathy and telekinesis), the only one being Dubbilex. The teen heroes eventually locate a stasis chamber containing Superboy. While making their way to the surface, Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash and Superboy run into Dubbilex, Guardian and the alien-looking creatures who want their freedom from Mark Desmond. When Mark Desmond turns into Blockbuster, he knocks down Guardian before fighting Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash and Superboy. After Blockbuster is defeated by Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash and Superboy and then taken away by some of the Justice League members, Batman states that Cadmus will be investigated. The next day, Guardian becomes the new head of the Cadmus Building but running it in a humane way. The Light wasn't pleased with what happened and vowed to make Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash and Superboy pay for what happened at one of their Cadmus Buildings. In "Agendas", Superboy meets Lex Luthor in Washington DC who tells him that Project Cadmus has created a new Superclone. Guardian shows Superboy that he has redesigned the Cadmus building since Blockbuster's defeat. Superboy is telepathically told by Dubbilex asking what would happen if he did find a Superclone. After recovering from the Superclone's attack, Superboy learns from Dubbilex that Dr. Mark Desmond and Lex Luthor headed Project Match with the Superclone being the original with full Kryptonian DNA but unstable. Dubbilex telepathically guides Superboy to Genomorph City where the missing Genomorphs are living free and that the Genomorphs have Match telepathically subdued. Match ends up breaking free and attacks Superboy and Dubbilex. Superboy ends up using the patches that Lex Luthor has given him to hold back the human DNA so that he can be on equal grounds with Match. Upon subduing Match, Superboy is ceased from attacking when Guardian and the others show up. With Match on ice in his pod, Guardian states to Superboy that "it has to be this way". In "Auld Acquaintance", Lex Luthor, Brain, Monsieur Mallah, Queen Bee, Ocean Master and Ra's al Ghul infiltrate Project Cadmus and steal the clones that they have including the cryogenic pods holding both Match and the original Roy Harper.
Live action
The television series Smallville referenced a company called "Cadmus Labs", which Lex Luthor bought from heir Victoria Hardwick. This Cadmus was merely part of a larger plan by Luthor; after it was taken from him in a hostile takeover by Victoria (who pretended to love Lex) and her father Henry, it turned out that the project was a feint. The company was in major financial and legal trouble and so the Hardwicks were financially crippled. It briefly appeared in Season 2 as Steven Hamilton was assigned there by Lex, as well as the arrogant Dr. Frederick Walden. Walden, a linguist was hired by Lex to search the Kawatche Caves in Smallville, believing them to be alien. In Season 10, Cadmus would remain owned by LuthorCorp and secretly develop genetic research in order to create clones of Lex. Lex planned to use these clones to heal his wounds, but was unable due to his apparent death at the hands of Oliver Queen in Season 8. In the first episode of the season, "Lazarus" it was revealed that some clones had been created including a young/LX-15 and elderly version of Lex/LX-3. The young Lex is revealed to be a hybrid clone of Lex Luthor and Clark Kent and is living with Clark Kent in Smallville. In one scene, he even dons the Superboy costume which is jeans and a black shirt with a red S on the chest.
Project Cadmus is first mentioned in Supergirl in the season one episode "Manhunter". J'onn J'onzz and Alex Danvers discover that Jeremiah Danvers is alive and being held at the facility. It had a longstanding relationship with the government - a major reason why Superman was unwilling to work with Washington. The organization appears as a recurring threat during season two seeking to root out and eliminate all aliens on Earth. The organization is led by Lillian Luthor (the primary antagonist of the second season), mother of Lex Luthor and the adoptive mother of Lena Luthor. In the season premiere "The Adventures of Supergirl", Cadmus turns John Corben into Metallo. In "The Last Children of Krypton", the organization announces that it has gone rogue, and is no longer working with the government. A mole working for Cadmus is discovered within the DEO. In the episode "Crossfire", a group of criminals are secretly given advanced alien weaponry by Cadmus to further advance their anti-alien agenda. In the episode "Changing", Project Cadmus abducts Mon-El. Kara rescues him, with Jeremiah's help in "The Darkest Place", battling another Cadmus experiment called Cyborg Superman - formerly DEO director Hank Henshaw. The episode "Medusa" sees Cadmus attempt to spread a virus that would kill all alien life, but the plan is thwarted, leading to Lillian Luthor's arrest, until in "Luthors" where she is freed by Hank Henshaw and Corben/Metallo. All three go to a remote facility built by her son to unleash a powerful nuclear weapon to wipe out alien beings in National City; the plan is thwarted by Supergirl and Corben dies in facility while Lillian and Henshaw escape. In the episode "Homecoming", it is revealed that Jeremiah has joined Cadmus as well. After his rescue from Cadmus soldiers, Supergirl and her family celebrate his return, except for Mon-El who is suspicious of him. At the same time Cadmus apparently made a fusion bomb using energy from Supergirl's heat vision in order to frame aliens for dropping it on National City, but it is discovered to be a ruse. Jeremiah (being cybernetically enhanced like Hank) eventually "betrayed" the DEO. He stole a national registry of aliens in preparation to remove all aliens from Earth by using their massive ship, Hoshin Fregate, and exile them on another planet. In "Exodus", Cadmus had already began operation Exodus, kidnapping several aliens as a form of deportation. Supergirl and her friends discover the holding site where Cadmus prepares to launch their ship. Alex Danvers, who went to search for her father, gets in and attempts to rescue them, but the ship automatically launched into space until Supergirl arrived and brought down the ship to Earth, thwarting Cadmus's plans once again. Also, Jeremiah Danvers turned against Cadmus to rescue his daughters and the aliens. He explained to Alex that he had to work for them to protect his daughters, otherwise, they would kill him and his family. In "Resist", Lillian Luthor came to Supergirl and her team to propose an alliance between her organisation and the DEO to stop a Daxamite invasion on Earth, in addition that her daughter Lena Luthor is captive with them. Supergirl refused initially, but later changed her mind. Lillian proposed to go to the Fortress of Solitude where the Phantom Zone projector is held in order to infiltrate Daxamite ship and rescue Lena and Mon-El from Rhea. Kara, Lillian and Hank activate the projector and board the ship to save them. After rescuing them, Lillian and Hank betray Kara and Mon-El to leave them behind while beaming only Lena and themselves to the Fortress. However, Kara expected her betrayal and her friend Winn Schott Jr. put a bug device on Hank prior to the rescue operation. She turned on the device to force him in reactivating the projector to beam Mon-El out of the spaceship. In the season two finale, "Nevertheless, She Persisted", Lillian visited her daughter in her company's building telling her that despite her malevolent acts, she wants to make the world a better place to live and promises to commit herself to improving their relationship, even telling Lena that she could be a Luthor who can save the world. Kara and Kal-El come to their building for help to defeat the Daxamites. Lillian shows them a device from Lex's vault that scatters a toxic substance in the atmosphere (originally filled with kryptonite, but now with lead). J'onn tells Winn to help Lillian and Lena finish this device despite his reluctance. During the fight between Kara and Rhea in a combat ritual called Dakkam-Ur, Winn and the Luthors are nearly finished the device. When the situation gets worse, Lillian hesitates when she wants to turn on the device, but Lena tells her that only Kara can activate it if she loses against Rhea. Kara defeats Rhea and unleashes the lead, poisoning many Daxamites and killing Rhea, while others (including Mon-El) flee into space. In National City's news, it is stated that Cadmus saved the world and wants to establish peace on Earth, but is a potential ruse, implying that Cadmus returned to its old ways. Lillian returns in the season three episode "For Good" where she is aware that her daughter is threatened by Morgan Edge and she tries to kill him in one of Lex Luthor's Lexosuits only to be stopped by Supergirl, Mon-El and Lena. She is arrested along with Morgan Edge. Her arrest results in Cadmus' disbandment. Lillian briefly appears in season four premiere "American Alien" where she is interrogated by Supergirl and Lena about Mercy and Otis Graves who formerly worked for Cadmus, including the business connection between her son and a corrupt businessman and a former associate Bruno Mannheim.
Cadmus Labs appears in the Titans episode "Dick Grayson". Its post-credits scene shows Superboy and Krypto escaping from their Metropolis facility. In season two, Cadmus begins its pursuit of Superboy with help from Mercy Graves.
Film
Dr. Leo Quintum's DNA P.R.O.J.E.C.T. appears in the film All-Star Superman (based on the acclaimed series by Grant Morrison).
Cadmus appeared in the live-action Green Lantern film. At the background when Waller and Hector Hammond enter the top secret DEO facility, a sign appears that said: "Cadmus".
Video games
In the cancelled Flash game, Cadmus Soldiers were supposed to have technology that tapped into the "Speed Force" to slow down the Flash, making the soldiers as fast as him.
Cadmus Labs is involved in Superman Returns: The Video Game. During an interview, the game's executive producer mentioned that among the game's various enemies were "Bizarro's minions escaped from Cadmus Labs".
Project Cadmus appears in DC Universe Online. In the Area 51 alert, the players encounter Project Cadmus' soldiers led by Mickey Cannon while preventing Brainiac's forces from stealing a piece of Kryptonite that was being held in the Area 51 buildings.
In the Batman: Arkham City DLC campaign called "Harley's Revenge", CADMUS is mentioned on posters jotted around the Sionis Steel Mill reading "CADMUS LABS. Building a brighter tomorrow".
See also
List of government agencies in DC Comics
Sources and notes
1970 in comics
Fictional elements introduced in 1970
Fictional intelligence agencies
DC Comics locations
Metropolis (comics) | en |
doc-en-14938 | Czesław Miłosz (, also , ; 30 June 1911 – 14 August 2004) was a Polish-American poet, prose writer, translator, and diplomat. Regarded as one of the great poets of the 20th century, he won the 1980 Nobel Prize in Literature. In its citation, the Swedish Academy called Miłosz a writer who "voices man's exposed condition in a world of severe conflicts".
Miłosz survived the German occupation of Warsaw during World War II and became a cultural attaché for the Polish government during the postwar period. When communist authorities threatened his safety, he defected to France and ultimately chose exile in the United States, where he became a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. His poetry—particularly about his wartime experience—and his appraisal of Stalinism in a prose book, The Captive Mind, brought him renown as a leading émigré artist and intellectual.
Throughout his life and work, Miłosz tackled questions of morality, politics, history, and faith. As a translator, he introduced Western works to a Polish audience, and as a scholar and editor, he championed a greater awareness of Slavic literature in the West. Faith played a role in his work as he explored his Catholicism and personal experience.
Miłosz died in Kraków, Poland, in 2004. He is interred in Skałka, a church known in Poland as a place of honor for distinguished Poles.
Life in Europe
Origins and early life
Czesław Miłosz was born on 30 June 1911, in the village of Šeteniai (), Kovno Governorate, Russian Empire (now Kėdainiai district, Kaunas County, Lithuania). He was the son of Aleksander Miłosz (1883–1959), a Polish civil engineer, and his wife, Weronika (née Kunat; 1887–1945).
Miłosz was born into a prominent family. On his mother's side, his grandfather was Zygmunt Kunat, a descendant of a Polish family that traced its lineage to the 13th century and owned an estate in Krasnogruda (in present-day Poland). Having studied agriculture in Warsaw, Zygmunt settled in Šeteniai after marrying Miłosz's grandmother, Jozefa, a descendant of the noble Syruć family, which was of Lithuanian origin. One of her ancestors, Szymon Syruć, had been personal secretary to Stanisław I, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. Miłosz's paternal grandfather, Artur Miłosz, was also from a noble family and fought in the 1863 January Uprising for Polish independence. Miłosz's grandmother, Stanisława, was a doctor's daughter from Riga, Latvia, and a member of the German/Polish von Mohl family. The Miłosz estate was in Serbiny, a name that Miłosz's biographer Andrzej Franaszek has suggested could indicate Serbian origin; it is possible the Miłosz family originated in Serbia and settled in present-day Lithuania after being expelled from Germany centuries earlier. Miłosz's father was born and educated in Riga. Miłosz's mother was born in Šeteniai and educated in Kraków.
Despite this noble lineage, Miłosz's childhood on his maternal grandfather's estate in Šeteniai lacked the trappings of wealth or the customs of the upper class. He memorialized his childhood in a 1955 novel, The Issa Valley, and a 1959 memoir, Native Realm. In these works, he described the influence of his Catholic grandmother, Jozefa, his burgeoning love for literature, and his early awareness, as a member of the Polish gentry in Lithuania, of the role of class in society.
Miłosz's early years were marked by upheaval. When his father was hired to work on infrastructure projects in Siberia, he and his mother traveled to be with him. After World War I broke out in 1914, Miłosz's father was conscripted into the Russian army, tasked with engineering roads and bridges for troop movements. Miłosz and his mother were sheltered in Vilnius when the German army captured it in 1915. Afterward, they once again joined Miłosz's father, following him as the front moved further into Russia, where, in 1917, Miłosz's brother, Andrzej, was born. Finally, after moving through Estonia and Latvia, the family returned to Šeteniai in 1918. But the Polish–Soviet War broke out in 1919, during which Miłosz's father was involved in a failed attempt to incorporate the newly independent Lithuania into the Second Polish Republic, resulting in his expulsion from Lithuania and the family's move to what was then known as Wilno, which had come under Polish control after the Polish–Lithuanian War of 1920. The Polish-Soviet War continued, forcing the family to move again. At one point during the conflict, Polish soldiers fired at Miłosz and his mother, an episode he recounted in Native Realm. The family returned to Wilno after the war ended in 1921.
Despite the interruptions of wartime wanderings, Miłosz proved to be an exceptional student with a facility for languages. He ultimately learned Polish, Lithuanian, Russian, English, French, and Hebrew. After graduation from Sigismund Augustus Gymnasium in Wilno, he entered Stefan Batory University in 1929 as a law student. While at university, Miłosz joined a student group called The Intellectuals' Club and a student poetry group called Żagary, along with the young poets Jerzy Zagórski, Teodor Bujnicki, Aleksander Rymkiewicz, Jerzy Putrament, and Józef Maśliński. His first published poems appeared in the university's student magazine in 1930.
In 1931, he visited Paris, where he first met his distant cousin, Oscar Milosz, a French-language poet of Lithuanian descent who had become a Swedenborgian. Oscar became a mentor and inspiration. Returning to Wilno, Miłosz's early awareness of class difference and sympathy for those less fortunate than himself inspired his defense of Jewish students at the university who were being harassed by an anti-Semitic mob. Stepping between the mob and the Jewish students, Miłosz fended off attacks. One student was killed when a rock was thrown at his head.
Miłosz's first volume of poetry, A Poem on Frozen Time, was published in Polish in 1933. In the same year, he publicly read his poetry at an anti-racist "Poetry of Protest" event in Wilno, occasioned by Hitler's rise to power in Germany. In 1934, he graduated with a law degree, and the poetry group Żagary disbanded. Miłosz relocated to Paris on a scholarship to study for one year and write articles for a newspaper back in Wilno. In Paris, he frequently met with his cousin Oscar.
By 1936, he had returned to Wilno, where he worked on literary programs at Radio Wilno. His second poetry collection, Three Winters, was published that same year, eliciting from one critic a comparison to Adam Mickiewicz. After only one year at Radio Wilno, Miłosz was dismissed due to an accusation that he was a left-wing sympathizer: as a student, he had adopted socialist views from which, by then, he had publicly distanced himself, and he and his boss, Tadeusz Byrski, had produced programming that included performances by Jews and Byelorussians, which angered right-wing nationalists. After Byrski made a trip to the Soviet Union, an anonymous complaint was lodged with the management of Radio Wilno that the station housed a communist cell, and Byrski and Miłosz were dismissed. In summer 1937, Miłosz moved to Warsaw, where he found work at Polish Radio and met his future wife, Janina (née Dłuska; 1909–1986), who was at the time married to another man.
World War II
Miłosz was in Warsaw when it was bombarded as part of the German invasion of Poland in September 1939. Along with colleagues from Polish Radio, he escaped the city, making his way to Lwów. But when he learned that Janina had remained in Warsaw with her parents, he looked for a way back. The Soviet invasion of Poland thwarted his plans, and, to avoid the incoming Red Army, he fled to Bucharest. There he obtained a Lithuanian identity document and Soviet visa that allowed him to travel by train to Kiev and then Wilno. After the Red Army invaded Lithuania, he procured fake documents that he used to enter the part of German-occupied Poland the Germans had dubbed the "General Government". It was a difficult journey, mostly on foot, that ended in summer 1940. Finally back in Warsaw, he reunited with Janina.
Like many Poles at the time, to evade notice by German authorities, Miłosz participated in underground activities. For example, with higher education officially forbidden to Poles, he attended underground lectures by Władysław Tatarkiewicz, the Polish philosopher and historian of philosophy and aesthetics. He translated Shakespeare's As You Like It and T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land into Polish. Along with his friend the novelist Jerzy Andrzejewski, he also arranged for the publication of his third volume of poetry, Poems, under a pseudonym in September 1940. The pseudonym was "Jan Syruć" and the title page said the volume had been published by a fictional press in Lwów in 1939; in fact, it may have been the first clandestine book published in occupied Warsaw. In 1942, Miłosz arranged for the publication of an anthology of Polish poets, Invincible Song: Polish Poetry of War Time, by an underground press.
Miłosz's riskiest underground wartime activity was aiding Jews in Warsaw, which he did through an underground socialist organization called Freedom. His brother, Andrzej, was also active in helping Jews in Nazi-occupied Poland; in 1943, he transported the Polish Jew Seweryn Tross and his wife from Vilnius to Warsaw. Miłosz took in the Trosses, found them a hiding place, and supported them financially. The Trosses ultimately died during the Warsaw Uprising. Miłosz helped at least three other Jews in similar ways: Felicja Wołkomińska and her brother and sister.
Despite his willingness to engage in underground activity and vehement opposition to the Nazis, Miłosz did not join the Polish Home Army. In later years, he explained that this was partly out of an instinct for self-preservation and partly because he saw its leadership as right-wing and dictatorial. He also did not participate in the planning or execution of the Warsaw Uprising. According to Irena Grudzińska-Gross, he saw the uprising as a "doomed military effort" and lacked the "patriotic elation" for it. He called the uprising "a blameworthy, lightheaded enterprise", but later criticized the Red Army for failing to support it when it had the opportunity to do so.
As German troops began torching Warsaw buildings in August 1944, Miłosz was captured and held in a prisoner transit camp; he was later rescued by a Catholic nun—a stranger to him—who pleaded with the Germans on his behalf. Once freed, he and Janina escaped the city, ultimately settling in a village outside Kraków, where they were staying when the Red Army swept through Poland in January 1945, after Warsaw had been largely destroyed.
In the preface to his 1953 book The Captive Mind, Miłosz wrote, "I do not regret those years in Warsaw, which was, I believe, the most agonizing spot in the whole of terrorized Europe. Had I then chosen emigration, my life would certainly have followed a very different course. But my knowledge of the crimes which Europe has witnessed in the twentieth century would be less direct, less concrete than it is". Immediately after the war, Miłosz published his fourth poetry collection, Rescue; it focused on his wartime experiences and contains some of his most critically praised work, including the 20-poem cycle "The World," composed like a primer for naïve schoolchildren, and the cycle "Voices of Poor People". The volume also contains some of his most frequently anthologized poems, including "A Song on the End of the World", "Campo Dei Fiori", and "A Poor Christian Looks at the Ghetto".
Diplomatic career
From 1945 to 1951, Miłosz served as a cultural attaché for the newly formed People's Republic of Poland. It was in this capacity that he first met Jane Zielonko, the future translator of The Captive Mind, with whom he had a brief relationship. He moved from New York City to Washington, D.C., and finally to Paris, organizing and promoting Polish cultural occasions such as musical concerts, art exhibitions, and literary and cinematic events. Although he was a representative of Poland, which had become a Soviet satellite country behind the Iron Curtain, he was not a member of any communist party. In The Captive Mind, he explained his reasons for accepting the role:My mother tongue, work in my mother tongue, is for me the most important thing in life. And my country, where what I wrote could be printed and could reach the public, lay within the Eastern Empire. My aim and purpose was to keep alive freedom of thought in my own special field; I sought in full knowledge and conscience to subordinate my conduct to the fulfillment of that aim. I served abroad because I was thus relieved from direct pressure and, in the material which I sent to my publishers, could be bolder than my colleagues at home. I did not want to become an émigré and so give up all chance of taking a hand in what was going on in my own country.Miłosz did not publish a book while he was a representative of the Polish government. Instead, he wrote articles for various Polish periodicals introducing readers to American writers like Eliot, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Norman Mailer, Robert Lowell, and W. H. Auden. He also translated into Polish Shakespeare's Othello and the work of Walt Whitman, Carl Sandburg, Pablo Neruda, and others.
In 1947, Miłosz's son, Anthony, was born in Washington, D.C.
In 1948, Miłosz arranged for the Polish government to fund a Department of Polish Studies at Columbia University. Named for Adam Mickiewicz, the department featured lectures by Manfred Kridl, Miłosz's friend who was then on the faculty of Smith College, and produced a scholarly book about Mickiewicz. Mickiewicz's granddaughter wrote a letter to Dwight D. Eisenhower, then the president of Columbia University, to express her approval, but the Polish American Congress, an influential group of Polish émigrés, denounced the arrangement in a letter to Eisenhower that they shared with the press, which alleged a communist infiltration at Columbia. Students picketed and called for boycotts. One faculty member resigned in protest. Despite the controversy, the department was established, the lectures took place, and the book was produced, but the department was discontinued in 1954 when funding from Poland ceased.
In 1949, Miłosz visited Poland for the first time since joining its diplomatic corps and was appalled by the conditions he saw, including an atmosphere of pervasive fear of the government. After returning to the U.S., he began to look for a way to leave his post, even soliciting advice from Albert Einstein, whom he met in the course of his duties.
As the Polish government, influenced by Josef Stalin, became more oppressive, his superiors began to view Miłosz as a threat: he was outspoken in his reports to Warsaw and met with people not approved by his superiors. Consequently, his superiors called him "an individual who ideologically is totally alien". Toward the end of 1950, when Janina was pregnant with their second child, Miłosz was recalled to Warsaw, where in December 1950 his passport was confiscated, ostensibly until it could be determined that he did not plan to defect. After intervention by Poland's foreign minister, Zygmunt Modzelewski, Miłosz's passport was returned. Realizing that he was in danger if he remained in Poland, Miłosz left for Paris in January 1951.
Asylum in France
Upon arriving in Paris, Miłosz went into hiding, aided by the staff of the Polish émigré magazine Kultura. With his wife and son still in the United States, he applied to enter the U.S. and was denied. At the time, the U.S. was in the grip of McCarthyism, and influential Polish émigrés had convinced American officials that Miłosz was a communist. Unable to leave France, Miłosz was not present for the birth of his second son, John Peter, in Washington, D.C., in 1951.
With the United States closed to him, Miłosz requested—and was granted—political asylum in France. After three months in hiding, he announced his defection at a press conference and in a Kultura article, "No", that explained his refusal to live in Poland or continue working for the Polish regime. He was the first artist of note from a communist country to make public his reasons for breaking ties with his government. His case attracted attention in Poland, where his work was banned and he was attacked in the press, and in the West, where prominent individuals voiced criticism and support. For example, the future Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda, then a supporter of the Soviet Union, attacked him in a communist newspaper as "The Man Who Ran Away". On the other hand, Albert Camus, another future Nobel laureate, visited Miłosz and offered his support. Another supporter during this period was the Swiss philosopher Jeanne Hersch, with whom Miłosz had a brief romantic affair.
Miłosz was finally reunited with his family in 1953, when Janina and the children joined him in France. That same year saw the publication of The Captive Mind, a nonfiction work that uses case studies to dissect the methods and consequences of Soviet communism, which at the time had prominent admirers in the West. The book brought Miłosz his first readership in the United States, where it was credited by some on the political left (such as Susan Sontag) with helping to change perceptions about communism. The German philosopher Karl Jaspers described it as a "significant historical document". It became a staple of political science courses and is considered a classic work in the study of totalitarianism.
Miłosz's years in France were productive. In addition to The Captive Mind, he published two poetry collections (Daylight (1954) and A Treatise on Poetry (1957)), two novels (The Seizure of Power (1955) and The Issa Valley (1955)), and a memoir (Native Realm (1959)). All were published in Polish by an émigré press in Paris.
Andrzej Franaszek has called A Treatise on Poetry Miłosz's magnum opus, while the scholar Helen Vendler compared it to The Waste Land, a work "so powerful that it bursts the bounds in which it was written—the bounds of language, geography, epoch". A long poem divided into four sections, A Treatise on Poetry surveys Polish history, recounts Miłosz's experience of war, and explores the relationship between art and history.
In 1956, Miłosz and Janina were married.
Life in the United States
University of California, Berkeley
In 1960, Miłosz was offered a position as a visiting lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley. With this offer, and with the climate of McCarthyism abated, he was able to move to the United States. He proved to be an adept and popular teacher, and was offered tenure after only two months. The rarity of this, and the degree to which he had impressed his colleagues, are underscored by the fact that Miłosz lacked a PhD and teaching experience. Yet his deep learning was obvious, and after years of working administrative jobs that he found stifling, he told friends that he was in his element in a classroom. With stable employment as a tenured professor of Slavic languages and literatures, Miłosz was able to secure American citizenship and purchase a home in Berkeley.
Miłosz began to publish scholarly articles in English and Polish on a variety of authors, including Fyodor Dostoevsky. But despite his successful transition to the U.S., he described his early years at Berkeley as frustrating, as he was isolated from friends and viewed as a political figure rather than a great poet. (In fact, some of his Berkeley faculty colleagues, unaware of his creative output, expressed astonishment when he won the Nobel Prize.) His poetry was not available in English, and he was not able to publish in Poland.
As part of an effort to introduce American readers to his poetry, as well as to his fellow Polish poets' work, Miłosz conceived and edited the anthology Postwar Polish Poetry, which was published in English in 1965. American poets like W.S. Merwin, and American scholars like Clare Cavanagh, have credited it with a profound impact. It was many English-language readers' first exposure to Miłosz's poetry, as well as that of Polish poets like Wisława Szymborska, Zbigniew Herbert, and Tadeusz Różewicz. (In the same year, Miłosz's poetry also appeared in the first issue of Modern Poetry in Translation, an English-language journal founded by prominent literary figures Ted Hughes and Daniel Weissbort. The issue also featured Miroslav Holub, Yehuda Amichai, Ivan Lalić, Vasko Popa, Zbigniew Herbert, and Andrei Voznesensky.) In 1969, Miłosz's textbook The History of Polish Literature was published in English. He followed this with a volume of his own work, Selected Poems (1973), some of which he translated into English himself.
At the same time, Miłosz continued to publish in Polish with an émigré press in Paris. His poetry collections from this period include King Popiel and Other Poems (1962), Bobo’s Metamorphosis (1965), City Without a Name (1969), and From the Rising of the Sun (1974).
During Miłosz's time at Berkeley, the campus became a hotbed of student protest, notably as the home of the Free Speech Movement, which has been credited with helping to "define a generation of student activism" across the United States. Miłosz's relationship to student protesters was sometimes antagonistic: he called them "spoiled children of the bourgeoisie" and their political zeal naïve. At one campus event in 1970, he mocked protesters who claimed to be demonstrating for peace and love: "Talk to me about love when they come into your cell one morning, line you all up, and say 'You and you, step forward—it’s your time to die—unless any of your friends loves you so much he wants to take your place!'" Comments like these were in keeping with his stance toward American counterculture of the 1960s in general. For example, in 1968, when Miłosz was listed as a signatory of an open letter of protest written by poet and counterculture figure Allen Ginsberg and published in The New York Review of Books, Miłosz responded by calling the letter "dangerous nonsense" and insisting that he had not signed it.
After 18 years, Miłosz retired from teaching in 1978. To mark the occasion, he was awarded a "Berkeley Citation", the University of California's equivalent of an honorary doctorate. But when his wife, Janina, fell ill and required expensive medical treatment, Miłosz returned to teaching seminars.
Nobel laureate
On 9 October 1980, the Swedish Academy announced that Miłosz had won the Nobel Prize in Literature. The award catapulted him to global fame. On the day the prize was announced, Miłosz held a brief press conference and then left to teach a class on Dostoevsky. In his Nobel lecture, Miłosz described his view of the role of the poet, lamented the tragedies of the 20th century, and paid tribute to his cousin Oscar.
Many Poles became aware of Miłosz for the first time when he won the Nobel Prize. After a 30-year ban in Poland, his writing was finally published there in limited selections. He was also able to visit Poland for the first time since fleeing in 1951 and was greeted by crowds with a hero's welcome. He met with leading Polish figures like Lech Wałęsa and Pope John Paul II. At the same time, his early work, until then only available in Polish, began to be translated into English and many other languages.
In 1981, Miłosz was appointed the Norton Professor of Poetry at Harvard University, where he was invited to deliver the Charles Eliot Norton Lectures. He used the opportunity, as he had before becoming a Nobel laureate, to draw attention to writers who had been unjustly imprisoned or persecuted. The lectures were published as The Witness of Poetry (1983).
Miłosz continued to publish work in Polish through his longtime publisher in Paris, including the poetry collections Hymn of the Pearl (1981), Bells in Winter (1984) and Unattainable Earth (1986), and the essay collection Beginning with My Streets (1986).
In 1986, Miłosz's wife, Janina, died.
In 1988, Miłosz's Collected Poems appeared in English; it was the first of several attempts to collect all his poetry into a single volume. After the fall of communism in Poland, he split his time between Berkeley and Kraków, and he began to publish his writing in Polish with a publisher based in Kraków. When Lithuania broke free from the Soviet Union in 1991, Miłosz visited for the first time since 1939. In 2000, he moved to Kraków.
In 1992, Miłosz married Carol Thigpen, an academic at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. They remained married until her death in 2002. His work from the 1990s includes the poetry collections Facing the River (1994) and Roadside Dog (1997), and the collection of short prose Miłosz’s ABC’s (1997). Miłosz's last stand-alone volumes of poetry were This (2000), and The Second Space (2002). Uncollected poems written afterward appeared in English in New and Selected Poems (2004) and, posthumously, in Selected and Last Poems (2011).
Death
Czesław Miłosz died on 14 August 2004, at his Kraków home, aged 93. He was given a state funeral at the historic Mariacki Church in Kraków. Polish Prime Minister Marek Belka attended, as did the former president of Poland, Lech Wałęsa. Thousands of people lined the streets to witness his coffin moved by military escort to his final resting place at Skałka Roman Catholic Church, where he was one of the last to be commemorated. In front of that church, the poets Seamus Heaney, Adam Zagajewski, and Robert Hass read Miłosz's poem "In Szetejnie" in Polish, French, English, Russian, Lithuanian, and Hebrew—all the languages Miłosz knew. Media from around the world covered the funeral.
Protesters threatened to disrupt the proceedings on the grounds that Miłosz was anti-Polish, anti-Catholic, and had signed a petition supporting gay and lesbian freedom of speech and assembly. Pope John Paul II, along with Miłosz's confessor, issued public messages confirming that Miłosz had received the sacraments, which quelled the protest.
Family
Miłosz's brother, Andrzej Miłosz (1917–2002), was a Polish journalist, translator, and documentary film producer. His work included Polish documentaries about his brother.
Miłosz's son, Anthony, is a composer and software designer. He studied linguistics, anthropology, and chemistry at the University of California at Berkeley, and neuroscience at the University of California Medical Center in San Francisco. In addition to releasing recordings of his own compositions, he has translated some of his father's poems into English.
Honors
In addition to the Nobel Prize in Literature, Miłosz received the following awards:
Polish PEN Translation Prize (1974)
Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts (1976)
Neustadt International Prize for Literature (1978)
National Medal of Arts (United States, 1989)
Robert Kirsch Award (1990)
Order of the White Eagle (Poland, 1994)
Miłosz was named a distinguished visiting professor or fellow at many institutions, including the University of Michigan and University of Oklahoma, where he was a Puterbaugh Fellow in 1999. He was an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. He received honorary doctorates from Harvard University, the University of Michigan, the University of California at Berkeley, Jagiellonian University, Catholic University of Lublin, and Vytautas Magnus University in Lithuania. Vytautas Magnus University and Jagiellonian University have academic centers named for Miłosz.
In 1992, Miłosz was made an honorary citizen of Lithuania, where his birthplace was made into a museum and conference center. In 1993, he was made an honorary citizen of Kraków.
His books also received awards. His first, A Poem on Frozen Time, won an award from the Union of Polish Writers in Wilno. The Seizure of Power received the Prix Littéraire Européen (European Literary Prize). The collection Roadside Dog received a Nike Award in Poland.
In 1989, Miłosz was named one of the "Righteous Among the Nations" at Israel's Yad Vashem memorial to the Holocaust, in recognition of his efforts to save Jews in Warsaw during World War II.
Miłosz has also been honored posthumously. The Polish Parliament declared 2011, the centennial of his birth, the "Year of Miłosz". It was marked by conferences and tributes throughout Poland, as well as in New York City, at Yale University, and at the Dublin Writers Festival, among many other locations. The same year, he was featured on a Lithuanian postage stamp. Streets are named for him near Paris, Vilnius, and in the Polish cities of Kraków, Poznań, Gdańsk, Białystok, and Wrocław. In Gdańsk there is a Czesław Miłosz Square. In 2013, a primary school in Vilnius was named for Miłosz, joining schools in Mierzecice, Poland, and Schaumburg, Illinois, that bear his name.
Legacy
Cultural impact
In 1978, the Russian-American poet Joseph Brodsky called Miłosz "one of the great poets of our time; perhaps the greatest". Miłosz has been cited as an influence by numerous writers—contemporaries and succeeding generations. For example, scholars have written about Miłosz's influence on the writing of Seamus Heaney, and Clare Cavanagh has identified the following poets as having benefited from Miłosz's influence: Robert Pinsky, Edward Hirsch, Rosanna Warren, Robert Hass, Charles Simic, Mary Karr, Carolyn Forché, Mark Strand, Ted Hughes, Joseph Brodsky, and Derek Walcott.
By being smuggled into Poland, Miłosz's writing was a source of inspiration to the anti-communist Solidarity movement there in the early 1980s. Lines from his poem "You Who Wronged" are inscribed on the Monument to the Fallen Shipyard Workers of 1970 in Gdańsk, where Solidarity originated.
Of the effect of Miłosz's edited volume Postwar Polish Poetry on English-language poets, Merwin wrote, "Miłosz’s book had been a talisman and had made most of the literary bickering among the various ideological encampments, then most audible in the poetic doctrines in English, seem frivolous and silly". Similarly, the British poet and scholar Donald Davie argued that, for many English-language writers, Miłosz's work encouraged an expansion of poetry to include multiple viewpoints and an engagement with subjects of intellectual and historical importance: "I have suggested, going for support to the writings of Miłosz, that no concerned and ambitious poet of the present day, aware of the enormities of twentieth-century history, can for long remain content with the privileged irresponsibility allowed to, or imposed on, the lyric poet".
Miłosz's writing continues to be the subject of academic study, conferences, and cultural events. His papers, including manuscripts, correspondence, and other materials, are housed at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University.
Controversies
Nationality
Miłosz's birth in a time and place of shifting borders and overlapping cultures, and his later naturalization as an American citizen, have led to competing claims about his nationality. Although his family identified as Polish and Polish was his primary language, and although he frequently spoke of Poland as his country, he also publicly identified himself as one of the last citizens of the multi-ethnic Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Writing in a Polish newspaper in 2000, he claimed, "I was born in the very center of Lithuania and so have a greater right than my great forebear, Mickiewicz, to write 'O Lithuania, my country.'" But in his Nobel lecture, he said, "My family in the 16th century already spoke Polish, just as many families in Finland spoke Swedish and in Ireland English, so I am a Polish, not a Lithuanian, poet". Public statements such as these, and numerous others, inspired discussion about his nationality, including a claim that he was "arguably the greatest spokesman and representative of a Lithuania that, in Miłosz’s mind, was bigger than its present incarnation". Others have viewed Miłosz as an American author, hosting exhibitions and writing about him from that perspective and including his work in anthologies of American poetry.
But in The New York Review of Books in 1981, the critic John Bayley wrote, "nationality is not a thing [Miłosz] can take seriously; it would be hard to imagine a greater writer more emancipated from even its most subtle pretensions". Echoing this notion, the scholar and diplomat Piotr Wilczek argued that, even when he was greeted as a national hero in Poland, Miłosz "made a distinct effort to remain a universal thinker". Speaking at a ceremony to celebrate his birth centenary in 2011, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė stressed that Miłosz's works "unite the Lithuanian and Polish people and reveal how close and how fruitful the ties between our people can be".
Catholicism
Though raised Catholic, Miłosz as a young man came to adopt a "scientific, atheistic position mostly", though he later returned to the Catholic faith. He translated parts of the Bible into Polish, and allusions to Catholicism pervade his poetry, culminating in a long 2001 poem, "A Theological Treatise". For some critics, Miłosz's belief that literature should provide spiritual fortification was outdated: Franaszek suggests that Miłosz's belief was evidence of a "beautiful naïveté", while David Orr, citing Miłosz's dismissal of "poetry which does not save nations or people", accused him of "pompous nonsense".
Miłosz expressed some criticism of both Catholicism and Poland (a majority-Catholic country), causing furor in some quarters when it was announced that he would be interred in Kraków's historic Skałka church. Cynthia Haven writes that, to some readers, Miłosz's embrace of Catholicism can seem surprising and complicates the understanding of him and his work.
Work
Form
Miłosz's body of work comprised multiple literary genres: poetry, fiction (particularly the novel), autobiography, scholarship, personal essay, and lectures. His letters are also of interest to scholars and lay readers; for example, his correspondence with writers such as Jerzy Andrzejewski, Witold Gombrowicz, and Thomas Merton have been published.
At the outset of his career, Miłosz was known as a "catastrophist" poet—a label critics applied to him and other poets from the Żagary poetry group to describe their use of surreal imagery and formal inventiveness in reaction to a Europe beset by extremist ideologies and war. While Miłosz evolved away from the apocalyptic view of catastrophist poetry, he continued to pursue formal inventiveness throughout his career. As a result, his poetry demonstrates a wide-ranging mastery of form, from long or epic poems (e.g., A Treatise on Poetry) to poems of just two lines (e.g., "On the Death of a Poet" from the collection This), and from prose poems and free verse to classic forms such as the ode or elegy. Some of his poems use rhyme, but many do not. In numerous cases, Miłosz used form to illuminate meaning in his poetry; for example, by juxtaposing variable stanzas to accentuate ideas or voices that challenge each other.
Themes
Miłosz's work is known for its complexity; according to the scholars Leonard Nathan and Arthur Quinn, Miłosz "prided himself on being an esoteric writer accessible to a mere handful of readers". Nevertheless, some common themes are readily apparent throughout his body of work.
The poet, critic, and frequent Miłosz translator Robert Hass has described Miłosz as "a poet of great inclusiveness", with a fidelity to capturing life in all of its sensuousness and multiplicities. According to Hass, Miłosz's poems can be viewed as "dwelling in contradiction", where one idea or voice is presented only to be immediately challenged or changed. According to Donald Davie, this allowance for contradictory voices—a shift from the solo lyric voice to a chorus—is among the most important aspects of Miłosz's work.
The poetic chorus is deployed not just to highlight the complexity of the modern world but also to search for morality, another of Miłosz's recurrent themes. Nathan and Quinn write, "Miłosz’s work is devoted to unmasking man’s fundamental duality; he wants to make his readers admit the contradictory nature of their own experience" because doing so "forces us to assert our preferences as preferences". That is, it forces readers to make conscious choices, which is the arena of morality. At times, Miłosz's exploration of morality was explicit and concrete, such as when, in The Captive Mind, he ponders the right way to respond to three Lithuanian women who were forcibly moved to a Russian communal farm and wrote to him for help, or when, in the poems "Campo Dei Fiori" and "A Poor Christian Looks at the Ghetto", he addresses survivor's guilt and the morality of writing about another's suffering.
Miłosz's exploration of morality takes place in the context of history, and confrontation with history is another of his major themes. Vendler wrote, "for Miłosz, the person is irrevocably a person in history, and the interchange between external event and the individual life is the matrix of poetry". Having experienced both Nazism and Stalinism, Miłosz was particularly concerned with the notion of "historical necessity", which, in the 20th century, was used to justify human suffering on a previously unheard-of scale. Yet Miłosz did not reject the concept entirely. Nathan and Quinn summarize Miłosz's appraisal of historical necessity as it appears in his essay collection Views from San Francisco Bay: "Some species rise, others fall, as do human families, nations, and whole civilizations. There may well be an internal logic to these transformations, a logic that when viewed from sufficient distance has its own elegance, harmony, and grace. Our reason tempts us to be enthralled by this superhuman splendor; but when so enthralled we find it difficult to remember, except perhaps as an element in an abstract calculus, the millions of individuals, the millions upon millions, who unwillingly paid for this splendor with pain and blood".
Miłosz's willingness to accept a form of logic in history points to another recurrent aspect of his writing: his capacity for wonder, amazement, and, ultimately, faith—not always religious faith, but "faith in the objective reality of a world to be known by the human mind but not constituted by that mind". At other times, Miłosz was more explicitly religious in his work. According to scholar and translator Michael Parker, "crucial to any understanding of Miłosz’s work is his complex relationship to Catholicism". His writing is filled with allusions to Christian figures, symbols, and theological ideas, though Miłosz was closer to Gnosticism, or what he called Manichaeism, in his personal beliefs, viewing the universe as ruled by an evil whose influence human beings must try to escape. From this perspective, "he can at once admit that the world is ruled by necessity, by evil, and yet still find hope and sustenance in the beauty of the world. History reveals the pointlessness of human striving, the instability of human things; but time also is the moving image of eternity". According to Hass, this viewpoint left Miłosz "with the task of those heretical Christians…to suffer time, to contemplate being, and to live in the hope of the redemption of the world".
Influences
Miłosz had numerous literary and intellectual influences, although scholars of his work—and Miłosz himself, in his writings—have identified the following as significant: Oscar Miłosz (who inspired Miłosz's interest in the metaphysical) and, through him, Emanuel Swedenborg; Lev Shestov; Simone Weil (whose work Miłosz translated into Polish); Dostoevsky; William Blake (whose concept of "Ulro" Miłosz borrowed for his book The Land of Ulro), and Eliot.
Selected bibliography
Poetry collections
1933: Poemat o czasie zastygłym (A Poem on Frozen Time); Wilno: Kolo Polonistów Sluchaczy Uniwersytetu Stefana Batorego
1936: Trzy zimy (Three Winters); Warsaw: Władysława Mortkowicz
1940: Wiersze (Poems); Warsaw (clandestine publication)
1945: Ocalenie (Rescue); Warsaw: Spółdzielnia Wydawnicza Czytelnik
1954: Światło dzienne (Daylight); Paris: Instytut Literacki
1957: Traktat poetycki (A Treatise on Poetry); Paris: Instytut Literacki
1962: Król Popiel i inne wiersze (King Popiel and Other Poems); Paris: Instytut Literacki
1965: Gucio zaczarowany (Gucio Enchanted); Paris: Instytut Literacki
1969: Miasto bez imienia (City Without a Name); Paris: Instytut Literacki
1974: Gdzie słońce wschodzi i kedy zapada (Where the Sun Rises and Where it Sets); Paris: Instytut Literacki
1982: Hymn o Perle (Hymn of the Pearl); Paris: Instytut Literacki
1984: Nieobjęta ziemia (Unattainable Earth); Paris: Instytut Literacki
1989: Kroniki (Chronicles); Paris: Instytut Literacki
1991: Dalsze okolice (Farther Surroundings); Kraków: Społeczny Instytut Wydawniczy Znak
1994: Na brzegu rzeki (Facing the River); Kraków: Społeczny Instytut Wydawniczy Znak
1997: Piesek przydrożny (Roadside Dog); Kraków: Społeczny Instytut Wydawniczy Znak
2000: To (This), Kraków: Społeczny Instytut Wydawniczy Znak
2002: Druga przestrzen (The Second Space); Kraków: Społeczny Instytut Wydawniczy Znak
2003: Orfeusz i Eurydyka (Orpheus and Eurydice); Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie
2006: Wiersze ostatnie (Last Poems) Kraków: Społeczny Instytut Wydawniczy Znak
Prose collections
1953: Zniewolony umysł (The Captive Mind); Paris: Instytut Literacki
1959: Rodzinna Europa (Native Realm); Paris: Instytut Literacki
1969: The History of Polish Literature; London-New York: MacMillan
1969: Widzenia nad Zatoką San Francisco (A View of San Francisco Bay); Paris: Instytut Literacki
1974: Prywatne obowiązki (Private Obligations); Paris: Instytut Literacki
1976: Emperor of the Earth; Berkeley: University of California Press
1977: Ziemia Ulro (The Land of Ulro); Paris: Instytut Literacki
1979: Ogród Nauk (The Garden of Science); Paris: Instytut Literacki
1981: Nobel Lecture; New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux
1983: The Witness of Poetry; Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press
1985: Zaczynając od moich ulic (Starting from My Streets); Paris: Instytut Literacki
1986: A mi Európánkról (About our Europe); New York: Hill and Wang
1989: Rok myśliwego (A year of the hunter); Paris: Instytut Literacki
1992: Szukanie ojczyzny (In Search of a Homeland); Kraków: Społeczny Instytut Wydawniczy Znak
1995: Metafizyczna pauza (The Metaphysical Pause); Kraków: Społeczny Instytut Wydawniczy Znak
1996: Legendy nowoczesności (Modern Legends, War Essays); Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie
1997: Zycie na wyspach (Life on Islands); Kraków: Społeczny Instytut Wydawniczy Znak
1997: Abecadło Milosza (Milosz's ABC's); Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie
1998: Inne Abecadło (A Further Alphabet); Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie
1999: Wyprawa w dwudziestolecie (An Excursion through the Twenties and Thirties); Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie
2001: To Begin Where I Am: Selected Essays; New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
2004: Spiżarnia literacka (A Literary Larder); Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie
2004: Przygody młodego umysłu; Kraków: Społeczny Instytut Wydawniczy Znak
2004: O podróżach w czasie; (On time travel) Kraków: Społeczny Instytut Wydawniczy Znak
Novels
1955: Zdobycie władzy (The Seizure of Power); Paris: Instytut Literacki
1955: Dolina Issy (The Issa Valley); Paris: Instytut Literacki
1987: The Mountains of Parnassus; Yale University Press
Translations by Miłosz
1968: Selected Poems by Zbigniew Herbert translated by Czesław Miłosz and Peter Dale Scott, Penguin Books
1996: Talking to My Body by Anna Swir translated by Czesław Miłosz and Leonard Nathan, Copper Canyon Press
See also
List of Poles
Nike Award
Nobel Prize in literature
Polish literature
List of Polish Nobel laureates
Information Research Department
Notes
References
Further reading
Baranczak, Stanislaw, Breathing Under Water and Other East European Essays, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1990.
Cavanagh, Clare, Lyric Poetry and Modern Politics: Russia, Poland, and the West, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009.
Davie, Donald, Czesław Miłosz and the Insufficiency of Lyric, Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1986.
Faggen, Robert, editor, Striving Towards Being: The Letters of Thomas Merton and Czesław Miłosz, New York: Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1996.
Fiut, Aleksander, The Eternal Moment: The Poetry of Czesław Miłosz, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990.
Franaszek, Andrzej, Miłosz: A Biography, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2017.
Golubiewski, Mikołaj, The Persona of Czesław Miłosz: Authorial Poetics, Critical Debates, Reception Games, Bern: Peter Lang, 2018.
Grudzinska Gross, Irena, Czesław Miłosz and Joseph Brodsky: Fellowship of Poets, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009.
Haven, Cynthia L., editor, Czesław Miłosz: Conversations, Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2006.
Haven, Cynthia L., editor, An Invisible Rope: Portraits of Czesław Miłosz, Athens: Ohio University Press, 2011.
Kay, Magdalena, "Czesław Miłosz in the World: The Will to Transcendence", in A Companion to World Literature, John Wiley & Sons, 2020.
Kraszewski, Charles, Irresolute Heresiarch: Catholicism, Gnosticism, and Paganism in the Poetry of Czesław Miłosz, Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2012.
Możejko, Edward, editor, Between Anxiety and Hope: The Poetry and Writing of Czesław Miłosz, Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 1988.
Nathan, Leonard, and Arthur Quinn, The Poet's Work: An Introduction to Czesław Miłosz, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1991.
Rzepa, Joanna, Modernism and Theology: Rainer Maria Rilke, T.S. Eliot, Czesław Miłosz, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2021.
Tischner, Łukasz, Miłosz and the Problem of Evil, Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 2015.
Zagajewski, Adam, editor, Polish Writers on Writing, San Antonio: Trinity University Press, 2007.
External links
Profiles
Profile of the poet at Culture.pl
Profile at the American Academy of Poets. Retrieved 2010-08-04
Profile and works at the Poetry Foundation
Articles
Interview with Nathan Gardels for the New York Review of Books, February 1986. Retrieved 2010-08-04
Georgia Review 2001. Retrieved 2010-08-04
Obituary The Economist. Retrieved 2010-08-04
Obituary New York Times. Retrieved 2010-08-04
Biography and selected works listing. The Book Institute. Retrieved 2010-08-04
Czeslaw Milosz Papers. General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.
Biographies, memoirs, photographs
Czesław Miłosz 1911–2004 – The life („Gazeta.pl”)
My Milosz – the memories of Nobel Prize winners, including Seamus Heaney and Maria Janion
Genealogia Czesława Miłosza w: M.J. Minakowski, Genealogy descendants of the Great Diet
Barbara Gruszka-Zych, Mój Poeta – osobiste wspomnienia o Czesławie Miłoszu, VIDEOGRAF II,
Milosz – the centenary since the birth
Bibliography
Presentation of the subject-object
Bibliography in question 1981–2010 (journal articles in chronological order, the title)
Translations into other languages
Bibliography in question in the choice in alphabetical order
Bibliography subject-object
Bibliografiasubject-object in choosing
Polskie wydawnictwa niezależne 1976–1989. Printed compact Milosz
Archives
Czesław Miłosz Papers. General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.
1911 births
2004 deaths
People from Kėdainiai District Municipality
People from Kovensky Uyezd
Polish nobility
American Nobel laureates
American Roman Catholic poets
American translators
Vilnius University alumni
Polish dissidents
Polish Roman Catholics
Polish political writers
Polish poets
Polish emigrants to the United States
Polish Nobel laureates
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Polish–English translators
Exophonic writers
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People with acquired American citizenship
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University of California, Berkeley College of Letters and Science faculty
Members of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
20th-century translators
20th-century American poets
World War II poets
American Polish-language poets
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World War II prisoners of war held by Germany
Cultural attachés | en |
doc-en-4585 | Tan Son Nhut Air Base () (1955–1975) was a Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) facility. It was located near the city of Saigon in southern Vietnam. The United States used it as a major base during the Vietnam War (1959–1975), stationing Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine units there. Following the Fall of Saigon, it was taken over as a Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) facility and remains in use today.
Tan Son Nhat International Airport, (IATA: SGN, ICAO: VVTS) has been a major Vietnamese civil airport since the 1920s.
Early history
Tan Son Nhat Airport was built by the French in the 1930s when the French Colonial government of Indochina constructed a small unpaved airport, known as Tan Son Nhat Airfield, in the village of Tan Son Nhat to serve as Saigon's commercial airport. Flights to and from France, as well as within Southeast Asia were available prior to World War II. During World War II, the Imperial Japanese Army used Tan Son Nhat as a transport base. When Japan surrendered in August 1945, the French Air Force flew a contingent of 150 troops into Tan Son Nhat.
After World War II, Tân Sơn Nhất served domestic as well as international flights from Saigon.
In mid-1956 construction of a runway was completed and the International Cooperation Administration soon started work on a concrete runway. The airfield was run by the South Vietnamese Department of Civil Aviation with the RVNAF as a tenant located on the southwest of the airfield.
In 1961, the government of the Republic of Vietnam requested the U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) to plan for expansion of the Tan Son Nhut airport. A taxiway parallel to the original runway had just been completed by the E.V. Lane company for the U.S. Operations Mission, but parking aprons and connections to the taxiways were required. Under the direction of the U.S. Navy Officer in Charge of Construction RVN, these items were constructed by the American construction company RMK-BRJ in 1962. RMK-BRJ also constructed an air-control radar station in 1962, and the passenger and freight terminals in 1963. In 1967, RMK-BRJ constructed the second 10,000-foot concrete runway.
Republic of Vietnam Air Force use
In late 1951, the French Air Force established the RVNAF 312th Special Mission Squadron at Tan Son Nhat Airfield equipped with Morane 500 Criquet liaison aircraft.
In 1952 a heliport was constructed at the base for use by French Air Force medical evacuation helicopters.
In 1953, Tan Son Nhut started being used as a military air base for the fledgling RVNAF, and in 1956 the headquarters were moved from the center of Saigon to Tan Son Nhut. But even before that time, French and Vietnamese military aircraft were in evidence at Tan Son Nhut.
On 1 July 1955, the RVNAF 1st Transport Squadron equipped with C-47 Skytrains was established at the base. The RVNAF also had a special missions squadron at the base equipped with 3 C-47s, 3 C-45s and 1 L-26. The 1st Transport Squadron would be renamed the 413rd Air Transport Squadron in January 1963.
In June 1956 the 2nd Transport Squadron equipped with C-47s was established at the base and the RVNAF established its headquarters there. It would be renamed the 415th Air Transport Squadron in January 1963.
In November 1956, by agreement with the South Vietnamese government, the USAF assumed some training and administrative roles of the RVNAF. A full handover of training responsibility took place on 1 June 1957 when the French training contracts expired.
On 1 June 1957 the RVNAF 1st Helicopter Squadron was established at the base without equipment. It operated with the French Air Force unit serving the International Control Commission and in April 1958 with the departure of the French it inherited its 10 H-19 helicopters.
In October 1959 the 2nd Liaison Squadron equipped with L-19 Bird Dogs moved to the base from Nha Trang.
In mid-December 1961 the USAF began delivery of 30 T-28 Trojans to the RVNAF at Tan Son Nhut.
In December 1962 the 293rd Helicopter Squadron was activated at the base, it was inactivated in August 1964.
In late 1962 the RVNAF formed the 716th Composite Reconnaissance Squadron initially equipped with 2 C-45 photo-reconnaissance aircraft.
In January 1963 the USAF opened an H-19 pilot training facility at the base and by June the first RVNAF helicopter pilots had graduated.
In January 1963 the 211th Helicopter Squadron equipped with UH-34s replaced the 1st Helicopter Squadron.
In December 1963 the 716th Composite Reconnaissance Squadron was activated at the base, equipped with C-47s and T-28s. The squadron would be inactivated in June 1964 and its mission assumed by the 2nd Air Division, while its pilots formed the 520th Fighter Squadron at Bien Hoa Air Base.
In January 1964 all RVNAF units at the base came under the control of the newly established 33rd Tactical Wing.
By midyear, the RVNAF had grown to thirteen squadrons; four fighter, four observation, three helicopter, and two C-47 transport. The RVNAF followed the practice of the U.S. Air Force, organizing the squadrons into wings, with one wing located in each of the four corps tactical zones at Cần Thơ Air Base, Tan Son Nhut AB, Pleiku Air Base and Da Nang Air Base.
In May 1965 the Douglas A-1 Skyraider equipped 522nd Fighter Squadron was activated at the base.
Command and control center
As the headquarters for the RVNAF, Tan Son Nhut was primarily a command base, with most operational units using nearby Biên Hòa Air Base.
At Tan Son Nhut, the RVNAF's system of command and control was developed over the years with assistance from the USAF. The system handled the flow of aircraft from take-off to target area, and return to the base it was launched from. This was known as the Tactical Air Control System (TACS), and it assured positive control of all areas where significant combat operations were performed. Without this system, it would not have been possible for the RVNAF to deploy its forces effectively where needed.
The TACS was in close proximity to the headquarters of the RVNAF and USAF forces in South Vietnam, and commanders of both Air Forces utilized its facilities. Subordinate to TACS was the Direct Air Support Centers (DASC) assigned to each of corps areas (I DASC – Da Nang AB, DASC Alpha – Nha Trang Air Base, II DASC – Pleiku AB, III DASC – Bien Hoa AB, and IV DASC – Cần Thơ AB). DASCs were responsible for the deployment of aircraft located within their sector in support of ground operations.
Operating under each DASC were numerous Tactical Air Control Party (TACPs), manned by one or more RVNAF/USAF personnel posted with the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN) ground forces. A communications network inked these three levels of command and control, giving the TACS overall control of the South Vietnamese air situation at all times.
Additional information was provided by a radar network that covered all of South Vietnam and beyond, monitoring all strike aircraft.
Another function of Tan Son Nhut Air Base was as an RVNAF recruiting center.
Use in coups
The base was adjacent to the headquarters of the Joint General Staff of South Vietnam, and was a key venue in various military coups, particularly the 1963 coup that deposed the nation's first President Ngô Đình Diệm. The plotters invited loyalist officers to a routine lunch meeting at JGS and captured them in the afternoon of 1 November 1963. The most notable was Colonel Lê Quang Tung, loyalist commander of the ARVN Special Forces, which was effectively a private Ngô family army, and his brother and deputy, Le Quang Trịeu. Later, Captain Nguyễn Văn Nhung, bodyguard of coup leader General Dương Văn Minh, shot the brothers on the edge of the base.
On 14 April 1966 a Viet Cong (VC) mortar attack on the base destroyed 2 RVNAF aircraft and killed 7 USAF and 2 RVNAF personnel.
The base was attacked by the VC in a sapper and mortar attack on the morning of 4 December 1966. The attack was repulsed for the loss of 3 US and 3 ARVN killed and 28 VC killed and 4 captured.
1968 Tet Offensive
The base was the target of major VC attacks during the 1968 Tet Offensive. The attack began early on 31 January with greater severity than anyone had expected. When the VC attacked much of the RVNAF was on leave to be with their families during the lunar new year. An immediate recall was issued, and within 72 hours, 90 percent of the RVNAF was on duty.
The main VC attack was made against the western perimeter of the base by 3 VC Battalions. The initial penetration was contained by the base's 377th Security Police Squadron, ad-hoc Army units of Task Force 35, ad-hoc RVNAF units and two ARVN Airborne battalions. The 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment was sent from Củ Chi Base Camp and prevented follow-on forces west of the base from reinforcing the VC inside the base and engaged them in a village and factory west of the base. By 16:30 on 31 January the base was secured. U.S. losses were 22 killed and 82 wounded, ARVN losses 29 killed and 15 wounded, VC losses were more than 669 killed and 26 captured. 14 aircraft were damaged at the base.
Over the next three weeks, the RVNAF flew over 1,300 strike sorties, bombing and strafing PAVN/VC positions throughout South Vietnam. Transport aircraft from Tan Son Nhut's 33d Wing dropped almost 15,000 flares in 12 nights, compared with a normal monthly average of 10,000. Observation aircraft also from Tan Son Nhut completed almost 700 reconnaissance sorties, with RVNAF pilots flying O-1 Bird Dogs and U-17 Skywagons.
At 01:15 on 18 February a VC rocket and mortar attack on the base destroyed 6 aircraft and damaged 33 others and killed one person. A rocket attack the next day hit the civilian air terminal killing 1 person and 6 further rocket/mortar attacks over this period killed another 6 people and wounded 151. On 24 February another rocket and mortar attack damaged base buildings killing 4 US personnel and wounding 21.
On 12 June 1968 a mortar attack on the base destroyed 2 USAF aircraft and killed 1 airman.
The Tet Offensive attacks and previous losses due to mortar and rocket attacks on air bases across South Vietnam led the Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Nitze on 6 March 1968 to approve the construction of 165 "Wonderarch" roofed aircraft shelters at the major air bases. In addition airborne "rocket watch" patrols were established in the Saigon-Biên Hòa area to reduce attacks by fire.
Vietnamization and the 1972 Easter Offensive
On 2 July 1969 the first 5 AC-47 Spooky gunships were handed over to the RVNAF to form the 817th Combat Squadron which became operational at the base on 31 August.
In 1970, with American units leaving the country, the RVNAF transport fleet was greatly increased at Tan Son Nhut. The RVNAF 33rd and 53rd Tactical Wings were established flying C-123 Providers, C-47s and C-7 Caribous.
In mid 1970 the USAF began training RVNAF crews on the AC-119G Shadow gunship at the base. Other courses included navigation classes and helicopter transition and maintenance training for the CH-47 Chinook.
By November 1970, the RVNAF took total control of the Direct Air Support Centers (DASCs) at Bien Hoa AB, Da Nang AB and Pleiku AB.
At the end of 1971, the RVNAF were totally in control of command and control units at eight major air bases, supporting ARVN units for the expanded air-ground operations system. In September 1971, the USAF transferred two C-119 squadrons to the RVNAF at Tan Son Nhut.
In 1972, the buildup of the RVNAF at Tan Son Nhut was expanded when two C-130 Hercules squadrons were formed there. In December, the first RVNAF C-130 training facility was established at Tan Son Nhut, enabling the RVNAF to train its own C-130s pilots. As more C-130s were transferred to the RVNAF, older C-123s were returned to the USAF for disposal.
As the buildup of the RVNAF continued, the success of the Vietnamization program was evident during the 1972 Easter Offensive. Responding to the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) attack, the RVNAF flew more than 20,000 strike sorties which helped to stem the advance. In the first month of the offensive, transports from Tan Son Nhut ferried thousands of troops and delivered nearly 4,000 tons of supplies throughout the country. The offensive also resulted in additional deliveries of aircraft to the RVNAF under Operation Enhance. Also, fighter aircraft arrived at Tan Son Nhut for the first time in the F-5A/B Freedom Fighter and the F-5E Tiger II. The F-5s were subsequently transferred to Bien Hoa and Da Nang ABs.
1973 Ceasefire
The Paris Peace Accords of 1973 brought an end to the United States advisory capacity in South Vietnam. In its place, as part of the agreement, the Americans retained a Defense Attaché Office (DAO) at Tan Son Nhut Airport, with small field offices at other facilities around the country. The technical assistance provided by the personnel of the DAOs and by civilian contractors was essential to the RVNAF, however, because of the cease-fire agreement, the South Vietnamese could not be advised in any way on military operations, tactics or techniques of employment. It was through the DAO that the American/South Vietnamese relationship was maintained, and it was primarily from this source that information from within South Vietnam was obtained. The RVNAF provided statistics with regards to the military capability of their units to the DAO, however the accuracy of this information was not always reliable.
From the Easter Offensive of 1972, it was clear that without United States aid, especially air support, the ARVN would not be able to defend itself against continuing PAVN attacks. This was demonstrated at the fighting around Pleiku, An Lộc and Quảng Trị where the ARVN would have been defeated without continuous air support, mainly supplied by the USAF. The ARVN relied heavily on air support, and with the absence of the USAF, the full responsibility fell on the RVNAF. Although equipped with large numbers of Cessna A-37 Dragonfly and F-5 attack aircraft to conduct effective close air support operations, during the 1972 offensive, heavy bombardment duty was left to USAF aircraft.
As part of the Paris Peace Accords, a Joint Military Commission was established and VC/PAVN troops were deployed across South Vietnam to oversee the departure of US forces and the implementation of the ceasefire. 200-250 VC/PAVN soldiers were based at Camp Davis (see Davis Station below) at the base from March 1973 until the fall of South Vietnam.
Numerous violations of the Paris Peace Accords were committed by North Vietnamese beginning almost as soon as the United States withdrew its last personnel from South Vietnam by the end of March 1973. The North Vietnamese and the Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam continued their attempt to overthrow President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu and remove the U.S.-supported government. The U.S. had promised Thiệu that it would use airpower to support his government. On 14 January 1975 Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger stated that the U.S. was not living up to its promise that it would retaliate in the event North Vietnam tried to overwhelm South Vietnam.
When North Vietnam invaded in March 1975, the promised American intervention never materialized. Congress reflected the popular mood, halting the bombing in Cambodia effective 15 July 1973, and reducing aid to South Vietnam. Since Thiệu intended to fight the same kind of war he always had, with lavish use of firepower, the cuts in aid proved especially damaging.
Capture
In early 1975 North Vietnam realized the time was right to achieve its goal of re-uniting Vietnam under communist rule, launching a series of small ground attacks to test U.S. reaction.
On 8 January the North Vietnamese Politburo ordered a PAVN offensive to "liberate" South Vietnam by cross-border invasion. The general staff plan for the invasion of South Vietnam called for 20 divisions, it anticipated a two-year struggle for victory.
By 14 March, South Vietnamese President Thiệu decided to abandon the Central Highlands region and two northern provinces of South Vietnam and ordered a general withdrawal of ARVN forces from those areas. Instead of an orderly withdrawal, it turned into a general retreat, with masses of military and civilians fleeing, clogging roads and creating chaos.
On 30 March 100,000 South Vietnamese soldiers surrendered after being abandoned by their commanding officers. The large coastal cities of Da Nang, Qui Nhơn, Tuy Hòa and Nha Trang were abandoned by the South Vietnamese, yielding the entire northern half of South Vietnam to the North Vietnamese.
By late March the US Embassy began to reduce the number of US citizens in Vietnam by encouraging dependents and non-essential personnel to leave the country by commercial flights and on Military Airlift Command (MAC) C-141 and C-5 aircraft, which were still bringing in emergency military supplies. In late March, two or three of these MAC aircraft were arriving each day and were used for the evacuation of civilians and Vietnamese orphans. On 4 April a C-5A aircraft carrying 250 Vietnamese orphans and their escorts suffered explosive decompression over the sea near Vũng Tàu and made a crash-landing while attempting to return to Tan Son Nhut; 153 people on board died in the crash.
As the war in South Vietnam entered its conclusion, the pilots of the RVNAF flew sortie after sortie, supporting the retreating ARVN after it abandoned Cam Ranh Bay on 14 April. For two days after the ARVN left the area, the Wing Commander at Phan Rang Air Base fought on with the forces under his command. Airborne troops were sent in for one last attempt to hold the airfield, but the defenders were finally overrun on 16 April and Phan Rang Air Base was lost.
On 22 April Xuân Lộc fell to the PAVN after a two-week battle with the ARVN 18th Division which inflicted over 5000 PAVN casualties and delayed the Ho Chi Minh Campaign for two weeks. With the fall of Xuân Lộc and the capture of Bien Hoa Air Base in late April 1975 it was clear that South Vietnam was about to fall to the PAVN.
By 22 April 20 C-141 and 20 C-130s flights a day were flying evacuees out of Tan Son Nhut to Clark Air Base, some 1,000 miles away in the Philippines. On 23 April President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines announced that no more than 2,500 Vietnamese evacuees would be allowed in the Philippines at any one time, further increasing the strain on MAC which now had to move evacuees out of Saigon and move some 5,000 evacuees from Clark Air Base on to Guam, Wake Island and Yokota Air Base. President Thiệu and his family left Tan Son Nhut on 25 April on a USAF C-118 to go into exile in Taiwan. Also on 25 April the Federal Aviation Administration banned commercial flights into South Vietnam. This directive was subsequently reversed; some operators had ignored it anyway. In any case this effectively marked the end of the commercial airlift from Tan Son Nhut.
On 27 April PAVN rockets hit Saigon and Cholon for the first time since the 1973 ceasefire. It was decided that from this time only C-130s would be used for the evacuation due to their greater maneuverability. There was relatively little difference between the cargo loads of the two aircraft, C-141s had been loaded with up to 316 evacuees while C-130s had been taking off with in excess of 240.
On 28 April at 18:06, three A-37 Dragonflies piloted by former RVNAF pilots, who had defected to the Vietnamese People's Air Force at the fall of Da Nang, dropped six Mk81 250 lb bombs on the base damaging aircraft. RVNAF F-5s took off in pursuit, but they were unable to intercept the A-37s. C-130s leaving Tan Son Nhut reported receiving PAVN .51 cal and 37 mm anti-aircraft (AAA) fire, while sporadic PAVN rocket and artillery attacks also started to hit the airport and air base. C-130 flights were stopped temporarily after the air attack but resumed at 20:00 on 28 April.
At 03:58 on 29 April, C-130E, #72-1297, flown by a crew from the 776th Tactical Airlift Squadron, was destroyed by a 122 mm rocket while taxiing to pick up refugees after offloading a BLU-82 at the base. The crew evacuated the burning aircraft on the taxiway and departed the airfield on another C-130 that had previously landed. This was the last USAF fixed-wing aircraft to leave Tan Son Nhut.
At dawn on 29 April the RVNAF began to haphazardly depart Tan Son Nhut Air Base as A-37s, F-5s, C-7s, C-119s and C-130s departed for Thailand while UH-1s took off in search of the ships of Task Force 76. Some RVNAF aircraft stayed to continue to fight the advancing PAVN. One AC-119 gunship had spent the night of 28/29 April dropping flares and firing on the approaching PAVN. At dawn on 29 April two A-1 Skyraiders began patrolling the perimeter of Tan Son Nhut at until one was shot down, presumably by an SA-7 missile. At 07:00 the AC-119 was firing on PAVN to the east of Tan Son Nhut when it too was hit by an SA-7 and fell in flames to the ground.
At 08:00 on 29 April Lieutenant General Trần Văn Minh, commander of the RVNAF and 30 of his staff arrived at the DAO Compound demanding evacuation, signifying the complete loss of RVNAF command and control. At 10:51 on 29 April, the order was given by CINCPAC to commence Operation Frequent Wind, the helicopter evacuation of US personnel and at-risk Vietnamese.
In the final evacuation, over a hundred RVNAF aircraft arrived in Thailand, including twenty-six F-5s, eight A-37s, eleven A-1s, six C-130s, thirteen C-47s, five C-7s, and three AC-119s. Additionally close to 100 RVNAF helicopters landed on U.S. ships off the coast, although at least half were jettisoned. One O-1 managed to land on the , carrying a South Vietnamese major, his wife, and five children.
The ARVN 3rd Task Force, 81st Ranger Group commanded by Maj. Pham Chau Tai defended Tan Son Nhut and they were joined by the remnants of the Loi Ho unit. At 07:15 on 30 April the PAVN 24th Regiment approached the Bay Hien intersection () 1.5 km from the base's main gate. The lead T-54 was hit by M67 recoilless rifle and then the next T-54 was hit by a shell from an M48 tank. The PAVN infantry moved forward and engaged the ARVN in house to house fighting forcing them to withdraw to the base by 08:45. The PAVN then sent 3 tanks and an infantry battalion to assault the main gate and they were met by intensive anti-tank and machine gun fire knocking out the 3 tanks and killing at least 20 PAVN soldiers. The PAVN tried to bring forward an 85mm antiaircraft gun but the ARVN knocked it out before it could start firing. The PAVN 10th Division ordered 8 more tanks and another infantry battalion to join the attack, but as they approached the Bay Hien intersection they were hit by an airstrike from RVNAF jets operating from Binh Thuy Air Base which destroyed 2 T-54s. The 6 surviving tanks arrived at the main gate at 10:00 and began their attack, with 2 being knocked out by antitank fire in front of the gate and another destroyed as it attempted a flanking manoeuvre.
At approximately 10:30 Maj. Pham heard of the surrender broadcast of President Dương Văn Minh and went to the ARVN Joint General Staff Compound to seek instructions, he called General Minh who told him to prepare to surrender, Pham reportedly told Minh "If Viet Cong tanks are entering Independence Palace we will come down there to rescue you sir." Minh refused Pham's suggestion and Pham then told his men to withdraw from the base gates and at 11:30 the PAVN entered the base.
Following the war, Tan Son Nhut Air Base was taken over as a base for the Vietnam People's Air Force.
Known RVNAF units (June 1974)
Tan Son Nhut Air Base was the Headquarters of the RVNAF. It was also the headquarters of the RVNAF 5th Air Division.
33d Tactical Wing
314th Special Air Missions SquadronVC-47, U-17, UH-1, DC-6B
716th Reconnaissance Squadron R/EC-47, U-6A
718th Reconnaissance Squadron EC-47
429th Transport Squadron C-7B
431st Transport Squadron C-7B
Det H 259th Helicopter Squadron Bell UH-1H (Medevac)
53d Tactical Wing
819th Combat Squadron AC-119G
821st Combat Squadron AC-119G
435th Transport Squadron C-130A
437th Transport Squadron C-130A
Use by the United States
During the Vietnam War Tan Son Nhut Air Base was an important facility for both the USAF and the RVNAF. The base served as the focal point for the initial USAF deployment and buildup in South Vietnam in the early 1960s. Tan Son Nhut was initially the main air base for Military Airlift Command flights to and from South Vietnam, until other bases such as Bien Hoa and Cam Ranh opened in 1966. After 1966, with the establishment of the 7th Air Force as the main USAF command and control headquarters in South Vietnam, Tan Son Nhut functioned as a Headquarters base, a Tactical Reconnaissance base, and as a Special Operations base. With the drawdown of US forces in South Vietnam after 1971, the base took on a myriad of organizations transferred from deactivated bases across South Vietnam.
Between 1968 and 1974, Tan Son Nhut Airport was one of the busiest military airbases in the world. Pan Am schedules from 1973 showed Boeing 747 service was being operated four times a week to San Francisco via Guam and Manila. Continental Airlines operated up to 30 Boeing 707 military charters per week to and from Tan Son Nhut Airport during the 1968–74 period.
It was from Tan Son Nhut Air Base that the last U.S. Airman left South Vietnam in March 1973. The Air Force Post Office (APO) for Tan Son Nhut Air Base was APO San Francisco, 96307.
Military Assistance Advisory Group
Davis Station
On 13 May 1961 a 92-man unit of the Army Security Agency, operating under cover of the 3rd Radio Research Unit (3rd RRU), arrived at Tan Son Nhut AB and established a communications intelligence facility in disused RVNAF warehouses on the base (). This was the first full deployment of a US Army unit to South Vietnam. On 21 December 1961 SP4 James T. Davis of the 3rd RRU was operating a mobile PRD-1 receiver with an ARVN unit near Cầu Xáng when they were ambushed by VC and Davis was killed, becoming one of the first Americans killed in the Vietnam War. In early January 1962 the 3rd RRU's compound at Tan Son Nhut was renamed Davis Station.
On 1 June 1966 3rd RRU was redesignated the 509th Radio Research Group. The 509th RR Group continued operations until 7 March 1973, when they were among the last US units to leave South Vietnam.
507th Tactical Control Group
In late September 1961, the first permanent USAF unit, the 507th Tactical Control Group from Shaw Air Force Base deployed sixty-seven officers and airmen to Tan Son Nhut to install MPS-11 search and MPS-16 height-finding radars and began monitoring air traffic and training of RVNAF personnel to operate and service the equipment. Installation of the equipment commenced on 5 October 1961 and the unit would eventually grow to 314 assigned personnel. This organization formed the nucleus of South Vietnam's tactical air control system.
Tactical Reconnaissance Mission
On 18 October 1961, four RF-101C Voodoos and a photo processing unit from the 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron of the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, based at Yokota AB Japan, arrived at Tan Son Nhut, with the reconnaissance craft flying photographic missions over South Vietnam and Laos from 20 October under Operation Pipe Stem. The RF-101s would depart in January 1962 leaving Detachment 1, 15th tactical Reconnaissance Squadron to undertake photo-processing.
In March 1962 a C-54 Skymaster outfitted for infrared reconnaissance arrived at the base and would remain here until February 1963, when it was replaced by a Brave Bull C-97.
In December 1962 following the signing of the International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos, which banned aerial reconnaissance over Laos, all 4 Able Marble RF-101Cs of the moved to the base from Don Muang Royal Thai Air Force Base.
On 13 April 1963 the 13th Reconnaissance Technical Squadron was established at the base to provide photo interpretation and targeting information.
Following the Gulf of Tonkin Incident on 4 August 1964, 6 additional RF-101Cs deployed to the base.
The 67th TRW was soon followed by detachments of the 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron of the 18th Tactical Fighter Wing, based at Kadena AB, Okinawa, which also flew RF-101 reconnaissance missions over Laos and South Vietnam, first from bases at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand from 31 March 1965 to 31 October 1967 and then from South Vietnam. These reconnaissance missions lasted from November 1961 through the spring of 1964.
RF-101Cs flew pathfinder missions for F-100s during Operation Flaming Dart, the first USAF strike against North Vietnam on 8 February 1965. They initially operated out of South Vietnam, but later flew most of their missions over North Vietnam out of Thailand. Bombing missions against the North required a large amount of photographic reconnaissance support, and by the end of 1967, all but one of the Tactical Air Command RF-101C squadrons were deployed to Southeast Asia.
The reconnaissance Voodoos at Tan Son Nhut were incorporated into the 460th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing in February 1966. 1 RF-101C was destroyed in a sapper attack on Tan Son Nhut AB. The last 45th TRS RF-101C left Tan Son Nhut on 16 November 1970.
The need for additional reconnaissance assets, especially those capable of operating at night, led to the deployment of 2 Martin RB-57E Canberra Patricia Lynn reconnaissance aircraft of the 6091st Reconnaissance Squadron on 7 May 1963. The forward nose section of the RB-57Es were modified to house a KA-1 36-inch forward oblique camera and a low panoramic KA-56 camera used on the Lockheed U-2. Mounted inside the specially configured bomb bay door was a KA-1 vertical camera, a K-477 split vertical day-night camera, an infrared scanner, and a KA-1 left oblique camera. The Detachment flew nighttime reconnaissance missions to identify VC base camps, small arms factories, and storage and training areas. The Patricia Lynn operation was terminated in mid-1971 with the inactivation of the 460th TRW and the four surviving aircraft returned to the United States.
On 20 December 1964 Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) formed the Central Target Analysis and Research Center at the base as a unit of MACV J-2 (Intelligence) to coordinate Army and USAF infrared reconnaissance.
On 30 October 1965 the first RF-4C Phantom IIs of the 16th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron arrived at the base and on 16 November they began flying missions over Laos and North Vietnam.
Farm Gate
On 11 October 1961, President John F. Kennedy directed, in NSAM 104, that the Defense Secretary "introduce the Air Force 'Jungle Jim' Squadron into Vietnam for the initial purpose of training Vietnamese forces." The 4400th Combat Crew Training Squadron was to proceed as a training mission and not for combat. The unit would be officially titled 4400th Combat Crew Training Squadron, code named Farm Gate. In mid-November the first 8 Farm Gate T-28s arrived at the base from Clark Air Base. At the same time Detachments 7 and 8, 6009th Tactical Support Group were established at the base to support operations. On 20 May these detachments were redesignated the 6220th Air Base Squadron.
In February 1963 4 RB-26C night photo-reconnaissance aircraft joined the Farm Gate planes at the base.
Tactical Air Control Center
The establishment of a country-wide tactical air control center was regarded as a priority for the effective utilisation of the RVNAF's limited strike capabilities, in addition an air operations center for central planning of air operations and a subordinate radar reporting center were also required. From 2–14 January the 5th Tactical Control Group was deployed to the base, beginning operations on 13 January 1962.
In March 1963 MACV formed a flight service center and network at the base for the control of all US military flights in South Vietnam.
Mule Train
On 6 December 1961, the Defense Department ordered the C-123 equipped 346th Troop Carrier Squadron (Assault) to the Far East for 120 days temporary duty. On 2 January 1962 the first of 16 C-123s landed at the base commencing Operation Mule Train to provide logistical support to US and South Vietnamese forces.
In March 1962 personnel from the 776th Troop Carrier Squadron, began replacing the temporary duty personnel. 10 of the C-123s were based at Tan Son Nhut, 2 at Da Nang Air Base and 4 at Clark Air Base.
In April 1963 the 777th Troop Carrier Squadron equipped with 16 C-123s deployed to the base.
In July 1963 the Mule Train squadrons at the base became the 309th and 310th Troop Carrier Squadrons assigned to the 315th Air Division.
Dirty Thirty
Additional USAF personnel arrived at Tan Son Nhut in early 1962 after the RVNAF transferred two dozen seasoned pilots from the 1st Transportation Group at Tan Son Nhut to provide aircrews for the newly activated 2nd Fighter Squadron then undergoing training at Bien Hoa AB. This sudden loss of qualified C-47 pilots brought the 1st Transportation Group's airlift capability dangerously low. In order to alleviate the problem, United States Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, on the recommendation of MAAG Vietnam, ordered thirty USAF pilots temporarily assigned to the RVNAF to serve as C-47 co-pilots. This influx of U.S. personnel quickly returned the 1st Transportation Group to full strength.
Unlike the USAF Farm Gate personnel at Bien Hoa Air Base, the C-47 co-pilots actually became part of the RVNAF operational structure – though still under U.S. control. Because of their rather unusual situation, these pilots soon adopted the very unofficial nickname, The Dirty Thirty. In a sense they were the first U.S. airmen actually committed to combat in Vietnam, rather than being assigned as advisors or support personnel. The original Dirty Thirty pilots eventually rotated home during early 1963 and were replaced by a second contingent of American pilots. This detachment remained with the RVNAF until December 1963 when they were withdrawn from Vietnam.
509th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
Starting on 21 March 1962 under Project Water Glass and later remaining under Project Candy Machine, the 509th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron began rotating F-102A Delta Dagger interceptors to Tan Son Nhut Air Base from Clark AB on a rotating basis to provide air defense of the Saigon area in the event of a North Vietnamese air attack. F-102s and TF-102s (two-seat trainer version) were deployed to Tan Son Nhut initially because ground radar sites frequently painted small aircraft penetrating South Vietnamese airspace.
The F-102, a supersonic, high altitude fighter interceptor designed to intercept Soviet bombers was given the mission of intercepting, identifying and, if necessary, destroying small aircraft, flying from treetop level to 2000 ft at speeds less than the final approach landing speed of the F-102. The TF-102, employing two pilots with one acting solely as radar intercept operator, was considered to be safer and more efficient as a low altitude interceptor. The T/F-102s would alternate with US Navy AD-5Qs. In May 1963 due to overcrowding at the base and the low-probability of air attack the T/F-102s and AD-5Qs were withdrawn to Clark AB from where they could redeploy to Tan Son Nhut on 12–24 hours' notice.
Following the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, 6 F-102s from the 16th Fighter Squadron deployed to the base.
Before the rotation ended in July 1970, pilots and F-102 aircraft from other Far East squadrons were used in the deployment.
Air rescue
In January 1962 5 USAF personnel from the Pacific Air Rescue Center were assigned to the base to establish a Search and Rescue Center, without having any aircraft assigned they were dependent on support from US Army advisers in each of South Vietnam's four military corps areas to use US Army and Marine Corps helicopters. In April 1962 the unit was designated Detachment 3, Pacific Air Rescue Center.
On 1 July 1965 Detachment 3 was redesignated the 38th Air Rescue Squadron and activated with its headquarters at the base and organized to control search and rescue detachments operating from bases in South Vietnam and Thailand. Detachment 14, an operational base rescue element, was later established at the base.
On 8 January 1966 the 3d Aerospace Recovery Group was established at the base to control search and rescue operations throughout the theater.
On 1 July 1971 the entire 38th ARRS was inactivated. Local base rescue helicopters and their crews then became detachments of the parent unit, the 3d Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Group.
In February 1973 the 3d Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Group left Tan Son Nhut AB and moved to Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Navy Base.
Miscellaneous units
From December 1961, the 8th and 57th Transportation Companies (Light Helicopter) arrived with Piasecki CH-21C Shawnee's.
From 1962 the Utility Tactical Transport Helicopter Company (UTTHCO) was based here initially with Bell HU-1A Huey's then UH-1B's.
The 57th Medical Detachment (Helicopter Ambulance) with UH-1B Huey's from January 1963.
During December 1964 the 145th Aviation Battalion were deployed here.
In April 1964 5 EC-121D airborne early warning aircraft began staging from the base.
In June 1964 Detachment 2, 421st Air Refueling Squadron equipped with KB-50 aerial refueling aircraft deployed to the base to support Yankee Team operations over Laos.
In April 1965 a detachment of the 9th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron comprising 4 RB–66Bs and 2 EB–66Cs arrived at the base. The RB–66Bs were equipped with night photo and infrared sensor equipment and began reconnaissance missions over South Vietnam, while the EB–66Cs began flying missions against North Vietnamese air defense radars. By the end of May, two more EB–66Cs arrived at the base and they all then redeployed to Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base.
In mid-May 1965, following the disaster at Bien Hoa the 10 surviving B-57 bombers were transferred to Tan Son Nhut AB and continued to fly sorties on a reduced scale until replacement aircraft arrived from Clark AB. In June 1965, the B-57s were moved from Tan Son Nhut AB to Da Nang AB.
On 8 October 1965 the 20th Helicopter Squadron equipped with 14 CH-3 helicopters was activated at the base, it moved to Nha Trang Air Base on 15 June 1966.
33rd Tactical Group
On 8 July 1963 the units at the base were organized as the 33d Tactical Group, with subordinate units being the 33rd Air Base Squadron, the 33rd Consolidated Aircraft maintenance Squadron and the Detachment 1 reconnaissance elements. The Group's mission was to maintain and operate base support facilities at Tan Son Nhut, supporting the 2d Air Division and subordinate units by performing reconnaissance.
505th Tactical Air Control Group
The 505th Tactical Air Control Group was assigned to Tan Son Nhut on 8 April 1964. The Unit was primarily responsible for controlling the tactical air resources of the US and its allies in South Vietnam, Thailand, and to some extent Cambodia and Laos. Carrying out the mission of providing tactical air support required two major components, radar installations and forward air controllers (FACs).
The radar sites provided flight separation for attack and transport aircraft which took the form of flight following and, in some cases control by USAF Weapons Directors. FACs had the critical job of telling tactical fighters where to drop their ordnance. FAC's were generally attached to either US Army or ARVN units and served both on the ground and in the air.
Squadrons of the 505th located at Tan Son Nhut AB were:
619th Tactical Control Squadron activated at the base on 8 April 1964 It was responsible for operating and maintaining air traffic control and radar direction-finding equipment for the area from the Mekong Delta to Buôn Ma Thuột in the Central Highlands with detachments at various smaller airfields throughout its operational area. It remained operational until 15 March 1973.
505th Tactical Control Maintenance Squadron
Close air support
Following the introduction of US ground combat units in mid-1965, two F-100 squadrons were deployed to Tan Son Nhut AB to provide close air support for US ground forces:
481st Tactical Fighter Squadron, 29 June 1965 – 1 January 1966
416th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 1 November 1965 – 15 June 1966
The 481st returned to the United States; the 416th returned to Bien Hoa.
6250th Combat Support Group
The first tasks facing the USAF, however, were to set up a workable organizational structure in the region, improve the area's inadequate air bases, create an efficient airlift system, and develop equipment and techniques to support the ground battle.
Starting in 1965, the USAF adjusted its structure in Southeast Asia to absorb incoming units. Temporarily deployed squadrons became permanent in November. A wing structure replaced the groups. On 8 July 1965, the 33d Tactical Group was redesignated the 6250th Combat Support Group.
The number of personnel at Tan Son Nhut AB increased from 7780 at the beginning of 1965 to over 15,000 by the end of the year, placing substantial demands for accommodation and basic infrastructure.
On 14 November 1965 the 4th Air Commando Squadron equipped with 20 AC-47 Spooky gunships arrived at the base and was assigned to the 6250th Group. The aircraft were soon deployed to forward operating locations at Binh Thuy, Da Nang, Nha Trang and Pleiku Air Bases. In May 1966 the 4th Air Commando Squadron moved its base to Nha Trang AB where it came under the control of the 14th Air Commando Wing.
460th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing
On 18 February 1966 the 460th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing was activated. Its headquarters were shared with the Seventh Air Force Headquarters and MACV. When it stood up, the 460th TRW, alone, was responsible for the entire reconnaissance mission, both visual and electronic, throughout the whole theater. On 18 February 1966 the wing began activities with 74 aircraft of various types. By the end of June 1966, that number climbed to over 200 aircraft. When the 460th TRW stood up, the Wing gained several flying units at Tan Son Nhut:
16th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (RF-4C)
20th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron: 12 November 1965 – 1 April 1966 (RF-101C)
Detachment 1 of the 460th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing
On 15 October 1966, the 460th TRW assumed aircraft maintenance responsibilities for Tan Son Nhut AB, including being responsible for all depot-level aircraft maintenance responsibility for all USAF organizations in South Vietnam. In addition to the reconnaissance operations, the 460th TFW's base flight operated in-theater transport service for Seventh Air Force and other senior commanders throughout South Vietnam. The base flight operated T-39A Saberliners, VC-123B Providers (also known as the "White Whale"), and U-3Bs between 1967 and 1971.
Photographic reconnaissance
45th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron: 30 March 1966 – 31 December 1970 (RF-101C Tail Code: AH)
12th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron: 2 September 1966 – 31 August 1971 (RF-4C Tail Code: AC)
On 18 September 1966, the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing was activated at Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand. After the 432d TRW activated it took control of the reconnaissance squadrons in Thailand. With the activation of the 432d TRW, the 460th TRW was only responsible for RF-101 and RF-4C operations.
In 1970 the need for improved coordinate data of Southeast Asia for targeting purposes led to Loran-C-equipped RF–4Cs taking detailed photographs of target areas which were matched with the Loran coordinates of terrain features on the photo maps to calculate the precise coordinates. This information was converted into a computer program which by mid-1971 was used by the 12th Reconnaissance Intelligence Technical Squadron at the base for targeting.
Electronic reconnaissance
A few months after the 460th TRW's activation, two squadrons activated on 8 April 1966 as 460th TRW Det 2:
360th Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron: 8 April 1966 – 31 August 1971 (EC-47N/P/Q Tail Code: AJ)
361st Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron: 8 April 1966 – 31 August 1971 (EC-47N/P/Q Tail Code: AL) (Nha Trang Air Base)
362d Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron: 1 February 1967 – 31 August 1971 (EC-47N/P/Q Tail Code: AN) (Pleiku Air Base)
Project Hawkeye conducted radio direction finding (RDF), whose main target were VC radio transmitters. Before this program RDF involved tracking the signals on the ground. Because this exposed the RDF team to ambushes, both the US Army and USAF began to look at airborne RDF. While the US Army used U-6 Beaver and U-8 Seminole aircraft for its own version of the Hawkeye platform, the USAF modified several C-47 Skytrains.
Project Phyllis Ann also used modified C-47s, however, the C-47s for this program were highly modified with an advanced navigational and reconnaissance equipment. On 4 April 1967, project Phyllis Ann changed to become Compass Dart. On 1 April 1968, Compass Dart became Combat Cougar. Because of security concerns the operation's name changed two more times first to Combat Cross and then to Commando Forge.
Project Drillpress also used modified C-47s, listening into VC/PAVN traffic and collected intelligence from it. This data gave insights into the plans and strategy of both the VC and the PAVN. Information from all three projects contributed in a major way to the intelligence picture of the battlefield in Vietnam. In fact about 95 percent of the Arc Light strikes conducted in South Vietnam were based, at least partially, on the data from these three programs. On 6 October 1967, Drillpress changed to Sentinel Sara.
The US would go to great lengths to prevent this equipment from falling into enemy hands, when an EC-47 from the 362d TEWS crashed on 22 April 1970, members of an explosive ordnance unit policed the area destroying anything they found and six F-100 tactical air sorties hit the area to be sure.
Detachments of these squadrons operated from different locations, including bases in Thailand. Each of the main squadrons and their detachments moved at least once due to operational and/or security reasons. Personnel operating the RDF and signal intelligence equipment in the back of the modified EC-47s were part of the 6994th Security Squadron.
On 1 June 1969 the unit transferred to become 360th TEWS Det 1.
Inactivation
As the Vietnamization program began, Vietnamese crews began flying with EC-47 crews from the 360th TEWS and 6994th SS, on 8 May 1971, to get training on operating the aircraft and its systems. The wing was inactivated in-place on 31 August 1971. Decorations awarded to the wing for its Vietnam War service include:
Presidential Unit Citation: 18 February 1966 – 30 June 1967; 1 September 1967 – 1 July 1968; 11 July 1968 – 31 August 1969; l February-31 March 1971.
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Combat "V" Device: 1 July 1969 – 30 June 1970; 1 July 1970 – 30 June 1971.
Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm: 1 August 1966 – 31 August 1971.
315th Air Commando Wing, Troop Carrier
In October 1962, there began what became known as the Southeast Asia Airlift System. Requirements were forecast out to 25 days, and these requirements were matched against available resources. In September 1962 Headquarters 6492nd Combat Cargo Group (Troop Carrier) and the 6493rd Aerial Port Squadron were organized and attached to the 315th Air Division, based at Tachikawa AB. On 8 December 1962 the 315th Air Commando Group, (Troop Carrier) was activated replacing the 6492nd Combat Cargo Group and became responsible for all in-country airlift in South Vietnam, including control over all USAF airlift assets. On the same date the 8th Aerial Port Squadron replaced the 6493rd Aerial Port Squadron.The 315th Group was assigned to the 315th Air Division, but came under the operational control of MACV through the 2d Air Division.
On 10 August 1964 6 Royal Australian Air Force RAAF Transport Flight Vietnam DHC-4 Caribous arrived at the base and were assigned to the airlift system.
In October 1964 the 19th Air Commando Squadron equipped with C-123s was established at the base and assigned to the 315th Troop Carrier Group.
On 8 March 1965 the 315th Troop Carrier Group was redesignated the 315th Air Commando Group. The 315th Air Commando Group was re-designated the 315th Air Commando Wing on 8 March 1966.
Squadrons of the 315th ACW/TC were:
12th Air Commando Squadron (Defoliation), 15 October 1966 – 30 September 1970 (Bien Hoa) (UC-123 Provider)
Det 1, 834th Air Division, 15 October 1966 – 1 December 1971 (Tan Son Nhut) (C-130B Hercules)
19th Air Commando Squadron 8 March 1966 – 10 June 1971 (Tan Son Nhut) (C-123 Provider) (including 2 Royal Thai Air Force-operated C-123s named Victory Flight)
309th Air Commando Squadron 8 March 1966 – 31 July 1970 (Phan Rang) (C-123)
310th Air Commando Squadron 8 March 1966 – 15 January 1972 (Phan Rang) (C-123)
311th Air Commando Squadron 8 March 1966 – 5 October 1971 (Phan Rang) (C-123)
Det 1., HQ 315th Air Commando Wing, Troop Carrier 1 August – 15 October 1966
Det 5., HQ 315th Air Division (Combat Cargo) 8 March – 15 October 1966
Det 6., HQ 315th Air Division (Combat Cargo) (8 March – 15 October 1966)
903rd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron 8 July 1966
RAAF Transport Flight, Vietnam (RTFV) 8 March – 15 October 1966
The unit also performed C-123 airlift operations in Vietnam. Operations included aerial movement of troops and cargo, flare drops, aeromedical evacuation, and air-drops of critical supplies and paratroops
Operation Ranch Hand
The 315th ACG was responsible for Operation Ranch Hand Defoliant operations missions. After some modifications to the aircraft (which included adding armor for the crew), 3 C-123B Provider aircraft arrived at the base on 7 January 1962 under the code name Ranch Hand.
The 315th ACW was transferred to Phan Rang Air Base on 14 June 1967.
834th Air Division
On 15 October 1966 the 834th Airlift Division was assigned without personnel or equipment, to Tan Son Nhut AB to join the Seventh Air Force, providing an intermediate command and control organization and also act as host unit for the USAF forces at the base.
The 315th Air Commando Wing and 8th Aerial Port Squadron were assigned to the 834th Division. Initially the 834th AD had a strength of twenty-seven officers and twenty-one airmen, all of whom were on permanent assignment to Tan Son Nhut.
The Air Division served as a single manager for all tactical airlift operations in South Vietnam, using air transport to haul cargo and troops, which were air-landed or air-dropped, as combat needs dictated through December 1971. The 834th Air Division became the largest tactical airlift force in the world. It was capable of performing a variety of missions. In addition to airlift of cargo and personnel and RVNAF training. Its missions and activities included Ranch Hand defoliation and insecticide spraying, psychological leaflet distribution, helicopter landing zone preparation, airfield survey and the operation of aerial ports.
Units it directly controlled were:
315th Air Commando (later, 315th Special Operations; 315th Tactical Airlift) Wing: 15 October 1966 – 1 December 1971)
Located at: Tan Son Nhut AB; later Phan Rang AB (15 June 1967 – 1 December 1971) UC-123 Provider. Composed of four C-123 squadrons with augmentation by C-130 Hercules transports from the 315th Air Division, Tachikawa AB, Japan.
2 C-123 Squadrons (32 a/c) at Tan Son Nhut AB;
C-130B aircraft assignments were 23 aircraft by 1 November 1966
483d Troop Carrier (later, 483d Tactical Airlift) Wing: 15 October 1966 – 1 December 1971
2d Aerial Port Group (Tan Son Nhut)
8th Aerial Port Squadron, Tan Son Nhut (16 detachments)
Detachments were located at various points where airlift activity warranted continuous but less extensive aerial port services. Aerial port personnel loaded, unloaded, and stored cargo and processed passengers at each location.
In addition, the 834th supervised transport operations (primarily C-47's) of the RVNAF, 6 DHC-4 Wallaby transports operated by the RAAF 35 Squadron at Vũng Tàu Army Airfield and 2 Republic of Korea Air Force transport unit C-46 Commandos from 29 July 1967, later replaced by C-54s. The 834th's flying components also performed defoliation missions, propaganda leaflet drops, and other special missions.
The 834th received the Presidential Unit Citation recognizing their efforts during the Battle of Khe Sanh.
In late 1969 C Flight, 17th Special Operations Squadron equipped with 5 AC-119G gunships was deployed at the base. By the end of 1970 this Flight would grow to 9 AC-119Gs to support operations in Cambodia.
During its last few months, the 834th worked toward passing combat airlift control to Seventh Air Force. On 1 December 1971 the 834th AD was inactivated as part of the USAF withdrawal of forces from Vietnam.
377th Air Base Wing
The 377th Air Base Wing was responsible for the day-to-day operations and maintenance of the USAF portion of the facility from April 1966 until the last USAF personnel withdrew from South Vietnam in March 1973. In addition, the 377th ABW was responsible for housing numerous tenant organizations including Seventh Air Force, base defense, and liaison with the RVNAF.
In 1972 inactivating USAF units throughout South Vietnam began to assign units without equipment or personnel to the 377th ABW.
From Cam Ranh AB:
21st Tactical Air Support Squadron: 15 March 1972 – 23 February 1973.
From Phan Rang AB:
8th Special Operations Squadron: 15 January – 25 October 1972 (A-37)
9th Special Operations Squadron: 21 January – 29 February 1972 (C-47)
310th Tactical Airlift Squadron: January–June 1972 and March–October 1972 (C-123, C-7B)
360th Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron: 1 February – 24 November 1972 (EC-47N/P/Q)
All of these units were inactivated at Tan Son Nhut AB.
An operating location of the wing headquarters was established at Bien Hoa AB on 14 April 1972 to provide turnaround service for F-4 Phantom IIs of other organizations, mostly based in Thailand. It was replaced on 20 June 1972 by Detachment l of the 377th Wing headquarters, which continued the F-4 turnaround service and added A-7 Corsair IIs for the deployed 354th Tactical Fighter Wing aircraft based at Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand on 30 October 1972. The detachment continued operations through 11 February 1973.
The 377th ABW phased down for inactivation during February and March 1973, transferring many assets to the RVNAF. When inactivated on 28 March 1973, the 377th Air Base Wing was the last USAF unit in South Vietnam.
Post-1975 Vietnam People's Air Force use
Following the war, Tan Son Nhut Air Base was taken over as a base for the VPAF which is referred to by the name Tân Sơn Nhất.
Tân Sơn Nhất Air Base is base of 917th Mixed Air Transport Regiment (a.k.a. Đồng Tháp Squadron) of 370th Air Force Division. The regiment's fleet consisted of:
Bell UH-1 Iroquois
Mil Mi-8
Mil Mi-17
917th Mixed Air Transport Regiment was moved to Cần Thơ International Airport in 2017.
In November 2015, Camp Davis was recognized as a historical relic site by the Monuments Conservation Center of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports and the Ho Chi Minh City Monuments Review Board.
Accident and incidents
25 October 1967: F-105D Thunderchief #59-1737 crashed into a C-123K #54-0667 on landing in bad weather. The F-105 pilot was killed and both aircraft were destroyed.
19 June 1968 at 14:15 a pallet of ammunition exploded on a truck in the munitions area north of the base killing one U.S. soldier. An ambulance crossing the runway to the scene of the explosion was hit by a U.S. Army U-21 on takeoff killing two USAF medics in the ambulance.
11 October 1969: an AC-119G of the 17th Special Operations Squadron crashed shortly after takeoff. 6 crewmembers were killed and the aircraft was destroyed.
28 April 1970: an AC-119G of the 17th Special Operations Squadron crashed shortly after takeoff. 6 crewmembers were killed and the aircraft was destroyed.
See also
Republic of Vietnam Air Force
United States Pacific Air Forces
Seventh Air Force
References
Other sources
Endicott, Judy G. (1999) Active Air Force wings as of 1 October 1995; USAF active flying, space, and missile squadrons as of 1 October 1995. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. CD-ROM.
Martin, Patrick (1994). Tail Code: The Complete History of USAF Tactical Aircraft Tail Code Markings. Schiffer Military Aviation History. .
Mesco, Jim (1987) VNAF Republic of Vietnam Air Force 1945–1975 Squadron/Signal Publications.
Mikesh, Robert C. (2005) Flying Dragons: The Republic of Vietnam Air Force. Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.
USAF Historical Research Division/Organizational History Branch – 35th Fighter Wing, 366th Wing
VNAF – The Republic of Vietnam Air Force 1951–1975
USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers—1908 to present
External links
505th Tactical Control Group – Tactical Air Control in Vietnam and Thailand
C-130A 57–460 at the National Air And Space Museum
The Tan Son Nhut Association
Electronic Warfare "Electric Goon" EC-47 Association website
The Defense of Tan Son Nhut Air Base, 31 January 1968
The Fall of Saigon
Installations of the United States Air Force in South Vietnam
Military installations of South Vietnam
Airports in Vietnam
Buildings and structures in Ho Chi Minh City
Military airbases established in 1955 | en |
doc-en-5145 | Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) is a parallel expansion card standard, designed for attaching a video card to a computer system to assist in the acceleration of 3D computer graphics. It was originally designed as a successor to PCI-type connections for video cards. Since 2004, AGP has been progressively phased out in favor of PCI Express (PCIe), which is serial, as opposed to parallel; by mid-2008, PCI Express cards dominated the market and only a few AGP models were available, with GPU manufacturers and add-in board partners eventually dropping support for the interface in favor of PCI Express.
Advantages over PCI
As computers increasingly became graphically oriented, successive generations of graphics adapters began to push the limits of PCI, a bus with shared bandwidth. This led to the development of AGP, a "bus" dedicated to graphics adapters.
AGP is heavily based on PCI, and in fact the AGP bus is a superset of the conventional PCI bus, and AGP cards must act as PCI cards.
The primary advantage of AGP over PCI is that it provides a dedicated pathway between the slot(s) and the processor rather than sharing the PCI bus. In addition to a lack of contention for the bus, the direct connection allows for higher clock speeds.
The second major change is that AGP uses split transactions, where the address and data phases of a PCI transaction are separated. The card may send many address phases, and the host processes them in order. This avoids long delays, with the bus idle, during read operations.
Third, PCI bus handshaking is simplified. Unlike PCI bus transactions whose length is negotiated on a cycle-by-cycle basis using the FRAME# and STOP# signals, AGP transfers are always a multiple of 8 bytes long, and the total length is included in the request. Further, rather than using the IRDY# and TRDY# signals for each word, data is transferred in blocks of four clock cycles (32 words at AGP 8× speed), and pauses are allowed only between blocks.
Finally, AGP allows (optional in AGP 1.0 and 2.0, mandatory in AGP 3.0) sideband addressing, meaning that the address and data buses are separated so the address phase does not use the main address/data (AD) lines at all. This is done by adding an extra 8-bit "SideBand Address" bus over which the graphics controller can issue new AGP requests while other AGP data is flowing over the main 32 address/data (AD) lines. This results in improved overall AGP data throughput.
This great improvement in memory read performance makes it practical for an AGP card to read textures directly from system RAM, while a PCI graphics card must copy it from system RAM to the card's video memory. System memory is made available using the graphics address remapping table (GART), which apportions main memory as needed for texture storage. The maximum amount of system memory available to AGP is defined as the AGP aperture.
History
The AGP slot first appeared on x86-compatible system boards based on Socket 7 Intel P5 Pentium and Slot 1 P6 Pentium II processors. Intel introduced AGP support with the i440LX Slot 1 chipset on August 26, 1997, and a flood of products followed from all the major system board vendors.
The first Socket 7 chipsets to support AGP were the VIA Apollo VP3, SiS 5591/5592, and the ALI Aladdin V. Intel never released an AGP-equipped Socket 7 chipset. FIC demonstrated the first Socket 7 AGP system board in November 1997 as the FIC PA-2012 based on the VIA Apollo VP3 chipset, followed very quickly by the EPoX P55-VP3 also based on the VIA VP3 chipset which was first to market.
Early video chipsets featuring AGP support included the Rendition Vérité V2200, 3dfx Voodoo Banshee, Nvidia RIVA 128, 3Dlabs PERMEDIA 2, Intel i740, ATI Rage series, Matrox Millennium II, and S3 ViRGE GX/2. Some early AGP boards used graphics processors built around PCI and were simply bridged to AGP. This resulted in the cards benefiting little from the new bus, with the only improvement used being the 66 MHz bus clock, with its resulting doubled bandwidth over PCI, and bus exclusivity. Examples of such cards were the Voodoo Banshee, Vérité V2200, Millennium II, and S3 ViRGE GX/2. Intel's i740 was explicitly designed to exploit the new AGP feature set; in fact it was designed to texture only from AGP memory, making PCI versions of the board difficult to implement (local board RAM had to emulate AGP memory.)
Microsoft first introduced AGP support into Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2 (OSR2 version 1111 or 950B) via the USB SUPPLEMENT to OSR2 patch. After applying the patch the Windows 95 system became Windows 95 version 4.00.950 B. The first Windows NT-based operating system to receive AGP support was Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 3, introduced in 1997. Linux support for AGP enhanced fast data transfers was first added in 1999 with the implementation of the AGPgart kernel module.
Versions
Intel released "AGP specification 1.0" in 1997. It specified 3.3 V signals and 1× and 2× speeds. Specification 2.0 documented 1.5 V signaling, which could be used at 1×, 2× and the additional 4× speed and 3.0 added 0.8 V signaling, which could be operated at 4× and 8× speeds. (1× and 2× speeds are physically possible, but were not specified.)
Available versions are listed in the adjacent table.
AGP version 3.5 is only publicly mentioned by Microsoft under Universal Accelerated Graphics Port (UAGP), which specifies mandatory supports of extra registers once marked optional under AGP 3.0. Upgraded registers include PCISTS, CAPPTR, NCAPID, AGPSTAT, AGPCMD, NISTAT, NICMD. New required registers include APBASELO, APBASEHI, AGPCTRL, APSIZE, NEPG, GARTLO, GARTHI.
There are various physical interfaces (connectors); see the Compatibility section.
Official extensions
AGP Pro
An official extension for cards that required more electrical power, with a longer slot with additional pins for that purpose. AGP Pro cards were usually workstation-class cards used to accelerate professional computer-aided design applications employed in the fields of architecture, machining, engineering, simulations, and similar fields.
64-bit AGP
A 64-bit channel was once proposed as an optional standard for AGP 3.0 in draft documents, but it was dropped in the final version of the standard.
The standard allows 64-bit transfer for AGP8× reads, writes, and fast writes; 32-bit transfer for PCI operations.
Unofficial variations
A number of non-standard variations of the AGP interface have been produced by manufacturers.
Internal AGP interface
Ultra-AGP, Ultra-AGPII It is an internal AGP interface standard used by SiS for the north bridge controllers with integrated graphics. The original version supports same bandwidth as AGP 8×, while Ultra-AGPII has maximum 3.2GB/s bandwidth.
PCI-based AGP ports
AGP Express Not a true AGP interface, but allows an AGP card to be connected over the legacy PCI bus on a PCI Express motherboard. It is a technology used on motherboards made by ECS, intended to allow an existing AGP card to be used in a new motherboard instead of requiring a PCIe card to be obtained (since the introduction of PCIe graphics cards few motherboards provide AGP slots). An "AGP Express" slot is basically a PCI slot (with twice the electrical power) with an AGP connector. It offers backward compatibility with AGP cards, but provides incomplete support (some AGP cards do not work with AGP Express) and reduced performance—the card is forced to use the shared PCI bus at its lower bandwidth, rather than having exclusive use of the faster AGP.
AGI The ASRock Graphics Interface (AGI) is a proprietary variant of the Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) standard. Its purpose is to provide AGP-support for ASRock motherboards that use chipsets lacking native AGP support. However, it is not fully compatible with AGP, and several video card chipsets are known not to be supported.
AGX The EPoX Advanced Graphics eXtended (AGX) is another proprietary AGP variant with the same advantages and disadvantages as AGI. User manuals recommend not using AGP 8× ATI cards with AGX slots.
XGP The Biostar Xtreme Graphics Port is another AGP variant, also with the same advantages and disadvantages as AGI and AGX.
PCIe based AGP ports
AGR The Advanced Graphics Riser is a variation of the AGP port used in some PCIe motherboards made by MSI to offer limited backwards compatibility with AGP. It is, effectively, a modified PCIe slot allowing for performance comparable to an AGP 4×/8× slot, but does not support all AGP cards; the manufacturer published a list of some cards and chipsets that work with the modified slot.
Compatibility
AGP cards are backward and forward compatible within limits. 1.5 V-only keyed cards will not go into 3.3 V slots and vice versa, though "Universal" cards exist which will fit into either type of slot. There are also unkeyed "Universal" slots that will accept either type of card. When an AGP Universal card is plugged-into an AGP Universal slot, only the 1.5 V portion of the card is used. Some cards, like Nvidia's GeForce 6 series (except the 6200) or ATI's Radeon X800 series, only have keys for 1.5 V to prevent them from being installed in older mainboards without 1.5 V support. Some of the last modern cards with 3.3 V support were the Nvidia GeForce FX series (FX 5200, FX 5500, FX 5700, some FX 5800, FX 5900 and some FX 5950), certain Geforce 6 Series and 7 series (few cards were made with 3.3v support except for 6200 where 3.3v support was common) and the ATI Radeon 9500/9700/9800 (R300/R350) (but not 9600/9800(R360/RV360)). Some Geforce 6200/6600/6800 and Geforce 7300/7600/7800/7900/7950 cards will function with AGP 1.0 (3.3v) slots, but those are really uncommon compared to their AGP 1.5v only versions.
AGP Pro cards will not fit into standard slots, but standard AGP cards will work in a Pro slot. Motherboards equipped with a Universal AGP Pro slot will accept a 1.5 V or 3.3 V card in either the AGP Pro or standard AGP configuration, a Universal AGP card, or a Universal AGP Pro card.
Some cards incorrectly have dual notches, and some motherboards incorrectly have fully open slots, allowing a card to be plugged into a slot that does not support the correct signaling voltage, which may damage card or motherboard. Some incorrectly designed older 3.3 V cards have the 1.5 V key.
There are some proprietary systems incompatible with standard AGP; for example, Apple Power Macintosh computers with the Apple Display Connector (ADC) have an extra connector which delivers power to the attached display. Some cards designed to work with a specific CPU architecture (e.g., PC, Apple) may not work with others due to firmware issues.
Mark Allen of Playtools.com made the following comments regarding Practical AGP Compatibility for AGP 3.0 and AGP 2.0:
Power consumption
Actual power supplied by an AGP slot depends upon the card used. The maximum current drawn from the various rails is given in the specifications for the various versions. For example, if maximum current is drawn from all supplies and all voltages are at their specified upper limits, an AGP 3.0 slot can supply up to 48.25 watts; this figure can be used to specify a power supply conservatively, but in practice a card is unlikely ever to draw more than 40 W from the slot, with many using less. AGP Pro provides additional power up to 110 W. Many AGP cards had additional power connectors to supply them with more power than the slot could provide.
Later use
By 2010, few new motherboards had AGP slots. No new motherboard chipsets were equipped with AGP support, but motherboards continued to be produced with older chipsets with support for AGP.
Graphics processors of this period use PCI-Express, a general-purpose (not restricted to graphics) standard that supports higher data transfer rates and full-duplex. To create AGP-compatible graphics cards, those chips require an additional PCIe-to-AGP bridge-chip to convert PCIe signals to and from AGP signals. This incurs additional board costs due to the need for the additional bridge chip and for a separate AGP-designed circuit board.
Various manufacturers of graphics cards continued to produce AGP cards for the shrinking AGP user-base. The first bridged cards were the GeForce 6600 and ATI Radeon X800 XL boards, released during 2004–2005. In 2009 AGP cards from Nvidia had a ceiling of the GeForce 7 Series. In 2011 DirectX 10-capable AGP cards from AMD vendors (Club 3D, HIS, Sapphire, Jaton, Visiontek, Diamond, etc.) included the Radeon HD 2400, 3450, 3650, 3850, 4350, 4650, and 4670. The HD 5000 AGP series mentioned in the AMD Catalyst software was never available. There were many problems with the AMD Catalyst 11.2 - 11.6 AGP hotfix drivers under Windows 7 with the HD 4000 series AGP video cards; use of 10.12 or 11.1 AGP hotfix drivers is the recommended workaround. Several of the vendors listed above make available past versions of the AGP drivers.
In 2016, Windows 10 version 1607 dropped support for AGP videocards making Windows 10 1511 the last Windows release to support AGP. AGP support removal in future Linux kernel and drivers was also considered as well.
Protocol
An AGP bus is a superset of a 66 MHz conventional PCI bus and, immediately after reset, follows the same protocol. The card must act as a PCI target, and optionally may act as a PCI master. (AGP 2.0 added a "fast writes" extension which allows PCI writes from the motherboard to the card to transfer data at higher speed.)
After the card is initialized using PCI transactions, AGP transactions are permitted. For these, the card is always the AGP master and the motherboard is always the AGP target. The card queues multiple requests which correspond to the PCI address phase, and the motherboard schedules the corresponding data phases later. An important part of initialization is telling the card the maximum number of outstanding AGP requests which may be queued at a given time.
AGP requests are similar to PCI memory read and write requests, but use a different encoding on command lines C/BE[3:0] and are always 8-byte aligned; their starting address and length are always multiples of 8 bytes (64 bits). The three low-order bits of the address are used instead to communicate the length of the request.
Whenever the PCI GNT# signal is asserted, granting the bus to the card, three additional status bits ST[2:0] indicate the type of transfer to be performed next. If the bits are 0xx, a previously queued AGP transaction's data is to be transferred; if the three bits are 111, the card may begin a PCI transaction or (if sideband addressing is not in use) queue a request in-band using PIPE#.
AGP command codes
Like PCI, each AGP transaction begins with an address phase, communicating an address and 4-bit command code. The possible commands are different from PCI, however:
000p Read
Read 8×(AD[2:0]+1) = 8, 16, 24, ..., 64 bytes. The least significant bit p is 0 for low-priority, 1 for high.
001x (reserved):
010p Write
Write 8×(AD[2:0]+1) = 8–64 bytes.
011x (reserved):
100p Long read
Read 32×(AD[2:0]+1) = 32, 64, 96, ..., 256 bytes. This is the same as a read request, but the length is multiplied by four.
1010 Flush
Force previously written data to memory, for synchronization. This acts as a low-priority read, taking a queue slot and returning 8 bytes of random data to indicate completion. The address and length supplied with this command are ignored.
1011 (reserved):
1100 Fence
This acts as a memory fence, requiring that all earlier AGP requests complete before any following requests. Ordinarily, for increased performance, AGP uses a very weak consistency model, and allows a later write to pass an earlier read. (E.g. after sending "write 1, write 2, read, write 3, write 4" requests, all to the same address, the read may return any value from 2 to 4. Only returning 1 is forbidden, as writes must complete before following reads.) This operation does not require any queue slots.
1101 Dual address cycle
When making a request to an address above 232, this is used to indicate that a second address cycle will follow with additional address bits. This operates like a regular PCI dual address cycle; it is accompanied by the low-order 32 bits of the address (and the length), and the following cycle includes the high 32 address bits and the desired command. The two cycles make one request, and take only one slot in the request queue. This request code is not used with side-band addressing.
111x (reserved):
AGP 3.0 dropped high-priority requests and the long read commands, as they were little used. It also mandated side-band addressing, thus dropping the dual address cycle, leaving only four request types: low-priority read (0000), low-priority write (0100), flush (1010) and fence (1100).
In-band AGP requests using PIPE#
To queue a request in-band, the card must request the bus using the standard PCI REQ# signal, and receive GNT# plus bus status ST[2:0] equal to 111. Then, instead of asserting FRAME# to begin a PCI transaction, the card asserts the PIPE# signal while driving the AGP command, address, and length on the C/BE[3:0], AD[31:3] and AD[2:0] lines, respectively. (If the address is 64 bits, a dual address cycle similar to PCI is used.) For every cycle that PIPE# is asserted, the card sends another request without waiting for acknowledgement from the motherboard, up to the configured maximum queue depth. The last cycle is marked by deasserting REQ#, and PIPE# is deasserted on the following idle cycle.
Side-band AGP requests using SBA[7:0]
If side-band addressing is supported and configured, the PIPE# signal is not used. (And the signal is re-used for another purpose in the AGP 3.0 protocol, which requires side-band addressing.) Instead, requests are broken into 16-bit pieces which are sent as two bytes across the SBA bus. There is no need for the card to ask permission from the motherboard; a new request may be sent at any time as long as the number of outstanding requests is within the configured maximum queue depth. The possible values are:
0aaa aaaa aaaa alll
Queue a request with the given low-order address bits A[14:3] and length 8×(L[2:0]+1). The command and high-order bits are as previously specified. Any number of requests may be queued by sending only this pattern, as long as the command and higher address bits remain the same.
10cc ccra aaaa aaaa
Use command C[3:0] and address bits A[23:15] for future requests. (Bit R is reserved.) This does not queue a request, but sets values that will be used in all future queued requests.
110r aaaa aaaa aaaa
Use address bits A[35:24] for future requests.
1110 aaaa aaaa aaaa
Use address bits A[47:36] for future requests.
1111 0xxx, 1111 10xx, 1111 110x
Reserved, do not use.
1111 1110
Synchronization pattern used when starting the SBA bus after an idle period.
1111 1111
No operation; no request. At AGP 1× speed, this may be sent as a single byte and a following 16-bit side-band request started one cycle later. At AGP 2× and higher speeds, all side-band requests, including this NOP, are 16 bits long.
Sideband address bytes are sent at the same rate as data transfers, up to 8× the 66 MHz basic bus clock. Sideband addressing has the advantage that it mostly eliminates the need for turnaround cycles on the AD bus between transfers, in the usual case when read operations greatly outnumber writes.
AGP responses
While asserting GNT#, the motherboard may instead indicate via the ST bits that a data phase for a queued request will be performed next. There are four queues: two priorities (low- and high-priority) for each of reads and writes, and each is processed in order. Obviously, the motherboard will attempt to complete high-priority requests first, but there is no limit on the number of low-priority responses which may be delivered while the high-priority request is processed.
For each cycle when the GNT# is asserted and the status bits have the value 00p, a read response of the indicated priority is scheduled to be returned. At the next available opportunity (typically the next clock cycle), the motherboard will assert TRDY# (target ready) and begin transferring the response to the oldest request in the indicated read queue. (Other PCI bus signals like FRAME#, DEVSEL# and IRDY# remain deasserted.) Up to four clock cycles worth of data (16 bytes at AGP 1× or 128 bytes at AGP 8×) are transferred without waiting for acknowledgement from the card. If the response is longer than that, both the card and motherboard must indicate their ability to continue on the third cycle by asserting IRDY# (initiator ready) and TRDY#, respectively. If either one does not, wait states will be inserted until two cycles after they both do. (The value of IRDY# and TRDY# at other times is irrelevant and they are usually deasserted.)
The C/BE# byte enable lines may be ignored during read responses, but are held asserted (all bytes valid) by the motherboard.
The card may also assert the RBF# (read buffer full) signal to indicate that it is temporarily unable to receive more low-priority read responses. The motherboard will refrain from scheduling any more low-priority read responses. The card must still be able to receive the end of the current response, and the first four-cycle block of the following one if scheduled, plus any high-priority responses it has requested.
For each cycle when GNT# is asserted and the status bits have the value 01p, write data is scheduled to be sent across the bus. At the next available opportunity (typically the next clock cycle), the card will assert IRDY# (initiator ready) and begin transferring the data portion of the oldest request in the indicated write queue. If the data is longer than four clock cycles, the motherboard will indicate its ability to continue by asserting TRDY# on the third cycle. Unlike reads, there is no provision for the card to delay the write; if it didn't have the data ready to send, it shouldn't have queued the request.
The C/BE# lines are used with write data, and may be used by the card to select which bytes should be written to memory.
The multiplier in AGP 2×, 4× and 8× indicates the number of data transfers across the bus during each 66 MHz clock cycle. Such transfers use source synchronous clocking with a "strobe" signal (AD_STB[0], AD_STB[1], and SB_STB) generated by the data source. AGP 4× adds complementary strobe signals.
Because AGP transactions may be as short as two transfers, at AGP 4× and 8× speeds it is possible for a request to complete in the middle of a clock cycle. In such a case, the cycle is padded with dummy data transfers (with the C/BE# byte enable lines held deasserted).
Connector pinout
The AGP connector contains almost all PCI signals, plus several additions. The connector has 66 contacts on each side, although 4 are removed for each keying notch. Pin 1 is closest to the I/O bracket, and the B and A sides are as in the table, looking down at the motherboard connector.
Contacts are spaced at 1 mm intervals, however they are arranged in two staggered vertical rows so that there is 2 mm space between pins in each row. Odd-numbered A-side contacts, and even-numbered B-side contacts are in the lower row (1.0 to 3.5 mm from the card edge). The others are in the upper row (3.7 to 6.0 mm from the card edge).
PCI signals omitted are:
The −12 V supply
The third and fourth interrupt requests (INTC#, INTD#)
The JTAG pins (TRST#, TCK, TMS, TDI, TDO)
The SMBus pins (SMBCLK, SMBDAT)
The IDSEL pin; an AGP card connects AD[16] to IDSEL internally
The 64-bit extension (REQ64#, ACK64#) and 66 MHz (M66EN) pins
The LOCK# pin for locked transaction support
Signals added are:
Data strobes AD_STB[1:0] (and AD_STB[1:0]# in AGP 2.0)
The sideband address bus SBA[7:0] and SB_STB (and SB_STB# in AGP 2.0)
The ST[2:0] status signals
USB+ and USB− (and OVERCNT# in AGP 2.0)
The PIPE# signal (removed in AGP 3.0 for 0.8 V signaling)
The RBF# signal
The TYPEDET#, Vregcg and Vreggc pins (AGP 2.0 for 1.5V signaling)
The DBI_HI and DBI_LO signals (AGP 3.0 for 0.8 V signaling only)
The GC_DET# and MB_DET# pins (AGP 3.0 for 0.8V signaling)
The WBF# signal (AGP 3.0 fast write extension)
See also
List of device bandwidths
Serial Digital Video Out for ADD DVI adapter cards
AGP Inline Memory Module
Notes
References
External links
Archived AGP Implementors Forum
AGP specifications: 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, Pro 1.0, Pro 1.1a
AGP Compatibility For Sticklers
AGP pinout
AGP expansion slots
AGP compatibility (with pictures)
PCI Specifications Documents contains AGP specs.
Universal Accelerated Graphics Port (UAGP)
How Stuff Works - AGP
A discussion from 2003 of what AGP aperture is, how it works, and how much memory should be allocated to it.
Macintosh internals
IBM PC compatibles
Intel graphics
Motherboard expansion slot
Peripheral Component Interconnect | en |
doc-en-13728 | The Fourth International (FI), founded in 1938, is a Trotskyist international. In 1963, following a ten-year schism, the majorities of the two public factions of the Fourth International, the International Secretariat and the International Committee, reunited, electing a United Secretariat of the Fourth International. In 2003, the United Secretariat was replaced by an Executive Bureau and an International Committee, although some other Trotskyists still refer to the organisation as the USFI or USec.
Background
The ISFI was the leadership body of the Fourth International, established in 1938. In 1953 many prominent members of the International, and supported by the majority of the Austrian, British, Chinese, French, New Zealand and Swiss sections together with the U.S. Socialist Workers Party organized against the views of Michel Pablo, a central leader of the ISFI who successfully argued for the FI to adapt to the growth of the social democratic and communist parties. This led to disagreements between supporters of the ISFI and those parties on how to build revolutionary parties. These tensions developed into a split, leading to the suspension of those parties which had formed the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) late in November 1953.
Over the following ten years a majority of the two sides developed similar approaches to a number of major international problems: opposing Stalinism during the 1956 crises in Poland and Hungary, and supporting the Algerian War of Independence and the 1959 Cuban Revolution. At the same time, parties in the ISFI had retreated from Pablo's orientation to the communist parties. In 1960, the sections of the ICFI and ISFI reunited in Chile, India and Japan. In 1962, the political convergence between the majorities on both sides was strong enough for the ISFI and ICFI to establish a Parity Commission to prepare a joint World Congress. That congress aimed to reunify the Fourth International.
Some groups on both sides did not support the movement towards reunification. In the run-up to the 1961 congress of the ISFI the supporters of the Argentine Juan Posadas, a leader of the Latin American Secretariat, found themselves in agreement with the supporters of Michel Pablo in stressing the primacy of the anti-colonial revolution: the majority in the ISFI placed a greater emphasis on developing activity in Europe. However, Posadas and Pablo developed different reactions to the split in Stalinism: Posadas tended towards Mao Zedong, while Pablo was closer to Nikita Khrushchev and Josip Broz Tito.
A similar development happened on the ICFI side. By 1961 the ICFI had split politically, the Internationalist Communist Party (PCI) in France and the Socialist Labour League (SLL) in Britain arguing that a workers' state had not been created in Cuba, putting them at odds with the American SWP and the other organisations in the ICFI. By 1963, the split was also organizational. Each side held a congress at which it claimed to be the majority of the ICFI. On the one hand, the Austrian, Chinese and New Zealand sections met at a congress with the SWP and voted to take part in the reunification congress. On the other hand, Pierre Lambert's PCI and Gerry Healy's SLL called a "International Conference of Trotskyists" to continue the work of the ICFI under their own leadership.
Seventh World Congress: reunification
The June 1963 Reunification Congress, the seventh, in Rome represented a large majority of the world's Trotskyists in its ranks.
Among ICFI and ISFI groups, only the PCI and the SLL refused to attend; the supporters of Posadas had left in 1962. The congress elected a new leadership team including Ernest Mandel, Pierre Frank, Livio Maitan and Joseph Hansen, who moved to Paris to co-edit World Outlook with Pierre Frank.
It also adopted a strategic resolution drafted by Mandel and Hansen, Dynamics of World Revolution Today which became a touch-stone document for the International over the following decades. It argued that "three main forces of world revolution—the colonial revolution, the political revolution in the degenerated and deformed workers' states, and the proletarian revolution in the imperialist countries—form a dialectical unity. Each force influences the others and receives in return powerful impulses or brakes on its own development." Reflecting on the Cuban Revolution, accomplished without a revolutionary party, is also concluded that "The weakness of the enemy in the backward countries has opened the possibility of coming to power with a blunted instrument." This view was reinforced the following year, through the United Secretariat's resolution On the Character of the Algerian Government drafted by Joseph Hansen.
The Reunification Congress also adopted a resolution on "The Sino-Soviet Conflict and the situation in the USSR and the other workers' states". The resolution noted the declining authority of the Kremlin both inside the Communist parties and with anti-imperialist movements such as those in Cuba and Algeria. It viewed 'de-Stalinisation' as a defensive liberalisation by the bureaucracy. The Sino-Soviet split was viewed as reflecting "the different needs of the bureaucracies headed by the two leaderships (...). The search for agreements and above all an over-all agreement with imperialism on the part of the Soviet bureaucracy contradicts the search by the Chinese leaders for more aid and for better defenses against the heavy pressure of imperialism." Pablo's tendency had drawn more optimistic conclusions about the impact of de-Stalinisation. It presented a counter-resolution, but only won minority support along with some places on the International Executive Committee: it publicly broke with the International a year later, claiming that Pablo had been ousted.
After 1963
Lambert's Internationalist Communist Party (PCI) in France and the Socialist Labour League (SLL) in Britain did not take part in the reunification congress, but discussions continued on the topic. The PCI and SLL maintained the ICFI under their own leadership, opposing key elements in the reunification documents, including the view that the July 26 Movement had created a workers' state in Cuba. They argued instead that Cuba's revolution did not bring power to the working class; the SLL believed that Cuba had remained a capitalist country. In their view, the International's support for the Cuban and Algerian leaderships reflected a lack of commitment to the building of revolutionary Marxist parties. While not rejecting reunification in itself, the continuing ICFI argued that a deeper political discussion was needed to ensure that Pablo's errors were not deepened.
Those within the U.S. Socialist Workers Party (SWP) who broadly shared this view formed a "Revolutionary Tendency" led by Tim Wohlforth and James Robertson in 1962. They argued that the party should have a full discussion of the meaning of Pabloism and the 1953 split. Along with the remainder of the ICFI, they argued that Cuba's revolution did not prove that the Fourth International was no longer necessary in the colonial countries. However, differences inside the Revolutionary Tendency developed. In 1964, with Wohlforth laying the evidentiary basis for claims of "party disloyalty" against Robertson, the tendency was expelled from the party. In the opinion of Robertson's group, Wohlforth conspired with the SWP leadership to get Robertson's group expelled.
The ICFI unsuccessfully repeated its appeal for a deep discussion with the reunified Fourth International at the end of 1963, and on later occasions. Its 1966 conference called for a Fourth International Conference. The ICFI approached the secretariat again in 1970, requesting "a mutual discussion that might open the way to the Socialist Labour League and its French sister organisation, the Organisation Communiste Internationaliste, reunifying with the Fourth International". Similar approaches were rejected in 1973.
A further departure was registered in 1964 when the only mass organisation within the International, the Lanka Sama Samaja Party of Ceylon, was expelled after entering a coalition government in that country. The ISFI had sharply criticised the LSSP's parliamentary tactics in 1960, and the LSSP had been absent from the 1961 congress, but was represented at the 1963 congress by Edmund Samarakkody.
By 1964 the LSSP's leadership abandoned the party's longstanding opposition to the SLFP, completing a political turn it had attempted in 1960, until the Sixth World Congress condemned the LSSP for offering support to the SLFP. In 1964, the International also opposed the entrance of the LSSP into a coalition government, with Pierre Frank addressing the LSSP's June 1964 conference to explain the United Secretariat's views. The International severed relations with the LSSP; it supported a split at the LSSP conference, supported by around a quarter of its membership and led by Bala Tampoe, a trade union leader, and 14 members of the LSSP's central committee. Tampoe and other LSSP dissidents organised the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (Revolutionary), which became the Ceylonese section of the International.
Eighth World Congress: anti-imperialist focus
At the Eighth World Congress, held in the Taunus Mountains in Germany during December 1965, Samarakkody was also the delegate of a new section in Ceylon, the LSSP (R), formed by an 'orthodox' tendency in the LSSP. Sixty delegates attended the congress, which witnessed a growth from an international radicalisation of students and youth. The main resolution on The International Situation and the Tasks of Revolutionary Marxists focussed the sections on solidarity for anti-imperialist struggles, such as that in Vietnam, and intervening into the youth radicalisation and the crisis in international Communism. Other major resolutions were adopted on Africa, Western Europe and the deepening Sino-Soviet split. That congress recognised two sympathising groups in Britain. One, the Revolutionary Socialist League, better known as the Militant tendency, objected to what it regarded as the uncritical way in which the International supported anti-colonial liberation movements and regarded the International's decision to give official recognition to a second, rival, group as undemocratic. Its views had deep roots, and the RSL left the International soon after, leaving the International Group as the British section.
In 1965, the International Revolutionary Marxist Tendency led by Michel Pablo split; it rejoined in 1992.
Ninth World Congress: Vietnam solidarity
The International grew substantially in the 1960s, alongside most other left-wing groups. The April 1969 Ninth World Congress in Italy gathered 100 delegates and observers from 30 countries including new sections in Ireland, Luxembourg and Sweden and rebuilt ones in France, Mexico, Spain and Switzerland. It adopted a major resolution on the deepening youth radicalisation. Over the following years its sections continued to grow principally through campaigns in opposition to the war in Vietnam, though the student and youth radicalisation.
In 1964 the current around Argentine Trotskyist Nahuel Moreno fused his followers into the reunified Fourth International, bringing in hundreds of new members from throughout Latin America.
Unification was discussed between the International and the French group Lutte Ouvriere. In 1970, Lutte Ouvriere initiated fusion discussions with the French section, the LCR. After extensive discussions, the two organisations agreed the basis for a fused organisation, but the fusion was not completed. In 1976 discussions between the LCR and Lutte Ouvriere progressed again. The two organisations started to produce a common weekly supplement to their newspapers, common electoral work and other common campaigning.
After the Lambert's current left the ICFI in 1971, its Organising Committee for the Reconstruction of the Fourth International (OCRFI) opened discussion with the International. In May 1973, Lambert's tendency unsuccessfully requested to take part in the discussions for the 1974 congress, but the United Secretariat did not take the letter at face value and asked for clarification. In September 1973 the OCRFI responded positively and the United Secretariat agreed a positive reply. However, in the rush of preparations for the world congress the United Secretariat's letter was not sent, leading Lambert's group to repeat its request in September 1974 through an approach to the US SWP. The following month the secretariat organised a meeting with the OCRFI. However, discussions decelerated after Lambert's Internationalist Communist Organisation made an attack on Ernest Mandel, which it later acknowledged as an error. In 1976 new approaches by the OCRFI met with success, when it wrote with the aim "to strengthen the force of the Fourth International as a single international organisation". However, these discussions decelerated again in 1977 after the Internationalist Communist Organisation leaders stated that it had members inside the Revolutionary Communist League, the International's French section.
The period from 1969 to 1976 was the stormiest because of a faction struggle over the centrality of guerrilla warfare in Latin America and elsewhere. The 1969 congress had adopted a sympathetic approach to the tactics of guerrilla warfare; only one of the International's leaders opposed this approach at that time, Peng Shuzi.
Tenth World Congress: guerrilla debate
The Leninist Trotskyist Tendency successfully worked to convince the international majority that it had previously supported guerrilla struggles with a mistaken orientation. In February 1974, votes at the Tenth World Congress divided 45:55 on the question of armed struggle, with a large minority opposing the generalised use of guerrilla tactics in Latin America.
The 1974 congress registered further growth, with organizations from 41 countries. According to Pierre Frank, "About 250 delegates and fraternal delegates participated, representing 48 sections and sympathising organisations from 41 countries. Compared to the previous congress the numerical strength of the Fourth International had increased some tenfold." By the time the eleventh congress arrived, a new level of unity seemed to have developed in the International.
Eleventh World Congress: end of factionalism
The years prior to the Eleventh World Congress reflected declining factional heat in the International: no international factions have been declared since then. Michel Pablo's tendency raised the question of unity in 1976, with an ambitious proposal that it and the International could eventually unify in a new organisation comprising tendencies that were, or were evolving towards, revolutionary Marxism. The secretariat felt unable to move ahead with the proposal. Pablo's tendency finally rejoined in 1995.
Two currents with roots in Gerry Healy's ICFI also came towards the International at this time: the Workers Socialist League in Britain and the Socialist League in Australia both opened discussions in 1976. Both currents would eventually merge with the sections of the International in their countries; the Socialist League merging in 1977, while the majority of the Workers Socialist League became the Socialist Group, which was to attend the ninth world congress and eventually join in 1987.
Resolutions on the world situation, Latin America, women's liberation and Western Europe were adopted by overwhelming percentages. The world congress agreed that the sections should execute a turn to industry. The congress, held in November 1979, gathered 200 delegates from 48 countries. It registered further growth above all in Spain, Mexico, Colombia and in France. The congress also opened a discussion on the place of pluralism in Socialist Democracy, which was to continue until 1985. It also invited contributions from the Workers' Socialist League in Britain, developing a relationship which led to WSL's successor organisation joining the International in 1987.
The most contested debate at the congress was on the Nicaraguan revolution. Two views developed inside the United Secretariat, but both supported the FSLN and argued for the building of a section of the International inside the FSLN. This approach was disputed by the tendency of Nahuel Moreno, which split to merge briefly with the tendency led by Pierre Lambert.
Twelfth World Congress: SWP rejects Trotskyism
In May 1982 the Fourth International opened the discussion for the Twelfth World Congress. The period before the Twelfth World Congress coincided with a deep crisis in the SWP (US). The SWP's leaders started to register a number of disagreements with the International, and withdrew from the day-to-day leadership of the International. In 1982 the Political Bureau of the SWP decided against the theory of Permanent Revolution, a key element of Trotskyism. The SWP's evolution was a central discussion at the congress, by which time the SWP's leadership had withdrawn from active participation in the International, prompting the International to launch International Viewpoint in 1982 and International Marxist Review in 1983. The International also supported the establishment of the International Institute for Research and Education in 1982.
Over 200 delegates and observers attended the twelfth congress in January 1985. The main resolutions were adopted by around three quarters of the delegates. New sections were recognised in Brazil, Uruguay, Ecuador, Senegal and Iceland, as well as a number of sympathising sections, bringing the total to fifty countries. A major resolution was adopted on The Dictatorship of the proletariat and socialist democracy, which built on the discussion at the 1979 world congress.
The SWP (US) and its co-thinkers formally left the International in 1990, following the Socialist Workers Party (Australia) which had developed similar criticisms of Trotskyism to the SWP, but had reached different conclusions by the time of its departure in 1986.
Thirteenth World Congress: 'New World Order'
The Thirteenth World Congress, in February 1991, was one of the most ambitious, addressing a systematic change in the global balance of forces. Its resolutions spanned the 'New World Order', European integration, feminism and the crisis of the Latin American left. The resolutions discussed a fundamental reversal of fortune for the anti-capitalist struggle, reflected by defeats in Central America, the 1989 revolutions in the Eastern Bloc, and the weakening of the workers' movement. The congress rejected a counter-resolution on the world situation from a tendency supported by members of the International Socialist Group and the Revolutionary Communist League: the tendency was supported by six of the 100 delegates to the congress. In the opinion of the tendency, the crisis of imperialism was set to accelerate.
But it was agreed to continue discussion on a resolution, "Socialist Revolution and Ecology", which was provisionally approved subject to approval at the fourteenth congress. The congress also approved the general line of a programmatic manifesto, titled "Socialism or barbarism on the eve of the 21st century" and to continue the discussion on it at the January 1992 meeting of the International Executive Committee. It also registered substantial growth through the affiliation of the Nava Sama Samaja Party in Sri Lanka.
Fourteenth World Congress: regroupment
Generally, however, the period after 1991 was increasingly unfavourable for Marxists. The June 1995 Fourteenth World Congress in Belgium addressed the final collapse of the USSR and the resulting realignment in the Communist Parties and the international workers' movement. The congress was attended by 150 participants from 34 countries: delegates from nine further countries were unable to attend. The main political resolutions were adopted by between 70% and 80% of delegates. The resolutions stressed the historical exhaustion of social democracy and the opportunities for political regroupment. A minority tendency was formed at the congress, supported by members of the International Socialist Group and Socialist Action (US), which emphasised the building of sections of the Fourth International above regroupment.
The Congress resolutions adopted a policy of encouraging realignment and reorganisation on the left, along with support for broad class-struggle parties such as the Party for Communist Refoundation in Italy, Gauche Unies in Belgium, the African Party for Democracy and Socialism in Senegal, the Workers' Party in Brazil, parties that also sent representatives to the congress. In a mainly symbolic reunification, Michel Pablo's small tendency rejoined at the 1995 World Congress. Pablo and Mandel would both die shortly after.
Fifteenth World Congress: transformation
By February 2003, when the Fifteenth World Congress was held in Belgium, a substantial transformation had taken part in the International. In many countries, sections of the International had reorganised as tendencies of broader political parties, while the International had established friendly relationships with a number of other tendencies. The congress resolutions were debated by more than 200 participants included delegations from sections, sympathising groups and permanent observers from Argentina, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Britain, Canada – English Canada and Quebec, Denmark, Ecuador, Euskadi, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Ireland, Japan, Lebanon, Luxemburg, Martinique, Morocco, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Uruguay, and the US.
The congress was notable for adopting major texts on ecology and on lesbian and gay liberation. The fifteenth congress adopted new statutes which gave the powers of the United Secretariat to two new Fourth International committees: an International Committee, which meets twice a year, and an Executive Bureau (which also refers to itself as the International Bureau). Several years later, on March 3, 2014, the World Socialist Web Site disputed the use of International Committee of the Fourth International as the byline of a statement by the International's leadership.
Prior to the sixteenth world congress, a major split occurred in the FI's section in Brazil. The International was doubtful from the beginning about the participation in Lula's government of a leader of its Brazilian section, later saying that "from the beginning there were different positions about ... participation in the government, in the International as well as in your ranks. But once the DS had decided in favour of participation, without hiding our reservations and doubts, we respected your decision and tried to help rather than put a spoke in your wheel. So we made an effort to convince comrades in our own sections that logically speaking the question of participation in the government should be subordinated to a judgement of the government’s orientations." As time went on, the International became more openly critical of its section's role in government. Members in Brazil were then in two different organisations: a majority group, Socialist Democracy (Brazil), which is inside the PT; and a minority ENLACE current in the PSOL, which opposes participation in capitalist government. However, Socialist Democracy withdrew from active participation in the Fourth International in 2006, leaving ENLACE as its Brazilian section.
Since the 1993 congress, the International has continued to open itself up to the participation of other currents. In 2004, for example, its International Committee was observed by the International Socialist Movement from Scotland, the Democratic Socialist Perspective from Australia, and the International Socialist Organization from the US. In the same year, it organized an International Meeting of Radical Parties at the 4th World Social Forum.
Sixteenth World Congress: ecosocialism
The International started to prepare the sixteenth congress in March 2008; the congress took place in February 2010 in West Flanders. The congress agenda was anticipated by the discussions at the 2009 meeting of the international committee.
The dual task of the Fourth International, building its sections and making steps to help a new international network develop.
The capitalist crisis and its impact on the world political situation.
Climate change and the Ecosocialism. The international committee proposed a major resolution which locates the Fourth International as an ecosocialist organisation.
According to Alan Thornett, "There were over 200 delegates, observers and invited guests from around 40 countries" including representatives of Lutte Ouvrière, Marea Socialista, and the Nouveau Parti Anticapitaliste. Delegates came "from Australia to Canada, Argentina to Russia, China to Britain, and Congo to the United States." The congress has an especially strong participation from Asia, including the new Russian section Socialist League Vpered, the Labour Party Pakistan, the reunified section in Japan and a reoriented organisation in Hong Kong.
The sixteenth World Congress was the subject of a one-hour documentary by Julien Terrie. The film include interviews with participants from the NPA (France), Latit (Mauritius), the MST (Argentina), Dosta (Bosnia and Herzegovina), the PSOL (Brasil), the Labour Party (Pakistan), Kokkino (Greece) and elsewhere.
In March 2011, the International announced its support for anti-Gaddafi forces who fought against the government of Muammar Gaddafi during the Libyan Civil War. However, it opposed the NATO-led military intervention which supported rebels against Gaddafi loyalist forces.
Seventeenth World Congress: Internationalism against campism
Three texts were approved in February 2017 to open the discussion for the 17th world congress. The Congress itself took place in February 2018 in the same place as the two previous ones.
The text on Capitalist globalization, imperialisms, geopolitical chaos and their implications addressed the issue of campism: " it leads to lining up in the camp of a capitalist power (Russia, China) – or on the contrary in the Western camp when Moscow and Beijing are seen as the primary threat. In this way aggressive nationalism is encouraged and the borders inherited from the era of “blocs” are sanctified, whereas they are precisely what we should efface." It was adopted by 109 votes for, 5 against, 1 abstention, 0 No votes.
The document on Social upheavals, fightbacks and alternatives concluded that: "The key issue in the coming years will not only be organizing adequately to counter the attacks sustained, but also the political capacity to build, alongside the social mobilizations, a political movement for emancipation capable of frontally challenging capitalism." It was adopted 108 votes for, 5 against, 1 abstention.
The resolution on role and tasks explained that "In 2010 our emphasis had largely shifted from stressing the possible relations with already existing left organisations of different types to rebuilding the left". In the prior period, it had learnt that revolutionary regroupments "survive when there is agreement on tasks in the national situation". However, few broad left parties had appeared. However, while these were not often able to post the question of power, "the failure to seize opportunities that arise when a qualitative or quantitative advance in assembling useful class-struggle forces could be made will have a long-lasting negative effect". It was adopted 106 votes for, 6 against, 3 abstentions.
A fourth resolution on The capitalist destruction of the environment and the ecosocialist alternative presented by the Ecology Commission and endorsed by the outgoing Bureau was adopted 112 votes for, 1 against, 2 abstentions. It argues that "The struggle to defend the planet and against global warming and climate change requires the broadest possible coalition involving not just the power of the indigenous movements and the labour movement but also the social movements that have strengthened and radicalized in recent years and have played an increasing role in the climate movement in particular."
Two resolutions were not adopted at the congress.
A resolution on New era and tasks of the revolutionaries proposed a patient, long-term approach to revolutionary regroupment as an alternative to rebuilding the left. It argued that regroupment needed "political and programmatic work which can only be collective and requires time and energy but it is an indispensable and unavoidable task". This resolution was rejected by the World Congress by 1 vote for, 95 against and 16 abstentions.
A resolution was submitted by the “Platform for a Revolutionary International”. It argued for "a joint mobilization of the working class and the oppressed, bringing a Workers’ Government to power, to destroy the bourgeois state by relying on self-organized organs arising from the mobilization of our class in alliance with all sectors of the oppressed." It was rejected by 6 votes for, 105 against and 3 absententions.
The International today
The International today supports several activities which support the work of progressive activists and organizations around the world. Many of them trace their roots to the 1981-1983 period when the Pathfinder tendency broke with Trotskyism.
The International Institute for Research and Education was founded in June 1981, opening the following year in Amsterdam. According to a book reviewing the first 30 years of the Institute. "It fulfilled a plan by Jacob Moneta, the editor-in-chief of the important big German trade union journal Metall, the Belgian Marxist economist Ernest Mandel, the Swiss economist Charles-André Udry and the philologist Jan Philipp Reemtsma." https://www.iire.org/node/697
The International Viewpoint magazine was established in January 1982 to replace Intercontinental Press, which for a brief period had been the common English-language publication of the Fourth International having merged with the English-language Inprecor of the 1970s.
The first International Revolutionary Youth Camp was held in July 1983, celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2008 http://www.internationalcamp.org/spip.php?article165. On average, around 600 activists gather for a self-managed camp organised by national delegations of anti-capitalist youth organisations. The camp has been held in several Schengen Area countries, including Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden.
Participants
The organisations below are cited by the Fourth International as being FI sections and journals, sympathising organisations, organisations including FI supporters or organisations with the status of Permanent Observers. for those with websites.
Sections
Organizations with permanent observer status
Organizations who share the International's perspective of struggle but do not wish to join it formally can obtain the status of "permanent observer". This status enables organizations to participate in meetings of leading bodies—which bodies will be specified in each case—with the right to speak but not to vote.
Organizations with currents or members supporting the FI
Sympathizing organizations (including ex-official sections)
Youth groups
Organisations linked to the FI
These organisations have been thought to have had fraternal relations with the FI, but are not listed on the FI's list of sections.
Previously thought to have been sections
Previously thought to have been sympathising sections
Previously thought to have been observers
Previously thought to have contained FI supporters
Internal factions
"Revolutionary Marxists"
Supported by:
See also
International Viewpoint
List of Trotskyist internationals
List of Trotskyist organizations by country
References
External links
Official website
Old website
International Viewpoint (International's online magazine)
Insurgência (Brazilian Section webpage)
Red Mole Rising – an online archive of the then British Section, International Marxist Group related material including copies of Red Mole, Red Weekly and Socialist Challenge. | en |
doc-en-2109 | The Avengers is a British espionage television series, created in 1961, that ran for 161 episodes until 1969. It initially focused on David Keel (Ian Hendry), aided by John Steed (Patrick Macnee). Hendry left after the first series; Steed then became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants. His most famous assistants were intelligent, stylish and assertive women: Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman), Emma Peel (Diana Rigg), and Tara King (Linda Thorson). Dresses were made by Pierre Cardin.
The series ran from 1961 until 1969, screening as one-hour episodes for its entire run. The pilot episode, "Hot Snow", aired on 7 January 1961. The final episode, "Bizarre", aired on 21 April 1969 in the United States, and on 21 May 1969 in the United Kingdom.
The Avengers was produced by ABC Television, a contractor within the ITV network. After a merger with Rediffusion London in July 1968, ABC Television became Thames Television, which continued production of the series, though it was still broadcast under the ABC name. By 1969, The Avengers was shown in more than 90 countries. ITV produced a sequel series, The New Avengers (1976–1977), with Patrick Macnee returning as John Steed, and two new partners. In 2004 and 2007, The Avengers was ranked No. 17 and No. 20 on TV Guides Top Cult Shows Ever.
Premise
The Avengers was marked by different eras as co-stars came and went. The only constant was John Steed, played by Patrick Macnee.
Series 1 (1961)
Associated British Corporation produced (as ABC Television) a single series of Police Surgeon, in which Ian Hendry played police surgeon Geoffrey Brent, from September through December 1960. While Police Surgeon did not last long, viewers praised Hendry, and ABC Television cast him in its new series The Avengers, which replaced Police Surgeon in January 1961.
The Avengers began with the episode "Hot Snow", in which medical doctor David H Keel (Hendry) investigates the murder of his fiancée, office receptionist Peggy, by a drug ring. A stranger named John Steed who was also investigating the ring appears, and together Keel and Steed set out to avenge Peggy's death in the first two episodes. Steed asks Keel to partner with him, as needed, to solve crimes. Hendry was considered the star of the new series, receiving top billing over Macnee, and Steed did not appear in two of the series' episodes.
As the first series of The Avengers progressed, Steed's importance increased, and he carried the final episode solo. While Steed and Keel used wit while discussing crimes and dangers, the series also depicted the interplay—and often tension—between Keel's idealism and Steed's professionalism. As seen in one of the three surviving episodes from the first series, "The Frighteners", Steed also had informants among the general population to aid his investigations, similar to the "Baker Street Irregulars" of Sherlock Holmes.
The other regular in the first series was Carol Wilson (Ingrid Hafner), the nurse and receptionist who replaced the slain Peggy. Carol assisted Keel and Steed in cases, and in at least one episode ("Girl on the Trapeze") was very much in the thick of the action, but without being part of Steed's inner circle. Hafner had played opposite Hendry as a nurse in one episode of Police Surgeon.
The series was shot on 405-line videotape using a multicamera setup. There was little provision for editing and virtually no location footage was shot (although the first shot of the first episode consisted of location footage). As was standard practice at the time, videotapes of early episodes of The Avengers were reused. At present, only three complete Series 1 episodes are known to exist and are held in archives as 16-mm film telerecordings: "Girl on the Trapeze" (which does not feature Steed), "The Frighteners" and "Tunnel of Fear". Additionally, the first 15 minutes of the first episode, "Hot Snow", also exist as a telerecording; the extant footage ends at the conclusion of the first act, prior to the introduction of John Steed.
The missing television episodes are currently being recreated for audio by Big Finish Productions under the title of The Avengers - The Lost Episodes and star Julian Wadham as Steed, Anthony Howell as Dr Keel and Lucy Briggs-Owen as Carol Wilson.
Series 2–3 (1962–1964)
Production of the first series was cut short by a strike. By the time production could begin on the second series, Hendry had quit to pursue a film career. Macnee was promoted to star and Steed became the focus of the series, initially working with a rotation of three different partners. Dr Martin King (Jon Rollason), a thinly disguised recreation of the Keel character, saw action in only three episodes, which were produced from scripts written for the first series. King was intended to be a transitional character between Keel and Steed's two new female partners, but while the Dr King episodes were shot first, they were shown out of production order in the middle of the season. The character was thereafter quickly and quietly dropped.
Nightclub singer Venus Smith (Julie Stevens) appeared in six episodes. She was a complete "amateur", meaning that she did not have any professional crime-fighting skills as did the two doctors. She was excited to be participating in a spy adventure alongside secret agent Steed (although some episodes—"The Removal Men", "The Decapod"—indicate she is not always enthusiastic). Nonetheless, she appears to be attracted to him, and their relationship is somewhat similar to that later portrayed between Steed and Tara King. Her episodes featured musical interludes showcasing her singing performances. The character of Venus underwent some revision during her run, adopting more youthful demeanour and dress.
The first episode broadcast in the second series had introduced the partner who would change the show into the format for which it is most remembered. Honor Blackman played Dr Cathy Gale, a self-assured, quick-witted anthropologist who was skilled in judo and had a passion for leather clothes. Widowed during the Mau Mau years in Kenya, she was the "talented amateur" who saw her aid to Steed's cases as a service to her nation. She was said to have been born on 5 October 1930 at midnight, and was reared in Africa. Gale was in her early-to-mid 30s during her tenure, in contrast to female characters in similar series who tended to be younger.
Gale was unlike any female character seen before on British TV, and became a household name. Reportedly, part of her charm was because her earliest appearances were episodes in which dialogue written for Keel was simply transferred to her. Series scriptwriter Dennis Spooner described about this detail: "there's the famous story of how Honor Blackman played Ian Hendry's part, which is why they stuck her in leather and such—it was so much cheaper than changing the lines!" In "Conspiracy of Silence", she holds her own in a vociferous tactical disagreement with her partner.
Venus Smith did not return for the third series, and Cathy Gale became Steed's only regular partner. The series established a level of sexual tension between Steed and Gale, but the writers were not allowed to go beyond flirting and innuendo. Despite this, the relationship between Steed and Gale was progressive for 1962–63. In "The Golden Eggs", it is revealed that Gale lived in Steed's flat; according to Steed, her rent was to keep the refrigerator well-stocked and to cook for him (she appears to do neither). However, this was said to be a temporary arrangement while Gale looked for a new home, and Steed was sleeping at a hotel.
During the first series, there were hints Steed worked for a branch of British Intelligence, and this was expanded in the second series. Steed initially received orders from different superiors, including someone referred to as "Charles", and "One-Ten" (Douglas Muir). By the third series, the delivery of Steed's orders was not depicted on screen or explained. The secret organisation to which Steed belongs is shown in "The Nutshell", and it is Gale's first visit to their headquarters.
Small references to Steed's background were occasionally made. In the Series 3 episode "Death of a Batman" it was said that Steed was with I Corps in the Second World War, and in Munich in 1945. In the Series 4 episode "The Hour That Never Was", Steed attends a reunion of his RAF regiment. Since the ties he wears are either cavalry or old school, it is apparent that he had attended a number of leading public schools.
A theatrical film version of the series was in its initial planning stages by late 1963, after Series 3 was completed. An early story proposal paired Steed and Gale with a male and female duo of American agents, to make the movie appeal to the American market. Before the project could gain momentum, Blackman was cast opposite Sean Connery in Goldfinger, requiring her to leave the series.
Series transformation
During the Gale era, Steed was transformed from a rugged trenchcoat-wearing agent into the stereotypical English gentleman, complete with Savile Row suit, bowler hat and umbrella, with clothes later designed by Pierre Cardin (Steed had first donned bowler and carried his distinctive umbrella during the first series, as "The Frighteners" depicts). The bowler and umbrella were soon changed to be full of tricks, including a sword hidden within the umbrella handle and a steel plate concealed in the hat. These items were referred to in the French, German and Polish titles of the series, Chapeau melon et bottes de cuir ("Bowler hat and leather boots"), Mit Schirm, Charme und Melone ("With Umbrella, Charm and Bowler Hat") and Rewolwer i melonik ("A Revolver and a Bowler Hat"), respectively. With his impeccable manners, old-world sophistication and vintage automobiles, Steed came to represent the traditional Englishman of an earlier era.
By contrast, Steed's partners were youthful, forward-looking and always attired in the latest mod fashions. Gale's innovative leather outfits suited her many athletic fight scenes. Honor Blackman became a star in Britain with her black leather outfits and boots (nicknamed "kinky boots") and her judo-based fighting style. Macnee and Blackman even released a novelty song called "Kinky Boots". Blackman also carried a pistol in "Killer Whale". Some of the clothes seen in The Avengers were designed at the studio of John Sutcliffe, who published the AtomAge fetish magazine.
Series scriptwriter Dennis Spooner said that the series would frequently feature Steed visiting busy public places such as the main airport in London without anyone else present in the scene: "'Can't you afford extras?', they'd ask. Well, it wasn't like that. It's just that Steed had to be alone to be accepted. Put him in a crowd and he sticks out like a sore thumb! Let's face it, with normal people he's weird. The trick to making him acceptable is never to show him in a normal world, just fighting villains who are odder than he is!"
Series 4–5 (1965–1967)
The show was sold to the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in 1965, and The Avengers became one of the first British series to be aired on prime-time US television. The ABC network paid the then-unheard-of sum of $2 million for the first 26 episodes. The average budget for each episode was reportedly £56,000, which was high for the British industry. The fourth series aired in the US from March to the beginning of September 1966. Each episode still finished with an ABC logo of Associated British Corporation.
The US deal meant that the producers could afford to start shooting the series on 35mm film. The use of film, rather than the videotape of the earlier episodes, was essential, because British 405-line video was technically incompatible with the US NTSC videotape format. Filmed productions were standard on US prime-time television at the time. The Avengers continued to be produced in black and white.
The transfer to film meant that episodes would be shot using the single-camera setup, giving the production greater flexibility. The use of film production and the single-camera production style allowed more sophisticated visuals and camera angles, and more outdoor location shots, all of which greatly improved the look of the series. As was standard on British television filmed production through the 1960s, all location work on Series 4 was shot mute, with the soundtrack created in post-production. Dialogue scenes were filmed in the studio, leading to some jumps between location and studio footage.
New female partner Mrs. Emma Peel (Diana Rigg) debuted in October 1965. The name of the character derived from a comment by writers, during development, that they wanted a character with "man appeal". In an early attempt to incorporate this concept into the character's name, she was called "Samantha Peel", shortened to the awkward "Mantha Peel". Eventually, the writers began referring to the idea by the verbal shorthand "M. Appeal", which gave rise to the character's ultimate name. Emma Peel, whose husband went missing while flying over the Amazon, retained the self-assuredness of Gale, combined with superior fighting skills, intelligence and a contemporary fashion sense.
After more than 60 actresses had been auditioned, the first choice to play the role was Elizabeth Shepherd. However, after filming one and a half episodes (the pilot, "The Town of No Return", and part of "The Murder Market"), Shepherd was released. Her on-screen personality was deemed less interesting than that of Blackman's Gale, and it was decided that she was not right for the role. Another 20 actresses were auditioned before the show's casting director, Dodo Watts, suggested that producers Brian Clemens and Albert Fennell check out a televised drama featuring the relatively unknown Rigg (she had earlier guested in an episode of The Sentimental Agent that Clemens had written). Rigg's screen test with Macnee showed that the two immediately worked well together.
A prologue was added to the beginning of all the fourth-series episodes for the American broadcasts. This was to clarify some initial confusion audiences had regarding the characters and their mission. In the opener, a waiter holding a champagne bottle falls dead onto a human-sized chessboard, a dagger protruding from a target on his back. Steed and Mrs. Peel (dressed in her trademark leather catsuit) walk up to the body as the voice-over explains: "Extraordinary crimes against the people, and the state, have to be avenged by agents extraordinary. Two such people are John Steed, top professional, and his partner Emma Peel, talented amateur. Otherwise known as The Avengers". During this voice-over, Steed pours two drinks from the wine bottle and Mrs. Peel replaces her gun in her boot. They clink glasses and depart together as the screen fades to black and the opening titles begin.
In contrast to the Gale episodes, there is a lighter, comic touch in Steed's and Peel's interactions with each other and their reactions to other characters and situations. Earlier series had a harder tone, with the Gale era including some quite serious espionage dramas. This almost completely disappeared as Steed and Peel visibly enjoy topping each other's witticisms. The layer of conflict with Gale—who on occasion openly resented being used by Steed, often without her permission—is absent from Steed's interaction with Peel. Also, the sexual tension between Steed and Gale is quite different from the tension between Steed and Peel. In both cases, the exact relationship between the partners is left ambiguous, although they seemed to have carte blanche to visit each other's homes whenever they please, and it is not uncommon for scenes to suggest that Steed had spent the night at Gale's or Peel's home, or vice versa. Although nothing "improper" is displayed, the close chemistry between Steed and Peel constantly suggests intimacy between the two.
Science fiction and fantasy elements (a style later known as Spy-Fi) also began to emerge in storylines. The duo encounters killer robots ("The Cybernauts"), telepaths ("Too Many Christmas Trees") and giant alien carnivorous plants ("The Man-Eater of Surrey Green").
In her fourth episode, "Death at Bargain Prices", Mrs. Peel takes an undercover job at a department store. Her uniform for promoting space-age toys is an elaborate leather catsuit plus silver boots, sash and welder's gloves. The suit (minus the silver accessories) became her signature outfit, which she wore primarily for fight scenes in early episodes and in the titles. Some episodes contain a fetishistic undercurrent. In "A Touch of Brimstone", Mrs. Peel dresses in a dominatrix outfit of corset, laced boots and spiked collar to become the "Queen of Sin".
Peel's avant-garde fashions, featuring bold accents and high-contrast geometric patterns, emphasise her youthful, contemporary personality. For the 1965 season, some of her most memorable outfits were designed by John Bates, including graphic black-and-white Op art mini-coats and accessories, and a silver ensemble comprising a bra bodice, low-slung trousers and jacket. She represents the modern England of the Sixties – just as Steed, with his vintage style and mannerisms, personifies Edwardian-era nostalgia. According to Macnee in his book The Avengers and Me, Rigg disliked wearing leather and insisted on a new line of fabric athletic wear for the fifth series. Alun Hughes, who had designed clothing for Rigg's personal wardrobe, was suggested by the actress to design Emma Peel's "softer" new wardrobe. Pierre Cardin was brought in to design a new wardrobe for Macnee. In the US, TV Guide ran a four-page photo spread on Rigg's new "Emmapeeler" outfits (10–16 June 1967). Eight tight-fitting jumpsuits, in a variety of bright colours, were created using the stretch fabric crimplene.
Move to colour
After one filmed series (of 26 episodes) in black and white, The Avengers began filming in colour for the fifth series in 1966. It was three years before Britain's ITV network began full colour broadcasting. The first 16 episodes of this series were broadcast concurrently in the US, in colour, and the UK, in black and white, from January to May 1967. Eight further episodes were broadcast in the UK beginning in late September, while these episodes were withheld in the US until early 1968, where they would be immediately succeeded by the first batch of episodes featuring Rigg's replacement, Linda Thorson. The American prologue of the fourth series was modified for the colour episodes. The show opened with the caption The Avengers in Color (required by ABC for colour series at that time), followed by Steed unwrapping the foil from a champagne bottle and Peel shooting the cork away. Unlike the "chessboard" opening of the previous series, this new prologue had no narrative voice-over, and the scene was also included in UK broadcasts of the series.
The first 16 episodes of the fifth series begin with Peel receiving a call-to-duty message from Steed: "Mrs. Peel, we're needed". Peel would be conducting her normal activities when she unexpectedly received a message on a calling card or within a delivered gift, at which point Steed suddenly appeared (usually in her apartment).
The series also introduced a comic tagline caption to the episode title, using the format of "Steed [does this], Emma [does that]". For example, "The Joker" had the opening caption: "Steed trumps an ace, Emma plays a lone hand". "The Joker" was to a large extent a rewrite of "Don't Look Behind You", a black-and-white Cathy Gale episode. Three other colour Emma Peel episodes were rewrites of Cathy Gale episodes.
The "Mrs. Peel, we're needed" scenes and the alternate taglines were dropped after the first 16 episodes, after a break in production, for financial reasons. They were deemed by the UK networks as disposable if The Avengers was to return to ITV screens (Dave Rogers' book The Avengers Anew lists a set for every Steed/Peel episode except "The Forget-Me-Knot").
Stories were increasingly characterised by a futuristic, science-fiction bent, with mad scientists and their creations wreaking havoc. The duo dealt with being shrunk to doll size ("Mission... Highly Improbable"), pet cats being electrically altered to become ferocious and lethal "miniature tigers" ("The Hidden Tiger"), killer automata ("Return of The Cybernauts"), mind-transferring machines ("Who's Who???") and invisible foes ("The See-Through Man").
The series parodied its American contemporaries with episodes such as "The Girl From AUNTIE", "Mission... Highly Improbable" and "The Winged Avenger" (spoofing The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Mission: Impossible and Batman, respectively). The show still carried the basic format: Steed and his associate were charged with solving the problem in the space of a 50-minute episode, thus preserving the safety of 1960s Britain.
Humour was evident in the names and acronyms of the organisations. For example, in "The Living Dead", two rival groups examine reported ghost sightings: FOG (Friends of Ghosts) and SMOG (Scientific Measurement of Ghosts). "The Hidden Tiger" features the Philanthropic Union for Rescue, Relief and Recuperation of Cats—PURRR—led by characters named Cheshire, Manx and Angora.
The series also occasionally adopted a metafictional tone, coming close to breaking the fourth wall. In the Series 5 episode "Something Nasty in the Nursery", Peel directly references the series' storytelling convention of having potentially helpful sources of information killed off just before she or Steed arrive. This then occurs a few minutes later. In the tag scene for the same episode, Steed and Peel tell viewers—indirectly—to tune in next week.
Rigg's stunt double was stuntwoman Cyd Child, though stuntman Peter Elliot doubled for Rigg in a stunt dive in "The Bird Who Knew Too Much".
Rigg's departure
Rigg was initially unhappy with the way she was treated by the show's producers. During her first series, she learned that she was being paid less than the cameraman. She demanded a raise to put her more on a par with her co-star, or she would leave the show. The producers gave in, thanks to the show's great popularity in the US. At the end of the fifth series in 1967, Rigg left to pursue other projects. This included following Honor Blackman to play a leading role in a James Bond film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, as James Bond's wife Tracy Bond.
Rigg and Macnee remained lifelong friends.
On 25 October 2015, to mark 50 years of Emma Peel, the BFI (British Film Institute) screened an episode of The Avengers followed by an onstage interview with Rigg, during which she discussed her reasons for leaving the show and Patrick Macnee's reaction to her departure.
Series 6 (1968–1969)
When Rigg left the series in October 1967, the British network executives decided that the current series formula, despite resulting in popular success, could not be pursued further. Thus, they decided that a "return to realism" was appropriate for the sixth series (1968–69). Brian Clemens and Albert Fennell were replaced by John Bryce, producer of most of the Cathy Gale-era episodes.
Bryce had a difficult situation to handle. He had to find a replacement for Rigg and shoot the first seven episodes of the new series, which were supposed to be shipped to the US together with the last eight Emma Peel colour episodes. Bryce signed his then-girlfriend, 20-year-old newcomer Linda Thorson, as the new female co-star and chose the name Tara King for her character. Thorson played the role with more innocence in mind and at heart, and unlike the previous partnerships with Cathy and Emma, the writers allowed subtle hints of romance to blossom between Steed and King. King also differed from Steed's previous partners in that she was a fully fledged (albeit initially inexperienced) agent working for Steed's organisation; his previous partners had all been (in the words of the prologue used for American broadcasts of the first Rigg series) talented amateurs. Bryce wanted Tara to be blonde, so Thorson's brown hair was bleached. However, the process badly damaged Thorson's hair, so she had to wear wigs for the first third of her episodes, until her own hair grew back. Her natural brown hair was not seen until the episode "All Done with Mirrors".
Production of the first seven episodes of the sixth series began, but the financial problems and internal difficulties undermined Bryce's effort. He only managed to complete three episodes: "Invitation to a Killing" (a 90-minute episode introducing Tara King), "The Great, Great Britain Crime" (some of its original footage was reused in the 1969 episode "Homicide and Old Lace") and "Invasion of the Earthmen" (which survived relatively intact except for the scenes in which Tara wears a brown wig).
After a rough cut screening of these episodes to studio executives, Bryce was fired and Clemens and Fennell were summoned back. At their return, a fourth episode called "The Murderous Connection" was in its second day of production. After revising the script, it was renamed as "The Curious Case of the Countless Clues" and production resumed. Production of the episode "Split!", a leftover script from the Emma Peel colour series, proceeded. Two completely new episodes were also shot: "Get-A-Way", and "Look (Stop Me If You've Heard This One) But There Were These Two Fellers".
Dennis Spooner said of the event:
Clemens and Fennell decided to film a new episode to introduce Tara King. This, the third episode filmed for the sixth series, was titled "The Forget-Me-Knot" and bade farewell to Emma Peel and introduced her successor, a trained but inexperienced agent named Tara King. It would be broadcast as the first episode of the sixth series. Tara debuts in dynamic style: when Steed is called to Headquarters, he is attacked and knocked down by trainee agent King, who mistakes him for her training partner.
No farewell scenes for Emma Peel had been shot when Rigg left the series. She was recalled for "The Forget-Me-Knot", through which Emma acts as Steed's partner as usual. Rigg also filmed a farewell scene for Emma that appeared as the tag scene of the episode. It was explained that Emma's husband, Peter Peel, was found alive and rescued, and she left the British secret service to be with him. Emma visits Steed to say goodbye, and while leaving she passes Tara on the stairway giving the advice that "he likes his tea stirred anti-clockwise". Steed looks out of the window as a departing Emma enters the Bentley driven by Peter, who from a distance seems to resemble Steed (and was played by Steed's regular stunt double, with bowler hat and umbrella).
Bryce's original episode introducing Tara, "Invitation to a Killing", was revised as a regular 60-minute episode named "Have Guns Will Haggle". These episodes, together with "Invasion of the Earthmen" and the last eight Peel colour episodes, were shipped to the US in February 1968.
For this series the government official who gave Steed his orders was depicted on screen. Mother, introduced in "The Forget-Me-Knot", is a man in a wheelchair. The role was taken by Patrick Newell, who had played different roles in two earlier episodes, most recently in Series 5. Mother's headquarters would shift from place to place, including one episode in which his complete office was on the top level of a double-decker bus. Several James Bond films of the 1970s would make use of a similar gimmick for Bond's briefings.
Added later as a regular was Mother's mute Amazonian assistant, Rhonda, played by uncredited actress Rhonda Parker. There was one appearance by an agency official code-named "Father", a blind older woman played by Iris Russell (Russell had appeared in the series several times previously in other roles). In one episode, "Killer", Steed is paired with Lady Diana Forbes Blakeney (Jennifer Croxton) while King is on holiday.
Scriptwriter Dennis Spooner later reflected: "When I wrote 'Look (Stop Me If You've Heard This One) But There Were These Two Fellers', that was definitely the last series. They were going to make no more, so in that series we went right over the top; we went really weird, because they knew there weren't going to be any more".
Spooner said the series "worked because it became a parody on itself, almost. You can only do that so long". He attributes the overall success of the show to its light approach: "We spoofed everything, we took Mission: Impossible, Bad Day at Black Rock, High Noon, The Dirty Dozen, The Birds... we took them all. The film buffs used to love it. There were always lines in it that people knew what we were talking about".
The revised series continued to be broadcast in the US. The episodes with Linda Thorson as King proved to be highly rated in Europe and the UK. However, in the US the ABC network chose to air it opposite the number-one show in the country at the time, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Steed and King could not compete, and the show was cancelled in the US. Without this vital commercial backing, production could not continue in Britain either, and the series ended in May 1969. The final scene of the final episode ("Bizarre") has Steed and King, champagne glasses in hand, accidentally launching themselves into orbit aboard a rocket, as Mother breaks the fourth wall and says to the audience "They'll be back!", before adding in shock "They're unchaperoned up there!"
Cast
Patrick Macnee as John Steed (Series 1–6)
Ian Hendry as Dr David Keel (Series 1)
Honor Blackman as Cathy Gale (Series 2–3)
Jon Rollason as Dr Martin King (Series 2)
Julie Stevens as Venus Smith (Series 2)
Diana Rigg as Emma Peel (Series 4–5)
Linda Thorson as Tara King (Series 6)
Production
Music
The 1961 series featured a jazz-influenced theme by John Dankworth. Library music was used sparsely as a soundtrack, sometimes with variations based on the main theme. Dankworth's theme music was reworked for the third series. Dankworth's first theme was recorded on the Columbia label, on a 45rpm single, and a new recording, similar to the reworked television theme was issued on Fontana in 1963. A very faithful cover version was released by Johnny Gregory.
When Rigg joined the series in 1965, the opening credits of the series were redesigned and new theme music by Laurie Johnson was introduced. This was based on a previously released title, on LP called "The Shake" (which capitalised on "The Shake" dance craze of the '60s). For the colour series (1967), a percussion section was added to accompany the new teaser sequence at the start of each episode. Johnson re-scored the theme when Linda Thorson joined the series, adding a counter-melody on trumpet, based on the leitmotif for Tara King from the final Rigg episode "The Forget-Me-Knot". The new theme debuted in the closing titles of the episode "The Forget-Me-Knot", which introduced Thorson. It was altogether more dynamic, and included a much more frenetic percussion section, for the revised teaser sequence. Importantly, the filmed episodes contained specially composed scores by Johnson. To accompany Steed's request "Mrs Peel – we're needed!", he composed a brief 'sting', and there was also a special theme for 'Emma'. For the 'Thorson' series, a characteristic piece was composed to accompany the tag scene, at the end of each episode. Many of the most memorable cues from the Rigg/Thorson series, including the opening, and closing titles themes, and the 'Tag Scene' were released commercially on CD in 2009.
Owing to a professional commitment to score for the film Hot Millions (starring Peter Ustinov and Maggie Smith), Johnson requested assistance from his keyboard player, Howard Blake, who scored some of the episodes of the final season, as well as additional music for other episodes which Johnson did not have time to complete. These were composed in a style remarkably similar to Johnson's. In 2011, to mark the 50th anniversary of the series, these almost-complete scores by Blake−including Johnson's themes for the main and end titles—were issued on a double CD set. Of the original Johnson theme, countless cover versions have been released on vinyl and CD, and the opening motif was retained on the series The New Avengers.
Johnson subsequently collaborated with Clemens on other projects, including the theme for The New Avengers.
Cars
The cars used in the series became almost as famous as the actors. From the 4th series on, Steed's signature cars were six vintage green 1926–1928 Bentley racing or town cars, including Blower Bentleys and Bentley Speed Sixes (although, uniquely, in "The Thirteenth Hole" he drives a Vauxhall 30-98). In the final series he drove two yellow Rolls Royces – a 1923 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost and a 1927 Rolls Royce New Phantom. Peel drove Lotus Elan convertibles (a white 1964 and a powder blue 1966), which, like her clothes, emphasised her independence and vitality. During the first Peel series (Series 4), each episode ended with a short, humorous scene of the duo leaving the scene of their most recent adventure in some unusual vehicle. Mother occasionally appeared in a silver Rolls-Royce. Tara King drove an AC 428 and a Lotus Europa. Lady Diana Forbes Blakeney drove an MGC Roadster.
Production team
Sydney Newman, who would later go on to spearhead the creation of Doctor Who for the BBC, never received screen credit as the creator of The Avengers. In his memoir, The Avengers and Me, Patrick Macnee interviewed Newman about this. Newman explained that he never sought on-screen credit on the series because during his previous tenure at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, such credits were not given, and he never thought to get one for The Avengers.
The production team changed during the series' long run, particularly between the third and fourth series, but the influence of Brian Clemens was felt throughout. He wrote the second episode and became the series' most prolific scriptwriter. Succeeding producers Leonard White and John Bryce, Julian Wintle became the producer of the 4th series with Brian Clemens credited as associate producer and Albert Fennell credited as "In charge of production". For series 5, made by A.B.C. Television Films (which was created during the run-up to Associated British Corporation and Associated-Rediffusion forming Thames TV) Clemens and Fennell became co-producers, with Wintle as executive producer. For series 6, after its initial producer John Bryce left, Clemens and Fennell returned as co-producers; early episodes also credit Julian Wintle as consultant to the series and Philip Levene as story consultant.
Ray Austin became the fight arranger for series 4 and 5, introducing kung fu to the series. Ray Austin had been training with Chee Soo and they worked techniques from Feng Shou Kung fu and T'ai Chi into the fight scenes and credit sequences. Ray Austin, Diana Rigg and Chee Soo were later awarded a Guinness world record as the first people to show kung fu on television. Later he became a prolific television director. Joe Dunne took over for series 6.
Episodes
Six series of The Avengers were made between 1961 and 1969. There was an enforced break in filming and transmission towards the end of series five due to financial problems. Television researcher Andrew Pixley and authors Paul Cornell, Martin Day and Keith Topping in their book The Avengers Dossier: The Unauthorised and Unofficial Guide consider the last eight episodes produced after the break as constituting a short series six, and therefore count seven series in total. Within the internal production of The Avengers the last eight episodes were considered to be a continuation of series five.
Reception
In Canada and the United States
Although telerecordings of the second and third series were seen in Canada as early as 1963, the first two series of The Avengers were not broadcast on television in the United States. ABC purchased the rights to broadcast seasons 4 and 5 in the United States in 1965. The sale of The Avengers to United States television prompted a change in production style from the 405-line British multi-camera stand to the single-camera shooting method, originated on 35mm film.
The series' stunt man and stunt arranger Ray Austin expressed the opinion that the show's violence ultimately harmed its popular success in the United States. There The Avengers was given a late timeslot due to its violence: "They did that with the first Avengers here [in the U.S.], with Diana Rigg. They put us on at 11:30 pm on CBS , because it was too violent". Austin goes on to explain that US television follows a "different code". Austin said that on The Avengers "we were determined to do the show our way, the English way, and no one was going to stop us! And, indeed, no one did stop us. We never, never got to prime time. And it was our own faults, because we would not comply to the Midwest. That's where the money comes from in this country, nowhere else. Forget Los Angeles, forget New York—you have to aim for the Midwest. If the Midwest watches your show, you've made it". In fact the first and second series of Emma Peel episodes mainly aired at 10:00 pm on ABC. The final Rigg episodes and all the Linda Thorson episodes mainly ran at 7:30 pm, also on ABC.
American censors objected to some content, in particular the episode "A Touch of Brimstone", which featured a modern-day version of the Hellfire Club and climaxed with Emma being dressed in a skimpy corset costume with spiked collar and high-heeled boots to become the Queen of Sin, and being attacked with a whip by guest star Peter Wyngarde. The American broadcast network refused to air it. In total five episodes from the first Emma Peel series were not initially broadcast by ABC. These were: "A Surfeit of H2O", "Silent Dust" (which featured Emma being attacked with a horsewhip), "Quick-Quick Slow Death", "A Touch of Brimstone" and "Honey for the Prince" (in which Emma performed the dance of the seven veils), although they were seen in later syndicated repeats.
Earlier Cathy Gale and Venus Smith episodes had aired in Canada before the arrival of Mrs. Peel. US audiences saw the 1962–1964 Gale and Smith episodes of the series for the first time in the early 1990s when they were broadcast on the A&E Network. No Keel episode of the series was ever repeatedly broadcast outside Britain, contributing to the fact nearly all first-series episodes are now lost, and even in the UK only one surviving episode, "The Frighteners", was rebroadcast (as part of a run of classic episodes on Channel 4 in early 1993, otherwise mostly consisting of Gale episodes).
Home media
Only three complete episodes from the show's first series, plus a portion of another episode, are known to exist, as 16mm film telerecordings. These are "The Frighteners" (an extract of which is playing on a television in the film Quadrophenia), "Girl on the Trapeze", which was found in the UCLA Film and Television Archive via an internet search of their on-line database, and "Tunnel of Fear", which was found in 2016. Additionally, part of the show's first episode was also found in the United States. The footage is of the episode's first 21 minutes, up to the first commercial break.
All series two and three episodes survive as 16mm telerecordings. These have been released to DVD, as have all of the Emma Peel and Tara King episodes, which were shot on film. The two earlier-found surviving complete Keel episodes, plus the remnant of the first episode, have also been released in the UK and US, but are not currently available in the US. All original videotapes from series one, two and three do not survive.
From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, A&E TV Home Entertainment (under license from Canal+ Image International) released the remaining surviving series on Region 1 DVD in North America, with newly remastered picture and sound quality.
Series 4, 5, and 6 were remastered and released on Blu-ray by Studio Canal.
Sequel
The New Avengers
The sustained popularity of the Tara King episodes in France led to a 1975 French television advertisement for Laurent-Perrier champagne, in which Thorson and Macnee reprised their roles. The advertisement's success spurred financing interest in France for new episodes of The Avengers.
The result was a new series, The New Avengers. Patrick Macnee reprised the role of Steed, with two new partners, Mike Gambit (Gareth Hunt) and Purdey (Joanna Lumley). It aired on ITV in the UK in 1976–1977, CTV in Canada, CBS in the United States (in 1978–79) and TF1 in France (series 1 in 1976–1977 and series 2 in 1979). The final four episodes were almost completely produced by Canadian interests and were filmed there. In some markets they carried the title The New Avengers in Canada.
Although Macnee was the only actor from the original series to reprise his role, archival footage of Diana Rigg allowed Emma Peel to make a cameo appearance in a second-season episode "K is for Kill: The Tiger Awakes", while Macnee's first co-star, Ian Hendry, made a guest appearance as a different character in the episode "To Catch a Rat".
Spin-offs
Novels
A number of original novels based on the series were published in the 1960s. The first by Douglas Enefer, published by Consul Books, was the only 60s novel to feature Cathy Gale. Panther Books published four novels written by John Garforth featuring Emma Peel in the United Kingdom in 1967; Berkley Medallion Books reprinted these in the United States. After Panther stopped publishing Avengers novels in the UK, Berkley Medallion continued publishing original novels of their own: one featuring Peel and four featuring Tara King for the US market only; three by Keith Laumer in 1968; and two by Norman Daniels 1968/69. Berkley Medallion later re-printed all nine novels with new covers that featured photos of both Rigg and Thorson, regardless of which Avengers girl appeared in the novel. The two novels published by Hodder and Stoughton in 1965/66 were co-written by Patrick Macnee, making him one of the first actors to write licensed spin-off fiction of their own shows. The Macnee novels, Deadline and Dead Duck, were reprinted in the UK by Titan Books in standard paperback in 1994 and in France by Huitieme Art (1995 & 1996). They were also published in the US for the first time by TV Books in 1998. Titan reissued the books in trade paperback format (with the same covers) to coincide with the release of the 1998 feature film.
The 1990 novel Too Many Targets by John Peel featured all of Steed's partners (David Keel, Cathy Gale, Emma Peel and Tara King) with the exception of Venus Smith and Dr Martin King.
The Avengers, Douglas Enefer, 1963
Deadline, Patrick Macnee and Peter Leslie, 1965
Dead Duck, Macnee and Leslie, 1966
The Floating Game, John Garforth, 1967
The Laugh Was on Lazarus, Garforth, 1967
The Passing of Gloria Munday, Garforth, 1967
Heil Harris!, Garforth, 1967
The Afrit Affair, Keith Laumer, 1968
The Drowned Queen, Laumer, 1968
The Gold Bomb, Laumer, 1968
The Magnetic Man, Norman A. Daniels, 1968
Moon Express, Daniels, 1969
John Steed: An Authorized Biography Vol. 1: Jealous in Honour, Tim Heald, 1977 (UK release only)
A four volume fan fiction set produced in Australia but authorised.
Vol. 1 The Weather Merchants (1989) by Dave Rogers and Barlow; Rogers had previously written several non-fiction books about the series
Vol. 2 The Monster of the Moor (1990) by Barlow
Vol. 3 Before the Mast (1991). A Tara short story, produced only in photocopied supplement format
Vol. 4 (1994). Contains two stories, Moonlight Express and The Spoilsports.
Too Many Targets, John Peel and Rogers, 1990.
The Avengers, Julie Kaewert, 1998 (film novelisation)
A short story by Peter Leslie entitled "What's a Ghoul Like You Doing in a Place Like This?" appeared in The Television Crimebusters Omnibus, a hardback anthology edited by Peter Haining, first published by Orion in 1994 (this Steed and Tara story first appeared in the 1969 UK Avengers annual, from Atlas publications). Both of the Macnee/Leslie UK paperback titles were translated and published in Portugal in 1967 as Os Vingadores: O Dia Depois De Amanha (Deadline) and Os Vingadores: O Pato Morto (Dead Duck) by Deaga. All four UK John Garforth Panther book paperbacks were translated and published by Roman in France (1967), a paperback omnibus edition was published in 1998 by Fleuve Noir. Three of the Garforth paperbacks were also translated and published by Heyne in Germany (1967/68) (Heil Harris! was not translated for obvious reasons) and a German hardback omnibus edition of the three titles was published by Lichtenberg (1968), reprinted in paperback by Heyne in 1998. All four titles were also translated and published in the Netherlands by Bruna (1967) and in Chile by Zig-Zag (1968).
Comics
The first UK Avengers comic strips, featuring Steed and Cathy Gale, first appeared in regional TV listings magazines Look Westward and The Viewer from 14 September 1963 to 9 May 1964 (and later in 1964, re-printed in the Manchester Evening News) — this run consisted of four serials.
Steed and Mrs. Peel comic strips began in Polystyle Publications' TV Comic in issue #720, dated 2 October 1965, beginning after the TV debut of Emma Peel, and ran until issue #771, dated 24 September 1966 – this run consisted of 10 serials plus one 4-page one-off in TV Comic Holiday Special (June 1966). At that point the rights were sold to publishers D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd, where the next version of the strip appeared in issue #199, dated 10 December 1966, of Diana the popular paper for girls. Its run ended in issue #224, dated 2 June 1967, with art by Emilio Frejo and Juan Gonzalez Alacrojo – this run consisted of 8 serials.
Earlier, The Growing Up of Emma Peel comic strip had appeared in June and Schoolfriend comic from issue #52, dated 29 January 1966, to issue #63, dated 16 April 1966 – this had featured the adventures of 14-year-old Emma Knight and was run concurrent with the TV Comic strip and consisted of 11 instalments.
The Avengers returned to TV Comic issue #877, dated 5 October 1968, just after Tara King debuted on TV, the Tara & Steed strip continued until issue #1077, dated 5 August 1972 – this run consisted of 28 serials plus one 4-page one-off in TV Comic Holiday Special 1972. Also in 1966 Thorpe & Porter published a 68-page Avengers comic featuring Steed & Peel, with original art by Mick Anglo and Mick Austin — this consisted of four 16-page stories.
A few Avengers-related comic books have been published in the USA. They are not named The Avengers because the rights to the names "Avengers" and "New Avengers" are held by Marvel Comics for use with their Avengers comics depicting a team of superheroes called The Avengers. Gold Key Comics published one issue of John Steed Emma Peel in 1968 (subtitled The Avengers on the Indicia page), which included two newly coloured and reformatted The Avengers strips from TV Comic.
A 3-issue limited entitled Steed and Mrs. Peel appeared in 1990–1992 under the Acme Press/Eclipse Comics imprint; it featured a three-part story, "The Golden Game" in issues #1–3, by Grant Morrison and a two-part story, in issues #2 & #3, "A Deadly Rainbow" by Anne Caulfield; both strips had art by Ian Gibson. Boom! Studios reprinted this series in six issues in early 2012, and later published a new ongoing series written by Mark Waid and Caleb Monroe which lasted 12 issues. Boom! subsequently announced a six-issue follow-up series, Steed and Mrs. Peel: We're Needed, which was launched in the summer of 2014. Despite issue #1 showing "1 of 6", only 3 issues were produced ("2 of 3" and "3 of 3" showing on the other issues, with the cover for issue #3 being the one originally planned for issue #4 which was planned to be the start of another 3-issue story).
In the UK, where hardback annuals are traditionally produced for sale at Christmas, The Avengers first appeared in TV Crimebusters Annual (1962) and featured a 7-page comic strip with Dr David Keel titled The Drug Pedlar. Atlas Publications produced three The Avengers hardback Annuals for 1967, 1968 and 1969, which also featured original Avengers comic strips featuring Steed, Emma Peel, and Tara King, as well as text stories.
The TV Comic Avengers strips and the 1966 Avengers comic and a few comic strips from the Annuals have been translated and published in Germany, the Netherlands, France, and Chile.
The Avengers also have made a number of cameo appearances in comics over the years:
In 1991's Doctor Who Magazine #173, Gary Russell and artists Mike Collins and Steve Pini show Captain Britain about to hit John Steed when Emma Peel shows up behind him.
Emma Peel and John Steed were seen among the crowd in a bar scene in Kingdom Come #2 (1996) by Mark Waid and Alex Ross.
Emma Peel and John Steed appeared unnamed in Superman #13 (1988) by John Byrne and Karl Kesel.
A crossover series, Batman '66 Meets Steed and Mrs. Peel, was launched in June 2016 as a joint effort between DC Comics and Boom! Studios.
Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is littered with oblique references to events and characters in The Avengers, with three unnamed characters that are clearly Purdey, Tara and Emma appearing at the end of the book "Century: 2009".
Stage play
A stage adaptation was produced in Britain in 1971, written by TV series veterans Brian Clemens and Terence Feely, and directed by Leslie Phillips. It starred Simon Oates as Steed, Sue Lloyd as new partner Hannah Wild, and Kate O'Mara as villainess Madame Gerda. All three had guest roles in the original series.
A character named Hana Wilde (played by Charlotte Rampling) had essentially acted as Steed's partner in series five's "The Superlative Seven", an episode in which Emma Peel appears only briefly. According to John Peel in his overview of "The Superlative Seven", Charlotte Rampling was rumoured to be grooming up to replace Diana Rigg in this story, but nothing ever came of that".
Radio series
A radio series was transmitted between 6 December 1971 and 28 December 1973 on Springbok Radio, the English-language service of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC); it was recorded at Sonovision Studios in Johannesburg, produced by Dave Gooden, the original TV scripts were adapted and directed by Tony Jay, for the first six months and Dennis Folbigge for the remainder. South Africa did not have national television until 1976. The episodes were adapted from both Emma Peel and Tara King episodes (with Tara changed to Emma Peel throughout). The Avengers were played by two British expatriate actors, Donald Monat as Steed and Diane Appleby as Mrs Peel, with Hugh Rouse as the tongue-in-cheek narrator. The stories were adapted into five-episode serials under Tony Jay and six- and seven-episode serials under Dennis Folbigge, of approximately 15 minutes each (including adverts) and stripped across the week, Monday-Friday, on Springbok Radio.
Currently only 19 complete serials survive, all from reel-to-reel off-air recordings made by John Wright in 1972. Also, the first three episodes of a remake of Escape in Time currently exist. Episodes 1 and 2 are copies from the original Sonovision tapes, and episode 3 is from an off-air recording, on audio cassette, made by Barbara Peterson; the rest of this serial is still missing. These episodes are also known to have been transmitted in New York on station WBAI on 99.5 FM, from 1977 to the early 1990s, and are currently being transmitted on Miami station WRGP on early Monday mornings.
Copies from the original off-air recordings have been restored by Alan and Alys Hayes, and can be heard at their "The Avengers Declassified" website and its sister website "Avengers on the Radio".
Many more serials were broadcast during its two-year run on South African radio; it is thought 83 serials were made and transmitted, but no other episodes are known to exist at present.
Film
Plans for a feature-length adaptation based upon the series circulated during the 1960s, 1980s and 1990s, with Mel Gibson at one point being considered a front-runner for the role of Steed. Ultimately, the 1998 film, starring Uma Thurman as Emma Peel and Ralph Fiennes as John Steed, with Sean Connery as the villain, received extremely negative reviews from critics and fans, and is a notorious commercial failure.
Audio
In June 2013, Big Finish Productions signed a license with StudioCanal to produce full-cast audio productions of 12 lost first season episodes. The main cast includes Julian Wadham as Steed, Anthony Howell as Dr David Keel, and Lucy Briggs-Owen as Carol Wilson. The stories are adapted for audio by John Dorney.
In January 2014, Volume One, containing the first four stories, ("Hot Snow", "Brought to Book", "Square Root of Evil" and "One for the Mortuary") was released. Volume Two, containing the next four stories, ("Ashes of Roses", "Please Don't Feed the Animals", "The Radioactive Man" and "Dance with Death") was released in July 2014. Volume Three, containing the next four stories, was released in January 2015.
In March 2014, Big Finish extended the audio recreation programme to include all 26 season one episodes, including the then-two extant stories. A total of seven boxed sets were released.
See also
List of Avengers and New Avengers cast members
Avengerland, a variant of Metro-land
Honey West
The Saint
References
Bibliography
The Avengers by Dave Rogers (ITV Books in association with Michael Joseph Ltd., 1983)
The Avengers Anew by Dave Rogers (Michael Joseph Ltd., 1985)
The Complete Avengers by Dave Rogers (Boxtree Ltd., in Great Britain, 1989; St. Martin's Press, in America, 1989)
The Ultimate Avengers by Dave Rogers (Boxtree Ltd., in Great Britain, 1995)
The Avengers and Me by Patrick Macnee and Dave Rogers (New York: TV Books, 1997).
The Avengers Companion by Alain Carrazé and Jean-Luc Putheaud, with Alex J. Gearns (Bay Books, 1998)
The Avengers Dossier: The Definitive Unauthorised Guide by Paul Cornell, Martin Day and Keith Topping (London: Virgin Books, 1998).
External links
The Avengers Episode Guide (all series)
The Fashion Guide of Seasons 4–6
Episode guide and trivia
TheAvengers.TV – An International Family of Websites Devoted to The Avengers
Avengers Artland
Avengers the Journey Back Clips
Stapleford Miniature Railway Leics, location of the "Grave diggers" episode
The Avengers Blog, Department of Media, University of Chichester
Official Web site of Ian Hendry
1961 British television series debuts
1969 British television series endings
1960s British comedy television series
1960s British crime television series
1960s British mystery television series
Black-and-white British television shows
Television shows shot at Associated British Studios
English-language television shows
Espionage television series
Gold Key Comics titles
ITV mystery shows
British action television series
Television series by the Associated British Corporation
Television shows produced by Thames Television
Television shows adapted into radio programs
Television shows adapted into films
Television shows adapted into novels
Television shows adapted into comics
Television shows adapted into plays
Television series created by Sydney Newman | en |
doc-en-15091 | Kesha Rose Sebert (; born March 1, 1987), formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. In 2005, at age 18, Kesha was signed to Kemosabe Records. Her first major success came in early 2009 after she was featured on American rapper Flo Rida's number-one single "Right Round".
Kesha's music and image propelled her to immediate success. She has earned two number-one albums on the US Billboard 200 with Animal (2010) and Rainbow (2017), and the top-ten records Warrior (2012) and High Road (2020). Kesha has attained ten top-ten singles on the US Billboard Hot 100, including "Tik Tok", "Blah Blah Blah", "Your Love Is My Drug", "Take It Off", "Blow", "Die Young", "My First Kiss" with 3OH!3, "We R Who We R", "Right Round" with Flo Rida, and "Timber" with Pitbull. Her 2009 single "Tik Tok" was the best-selling digital single in history, selling over 14 million units internationally, until surpassed in 2011.
Kesha's career was halted between Warrior and Rainbow due to a legal dispute with her former producer Dr. Luke, which has been ongoing since 2014. A series of lawsuits, known collectively as Kesha v. Dr. Luke, were exchanged between the two parties in which Kesha accused him of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and employment discrimination against her, while Dr. Luke claims breach of contract and defamation by Kesha.
As of 2013, Kesha has reportedly sold over 33 million combined tracks and ringtones in the U.S alone and over 55 million worldwide to date. She was also listed as the 26th top artist on Billboards decade end charts from 2010 to 2019. She has received several awards and nominations, including her win for the MTV Europe Music Award for Best New Act in 2010. Kesha has also co-written songs for other artists, including "Till the World Ends" (2011) for Britney Spears and songs for Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, and Miranda Cosgrove.
Early life
Kesha Rose Sebert was born in Los Angeles, California on March 1, 1987. Her mother, Rosemary Patricia "Pebe" Sebert, is a singer-songwriter who co-wrote the 1978 single "Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You" with Hugh Moffatt for Joe Sun, made popular by country music artist Dolly Parton on her 1980 album Dolly, Dolly, Dolly. Pebe, a single mother, struggled financially while supporting herself, Kesha, and Kesha's older brother Lagan; they relied on welfare payments and food stamps to get by. When Kesha was an infant, Pebe would often have to look after her onstage while performing. Kesha says she has no knowledge of her father's identity. However, a man named Bob Chamberlain who called himself her father approached Star in 2011 with pictures and letters, claiming them as proof that they had been in regular contact as father and daughter before she turned 19. Her mother is predominantly of German and Hungarian descent. One of Kesha's great-grandfathers was Polish.
Pebe moved the family to Nashville, Tennessee in 1991 after securing a new publishing deal for her songwriting. Pebe frequently brought Kesha and her brothers along to recording studios and encouraged Kesha to sing when she noticed Kesha's vocal talent. Kesha attended Franklin High School and Brentwood High School, but claimed that she did not fit in, explaining that her unconventional style (such as homemade purple velvet pants and purple hair) did not endear her to other students. She played the trumpet and later the saxophone in the marching band in school, and described herself in an interview with NPR as being a diligent student. After attaining a near-perfect score on her SATs, she attended Barnard College, an affiliate college of Columbia University, but instead chose to drop out after three months to pursue her music career.
In addition to taking songwriting classes, Kesha was also taught how to write songs by Pebe, and they would often write together when she returned home from high school. Kesha began recording demos, which Pebe would give to people she knew in the music business. Kesha was also in a band with Lagan. Kesha and Pebe co-wrote the song "Stephen" together when Kesha was 16. Kesha then tracked down David Gamson, a producer that she admired from Scritti Politti, who agreed to produce the song. She dropped out of school at 17, after being convinced by Max Martin to return to Los Angeles to pursue a music career, and earned her GED after. Around this time, Pebe answered an advertisement from the American reality TV series The Simple Life, looking for an "eccentric" family to host Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. The episode featuring the Sebert family aired in 2005. Martin had received one of Kesha's demos from Samantha Cox, Senior Director of Writer/Publisher Relations at Broadcast Music Incorporated, and was impressed. Two of the demos were described in a cover story for Billboard, the first "a gorgeously sung, self-penned country ballad" and the second "a gobsmackingly awful trip-hop track" where Kesha raps ad lib for a minute when she runs out of lyrics near the end. It was the latter track that attracted attention.
Career
2005–2009: Career beginnings
In 2005, at age 18, Kesha was signed to the label, Kemosabe Records, and the music publishing company, Prescription Songs. Kemosabe Records is owned by Sony Music Entertainment and is located in Los Angeles, California. Sony Music Entertainment partnered to create Kemosabe Records. Some artists that have signed with Kemosabe Records are Juicy J, Rock City, Zara Larsson, Lil Bibby, Becky G and many others. Kesha later sang background vocals for Paris Hilton's single, "Nothing in This World". Kesha then signed with David Sonenberg's management company, DAS Communications Inc., in 2006. DAS was tasked with obtaining a major label record deal for Kesha in a year's time in exchange for 20 percent of her music income, with her having the option of ending the relationship if they failed. She worked with several writers and producers while at the company and ended up co-writing Australian pop group The Veronicas' single "This Love" with producer Toby Gad. While furthering her career in studio, Kesha earned her living as a waitress. While struggling to get by, she began stylizing her name as 'Ke$ha', explaining the dollar sign as an ironic gesture.
In 2008, Kesha appeared in the video for her friend Katy Perry's single "I Kissed a Girl", and sang background vocals for the song "Lace and Leather", by Britney Spears. DAS soon attracted the attention of songwriter and A&R Kara DioGuardi, who wanted to sign Kesha to Warner Bros. Records. The deal fell through due to her existing contract with Kemosabe. In September that year, she allegedly terminated her contract with DAS. Kesha would appear on rapper Flo Rida's number-one single "Right Round" in early 2009, which exposed her to some mainstream attention. According to the parties present, the collaboration happened by accident; she had simply walked into a recording session for the song and Flo Rida happened to have wanted a female voice on it. It was reported that Flo Rida liked the end result so much that he recorded one more track with Kesha for his album. However, she is not credited for her feature on the United States release of "Right Round" and did not collect any money for the part. She also refused to appear in the video, explaining to men's magazine Esquire that she wanted to make a name for herself on her own terms.
2009–2011: Breakthrough, Animal, and Cannibal
After failing to negotiate with Lava Records and Atlantic Records in 2009, Kesha signed a multi-album deal with RCA Records. Having spent the previous 6 years working on material for her debut album, she began putting finishing touches to the album. For the album, she wrote approximately 200 songs. It was certified Platinum in the United States and had sold two million albums worldwide by September of that year. The album's lead single, "Tik Tok", broke the record in the United States for the highest sales week for a single, with 610,000 digital downloads sold in a single week, the highest ever by a female artist since digital download tracking began in 2003. It spent nine weeks at number one in the country and became the longest running number-one by a female artist on her debut single since Debby Boone and "You Light Up My Life" in 1977. As of 2019, "Tik Tok" has sold about 14 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling single in digital history and the best-selling digital single in history by a female solo artist. Subsequent singles from the album ("Blah Blah Blah", "Your Love Is My Drug" and "Take It Off") achieved similar commercial success, each reaching the top ten in Australia, Canada, and the United States. Kesha was also featured on two top ten singles by musician Taio Cruz and electropop duo 3OH!3.
Kesha's deliberately unpolished aesthetic and juvenile stage persona, which she described as her own personality "times ten", quickly made her a deeply polarizing figure. Some of her critics found her output to be unsophisticated, while others felt that she was manufactured and lacked credibility. In May 2010, Kesha's former managers from DAS Communications Inc. filed a lawsuit against her, seeking $14 million from her for commissions on her RCA Records deal, alleging that she had extended the deadline for them to get her a major record label contract and squeezed them out of her career. Kesha launched her own lawsuit in October, citing the California-exclusive Talent Agencies Act and asking the California Labor Commissioner to declare her contract with DAS void because it had acted as an unlicensed talent agent while procuring work for her in California, where only licensed agents can do so. The case was settled in 2012 before the release of her second album. Kesha held a benefit concert on June 16, 2010, where all proceeds went to aid victims of the 2010 Tennessee floods in her hometown, Nashville. She raised close to $70,000 from the event. She was a supporting act on the summer North American leg of Rihanna's Last Girl on Earth and was awarded Best New Act at the 2010 MTV Europe Music Awards.
In November 2010, Animal was re-released with a companion extended play, Cannibal. The lead single taken from Cannibal, "We R Who We R", debuted at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States. With two number ones and four top ten hits (among them her featured spot on 3OH!3's "My First Kiss") Kesha was named Hot 100 Artist of 2010 by Billboard magazine, with "Tik Tok" ranked as the best-performing song of the year in the US. The follow-up single from Cannibal, "Blow", also charted in the top ten on the Hot 100. By June 2011, Kesha had sold almost 21 million digital single downloads in the United States alone. In February 2011, Kesha embarked on her first headlining world tour, the Get Sleazy Tour. The tour was expanded with a summer leg due to the first leg selling out and spanned three continents. Kesha also co-wrote the song "Till the World Ends" for American popstar Britney Spears and was featured on the remix of the song along with Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj. After meeting Kesha at the 2010 Grammy Awards and guesting at a number of her concerts, rock singer Alice Cooper asked her to write lyrics for and vocally perform as a devil character on their duet track, "What Baby Wants", on Cooper's album Welcome 2 My Nightmare (2011).
Kesha was named rights group Humane Society of the United States's first global ambassador for animal rights, for which she is expected to bring attention to such practices as cosmetics testing on animals and shark finning. Kesha received the Wyler Award presented by The Humane Society as a celebrity or public figure who increases awareness of animal issues via the media. She received the award March 23, 2013, at The 2013 Genesis Awards Benefit Gala. She also appeared alongside rock singer Iggy Pop in a campaign for PETA, protesting the clubbing of baby seals in Canada and later wrote on behalf of the organization to fast food chain McDonald's over the conditions of their slaughterhouses.
2012–2013: Warrior and other projects
Kesha's second studio album, Warrior, was released on November 30, 2012. She began writing for the album while on her own headlining tour in 2011. The album featured productions from Max Martin, as well as a song by Wayne Coyne, the lead singer of the alternative band The Flaming Lips. Coyne had reached out to Kesha for a collaboration after hearing that she was a fan of the band. Besides working on Kesha's album, they recorded the song "2012 (You Must Be Upgraded)" for the band's album, The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends (2012). To coincide with the release of the album, Kesha released the illustrated autobiography My Crazy Beautiful Life through Touchstone Books in November 2012. The first single taken from Warrior was "Die Young". The song debuted at number thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100 and eventually peaked at number 2. The song also charted across Europe and the English-speaking world and reached the top ten in Australia, Canada, and Belgium.
"C'Mon", the album's second single, underperformed commercially, only peaking at number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 and ending her string of top ten hits on the chart. Despite this, "C'Mon" continued Kesha's streak of top ten hits (with nine) on the Mainstream Top 40 Pop Songs chart, also graphed by Billboard. In July 2013, Kesha started the Warrior Tour, which would support the album. The North American leg was co-headlined with American rapper Pitbull. Kesha's third single from Warrior, "Crazy Kids", was released in April 2013 and also under-performed, peaking at number 40 on the Hot 100, number 19 on the Mainstream Top 40, yet did achieve massive success in South Korea and Belgium, peaking at numbers 2 and 5 in those countries, respectively. A TV series documentary, Kesha: My Crazy Beautiful Life, began airing on MTV also in April 2013.
In July 2013, The Flaming Lips stated their intention of releasing a full-length collaborative album with Kesha, called Lipsha. However, the project eventually cancelled in the winter of the same year. Kesha sent a message to a fan expressing how it was out of her control and that she wanted to release the material, even for free, saying that she did not care about the money. On October 7, 2013, Kesha and Pitbull released a collaboration, "Timber", which became an international commercial success and Kesha's third number-one and tenth top-ten single on the Billboard Hot 100.
2014–2016: Lawsuit and personal struggles
In January 2014, Kesha checked into rehab for bulimia nervosa, an eating disorder, and began to work on her third studio album. After checking out of rehab she chose to use her birth name in favor of her previous moniker, using a normal "s" in her name instead of the symbol "$". In her August 2014 Teen Vogue cover interview, Kesha revealed she had recorded 14 new songs while in rehab. In June 2014, Kesha claimed a seat as an expert in the American television singing competition Rising Star, alongside American music artists Brad Paisley and Ludacris. In October 2014, Kesha sued producer Dr. Luke for sexual assault and battery, sexual harassment, gender violence, emotional abuse, and violation of California business practices which had occurred over 10 years working together. The lawsuit went on for about a year before Kesha sought a preliminary injunction to release her from Kemosabe Records. On February 19, 2016, New York Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich ruled against this request. On April 6, 2016, Kornreich dismissed the case, saying that even if the allegations of sexual assault were accepted as true, the five-year statute of limitations had run out on the two most specific rape allegations, one occurring in 2005 and the other in 2008.
On August 4, 2015, Kesha signed with American performance rights organization SESAC Inc. Kesha guest starred in the second season of the U.S. television series Jane the Virgin, which aired on October 12, 2015. The singer played Annabelle, the show's protagonist's hostile neighbor. In December 2015, Kesha revealed that she had formed a country music and classic rock-influenced band called Yeast Infection and performed a live show with the band in Nashville, Tennessee on December 23.
2016–2018: Rainbow and touring
Kesha appeared during Zedd's slot at the 2016 Coachella music festival to perform "True Colors", a track from Zedd's second studio album. The cameo marked her first high-profile public performance since her ongoing legal battle with Dr. Luke. A studio version of the collaboration was released as a single on April 29, 2016. On May 22, 2016, Kesha covered Bob Dylan's song "It Ain't Me Babe" at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards. On June 11, 2016, Kesha performed at Pride in the Street in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Afterwards, Kesha embarked on her third worldwide concert tour, the Kesha and the Creepies: Fuck the World Tour (2016–2017). The tour commenced on July 23, 2016, in Las Vegas, Nevada and ended on July 21, 2017, in Aurora, Illinois, after various shows in China as well. The tour included various covers of songs and several rock and country reworks of Kesha's own hit singles. During this time, it was revealed that Kesha had recorded 22 songs on her own and had given them to her label, was in the process of recording a third studio album.
On July 6, 2017, Kesha released a single, titled "Praying". The single charted successfully at number 6 on the music charts of Australia, selling over 140,000 copies and being certified 2x Platinum in the country. The single charted at number 22 and number 11 in the United States and Canada respectively, and subsequently was certified Platinum in both territories. "Praying" was released as the lead single from Kesha's third studio album, Rainbow, which was released on August 11, 2017. Rainbow debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States, becoming her second number-one album in the country, and was the subject of universal acclaim from music critics, with several complimenting the album's feminist angle and uniqueness as well as Kesha's vocal performance and ability to interweave different music genres. Three tracks from Rainbow were released as promotional singles ahead of the album's release; "Woman", "Learn to Let Go" and "Hymn", two of which were released with accompanying music videos. "Learn to Let Go" was later released as the second single from the album in November 2017. The album received nominations for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Pop Solo Performance (for "Praying") at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, marking Kesha's first Grammy nominations.
To promote Rainbow, Kesha embarked on the Rainbow Tour (2017–2019), which began on September 26, 2017, in Birmingham, Alabama, and visited North America, Europe, Oceania, and Asia. She furthered promotion by joining a co-headlining concert tour with American rapper Macklemore named The Adventures of Kesha and Macklemore (2018). This tour took place in North America between June 6, 2018 and August 5, 2018. Kesha's documentary film, Rainbow: The Film, was released on Apple Music on August 10, 2018. The documentary chronicles her stint in rehab for her eating disorder and the creation of Rainbow. In the same month, Kesha collaborated with British rock band The Struts on the remix of their song "Body Talks", released as a single from their album Young & Dangerous (2018). On September 19, 2018, Kesha released her song "Here Comes the Change", which served as a single to promote On the Basis of Sex (2018), a biographical film about Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In October 2018, Kesha collaborated, wrote, and performed on the song "Safe" with her younger brother Sage Sebert and rapper Chika, as an homage for the Parkland, Florida school shooting.
2019–present: High Road
In February 2019, Kesha hosted a 4-day-long cruise called Kesha's Weird and Wonderful Rainbow Ride. Sailing on the Norwegian Pearl, the cruise set off in Tampa, Florida and ended in Nassau, Bahamas. Special guests included Wrabel, Jonathan Van Ness, Betty Who, Detox, and Superfruit, among others. On June 2, Kesha released a digital single titled "Rich, White, Straight Men". On July 25, Kesha released the promo single "Best Day" for the film The Angry Birds Movie 2. On November 7, Kesha officially announced her own cosmetics line in partnership with indie makeup brand Hipdot, Kesha Rose Beauty, which was released December 6. The line features an eyeshadow palette with each color named after her songs, two double-ended waterproof eyeliners, a red lipstick, and a lipgloss.
High Road, Kesha's fourth studio album, was released January 31, 2020. The album performed moderately commercially and received positive reviews. Originally slated for December 2019, Kesha released a trailer on October 21, 2019 to confirm the album's title as High Road. Prior to its release, the album saw the release of four singles: "Raising Hell" featuring Big Freedia, "My Own Dance", "Resentment" featuring Brian Wilson, Sturgill Simpson and Wrabel, and "Tonight".
In February 2020, Kesha's 2010 promotional single "Cannibal" gained viral status following a dance trend using it on the video sharing platform TikTok. Following this, the song became a top 40 single in Canada and a new lyric video for the song was released. While self isolating in her home due to the coronavirus pandemic, Kesha created a song titled "Home Alone". On April 18, 2020, she performed at the One World: Together at Home benefit event.
Kesha announced the creation of her own podcast, Kesha and the Creepies with an announcement video on November 13, 2020. The podcast explores supernatural subjects and alternative lifestyles with pop culture guests & supernatural experts such as Alice Cooper, Demi Lovato, Tyler Henry, Ben Folds and more. The first episode was released on November 19, 2020, with new episodes premiering almost every Friday. The first season ran for 30 episodes, with the final episode airing on June 10, 2021.
She later released several collaborations throughout 2020 and 2021, including "Chasing Rainbows" with Big Freedia, "Since I Was Young" with Wrabel, "Stronger" with Dutch DJ, Sam Feldt, and remixes of Walker Hayes' single, "Fancy Like", and Grandson's "Drop Dead".
Following the cancellation of the High Road Tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kesha embarked on her fifth headlining tour, Kesha Live (2021) with Betty Who serving as the opening act. The tour began on August 13, 2021 in Billings, Montana, and was originally to have 11 shows in the U.S., but got extended to 22, ending on September 12, 2021. Seven more tour dates were announced for late March 2022, which will be followed by Kesha's second cruise tour, scheduled to set sail on April 1, 2022. However, the cruise and the spring tour dates were cancelled due to undisclosed reasons.
Artistry
Musical style and image
Kesha wrote or co-wrote every song on her first two albums and considers herself a songwriter primarily, writing for artists including Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus. Along with a mezzo-soprano voice, she possesses a "strong, sneering vibrato", with a distinct yodel-like quality to her voice; she employs actual yodeling on the songs "Tik Tok" and "Cannibal". Having previously done country, pop rock, and electro, she had a clear idea of the synth-pop sound that she wanted for her debut album. The genre was popular at the time, with many of her peers releasing similar output as well. Both of those albums are of the genre with catchy hooks and synthesized productions often compared to pop singer Dev by music critics, creating misunderstandings among the fans of the two. "Party at a Rich Dude's House" and "C U Next Tuesday" have 1980s derived backing, while "Stephen" begins with "Kansas-style vocal harmonies". With the lyrics, "Oh my Nicolas Cage, you're so old / you're prehistoric/ you're like a dinosaur/ D-I-N-O-S-A-you are a dinosaur", "Dinosaur" follows a verse-chorus formula, and has a "cheerleader-type tune" reminiscent of "Hollaback Girl" (2005) by Gwen Stefani and "Girlfriend" (2007) by Avril Lavigne; the song uses the overt symbolism of dinosaurs, carnivory, and other primitive motifs to tell the story of an older man who preys on younger women. According to Kesha, the song is based on true events. While her vocals on Animal were heavily processed with auto-tune, often to produce rapid stuttering or over-pitch corrected vocal effects, leading to questions on vocal talent, she expressed confidence in her abilities, showing some of her vocal talent in the ballads "Animal" and "Hungover" on the album.
Kesha's second studio album Warrior used considerably less autotune, although it still showed in a number of songs. The album's piano and guitar-driven ballads such as "Love Into The Light", "Wonderland" and "Past Lives" display Kesha's vocal ability. Kesha also uses a trademark talky "white-girl" rapping style with exaggerated discordant phrasing and enunciation. Her vocal technique has led her to be credited as a rapper, a topic she disagreed with until fellow rappers André 3000, Wiz Khalifa, and Snoop Dogg endorsed her. On the subject, she said: "The first time someone called me a rapper, I started laughing. I was shocked, and thought it was hilarious. It's crazy and funny to me." The New York Times said Kesha "threatens to become the most influential female rapper of the day, or at least the most popular. Pretending Kesha isn't a rapper is no longer feasible." "Crazy Kids" and "C'Mon" took greater shifts into "party rap". Most of her lyrics chronicle her relationships and partying; the lighthearted subject matter of the latter and her unfiltered language saw many critics criticizing her for releasing frivolous and crass music. Jonah Weiner of Slate, however, stated that her jarring lyrics allowed her songs to become more memorable. In "Blah Blah Blah" and "Boots & Boys", she objectifies men to poke fun at how male fronted rock bands and rappers can get away with objectifying women and not vice versa. The title track to her debut, "Animal", is more aspirational and is intended to inspire people to embrace their individuality. Much more experimental than Animal, her second album, Warrior, contains dubstep elements and explores erotic experiences Kesha encountered with ghosts on the song "Supernatural". Overall, Kesha said the theme of Warrior is magic.
Critics praised Warrior for its rock music influences, despite the album being deeply rooted in technopop. Applauding the album's rock sound, Rolling Stone called the album Kesha's rock manifesto. Rock icons The Flaming Lips, Iggy Pop, and Alice Cooper have collaborated with Kesha, endorsing her as a rock singer. Cooper told Billboard, "I immediately looked at her and went, 'This girl is not a pop diva. She's a rock singer.' She would much rather be the female Robert Plant than the next Britney Spears." The A.V. Club said that Warrior proved Kesha a capable vocalist and songwriter. The Washington Post said that the album is "pure fun", opining that Kesha can write good hooks despite her sometimes vapid lyricism.
Influences
Kesha has been influenced by various genres and artists; Madonna, Queen, the Rolling Stones, the Killers, Neutral Milk Hotel, the Black Eyed Peas, Gwen Stefani, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, Gary Glitter and Beck have all influenced her music. Her vocal style draws heavily from the song "Tthhee Ppaarrttyy" from the 2007 Justice album Cross. After experimenting with country, pop rock, and electronic music, Kesha stuck with the latter. Thematically, her music generally revolves around escapism, partying, individuality, supernatural moments, rebellion, and grief. Kesha's musical influences also consist of hip hop, punk rock, crunkcore, glam rock, pop, dance music and classic country. Her country influences of Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash come from her mother's country songwriting, while her older brother exposed her to hip-hop and punk bands, Fugazi, Dinosaur Jr. and the Beastie Boys. She credits her straightforward story-based lyrics to her love for the honest storytelling style of country music, while the title track from her debut album was created with music of alternative rock bands The Flaming Lips and Arcade Fire in mind. She singled out the Beastie Boys as a major influence, telling Newsweek that she had always wanted to be like them and aspired to make "youthful, irreverent anthems" as well. She called her debut album, Animal, a homage to the Beastie Boys' Licensed to Ill and credited the creation of the rap driven "Tik Tok" to her love for the Beastie Boys' rap music. For her first headlining tour, Kesha wanted to emulate the stage theatrics of Iggy Pop. She listed Pop's The Idiot as well as Led Zeppelin and AC/DC as inspirations for her second studio album, Warrior, intended to feature 1970s rock inspired music. Warrior, to this effect, includes a collaboration with Pop himself.
She draws inspiration from classic films as well. Her stage makeup is characterized by dramatic glitter makeup at her right eye, inspired by A Clockwork Orange. The video for "Your Love Is My Drug" features animated sequences inspired by The Beatles' film, Yellow Submarine, while the Get Sleazy tour was described as having a "post-apocalyptic Mad Max vibe."
Personal life
Kesha is a vegetarian and is openly bisexual. She also has performed legal commitment ceremonies for both same-sex and opposite-sex couples. She talked about her sexual orientation with Seventeen magazine in 2013, "I don't love just men. I love people. It's not about a gender." She made a similar statement to Out in 2010, when she confessed to simply "liking people": "I wouldn't say I'm gay or straight. I don't like labeling things anyway." In her 2019 Attitude article, she goes deeper in discussing her sexuality, saying: "I have always been attracted to the soul behind a person's eyes. It has never occurred to me to care about a specific gender, or how someone is identifying, to make me wonder about whether or not I'm attracted to them." She has been involved with LGBT activism as well as animal rights. Kesha stated that she was born with a quarter inch vestigial tail, "I had a tail when I was born...they chopped it off and stole my tail...I'm really sad about that story."
Kesha is a very visual performer and enjoys giving impromptu tattoos. Kesha gave Australian TV presenter Scott Tweedie a non-permanent tattoo (a drawing with a marker) of a penis, and in 2011, she gave rocker Andrew W.K. a tattoo of a line with ink from a pen and a safety pin which eventually got infected. She has also given safety pin tattoos to fans and a "hot dude" in a hotel lobby.
Health problems
On January 3, 2014, Kesha checked into Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center, a rehab facility in Lemont, Illinois, for eating disorder treatment. Kesha's mother confirmed that Kesha was suffering from the eating disorder bulimia nervosa, and that she was struggling with it since she was signed. She also alleged that Dr. Luke was partly the cause, saying that Luke had allegedly told her to lose weight after he signed her, comparing the shape of her body to a refrigerator. Sebert asserted that this caused Kesha's disorder to worsen. Kesha completed her treatment on March 6, 2014, after spending two months in rehab.
Spiritual views
Writing for Lenny Letter, Kesha stated that she views God as "nature and space and energy and the universe. My own interpretation of spirituality isn't important, because we all have our own. What matters is that I have something greater than me as an individual that helps bring me peace." According to pop culture magazine Paper, "Homophobia and false piety eventually alienated [her] from Christianity and she's since settled on a non-denominational cocktail of meditation, mindfulness, and astrology." Kesha said she is occasionally a nihilist. She is "obsessed with religion".
Discography
Animal (2010)
Warrior (2012)
Rainbow (2017)
High Road (2020)
Tours
Headlining
Get Sleazy Tour (2011)
Warrior Tour (2013–2015)
Kesha and the Creepies: Fuck the World Tour (2016–2017)
Rainbow Tour (2017–2019)
High Road Tour (cancelled)
Kesha Live (2021)
Co-headlining
North American Tour 2013 (with Pitbull) (2013)
The Adventures of Kesha and Macklemore (with Macklemore) (2018)
Supporting
Rihanna – Last Girl on Earth (2010)
Filmography
Bravo Supershow (2007)
Final Flesh (2009)
Walt Disney's Princess Ke$ha (2011)
Katy Perry: Part of Me (2012)
Jem and the Holograms (2015)
A Ghost Story (2017)
Rainbow: The Film (2018)
Awards and nominations
See also
List of animal rights advocates
References
External links
1987 births
Living people
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American pop rock singers
American pop musicians
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Bisexual musicians
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Singers with a three-octave vocal range
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LGBT singers from the United States
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Barnard College alumni | en |
doc-en-8177 | Subak () is an ancient martial art that originated in Korea and uses bare hand techniques. The term was also used in Korea to refer to any fighting style that used bare hands. It is a different fighting style from Soo Bahk Do, which is a modern martial art with the same pronunciation but a different spelling.
In Korea, each region had their own style of Subak; today, only two styles remain.
One is taught purely as Subak, from the linage of Song Chang Ryul (宋昌烈) (1932-2017).
The other has been absorbed into modern Taekkyeon by Master Shin Han Seung. When Master Shin Han Seung tried to resurrect Taekkyeon after the Korean war, he sought instruction from the Taekkyeon master, Song Dok Ki, and the Subak master Il Dong. Shin Han Seung then combined Taekkyeon and Subak.
Subak misconceptions
A common misunderstanding is that Subak only involves slaps with the palm and features 45-degree side attacks to the cheeks, face, neck, or body; there are several reasons why:
Korea went through social changes during the Japanese occupation of Korea. Many traditional beliefs and practices are either disconnected or reinterpreted compared to the historical teachings of scholars in previous generations.
By the 1900s, Subak had fallen into obscurity in Korea. There is no direct link between historical practitioners and today's modern students.
The etymology of the word Subak is contested. Although the word means "clap" in Old Korean, this strict definition is used to support the claim that martial art should be confined to only palm strikes or side-hitting.
Subyuk, another historical Korean martial art, only uses slaps with palms.
In reality, historically Subak used punches whether as a real-life application. Even Subyuk had the historical nickname "fist", which is corroborated in archive records.
Today, the Korean Subak Federation (Daehan-subak-hyeobhoe/대한수박협회) is operated by North Korea. (North Korea's Songdo still had Subak even until recently although Subak was extinct in the rest of Korea.) They still teach Subak even today; they teach frontal slaps (slapping front) and punches. As a corroboration, Subak Dance, Taekkyeon, Subyuk also has frontal slaps. Subak Dance is a valuable historical record that recorded Subak moves as a dance including slapping dance partner's chest. Subak Dance has passed down in Manchuria & North Korea. All those sports and activities corroborate the same details about Subak.
Subak's motions
According to "Chosun Common Sense Q & A", which was Namseon Choi's 1937 newspaper column, "Subak & Subyuk were the same, a fighting game which became a drinking game, children's game. The method is fist, grab moving front & back. The hand & fingers bend."
In 1964, the ethnologist, Gimu Hong, representing North Korean Science Center Anthropology & Ethnology Research Institute, published the book, "There was a game called Subak. This knocks down the opponent with punches. Subak was liked by warriors in that era."
Medieval Chinese book, Yongdangsopoom, recorded Subak using another term, "Tagwon", in 1621. It also indicated that Subak included Subub techniques. "백타(白打)는 곧 수박으로 겨루는 것이다. 당나라 장종(莊宗)은 수박으로 내기를 하였으며, 장경아(張敬兒)는 수박으로 공을 세웠다. 세속에서는 타권(打拳)이라고도 하며, 소주인이 말하길 사람의 뼈를 부러 뜨려 죽음에 이르게 할 수 있다. 빨리 죽이고 천천히 죽이는 것은 오로지 수법(手法)에 달려 있다." Translation: "Baekta is competing with Subak. Tang's Jangjong gambled with Subak. Jang Gyunga made accomplishments with Subak. Civilians also call Subak as Takwon. Soju people say it can break human's bones to kill. Killing fast or killing slow depends on the (Subeob) techniques." There are also reputable archaeological Subak wall drawings (including frontal slaps) which represent the real life Subak scenes back in the era.
Medieval Korean Royal Journal also describes the rules & motions of Takwon. "유격이 타권의 기법을 앞에서 보여줬다. 그 법은 뛰면서 몸을 날려 두 손으로 자기 얼굴이나 목, 혹은 등을 치며, 가슴과 배를 번갈아치기도 했다. 볼기와 허벅지를 문지르기도 하며, 손을 쓰는 것이 어찌나 빠르고 민첩한지 사람이 감히 그 앞에 접근할 수 없을 정도였다(선조실록 권99, 31년 4월 경신)". Translation: "Yugyeok showed Tagwon's techniques at the front. The method is leaping the body, with 2 hands, hitting his face, neck & back, hitting chest & stomach. Also rubbing butt & thighs. His hand strikes were fast & agile that a person couldn't go near his front." Subak Dance also shows the dance performer slapping his body as well as slapping an opponent's (dance partner's) body such as slapping his chest (frontal slap to the opponent's chest).
Also, Subyukta (which came from Subak, according to medieval encyclopedia, Jaemulbo) uses palms only because it is convenient for gaming and practicing purposes. However, that does not define Subak's full technique. Subyuk is a part of Subak, and not the entire Subak. Subak has frontal slaps like Subyuk which has the nickname Sonbbyukchigi (clap strike); Subak also has punches unlike Subyuk although corroborated by Subyuk's another nickname Ken (fist).
Subak used punches, unlike Subyuk, which only used frontal slaps & side slaps. Also, even Subyuk had nicknames like Clap Strike (Sonbbyukchigi) & Fist (Ken). "SYOU-PYEK-TCHI-KI - HAND-CLAPPING", "It is usually played to the accompaniment of songs, and receives the name of Ken (Chinese, K'un), 'fist.'", "The hands are then clapped, and opened, palms out, to strike those of the other player".
History
Historically, Subak may refer to the old Korean martial art of taekkyeon, but historians are still uncertain since little is known about it. It is acknowledged, however, that Subak flourished during the Yi dynasty. During the Yi dynasty, a book was published to teach the game as a martial art. Since then, Subak has contributed to the evolution of Korean martial arts, which has also included the yusul.
By the 18th century, the king practiced Subak, as the text Dongsa-gangmok (동사강목) from this time suggests:
At this point, Subak was not only considered martial art but was also practiced as an organized sport that was staged as a form of spectator entertainment.
The word Seonbae (also romanized as sonbae, literally: "elders" - 先輩/선배) is sometimes translated to mean "a man of virtue who never retreats from a fight", and was used to signify a member of Koguryo's warrior corps. Members of the Seonbae lived in groups and learned archery, Gakju (ancestor of ssireum) and Subak (ancestor of taekkyon), history, literature, and other liberal arts. Although they were constantly training in combat, during peacetime they committed to relief periods, such as by helping construct roads and fortresses and assist after natural disasters.
Split
Subak took a heavy blow during the Joseon period, which was founded on the ideology of Confucianism, stressing literary art over martial art. Subak was only allowed to be practiced in competitions called subakhui (). After three consecutively successful subakhui bouts, only then could the winner become employed as a soldier.
During the beginning of the Joseon dynasty, Subak became Taekkyeon. Yusul (meaning "soft art") and Taekkyeon both share "yusul" movements.
Subak is suspected to be the same art as Taekkyeon with a different name. Yusul [유술/柔術] is written with the same Hanja as Jujutsu and since 柔 means "soft/pliable/yielding" any yusul techniques would naturally "redirect" an opponent's force rather than meet it head-on. Kwonsul [권술/拳術], is the contrasting term, and although it means "fist technique" it no doubt included strikes made with the feet as well as the hands. Taekkyeon 택견 was a term regarded more in line with a game or idle training methodology, whereas kwonsul [권술/拳術] or kwonbeop [권법/拳法] was the terminology usually associated with hand-to-hand fighting techniques. A similar argument could be made regarding ssireum [씨름] (a game) and japgi [잡기] (grappling skills).
Subak Dance (Subakchoom)
Traditional Subak had become a dance; it has passed down in Manchuria. The following Subak moves in the Subak Dance are from Daehansubakhyubhoi (Korean Subak Federation). "기본틀; 수박치기 - 손바닥 치고 손등 치기, 가슴치고 손등치기, 제몸치기(이마, 뺨, 어깨, 옆구리, 허벅, 발바닥), 상대 몸치기, 날개펴기, 무릎 세우기". Translation: "Basic framework; Subak strikes - hit palm then the back of the hand, slap chest then back of the hand, hit your body (forehead, cheek, shoulder, waist, thigh, foot), hit the opponent's (dance partner's) body, open wings, raise the knee". "마무리; 어깨치기에 들어막기로 응수하고 양손 떼밀기하다가 옆구리치기에 무릎 세우기로 방어한다. 가슴치기에 슬쯕대어 피하고 이어서 상대허리를 감아 들고 힘있게 꺽듯이 하다가 엉덩방아를 찧게 한다. 다른 예도 있다." Translation: "Last; slap the opponent's shoulder to be corresponded by raising blocking, push the opponent with both hands, slap the opponent's waist to block by raising the knee to defend. Slap the opponent's chest to be dodged by swaying. Followed by wrapping the opponent's waist with arms, powerfully bend it then let him fall on his ass. There are other cases."
Subak Dance shows Subak, including slapping a dance partner's chest (frontal slap) as well as dodging it. Subak Dance has moves such as slapping his body particularly the forehead, cheeks, chest, shoulders, thighs, feet (frontal slaps & side slaps), and also slapping the dance partner's body in the same manner. This dance is also popular in North Korea but was extinct in South Korea until recently. There is also the motions of making fists in the dance, consistent with the Subak rules historically corroborated by many authorities of Korean sports history. Manchuria's Subak Dance is the ancient Subak made into a dance. Subak Dance is passed down by Manchuria Koreans and North Korea today. It's recognized & certified by the Chinese government as a traditional culture officially. Subak Dance's authenticity is corroborated by its widespread contents (Manchuria & North Korea) as well as its history (Subak Dance was seen 100 years ago). In Subak Dance, when hitting his forehead & chest (as well as hitting a dance partner's body), frontal slaps are shown.
"일제강점기의 반도의 舞姬, 최승희여사(1911 ~ 1969. 8. 8)도 手拍舞를 무대에서 공연한 적이 있다하며 그의 저서인 "조선족 무용기본동작(1978)"중에 수박치기가 포함되어 있다." Translation: "During the Japanese occupation of Korea, Seungheui Choi (1911 ~ 1969. 8. 8) also has performed Subak Dance in her stage. Her book "Korean Chinese Basic Dance Motions" (1978) includes Subak strikes." Subak Dance also has fist motions although slapping is more convenient for practicing, dancing, and gaming. "손동작; 손목 꺽기, 손가락 꼬기, 손목 흔들기, 주먹쥐고 앞, 뒤로 흔들기". Translation: "Hand motions; bending wrist, crossing fingers, shaking wrists, making fist then rocking it front & back".
Subak having frontal slaps
Subak has punches. Subyuk (originated from Subak) has straight slaps. Also, ancient Kokuryeo's Subak wall drawings show frontal slaps. Kokuryeo had a limited number of sports; those reputable archaeological wall drawings can only be matched with few sports including Subak; Subak has a limited number of motions which can be matched with the pictures by the process of elimination.
Subak had a swing slap hitting front or side (can do both by choice, by different curves); Subak also had straight slaps like Chinese Iron Palm breaking layers of cinder blocks with a straight slap 100 years ago (photographed); Subak also had punches. It's arguable whether Subak had all those from the beginning of the sport or evolved in the ancient time eventually, but Subak had them anyway visible already in the ancient & medieval eras. Subak's motions are proven with ancient pictures, medieval writings, Subak Dance (Subakchoom corroborates Subak's moves & rules), Taekkyeon, etc. Subak Dance & Taekkyeon have punches, frontal swing slaps, straight slaps, and side (cheek) slaps.
Even in Subak Dance which represents the old Subak, frontal slaps exist. "마무리; 어깨치기에 들어막기로 응수하고 양손 떼밀기하다가 옆구리치기에 무릎 세우기로 방어한다. 가슴치기에 슬쯕대어 피하고 이어서 상대허리를 감아 들고 힘있게 꺽듯이 하다가 엉덩방아를 찧게 한다. 다른 예도 있다." Translation: "Last; slap the opponent's shoulder to be corresponded by raising blocking, push the opponent with both hands, slap the opponent's waist to block by raising the knee to defend. Slap the opponent's chest to be dodged by swaying. Followed by wrapping the opponent's waist with arms, powerfully bend it then let him fall on his ass. There are other cases." Subak Dance shows Subak, including slapping a dance partner's chest (frontal slap) as well as dodging it.
Relationship between Subak, Korean wrestling (Ssireum), Subyukta (Subyukchigi, Sonbbyukchigi)
Also, Subyukta (which came from Subak according to medieval encyclopedia Jaemulbo) uses palms only when practicing. That doesn't necessarily mean Subak also should be slapping with palm only. Subyuk is a part of Subak; it's not the entire Subak; Subak has frontal slaps like Subyuk which has the nickname Sonbbyukchigi (clap strike); Subak also has punches unlike Subyuk although corroborated by Subyuk's another nickname Ken (fist). There's no explicit proof that dictates Subak's rules from Subyuk's motions. (Subyuk came out of Subak.) Subak & Subyuk are separate games although related; Subak had punch unlike Subyuk which only had frontal slaps & side slaps. Also, even Subyuk had nicknames like Clap Strike (Sonbbyukchigi) & Fist (Ken). "SYOU-PYEK-TCHI-KI - HAND-CLAPPING", "It is usually played to the accompaniment of songs, and receives the name of Ken (Chinese, K'un), 'fist.'", "The hands are then clapped, and opened, palms out, to strike those of the other player".
As for the relationship between Korean wrestling (Ssireum) & Subak, the direct interpretation of the traditional record "Byun is Subak, Muheui is wrestling. This is today's Taekkyeon", it directly means "hurrying is Subak (Korean wrestling's goal is takedown & knockdown), gaming is wrestling. This (wrestling) is today's Taekkyeon" in euphemism. Hurrying wrestling's goal with strikes is Subak; Subak became Sibak; Ssireum became Taekkyeon; Taekkyeon has both regular Taekkyeon & Sibak (also Taekkyeon according to medieval encyclopedia Jaemulbo) in Taekkyeon.
Similarity between Subak & Taekkyeon-Yetbub
A direct interview with Dukgi Song was recorded in Munyejinheung by Bohyung Lee, and published in 1984 by Munyejinheungwon on Volume 11 Number 1 page 67 (이보형, 문예진흥 제 11권 1호, 문예진흥원, 1984.2, p. 67, 이보형이 송덕기 옹에게 췌록한 내용). "누상동에는 '장칼'이라는 장사가 있어 키도 크고 힘도 좋고 '복장지르기', '가슴치기'등 택견솜씨가 좋았다." Translation: "Nusangdong had a strongman named Jangkal. He was tall & strong; he was good at Taekyun techniques particularly Bokjangjireugi (Front Stomp Kick), Gaseumchigi (Frontal Chest Slap, slapping chest at front), etc." Dukgi Song testified directly about frontal slap in Taekkyeon. "이보형이 송덕기 옹에게 췌록한 내용". Translation: "the content recorded by Bohyung Lee from direct interview with Dukgi Song."
The same interview and the same book (by Munyejinheungwon & Bohyung Lee, 1984, Munyejinheung Volume 11, Number 1, page 67) included Dukgi Song's direct testimony and how Taekyun Yetbub broke a jaw with one slap to the jaw as well as his testimony on how Taekkyeon had frontal chest slap. There are also online Taekkyeon articles on Taekkyeon Yetbub by the official Taekkyeon organizations. As a side note, slapping cheek is often thought as hitting side, but cheek or jaw is halfway frontal in about 45 degrees, not 90 degrees at side like ears. Also, hook and swing are two different motions; hook isn't used for slapping cheeks. Furthermore, sports create techniques & motions; they evolve & add motions not from everyday-life (explicit proofs have to check such). Also, whether hitting 45 degrees, 0 degrees or 90 degrees from the front, shoulder-push & Yong stacking speed, power, mass doesn't change for hand strike; the strike techniques are the same. Taekyun & Subak techniques are consistent in authenticity. Subak had swing slaps hitting front (frontal slap), straight slaps, punches already at the ancient time; Taekkyeon also had all those in the medieval times already. Straight slaps are also common in everyday-life anyway such as swatting, spanking. There are authoritative explicit proofs for Taekkyeon, Taekkyeon-Yetbub, Subak moves from the older eras by reputable sources.
Similarity between North Korean Gyeoksul and Subak
North Korea has a fight game called Kyuksul. According to historical records referred by Mookas martial art magazine, "the earlier contests were about the same as boxing, but in 1987's 7th contest, it evolved to the level of kickboxing."
Gyuksul was originally from Subak. In the new Gyuksul rules & techniques, Gyuksul also resembles Sibak (Korean street fighting games) & Gwonbeop (Muyedobotongji).
Those 3 pictures are Gyuksul moves. There are similar moves in Korean Muyedobotongji Gwonbeop, except that Gwonbub's wild swing with shoulder-push uses vertical fist while Gyuksul uses horizontal fist. Those 3 pictures resemble these two 300 years old Korean Gwonbeop pictures.
North Korean Gyuksul started from Subak. Then it evolved to be like Sibak & Gwonbeop by the influence of Yoon Byung-in and his art Gwonbeop taught at YMCA, which became a root of Taekwondo. Byungin Yoon's Gwonbeop (different from Karate) is shown by Cheolheui Park's Pasa-Gwonbeop published when he was young. Byungin Yoon's Gwonbeop influenced both Taekwondo & Gyuksul. North Korean Gyeoksul's punch uses horizontal fist swing punch without fist rotation. Gyeoksul doesn't have boxing exclusive motions such as uppercut or hook.
Subak and Shoubo
Subak is the Korean pronunciation, whilst Shoubo is the Chinese pronunciation of the same characters (手搏). They are, however, pronounced differently due to language differences. It is not explicitly limited to Korean or Chinese, but throughout East Asia.
Shoubo existed in China for many years, but modern Shoubo does not have links to the older Shoubo of China.
In addition to Korean records, Chinese historical records on Shoubo can be used to study Korean Subak to a great extent as they often overlap with each other. On the Chinese Qin Dynasty's comb (archaeological scholarly source), Shoubo's motions were recorded.
Subak having punches
Subak has punches as techniques.
Medieval Chinese book Yongdangsopoom (涌幢小品) recorded Subak is also called Tagwon in 1621. It also recorded Subak had Subub, techniques. "백타(白打)는 곧 수박으로 겨루는 것이다. 당나라 장종(莊宗)은 수박으로 내기를 하였으며, 장경아(張敬兒)는 수박으로 공을 세웠다. 세속에서는 타권(打拳)이라고도 하며, 소주인이 말하길 사람의 뼈를 부러 뜨려 죽음에 이르게 할 수 있다. 빨리 죽이고 천천히 죽이는 것은 오로지 수법(手法)에 달려 있다."
Translation: "Baekta is competing with Subak. Tang's Jangjong gambled with Subak. Jang Gyunga made accomplishments with Subak. Civilians also call Subak as Takwon. Soju people say it can break human's bones to kill. Killing fast or killing slow depends on the (Subeob) techniques." There are also reputable archaeological Subak wall drawings (including frontal slaps) which represent the real life Subak scenes back in the era.
Medieval Korean Royal Journal also describes the rules & motions of Takwon. "유격이 타권의 기법을 앞에서 보여줬다. 그 법은 뛰면서 몸을 날려 두 손으로 자기 얼굴이나 목, 혹은 등을 치며, 가슴과 배를 번갈아치기도 했다. 볼기와 허벅지를 문지르기도 하며, 손을 쓰는 것이 어찌나 빠르고 민첩한지 사람이 감히 그 앞에 접근할 수 없을 정도였다(선조실록 권99, 31년 4월 경신)".
Translation: "Yugyeok showed Tagwon's techniques at the front. The method is leaping the body, with 2 hands, hitting his face, neck & back, hitting chest & stomach. Also rubbing butt & thighs. His hand strikes were fast & agile that a person couldn't go near his front."
"수박과 백타를 막연하게 동일시하고 맨손무예를 의미하는 보통명사들이라는 설(設)이 있으나 적어도 위의 타권인 수박은 고유명사인 것(내용 중에 특징적인 기술체계가 있다). 선조실록(동(同) 시대)에 등장하는 타권과 연장선에서 이해 할 필요가 있다. 백타가 태권도경기라면 수박은 태권도를 말한다. 태권도경기와 태권도를 어떻게 같다 할 수 있겠는가?"
Translation: "There is a theory that Subak & Baekta are ambiguously equal, that they are common nouns for barehand martial arts. However, Tagwon described above is a proper noun (the contents have a unique system of techniques). It should be understood as the extension of Seonjo era's royal Chosun (Korean) journal's Tagwon. If Baekta is Taekwondo sparring, Subak is Taekwondo itself. How can you say Taekwondo competition and Taekwondo are the same?"
The Korean Subak Federation claims that Tagwon & Baekta are different from Subak, and they are a competition method based on Subak. In their claim, Subak would use palms only, but Subak would compete using both punches & slaps for Tagwon & Baekta. However, there are explicit old authentic historical records that Subak itself had punches in the game, not as an extension game of Subak. Like many names of sports & activities such as volleyball, curling, baseball, thunderclap, Subak's name meaning clap has no logical necessity nor proof that it should use palm only nor hit side only. Regardless, Korean Subak Federation agrees that Subak uses punches in Tagwon & Baekta which they claim to be a competition method of Subak. Subak slaps front & side (cheeks), but Subak's application Tagwon punches anyway. Also, there are many reputable & old historical records that Subak itself had punches in the game. In any case, Subak population fought using punches in the application of Subak. The only difference is whether Subak itself had punches or Subak's application & competition had punches. The difference is whether Subak used fist in Tagwon only or also in general Subak.
Difference between Sibak & Subak
Sibak hits with any body part; Subak uses frontal slap, side slap, punches, knife hand strikes, and grab moving front and back, the hand and fingers bending (Namseon Choi's description).
Chaeho Shin testified that only Songdo (North Korea) had Subak 100 years ago. Chaeho Shin also described that Subak became Gwonbeop in China and Judo in Japan. Subak has relation to both wrestling & also striking martial art. Sibak (Taekkyeon) is a new version of Subak which includes kicking, headbutt, punches, etc.
Medieval Korean encyclopedia also differentiates Taekkyeon & Subak.Taekkyeon uses kicks, which is the main distinction between Subak & Sibak.
References
1941's Murayama Jijun's Baksi & Nanjangbaksi record"
"Chosun Common Sense Q & A, 1937's Subak Newspaper Column"
"North Korea's Songdo city had Subak 100 years ago"
Korean martial arts
Historical martial arts | en |
doc-en-11415 | Raheem Shaquille Sterling (born 8 December 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger and attacking midfielder for club Manchester City and the England national team.
Born in Jamaica to Jamaican parents, Sterling moved to London at the age of five. He began his career at Queens Park Rangers before signing for Liverpool in 2010. He was awarded the Golden Boy award in 2014. In July 2015, following a lengthy dispute over a new contract, he was signed by Manchester City in a transfer potentially worth £49 million, the highest transfer fee ever paid for an English player at the time. He went on to help Manchester City win back-to-back Premier League titles in the 2017–18 and 2018–19 seasons. In the 2018–19 season, he was named to the PFA Premier League Team of the Year and won the PFA Young Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year.
Sterling made his senior debut for England in November 2012 after previously being capped by England youth teams at under-16, under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels. He was chosen in England's squads for the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and 2018, and the UEFA European Championship in 2016 and 2020.
Early life
Sterling was born in the Maverley district of Kingston, Jamaica, and spent his early years there. His mother, Nadine Clarke, was previously a competitive athlete in the Jamaican national athletics team; Sterling credits her for his unique running style. His father was murdered in Jamaica when Sterling was two years old. At the age of five, he emigrated to Neasden, London, with his mother, and attended Copland School in Wembley, north-west London. Due to behavioural problems, Sterling spent three years at Vernon House, a specialist school in Neasden.
Club career
Early career
Sterling spent four years with local youth team Alpha & Omega before signing for Queens Park Rangers, at age 10, as a winger. Sterling was subsequently scouted by the academies of Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham, Liverpool and Manchester City. However, he was encouraged by his mother not to choose clubs in the locality in order to escape the hostile gang culture in London.
Liverpool
Sterling was signed by Liverpool from the academy at Queens Park Rangers in February 2010 by then academy director Frank McParland and Rafael Benítez, for an initial fee of £450,000, with the possibility of rising up to £2 million depending on how many appearances he made for the first team.
He initially played in the club's youth team, making his debut in an Under-18s derby match against Everton. Sterling scored his first goal for Liverpool in a friendly match against Hibernian, which ended in a 2–2 draw. His first Premier Academy League match was a 2–2 draw against Aston Villa, with his first win coming at home to Bristol City a week later. On 15 December, he scored in the FA Youth Cup in a 4–0 win over Notts County. On 14 February 2011, Sterling scored five goals in a 9–0 win over Southend United.
On 24 March 2012, Sterling made his senior Liverpool debut as a substitute in a league match against Wigan Athletic, aged 17 years and 107 days, becoming the third-youngest player to play for the club. He made two more appearances over the remainder of the campaign, again as a substitute.
2012–14: Development and breakthrough
In August 2012, he made his European debut for the club, coming on as a substitute in a UEFA Europa League qualifying match against Gomel, replacing Joe Cole in a 1–0 away win. The following week, Sterling scored his first goal for the senior team with a first-half strike in a friendly against Bayer Leverkusen. On 23 August 2012, he started his first match for Liverpool in a Europa League qualifying match away to Hearts in a 1–0 win. He was given his first start in the league three days later in a 2–2 draw at Anfield to Manchester City. He played the full 90 minutes in the loss to Arsenal on 2 September, and the draw with Sunderland on 15 September, where he registered one assist and was named man of the match. On 19 September, Sterling was one of the group of teenagers that travelled to Switzerland to play Young Boys in a UEFA Europa League group match. He replaced Stewart Downing in the second half as Liverpool won 5–3. On 20 October, Sterling scored his first senior competitive goal for Liverpool in the 29th minute of a 1–0 league win against Reading with a strike from the edge of the box. As a result, he became the second-youngest player to score in a competitive fixture for Liverpool, behind only Michael Owen.
On 21 December 2012, Sterling signed a contract extension, committing his future to Liverpool. He scored his second league goal for the club on 2 January 2013, opening the scoring in a 3–0 win against Sunderland with a lob over goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.
On 27 August 2013, Sterling scored his first goal of the 2013–14 season, the opening goal against Notts County in a 4–2 win in the League Cup. On 4 December, Sterling scored his first Premier League goal of the season for Liverpool in a 5–1 win over Norwich City. His form in December saw him score two further goals in wins against Tottenham Hotspur (5–0) and Cardiff City (3–1). On 8 February 2014, he scored twice in a 5–1 win against Arsenal at Anfield. On 13 April, he scored Liverpool's opening goal in a 3–2 win over Manchester City. A week later, he scored two goals and assisted another as Liverpool won 3–2 against Norwich City at Carrow Road.
On 18 April 2014, Sterling was named as one of the six players on the shortlist for the PFA Young Player of the Year award. He was named Liverpool Chartered Player of the Month for April. At the end of the season, he was named Liverpool's Young Player of the Year.
2014–15: Final season with Liverpool
On 17 August 2014, Sterling scored to help Liverpool to win their opening match of the 2014–15 season, a 2–1 win at home to Southampton at Anfield. On 31 August, Sterling scored the opening goal in a 3–0 league win against Tottenham at White Hart Lane and was named man of the match. Sterling was named the Liverpool Player of the Month for August.
On 16 September, Sterling made his UEFA Champions League debut in a 2–1 victory over Bulgarian champions Ludogorets Razgrad at Anfield. On 14 December 2014, he made his 100th appearance for Liverpool in a match against Manchester United at Old Trafford. On 17 December, Sterling scored a brace in a 3–1 victory over Bournemouth at Dean Court in the League Cup quarter-final.
On 20 December, Sterling was named as the recipient of the 2014 Golden Boy award. "It's down to hard work. I'm really happy that people are recognising that I'm trying to work hard and do my best for this football club. I'm really grateful for this award," he stated upon receiving the award. Sterling was officially excused from Liverpool's FA Cup match against AFC Wimbledon in January 2015, with manager Brendan Rodgers aiming to prevent the player becoming exhausted. He used the time off to holiday in Jamaica.
On 20 January 2015, Sterling scored a fine solo goal against Chelsea in a 1–1 draw in the League Cup semi-final first leg at Anfield, going past Nemanja Matić and Gary Cahill before beating Thibaut Courtois to find the net. On 31 January, Sterling scored the opening goal in a 2–0 win over West Ham United. On 4 February, Sterling scored the equaliser against Bolton Wanderers at the Macron Stadium in a 2–1 away win for Liverpool. On 22 February, he scored the second goal for Liverpool in a 2–0 win over Southampton.
On 13 April, Sterling opened the scoring in a 2–0 win over Newcastle United. He was named the team's Young Player of the Season on 19 May for the second consecutive year in a row, and when receiving the award was booed by fans due to his rejection of a new contract; he was also booed on 7 June, while playing for England in Dublin. On 16 April 2015, for the second consecutive year, he was named as one of the six players on the shortlist for the PFA Young Player of the Year award.
Contract dispute
On 9 February 2015, Brendan Rodgers said that Sterling had been offered "an incredible deal" to stay at Liverpool, rumoured to be a new contract worth £100,000 a week, but he also stated Liverpool were "certainly not a club that is going to give way, way above what a player is worth at a certain time in their career." However, on 20 March, Rodgers said Sterling's contract situation would not be resolved until the summer at least.
On 1 April, Sterling gave an unsanctioned interview with the BBC, where he confirmed he had turned down a new deal, but denied that this was for reasons of money. He had two years of a £35,000 per week contract remaining and said that he would not negotiate a new contract until the end of the season. Four days later, Brendan Rodgers criticised Sterling's advisors (Aidy Ward) for the interview, saying, "You are not a 20-year-old boy and you pick up the phone and ask to speak to the BBC. You don't do it. Him in particular. But, of course, if he is asked to do that by other parties then that is what he'll do."
On 21 May, amid rumours that Sterling intended to leave the club his agent, Ward gave an interview to the London Evening Standard saying, "I don't care about the PR of the club and the club situation... He is definitely not signing. He's not signing for £700, £800, £900 thousand a week."
On 11 June, Liverpool reportedly rejected an initial bid of £30 million from Manchester City. One week later, they reportedly rejected a second bid from City for £40 million, with Liverpool valuing Sterling at £50 million. Sterling reportedly later asked to be left out of Liverpool's preseason tour to Asia, and missed two days of training through illness, which was met with widespread criticism from former Liverpool players, including Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Graeme Souness.
Manchester City
2015–16: Record breaking transfer and debut season
On 12 July 2015, a deal was agreed for his transfer to Manchester City for an initial £44 million, with a further potential £5 million in add-ons, subject to personal terms and a medical, which would make him the most expensive English player of all time. On 14 July, Sterling officially joined Manchester City, signing a five-year contract. His debut came on 10 August, starting as City began the season with a 3–0 win away to West Bromwich Albion. Nineteen days later, Sterling scored his first competitive goal for Manchester City in a 2–0 win against Watford at the City of Manchester Stadium. Sterling scored his first career hat-trick as City beat Bournemouth 5–1 on 17 October.
On 3 November, Sterling scored his first UEFA Champions League goal in a 3–1 win away to Sevilla. On 8 December, he scored twice in the final ten minutes of City's last group stage fixture against Borussia Mönchengladbach, helping turn a 2–1 deficit into a 4–2 win and ensuring City overtook Juventus in the final group standings. On 20 March 2016, he suffered a groin injury in a 1–0 loss to rivals Manchester United, and was ruled out for eight weeks. Sterling eventually lost his place in the starting line-up.
2016–18: Collective and individual success
Sterling appeared regularly for Manchester City under Pep Guardiola for the opening matches of the 2016–17 season. He was Premier League Player of the Month for August 2016 after he scored two goals and provided one assist in three games. On 21 February 2017, Sterling scored the opener before setting up a goal for Sergio Agüero in a 5–3 home win against Monaco in the Champions League.
On 26 August 2017, Sterling scored the winner in a 2–1 away win away to AFC Bournemouth in stoppage time. He was sent off by Mike Dean with a second yellow after he celebrated among travelling supporters that had run onto the pitch. On 29 November 2017, Sterling scored a 96th-minute winner against Southampton in a 2–1 home win. He scored his eighteenth and final league goal of the season during a 5–0 victory at Swansea City on 22 April 2018, his most ever at this point in his career.
2018–19: Domestic treble with City
Following England's World Cup campaign, Sterling made an immediate return to the Manchester City starting line-up. On 12 August 2018, less than a month after starting in England's 2–0 loss against Belgium in the third place play-off, Sterling scored the opening goal in Manchester City's 2–0 away win against Arsenal. The strike was Sterling's 50th Premier League goal. On 4 November 2018, Sterling scored twice and made two assists in a 6–1 win against Southampton at home, scoring his 50th goal for Manchester City in all competitions in the process. In November 2018, he signed a three-year extension to keep him at City until 2023.
In December 2018, Sterling alleged that sections of the media served to "fuel racism" with their portrayal of young black footballers. The comments emerged after Sterling was subjected to alleged racist abuse during City's 2–0 defeat at Chelsea.
He began 2019 with a 2–1 win against Liverpool, where he assisted Leroy Sané's winning goal. On 6 January 2019, he scored a goal and assisted one in a 7–0 win against Rotherham, which booked their place in the fourth round. On 20 January 2019, he headed a goal to help City win 3–0 over Huddersfield Town. On 3 February 2019, he helped assist two of Sergio Agüero's goal to beat Arsenal 3–1, which helped City move 2 points behind Liverpool. On 10 February 2019, he scored two goals to beat Chelsea 6–0 at the Etihad. On 20 February 2019, in a first leg match of the Champions League against Schalke, he scored the winning goal in the 90th minute in a 3–2 win. In the EFL Cup Final on 24 February 2019, he scored the winning penalty in the penalty shootout to win the cup. The following month, he scored a hat-trick for the first time since 2015 within the space of 13 minutes – the fastest hat-trick of the season – to secure a 3–1 victory over Watford. He scored again in the return leg of Man City's Champions League clash with Schalke to help the club record a 7–0 (10–2) victory and equal the record for the largest winning margin in the knockout-phase of the competition. On 17 April 2019, Sterling scored two and had a winner on aggregate disallowed in injury time – which would have sealed his third hat-trick of the season – in Manchester City's 4–3 win over Tottenham Hotspur in their UEFA Champions League quarter-final second-leg, however they were knocked out on away goals after losing 1–0 in the first leg. On 18 May 2019, Sterling scored twice as Manchester City defeated Watford 6–0 in the 2019 FA Cup Final to clinch a domestic treble.
In the 2018–19 season, he was named to the PFA Premier League Team of the Year and won the PFA Young Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year.
2019–20 season
In the 2019 FA Community Shield against Liverpool on 4 August, Sterling scored the opening goal of the match in an eventual 1–1 draw; Manchester City ultimately won the title 5–4 on penalties. In Manchester City's opening game of the 2019–20 Premier League, Sterling scored a second-half hat-trick – his third of the calendar year – in a 5–0 away win over West Ham, which put them top of the table on goal difference after one game. On 22 October 2019, Sterling scored his first UEFA Champions League hat-trick in a 5–1 win over Atalanta in the group stages of the 2019–20 season.
In February 2020, during an interview with Diario AS, Sterling was asked whether he would one day like to play for Real Madrid. In reply, Sterling explained that "No one knows what the future will hold. I am a player and I am always open to challenges but right now my challenge is at City and I'm really happy".
On 11 July 2020, Sterling scored his third hat-trick of the season in a 5–0 away thrashing of Brighton. He scored another three goals in the last three league games of the season, ending with a total of 20 goals, his best ever tally in the Premier League.
On 7 August 2020, he scored the opening goal in a 2–1 home victory against Real Madrid, knocking them out of the Champions League in the Round of 16. It was his 100th goal for City in all competitions, becoming the first Englishman to reach this figure for the club since Dennis Tueart in 1981. On 15 August 2020, Manchester City lost 3–1 against Lyon in the Champions League quarter-finals, in which Sterling missed an open goal chance to level the score, as it was 2–1 for Lyon.
2020–21 season
On 7 February 2021, Sterling scored a goal in a 4–1 away win over his former team Liverpool, to reach his 100th goal with Manchester City under Pep Guardiola in all competitions. On 29 May, he played in the 2021 UEFA Champions League Final, where Manchester City lost 1–0 against Chelsea.
2021–22 season
Sterling scored his 100th Premier League goal, a penalty, scoring the only goal of the game in the 1–0 home win over Wolves on 11 December 2021. Sterling was later bestowed with the Premier League Player of the Month award for December 2021.
International career
Youth teams
Sterling's international career coincided with the introduction of the "home nations agreement." It was not until September 2009 that FIFA agreed to the proposals by the English, Northern Irish, Scottish and Welsh Football Associations to update the agreement, allowing players who were educated in their nation for five years or more to become eligible for their national team. Sterling first represented England at under-16 level in November 2009 in a match against Northern Ireland. When speaking of the possibility of playing for Jamaica, Sterling said, "When it comes to that decision, that is when I will decide, but if Jamaica calls for me, why not?"
Sterling was selected to play for England for the 2011 U-17 World Cup. He scored a long-range goal in England's opening 2–0 win against Rwanda in Pachuca. He also scored against Argentina in the second round in a match where England won 4–2 on penalties. On 10 September 2012, Sterling was called up to the senior England squad for the first time for a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Ukraine, where he was an unused substitute. In early October he was called up for the first time to the England under-21 squad and made his debut as a substitute during a match against Serbia on 16 October. He scored his first goal for England U21 on 13 August 2013, in a 6–0 win against Scotland.
Senior team
Sterling made his senior debut for England on 14 November 2012, starting in a friendly away to Sweden. On 5 March 2014, Sterling earned his second cap and was named man of the match as England beat Denmark 1–0 in a friendly match at Wembley Stadium.
On 12 May 2014, Sterling was named in England's 23-man squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. In a pre-tournament friendly on 4 June, against Ecuador in Miami on his fourth cap, Sterling slid into Antonio Valencia, who reacted by grabbing Sterling's neck; both received red cards for their actions. Valencia later apologised for his reaction. On 14 June, Sterling started in England's opening group match, a 2–1 loss to Italy in Manaus, and was rated as the team's best performing player by the BBC.
On 27 March 2015, Sterling scored his first senior goal for England in a 4–0 UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier against Lithuania at Wembley Stadium. On 9 October 2015, Sterling scored his second goal of the qualifying campaign in a 2–0 victory against Estonia, by which point the team were already qualified. He was one of 23 players chosen for the final tournament.
He was named in the 23-man England national team squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
After a run of 27 games without a goal for England, Sterling scored twice in a UEFA Nations League group game against Spain on 15 October 2018. England went on to win the match 3–2.
Sterling scored his first hat-trick for England on 22 March 2019 in a 5–0 win over the Czech Republic at Wembley Stadium in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier.
In October 2019, Sterling scored a brace in a 6–0 defeat of Bulgaria. Sterling's first goal in the game meant that he equalled a record held jointly by Eric Brook and Francis Lee of the most England goals scored by a Manchester City player (10). Sterling's second goal in the game meant that he became the sole record holder in this respect (although his second goal in the game was his twelfth England goal overall, it was his eleventh as a Manchester City player).
In November 2019, Sterling was dropped from the England team after clashing with international teammate but club rival Joe Gomez.
On 13 June 2021, Sterling scored the only goal against Croatia to kick off England's UEFA Euro 2020 campaign with a winning start. On 22 June, he also scored the only goal in a 1–0 win over the Czech Republic to help England finish top of Group D. On 29 June, he scored the first goal against Germany in the round of 16. England won the game 2–0 and progressed to the quarter finals. On 7 July, during England's semi-final game against Denmark, Sterling won a penalty in extra-time when the score was 1–1. He was accused of diving in this incident by ex-Liverpool/Manchester City player Dietmar Hamann and on social media. The penalty was saved, but the rebound was scored by Harry Kane, for England to progress to the final.
Style of play
Sterling plays as a winger, attacking midfielder or striker, though he is more comfortable as a natural winger. Sterling has been praised for his adaptability and ability to play wide, at the tip of a midfield diamond and centrally, offering flexibility. Known for his pace, low centre of gravity, and dribbling skills, Sterling has been compared to Alexis Sánchez by his former manager Brendan Rodgers. Rodgers has also praised him for offering a "real threat," his use of pace with composure and his maturity. Despite his small stature, he also possesses considerable upper-body strength, which aids him in withstanding challenges, and retaining possession.
Former Barcelona midfielder Xavi said in November 2014 that Sterling is good enough to play for the La Liga club, praising his physical and technical qualities. In April 2015, BBC Sport columnist Phil McNulty wrote that Sterling was "very good with the potential to be outstanding" but remained a "work in progress" due to inconsistent performances. He also wrote, "He is blessed with natural pace that makes even the best defences and defenders take a step back."
Personal life
In 2013, citing the influence of his mother, Sterling was quoted as saying he was "not 100 per cent religious but my belief is strong. When the time is right, I will fully be Christian." He added that he put his faith in God and that he prays regularly. He has one daughter, Melody Rose, born in 2012 after a brief relationship. His middle-name Shaquille comes from his grandmother, who was living in America at the time and wanted to name him after Shaquille O'Neal.
On 8 August 2013, Sterling was arrested for an alleged common assault on his former girlfriend, a model. He was found not guilty at Liverpool Magistrates Court on 20 September, when the complainant was unable to offer consistent evidence. A few months earlier, on 20 May 2013, a charge of common assault on a different woman was dropped after a witness failed to turn up to court.
In April 2015, Sterling was photographed by the Sunday Mirror allegedly smoking a shisha pipe, and by The Sun allegedly inhaling nitrous oxide for recreational purposes. Manager Brendan Rodgers said, "I don't think it is something you should be doing, it's as simple as that...Young players make mistakes. As long as they learn from them, that is what is important."
In June 2017, following the Grenfell Tower fire in which 71 people died, Sterling made a "substantial" donation to those affected by the fire.
On 16 December 2017, Sterling was attacked outside Manchester City's training ground by a man who used racist language towards him. Four days later, 29-year-old Karl Anderson, a convicted football hooligan, pleaded guilty to racially aggravated common assault and was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison and a £100 fine. The Guardian praised Sterling's resilience and courage in deciding to play only four hours afterwards.
Sterling has an M16 rifle tattooed on his leg for which he received criticism from anti-violence groups; in response Sterling said that the tattoo had deeper meaning and referred to his father who was killed when Sterling was two years old. There has been criticism of how the British tabloid media, such as The Sun, cover and treat Sterling with articles being deemed unfair and racist by pundits including Ian Wright.
Sterling has been named as one of the 100 most influential Black Britons, with his inclusion in the annual Powerlist in both the 2020 and 2021 editions.
Sterling was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2021 Birthday Honours for services to racial equality in sport.
In November 2021, Sterling launched his own charitable foundation at the Ark Elvin Academy, his former school. The Raheem Sterling Foundation will 'educate, empower and inspire young people to become better prepared for the future and to embrace opportunities to achieve greater social mobility.' Speaking at the launch, Sterling said: "My foundation is built on my experiences, successes and the many challenges I overcame, I now want to help young people achieve and be the best they can be.”
Sponsorship
In 2012, Sterling signed a sponsorship deal with American sportswear and equipment supplier, Nike. He appeared in an advertisement for the new Nike Green Speed II alongside Mario Götze, Theo Walcott, Eden Hazard, Christian Eriksen and Stephan El Shaarawy in November 2012. In January 2013, he modelled the new Nike Mercurial Vapor IX. In May 2021 he announced that he signed multi-year deal with New Balance, he will be wearing the Furon v6+ boots.
Career statistics
Club
International
England score listed first, score column indicates score after each Sterling goal
Honours
Manchester City
Premier League: 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21
FA Cup: 2018–19
Football League/EFL Cup: 2015–16, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21
FA Community Shield: 2019
UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2020–21
England
UEFA European Championship runner-up: 2020
UEFA Nations League third place: 2018–19
Individual
Liverpool Young Player of the Season: 2013–14, 2014–15
Golden Boy: 2014
UEFA Champions League Team of the Group Stage: 2015–16
UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season: 2018–19, 2019–20
Premier League Player of the Month: August 2016, November 2018, December 2021
PFA Team of the Year: 2018–19 Premier League
PFA Young Player of the Year: 2018–19
FWA Footballer of the Year: 2018–19
UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 2020
Orders
Member of the Order of the British Empire: 2021
References
External links
Profile at the Manchester City F.C. website
Profile at the Football Association website
1994 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Kingston, Jamaica
Footballers from Wembley
English footballers
England youth international footballers
England under-21 international footballers
England international footballers
Association football wingers
Queens Park Rangers F.C. players
Liverpool F.C. players
Manchester City F.C. players
Premier League players
FA Cup Final players
2014 FIFA World Cup players
UEFA Euro 2016 players
2018 FIFA World Cup players
UEFA Euro 2020 players
Black British sportspeople
English people of Jamaican descent
Jamaican emigrants to the United Kingdom
English Christians
People acquitted of assault
English victims of crime
British anti-racism activists
Golden Boy winners
Members of the Order of the British Empire | en |
doc-en-3999 | The Church of the Holy Innocents is a heritage-listed Anglican church at 130 Rossmore Avenue West, Rossmore, City of Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Richard Cromwell Carpenter and Edmund Blacket and built from 1848 to 1850 by William Munro. The property is owned by Anglican Church Property Trust Diocese of Sydney. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 24 August 2018.
History
Traditional owners
The original inhabitants of the Liverpool area were the Gandangara people. The pre-European landscape of the area consisted of open eucalyptus woodland. Across this country the Gandangara people utilised many of the flora and fauna resources during everyday life. Many aspects of the local landscape would have held spiritual importance for the Gandangara people. It is unknown if the land upon which the Cabramatta village or the church lands associated with the Church of the Holy Innocents was used for any specific economic, settlement, or spiritual/sacred purposes by the Gandangara.
British invasion and settlement
From the early 1800s European settlers began to encroach on Gandangara lands and settle on what they named the Liverpool plains. Directly organised British colonisation of the area commenced in the 1810s during the governorship of Macquarie (1810–1821) through the alienation of land and the imposition of the rule of British law. Land alienation proceeded through the issuing of large land grants to prominent settlers who had the means to establish extensive stock runs. This resulted in the area being sparsely settled with family estates dotted throughout the landscape. These stock runs were often quite isolated with the main meeting and social places being the few local churches or other public amenities such as stores, pubs, and post offices situated along the main thoroughfares of the region.
Colonisation of the area continued during the 1820s and 1830s under Governors Brisbane (1821–1825) and Darling (1825–1831). However, by the mid-1820s there was a change in the surveying system of the colony undertaken under the orders of Lord Bathurst, which took a more progressive outlook to the future of the colony. This was in response to difficulties in the land surveying department in the early and mid-1820s where the surveying of the numerous grants allocated by Governors Macquarie and Brisbane had not yet been carried out. Lord Bathurst's plan required that the colony be systematically surveyed and split up into counties, hundreds, and parishes and that township, village, public road, school, burial ground, and church reserves be situated in appropriate locations for future need as the local population increased and more free settlers immigrated to the colony. This systematic survey of the entire colony, the Nineteen Counties or the Limits of Location, was eventually carried out by Major Thomas Livingstone Mitchell, Surveyor General from 1828. Overall, the imposition of this settlement model on the Australian landscape was one of the early attempts by the British authorities to recreate a British agricultural landscape, dotted with small farms and villages, in the colony.
Lord Bathurst's also ordered that one-seventh of the land of each county, according to extent and value, was to be put aside as the Clergy and School Estate. The purpose of this estate was to fund and support the Established Church of England and its clergy in the colony, as well as the education of the colony's youth in Anglican principals. To manage these grants, Lord Bathurst detailed that a Clergy and School Lands Corporation should be established to manage their sale, which would then provide funds for the religious and educational development of the colony.
During the surveying of the colony a township reserve was situated in the Parish of Cabramatta, within the County of Cumberland, located to the southwest of Liverpool on the east bank of South Creek. This township was also named Cabramatta and formed the only township reserve allocated to this parish, as the remainder had been granted away during the 1810s and early 1820s. This township reserve was close to the estates of Horningsea Park (Joshua John Moore) and Cow-de-knaves (John Jamieson) and in 1830 the Bellfield Farm estate was established to its north. A school and church reserve was allocated to the Cabramatta village reserve when it was created around 1827. This reserve was one acre in size and came, over time, to comprise an eastern half for a school and church and a western half for a burial ground.
Due to the excesses of Governor Macquarie with regard to the construction of public buildings in Sydney and other areas of the colony during his period in office, Colonial officials in London dictated that public needs be met more modestly by Governor Brisbane during his tenure. As a result of this and Lord Bathurst's new plan for the surveying of the Colony, Brisbane established the Clergy and School Lands Corporation in 1826 to manage the provision of education and religious needs to the colony. This corporation was run by a committee of Anglicans which included Archdeacon Thomas Hobbs Scott, the Reverend Samuel, and three prominent Anglican laymen. One of its goals was to provide simple schools and rectories for the local populations in rural areas. It was to have been financed by the sale of the Clergy and School Estate lands, as well as other investments, but funds were slow to be amassed via this method since no land was allocated to the corporation until 1828 (due to issues in the colonial surveying department). As a result, the corporation had only limited funds to operate during its early years. Thus, they operated by building modest, often timber, vernacular buildings in places of need that could serve as both schools and churches. To facilitate this the architects, Joshua Thorp and William Aird, provided the corporation with some designs for simple chapels and school-church buildings. Ultimately, the Clergy and School Lands Corporation was not a success and its activities were suspended in 1829, before its charter was finally revoked in 1833, following complaints from the other denominations about the dominance of the Anglicans.
In 1827 the Clergy and School Lands Corporation built a simple slab timber school/church hall on the southeast corner of the church reserve in Cabramatta township. This small building was typical of those constructed by the corporation in rural areas to serve the educational and religious needs of these small communities. The hall had a capacity of 100 people and from its opening the acting school master was the Reverend A. Lideliard. This new hall was located in the vast parish of the Cow Pastures which was under the stewardship of the Reverend Thomas Hassall (1794–1868) from its conception in 1826. It is likely that Hassall occasionally visited this hall to perform services as he toured his parish, with regular services being conducted by a local curate.
Soon after the construction of the school/church hall in 1828 the building required further additions and repairs. These works were carried out by an Edward Pender and consisted of laying flooring and skirting, providing church furniture (sofas, a table, and seating for children), and lining and jams for the windows and doors. By 1829 the building was being used once every Sunday for services and in 1830 Reverend Hassall was noted as being the rector or officiating minister of Cabramatta which still had a population of a 100. This suggests that in the years following its construction the hall was used by the populations of the surrounding estates regularly for worship and teaching, along with perhaps other community purposes. Education was the purview of the Church of England during this period and it is likely that the local minister, Reverend Hassall, arranged for the appointment of a qualified headmaster or mistress of the school.
After the school/church hall at Cabramatta was erected a cemetery was established at the rear of the school and church reserve. The first recorded burial in this cemetery was a four-month old baby boy, William Fox, on 22 November 1829. This burial and several others during the 1830s and 1840s were registered at surrounding churches (such as St Lukes, Liverpool). It is possible that earlier burials from 1825 or 1827 onwards occurred in the church grounds, but these were unregistered. From 1848, when new lands were granted to the Anglican Church under the Church Act for the construction of the Church of the Holy Innocents, this cemetery was officially granted as a burial ground and a register of burials kept from 1851.
Despite the repairs made in 1828, by 1832 the slab timber school/church hall was beginning to fall into disrepair and Archdeacon William Broughton advised Reverend Hassall that the building needed to be repaired or demolished. Consequently, in December 1832, Hassall commissioned substantial repairs to the hall by Joseph Heron to improve the buildings suitability as a church. The documentation for these repairs reveals that the building had a school room and two small "back" rooms. At this time there was still one chaplain (Hassall) servicing Cabramatta and the surrounding region, which was now described as the Cook district and also included Mulgoa, South Creek, Camden, and Stone Quarry Creek.
The following year (1833) Robert Bell, the owner of the estate to the north adjoining the Cabramatta town reserve, petitioned the government to finally establish a township and offer the town allotments at auction. Bell hoped to add to his estate through this process and provide himself with a road access to his property via Bringelly Road. Following this request the government further investigated the site, but the Surveyor General reported to the Colonial Secretary that the reserve was not on the great road, was "ill-watered" and, therefore, not suitable for the establishment of a town. Consequently, it was not until 1840 that the town allotments were put up at auction and Robert Bell was able to purchase the majority to add to his estate.
Plans for a permanent church at Cabramatta
In 1836 the local Anglican community were using the hall (log built school house) for services on a fortnightly basis with its capacity being recorded as 60 people. The passing of the Church Act this year encouraged Bishop Broughton to begin plans to construct a permanent and substantial church at Cabramatta for this district. At this time the populations of the surrounding estates were growing and a need was seen for a more permanent and auspicious church. Two hundred pounds was soon subscribed, mainly by the local population, for the cost of this church. The local community felt that this new church should be dedicated to the Holy Innocents. This name indicates the "high church" leanings of the local congregation and their designs for the church. In contrast "low church" churches are normally named after saints. The Feast of the Holy Innocents, after which the church is named, is more of an orthodox catholic tradition.
Governor Burke's (1831–1837) 1836 Church Act granted state recognition and support for the main denominations operating in Australia: the Church of England, Presbyterian Church, and Catholic Church. It provided extra funding through a pound for pound subsidy for new churches costing between 600 and 2000 pounds. However, before a church could be built the local area was required to prove, through a petition, that at least 150 residents of the particular denomination were present and would use and support the church. This Act was designed to forward the construction of churches of these denominations across the colony while also providing funding for the stipends of ministers and, generally, improve the moral condition of the still largely convict population. To further encourage new church construction the Act also made additional land grants available for churches and schools. However, it required new churches to be designed by a professional architect and approved by the colonial architect. Through recognising and assisting other denominations this Act served to diminish the power of the Church of England in Australia, which had previously been the de facto Established Church of the colony. This was especially so after Bourke later extended the Act to include the Methodist, Wesleyan, and Baptist Christian denominations, as well as Judaism. In this manner, the Act helped to foster a religious pluralism in the colony.
Broughton had arrived in Australia in 1829 to fill the post of Archdeacon of NSW. He was a High Churchman and firm supporter of the Church of England and would not countenance deviation from its established rules in the colony. At the time of his arrival there were only eight parish churches in the colony (of which the majority had been constructed by Macquarie) and Broughton soon sought to remedy this situation. When back in England in 1835–1836 he organised for an annual 1000 pound grant from the English Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, as well as other immediate gifts, that allowed him to bring clergy to Australia and begin the work of building churches and rectories throughout the colony. As an amateur architect and enthusiast in ecclesiological architecture Broughton also procured suitable drawings and working plans for churches. While the 1836 Church Act gave considerable impetus to church expansion, great organisation was required to see a church constructed, and Bishop Broughton was a tireless and long travelling organiser who helped see the construction of many churches. He consecrated or dedicated almost a hundred church buildings throughout his long episcopate career demonstrating his organisational skills and dedication to this cause.
In 1836 Broughton was elevated to the Bishopric of the new see of Australia. Just prior to this, in 1835, he had been exposed to the work of the Oxford scholars that came to be known as Tractarians. Although Broughton never considered himself a Tractarian, he was influenced by their work and sympathised with and supported them by giving them appointments where possible. This support of the Tractarians, and by extension the Cambridge Camden Society, led Broughton to establish Gothic architecture as the most suitable for ecclesiological architecture in the colony. Prior to the mid-1830s gothic ornamentation had only been used on the exterior of new churches in an amateur fashion and it was only just beginning to be seen as a suitable style for "modern" ecclesiological architecture. This state of affairs continued into the early 1840s due to a lack of skilled tradesmen and competent and knowledgeable architects, despite the incentives of the Church Act. It was not until the mid-1840s that an influx of Scottish tradesmen and architects such as Edmund Blacket began to alleviate this situation. Prior to this the Anglican Church Act norm had been small symmetrical churches with almost double cube proportions, symmetrical north and south porches placed midway along the length of the church, western bell-cotes, and detailing such as buttresses, hood-moulds, and pinnacles. From the 1840s there was a definitive move toward medievalism in Anglican ecclesiological architecture as the Gothic Revival movement took hold in the colony and by the mid-1840s there was a definite commitment to archaeological fidelity (a commitment to correct medieval detail) in gothic architecture.
The construction of the Church of the Holy Innocents
Throughout the early 1840s efforts continued towards the construction of a permanent church at Cabramatta, but it appears that funds were slow to be raised due to the collapse of the colonial wool industry. This is likely as many of the local large estates holders were among those who subscribed towards the construction of the church, including the holders of "Vermont (J. J. Riley Esq)", "Berling (Mrs S. Lowe)", "Bellfield (Robert Bell Esq)", "Retreat Farm (Alfred Kennerley Esq)", "Newstead", "Eastwood", "Wilton Park (A. J. Lidingtone)", and "Exeter Farms". In 1845 when the Reverend George Vidal was appointed to the Parish of Denham Court and the Cabramatta area was subsumed into this parish it was reported that services at the school/church hall were held fortnightly and attended by an average of 20 people. However, while services were held as Cabramatta regularly, confirmations and marriages were held at St Mary's Denham Court.
Despite the incentive of the Church Act and the assistance of Bishop Broughton it took the local congregation and the Anglican Church until 1846 before the necessary funds (311 pounds) were gathered to commence the design and construction of the new church at Cabramatta. Bishop Broughton chose a Gothic Revival design produced by one of the Cambridge Camden Society's leading architects, Richard Cromwell Carpenter. Carpenter had designed and built St John the Baptist Church at Cookham Dean in Berkshire, England in 1844–45 and it was a copy of this design that Bishop Broughton had acquired through Reverend William Horatio Walsh, a correspondent of the Society's journal. Reverend Walsh had met Edmund Blacket when he had been appointed to finish Christ Church St Laurence in 1843 and been introduced to Gothic architecture by him. They, subsequently, became close friends as Christ Church was Blacket's parish church and Reverend Walsh, therefore, his Rector and one of his great supporters. The finished design of Christ Church in 1845 was unapologetically High Church and Tractarian and caused a great scandal among the Evangelical Anglicans in the colony . Reverend Walsh became a leader among the colonial Tractarians, which explains his promotion of Carpenter's Gothic Revival inspired church design to Bishop Broughton. The Church of St John the Baptist, Cookham Dean, had been described and lauded in the societies' journal "The Ecclesiologist" when it was completed in 1845, to which Bishop Broughton and other members of the colonial clergy subscribed. In this article it was described as a fourteenth century style church of "a very simple" and "most satisfactory design" but "not mean or starved" and "of unpretending but solemn character". It is highly likely that it was these properties of the design that brought it to Broughton's attention and inspired him to acquire copies of the drawings. Previously a copy of this design had been acquired by Bishop Nixon of Tasmania and it was used to construct a church at Buckland, Tasmania between August 1846 and January 1849.
Edmund Blacket, soon after his arrival in the Colony in 1842, had come to the attention of Broughton. He subsequently made use of Blacket's knowledge of Gothic architecture to further his plans to provide proper ecclesiological buildings within his diocese. Blacket, as Diocese Architect, amended and drew up the construction plans for the new Cabramatta church based on the Carpenter design provided to him by Bishop Broughton. The dictates of Gothic Revival architecture at this time commended and encouraged the authentic replication of medieval designs. In this tradition Blacket kept most of the prominent elements of Carpenter's design, while decreasing the size of the church, changing its construction materials from stone to brick, adding to some aspects of the design, and designing the interior nave and chancel furniture and trimmings. He likely also set out the tracery geometry for the building. Blacket also definitely designed the beautiful fourteen century style stone font as this design is extant within his papers at the Mitchell Library. In this manner, the Church of the Holy Innocents remained an authentic Carpenter design while being adapted to an Australian location and landscape. In December 1849 Blacket became the Colonial Architect and in this capacity had the responsibility of supervising the continued construction of the church.
Prior to the construction of the church, a survey was undertaken of the church lands in March 1848 in association with the granting of additional lands for the new church under the Church Act (this included the original church reserve). Following this grant the church lands now comprised three acres which were described as: two roods for a school house associated with the United Church of England and Ireland; two roods for a dwelling house, garden, and other appurtenances for the clergyman; and one acre for a burial ground. The trustees of these church lands were John Campbell, James John Riley, and Edward Lummas Moore. Two road reserves were also added to the Cabramatta town plan to the east and west of the new church lands at this time.
The foundation stone for the Church of the Holy Innocents was laid on 28 December 1848 (Holy Innocents Day) by Bishop Broughton with an accompanying ceremony. Holy Innocents Days or the Feast of the Holy Innocents is a festival held by the Christian Churches that commemorates or mourns the massacre of male children by King Herod during his attempts to kill the infant Jesus (the Slaughter of the Innocents). These children were considered to be the first martyrs by the early church. For some years prior to this the local congregation had continued having services in the school/church hall and on this day a service was held in the building that was officiated by the Reverend George Vidal.
Bishop Broughton's speech at the ceremony was somewhat political in tone, referring to recent events that had eroded the position of the Church of England as the colony:
It is likely that Broughton was making a statement with the design and construction of this church about the status of the Church of England in colonial society and what its future directions should be (i.e. High Church and Tractarian). Its first reverend, George Vidal, was a recognised "High Churchman" and Tractarian and was sympathetic to the ideals of Bishop Broughton and the Camden Cambridge Society.
Construction of the Church began immediately afterwards and was overseen by the builder William Monroe. Monroe was a local Liverpool builder already with some experience in church construction within the local area. He had immigrated to the colony in the early 1840s as part of a scheme to encourage tradesmen to settle in the colony. Munro's detailed accounts of the building works are extant at the NSW State Archives, which shows that he was a skilled and experienced builder and able to produce a first rate result with minimal drawings and supervision. His later building work included a Catholic Church at Berrima that brought him to the attention of Bishop Polding who became his patron. Throughout the 1840s and 1850s he steadily gained in experience so that he could act as an architect and by the late 1850s he had been appointed Diocese Architect of the Sydney Catholic Church, a position he served throughout the 1860s. Later in 1873 he also acted as the architect for the Presbyterian College of St Andrew at Sydney University. However, he has been described as a poor architect, despite his experience in building a number of churches designed by prominent architects.
According to the common procedures of the Church Act the construction work was regularly inspected by Edmund Blacket acting as Colonial Architect. His inspections allowed him to certify the accounts for the construction and report to the Colonial Secretary so the government funds for the work, 350 pounds, could be paid out. The church was completed in October 1850, just under two years after the commencement of construction, and it was consecrated by Bishop Broughton on 7 November 1850. The following year a brief report appeared in the Ecclesiologist, authored by Canon Horatio Walsh, describing its small nature but commenting that "its forms and details within and without show[ing] a most satisfactory example of ecclesiological development".
Operation of the Church of the Holy Innocents
Throughout its life the Church of the Holy Innocents at Cabramatta, and then Rossmore, has been situated in two Parishes: Denham Court and Cobbitty. It was attached to the Parish of Denham Court up until 1877 when it was moved into the boundaries of the Parish of Narellan-Cobbitty. It was then moved back into the boundaries of the Parish of Denham Court in 1901. From 1901 to 1925 this "parish" was known as the Mission District of Denham Court and Rossmore (which included Minto until 1916). In 1926 Denham Court and Rossmore were made a parish.
At the time of the construction of the Church of the Holy Innocents the incumbent for the Parish of Denham Court was the Reverend George Vidal (1815–1878) who became one of the High Churchmen of the colony. He is known to have had some sympathy for the ideals of the Cambridge Camden Society and Tractarianism. Reverend Vidal was ordained by Bishop Broughton as a Deacon in 1840 and as a Priest in 1841 before being appointed to the Parish of Denham Court in 1846. He remained in this parish, serving at St Mary the Virgin Church at Denham Court and the Church of the Holy Innocents at Cabramatta until 1855 when he was transferred to the parish of Mulgoa (near Penrith). In 1867 he was appointed incumbent of Christ Church, St Laurence, Sydney and soon after appointed a canon. He remained in this position until his death in 1878.
After the construction of the Church of the Holy Innocents the original timber slab school/church hall continued to be used as a community hall (and possibly a school) until c.1886 when a new weatherboard and galvanised iron hall was built. This was during the early years of the Parish of Cobbitty's management of the church. This new Church Hall was intended to serve as a place where community gatherings could be held and funds raised for the upkeep of the church and church yard. From 1902 the hall was also used as a school until 1920 when Rossmore Public School was established on the opposite side of Bringelly Road, During WWII the hall was again used as a government school for a brief period from 1939 onwards. Community gatherings continued to be held in the hall until 1982 before the building was demolished in 1987. The current brick rectory to the southeast of the churchyard was constructed in the same year with the Reverend Ross Nicholson serving as the first curate.
The old school/church hall was not demolished when the new church hall was built in the 1880s and it appears to have continued in some form of use up until 1931 when it was destroyed by bushfires according to oral tradition.
Appendix 1: The Tractarian Movement and Cambridge Camden Society
The early nineteenth century was a time of revolution in doctrine and liturgy for the Church of England as it faced challenges to its dominance and a curtailment of its privileges in Britain as the UK moved more towards secularism and religious pluralism. These changes led many Anglicans to fight back against what they saw as unjust attacks against the proper English Church and attempt to revitalise it to restore its prominence.
The Oxford or Tractarian movement, named after their publication "Tracts for the Times", was formed at Oxford in 1833 as a new school of churchmanship. Initially, it was a focussed on ascertaining the rightful position and nature of the Church of England within contemporary society. It had been formed as a protest against the State and liberal pressure being directed against the Church of England at the time and was part of the Church taking stock of its purpose and mission. However, as it rapidly grew and was influenced by the Romantic Movement it morphed into a widespread affirmation of the spiritual and historical integrity and apostolic character of the Church of England. It insisted that the sacramental character of the Church be given proper reverence. The movement argued for the reinstatement of some older Christian traditions of faith and their inclusion into Anglican liturgy and theology. Overall, Tractarianism focussed on the Catholic heritage of the church and the apostolic succession, espoused that the liturgical emphasis should be on the sacraments, and was strongly opposed to any segregation in church based on social differentiation. At this time the liturgical emphasis of the Church of England was on the spoken word with the pulpit being the focus of attention and there was commonly social segregation through the use of rented pews for the wealthy and open galleries for the poor.
The emphasis of Tractarianism on the sacraments reflected the devotion of the movement to the supernatural. For them the sacraments acted as "an outward sign of an invisible inward happening" where the minister was the magical link between the congregation and God. Symbolism served as the means by which the link between the real and supernatural worlds were expressed. In this manner the following architectural forms symbolised or represented: the nave the Church Militant; the rood the Church Expectant; the chancel the Church Triumphant; three steps the Trinity; the octagonal form Eternity; the eagle for St John; the alb purity; and the stole as the priest's reminder of the yoke of his responsibilities. The Tractarians also incorporated the Gothic (or medieval) spirit into their movement. This involved both the incorporation of this spirit into theology, but also the interrelating of Gothic architecture with "historical Anglican thought and practice".
Tractarianism was, overall, a divisive movement, as among its supporters it generated much excitement, but at the same time it brought about resolute and firm opposition among its, often Evangelical, opponents. The nature of the movement to look towards the medieval past for inspiration led its liberal critics to label it as retrogressive and its Evangelical opponents as pro-Roman Catholic and a threat to the Protestant Church. Indeed, several of the movement's leaders seceded to the Roman Catholic Church.
There was some focus by this movement on colonial spheres where a lack of establishment allowed greater scope for change, particularly in contrast to the restrictive conditions in England. This was especially the case during the earlier phases of the movement when its ambitions were Empire wide in scope. The early nineteenth century was a period of expansion of the British Empire and in each new colony the Church of England was forced to establish itself. The Tractarians perceived this to be an excellent opportunity to create models of their new order to demonstrate to their British audience and acted to provide support for colonial bishops in terms of clergy, funds, and designs, just when they were most needed. In NSW the reduction of the Church of England to denominational status after the 1836 Church Act garnered the movement some sympathy among colonial clergy. It became established in the colonial church in the 1840s under the patronage of Bishop Broughton and invigorated the local church, but at the cost of more than a century of conflict within its circles. Generally, "High Churchmen", such as Bishop Broughton were persuaded by the Tractarian arguments, but the older, usually Evangelical, colonial clergy were opposed to and infuriated by it.
The Cambridge Camden Society, later the Ecclesiological Society, was originally established to study the design and execution of ecclesiastical ornaments and buildings. This organisation was closely allied with the Tractarian movement as their goal was to provide structural expression for the liturgical and doctrinal ideals they developed. They eventually settled on Gothic architecture as being the most fitting for church construction and promoted these designs in Britain and across her colonies. In accordance with their goals they had very stringent architectural standards and design requirements. The society advocated an architectural form known as "symbolic sacramentality" which was a system where the material fabric of the structure was designed to symbolise or embody some abstract meaning and through which an expression of liturgy could be articulated structurally. In essence the society aimed to develop a style that could best embody "both liturgical and architectural beauty without striving for effect".
This society aimed to implement the reformations of the Tractarian Movement through igniting a change in ecclesiological architecture in England. The favoured design or icon of the society ultimately came to be an idealised version of the 14th Century English country parish church and particularly the designs modelled after this type by its favoured architects in the 1830s and 1840s. This design stressed the proper definition and separation of the nave and chancel; the allocation of the chancel with fair proportions; the placement of the font at the entrance to the church; the addition of an exterior porch; the provision of aisles with the subsequent threefold division of the nave symbolising the holy trinity; the provision of an un-galleried nave furnished with open benches; the establishment of the chancel, sanctuary, and altar as the focus of the congregation through their elevation with steps (ideally three each); the sub-division of the chancel into a chorus cantorum and sacrarium; and the alignment of the church so that it faced east. Church design should also encourage the exclusion of the congregation from the chancel. A tower was not considered an essential element, but if provided should be at the west end or at the crossing of the church if it featured transepts. The most ideal gothic style was the Decorated dating to between 1260–1360 (13th–14th Centuries) and building materials stone, or less so flints, with bricks only being used as an alternative when neither was available. In this manner, a church should emphasise auditory and hierarchal values in its architecture. This design was in contrast to the traditional early nineteenth century style that featured high box pews, triple-decker pulpit, and a western gallery containing harmonium and choir.
The society's development during the 1830s–1850s coincided with an intense period of church building in England which was often rationalised as being a response to population growth associated with the Industrial Revolution. At this time the society was optimistically encouraging the building of churches and growth of the faith in anticipation and in response to population growth, as well as a means of re-converting much of the wayward rural population that were in need of redemption. As such, many of its members held a missionary zeal to spread the word of Tractarianism and develop a common faith across the Empire. This period lasted until the early 1860s (after 50 years of intense church building) when the emergence of a secular alternative eroded the power of the church and led to a decrease in church attendance and patronage.
In accordance with the interest of the Tractarian movement in Colonial spheres the Cambridge Camden Society also attempted to spread their influence in this direction. This took the form of dispersing acceptable drawings for a range of ecclesiological correct church designs, including most prominently those of the rural country parish church design, through clerical networks and their own publications to assist in educating and training colonial clergy and architects in ecclesiology. This was particularly achieved through colonial clergy gathering appropriate designs and information on their visits back to England. There was some attempt to provide suitable designs for different climates, but usually faithful English designs were favoured by local populations, despite their unsuitability in some cases.
Ultimately Tractarianism and the Cambridge Camden Society brought about a gradual move towards a more sacramental form of worship and the introduction of a separate choir within the Church of England over the second half of the nineteenth century. This resulted in most churches across England being converted in accordance with the Cambridge Camden Society's requirements (through the construction of new churches or the restoration or remodelling of existing churches) and the substitution of music for speech in common doctrine in accordance with the shift from the word and the pulpit to the altar and the sacraments. Consequently, over this time Tractarianism gradually replaced Evangelicalism as the norm in the Church of England in Britain.
In the colony Tractarianism, despite some crises, continued to develop under Bishop Broughton up until his death in 1853. The new Bishop of Australia was the Evangelical Bishop Barker and he encouraged the Anglican Colonial Church to move towards an Evangelical revival that generally preferred the Low Church approach to Anglican worship.
Appendix 2: Richard Cromwell Carpenter (1812–1855)
Richard Cromwell Carpenter throughout his career rose to become one of the most prominent ecclesiastical architects in England. He was strongly associated with the Gothic Revival Movement, Victorian High Church, and Cambridge Camden Society.
Carpenter was born in Clerkenwell, London, in 1812 and educated at Charterhouse School. His professional career began in 1827–1828 when he was apprenticed to John Blyth and it was soon discovered that he had an inclination for ecclesiastical architecture. His architectural career began to take off in the 1830s with his first executed commissions being for secular projects. In 1840 he married Amelia Dollman (1821–1891) and together they had four children.
Carpenter's career as an ecclesiastical architect blossomed during the 1840s. Between 1840 and 1841 he was introduced to the Cambridge Camden Society by A. W. N. Pugin, a leading architect of the Gothic Revival movement, and became a convert to the movement and soon one of the society's favoured architects. He was strongly associated with the "High Church" and the Cambridge Camden Society over his career with these connections providing a great many of his firm's commissions. Over his career he designed 28 churches, of which half were built, and several cathedrals, which all remained unexecuted. He also restored 36 churches, two cathedrals, and an abbey. Among his church designs were characteristic plans for town and rural churches that came to mark a "Carpenter" church. His "town" churches were usually substantial hall churches that were intended to be accompanied by a dominant spire. His "rural" churches were an idealised reproduction of a fourteenth century country parish church. They were small and simple and featured a separate chancel and nave and western bell cote, as well as an emphasis on mass in their design. They had the following characteristics: a dominant nave and chancel that featured a structurally evidenced division; aisles that were subsidiary spaces; a bell-cote to summon the laity to worship and which signified the consecration; nave and chancel featuring sharply pitched roofs and aisles with lean-to roofs and a lack of a clerestory; an elevated chancel and raised altar; buttresses serving structural and symbolic purposes; the use of local and honest building materials; and the overall style being first or second pointed.
Towards the end of his career several of Carpenter's designs were included in the Cambridge Camden Society's second edition of the Instrumenta ecclesiastica, which was the premier design book of the society. This edition was published in 1856, a year after Carpenter's death from tuberculosis at the age of 42 at his home in London. At his death some members of the society considered Carpenter architectural skill to be superior to that of Pugin as he was "safer and more equable" and had an exquisite eye for colour. His success was deemed to lie in his ability to ensure the keeping of "the harmony of parts and general unity of proportion" within his designs.
The Church of the Holy Innocents is based on Carpenter's "rural" church design. In particular the design of St John the Baptist, Cookham Dean, Berkshire (1844–1845) which was exported to Australia and resulted in the design of the Church of the Holy Innocents and St John the Baptist, Buckland, Tasmania (1846–1848). Specifically, the followings aspects of the Church of the Holy Innocents are characteristic of this design: the steep roofs (unnecessary in the Australian climate), dominant bell cote and gable cross, symbolic buttresses, wooden porch, and geometric widows. In this manner, the Church of the Holy Innocents is strongly associated with this strand of Carpenter's ecclesiastical career and demonstrative of his notable designs and his connections with the Cambridge Camden Society and Tractarianism.
Appendix 3: Edmund Thomas Blacket (1817–1883)
Blacket is recognised as one of Australia's leading architects of the nineteenth century, especially in the field of ecclesiological architecture. He was an innovator in ecclesiological architecture from the 1840s through to the 1880s, who, over his long career, produced a large number of high quality churches.
Blacket was born at St Margaret's Hill, Southwark, Surrey, England on 25 August 1817. His father was the merchant James Blacket and his mother was Margaret Harriet (nee Ralph). He was educated at Mill Hill Congregational College and then spent three years in the family trade business before deciding to pursue a different calling. Initially he found employment in his brother's mill in Yorkshire before joining the Stockton and Darlington Railway Company around 1837 as a surveyor and engineer. While working for this company he became a skilled draftsman and surveyor, which were skills that were to serve him admirably later in life. His success as an engineer prompted his father to reward him with the funds to undertake a year travelling England sketching and recording details of medieval architecture. Between 1838 and 1841 he undertook many similar smaller journeys during which he produced many picturesque sketches of medieval architecture. After leaving Yorkshire in 1841 Blacket spent a year in London employed in inspecting schools for the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Blacket married Sarah Mease (1818–1869) on 21 May 1842 at Holy Trinity Church, Wakefield, Yorkshire, after overcoming considerable opposition to the match amongst both families. His father's reluctant approval allegedly required that Blacket leave the country, but it is also possible that the new couple sought the opportunities of the new Australian colony for their own purposes. Soon after they married, Edmund and Sarah sailed to Sydney, arriving on 3 November 1842. Blacket is thought to have carried letters of introduction to Bishop Broughton and Charles Nicholson, which allowed him to be appointed valuator to Bourke ward, Sydney and, most importantly, the inspector of the Church of England schools in the colony at the start of 1843. This position required that he design and supervise the construction of many school buildings, parsonages, and churches, and he was allowed to establish a private practice in May 1843. This role allowed him to present his architectural skills to Bishop Broughton who at the time was undertaking a rigorous campaign of church building and required someone with good architectural skills to assist him. Therefore, Blacket was soon able to establish a modest architectural practice and become known colloquially as the "Church Architect". Over the following years, he won respect for his sound work on a number of commissions and demonstrated his outstanding knowledge of Gothic styles through the construction of a number of new churches, as well as the redesign and completion of a number of unfinished cathedrals. This led him to be officially appointed Diocese architect by Bishop Broughton in 1847.
On 1 December 1849 Blacket was appointed Colonial Architect, replacing Mortimer Lewis, and he remained in this position until September 1854. During this time he remained Diocese architect and continued to oversee work on a number of cathedrals and churches he has begun previously to this appointment. However, generally, this period was a time of stagnation in the colony's building industry due to the gold rushes that drew away the local workforce. On 30 September 1854 Blacket became The University of Sydney official architect, while retaining the right of private practice, and he subsequently designed many of its original buildings. From this time his reputation spread and grew throughout the colony and his architectural practice thrived accepting commissions on schools, colleges, banks, hospitals, commercial buildings, domestic buildings, and numerous Anglican churches. This diversity of work allowed him to be more creative architecturally and further develop the Gothic style in his ecclesiological work, while also experimenting with the Italianate style for commercial buildings.
Sarah Blacket died in 1869 leaving Edmund with four sons and four daughters to raise and provide for. Three of his sons, Cyril (1858–1937), Arthur, and Owen, spent time in Blacket's practice. Cyril had joined the practice in 1872 and afterwards spent time travelling Britain, Western Europe, and North America, before returning in 1880 and becoming a partner. This caused the firm to become Blacket & Son. Edmund passed away only a few years later, on 9 February 1883, at his home in Petersham. Blacket was a stout and steadfast Anglican known for his good public character. He was respected and admired across the colony for his honesty, diligence, accuracy, fortitude, and propriety. Through his architectural career he scattered the colony with many handsome gothic churches and fulfilled one of his life's great ambitions.
Blacket was a self-taught architect and dedicated adherent of the "archaeological" or correct school of Gothic architecture and was in this way not a Tractarian, but an Anglican of the Established Church. Archaeological gothic was the Early Victorian fashion, as publicised by the Camden Cambridge Society, and required strict adherence to and understanding of medieval gothic styles. As an archaeological gothicist Blacket's goal when building new churches was to create replicas of English medieval parish churches. To accomplish this during the early portion of his career (up to around 1860) Blacket operated by basing his designs on existing English churches (usual contemporary Gothic Revival churches) and then incorporating published medieval details available in copy or pattern books, magazines, newspapers, or his own note books. This was the approach any colonial architect had to use when designing a gothic building in Australia. While operating in this manner Blacket created some beautiful and imposing churches and he was particularly well known for his meticulous detailing and how he exploited good craftsmanship to reveal the intrinsic qualities of building materials. Blacket had a deep knowledge of gothic architecture and he continued to keep abreast of developments in the Gothic Revival movement and this allowed him to consistently, knowledgably, and effectively piece together the stylistic motifs of his churches.
During the early stage of his colonial career Blacket's ecclesiological work was dominated by Bishop Broughton and his amateur architectural desires and motivations for the colonial church based on his High Church ideals and support for the Cambridge Camden Society and Tractarian movement. Broughton's connections in England (and his trips back there) allowed him to keep abreast of ecclesiological advances which influenced his designs for ecclesiological architecture in the colony. Blacket's youth, inexperience, and social obligations required that he submit to Broughton's architectural designs and the requests of other clerics and influential laymen that he design exact replicas of notable English village churches. Consequently, between 1843 and 1845 Blacket was merely involved in drawing up designs developed or provided by Bishop Broughton and ensuring that they were faithfully and competently built. The trend for English replicas in ecclesiological architecture continued through the 1840s and 1850s due to the English and Anglican backgrounds of Blacket's clients. This was in order to recall the glories of medieval England, as well as demonstrate the manner of proper Anglican worship. In time Blacket became the leading colonial architect specialising in catering to this Anglomania.
The 1840s was Blacket's time of major experimentation. It is possible to view his early ecclesiological works as experiments with the wide range of forms and styles permitted within the strict English tradition and precepts of the Gothic Revival. This was despite the fact that the majority of the churches he designed during this period were replicas of English designs. These churches and cathedrals were created by following specific designs sent from England or available in magazines, newspapers, and pattern books. This was in accordance with the dictates of the premier Camden Cambridge Society architects, such as Pugin, who encourage the following of English tradition in church design and not personal originality. Overall, Blacket's work during this period allowed him to develop a series of prototypes for specific styles he would consistently use throughout his career.
After Blacket became Diocese architect in 1847 and Colonial Architect in 1849 he grew in confidence and assurance and began to be more resolute with relation to his design choices for new buildings, allowing him to express his own voice. His time as colonial architect did not produce many public buildings, but it was successful in terms of routine maintenance and administration. Bishop Broughton died in 1853 and his successor Bishop Frederic Barker abhorred Tractarians and ecclesiologists and had no interest in architecture which gave Blacket free rein on further church designs. However, he still heavily favoured Gothic designs over the rest of his career according to his conviction that Early English styles were proper for small churches and Perpendicular styles for collegiate buildings.
During the 1850s and 1860s Blacket moved beyond imitation utilising his experience from the 1840s to create his own vision of the English medieval parish church based on his own repertoire of designs and building details. This resulted in him refining a type of small stone rural church that was to be reproduced a large number of times across different areas of the colony throughout the remainder of this career. These churches were based on the medieval English ideal and featured "separately-roofed parts, little bellcotes, gabled roofs, and pointed windows" and Blacket's variant was perfect for the predominately rural NSW colony. This became the archetypal Victorian Church of NSW and it was continually requested by Blacket's clients. The 1860s also became the era of the Blacket town church which became archetypal among Anglicans throughout the rest of Blacket's Career. By this time, as ecclesiological architecture moved away from Pugin's strict emulative medievalism, more innovative and original Gothic Revival churches were beginning to be produced in the High Victorian style. Blacket kept up with this architectural trend throughout the late 1860s and 1870s actively bringing in the High Victorian style into his ecclesiological work. Unfortunately, Blacket's later churches are less inventive or varied than his early ones as once he became the dominant authority on ecclesiological architecture in the colony he tended to safely reproduce churches of particular styles based on the design repertoire he developed in his youth.
In conclusion, Kerr (1983:13) has characterised Blacket's architectural career as containing three periods: the 1840s experimental period which created the most important churches for the development of church architecture in the colony of the time; the 1850s–1860s period of individual expression and development of a repertoire of designs for specific building types and features which resulted in the construction of his most loved churches; and the late 1860s to early 1880s experimentation with High Victorian Gothic styles which created his major ecclesiological works.
Description
This item comprises the Church of the Holy Innocents (and its original furnishings), its associated cemetery and churchyard, and the archaeological site of the original slab timber school/church hall. These features are situated on four lots which were granted to the Church of England in 1848 under the 1836 Church Act. They are nonsequentially arranged from north to south as 1, 4, 2, and 3.
Archaeological site of the original school/church hall
The original slab timber school/church hall was constructed in 1827 by the Clergy and School Lands Corporation. It was located in the southeast corner of the original 1825 Church Reserve and is thought to have been a simple, cheap, multipurpose building like others constructed by the corporation. According to oral tradition it was destroyed by a bushfire in 1931 after it had been replaced by a new Church Hall in .
Its archaeological remains are potentially extant within the churchyard in the southeast corner of the current Lot 4. This area comprises an indistinct flat platform area adjacent to two pepper trees. Unfortunately, no archaeological features or artefacts are evident besides this platform. However, this site could feasibly contain archaeological resources such as foundation remains and preserved construction materials including post-holes, hearths, or wall-base slots. Other occupational deposits, such as underfloor layers or rubbish pits, may also be present within, and surrounding, the site.
Cemetery
The cemetery was originally contained within the western half of the original church reserve (the present Lot 4) to the rear of the original school/church yard. The first known burial in the cemetery was conducted in 1829 and it continued to be used throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. A few burials are present from the twenty-first century, with the most recent being from 2007. The cemetery continues in use today and is mostly confined to Lot 4, but intrudes slightly into Lot 2.
Due to how the cemetery was originally located at the rear of the original church reserve, burials have spread from the rear fence of the churchyard towards the Church Street frontage over time. After the construction of the Church of the Holy Innocents in 1848–1850 this involved the burials spreading along its south side in the area that provided access to the church (via the porch). Some burials are located directly behind the church, and a few are present on its north side (where the vestry entrance is located). As such, the oldest burials in the cemetery, which comprise a typical variety of Georgian and Early Victorian graves and monuments, with some featuring fine detailing, are located in the rear section. This section includes graves for a number of members of the original pioneer families of the local area such as the Bells from nearby Bellfield Farm. Burials from the early twentieth century are located closer to the west side of the church and around the current path from the church porch to the parking area. The most recent burials are located on the east side of the cemetery.
In all, the cemetery comprises approximately 100 extant graves or memorials. Those with visible inscriptions date from the 1840s through to the recent past. However, there are several sandstone graves that are now too eroded for their inscriptions to be made out. Around a dozen headstones have also fallen over and become disassociated with their original graves. Some of these are lying across the cemetery and others have been rested up against the north side of the church. The remaining graves and headstones range in condition from poor to good with subsidence being a major issue. A fair number of headstones are listing to one side and are in danger of collapsing. However, there are plans in 2017 for conservation works by the Diocese of Sydney to stabilise these headstones. Remarkably the cemetery has suffered little to no vandalism likely due to its semi-rural location. According to available historical records there must be a fair number of unmarked graves in the cemetery, particularly those dating to the earliest periods of use (late 1820s–1840s).
An unusual hardwood engraved gravestone is preserved in the vestry that possibly belongs to John McKaughan and dates to 1848. It is unknown where this gravestone was originally located.
As of a site inspection on the 28 November 2016 the cemetery has recently been subjected to good gardening maintenance following the acquisition of the property by the Diocese of Sydney. This has resulted in the removal of much of the previous vegetation overgrowth at the rear of the cemetery and the general cleaning-up of the whole area.
Churchyard
The churchyard is confined mostly within Lot 4 (but perhaps partially within Lot 2) and is generally well kept and features scatted various trees plantings, but mostly eucalyptus. However, due to a lack of fencing around this feature it blends into the undeveloped Lot 1 to the north and the carpark and modern buildings to the south in Lots 2 and 3. As such, today the Churchyard is to some degree indistinct and difficult to demarcate, where in the past it featured fences to separate it from the surrounding lots.
The church property only features a complete fence along its west and south boundaries: on the west side this consists of a modern wire fence and on the south side a modern corrugated metal fence. However, there are elements of an older fence along the east boundary which is evident as a long low mound. Other extant fence elements include corner posts at the north and south ends and four matching posts and a surviving panel of a white picket fence in poor condition around the driveway entrance to the churchyard. These large hardwood posts have decorative "onion dome" carved tops and their associated picket fence features turned timber pickets. Square wooden posts from a former picket gate are also located at the rear of the cemetery along the west boundary of the property where a former grass pathway from the church porch to the rear of the property was located.
A modern driveway leads from the front gate of the churchyard to the south side of the church. A few remnant pine and cypress trees from former more extensive plantings along this feature are extant along its length. Another paved path leads from the church porch to the dirt carpark on Lot 2 adjacent the new Church Hall. It bisects the early 20th Century section of the cemetery. One or two pine trees from former extensive plantings along the Church Street frontage are also extant.
The southern Lots 2 and 3 contain the dirt carpark, brick rectory (1987), and stone and brick church hall (1980s). The rectory is currently leased out to tenants and the Church Hall is leased to the local Baptist Church for services and other community uses. The brick rectory, stone and brick church hall, and dirt carpark do not add to the significance of the place and are considered to be non-contributory features.
The northern Lot 1 is undeveloped and is covered in a small stand of immature eucalyptus trees (dating to after the 1940s). Recently the grass beneath them has been mowed back and cleaned up removing any high grass or low bushes. This lot is considered to add to the significant setting of the church and is a contributory feature.
The Church of the Holy Innocents
The following is summarised from the 1989 Conservation Study by Noel Bell, Ridley Scott & Partners except where otherwise noted. It includes comparisons of the Church of the Holy Innocents with the available historical drawings of Carpenter's design for the Church of St John the Baptist, Cookham Dean that illustrate how Blacket reinterpreted and amended this design adding his own distinct flavour to the church.
Exterior
The Church of the Holy Innocents is a small rural church with a two-bay nave, a disproportionally large chancel/sanctuary, a north vestry, a south open timber porch, and a simple brick bell-cote at the western end of its steep shingled gabled roof. It is orientated in the traditional manner, east-west, with the sanctuary at the east end. The layout of the church is of the English type (rather than the antipodean) with the porch on the south side of the nave, the vestry on the north side of the chancel, and the pulpit in the northeast corner of the nave. Usually in Australia these features are on the opposite sides.
The church is founded on clay or slate and is built on brick foundations. It features a sandstone plinth course with a chamfered weather which projects out from the walls. Above this is a slate damp proof course. The church walls are constructed of fine-quality red-blue mottle sandstock bricks within a soft lime mortar in English bond face brickwork. They are reinforced with engaged brick buttresses placed at all the corner returns and along the wall length at regular intervals. At sill height along the nave walls and the east wall of the chancel is a continuous projecting sandstone string course. The entire church also features sandstone tracery and trimmings on the doors, windows, and buttress caps. The brickwork at the top of the walling is corbelled out to form the eaves detail and support the thrust of the roof framing. Overall, the buttress and string courses of stone trim break the wall at regular intervals and create a pleasing contrast . The bricks used in the church construction are of a very regular gauge (230 x 65mm) showing that they are of good quality. The sandstone dressings on the building have been tooled to a very high standard, but the very fine grained sandstone if of an inferior quality. It was quarried locally at Cobbitty. The use of brick, highlighted with sandstone, to construct the church is illustrative of Blacket's adaption of the Cookham Dean design (which was built in stone) to suit local conditions.
All six church windows are of a gothic style and feature elaborate stone tracery. The four nave windows and the single example in the vestry all have two lights and simple quatrefoil tracery in the heads. The large east chancel or sanctuary window is far more detailed with three lights and a very elaborate tracery panel (varied quatrefoil) and features a brightly coloured geometric glass design. This glass design was funded by the women of the parish in 1850.
Research by Robin Hedditch suggests that the stained glass east window was likely locally made by a glazier using a restricted palettepalette of coloured stained glass. These types of windows are characterised by the use of plain, unpainted coloured (stained glass), a restricted colour palette, and simple geometric patterns favouring straight lines. During this period it was costly to import stained glass windows from Britain and there were no trained stained glass artists in the colony until the early 1840s. Consequently, many churches built during this time conquered this situation by employing a local glazier (lead and plumbing tradesmen) to make a "stained glass" window using local materials. These materials consisted of sheets of imported stained glass in a limited range of colours (generally crimson, purple, green, blue, yellow, and amber) that the glazier would cut into simple, non-figurative, geometric designs. This naive style was shortlived as by the 1850s the goldrushes brought wealth to the colony and the ability to commission windows from Britain or from newly arrived British trained stained glass artists. This research is ongoing and when completed could prove that this style of stained glass windows represents a rare, local response to the fashionable Gothic Revival movement by non-trained glass artists using locally available materials. This could mean that the east window is one of the earliest known surviving examples of "stained glass" in Australia while also being a rare example of naive 1840s locally-made stained glass windows. The east window is also likely an excellent example of this naive style as the local glazier when to great lengths to create a suitably rich, gothic design with the limited means available. The glazier was also largely successful in devising simple lead lines to showcase the rich, but limited, colour range of available stained glass. The design also appears to be attempting to emulate the highly prized "mosaic" effect that was a hallmark of Gothic Revival windows combined with a Victorian love of "crazy" design. The glazier's skills is also apparent in the use of clear glass in the background to highlight the bright colours and the repeating geometric pattern. This creates an effect of restless colour within a strong vertical repeating framework that is impressive within the church given its size and the east window being its main decorative object (submission provided by Robin Hedditch).
Another element of the church design elaborated by Blacket is the well-shaped hood moulds terminating in an uncarved label stop which each window features. This is a common Blacket detail that was designed to allow the carving of bosses or decorative features in the future. Blacket's reinterpretation of the design is also evident in the internal form of the windows as each features chamfered stone reveals that follow the external gothic pointed arch. In contrast, the windows on Carpenter's drawings have revealing arches. All the church windows feature wire mesh security fittings on the exterior. One of the north windows in the nave and the vestry window have been modified and fitted with a small rectangular hinged section to allow air flow into the building.
The church features three doors: two external and one internal. All are constructed of solid cedar (60mm thick) and are ledged and hung internally and close boarded externally and retain their original Gothic style hardware. The external arched porch entry door is of a double door type, and hung on hard forged decorative "gothic" strap hinges and features catches and a rim lock. It originally was grained in imitation of oak but is now painted. The single type external vestry door is of a similar design but is square headed. Due to its greater exposure to the elements this door is showing signs of weathering and is deteriorating. It appears to have had one panel replaced in the recent past in an unsympathetic manner. The single type interior arched vestry door is similar to the other doors, but its external face is different with it featuring alternating higher and lower panels (a ribbed design).
Each of the gabled roofs of the church (nave, chancel, vestry, and porch) are pitched at 60 degrees in order to give perfect balance to the proportion of the wall below. The nave roof is the highest indicating its importance as the home of the congregation. Each of the three other roofs break down far below the line of the nave roof indicating their subordinate function. The roofs were originally covered in hardwood shingles, but those on the nave were replaced in the 1940s with asbestos shingles. The nave roof is capped with a rolled ridge capping and features a fine stone capped bell cote at its western end. The east end of the Nave roof originally featured a stone cross that was removed sometime after the 1970s. In contrast to Cookham Dean this bellcote is provided with added emphasis by being separated from the main wall plane by the gable verge. This change is further evidence of the refinement of the design by Blacket as he commonly used this design feature on smaller churches throughout his career. Otherwise the bell cote is in keeping with the Carpenter "Rural" church design of the church. The bell cote was restored in 1991 as part of works on the west facade.
The hardwood (cedar) shingles covering the chancel, vestry, and porch roofs were removed during restoration work between 1991 and 1993 and replaced with hardwood "she oak" shakes. Unfortunately, this replacement lining on these roofs has now become weathered and is deteriorating. However, there are plans by the Diocese of Sydney to undertake conservation works in the near future. The chancel roof appears to be in good condition except for its guttering on the north side which has become dislodged at the east end and is caught on the vestry roof.
The timber framed open porch is finely detailed and features a sharply pitched timber shingled roof and stone flagging. It leads straight into the southern entry of the nave. While today this feature is open its lower panels were originally filled in with cedar planking to make this structure half-open. It was completely restored in 1992–1993 which involved it being dismantled and rebuilt with any deteriorating elements being replaced with appropriate replacements. This restoration process also involved re-levelling and re-aligning the porch with the chancel entrance. This porch is different from the Carpenter drawings and marks another refinement or amendment of the design by Blacket. It is markedly different in terms of proportion (being far larger in relation to the church proportionally than its Cookham Dean counterpart) and is far less elaborate as it lacks the carvings and cusping of Cookham Dean. Comparatively this feature of the church is likely unique for this period (late 1840s) in NSW/Australia.
Internal
The church interior is generally plain or restrained in detail and economical in style, but is well proportioned and fitted out. Originally, the internal walls were lime washed and the stone window reveals bare, but both these surfaces have been painted in the recent past. The interior walls of the nave have also been rendered to create a dado to counteract rising damp. The exposed, stained, hammer beam truss roof ceiling and the dark Australian red cedar interior furnishings provide a pleasing contrast to the otherwise white interior of the church. This interior design of the church would have almost wholly been the responsibility of Blacket as the Cookham Dean drawings to not provide any details or instructions on how the church interior was fitted out.
The entire interior space of the church is floored with sandstone flagging. On top of this in the nave are two banks of open timber seating on raised timber platforms. Open pews on raised timber boxes such as these are common in Blacket churches and are evident of his addition to Carpenter's design. This design also results in the centre of the nave featuring a narrow stone flagged aisle leading to the chancel. On the north and south sides of the nave exterior small modern ventilation holes have been created to air the space beneath these timber platforms. At the rear of the nave in the southwest corner is a large sandstone font designed in a fourteenth century style by Blacket directly adjacent the interior entrance from the porch. This beautifully carved feature has in the past been considered to be over elaborate when compared to the general plain and economical nature of the church interior. A simple Australian red cedar pulpit is located in the northeast corner on a raised sandstone platform and is accessed by possibly concrete steps (these may be a modern addition). The pulpit has been lowered sometime in the recent past by around 50 cm as indicated by marking on the surrounding walls.
The nave contains several memorials fitted on to its walls including:
An honour roll inscribed with the names of 23 men from the district who served in both World Wars (north wall).
A marble plaque sacred to the memory of Lieutenant William Brown who fell at Mouguet, France, on 3 September 1916 (north wall).
A marble plaque sacred to the memory of Henry Robert Lowe , born 2 November 1831 – died 19 October 1880, of "Briling" Farm (east wall); and
A marble plaque scared to the memory of Laura Lowe, born 1830 – died 9 July 1902 (south wall).
The chancel is separated from the nave by a brick chancel arch. This section of the church is narrower than the nave and two steps higher. The sanctuary is separated from the chancel by another step and a low cedar communion rail (sacred to the memory of Mr and Mrs A. V. McCann – 1962). Within the sanctuary there is a decorative carved stone sedilia on its southern wall and decorative plaster dados on the walls. During the site inspection on 28 November 2016 a small range of furniture was arranged throughout the chancel and sanctuary, including four chairs, an alms box, a pray kneeler, and a rectangular timber altar along the east wall of the sanctuary, beneath the window. Generally the existing furniture, with the exception of the modern communion table, is similar to that described in Munro's accounts suggesting that they are original. In 1989 the original communion table was known to survive, but its location was not mentioned.
As of 1989 the original High Victorian Gothic design communion set survived and was still in use. They comprised a solid silver Chalice and Pattern housed in a wooden carry case and were of English manufacture and possibly of an A. W. G. Pugin design. Within the chancel are also two small brass vases and a brass cross that lack any subscriptions and a book of common prayer scared to the memory of Charles Henry Thorsby. The alms dish, bible, and prayer book in the church are all thought to be original furnishings.
The vestry opens off the north side of the chancel and during the site inspection (28 November 2016) was used partially as storage. It is decorated in the same manner as the nave and chancel, but its sandstone flagging appears to be subsiding in the northwest corner and the walls in the southwest corner have been water damaged from a leak in the roof.
The church ceiling consists of a simplified hammer beam roof with close butted boarding and an arched brace and collar tie. This design is considered to be extremely fine and is evidently more elaborate than Carpenter's drawings indicating that it is another refinement of this design by Blacket.
Condition
As at 10 July 2017, The Church of the Holy Innocents retains most of its original fabric and has not been modified in an extensive manner. However, poor maintenance during the recent past has resulted in the deterioration of some of the wooden elements of the structure, such as the porch, chapel, and vestry roofs, and external vestry door. This has in turn resulted in some water and pest damage to the church interior, particularly along the south wall of the chancel and the southwest corner of the vestry. However, recent efforts by the Diocese of Sydney at improving maintenance of the church has enhanced its condition and there are plans to conduct restoration works on the church and its grounds in the near future.
The Church of the Holy Innocents has good integrity and intactness as the majority of its original fabric is extant. The churchyard has fair integrity and intactness as it retains most of its original fabric, but is in need of maitenance works. The churchyard has only poor integrity and intactness as its boundary fence has been removed, although it still exists as an open space.
Modifications and dates
The Church of the Holy Innocents features no major modifications – it is still largely original in form – although there has been some small alterations to different aspects of the building (i.e. removal of stone cross on nave roof, lowering of the pulpit, replacement of the original cedar shingles on the nave roof with abestos shingles, etc.).
Previously, there have been three renovation projects undertaken to restore the church: one in the late 1940s, one in the 1960s, and the other in the early 1990s.
In 1946 prior to the celebrations for the centenary of the church a refurbishment project was undertaken. This involved restoring the roof, repairing the stone flagging, and re-varnishing the ceiling
The third phase of restoration works proceeded on from the conservation study undertaken in 1989. It had identified several elements of the building that required urgent attention and consequently, between 1990 and 1993, work was undertaken to:
Replace damaged stonework on the bell turret;
Repair or replace damaged flashing;
Repair or replace damaged eaves material;
Repair the pointing to damaged brickwork to a high level;
Level the font to avoid further damage or collapse; and
Relay uneven stone flagging and remove cement pointing.
These works were undertaken with the assistance of a financial grant from the Heritage Council (Heritage Assistance Program) and were conducted in a sympathetic manner.
Until recently this item existed in an open rural setting, but the surrounding landscape has been progressively becoming semi-rural over the past few decades as development has extended along Bringelly Road associated with the proposed second Sydney airport at Badgerys Creek.
Heritage listing
As at 28 July 2017, The Church of the Holy Innocents, churchyard, and cemetery is of state heritage significance because of its historical, associative, technical, aesthetic, research, rarity, and representative values. The church is the result of an unusual partnership of two prominent ecclesiastical architects: Richard Cromwell Carpenter, one of the leading English architects of the Cambridge Camden Society, and Edmund Blacket, the most prominent Australian ecclesiastical architect of the nineteenth century. It is the only church in NSW based on a design by Richard Cromwell Carpenter and only one of three in Australia. This church is one of the earliest Gothic Revival churches in NSW recognised as being correct in its medieval detail and thus, an important, rare and representative example of this new wave of church architecture. Its highly detailed, Gothic Revival design renders it remarkable in a state context as a small rural church. The church is also designed according to the principles of the Tractarian Movement, facilitating a change in liturgical emphasis from the pulpit and the spoken word, to the altar and the sacraments associated with a separate choir. The application of a Tractarian design in this small rural church embodies wider debates within the Church of England under Bishop Broughton. The church is also strongly associated with the main group of proponents of the Gothic Revival and Tractarian Movements operating in, or in association with, the Church of England during the 1840s in NSW: Bishop Broughton, Edmund Blacket, Reverend Horatio Walsh, and Reverend George Vidal.
The church, churchyard, cemetery, and archaeological site are associated with several important pieces of legislation relating to the governance and position of religion, and specifically the Church of England, in colonial society during the early nineteenth century. As such, these original features and the church land is able to tell a story about the changing nature of religion and the position of the Church of England in the early colony. The retention of the semi-rural nature of the church, churchyard, and cemetery into the twenty-first century also demonstrates the historic rural landscape and isolation that made the finely designed Gothic Revival Church of the Holy Innocents a remarkable and rare place of worship.
Church of the Holy Innocents was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 24 August 2018 having satisfied the following criteria.
The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales.
The Church of the Holy Innocents is of State historical significance due to its Tractarian design that forms an important early example of this type of architecture in NSW. Bishop Broughton's decision to use the English Tractarian design of Richard Cromwell Carpenter illustrates the progressive changes in the Church of England during this period associated with the Tractarian Movement and Cambridge Camden Society, which controversially promoted a change in liturgical emphasis from the pulpit and the spoken word to the altar and the sacraments associated with a separate choir. Through its design, this church reflects contemporary debates within the Church of England under Bishop Broughton.
The Church of the Holy Innocents is an important early example of the Colonial Church's participation in the Gothic Revival movement, which was Empire wide in scope. The Gothic Revival movement, under the influence of Edmund Blacket, was to dominate ecclesiastical architecture in the colony for the majority of the nineteenth century.
This item is of State historical significance as the site and its development materially demonstrate a range of early nineteenth century legislation related to church building, religious development, and the provision of education within the colony of NSW. The original small reserve for the church, cemetery, and school within the Cabramatta village reserve from 1825 is linked to the restructuring of the colonial surveying system carried out by Governor Brisbane. The archaeological remains of the slab timber church/school hall and the early portion of the cemetery are linked to the Clergy and School Lands Corporation (1826–1833), and the Church of the Holy Innocents and the land from the second land grant are linked to the 1836 Church Act.
In this manner, the item illustrates the attempts by Colonial authorities during this period to develop and improve the colony's moral condition through the establishment of strong religious institutions that had a widespread presence throughout society. It also demonstrates the slow loss of pre-eminence of the Church of England in the colony during this period.
The place has a strong or special association with a person, or group of persons, of importance of cultural or natural history of New South Wales's history.
The Church of the Holy Innocents and its stone font potentially have a strong historical association of State significance with Edmund Thomas Blacket (1817–1883), a prominent ecclesiastical architect renowned for his contributions to the Gothic Revival movement. As Diocesan Architect, Blacket adapted and executed Richard Cromwell Carpenter's design for the Church of the Holy Innocents, and he oversaw its construction as Diocese and then Colonial Architect. While it is still recognisably a rural "Carpenter" church, Blacket's elaboration of Carpenter's design is clearly apparent. This church belongs to the experimental period of Blacket's career when he was still developing his design repertoire and confidence in Gothic Revival architecture. It could be considered to be one of his early successes in Gothic Revival architecture as it has been described as "perfect a mediaeval replica as was ever realised in the colony". Blacket also designed the church's stone font, as well as potentially all the internal fittings and furniture. This item is one of the finest small rural churches Blacket built over his long career.
The church is also strongly associated with the main group of proponents of the Gothic Revival and Tractarian Movements operating in, or in association with, the Church of England during the 1840s in NSW. This group included Bishop Broughton, the main promoter of the Gothic Revival; the Reverend Horatio Walsh a leading Tractarian in the Colonial church; Edmund Blacket, the leading architect of the Gothic Revival; and the Reverend George Vidal, the first minister of the church and a well-known Tractarian and promoter of the Gothic Revival. These clergy and architects encouraged the use of Carpenter's design for this church and oversaw its successful completion as part of a wider effort of promoting these two movements within the Church of England.
The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales.
The Church of the Holy Innocents is of technical significance at a state level due to its Tractarian design which was cutting edge at the time. This design was approved by the Cambridge Camden Society, and prepared by one of their favoured architects, Richard Cromwell Carpenter. While many of the other churches Blacket designed early in his career were based on English designs in the same manner, they do not have the architectural precedents of the Church of the Holy Innocents, which is recognisably a "Carpenter" church embodying the principles of the Tractarian Movement. Thus, it is archetypal of the early stages in NSW of the Empire-wide Gothic Revival movement that was to dominate ecclesiastical architecture in the colony for the next several decades. Its architecture and its high level of detailing for a small rural church renders it exceptional within the state context – the vast majority of small churches were built to vernacular designs with much less exacting attention to construction.
Historically the Church of the Holy Innocents was also exceptional aesthetically for its rural location and picturesque backdrop that finely expressed its isolation, and made this a remarkable and rare place of worship. Over recent decades this rural landscape has been gradually developed to the stage that it is now semi-rural in nature, but the historic rural and isolated nature of this place is still appreciable at the site through the undeveloped lot to the north.
The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.
As the only church associated with Richard Cromwell Carpenter within NSW, and only one of three in Australia, the Church of the Holy Innocents has great research potential within the context of Gothic Revival architecture, and the state's ecclesiastical architecture in general. It can also contribute positively to the study of the Tractarian Movement and High Church within the Church of England in the colony during the early nineteenth century.
The archaeological site of the slab timber school/church hall potentially has good research potential due to its connection with the Clergy and School Lands Corporation. The corporation primarily built plain, cheap, and multi-purpose school/church buildings during its existence between 1826 and 1833 and reportedly only one of these is extant. This archaeological site potentially provides an important resource to investigate the simple wooden buildings erected during this program through any foundation remains or construction materials preserved at the site (post-holes, hearths, wall base slots, etc.). Through other occupational deposits (underfloor layers or rubbish pits) it also has the potential to provide information on activities undertaken within the structure throughout its lifetime.
The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.
The Church of the Holy Innocents is rare in NSW as an early small scale rural Gothic Revival church and a small rural church of a Tractarian design. It is also rare in the context of NSW ecclesiastical architecture as being the only church in NSW, and one of three in Australia, based on a design by Richard Cromwell Carpenter. This design had been purposefully imported to the Colony by the adherents of the Tractarian movement to stimulate the construction of ecclesiastically correct churches in the Australian context.
The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural or natural places/environments in New South Wales.
The Church of the Holy Innocents is representative in the state context as a small rural church of Gothic Revival design of good integrity and intactness. It is representative of a well-designed and executed small rural church, innovative in its application of Tractarian design principles. Most other small rural churches of this period were of vernacular design. Its design is also representative of the early stages of the Gothic Revival and Tractarian Movements in the Church of England in the colony during the 1840s and the expression of the values and goals of these movements in the context of a small rural church.
See also
Australian non-residential architectural styles
References
Bibliography
Attribution
Rossmore
City of Liverpool (New South Wales)
Rossmore
Rossmore
1850 establishments in Australia
19th-century Anglican church buildings
Rossmore
Churches completed in 1839
Articles incorporating text from the New South Wales State Heritage Register
Edmund Blacket church buildings
Edmund Blacket buildings in Sydney
Gothic Revival church buildings in Australia
Gothic Revival architecture in Sydney | en |
doc-en-9725 | A mail-order bride is a woman who lists herself in catalogs and is selected by a man for marriage. In the twentieth century, the trend was primarily towards women living in developing countries seeking men in more developed nations. The majority of the women listed in the twentieth-century and twenty-first-century services are from Southeast Asia, countries of the former Eastern Bloc and (to a lesser extent) from Latin America. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, large numbers of eastern European women have advertised themselves in such a way, primarily from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova. Men who list themselves in such publications are referred to as "mail-order husbands", although this is much less common.
The term "mail-order bride" is both criticized by owners (and customers) of international marriage agencies and used by them as an easily recognizable term.
International marriage agency
Mail-order brides work with "international marriage agencies".
An international marriage agency (also called an international introduction agency or international marriage broker) is a business that endeavors to introduce men and women of different countries for the purpose of marriage, dating, or correspondence. Many of these marriage agencies are based near women in developing countries (such as Ukraine, Russia, Colombia, Brazil, China, Thailand, and the Philippines). International marriage agencies encourage women to register for their services, and facilitate communication and meetings with men from developed regions of North America, Western Europe, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. This network of smaller international marriage agencies is often affiliated with web-based international dating sites that are able to market their services on a larger scale, in compliance with regulations such as the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act. Experian, a market research firm, reports that the top 10 international dating sites attracted 12 million visitors in March 2013, up 29% from March 2012. International dating sites provide a wide variety of online communication, including instant messaging, email letters, webchat, phone translation, virtual gifts, live games, and mobile-based chat. International marriage agencies are frequently referred to as "mail-order bride" agencies. However, many consider the term "mail-order bride" derogatory and feel it demeans foreign women by comparing them to commodities for sale and by falsely implying that (unlike local women), they exercise no judgment over the men they meet and would marry anyone from a relatively wealthy country.
Services offered by marriage agencies typically include:
Introductions
Translation of correspondence between clients not speaking a common language
Excursions, in which a man is introduced to several women interested in marriage
History
In 1620, the Virginia Company recruited mail-order brides for the Jamestown colony, sponsoring the emigration of 140 women in hopes of reducing desertion by the settlers and to avoid the men marrying women from the local Native American tribes. They were sometimes referred to as "tobacco wives", because each male colonist who married a mail-order bride had to reimburse the company for her passage at a cost of 120 pounds of "good leaf tobacco". The women who were brought over by the company were free to marry whomever they chose, even men who were too poor to pay their passage fee. The average age of these brides was 20.
France took a similar tactic in the mid-1600s, recruiting and sponsoring approximately 800 women to emigrate to New France. These mail-order brides were known as the King's Daughters ( or in the spelling of the era). The New France colony had problems similar to Jamestown's: male settlers returning to France or marrying Native American women and leaving the colony to live with their wives' tribes. For the King's Daughters, the government not only paid to recruit and transport them, it also provided each woman with a dowry of at least 50 livres. As with the "tobacco wives" of Jamestown, the King's Daughters had the right to choose their partners and could refuse any suitor. The success of the program is indicated by genetic studies of modern French Canadians which found that the King's Daughters and their husbands were "responsible for two-thirds of the genetic makeup of over six million people".
When New France began its Louisiana colony in 1699, it requested more mail-order brides. These were known as Pelican girls (for the first ship that brought women to the colony, Le Pélican). This program was not successful; the women had been recruited with false descriptions of the struggling colony and had many complaints about their treatment. When women in France heard of the terrible conditions and of how the Pelican girls had been treated, the government was unable to recruit many more mail-order brides. France had to resort to shipping over thieves and prostitutes, known as "correction girls".
There are at least two historical roots of the mail-order bride industry that emerged in the 1800s in the American frontier: Asian workers in the frontier regions (although Asian workers were scattered throughout the world), and American men who had headed west across the United States to the frontier.
Asian men worked through mail-order agencies to find wives as they worked overseas in the 1800s. Key variables determining the relationship between migration and marriage were demographics, legal policies, cultural perceptions and technology. Imbalances between the number of available women and the number of men desiring partners created a demand for immigrant women. As a result of this imbalance, a new system of "picture brides" developed in predominantly male settlements. In the early 20th century, the institution of "picture brides" developed due to immigration restrictions. The Japanese-American Passport Agreement of 1907 allowed Japan to grant passports to the wives of immigrants to America. As immigration of unmarried Japanese women to America was effectively barred, the use of "picture brides" provided a mechanism for willing women to obtain a passport to America, while Japanese workers in America could gain a female helpmate of their own nationality.
European American men sought financial success in the migration West, but few women lived there at this time, so it was hard for these men to settle down and start a family. During the California gold rush in 1849, there were at least three men for every woman, and by 1852 the ratio had increased to nearly seven men for every woman. They attempted to attract women living back East; the men wrote letters to churches and published personal advertisements in magazines and newspapers. In return, the women would write to the men and send them photographs of themselves. Courtship was conducted by letter, until a woman agreed to marry a man she had never met. Many women wanted to escape their present way of living, gain financial security and see what life on the frontier could offer them. Most of these women were single, but some were widows, divorcées or runaways. Mail-order marriages gave Black women an escape from the crushing racial restrictions in the South. In 1885, a group of married Black women in Arizona Territory formed the Busy Bee Club to advertise for wives for Arizona miners, hoping to reduce violence in the mining camps and encourage Black women to move to the area.
To recruit mail-order brides for Oregon, area bachelors combined funds to send two brothers east. The Benton brothers began their search in Maryland, posting "Brides Wanted" flyers. They held meetings at which they described the territory and promised free passage west. More than 100 women accompanied the Bentons back to Oregon. Asa Mercer performed a similar recruiting role for Seattle. Only 11 women accompanied Mercer back on his first trip, but his second was more successful, with more than 100 women travelling to Seattle, accompanied by a New York Times journalist to chronicle the journey. These prospective brides were known as Mercer Girls.
British Columbia welcomed sixty women from Britain, mail-order brides recruited by the Columbia Emigration Society, in 1862. Another twenty women from Australia were bound for Victoria but were convinced to stay in San Francisco when their ship docked there.
In the early 20th century, answering matrimonial ads was a route to entering the United States after immigration limits became more restrictive. It was also a means of escaping war-torn regions. In 1922, two ships docked in New York with 900 mail-order brides from Turkey, Romania, Armenia, and Greece, fleeing the Greco-Turkish War.
Motivations and stories
Eastern Europe
Women in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and other Eastern European countries are common mail-order bride candidates.
Economic and social conditions for women in Russia and other Post-Soviet states are a motivational factor in finding foreign arrangements. 52 percent of Russia's workforce is made up of women, yet according to some sources they often hold low positions of prominence in their home country and work jobs with less respect and lower wages (such as teaching or physician positions); and women earn 43 percent of what men do.
Finding a foreign husband gives a woman a chance to leave her country and find better economic opportunities. Marriage is a substantial part of Russian culture, with 30 years being the age at which a woman is considered an "old maid". With 4,138,273 more women than men from the ages of 15 to 64, marriage opportunities are slim at home and worsened by the life expectancy difference between men (64.3 years) and women (73.17 years), as well as the fact that a large portion of successful males are emigrating out of Russia.
In testimony before the United States Senate, Professor Donna Hughes said that two thirds of Ukrainian women interviewed wanted to live abroad and this rose to 97% in the resort city of Yalta.
Asia
Many international brides come from developing countries in Asia. The countries the women come from are faced with unemployment, malnutrition and inflation. However, economic factors are not the only driving factor for women in Asia to enter the mail-order industry. Filipina women often entered the mail-order industry in the hope of marrying abroad, and then sponsoring their family for immigration. In some cases women were recruited based on their physical appearance, with an emphasis placed on youth and virginity. This is found among boutique agencies, most of which cater to wealthy men from other Asian nations. The majority of Asian mail-order brides come from the Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and China.
Country-specific information
Australia
Since 2003, the Government of Australia's resolve to decrease what was deemed "inappropriate immigration" by then-Prime Minister John Howard has gained momentum. Initial reactions to the program were mixed. However, during the January 2004 visit to Eastern Europe by the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Philip Ruddock, Australian-Russian relationships were strengthened while both nations committed to a timetable for reductions in Russian human trafficking into Australia. The Australian public further embraced its government's new policies following the media circus of the Jana Klintoukh case. This case first exploded into the public's view when current-events program Today Tonight aired footage of a young Russian-born Australian, claiming she was imported via an Internet site and was kept as a sexual slave by her "husband" while being confined to his Sydney home.
Belarus
In 2005, President Alexander Lukashenko attempted to regulate "marriage agencies" in Belarus and make it difficult for them to operate. He believed that Western men were draining his country of women of child-bearing age. However, as most agencies are being run from outside Belarus (either in Russia, other European countries or the United States), he has been unable to stop (or otherwise regulate) this activity.
Cambodia
Thousands of women from Cambodia were mail-order brides to men in South Korea. Viewing the practice as a form of human trafficking, in the 21st century the Cambodian government passed a number of laws, such as prohibiting marriage between Cambodian women and men over the age of 50, a ban on marriage between Cambodian women and Korean men, and a ban on marriages with foreigners (which was rescinded after six months).
Canada
Canadian immigration laws concerning mail-order brides have traditionally been similar to (but slightly less restrictive than) their U.S. counterparts; for instance, previously not requiring the Canadian citizen to prove minimum-income requirements (as has been a long-standing requirement of United States immigration laws). While there is still no formal requirement for a minimum salary, the sponsor must provide evidence of income (such as the T4 income tax slip from an employer) with their IMM 5481 Sponsorship Evaluation. Until 2001 Canada's immigration policy designated mail-order brides under the "family class" to refer to spouses and dependents and "fiancé(e)" class for those intending to marry, with only limited recognition of externally married opposite-sex "common law" relationships; same-sex partners were processed as independent immigrants or under a discretionary provision for "humane and compassionate" considerations. In 2002, the Canadian Immigration Law was completely revised. One of the major changes was conjugal partner sponsorship, available for any two people (including same-sex couples) who have had conjugal relations together for at least one year. Canadian immigration authorities frown upon conjugal-partners sponsorship for heterosexual couples, and now require the couple to marry before a visa is granted (unless serious reason can be demonstrated why the couple is not yet married).
There have been reported instances in which foreign spouses have abandoned their Canadian sponsors upon arrival in Canada or soon thereafter, often collecting welfare, which the sponsor is obligated to repay. In some of the cases, federal immigration authorities have made no attempt to revoke fraudulently-obtained landed immigrant status or deport the claimants, treating cases where one spouse is duped by the other as low-priority and difficult to prove.
A two-year conditional residence requirement (like that in force in Australia and the United States) was proposed in 2011 and is now applied to new arrivals.
China
China is one of the main source countries of East Asian mail-order brides. Vietnamese women are traveling to China as mail-order brides for rural Han Chinese men to earn money for their families and a rise in the standard of living, matchmaking between Chinese men and Vietnamese women has increased and has not been affected by troubled relations between Vietnam and China. Some Vietnamese women from Lào Cai who married Han Chinese men stated that among their reasons for doing so was that Vietnamese men beat their wives, engaged in affairs with mistresses, and refused to help their wives with chores while Han men actively helped their wives carry out chores and care for them. Cambodian women also travel to China as mail order brides for rural men.
Colombia
According to immigration statistics from the United States Department of Homeland Security, Colombia has ranked in the top 10 of countries since 1999 from which fiancées have emigrated for the United States. As well, the number of Colombians being admitted to the United States between 1999 and 2008 using fiancé visas (including children) has increased 321 percent.
A dissertation by Jasney E. Cogua-Lopez, "Through the Prisms of Gender and Power: Agency in International Courtship between Colombian Women and American Men", suggests various reasons for this growth, including continuing cultural inequality between the sexes despite equality being codified in the country's laws (honor killings were not made completely illegal until 1980).
Because of the large number of Colombians wishing to leave their country by marrying foreigners, a black market for marriages to foreigners has developed, with some people allegedly paying as much as 20 million pesos ($10,000) to illegal groups.
According to Colombia Decrees No. 2668/88 and 1556/89, passed in 1988, foreigners are allowed to marry nationals in the country provided they supply the proper paperwork, including a birth certificate and proof that both parties are not already married. A notary is required, but because the laws are open to interpretation, the requirements can vary from notary to notary.
Japan
During the 1980s and 1990s, local authorities started government-led initiatives encouraging marriage between women from other Asian countries and Japanese farmers due to the lack of Japanese women who wanted to live in the countryside. These Asian brides came from the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, China and South Korea. The phenomenon of marrying women from other Asian countries later spread to urban parts of Japan as well.
Philippines
The Philippines prohibits the business of organizing or facilitating marriages between Filipinas and foreign men. The Philippine congress enacted the Anti Mail-Order Bride Law on June 13, 1990, as a result of stories in the local media about Filipinas being abused by their foreign husbands. Because of this, Filipinas often used "reverse publications" – publications in which men advertise themselves – to contact foreign men for marriage to Filipina women.
Successful prosecution under this statute is rare or non-existent as widespread deployment of the Internet in the mid-1990s brought a proliferation of websites operating outside the Philippines which legally remain beyond the reach of Filipino law. One Montana site profiled in an ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs report entitled "Pinay Brides" circumvented the restrictions by characterising its role as that of a travel agency. Thousands of Filipina women marry Americans each year.
South Korea
The New York Times reports, "Every month, hundreds of South Korean men fly to Vietnam, the Philippines, Nepal and Uzbekistan on special trips. An agent escorts each man to see many women in a single day, sometimes all gathered in the same hall". Although these marriages can be successful, in some cases immigrant wives are mistreated, misunderstood and separated from their Korean husbands. One method men use when choosing young girls as wives is "Like a judge in a beauty pageant, the man interviews the women, many of them 20 years younger than he, and makes a choice". The British newspaper The Independent reports, "Last year it was reported that more than 40,000 Vietnamese women have married South Korean men and migrated there." Cambodian women are also popular with Korean men seeking foreign brides, but in March 2010 the Cambodian government banned marriages to South Korean men.
The Korea Times reports that every year, thousands of Korean men sign up for matches with Filipina brides through agencies and by mail order. Based on data from the Korean government, there are 6,191 Filipinas in South Korea who are married to Koreans. After contacting a mail-order agency, the majority of Filipina mail-order brides met their husbands by attending "show-ups", a meeting in which a group of Filipina women are brought to meet a Korean man who is looking for a wife. At the show-up the Korean man picks a prospective wife from among the group, and in a matter of days they are married.
An anthropological study on Filipina wives and Korean men by professor Kim Min-jung of the Department of Cultural Anthropology at Kangwon National University found that these Korean men find it difficult to marry Korean women, so they look for girls in poorer countries with difficult economic circumstances. The Korean men feel that because of the difficult circumstances from which the Filipina women come, cultural differences and the language barrier, they "will not run away". Further, she said, Korean men characterize Southeast Asian women as friendly, hardworking (due to agrarian backgrounds), "docile and obedient, able to speak English, and are familiar with Korean patriarchal culture".
A recent study by matchmaking firm Bien-Aller polled 274 single South Korean men through its website concerning motivations for marrying non-Korean women and found that men choose foreign brides primarily for one of four reasons. "According to the poll, 32.1 percent of the men said they felt the biggest benefit of marrying foreign women is their lack of interest in their groom's educational background and financial or social status. The next best reason was their belief that foreign brides would be submissive (23 percent), make their lives more comfortable (15.3 percent), and that the men would not have to get stressed about their in-laws (13.8 percent)."
Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are sources of mail order brides to South Korea.
The majority of mail order brides from China to South Korea consist of Chinese citizens of Korean ethnicity.
Violence against foreign brides in South Korea
In June 2013, The Philippine embassy in Seoul reported that it had received many complaints from Filipinas who have married Korean men through mail-order, frequently becoming "victims of grave abuses". The Philippine police rescued 29 mail-order brides on their way to marry South Korea men whom Chief Superintendent Reginald Villasanta, head of an organised crime task force, says were "duped into promises of an instant wealthy life through marriage with Korean gentlemen". The women were advertised in online and offline "catalogs" to South Korean men. In many cases however, victims were fed false information about the background of their future spouse and family, and suffered abuse from the South Korean men, which led to "abandonment of the marital home, separation and divorce", Villasanta said.
There have been several murders of mail-order brides in South Korea. On May 24, 2011, one South Korean man "stabbed his Vietnamese wife to death while the couple’s 19-day-old baby lay next to her. The man, a farmer, had been matched up with his foreign bride through a broker. In 2010, another Vietnamese woman was killed by her husband a week after they were married. In 2008, a Vietnamese woman jumped from an apartment building to her death after being abused by her husband and mother-in-law."
In November 2009, Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Luis T. Cruz warned Filipina women against marrying Korean men. He said in recent months that the Philippine Embassy in Seoul has received complaints from Filipina wives of abuses committed by their Korean husbands that caused separation, divorce and abandonment. As language and cultural differences become an issue, the Filipina women are regarded as commodities bought for a price.
Malaysia
Mail-order brides travelled to Malaysia to marry Malaysian men. Mail-order brides include women from Vietnam, Indonesia, and China.
Singapore
Singapore has received Vietnamese women as mail order brides.
Taiwan
Vietnamese and Uzbek mail order brides have gone to Taiwan for marriage.
Turkmenistan
On June 4, 2001, Turkmenian President Saparmurat Niyazov (also known as Turkmenbashi) authorized a decree that required foreigners to pay a $50,000 fee to marry a Turkmen citizen (regardless of how they met), and to live in the country and own property for one year. Authorities indicated that the law was designed to protect women from being duped into abusive relationships.
In June 2005, Niyazov scrapped the $50,000 and the property-owning requirements.
United States
U.S. immigration law provides protection for brides once they arrive. "In 1996, Congress passed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Responsibility Act... Section 652 of this legislation specifically addresses the mail-order bride industry".
On January 6, 2006, President George W. Bush signed the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act (IMBRA) as part of the Violence Against Women Act. The requirements of the law are controversial, and some commentators have claimed that it presumes that American men are abusers.
In enacting IMBRA, Congress was responding to claims by the Tahirih Justice Center (TJC), a woman's advocacy group, that mail-order brides were susceptible to domestic abuse because they are unfamiliar with the laws, language and customs of their new home. The TJC insisted that special legislation was needed to protect them. The TJC asked Congress to consider several notable cases mentioned in the Congressional Record. Critics of IMBRA claim that the TJC failed to ask Congress to consider the relative amount of abuse between mail-order bride couples and other couples (including the thousands of spousal murders that occurred in the US over the past 15 years).
Two federal lawsuits (European Connections & Tours v. Gonzales, N.D. Ga. 2006; AODA v. Gonzales, S.D. Ohio 2006) sought to challenge IMBRA on constitutional grounds. The AODA case was terminated when the plaintiffs withdrew their claim. The European Connections case ended when the judge ruled against the plaintiff, finding the law constitutional regarding a dating company.
On March 26, 2007, U.S. District Judge Clarence Cooper dismissed with prejudice a suit for injunctive relief filed by European Connections, agreeing with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and TJC that IMBRA is a constitutional exercise of Congressional authority to regulate for-profit dating websites and agencies where the primary focus is on introducing Americans to foreigners. Additionally, the federal court specifically found that: "the rates of domestic violence against immigrant women are much higher than those of the U.S. population". The judge also compared background checks on American men to background checks on firearm buyers by stating, "However, just as the requirement to provide background information as a prerequisite to purchasing a firearm has not put gun manufacturers out of business, there is no reason to believe that IMBs will be driven from the marketplace by IMBRA".
Legal matters for mail-order brides in the United States
Marriage agencies are legal in almost all countries. On January 6, 2006, the United States Congress enacted IMBRA., which requires certain actions of some businesses prior to selling a foreign woman's address to a US citizen or resident or otherwise facilitating contact, including the following:
The man must complete a questionnaire on his criminal and marital background
The business must obtain the man's record from the United States National Sex Offenders Public Registry database
The questionnaire and record must be translated into the woman's native language and provided to her
The woman must certify that she agrees to permit communication
A lifetime limit of two K-1 visas is imposed, with a waiver required for the approval of any subsequent fiancée visa
Visa regulations in the United States
In order to bring a spouse into the United States, Form I-130 must be filed, which is an immigrant petition on behalf of a relative. After that, a K-3/K-4 & V-1/V-2 Entry Visa for Spouse must be filed. The Immigration and Nationalization Service advises that "in some cases, it may be to a couple's advantage to pursue a K-1 fiancée visa before getting married. In other cases, applicants may find that it is more cost effective to get married abroad and then apply for an immigrant visa overseas. In many cases, the K-1 visa application process takes just as long as the immigrant visa process". The cost of the visa may be around $2000. Couples must remain together at least two years. There were 849,000 female naturalized citizens between the ages of 20 and 29 and 2,084,000 women of the same age living without U.S. citizenship in 2016, accounting for 13.3% of the female population of that age bracket. "Despite well over 2,000 mail-order marriages a year, there is no information on the amount of mail-order brides entering the United States. The purpose of this law is two-fold: to protect the safety of mail-order brides and to prevent fraud".
See also
Picture bride
Romance scam
References
Further reading
"Romance on a Global Stage", a 2003 anthropology study by Nicole Constable, Professor of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh
Human migration
Matchmaking
Interracial marriage | en |
doc-en-1377 | A summer camp or sleepaway camp is a supervised program for children or teenagers conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as campers. Summer school is usually a part of the academic curriculum for a student to make up work not accomplished during the academic year (summer camps can include academic work, but is not a requirement for graduation).
The traditional view of a summer camp as a woody place with hiking, canoeing, and campfires is changing, with greater acceptance of newer types of summer camps that offer a wide variety of specialized activities. For example, there are camps for the performing arts, music, magic, computer programming, language learning, mathematics, children with special needs, and weight loss. In 2006, the American Camp Association reported that 75 percent of camps added new programs. This is largely to counter a trend in decreasing enrollment in summer camps, which some argue to have been brought about by smaller family sizes and the growth in supplemental educational programs. There are also religiously affiliated summer camps, such as those run by Christian groups and various denominations of Judaism.
The primary purpose of many camps is educational, athletic, or cultural development. A summer camp environment may allow children to learn new skills in a safe and nurturing environment. Summer camp experience can have a lasting psychological impact on the development of a child.
Girls' camps in the United States began to appear around 1900; many of the early camps were located in New England. In 1900, there were fewer than 100 camps in the United States, but by 1918 over 1000 were in operation. Early camps for girls were located in remote, natural areas, and many camps featured a water venue. There were outdoor activities such as canoeing, archery, and hiking. Other types of popular instruction involved handcrafts, dramatics, camp and fire-making. Campers slept in wigwams, tents, or open dormitories. Any of these options encouraged a camper to take responsibility for maintaining her own personal space and to develop self-sufficiency.
Mimicking Native American traditions such as council fires and storytelling generated a sense of community and inspired campers to become conscientious members of a group. Typically, girl campers wore their hair in a version of native style. Uniforms were standard in most camps, but braided hair and headbands were common attire for campers. For camp ceremonies and pageants, girls would dress in special Native inspired dresses, at times even contributing to the handiwork. In this era, camps were considered to be a natural pathway for young girls to develop healthy bodies, self-assurance and a sense of community.
Today's girls' camps offer many activities, such as STEM Camps, sailing, and dramatic arts.
Organization
In most camps in the United States, young adult or teenage supervisors are called counselors or "cabin leaders". In many camps, counselors are assigned to small groups of campers, called "bunks", "huts", "cabins", or "units", who participate in activities as a group, such as campfires, hiking, canoeing, swimming, nature lore, and arts and crafts. Counselors often share living accommodations with their group.
In the United States, counselors for residential camps are typically drawn from older teens and college-aged adults (early 20s) because of the temporary, seasonal and low-paying aspects of the work. International staff are often hired alongside their American counterparts through agencies who vet the staff beforehand. Overall camp supervision is typically done by older camp directors, who lead a team that includes cooks, sports instructors, a nurse, maintenance personnel and counselors. The director and the maintenance personnel have a longer-term affiliation with the summer camp. Professional camp staff organize the preparation of facilities and supplies for the camp season and supervise the maintenance of the camp during the off-season. Camp directors conduct the hiring of seasonal counselors, instructors, and support staff, often during job fairs held on campuses or on online job boards.
At some camps, all campers stay overnight in cabins and eat all their meals in a cafeteria. At some camps, also known as day camps, the campers go home each night. Some other camps allow both day and overnight campers. In the US, residential camps that have overnight facilities are sometimes called "sleepaway camps". Summer camp is often the first time that children spend an extended period of time away from home.
The practice of running residential holidays for children away from their own home seems to have originated in Appenzell in the Alps in 1876, when Pastor Bion set up holiday camps in which children made tree-houses, sang songs, did drama, made kites and had adventure games. Post-war France used Pastor Bion's model to take children who had grown up during the war years, away from cities, and their scheme colonies de vacances became state-controlled, part of their state education system for all children. The American camps developed from a very different cultural root.
Educational camps
In the United States, there are numerous models of camp with an educational focus that cater to students of differing ages and academic interest.
College credit courses
Some camps offer students the opportunity to explore a pre-college experience. Typically, students entering grades 10 through 12 stay in the college dormitories and attend summer classes run by college faculty. At the successful completion of a summer program, course credits are awarded, which in turn are accepted by most tertiary institutions. Typically, colleges in the United States and Canada offer these programs, as it serves as an introduction to students to entice them to attend the college as full-time students based upon a memorable summer experience.
Non-college credit courses
Some camps, such as CTY and Duke TIP, are focused primarily on education or on educational-related activities, such as debate, history, or journalism. These camps are often run by colleges or universities, and are usually for children in junior or senior high school. Instruction in debate and speech is also available for middle school students and incoming high school students all over the country. Educational summer camps are different from summer schools as the summer camps often are not offered for school credit, and often have a significant focus on non-academic activities. Students for these programs are often invited or recruited. Many of these camps, such as Canada/USA Mathcamp and SSP, focus on a specific subject, such as mathematics or astronomy. These camps tend to have selective application processes involving problem solving or an essay about the applicant's interest in the subject.
Academic adventure camps
These provide high school students with the opportunity to study academic topics on a summer adventure travel program, typically in the wilderness or a foreign country. Many include community service as a component of the course. Others also offer college credit with the successful completion of the program.
SAT preparation courses
Various camp programs offer preparation for the SAT Reasoning Test as part of a mixture of academic learning with summer fun. Often the SAT preparation is offered as a full morning immersion while the afternoons and evenings are geared towards homework and recreational activities. These camp programs often outsource their SAT component from test preparation companies like The Princeton Review or Kaplan who provide the teachers and resources.
Enrichment courses
These programs offer a wide range of classes that may have little or no scholastic overlap but are taught with the purpose of broadening the student's conception and interest in many otherwise unknown areas of study. Students typically explore subjects like photography, community service, drama, magic, scuba diving, video production, comic book design, crime scene forensics, cooking, yoga, and similar areas.
Science and nature
Summer camps provide opportunities for children to learn hands-on. One of the oldest and longest-running science camps is the International Astronomical Youth Camp (IAYC) which began in 1969. So far, IAYCs have been held in 15 countries and have hosted 3,468 participants (~1,700 unique), from 81 nationalities worldwide.
Tech camps
Tech camps focus on technology education. These summer camps develop 21st-century skills in areas such as game design, 3D game creation, web design, graphic design, robot building, and programming languages. These summer camps are typically held on college campuses. Many universities now offer technology-focused camps in the summer as a way of reaching future students, generating revenue and providing community service outreach.
Language and foreign culture camps
To meet a growing demand for language education, language camps have developed around the United States. Many of these summer programs are hosted by high schools. Colleges and universities have also created camps using their facilities to host younger students. Foreign countries have established summer schools in the United States to offer education regarding their culture and language. The growing popularity of summer language camps may be related to a growing interest in languages not typically offered in United States high school curricula. Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, and Korean are examples of languages in-demand that do not often appear in a curriculum.
Other type of camps
Art and performing arts camps
Other camps have become summer training grounds for a variety of arts. Many offer elective classes in a range of creative and performing arts activities including visual arts, music, theater, speech, debate, dance, circus arts, rock and roll, magic and other specialties. Some of these programs have a narrow focus on one particular area, while others offer a wide range of programs. Due to the popularity of these activities, many traditional camps have added some elements of the visual and performing arts into their programs as well.
Oftentimes camps will have various totems or traditions that pass from one group of campers to the next, with each group adding something that denotes their time at the camp, often like a time capsule. Painted totems, wood carving, and show programs often accumulate as a sacred object that passes from one group to the next. Cheer camps have popularized the concept of a spirit stick. Performing art camps often run 3 or 4 week sessions that culminate in some sort of performance that parents and families attend.
Sports camps
Summer camps can be found that offer intensive instruction in almost any sport imaginable, or that offer quality instruction and competition in a wide range of sports. Camps are split into groups of day camps and overnight camps. In the United States, overnight sports camps fall into two groups. The more traditional of these offer boys and girls the chance to learn and play many sports. Sessions are typically 3 to 8 weeks long, and some camps have multiple sessions. While many strong athletes attend these camps, a traditional sports camp program also serves the needs of less proficient athletes by having all campers compete on teams picked by ability, so all kids get a chance to contribute to their team's success in their daily competitions. Some of these camps have been operating for more than 100 years. These camps generally focus, through the medium of team sports, on the development of the whole child; not just how they are as an athlete, but also how they are as a person, a bunkmate, a teammate, and a friend. Many of these camps include a variety of non-sports programs as well for a more diverse experience.
Many sports camps are of the second type, which focuses almost exclusively on one particular sport. These camps generally focus on helping each camper acquire skills in a sport that helps them gain confidence and improve their chances of making the team when they return to school. Indeed, some campers are helped to be nationally competitive by way of this kind of intensive summer training. These camps generally run week-long sessions, and some campers may attend more than one session even though the curriculum repeats each week. Some single-sport camps offer longer sessions. Many of the instructors at these camps are coaches of local teams, and thus many athletes get valuable extra time with the coach they play for during the school year (or the coach they hope to play for during the upcoming school year). Such camps are also a good way to learn about potential college scholarships in their sport.
Both multi-sport and single-sport camps tend to be run by experienced teachers and coaches (who typically have summers off from their school responsibilities). Cabin staff, instructors, and counselors are typically college athletes. The best sports camps succeed at challenging aspiring athletes both mentally and physically, while also promoting their social and leadership skills. This is possible in part because many of the counselors attended as campers, and thus there is a vibrant "camp culture" that welcomes new campers into an extended camp family and establishes the high standards that incoming campers are encouraged to achieve. The best sports camps do much more than just improve a camper's soccer, tennis, lacrosse, or wrestling skills; they help each child become a more skillful athlete, a more gracious competitor, a more committed team player, and a more confident person.
Weight loss camps
Weight loss camps are for overweight children, teenagers, and adults to learn about losing weight and keep it off while having a summer camp experience.
Emotional education camps
These kinds of camps are a new way to increase the emotional intelligence of the children. There are some examples of these camps, around the world, for example, Rumbendëll emotional camp, based in Seville, Spain.
LGBT camps
LGBT summer camps are safe spaces designed for LGBT youths to experience the supportive atmosphere they may lack at home. They follow a similar model to summer camps, with traditional activities like swimming, canoeing, and bog runs but also queer activities like "Grave Digging," where kids can bury their old gender identities and deadnames, or learning makeup tips from a drag queen. Identity-affirming camps can improve the psychological well-being of LGBT youth.
Around the world
Australia
Summer camps are largely non-existent in Australia, because the Australian summer break (known as the Christmas holidays) only lasts between six and eight weeks, and occurs over Christmas and the New Year, shorter than in North America. Most children participate in School-camps, Girl Guide/scout camps, or school holiday camps with some religious groups (Such as the Salvation Army and Seventh-Day Adventists) holding week-long Summer Camps. Girl Guides and Scouts offer 'jamborees' which are camps over 1 to 2 weeks. Multiple-week camps are next to unheard of.
Many of Australia's youth music organizations hold annual rehearsal camps in summer including the Australian Youth Orchestra's National Music Camp and Gondwana Choirs Gondwana National Choral School. Other than the Seventh-Day Adventist Summer Camps, most holiday camps are referred to as "Adventure Camps", because they largely do not occur over summer. Many groups hold holiday day-camps for Primary aged children, and often run week-long adventure camps during the Spring, Autumn and Winter breaks.
Australian Defence Force Cadets often and almost exclusively (excepting school-based units) run their extended camps and courses over school holiday periods, which provide food and lodging for cadets over the course of the camp. However, these camps or field exercises often last only one or two weeks and thus do not fill up the majority of the school holidays. This allows the cadets (who are aged 12–18 years and therefore mostly attend school) to attend the camps whilst still completing normal schooling.
Canada
In Canada, summer camps are very popular. About 70% of Canadian camps tend to be affiliated with organizations, while the rest are private. There are also many summer camps for ESL students. Summer camp fairs are held throughout Canada, usually during the winter months. Parents and children can meet camp directors and collect information about summer camps. Admission to these fairs is typically free, and the camps on display vary in their cost from completely subsidized fees to quite expensive.
Some camps are specifically designed to reduce Summer learning loss, particularly in literacy and mathematics. For example, the Council of Ontario Directors of Education (CODE) published the results of their study entitled The Ontario Summer Literacy Learning Project 2010. Then, in 2014 they published a Program Planning Guide to help Boards implement Summer Learning Programs (SLP). After three years of delivering the SLP, they concluded that the programs a) make a difference for students experiencing literacy challenges, b) minimize summer learning losses, and c) in many cases, increase literacy achievements. In recent years the project has included both French and English classes, blended literacy & numeracy, robotics, coding, student mentors, Indigenous activities and English Language Learning, and reports are available online.
Some well-known summer camps focused on science and nature in Canada include Deep River Science Academy, Shad Valley, numerous university-sponsored and hosted day camps including the University of Toronto's Science Outreach, Space Camp Canada and the now-defunct Algonquin Space Campus hosted at the Algonquin Radio Observatory. Safari Science is another camp that is located in Oakville Ontario and provides campers an adventure in learning about their world.
Chile
The Chilean Inglés Abre Puertas (English Opens Doors) program from the Ministry of Education runs each January and July English-language Summer and Winter camps, respectively. The camps take place during the students' vacations, and "are designed to give talented Chilean public high school students the chance to practice English in a more hands-on way through interactive activities including role-playing exercises, field trips, group projects, and competitive games."
China
Most of the summer camps are sponsored by the educational bureau. However, nowadays, there are more privately held camp programs. The traditional camps are only open to the selected students within individual school districts. In recent years, programs have started that are open to kids from different backgrounds and regions. There are also programs tailored for international students who are interested in learning Chinese language and culture.
Cyprus
In Cyprus, summer camps are widely used for children. They usually are situated in the Troodos Mountains area and more specific around Platres. The church, government and organised groups provide funds for many children so that they can join summer camps for free.
Czech Republic
There is a long-standing tradition of summer camps in the Czech Republic. Most commonly, campers are accommodated in tents standing on so-called "podsada". It was invented in 1913 and nowadays it is widely used across the Czech Republic, but also in some other European states such as Slovakia. These camps are usually situated in meadows surrounded by forests far away from cities and civilisation in general. Even though there is almost no possibility to use electrical devices and no facilities such as hot water, the popularity of those camps is still increasing.
Finland
Many Finnish non-governmental organizations arrange summer camps for children in a wide variety of age brackets. Major organizers of summer camps are the scouts, sports teams and the orthodox and evangelic-Lutheran churches. The concept of summer camps arose with the rapid post-WWII urbanization and industrialization Finland experienced. The reason behind this was that Finnish pedagogues of that period, influenced by the values of the largely agrarian pre-WWII society, were convinced that an urban lifestyle was harmful to the development of children. The idea behind summer camps was to ensure that children had experiences of the countryside, experiences that would aid in development into a decent citizen.
One Finnish tradition also arose soon after WWII, was confirmation camps. Confirmation camps, religious camps for 13–16 years old youths organized by the local churches, aimed to combine the traditional concept of confirmation school and the newer concept of summer camps in order to battle secularization of the society. The concept was successful enough to such an extent that today, 90% of all youths participate in confirmation camps. The camps require their participants to learn certain religious texts, such as the catechism, and the Lord's prayer. There are a number of non-religious alternatives for confirmation camps, such as the Prometheus Camp, which aim to generate a positive intellectual and social atmosphere for the participants of the camp without religious tuition.
France
In France, they are called colonies de vacances or more recently centres de vacances. According to the French administration, more than 25% of French children attend this kind of "collective holiday" each year.
Greece
In Greece, summer camps are widely known for offering organized vacations for children. They offer sports activities, entertainment activities, and educational activities. Children 5 – 15 years old can join summer camps and have the opportunity to interact with peers. The Greek government provides funds for many children so that they can join a summer camp, free.
India
Summer camps in India are primarily located in the Himalayas in Northern India in the state of Uttarakhand in places like Uroli near Ranikhet, near the Tons river in Purola, near the Ganges in Rishikesh, in Uttarkashi where many peaks like Darba top are located, and in the Shimla region in Himachal Pradesh. In South India, summer camps are popular in Coorg in the state of Karnataka and in Yercaud and Anaikkati in the state of Tamil Nadu. Activities in summer camps in India include rock climbing, backpacking, mountain biking, white water rafting, trekking, ropes, and wilderness craft. Many pre-schools in India such as Season Camps, G MaX, Gurukul Preschool (Hunar Summer Camp ) AppleKids conduct extensive Summer Camps for Kids aged 2 to 12 years. Adventure activities for kids are also popular at the summer camps for age groups of 7 to 18 years. Summer camps focusing on wildlife conservation are getting popular over the years. Many of these summer camps are also held in and around metros like Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Pune.
Ireland
Summer camps in Ireland were traditionally in the form of Irish colleges in areas that are officially recognized as speaking Irish as the local language, (called Gaeltachts). They are residential Irish language summer courses that give students the opportunity to be totally immersed in the Irish language, usually for periods of three weeks over the summer months. During these courses, students attend classes and participate in a variety of different activities games, music, art and sport. These courses not only provide students with the ability to improve their language skills but also have proved to be a vehicle for introducing traditional cultural activities (céilís, Irish traditional music, etc.) to a new generation.
Whilst Irish colleges are still popular, a greater variety of summer camps are now on offer catering for a range of interests. Sports camps covering Gaelic games as well as rugby and soccer have proven very popular. Arts and crafts, cookery, acting, dance, and outdoor pursuits are some of the other niche camps available. There is also a growing popularity for technical or computer camps. They cover areas such as web design, video production, desktop publishing, etc., reflecting a more modern and diverse Ireland.
Israel
The majority of summer camps in Israel are run by the youth movements and the largest organization is the Israeli Scouts who are organizing over 40 different overnight camps every summer with more than 80,000 participants. Youth movement summer camps usually take place between 3 to 12 days. There are some longer overnight camps where campers stay for two weeks such as Camp Kimama, which was founded in Michmoret, within the youth village of Mevo'ot Yam. The affiliation of the overnight summer camps is Jewish so they celebrate Shabbat and other Jewish holidays. The summer camps are international and are meant for Jewish kids and teens from Israel and countries around the world.
Today, there are summer day camps in almost every village and city, most of which are run by the local authority or certain organizations. In addition, there are a lot of church organized camps including many denominations. For example, all evangelical churches (mostly in the Galilee) hold a Vacation Bible School (VBS) which includes many activities for children. One of the overnight camps is called the Potter's Wheel Camp (PWC) which was originally started by Baptist missionaries at the Baptist Village near Petach Tekvah. This camp continues to serve hundreds of children to this day.
Italy
In Italy, summer camps take place during the students' vacations (usually between June and August).
South Korea
Summer camps in South Korea are English Immersion camps where the emphasis is on learning through structured lessons, and especially tailored activities to ensure students use the language as much as possible. South Korea is quite unique with its emphasis on acquiring English speaking skills, and teachers for these 2 to 4 week camps come from all over the English speaking world. Some of the teachers are on vacation from their regular work in South Korea. Others come from their home countries or other countries where they might be working and are on special visas just for the camps.
Some employ as many Korean staff as there are native English teachers to ensure the cultural and communication gaps are narrowed. A good camp should provide equipment and well-researched texts for the different levels of students. To maximize the learning time spent there should be no more than 11 students per class. At some of the camps, students sleep at dormitory accommodations, which are monitored all through the night by Korean staff. Other camps are day camps where the majority of students are bused to and from the camp. Teachers spend most of their time with their students. They eat together, play sports together, and supervise them when there are special group activities. Similar camps are also offered during winter vacation. They are certainly no less popular than the summer camps.
Malaysia
Summer camps in Malaysia are not so popular as in other countries. Children & teenagers have fun together by themselves. But now, summer camps are slowly getting attention. The biggest summer camps available are usually for children below 7 years old.
Russia
In the USSR, the first summer camps were created shortly after its establishment and were called Young Pioneer camps during the Soviet Union's existence. Their number grew throughout the history of the Soviet Union and they numbered more than forty thousand in 1973, with 9,300,000 children attending them during their vacation every year. After the breakup of the USSR, the number of Young Pioneer camps greatly declined. However, many of the major camps still exist. There are 2,726 Residential camps (with 2,000,000 children), and more 40,000 Day camps (3,500,000 children) in Russia (2006). Most of them were united by All-Russian Camp Association "Deti Plus" (Children Plus) in 1994.
Sweden
The Church of Sweden provides confirmation camps, usually combined with outdoor life. Summer camps are often single sport camps.
Tunisia
Every year during the summer school holiday, the Youth and Science Association organizes Scientific camps in many regions in Tunisia where children and teenagers can learn new skills, develop their potential and have fun.
United Kingdom
Summer camps are not a major part of childhood in the United Kingdom in the way they are in North America. The UK school summer holiday is shorter, typically six weeks for state schools. Children are more likely to go on a long (e.g. two- or three-week) holiday with their family during this period rather than a camp just for children. (UK employees get longer holiday leave from their jobs than their US counterparts, facilitating long family summer holidays.) The industry body is called the British Activity Holiday Association. Camps in the UK are also generally less specialised than in the United States, and most offer a fairly broad multi-activity programme of adventure activities alongside some fun social elements. This is partly because summer camps in the UK grew as an offshoot of the activity holiday industry and were therefore influenced by their adventure-only outdoor program. The UK has for the past few decades had a number of organisations that have established themselves more along the traditional model with a very wide range of holiday options as well as themed camps and major event days.
Some religious organisations also run camps throughout the country. The Titus Trust and its predecessors, has been running evangelical Christian camps for children at independent schools since the 1930s. Scripture Union also runs camps in the UK, and has been doing so since the end of the nineteenth-century. West Runton Holidays has been putting on camps in the village of that name since 1919. Some mission activities involve camp-style accommodation, such as United Beach Missions, which seeks to evangelise to holiday-makers on beaches.
A number of youth organisations, such as the Scout Association, Army Cadet Force and Air Training Corps, do often run more specialised summer camps for their membership, though these are not usually open to non-members.
The Council of Colony Holidays for Schoolchildren ran summer camps called "Colonies" from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s. Colonies were not based on outdoor pursuits or the "action-adventure" model, but were multi-activity holidays designed to appeal to a very wide range of children. This organisation was based on the French model, and was unique in the UK in that the young volunteers who worked directly with the children (known as "Monitors") were prepared for their work in training courses designed and run by the organisation. After Colony Holidays folded in the 1980s, Chris Green, one of their former staff, set up ATE Superweeks to provide similar holidays. He also campaigns for summer camps to become more widely supported and to help transform children's lives.
United States
The American Camp Association (ACA) reports that there are about 7,000 overnight camps and about 5,000 day camps in the U.S., for a total of more than 12,000 camps. These camps are attended each year by more than 11 million children and adults. Of the 12,000 camps, about 9,500 are operated by nonprofit groups, and 2,500 by for-profit operators, employing more than 1,500,000 adults. Sports camps abound, offering single and group instruction in numerous sports and activities, often as prep for collegiate sports and scholarships.
In the United States, youth organizations, such as the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4-H, the JCC, the YMCA, Camp Fire, and several religiously affiliated groups are known for having many camps and integrating them with their own local organizations. Since 2008, the United States has been home to the world's first children's sleep away camp for transgender children. It is called Camp Aranu'tiq and serves campers aged 8 to 18. It won the Eleanor P. Eells Award from the American Camp Association in 2012.
Staff working at summer camp can find jobs through websites like USA Summer Camp.
See also
Campsite
Tent city
Summer learning loss
References
Further reading
External links
American Camp Association is an organization of camping professionals that provides accreditation standards for camps, and serves as a resource for camping research and professional development.
Canadian Camping Association is an association of camps across Canada. Accreditation of camps in Canada happens at the provincial level.
Christian Camp and Conference Association connects Christian camping professionals and associations around the world.
Foundation for Jewish Camp
Muslim Youth of North America
Scouting events
Articles needing more viewpoints from July 2013
Camp | en |
doc-en-2749 | The Avignon Papacy was the period from 1309 to 1376 during which seven successive popes resided in Avignon (then in the Kingdom of Arles, part of the Holy Roman Empire, now in France) rather than in Rome. The situation arose from the conflict between the papacy and the French crown, culminating in the death of Pope Boniface VIII after his arrest and maltreatment by Philip IV of France. Following the further death of Pope Benedict XI, Philip forced a deadlocked conclave to elect the French Clement V as pope in 1305. Clement refused to move to Rome, and in 1309 he moved his court to the papal enclave at Avignon, where it remained for the next 67 years. This absence from Rome is sometimes referred to as the "Babylonian captivity of the Papacy".
A total of seven popes reigned at Avignon, all French, and all under the influence of the French Crown. In 1376, Gregory XI abandoned Avignon and moved his court to Rome (arriving on January 17, 1377). But after Gregory's death in 1378, deteriorating relations between his successor Urban VI and a faction of cardinals gave rise to the Western Schism. This started a second line of Avignon popes, subsequently regarded as illegitimate. The last Avignon antipope, Benedict XIII, lost most of his support in 1398, including that of France; after five years besieged by the French, he fled to Perpignan in 1403. The schism ended in 1417 at the Council of Constance.
Avignon popes
Among the popes who resided in Avignon, subsequent Catholic historiography grants legitimacy to these:
Pope Clement V: 1305–1314 (curia moved to Avignon March 9, 1309)
Pope John XXII: 1316–1334
Pope Benedict XII: 1334–1342
Pope Clement VI: 1342–1352
Pope Innocent VI: 1352–1362
Pope Urban V: 1362–1370 (in Rome 1367–1370; returned to Avignon 1370)
Pope Gregory XI: 1370–1378 (left Avignon to return to Rome on September 13, 1376)
The two Avignon-based antipopes were:
Clement VII: 1378–1394
Benedict XIII: 1394–1423 (expelled from Avignon in 1403)
Benedict XIII was succeeded by three antipopes, who had little or no public following, and were not resident at Avignon:
Clement VIII: 1423–1429 (recognized in the Crown of Aragon; abdicated)
Benedict XIV (Bernard Garnier): 1424–1429 or 1430
Benedict XIV (Jean Carrier): 1430?–1437
The period from 1378 to 1417, when there were rival claimants to the title of pope, is referred to as the "Western Schism" or "the great controversy of the antipopes" by some Catholic scholars and "the second great schism" by many secular and Protestant historians. Parties within the Catholic Church were divided in their allegiance among the various claimants to the office of pope. The Council of Constance finally resolved the controversy in 1417 when the election of Pope Martin V was accepted by all.
Avignon and the small enclave to the east (Comtat Venaissin) remained part of the Papal States until 1791 when, under pressure from French Revolutionaries, they were absorbed by the short-lived revolutionary Kingdom of France (1791–92), which, in turn, was abolished in favor of the French First Republic the following year.
Background
Temporal role of the Roman Church
The papacy in the Late Middle Ages played a major temporal role in addition to its spiritual role. The conflict between the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor was fundamentally a dispute over which of them was the leader of Christendom in secular matters. In the early 14th century, the papacy was well past the prime of its secular rule – its importance had peaked in the 12th and 13th centuries. The success of the early Crusades added greatly to the prestige of the Popes as secular leaders of Christendom, with monarchs like those of England, France, and even the Holy Roman Emperor merely acting as marshals for the popes and leading "their" armies. One exception was Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, who was twice excommunicated by the Pope during a Crusade. Frederick II ignored this and was moderately successful in the Holy Land.
King Philip IV of France wanted to use the finances of the Church to pay for his war with the English. Pope Boniface VIII protested, leading to a feud.
This state of affairs culminated in the unbridled declaration of papal supremacy, Unam sanctam, in November 1302. In that papal bull, Pope Boniface VIII decreed that "it is necessary to salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman pontiff." This was directed primarily to King Phillip IV of France who responded by saying, "Your venerable conceitedness may know that we are nobody's vassal in temporal matters." In 1303 AD, Pope Boniface VIII followed up with a bull that would excommunicate the king of France and put an interdict over all France. Before this was finalized, Italian allies of the King of France broke into the papal residence and beat Pope Boniface VIII. He died shortly thereafter. Nicholas Boccasini was elected as his successor and took the name Pope Benedict XI. He absolved King Phillip IV and his subjects of their actions against Pope Boniface VIII; though the culprits who assaulted Boniface were excommunicated and ordered to appear before a pontifical tribunal. However, Benedict XI died within eight months of being elected to the papacy. After eleven months, Bertrand de Got, a Frenchman and a personal friend of King Phillip IV, was elected as pope and took the name Pope Clement V.
Beginning with Clement V, elected 1305, all popes during the Avignon papacy were French. However, this makes French influence seem greater than it was. Southern France (Occitania) at that time had a culture quite independent from Northern France, where most of the advisers to the King of France were based. The Kingdom of Arles was not yet part of France at that time, formally a part of the Holy Roman Empire. The literature produced by the troubadours in the Languedoc is unique and strongly distinct from that of Royal circles in the north. Even in terms of religion, the South produced its own variety of Christianity, Catharism, which was ultimately declared heretical. The movement was fueled in no small part by the strong sense of independence in the South even though the region had been severely weakened during the Albigensian Crusade a hundred years before. By the time of the Avignon Papacy, the power of the French King in this region was uncontested, although still not legally binding.
A stronger impact was made by the move of the Roman Curia from Rome to Poitiers in France in 1305, and then to Avignon in 1309. Following the impasse during the previous conclave, and to escape from the infighting of the powerful Roman families that had produced earlier Popes, such as the Colonna and Orsini families, the Catholic Church looked for a safer place and found it in Avignon, which was surrounded by the lands of the papal fief of Comtat Venaissin. Formally it was part of Arles, but in reality it was under the influence of the French king. During its time in Avignon, the papacy adopted many features of the Royal court: the life-style of its cardinals was more reminiscent of princes than clerics; more and more French cardinals, often relatives of the ruling pope, took key positions; and the proximity of French troops was a constant reminder of where secular power lay, with the memory of Pope Boniface VIII still fresh.
Centralization of Church administration
The temporal role of the Catholic Church increased the pressure upon the papal court to emulate the governmental practices and procedures of secular courts. The Catholic Church successfully reorganised and centralized its administration under Clement V and John XXII. The papacy now directly controlled the appointments of benefices, abandoning the customary election process that traditionally allotted this considerable income. Many other forms of payment brought riches to the Holy See and its cardinals: tithes, a ten-percent tax on church property; annates, the income of the first year after filling a position such as a bishopric; special taxes for crusades that never took place; and many forms of dispensation, from the entering of benefices without basic qualifications like literacy for newly appointed priests to the request of a converted Jew to visit his unconverted parents. Popes such as John XXII, Benedict XII, and Clement VI reportedly spent fortunes on expensive wardrobes, and silver and gold plates were used at banquets.
Overall the public life of leading church members began to resemble the lives of princes rather than members of the clergy. This splendor and corruption at the head of the Church found its way to the lower ranks: when a bishop had to pay up to a year's income for gaining a benefice, he sought ways of raising this money from his new office. This was taken to extremes by the pardoners who sold absolutions for all kinds of sins. While pardoners were hated but popularly regarded as helpful to redeem one's soul, the friars who were commonly regarded as failing to follow the Church's moral commandments by ignoring their vows of chastity and poverty and were despised. This sentiment strengthened movements calling for a return to absolute poverty, relinquishment of all personal and ecclesiastical belongings, and preaching as the Lord and his disciples had.
A political Church
For the Catholic Church, an institution embedded in the secular structure and its focus on property, this was a dangerous development, and beginning in the early 14th century most of these movements were declared heretical. These included the Fraticelli and Waldensian movements in Italy and the Hussites in Bohemia (inspired by John Wycliffe in England). Furthermore, the display of wealth by the upper ranks of the church, which contrasted with the common expectation of poverty and strict adherence to principles, was used by enemies of the papacy to raise charges against the popes; King Philip of France employed this strategy, as did Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor. In his conflict with the latter, Pope John XXII excommunicated two leading philosophers, Marsilius of Padua and William of Ockham, who were outspoken critics of the papacy, and who had found refuge with Louis IV in Munich. In response, William charged the pope with seventy errors and seven heresies.
The proceedings against the Knights Templar in the Council of Vienne are representative of this time, reflecting the various powers and their relationships. In 1314 the collegium at Vienne convened to make a ruling concerning the Templars. The council, overall unconvinced about the guilt of the order as a whole, was unlikely to condemn the entire order based on the scarce evidence brought forward. Exerting massive pressure in order to gain part of the substantial funds of the Order, the King managed to get the ruling he wanted, and Pope Clement V ordered by decree the suppression of the order. In the cathedral of Saint Maurice in Vienne, the King of France and his son, the King of Navarre, were sitting next to him when he issued the decree. Under pain of excommunication, no one was allowed to speak at that occasion except when asked by the Pope. The Templars who appeared in Vienne to defend their order were not allowed to present their case—the cardinals of the collegium originally ruled that they should be allowed to raise a defense, but the arrival of the King of France in Vienne put pressure on the collegium, and that decision was revoked.
Papacy in the 14th century
Curia
After the arrest of the Bishop of Pamiers by Philip IV of France in 1301, Pope Boniface VIII issued the bull Salvator Mundi, retracting all privileges granted to the French king by previous popes, and a few weeks later Ausculta fili with charges against the king, summoning him before a council to Rome. In a bold assertion of papal sovereignty, Boniface declared that "God has placed us over the Kings and Kingdoms."
In response, Philip wrote "Your venerable conceitedness may know, that we are nobody's vassal in temporal matters," and called for a meeting of the Estates General, a council of the lords of France, who had supported his position. The King of France issued charges of sodomy, simony, sorcery, and heresy against the pope and summoned him before the council. The pope's response was the strongest affirmation to date of papal sovereignty. In Unam sanctam (November 18, 1302), he decreed that "it is necessary to salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman pontiff." He was preparing a bull that would excommunicate the King of France and put the interdict over France, when in September 1303, William Nogaret, the strongest critic of the papacy in the French inner circle, led a delegation to Rome, with intentionally loose orders by the king to bring the pope, if necessary by force, before a council to rule on the charges brought against him. Nogaret coordinated with the cardinals of the Colonna family, long-standing rivals against whom the pope had even preached a crusade earlier in his papacy. In 1303 French and Italian troops attacked the pope in Anagni, his home town, and arrested him. He was freed three days later by the population of Anagni. However, Boniface VIII, then 68 years of age, was deeply shattered by this attack on his own person and died a few weeks later.
Cooperation
In reaction to the intransigence of Popes like Boniface VIII, the French tightened their influence under the papacy, eventually reducing the Popes to puppets and stacking the Papal court with French clerics.
The death of Pope Boniface VIII deprived the papacy of its most able politician who could stand against the secular power of the king of France. After the conciliatory papacy of Benedict XI (1303–04), Pope Clement V (1305–1314) became the next pontiff. He was born in Gascony, in southern France, but was not directly connected to the French court. He owed his election to the French clerics. He decided against moving to Rome and established his court in Avignon. In this situation of dependency on powerful neighbours in France, three principles characterized the politics of Clement V: the suppression of heretic movements (such as the Cathars in southern France); the reorganization of the internal administration of the church; and the preservation of an untainted image of the church as the sole instrument of God's will on earth. The latter was directly challenged by Philippe IV when he demanded a posthumous trial of his former adversary, the late Boniface VIII, for alleged heresy. Phillipe exerted strong influence on the cardinals of the collegium, and compliance with his demand could mean a severe blow to the church's authority. Much of Clement's politics was designed to avoid such a blow, which he finally did (persuading Phillipe to leave the trial to the Council of Vienne, where it lapsed). However, the price was concessions on various fronts; despite strong personal doubts, Clement supported Phillipe's proceedings against the Templars, and he personally ruled to suppress the order.
One important issue during the papacy of Pope John XXII (born Jacques Duèze in Cahors, and previously archbishop in Avignon) was his conflict with Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor, who denied the sole authority of the Pope to crown the Emperor. Louis followed the example of Philippe IV, and summoned the nobles of Germany to back his position. Marsilius of Padua justified secular supremacy in the territory of the Holy Roman Empire. This conflict with the Emperor, often fought out in expensive wars, drove the papacy even more into the arms of the French king.
Pope Benedict XII (1334–1342), born Jaques Fournier in Pamiers, was previously active in the inquisition against the Cathar movement. In contrast to the rather bloody picture of the Inquisition in general, he was reported to be very careful about the souls of the examined, taking a lot of time in the proceedings. His interest in pacifying southern France was also motivation for mediating between the King of France and the King of England, before the outbreak of the Hundred Years' War.
Submission
Under Pope Clement VI (1342–1352) the French interests started dominating the papacy. Clement VI had been Archbishop of Rouen and adviser to Philippe IV before, so his links to the French court were much stronger than those of his predecessors. At some point he even financed French war efforts out of his own pockets. He reportedly loved luxurious wardrobe and under his rule the extravagant life style in Avignon reached new heights.
Clement VI was also pope during the Black Death, the epidemic that swept through Europe between 1347 and 1350 and is believed to have killed about one-third of Europe's population. Also during his reign, in 1348, the Avignon papacy bought the city of Avignon from the Angevins.
Pope Innocent VI (1352–1362), born Etienne Aubert, was less partisan than Clement VI. He was keen on establishing peace between France and England, having worked to this end in papal delegations in 1345 and 1348. His gaunt appearance and austere manners commanded higher respect in the eyes of nobles at both sides of the conflict. However, he was also indecisive and impressionable, already an old man when being elected Pope. In this situation, the King of France managed to influence the papacy, although papal legates played key roles in various attempts to stop the conflict. Most notably in 1353 the Bishop of Porto, Guy de Boulogne, tried to set up a conference. After initial successful talks the effort failed, largely due to the mistrust from the English side over Guy's strong ties with the French court. In a letter Innocent VI himself wrote to the Duke of Lancaster: "Although we were born in France and although for that and other reasons we hold the realm of France in special affection, yet in working for peace we have put aside our private prejudices and tried to serve the interests of everyone."
With Pope Urban V (1362–1370), the control by Charles V of France of the papacy became more direct. Urban V himself is described as the most austere of the Avignon popes after Benedict XII and probably the most spiritual of all. However, he was not a strategist and made substantial concessions to the French crown especially in finances, a crucial issue during the war with England. In 1369 Pope Urban V supported the marriage of Philip the Bold of the Duchy of Burgundy and Margaret III, Countess of Flanders, rather than giving dispensation to one of Edward III of England's sons to marry Margaret. This clearly showed the partisanship of the papacy; correspondingly, the respect for the church dropped.
Schism
The most influential decision in the reign of Pope Gregory XI (1370–1378) was the return to Rome, beginning on 13 September 1376 and ending with his arrival on 17 January 1377. Although the Pope was French born and still under strong influence by the French King, the increasing conflict between factions friendly and hostile to the Pope posed a threat to the papal lands and to the allegiance of Rome itself. When the papacy established an embargo against grain exports during a food scarcity 1374 and 1375, Florence organized several cities into a league against the papacy: Milan, Bologna, Perugia, Pisa, Lucca and Genoa. The papal legate, Robert of Geneva, a relative of the House of Savoy, pursued a particularly ruthless policy against the league to re-establish control over these cities. He convinced Pope Gregory to hire Breton mercenaries. To quell an uprising of the inhabitants of Cesena he hired John Hawkwood and had the majority of the people massacred (between 2,500 and 3,500 people were reported dead). Following such events opposition against the papacy strengthened. Florence came in open conflict with the Pope, a conflict called "the war of the eight saints" in reference to the eight Florentine councilors who were chosen to orchestrate the conflict. The entire city of Florence was excommunicated and as reply the forwarding of clerical taxes was stopped. Trade was seriously hampered and both sides had to find a solution. In his decision about returning to Rome, the Pope was also under the influence of Catherine of Siena, later canonized, who preached for a return to Rome.
This resolution was short-lived, however, when, having returned the papal court to Rome, Pope Gregory XI died. A conclave met and elected an Italian pope, Urban VI. Pope Urban alienated the French cardinals, who held a second conclave electing one of their own, Robert of Geneva, who took the name Clement VII, to succeed Gregory XI, thus beginning a second line of Avignon popes. Clement VII and his successors are not regarded as legitimate, and are referred to as antipopes by the Catholic Church. This situation, known as the Western Schism, persisted from 1378 until the ecumenical Council of Constance (1414–1418) resolved the question of papal succession and declared the French conclave of 1378 to be invalid. A new Pope, Pope Martin V, was elected in 1417; other claimants to succeed to the line of the Avignon Popes (though not resident at Avignon) continued until c. 1437.
Opposing viewpoint
There are other historians who do not accept the view that the Avignon popes were puppets of the French king as they have sometimes been characterized. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, it was not unusual for the pope to reside outside of Rome. Neither of Clement V's two predecessors resided in Rome when they died. Since the eleventh century “their [the pope’s] struggles with the Emperor or the Roman commune had driven the popes from Rome or left them insecure there.” They moved about the Papal States, and even beyond the Alps. Indeed, between 1100 and 1304 the popes “spent one-hundred and twenty-two years out of Rome as against eighty-two actually in residence.” The pope was very often outside of Rome.
Bertrand de Got was elected pope in 1305; he took the name Clement V. He was a compromise candidate due to a split between French and Italian cardinals in the college. It was decided to choose a candidate outside of the college; hence, the archbishop of Bordeaux was selected. Clement had every intention of returning to Rome when he was elected pope. He announced his intention of going “to Italy as soon as peace was made between the kings of England and France.” The reason Clement chose to have his coronation at Vienne in France rather than on Italian soil was to “attract the kings of France and England to the ceremony and to take advantage of their presence to work for the conclusion of a lasting peace between them.” At the behest of Philip IV, however, Clement later changed the location of the coronation to Lyon. The ceremony took place on November 14, 1305. It was followed by important negotiations. King Philip IV was insistent that the trial of Pope Boniface VIII be renewed. The two agreed to discuss it further at a future meeting; this meant Clement V was obliged to put off his departure for Italy until a more favorable time. Clement was further impeded by illness which kept him in the Bordeaux area for nearly a year (May 1306 – March 1307). Clement met with Philip again in April 1307, but still did not reach a decision on the lawsuit against Boniface VIII. On October 13, 1307, Philip IV ordered the mass arrest of the Knights Templar. Clement met again with the king in 1308 to discuss this. At this meeting, Clement V decided:
"Not to proceed with his enterprise. He could not contemplate going to Rome. It would have been madness to leave Philip the Fair master of the situation on the eve of the opening of the Council of Vienne, where decisions would be taken gravely affecting the interests of the Church, and where in particular the scandalous trial of the Templars would be debated. In complete agreement with the cardinals, Clement V decided to transfer the court to Avignon."
The choice to stay in Avignon by Clement and the cardinals was conscious and clearly thought out. Rather than being held “captive,” the papacy specifically chose Avignon as its residence with good reason. The city had several valuable assets including frequent communication with Italy that was ensured both by water and land; close proximity to France but not dependent upon her; also, Avignon formed an “enclave in the Comtat-Venaissin, a possession of the Holy See. No town could provide the papacy with a more peaceful refuge and more powerful guarantees of independence and security.”
Clement V’s successor, Jacques Duese, was elected in 1316; he took the name John XXII. John had in fact been bishop of Avignon from 1310 until he became a cardinal in 1312. John also had the ultimate goal of returning the papacy to Rome, however, “Avignon was pleasant to the pope, there was the precedent of Clement V, there were great affairs still unsettled in the West, and Italy and Rome were disturbed and insecure.” In 1319, John XXII equipped a papal army to re-conquer the Italian territories. He charged Bernard Du Poujet to lead the expedition. Poujet cooperated with troops of Robert of Naples and Florence “against the Ghibelline forces, and himself commanded sizeable and costly armies of mercenaries.” Du Poujet operated mostly in Lombardy, but crusaders also fought in Tuscany, and in the eastern provinces of the Papal States. Although, his expedition was not particularly successful, the “legation of Bertrand Du Poujet represented the first major exertion of the papacy’s military and financial power in the Avignon period.” The military expedition demonstrated the commitment of the Avignon popes to secure the Papal States and eventually return to Rome. It further showed the vast amount of wealth and military might at the disposal of John XXII.
In 1328, Louis of Bavaria went to Rome and had himself “crowned emperor at the hands of representatives of the ‘Roman people’. He declared John deposed as a heretic.” This was done largely out of vengeance, as John previously refused to ratify his election and even excommunicated Louis in 1324. Louis also installed an anti-pope in Rome called Nicholas V in 1328, although Nicholas was never a real threat to John XXII’s legitimacy. However, this episode clearly showed the unrest and lack of stability that was present in Rome and the Papal States and hindered any attempted return of the papacy to Italy during John’s reign.
Despite John’s efforts to take the papacy back to Rome, it remained at Avignon for his eighteen years as pope. These years further showed what an “excellent center Avignon was and the advantages it held as a center of Church government.” Firstly, it was calm and peaceful compared to Rome. The last thing the Avignonese wanted was to offend the pope. “Above everything they wanted him to stay. The bishop’s palace was strongly fortified, and…was in a strong position of natural defense. The king of ‘Sicily’ was owner of the town as count of Provence, and the pope and cardinals had already appreciated the protection which he…always would give them.” This helps to explain why John felt secure enough at Avignon to openly oppose Louis without fear of direct repercussions.
A second advantage Avignon had over Rome was its centralized location in the Christian world. In the Middle Ages the shape of Christendom was different from in earlier times. Islam “had taken the Middle East, Africa, and much of Spain; the Greek schism had removed the Balkans and Russia…Fourteenth-century Christendom was no longer the Roman world, and its center of gravity was northwards.”
These historians argue that the actions of the popes at Avignon were not those of puppets of the king of France. The decisions they and their cardinals made had the best interest of the Church in mind. Their main goal was to establish security and independence for the papacy and to increase their control over the Church administration. In fact, during its stay at Avignon, the papacy became more centralized and brought in more revenues than ever before. A major reason they remained in Avingnon for so long is a result of the unrest in Rome and the Papal States.
Legacy
The period has been called the "Babylonian captivity" of the popes. When and where this term originated is uncertain although it may have sprung from Petrarch, who in a letter to a friend (1340–1353) written during his stay at Avignon, described Avignon of that time as the "Babylon of the west", referring to the worldly practices of the church hierarchy. The nickname is polemical, in referring to the claim by critics that the prosperity of the church at that time was accompanied by a profound compromise of the papacy's spiritual integrity, especially in the alleged subordination of the powers of the Church to the ambitions of the French kings. As noted, the "captivity" of the popes at Avignon lasted about the same amount of time as the exile of the Jews in Babylon, making the analogy convenient and rhetorically potent. The Avignon papacy has been and is often today depicted as being totally dependent on the French kings, and sometimes as even being treacherous to its spiritual role and its heritage in Rome.
Almost a century and a half later, Protestant reformer Martin Luther wrote his treatise On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church (1520), but he claimed it had nothing to do with the Western Schism or papacy in Avignon.
Effects on the papacy
The relationship between the papacy and France changed drastically over the course of the 14th century. Starting with open conflict between Pope Boniface VIII and King Philip IV of France, it turned to cooperation from 1305 to 1342, and finally to a papacy under strong influence by the French throne up to 1378. Such partisanship of the papacy was one of the reasons for the dropping esteem for the institution, which in turn was one of the reasons for the schism from 1378 to 1417. In the period of the Schism, the power struggle in the papacy became a battlefield of the major powers, with France supporting the antipopes in Avignon and England supporting the popes in Rome. At the end of the century, still in the state of schism, the papacy had lost most of its direct political power, and the nation states of France and England were established as two of the main powers in Europe.
See also
References
Further reading
Ladurie, E. le Roi. Montaillou, Catholics and Cathars in a French Village, 1294–1324, trans. B. Bray, 1978. Also published as Montaillou: The Promised Land of Error.
Read, P. P., The Templars, Phoenix Press. Chapter 17, "The Temple Destroyed"
Renouard, Yves. Avignon Papacy.
Sumption, J., Trial by Fire, Faber and Faber, 1999.
Tuchman, B., A Distant Mirror, Papermac, 1978. Chapter 16 The Papal Schism
Vale, M., "The Civilization of Courts and Cities in the North, 1200–1500". In: Holmes, G. (ed.) The Oxford History of Medieval Europe, Oxford University Press, 1988.
Voltaire, F-M, "Essai sur les mœurs et l'esprit des nations et sur les principaux faits de l'histoire depuis Charlemagne jusqu'à Louis XIII. (English: "Essay on the manners and spirit of nations and on the principal facts of history from Charlemagne to Louis XIII") Vol I, T XI, Chap LXV; edited by René Pomeau (1990) in 2 Volumes (Garnier frères, Paris)
Zutschi, P. N. R., "The Avignon Papacy". In: Jones, M. (ed.), The New Cambridge Medieval History. Volume VI c.1300–c.1415, pp. 653–673, 2000, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
1300s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire
1305 establishments in Europe
1378 disestablishments in Europe
14th century in France
14th-century Catholicism
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History of Catholicism in France
Papal States
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States and territories established in 1309
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States and territories disestablished in 1437 | en |
doc-en-14528 | Chilean cinema refers to all films produced in Chile or made by Chileans. It had its origins at the start of the 20th century with the first Chilean film screening in 1902 and the first Chilean feature film appearing in 1910. The oldest surviving feature is El Húsar de la Muerte (1925), and the last silent film was Patrullas de Avanzada (1931). The Chilean film industry struggled in the late 1940s and in the 1950s, despite some box-office successes such as El Diamante de Maharajá. The 1960s saw the development of the "New Chilean Cinema", with films like Three Sad Tigers (1968), Jackal of Nahueltoro (1969) and Valparaíso mi amor (1969). After the 1973 military coup, film production was low, with many filmmakers working in exile. It increased after the end of the Pinochet regime in 1989, with occasional critical and/or popular successes such as Johnny cien pesos (1993), Historias de Fútbol (1997) and Gringuito (1998).
Greater box office success came in the late 1990s and early 2000s with films like El Chacotero Sentimental: la película (1999), Sexo con Amor (2003), Sub Terra (2003), and Machuca (2004) all of which were surpassed by Stefan v/s Kramer (2012) and Sin filtro (2016).
In recent years, Chilean films have made increasingly regular appearances at international film festivals, with No (2012) becoming the first Chilean film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and A Fantastic Woman (2017) the first to win it.
History
Origins
On 17 February 1895 entrepreneur Francisco de Paola presented the first Kinetoscope, an early motion picture exhibition device, in Santiago. Next year, on 25 August 1896, the first Cinématographe reels were shown to an astounded audience in Santiago. These were the same movies that only eight months earlier, the Lumiere Brothers had shown in Paris.
In the north of Chile, the Potassium nitrate mining industry created enough wealth to allow cities like Antofagasta and Iquique some privileges rare in other parts of the country.
In Iquique, photographer Luis Oddó Osorio was enthralled by this new technology and started to create his own short films. On 20 May 1897, he screened the short documentary "Una cueca en Cavancha" in the Great Philharmonic Hall on Tarapaca Street. Osorio followed his first short with "El desfile en honor del Brasil", "La llegada de un tren de pasajeros a la estación de Iquique", "Bomba Tarapacá Nº7" and "Grupo de gananciosos en la partida de football".
In 1897, some circuses began to screen movies, which attracted great interest at first but soon trailed off due to the lack of new material. In the same year in Santiago, two new movie venues opened which both featured Edison's Vitascope, less popular than the Cinématographe. In June that year, the Bioscop was also launched as another alternative to the cinematographe, although it eventually failed. By the end of the year, all these new places would be closed.
In 1900, the Apollo Theatre in Santiago exhibited the film "Carreras en Viña", (Racing in Viña) and some other foreign films. The exact date that the films screened and further details of this event remain unknown.
In the port city of Valparaíso, the first film ever fully produced in Chile was launched at the Teatro ODEON on 26 May 1902. The film, Ejercicio General del Cuerpo de Bomberos (General Practice of the Fire Department), filmed on 20 May the same year, was only three minutes long and showed the annual public show performed by the Valparaíso Fire Department in the city's Aníbal Pinto square. Nothing is known of the film's director, cinematographer or production team, and only 27 seconds of footage remain today, held by the Catholic University of Valparaíso.
In 1903, "Un paseo por playa ancha" (A walk through Playa Ancha) was filmed in Valparaiso by Maurice Albert Massonnier. The film is split into three parts. First, a huaso charges into the scene, causing some commotion among the people around, and dances the traditional Chilean cueca accompanied by musicians. This is followed by a scene where the characters eat a Chilean Cazuela. Finally, in the last scene, a fight breaks but is quickly controlled by a guard. Maurice Albert Massonnier was sent to Chile by the Lumiere Brothers' company, one of many sent around the world to document and produce films for them. After screening his film in Chile, Massonnier sent the film to Paris, where several copies were made. One of those copies was found in 1994 by Chilean film restorer Daniel Sandoval in an archive on Bois-d'Arcy. "Un paseo por playa ancha" is now the oldest surviving Chilean movie. Massonier ended up settling in Chile and made his own production company, "Empresa Massonnier y Ca".
The silent era
Film production boomed in Chile in the silent era, with 78 films released between 1910 and 1931. The first full-length film, Manuel Rodríguez, was released in 1910. Directed by Adolfo Urzúa, and starring Nicanor de la Sotta, it told the story of Manuel Rodríguez Erdoíza, who fought for Chile's independence from Spain until his death in 1818.
Among the many Chilean directors who took up the art in this period – Salvatore Giambastini, Juan Pérez Berrocal, Jorge "Coke" Délano, Nicanor de la Sotta, Carlos Borcosque and Alberto Santana – one name in particular stands out for film historians: Pedro Sienna, a former stage actor who went on to direct and act in some of the best films of the age.
It was Sienna who wrote, directed and starred in the first Chilean feature-length film that has survived to this day, El Húsar de la Muerte (The Hussar of the Dead).
Premiered in Santiago on 24 November 1925, El Húsar de la Muerte – like Adolfo Urzúa's eponymous Manuel Rodríguez – tells the story of Manuel Rodríguez Erdoíza. The film was restored in 1962 by the University of Chile's film archive, with a musical soundtrack by well-known Chilean composer and pianist Sergio Ortega. El Húsar de la Muerte was shown in the Treasures from the Archives category of the 2005 London Film Festival. Critic Carolina Robino described El Húsar de la Muerte in BBC Mundo as "an extremely refined film for its era. The visual imagery has an extraordinary richness. Sienna plays masterfully with the time-shifts, with the subjective view of the characters and with their thoughts. Without words, it tells an epic story with exquisite touches of humor and provides an accurate description of Chilean colonial society."
The last silent movie produced in Chile was Patrullas de Avanzada (Advanced Patrol), directed by Eric Page and released in 1931.
1940s and 1960s
In 1942, the Chilean Production Development Corporation (Spanish: "Corporación de Fomento de la Producción" or CORFO) created the Chile Films project, which provided filmmakers with technical resources and supported the Chilean film industry. One of the films supported by the CORFO is the film animated titled 15 mil dibujos. Despite this, the industry began to struggle in the late 1940s with some studios experiencing financial difficulties. Large sums of money were spent on cinematic "super-productions" to attract foreign directors, but most failed to make a profit. One film which did buck the trend, however, was adventure-comedy El Diamante de Maharajá (The Maharaja Diamond), starring comedian Lucho Córdoba, which was a box-office hit.
The low-output trend continued into the 1950s, with only 13 films released in Chile over the course of the decade. Towards the end of the 1950s, however, two films appeared which gave a taste of the new wave of socially conscious cinema that would sweep Chile in the 1960s: Naum Kramarenko's Tres miradas a la calle (Three Views of the Street, 1957) and Deja que los perros ladren (Let the Dogs Bark, 1961).
The "New Chilean Cinema", 1960s-1989
In the 1960s, a vibrant national film culture developed which came to be known as the "New Chilean Cinema" (). An experimental film department was founded at the University of Chile, along with a Film Institute at the Catholic University of Chile. The industry also received support from the revitalised Chile Films project which had begun in the 1940s. During this period, young directors such as Raúl Ruiz, Patricio Guzmán, Aldo Francia, Helvio Soto and Miguel Littín emerged, along with a new genre inspired by social and political currents on the 1960s, the documentary.
The first ever "Festival del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano" (New Latin American Film Festival) took place in Viña del Mar in 1967. Shortly afterwards some of the most important films from the New Chilean Cinema period were released: veteran Patricio Kaulen's Largo viaje (1967), Raúl Ruiz's Three Sad Tigers (1968), Miguel Littín's Jackal of Nahueltoro (1969), Aldo Francia's Valparaíso mi amor (1969) and Helvio Soto's Caliche sangriento (1969).
Politics was a key theme for Chilean cinema in the 1960s and beyond, as it was for similar movements in other South American countries (the Cinema Novo of Brazil and the Nueva Cinema of Argentina) and for Chilean movements in other fields of the arts, such as the Nueva Canción Chilena (New Chilean Song). "This left-wing Chilean filmmakers' movement cannot be understood without connecting it to the emerging social and political identity of the American continent", states the Chilean cultural website Memoria Chilena.
The 1973 military coup drove many filmmakers abroad, where they continued to make films reflecting on and criticising the Chilean military government under Augusto Pinochet. Memoria Chilena says: "The premises of the Nuevo Cine did not die with the massive exile of filmmakers. Instead they were reinterpreted in the cinema of exile as protest against the repression under the military regime or expressing nostalgia for the shattered revolution." Some of the best known include The Promised Land (1973), Il pleut sur Santiago (1975), Dialogues of Exiles (1975), Actas de Marusia (1975), Cantata de Chile (1976), Noch nad Chili (1977), The Battle of Chile (1979), Marilú Mallet's Journal inachevé (1982), Angelina Vásquez's Presencia lejana (1982) and Acta General de Chile (1986).
Transition post-dictatorship, 1989-1999
Film production within Chile was relatively low throughout the military regime, with most filmmakers working in exile, but began to increase again when the regime ended in 1989. In 1992, the FONDART national art fund was established which would go on to support some 90% of Chilean feature-length films made since its creation. Although many films released in the late 1980s and early 1990s received both public and critical acclaim, including Johnny Cien Pesos (Hundred Peso Johnny, 1993) by Gustavo Graef-Marino; Historias de Fútbol (Soccer Stories, 1997) the debut film from Andrés Wood and Gringuito (1998) by Sergio Castilla, Chilean movies struggled to compete with international films for audience numbers.
The next decade saw this trend begin to change. The more commercial 1999 release El Chacotero Sentimental (The Sentimental Joker), by Cristián Galaz, broke Chilean box office records.
International awards since 2000
Since 2000, Chilean films were box-office successes like Jorge Olguín's Ángel Negro (Black Angel, 2000) and Alejandro Rojas' Ogú y Mampato en Rapa Nui (Ogú and Mampato on Easter Island, 2002). In 2003, the comedy Sexo con Amor (Sex with Love) by Boris Quercia set a new national box office record which would remain unbroken until 2012. Chilean films also began to win awards at noted international festivals. Silvio Caiozzi's Coronación (Coronation, 2000) won prizes at the Montreal, Huelva, Cartagena and Havana film festivals; Andrés Wood's La Fiebre del Loco (Abalone Fever, 2001) won at Cartagena and Lleida; and Taxi Para Tres (Taxi For Three, 2001) by Orlando Lübbert won at Cartagena, Havana, Mar del Plata, Miami and San Sebastián.
Chilean President Ricardo Lagos founded the National Council of Culture and the Arts in 2003 and, since 2005, FONDART has been supplemented by additional competitive State funds which are allocated to encourage film production, distribution, literacy and heritage through the Consejo del Arte y la Industria Audiovisual (CAIA) and the Fondo de Fomento Audiovisual.
A Cab for Three (Taxi para tres, 2002), directed by Orlando Lübbert.
Nominated for Best Ibero-American Film (Mejor Película Iberoamericana) in the Ariel Awards.
Nominated for Best Film (Mejor Película) at the Cartagena Film Festival and won two "India Catalina" awards there, for Best Supporting Actor and Best Screenplay.
Nominated for Best Spanish Language Foreign Film at the Goya Awards .
Won Golden Kikito for Best Actor in the Latin Film section of the Festival de Gramado, and nominated for Best Film overall.
Won three awards at the Havana Film Festival: Best Screenplay; Glauber Rocha Award - Special Mention; and the Grand Coral - Third Prize, all presented to Lübbert.
Won Favorite Film at the MTV Movie Awards, Latin America. Won Best Screenplay at the Lima Latin American Film Festival.
Awarded with a Special Mention for Best Film at the Mar del Plata Film Festival.
Won the Grand Jury Prize at the Miami Film Festival.
Won the Golden Seashell in the San Sebastián International Film Festival.
Machuca, 2004, by Andrés Wood.
Won Most Popular International Film at the 2004 Vancouver International Film Festival.
Nominated for the Ariel Award, the Mexican Academy of Film awards, in the Best Iberoamerican Film category.
In 2005, won the PFS Award at the Political Film Society Awards.
Won Best Cinematography - Gran Premio Coral in the Havana Film Festival, Cuba. Won Best Narrative Latin American Film in the FICCO, Mexico.
Won the audience award at the Philadelphia Film Festival.
Won the Golden Circle Award at the Bogota International Film Festival.
Won Best Film at the Valdivia International Film Festival.
Was voted Most Popular Film in the Vancouver International Film Festival.
Tony Manero, 2008, directed by Pablo Larraín.
Won the top prize at the 2008 Torino Film Festival.
Was Chile's submission to the 81st Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
In 2009, won the Golden Tulip - Best Film at the Istanbul International Film Festival.
Won two of its three nominations at the Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema for the Best Actor and for the FEISAL Award.
Won Best Actor at the Cinemanila International Film Festival
Won two prizes at the Havana Film Festival, Best Actor and the Grand Coral - First Prize.
Received a Special Mention in the Ibero-American Competition of the Miami Film Festival.
Won a KNF Award at the Rotterdam International Film Festival
Won a Special Jury Award in the Free Spirit Competition at the Warsaw International Film Festival.
The Maid 2009, directed by Sebastián Silva.
Won the World Cinema: Dramatic prize at Sundance in 2009
Won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film in 2010. Won the Golden India Catalina prize for Best Actress at the Cartagena Film Festival for Catalina Saavedra.
Won "Breakthrough Actress" for Saavedra at the Gotham Independent Film Awards
Won Best Actress for Saavedra at the Lleida Latin-American Film Festival, along with Best Film.
Won Best Narrative Film at the Sarasota Film Festival.
Won the Talent Tape Award at the Fribourg International Film Festival.
Received a Special Mention at the Taipei Film Festival.
Won the Critics Award and the Elcine First Prize - Best Film at the Latin American Film Festival.
Won the Satellite Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2009.
Won the Colón de Oro for Best Feature film at the Huelva Latin American Film Festival.
Won the FIPRESCI Prize - Best Film in the Guadalajara International Film Festival.
Sebastián Silva also won the Inspiration Award, the International Film Guide Inspiration Award and the Jordan Alexander Kressler Screenwriting Award, and Catalina Saavedra received a Special Mention - Best Actress - Ibero-American Competition in the Miami International Film Festival. The film has also been nominated for awards in several other major film festivals.
The Life of Fish, 2010, directed by Matías Bize.
Selected as the Chilean entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards, but didn't make the final shortlist.
Won the Best Spanish Language Foreign Film (Mejor Película Hispanoamericana) in the Goya Awards.
Won the Jury Award - Best Director at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival
Nominated for Best feature Film at Oslo Films from the South Festival.
Nostalgia for the Light, 2010, a documentary by Patricio Guzmán.
Debuted as part of the official selection at the Cannes Film Festival.
Went on to appear at the Toronto International Film Festival, San Francisco International Film Festival, Miami International Film Festival and Melbourne International Film Festival. Won European Film Award for Best Documentary, Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (2011) won Jury Award for Best Documentary.
Winner Best Documentary, 2010 Abu Dhabi Film Festival
Bonsai, 2011, directed by Cristián Jiménez, based on Alejandro Zambra's book of the same name.
Premiered at the Un Certain Regard section at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. and was nominated for the Un Certain Regard Award.
Won the FIPRESCI Prize - Best Film at the Havana Film Festival.
Won the Grand Jury Prize - Knight Ibero-American Competition at the Jordan Alexander Kressler Screenwriting Award at the Miami Film Festival.
Nominated for the Horizons Award at the San Sebastián International Film Festival.
Violeta Went to Heaven, 2012, directed by Andrés Wood.
Won the World Cinema Jury Prize: Dramatic at the Sundance Film Festival.
Nominated for the Silver Ariel - Best Latin-American Film (Mejor Película Iberoamericana) at the Ariel Awards.
Nominated for the Silver Condor - Best Foreign Film and Best Spanish Language Film (Mejor Película Iberoamericana) at the Argentine Film Critics Association Film Awards.
Nominated for the Grand Prize - Best Music at the Grande Prêmio do Cinema Brasileiro.
Won the FIPRESCI Prize - Best Film and the Mayahuel Award - Best Actress at the Guadalajara International Film Festival.
Nominated for the Art Cinema Award at the Hamburg Film Festival.
Won the Grand Coral - Second Prize - Best Film at the Havana Film Festival.
Nominated for the Grand Jury Prize and received a Special Mention in the Miami Film Festival.
Nominated for the Films from the South Award - Best Feature, at the Oslo Films from the South Festival
Nominated as Best Iberoamerican Film at the Goya Awards.
Represented Chile at 84th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.
Selected as the Chilean entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 84th Academy Awards but did not make the final shortlist
Young and Wild, 2012, directed by Marialy Rivas.
Won a World Cinema Screenwriting Award at the Sundance Film Festival in 2012
Alicia Rodríguez won the Colón de Plata award - Best Actress at the Huelva Latin American Film Festival and Marially Rivas was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize - World Cinema - Dramatic
Won the Sebastiane Award and was nominated for the Horizons Award at San Sebastián International Film Festival.
Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus, 2012, directed by Sebastián Silva.
Won the Directing Award (World Cinema Dramatic) at Sundance 2013, and was also nominated for the World Cinema - Dramatic award in the Grand Jury Prize.
Nominated for two Film Independent Spirit Awards, the John Cassavetes Award, and the Independent Spirit Award in 2013.
No, 2012, directed by Pablo Larraín.
In 2013, became the first Chilean movie to be nominated for Best Foreign Picture at the Academy Awards.
Nominated for Best Iberoamerican Movie at the Ariel Awards.
Won Best Fictional Film - Premio Coral at the Havana Film Festival
Won the Art Cinema Directors' Fortnight Award at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.
Won Best Foreign Film at the Georgia Film Critics Association in 2014.
Nominated for the Art Cinema Award at the Hamburg Film Festival.
Nominated for the BFI London Film Festival awards in 2012.
Won an NBR Award at the National Board of Review.
Nominated for the SDFCS Award at the San Diego Film Critics Society.
Won Best Foreign Feature Film - Audience Award at the 2012 São Paulo International Film Festival
Won the Audience Award at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival.
Gloria, 2013, directed by Sebastián Lelio.
Won the Films in Progress Award - Best Film at the 2012 San Sebastian International Film Festival, before its official release.
In 2013:
Won the Guild of German Art House Cinemas Prize, the
Ecumenical Jury Prize, and the Silver Berlin Bear (for Paulina García) at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival, where it was also nominated for the Golden Bear. Won Best Film at the Mumbai International Film Festival.
Won the Silver Ariel - Best Latin-American Film at the Ariel Awards.
In 2014:
Nominated for the Best Spanish Language Foreign Film at the 28th Goya Awards .
Nominated for Best Actress (for Paulina García) and Best Film - EuroCinema Hawaii Award at the Hawaii International Film Festival.
Nominated for Best Foreign Film in the Independent Spirit Awards.
Won Best Foreign Language Film at the London Film Critics' Circle.
Won the Top Foreign Film Award in the National Board of Review Awards 2013.
Won the NBR Award at the National Board of Review, USA.
Won a Cine Latino Award - Special Mention and was nominated for the Cine Latino Award and the FIPRESCI Prize at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
Won three Platino awards - Best Film, Best Actress and Best Screenplay - and was nominated for Best Director.
To Kill a Man (2014)
Bear Story (2014)
The Club (2015)
El botón de nácar (2015)
Rara (2016)
Mala junta (2016)
Neruda (2016)
A Fantastic Woman (2017)
The Dogs (2017)
Too Late to Die Young (2018)
And Suddenly the Dawn (2018)
The Prince (2019)
Ema (2019)
Pacto de Fuga (2020)
My Tender Matador (2020)
Nobody Knows I'm Here (2020)
Well-known directors
Pedro Sienna
Carlos Borcosque
Jorge Délano
Eugenio de Liguoro
José Bohr
Tito Davison
Miguel Frank
Naum Kramarenco
Alejandro Jodorowsky
Patricio Kaulen
Pedro Chaskel
Sergio Bravo
Aldo Francia
Helvio Soto
Claudio Guzmán
Carlos Flores del Pino
Rolando Klein
Alvaro Covacevich
Patricio Guzmán
Miguel Littín
Raúl Ruiz
Valeria Sarmiento
Pablo Perelmann
Silvio Caiozzi
Orlando Lübbert
Sebastián Alarcón
Ignacio Agüero
Cristián Sánchez
Gonzalo Justiniano
Sergio Castilla
Carmen Castillo
Andrés Wood
Cristian Galaz
Boris Quercia
Alberto Fuguet
Alexander Witt
Carmen Luz Parot
Alejandro Fernández Almendras
Jorge Olguín
Alicia Scherson
Sebastián Sepúlveda
Alejandro Amenábar
Marcela Said
José Luis Torres Leiva
Cristián Jiménez
Matias Lira
Pablo Larraín
Marialy Rivas
Sebastián Lelio
Ernesto Díaz Espinoza
Matías Bize
Sebastián Silva
Patricio Valladares
Nicolás López
Maite Alberdi
Dominga Sotomayor Castillo
German Acuna
Well-known actresses
Rosita Serrano
Hilda Sour
Ana González Olea
Bélgica Castro
Malú Gatica
Delfina Guzmán
Shenda Román
Chela Bon
Myriam Palacios
Gloria Münchmeyer
María Elena Duvauchelle
Claudia Di Girólamo
Paulina García
Valentina Vargas
Amparo Noguera
Marcela Osorio
Catalina Saavedra
Tamara Acosta
Antonia Zegers
Leonor Varela
Antonella Ríos
Blanca Lewin
Paz Bascuñán
Cote de Pablo
Paola Lattus
Fernanda Urrejola
Manuela Martelli
Daniela Vega
Lorenza Izzo
Well-known male actors
Eugenio Retes
Enrique Riveros
Roberto Parada
Antonio Prieto
Humberto Duvauchelle
Luis Alarcón
Héctor Duvauchelle
Jaime Vadell
Héctor Noguera
Nelson Villagra
Julio Jung
Sergio Hernández
Francisco Reyes
Alejandro Trejo
Alfredo Castro
Alejandro Goic
Luis Gnecco
Álvaro Rudolphy
Daniel Muñoz
Santiago Cabrera
Pedro Pascal
Cristián de la Fuente
Marko Zaror
Pablo Schwarz
Néstor Cantillana
Benjamín Vicuña
Major films
Fiction films
Before 1960
El húsar de la muerte (1925)
Dama de la muerte (1946)
Si mis campos hablaran (1947)
Río abajo (1950)
Uno que ha sido marino (1951)
El gran circo Chamorro (1955)
1960s
El cuerpo y la sangre (1962)
Regreso al silencio (1967)
Largo viaje (1967)
Ayúdeme usted compadre (1968)
Tres tristes tigres (1968) shared Golden Leopard at the Locarno Festival
Valparaíso mi amor (1969)
Caliche sangriento (1969)
El chacal de Nahueltoro (1969)
1970s
Los testigos (1971)
Palomita blanca (1973)
La tierra prometida (1973)
A la sombra del sol (1974)
Diálogos de exiliados (1975)
Julio comienza en julio (1979)
El zapato chino (1979)
1980s
Los deseos concebidos (1982)
Ardiente paciencia (1983)
Sussi (1988)
Imagen latente (1988)
1990s
Caluga o menta (1990)
La luna en el espejo (1990) won Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival
La frontera (1991) won Silver Bear for outstanding single achievement at the 42nd Berlin International Film Festival
Johnny cien pesos (1993)
Amnesia (1994)
Los náufragos (1994)
Historias de fútbol (1997)
Gringuito (1998)
El Chacotero Sentimental (1999)
2000s
Ángel negro (2000)
Bastardos en el paraíso (2000)
Tierra del Fuego (2000)
La fiebre del loco (2001)
Negocio redondo (2001)
Taxi para tres (2001) won Golden Shell at the San Sebastián International Film Festival
Te amo (Made in Chile) (2001)
Ogú y Mampato en Rapa Nui (2002)
Sangre eterna (2002)
Sexo con amor (2002)
B-Happy (2003)
Coronación (2003)
Los debutantes (2003)
Sábado, una película en tiempo real (2003)
Sub Terra (2003)
Cachimba (2004)
Machuca (2004)
Mala leche (2004)
Promedio rojo (2004)
Días de campo (2005)
Padre nuestro (2005)
En la cama (2005)
Mi mejor enemigo (2005)
Paréntesis (2005)
Play (2005)
Se arrienda (2005)
El rey de los huevones (2006)
Kiltro (2006)
La sagrada familia (2006)
El pejesapo (2007)
Radio Corazón (2007)
Tony Manero (2008)
El cielo, la tierra y la lluvia (2008)
31 minutos, la película (2008)
La buena vida (2008)
La nana (2009)
Dawson Isla 10 (2009)
Huacho (2009)
2010s
La vida de los peces (2010)
Gatos viejos (2010)
Fuck My Life (2010), Qué pena tu boda (2011) and Qué pena tu familia (2013)
Post Mortem (2010)
Violeta se fue a los cielos (2011)
Bonsái (2011)
El año del tigre (2011)
Joven y alocada (2012)
No (2012) nominated for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
La noche de enfrente (2012)
De jueves a domingo (2012)
Carne de perro (2012)
Crystal Fairy (2012)
Stefan v/s Kramer (2012) and Ciudadano Kramer (2013)
Las cosas como son (2012)
Magic Magic (2013)
Gloria (2013) won Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin International Film Festival
La danza de la realidad (2013)
Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus (2013)
El futuro (2013)
El verano de los peces voladores (2013)
Cirqo (2013)
Las analfabetas (2013)
Las niñas Quispe (2013)
Aurora (2014)
Matar a un hombre (2014)
Allende en su laberinto (2014)
Neruda (2014)
No soy Lorena (2014)
The Guest (La Visita) (2014)
Historia de un oso (2014) won Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film
El bosque de Karadima (2015)
En la gama de los grises (2015)
El Club (2015)
Poesía sin fin (2016)
El Cristo ciego (2016)
Rara (2016) won Jury Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival
Mala junta (2016)
Sin filtro (2016)
Neruda (2016)
Nunca vas a estar solo (2016)
Much Ado About Nothing (2016)
Una mujer fantástica (2017) won Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Johnny 100 pesos, capítulo dos (2017)
Cabros de mierda (2017)
Niñas araña (2017)
Y de pronto el amanecer (2017)
Los perros (2017)
No estoy loca (2018)
Tarde para morir joven (2018) won Leopard for Best Direction at the Locarno Festival
La salamandra (2018)
Mi amigo Alexis (2019)
El príncipe (2019)
Araña (2019)
Ema (2019)
Perro bomba (2019)
Some Beasts (2019)
Ella es Cristina (2019)
Blanco en blanco (2019)
2020s
Pacto de fuga (2020)
My Tender Matador (2020)
Nahuel and the Magic Book (2020)
Nobody Knows I'm Here (2020)
Piola (2020)
La Verónica (2021)
La mirada incendiada (2021)
Un loco matrimonio en cuarentena (2021)
Documentaries
Mimbre (1957)
Día de organillos (1959)
Morir un poco (1966)
La batalla de Chile (1979)
Acta General de Chile (1986)
Cien niños esperando un tren (1988)
La flaca Alejandra (1994)
Aquí se construye (o Ya no existe el lugar donde nací) (2000)
Un hombre aparte (2001)
Estadio Nacional (2001)
Cofralandes, rapsodia chilena (2002)
La cueca sola (2003)
Salvador Allende (2004)
Calle Santa Fe (2007)
El diario de Agustín (2008)
Nostalgia de la luz (2010)
El salvavidas (2011)
La once (2014)
El botón de nácar (2015) won Silver Bear for Best Screenplay at the Berlin International Film Festival
Lemebel (2019)
The Mole Agent (2020)
Cinema Festivals in Chile
Among the best known Chilean cinema festivals are:
Festival Internacional de Animacion Chilemonos - CHILEMONOS (Chilemonos International Animation Film Festival)
A relatively new festival with only five editions by 2014, it brings together most Chilean animation producers as well as many fans.
Festival Internacional de Documentales de Antofagasta - ANTOFADOCS (Antofagasta International Documentary Festival)
A documentary film festival held in the Atacama Desert in the northern Chilean city of Antofagasta. ATOFADOCS offers free workshops that are open to the community.
Festival de Cine Documental de Puerto Varas - SURDOCS (Puerto Varas Documentary Film Festival)
Located in Puerto Varas on the shores of Llanquihue lake, since 2003 the festival has featured 40 documentary films and has more than 4,500 people attending every year.
Festival Internacional de Cine de Antofagasta - FICIANT (Antofagasta International film festival)
Launched in 2004, this has since become one of the most significant film festivals in northern Chile.
Festival Internacional de Cine de la Antártica sobre Medio Ambiente y Sustentabilidad - FICAMS (Antarctica International Film Festival on Environment and Sustainability).
FICAMS is a green film festival which invites filmmakers of all nationalities to enter audiovisual works that address global warming, renewable energy, the environment and sustainability issues. This festival began in 2011, and is held in Punta Arenas and Puerto Williams, two of the southernmost cities in Chile and the world.
Festival Chileno Internacional del Cortometraje de Santiago - FESANCOR (Santiago International Short Film Festival).
Since 1993, FESANCOR has promoted short films to the media and the public. The festival welcomes the exploration of new visual and audiovisual languages and is one of the most important short film festivals in Latin America.
Festival de Cine B - CINE B (B Cinema Festival)
Cine B festival is accepts all kinds of independent works, including feature films, shorts, music videos and other non-traditional formats. In general, in features films rejected by big movie theatres and distributors. The festival began in 2008 and is organized by the Chilean Film School and other organizations that have joined over the years.
Festival de Cine de Mujeres - FEMCINE (Women's Film Festival)
FEMCINE is the response to the lack of women in film production, as stated on the festival's website by its executive director Antonella Estévez: "less than 20% of the TV or cinema productions we see are directed by a woman".
Festival Internacional de Cine Valdivia FICV - (Valdivia International Film Festival)
Valdivia International Film Festival is an international film exhibition that includes other cultural events like free concerts and book releases. The festival begun in 1993 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Universidad Austral de Chile's Cine Club.
Festival Internacional de Cine de Viña del Mar - FICVIÑA (Viña del Mar International Film Festival)
Although the Viña del Mar International Film Festival started in 1967, its history goes back to 1963, with the first Amateur Film Festival promoted by doctor and filmmaker Aldo Francia. In its fourth edition in 1966, the festival dropped the "amateur" from the title and became the first Chilean international film festival. Eventually the festival evolved to become what we know today.
Festival Internacional de Cine de Lebu- FICIL BIOBIO (Lebu International Film Festival)
Originally known as the Festival de Cine Latinoamericano Caverna Benavides de Lebu, the festival was created to incentivize film culture in Lebu, Arauco Province which by then had few cinemas and a population that knew very little about cinema. Initially, it focused on Latin American cinema before growing into the international festival that it is today.
Festival Internacional de Documentales de Santiago - FIDOCS (Santiago International Documentary Film Festival)
Started in 1997, FIDOCS has become the main space for the exchange, circulation and competition of the documentary genre in Chile.
Festival del Cine Social y Antisocial de La Pintana - FECISO (La Pintana Social and Antisocial Film Festival)
In 2007, La Pintana Social and Antisocial Film Festival was created with the purpose of promoting and disseminating works that address social issues. The festival brought together a wide range of social organizations and promoted the debate of social issues. La Pintana is one of the most deprived communes of Chile.
Santiago Festival Internacional de Cine - SANFIC (Santiago International Film Festival)
As its name suggests, the festival takes place in Santiago and, along with the festival held in Valdivia, has become one of the most important Chilean film festivals.
Festival de Cine Documental de Chiloé - FEDOCHI (Chiloé Documentary Film Festival)
This festival has taken place in Chiloé in southern Chile every year since 2006, and is focused on audiovisual works about heritage, identity and the rescuing of memory.
See also
Cinema of the world
List of Chilean films
Latin American cinema
List of Chilean actors
List of Chilean telenovelas
Notes
References
Michael Chanan (under the direction of), Chilean Cinema, Londres, British Film Institute, 1976, 102 p.
James Cosneros, "The Figure of Memory in Chilean Cinema: Patricio Guzmán and Raúl Ruiz", Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies, vol. 15, no. 1, March 2006, p. 59-75.
Eliana Jara Donoso, Cine mudo chileno, Los Héroes/Fondo de Desarrollo de la Cultura y las Artes, Ministerio de Educación, Ceneca, Tevecorp., 1994,
Julio López Navarro, Películas chilenas, Editorial La Noria, 1994.
Jacqueline Mouesca, Plano secuencia de la memoria de Chile: venticincoãnos de cine chileno (1960–1985), Madrid, Ediciones del litoral, 1988, 207 p
Nicolas Azalbert, "Nouveaux espoirs chiliens", Cahiers du cinéma, nº 604, September 2005, p. 60; 62.
Collectif, Le Cinéma -américain, Éd. Iris, 1991, 162 p.
Hans Ehrmann, "Le Cinéma de l'Unité Populaire – Bilan d'une expérience", Écran no. 22, p. 14.
Jean-Paul Fargier, "Eternel Chili", Cahiers du cinéma, no. 379, January 1986, p. XII-XIII.
Carlos Forastero, "Chili: la traversée du désert", Écran no. 72 p. 13.
Guy Hennebelle, Alfonso Gumucio-Dagmón, et al., Les Cinémas de l'Amérique latine, Éd. Lherminier, 1981, 544 p.
Pierre Kast, "Situation du cinéma chilien", Cinéma no. 164, March 1972, p. 72.
Françoise Le Pennec, "Cinéma du Chili, en exil ou sur place", Cinéma no. 290, p. 54.
Eric Le Roy, review of book by Eliana Jara Donoso, Cine mudo chileno, revue 1895 no. 19, p. 96.
Paulo Antonio Paranagua, Le Cinéma en Amérique latine: le miroir éclaté, Éd. L'Harmattan, 2000, 288 p.
Paulo Antonio Paranagua, "Chili" (an association of friends of Chilean cinema), Positif no. 240, March 1981, p. 61.
Paulo Antonio Paranagua, review of book by Alicia Vega, Re-visión del cine chileno, Positif n° 250, January 1982, p. 91.
Paulo Antonio Paranagua, "Chili, impressions", Positif no. 372, February 1992, p. 18.
Zuzana Mirjam Pick, "Le Cinéma chilien sous le signe de l'union populaire 1970–1973", Positif no. 155, January 1974, p. 35.
Francis Saint-Dizier, Cinémas d'Amérique latine n° 6: les historiens du cinéma en Amérique latine, Toulouse, Presses universitaires du Mirail, 1998, 185 p.
Francis Saint-Dizier, Cinémas d'Amérique latine n° 7: cinémas latino-américains des années 90, Toulouse, Presses universitaires du Mirail, 1999, 182 p.
Francis Saint-Dizier, Esther Saint-Dizier, Cinémas d'Amérique latine n° 8: cinéma et musique, Toulouse, Presses universitaires du Mirail, 2000, 182 p.
"Chili: les années du 'cinéma noir'", Cinéma no. 461, November 1981, p. 5.
External links
General
CineChile
OndaMedia Cine Chileno Online
Focus On Chilean Cinema Sounds and Colours
El cine chileno en sus libros. Breve panorama histórico (aperçu historique par David Vásquez, de l'Université Diego Portales de Santiago)
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doc-en-5526 | The wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is an upland ground bird native to North America, one of two extant species of turkey, and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey, which was originally derived from a southern Mexican subspecies of wild turkey (not the related ocellated turkey). Although native to North America, the turkey probably got its name from the domesticated variety being imported to Britain in ships coming from the Levant via Spain. The British at the time therefore associated the wild turkey with the country Turkey and the name prevails. An alternative theory posits that another bird, a guinea fowl native to Madagascar introduced to England by Turkish merchants, was the original source, and that the term was then transferred to the New World bird by English colonizers with knowledge of the previous species.
Description
Adult wild turkeys have long reddish-yellow to grayish-green legs. The body feathers are generally blackish and dark, sometimes grey brown overall with a coppery sheen that becomes more complex in adult males. Adult males, called toms or gobblers, have a large, featherless, reddish head, red throat, and red wattles on the throat and neck. The head has fleshy growths called caruncles. Juvenile males are called jakes; the difference between an adult male and a juvenile is that the jake has a very short beard and his tail fan has longer feathers in the middle. The adult male's tail fan feathers will be all the same length. When males are excited, a fleshy flap on the bill (called a snood) expands, and this, the wattles and the bare skin of the head and neck all become engorged with blood. Each foot has three toes in front, with a shorter, rear-facing toe in back; males have a spur behind each of their lower legs.
Male turkeys have a long, dark, fan-shaped tail and glossy bronze wings. As with many other species of the Galliformes, turkeys exhibit strong sexual dimorphism. The male is substantially larger than the female, and his feathers have areas of red, purple, green, copper, bronze, and gold iridescence. The preen gland (uropygial gland) is also larger in male turkeys compared to female ones. In contrast to the majority of other birds, they are colonized by bacteria of unknown function (Corynebacterium uropygiale). Females, called hens, have feathers that are duller overall, in shades of brown and gray. Parasites can dull coloration of both sexes; in males, coloration may serve as a signal of health. The primary wing feathers have white bars. Turkeys have 5000 to 6000 feathers.
Tail feathers are of the same length in adults, different lengths in juveniles. Males typically have a "beard", a tuft of coarse hair (modified feathers) growing from the center of the breast. Beards average in length. In some populations, 10 to 20% of females have a beard, usually shorter and thinner than that of the male.
The adult male (or "tom") normally weighs from and measures in length. The adult female (or "hen") is typically much smaller at and is long. Per two large studies, the average weight of adult males is and the average weight of adult females is . The wings are relatively small, as is typical of the galliform order, and the wingspan ranges from . The wing chord is only . The bill is also relatively small, as adults measure in culmen length. The tarsus of the wild turkey is quite long and sturdy, measuring from . The tail is also relatively long, ranging from .
The record-sized adult male wild turkey, according to the National Wild Turkey Federation, weighed , with records of tom turkeys weighing over uncommon but not rare. While it is usually rather lighter than the waterfowl, after the trumpeter swan (Cygnus buccinator), the turkey has the second heaviest maximum weight of any North American bird. Going on average mass, several other birds on the continent, including the American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos), the tundra swan (Cygnus columbianus columbianus) and the very rare California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) and whooping crane (Grus americana) surpass the mean weight of turkeys.
Habitat
Wild turkeys prefer hardwood and mixed conifer-hardwood forests with scattered openings such as pastures, fields, orchards and seasonal marshes. They seemingly can adapt to virtually any dense native plant community as long as coverage and openings are widely available. Open, mature forest with a variety of interspersion of tree species appear to be preferred. In the Northeast of North America, turkeys are most profuse in hardwood timber of oak-hickory (Quercus-Carya) and forests of red oak (Quercus rubra), beech (Fagus grandifolia), cherry (Prunus serotina) and white ash (Fraxinus americana). Best ranges for turkeys in the Coastal Plain and Piedmont sections have an interspersion of clearings, farms, and plantations with preferred habitat along principal rivers and in cypress (Taxodium distichum) and tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica) swamps.
In Appalachian and Cumberland plateaus, birds occupy mixed forest of oaks and pines on southern and western slopes, also hickory with diverse understories. Bald cypress and sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) swamps of s. Florida; also hardwood of Cliftonia (a heath) and oak in north-central Florida. Lykes Fisheating Creek area of s. Florida has up to 51% cypress, 12% hardwood hammocks, 17% glades of short grasses with isolated live oak (Quercus virginiana); nesting in neighboring prairies. Original habitat here was mainly longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) with turkey oak (Quercus laevis) and slash pine (Pinus caribaea) "flatwoods," now mainly replaced by slash pine plantations.
Behavior
Flight
Despite their weight, wild turkeys, unlike their domesticated counterparts, are agile, fast fliers. In ideal habitat of open woodland or wooded grasslands, they may fly beneath the canopy top and find perches. They usually fly close to the ground for no more than 400 m (a quarter mile).
Wild turkeys have very good eyesight, but their vision is very poor at night. They will generally not see a predator until it is too late. At twilight most turkeys will head for the trees and roost well off the ground: it is safer to sleep there in numbers than to risk being victim to predators who hunt by night. Because wild turkeys don't migrate, in snowier parts of the species's habitat like the Northeast, Rockies, much of Canada, and the Midwest, it is very important for this bird to learn to select large conifer trees where they can fly onto the branches and shelter from blizzards.
Vocalizations
Turkeys have many vocalizations: "gobbles", "clucks", "putts", "purrs", "yelps", "cutts", "whines", "cackles", and "kee-kees". In early spring, males older than a year old (sometimes called gobblers or toms) and, occasionally to a lesser extent, males younger than a year old (sometimes called "jakes") gobble to announce their presence to females and competing males. The gobble of a wild turkey can be heard up to a mile away. Males also emit a low-pitched "drumming" sound, produced by the movement of air in the air sac in the chest, similar to the booming of a prairie chicken. In addition they produce a sound known as the "spit" which is a sharp expulsion of air from this air sack. Females also gobble like males, but sparingly; they "yelp" to let males know their location. Both adult and immature males often yelp like females.
Foraging
Wild turkeys are omnivorous, foraging on the ground or climbing shrubs and small trees to feed. They prefer eating acorns, nuts and other hard mast of various trees, including hazel, chestnut, hickory, and pinyon pine as well as various seeds, berries such as juniper and bearberry, buds, leaves, fern fronds, roots and insects. Turkeys also occasionally consume amphibians and small reptiles such as salamanders, lizards and small snakes. Poults have been observed eating insects, berries, and seeds. Wild turkeys often feed in cow pastures, sometimes visit backyard bird feeders, and favor croplands after harvest to scavenge seeds on the ground. Turkeys are also known to eat a wide variety of grasses.
Turkey populations can reach large numbers in small areas because of their ability to forage for different types of food. Early morning and late afternoon are the desired times for eating.
Social structure and mating
Males are polygamous, mating with as many hens as they can. Male wild turkeys display for females by puffing out their feathers, spreading out their tails and dragging their wings. This behavior is most commonly referred to as strutting. Their heads and necks are colored brilliantly with red, white, and blue. The color can change with the turkey's mood, with a solid white head and neck being the most excited. They use gobbling, drumming/booming and spitting as signs of social dominance, and to attract females. Courtship begins during the months of March and April, which is when turkeys are still flocked together in winter areas.
Males may be seen courting in groups, often with the dominant male gobbling, spreading his tail feathers (strutting), drumming/booming and spitting. In a study, the average dominant male that courted as part of a pair of males fathered six more eggs than males that courted alone. Genetic analysis of pairs of males courting together shows that they are close relatives, with half of their genetic material being identical. The theory behind the team-courtship is that the less dominant male would have a greater chance of passing along shared genetic material than if it were courting alone.
When mating is finished, females search for nest sites. Nests are shallow dirt depressions engulfed with woody vegetation. Hens lay a clutch of 10–14 eggs, usually one per day. The eggs are incubated for at least 28 days. The poults are precocial and nidifugous, leaving the nest in about 12–24 hours.
Positive relationships with other wild species
Turkey are known to occasionally forage with deer and squirrels, and contrary to their reputation of being stupid and vapid animals may even play with them. By foraging together, each can help the other watch for predators with their different senses, the deer with their improved olfactory sense, the turkey with its superior sight, and squirrels providing an additional set of eyes from the air.
Predators
Predators of eggs and nestlings include raccoons (Procyon lotor), Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana), striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis), gray foxes (Urocyon citnereoargenteus), groundhogs (Marmota monax), other rodents and spotted skunks (Spilogale ssp.). Predators of poults in addition to nestlings and eggs also include several species of snake, namely rat snakes (Elaphe ssp.), gopher snakes (Pituophis catenifer) and pinesnakes (Pituophis ssp.).
Avian predators of poults include raptors such as bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), barred owl (Strix varia), red-shouldered (Buteo lineatus), red-tailed (Buteo jamaicensis), white-tailed (Geranoaetus albicaudatus), and Harris's hawks (Parabuteo unicinctus)—and the smallish Cooper's hawk (Accipiter cooperii) and broad-winged hawk (Buteo platypterus) (both likely of very small poults). Mortality of poults is greatest in the first 14 days of life, especially of those roosting on the ground, decreasing most notably after half a year, when they attain near adult sizes.
In addition to poults, hens and adult-sized fledglings (but not, as far as is known, adult male toms) are vulnerable to predation by great horned owls (Bubo virginianus), northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris), domestic cats (Felis catus), and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes). Predators of both adults and poults include coyotes (Canis latrans), gray wolves (Canis lupus), bobcats (Lynx rufus), cougars (Puma concolor), Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos), and possibly American black bears (Ursus americanus), which also will eat the eggs if they find them. The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) is a predator to all turkeys of all ages in the Southeast and will eat them if they get too close to water. Humans are now the leading predator of adult turkeys. When approached by potential predators, turkeys and their poults usually run away rather than fly away from potential predators, though they may also fly short distances if pressed.
Occasionally, if cornered, adult turkeys may try to fight off predators and large male toms can be especially aggressive in self-defense. When fighting off predators, turkeys may kick with their legs, using the spurs on their back of the legs as a weapon, bite with their beak and ram with their relatively large bodies and may be able to deter predators up to the size of mid-sized mammals. Hen turkeys have been seen to chase off at least two species of hawks in flight when their poults are threatened.
Wild turkeys are not usually aggressive towards humans, but can be frightened or provoked to behave with aggression. They are most likely to attack if startled, cornered or harassed, or if approached too closely. They also have been seen to chase off humans as well. However, attacks and potential injuries can usually be avoided by giving wild turkeys a respectful amount of space and keeping outdoor spaces clean and undisturbed. Also, turkeys that are habituated to seeing people, at places like parks or campgrounds, can be very tame and will even feed from the hands of people. Male toms occasionally will attack parked cars and reflective surfaces, thinking they see another turkey and must defend their territory, but starting a car engine and moving the car is typically enough to scare it away.
Range and population
The wild turkey in the United States in 1957 ranged from Arizona to southeastern Oklahoma and thence through Tennessee, West Virginia, and New York, and south to Florida and Texas. It formerly ranged north to southeastern South Dakota, southern Wisconsin, southern Ontario, and southwestern Maine. The A.O.U. Checklist also described Upper Pliocene fossils in Kansas, and Pleistocene fossils widely from New Mexico to Pennsylvania and Florida. The Californian turkey, Meleagris californica, is an extinct species of turkey indigenous to the Pleistocene and early Holocene of California. It became extinct about 10,000 years ago. The present Californian wild turkey population derives from wild birds re-introduced during the 1960s and 70s from other areas by game officials. They proliferated after 2000 to become an everyday sight in the East Bay Area by 2015.
At the beginning of the 20th century the range and numbers of wild turkeys had plummeted due to hunting and loss of habitat. When Europeans arrived in the New World, they were found from Canada to Mexico in the millions. Europeans and their successors knew nothing about the life cycle of the bird and ecology itself as a science would come too late, not even in its infancy until the end of the 19th century whereas heavy hunting began in the 17th century. Deforestation destroyed trees turkeys need to roost in. Destruction of subtypes of environment like prairie grassland in the Midwest, canebrakes in the Southeast, and pine in the desert highlands made them easy prey for predators as there was nowhere to hide or lay eggs.
Game managers estimate that the entire population of wild turkeys in the United States was as low as 30,000 by the late 1930s. By the 1940s, it was almost totally extirpated from Canada and had become localized in pockets in the United States, in the north-east effectively restricted to the Appalachians, only as far north as central Pennsylvania. Early attempts used hand reared birds, a practice that failed miserably as the birds were unable to survive in the wild at all and many had imprinted far too much on people to effectively survive. Game officials later made efforts to protect and encourage the breeding of the surviving wild population. They would wait for numbers to grow, catch the surplus birds with a device that would have a projectile net that would ensnare the creature, move it to another unoccupied territory, and repeat the cycle. Over time this included some in the western states where it was not native. There is evidence that the bird does well when near farmland, which provides grain and also berry-bearing shrubs at its edges. As wild turkey numbers rebounded, hunting became legal in 49 U.S. states (excluding Alaska). In 1973, the total U.S. population was estimated to be 1.3 million, and current estimates place the entire wild turkey population at 7 million individuals. Since the 1980s, "trap and transfer" projects have reintroduced wild turkeys to several provinces of Canada as well, sometimes from across the border in the United States. They appear to be very successful as of 2018 as wild turkeys have multiplied rapidly and flourished in places where they were not expected to survive by Canadian scientists, often quite far north of their original expected range.
Attempts to introduce the wild turkey to Britain as a game bird in the 18th century were not successful. George II is said to have had a flock of a few thousand in Richmond Park near London, but they were too easy for local poachers to destroy, and the fights with poachers became too dangerous for the gamekeepers. They were hunted with dogs and then shot out of trees where they took refuge. Several other populations, introduced or escaped, have survived for periods elsewhere in Britain and Ireland, but seem to have died out, perhaps from a combination of lack of winter feed and poaching. Small populations, probably descended from farm as well as wild stock, in the Czech Republic and Germany have been more successful, and there are wild populations of some size following introductions in Hawaii and New Zealand.
Subspecies
There are subtle differences in the coloration, habitat, and behavior of the different subspecies of wild turkeys. The six subspecies are:
Eastern wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) (Viellot, 1817)
This was the turkey subspecies Europeans first encountered in the wild: by the Puritans, the founders of Jamestown, the Dutch who lived in New York, and by the Acadians. Its range is one of the largest of all subspecies, covering the entire eastern half of the United States from Maine in the north to northern Florida and extending as far west as Minnesota, Illinois, and into Missouri. In Canada, its range extends into Southeastern Manitoba, Ontario, Southwestern Quebec (including Pontiac, Quebec and the lower half of the Western Quebec Seismic Zone), and the Maritime Provinces. They number from 5.1 to 5.3 million birds. They were first named 'forest turkey' in 1817, and can grow up to tall. The upper tail coverts are tipped with chestnut brown. Males can reach in weight. The eastern wild turkey is heavily hunted in the Eastern USA and is the most hunted wild turkey subspecies.
Osceola wild turkey or Florida wild turkey (M. g. osceola) (Scott, 1890)
Most common in the Florida peninsula, they number from 80,000 to 100,000 birds. This bird is named for the famous Seminole leader Osceola, and was first described in 1890. It is smaller and darker than the eastern wild turkey. The wing feathers are very dark with smaller amounts of the white barring seen on other subspecies. Their overall body feathers are an iridescent green-purple color. They are often found in scrub patches of palmetto and occasionally near swamps, where amphibian prey is abundant. Osceola turkeys are the smallest subspecies weighing .
Rio Grande wild turkey (M. g. intermedia) (Sennett, 1879)
The Rio Grande wild turkey ranges through Texas to Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, Colorado, Oregon, Utah, and was introduced to central and western California, as well as parts of a few northeastern states. It was also introduced to Hawaii in the late 1950s. Population estimates for this subspecies are around 1,000,000. This subspecies, native to the central plain states, was first described in 1879, and has relatively long legs, better adapted to a prairie habitat. Its body feathers often have a green-coppery sheen. The tips of the tail and lower back feathers are a buff-to-very light tan color. Its habitats are brush areas next to streams, rivers or mesquite, pine and scrub oak forests. The Rio Grande turkey is gregarious.
Merriam's wild turkey (M. g. merriami) (Nelson, 1900)
The Merriam's wild turkey ranges through the Rocky Mountains and the neighboring prairies of Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota, as well as much of the high mesa country of New Mexico, Arizona, southern Utah and The Navajo Nation, with number from 334,460 to 344,460 birds. The subspecies has also been introduced into Oregon. The initial releases of Merriam's turkeys in 1961 resulted in establishing a remnant population of Merriam's turkeys along the east-slope of Mt. Hood and natural immigration of turkeys from Idaho has established Merriam's flocks along the eastern border of Oregon. Merriam's wild turkeys live in ponderosa pine and mountainous regions. The subspecies was named in 1900 in honor of Clinton Hart Merriam, the first chief of the U.S. Biological Survey. The tail and lower back feathers have white tips and purple and bronze reflections.
Gould's wild turkey (M. g. mexicana) (Gould, 1856)
Native from the central valleys to the northern mountains of Mexico and the southernmost parts of Arizona and New Mexico. Gould's wild turkeys are heavily protected and regulated. The subspecies was first described in 1856. They exist in small numbers in the U.S. but are abundant in northwestern portions of Mexico. A small population has been established in southern Arizona. Gould's are the largest of the six subspecies. They have longer legs, larger feet, and longer tail feathers. The main colors of the body feathers are copper and greenish-gold. This subspecies is heavily protected owing to its skittish nature and threatened status.
South Mexican wild turkey (M. g. gallopavo) (Linnaeus, 1758)
The south Mexican wild turkey is considered the nominate subspecies, and the only one that is not found in the United States or Canada. In central Mexico, archaeological M. gallopavo bones have been identified at sites dating to 800–100 BC [10], [11]. It is unclear whether these early specimens represent wild or domestic individuals, but domestic turkeys were likely established in central Mexico by the first half of the Classic Period (c. AD 200–1000). Late Preclassic (300 BC–AD 100) turkey remains identified at the archaeological site of El Mirador (Petén, Guatemala) represent the earliest evidence of the export of the south Mexican wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo gallopavo) to the ancient Maya world. The south Mexican wild subspecies, M. g. gallopavo, was domesticated either in Mexico or by Preclassic peoples in Mesoamerica, giving rise to the domestic turkey (M. g. domesticus). The Spaniards brought this tamed subspecies back to Europe with them in the mid-16th century; from Spain it spread to France and later Britain as a farmyard animal, usually becoming the centerpiece of a feast for the well-to-do. By 1620 it was common enough so that Pilgrim settlers of Massachusetts could bring turkeys with them from England, unaware that it had a larger close relative already occupying the forests of Massachusetts. It is one of the smallest subspecies and is best known in Spanish from its Aztec-derived name, guajolote. This wild turkey subspecies is thought to be critically endangered, as of 2010.
Benjamin Franklin and the myth of U.S. national bird suggestion
The idea that Benjamin Franklin preferred the turkey as the national bird of the United States comes from a letter he wrote to his daughter Sarah Bache on 26 January 1784. The main subject of the letter is a criticism of the Society of the Cincinnati, which he likened to a chivalric order, which contradicted the ideals of the newly founded American republic. In one section of the letter, Franklin remarked on the appearance of the bald eagle on the Society's crest:
Franklin never publicly voiced opposition to the bald eagle as a national symbol, nor did he ever publicly suggest the turkey as a national symbol.
Significance to Native Americans
The wild turkey, throughout its range, plays a significant role in the cultures of many Native American tribes all over North America. Outside of the Thanksgiving feast, it is a favorite meal in eastern tribes. Eastern Native American tribes consumed both the eggs and meat, sometimes turning the latter into a type of jerky to preserve it and make it last through cold weather. They provided habitat by burning down portions of forests to create meadows which would attract mating birds, and thus give a clear shot to hunters. The feathers of turkeys also often made their way into the rituals and headgear of many tribes. Many leaders, such as Catawba chiefs, traditionally wore turkey feather headdresses.
Significant peoples of several tribes, including Muscogee Creek and Wampanoag, wore turkey feather cloaks. The turkey clan is one of the three Lenape clans. Movements of wild turkeys inspired the Caddo tribe's turkey dance. The Navajo people of Northeastern Arizona, New Mexico and Utah call the turkey Tązhii and relate the bird to the corn and seeds which The Turkey in Navajo folklore brought from the Third Navajo World. It is one of the Navajos' sacred birds, with the Navajo people using the feathers and parts in multiple traditional ceremonies.
See also
Heritage turkey
Turkey calls
Turkeypox virus
Notes
References
Dickson, James G., The Wild Turkey: Biology and Management (A National Wild Turkey Federation and USDA Forest Service book), 1992, Stackpole Books, , 9780811718592, google books
Pritzker, Barry M. A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. .
External links
Turkey as U.S. national bird
Turkeys from England
National Wild Turkey Federation – Map of the locations of the five sub-species of wild turkey
View the turkey genome in Ensembl
Wild Turkey
Birds described in 1758
Birds of Canada
Game birds
Native American cuisine
Hunting in the United States
Birds of the United States
Birds of Mexico
Wild Turkey
Symbols of Alabama
nv:Tązhii | en |
doc-en-17068 | The history of bisexuality concerns the history of the bisexual sexual orientation. Ancient and medieval history of bisexuality, when the term did not exist as such, consists of anecdotes of sexual behaviour and relationships between people of the same and different sexes. A modern definition of bisexuality began to take shape in the mid-nineteenth century within three interconnected domains of knowledge: biology, psychology and sexuality. In modern Western culture, the term bisexual was first defined in a binary approach as a person with romantic or sexual attraction to both men and women. The term bisexual is defined later in the twentieth century (for example by Robin Ochs) as a person who is sexually and/or romantically attracted to both males and females, or as a person who is sexually and/or romantically attracted to people regardless of sex or gender identity, which is sometimes termed pansexuality.
The first use of the word "bisexual" with the meaning of sexual attraction to both men and women dates back to the 19th century, when the German psychologist Richard von Krafft-Ebing used it to refer to the gender of individuals whom he believed exhibited both feminine and masculine behaviours. In English the word was used in 1892 by Charles Gilbert Chaddock, an American neurologist, when he translated the 7th edition of Krafft-Ebing's book Psychopathia Sexualis. Prior to Krafft-Ebing, "bisexual" usually meant having both female and male parts as in hermaphroditic or monoicous plants, or in the sense of mixed-sex education, meaning inclusive of both males and females.
From the 1970s onwards, bisexuality as a distinct sexual orientation gained visibility in Western literature, academia and activism. Despite a wave of research and activism around bisexuality, bisexual people have often been marginalised in literature, film and research.
Societal attitudes towards bisexuality vary by culture and history; however, there is no substantial evidence that the rate of same-sex attraction has varied across time. Prior to the contemporary discussion of sexuality as a phenomenon associated with personal identity, ancient and medieval culture viewed bisexuality as the experience of homosexual and heterosexual relationships. The cultures of ancient Greece and Rome accepted that adult men were involved in homosexual relationships, as long as they took the active role of penetration.
Ancient history
Ancient cultures and societies have conceptualised sexual desire and behaviour in a variety of ways throughout history, which are subject to debates. Homosexual relationships between men are more visible and recorded than those between women in literature and hisorical texts. Sexual relations between women are, however, present in the literature of ancient China.
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greek religious texts, reflecting cultural practices, incorporated bisexual themes. The subtexts varied, from the mystical to the didactic. Same sex relationships between boys and men as a part of rituals in pre-city Greece were researched and confirmed by scholars. The sexual and romantic relationship between males were not recorded explicitly by Iliad or Odyssey.
The Greeks did not distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate practices, but had a concept of aphrodisia, sexual acts that give pleasure, regardless of whether they are performed with a man or a woman. There was, however, a notion of (active) subject and (passive) object in the relationship between two persons, one of whom is an object and necessarily dominated by the other. However, Plato and Aristotle disagree on the place of men and women. For Plato, both men and women can be subjects or objects, whereas for Aristotle women are necessarily passive objects. For both philosophers, however, the male hierarchy is unquestioned.
Ancient Rome
In Ancient Rome a freeborn Roman performing the penetrative role could have sex with male and female partners as it was considered socially acceptable. The social status of the partners was more important to judge the moral aspects than their sex. Once married, a man was supposed to have sexual relations only with prostitutes, slaves and infames. Having sex with another freeborn man's wife, his marriageable daughter, his underage son, or with the man himself was not socially accepted and was considered immoral. Sexual use of another man's slave was subject to the owner's permission. The crucial factor was the capacity of performing self control and managing one's sex life to prove that a freeborn was capable of governing others. Giving too much focus on sensual pleasure could undermine the man's standing and his identity as a cultured person.
Ancient Japan
The existence of men having sex with men in Japan has been documented since ancient times. There were few laws restricting sexual behaviors in Japan before the early modern period. Anal sodomy was prohibited by law in 1872, but the provision was not repealed until seven years later by the Penal Code of 1880 in accordance with the Napoleonic Code. Historical practices identified by research as homosexual include shudō (衆 道), wakashudō (若 衆 道) and nanshoku (男 色).
Several authors have noted a strong historical tradition of open bisexuality and homosexuality among male Buddhist institutions in Japan. Genshin, a Tendai priest criticised homosexuality in severe terms, but the condemnation had more to do with condemning the practice with a man that was not under one's authority some interpreted his position as a condemnation of practices with an acolyte who was not under his authority.
A wakashū (headscarf-wearing) sneaks a kiss to a prostitute behind his boss' back. Nishikawa Sukenobu, ca. 1716-1735. Hand-coloured shunga print.
These practices are recounted in countless literary works, most of which have yet to be translated. English translations are available, however, for Ihara Saikaku, who featured a bisexual man in The Life of a Man in Love (1682), for Jippensha Ikku's account of the first gay relationship in the post-publication 'Preface' to Shank's Mare (1802 et seq), and Ueda Akinari's portrayal of a gay Buddhist monk in Tales of Moonlight and Rain (1776). Similarly, many of the greatest artists of the period, such as Hokusai and Hiroshige, took pride in documenting such love affairs in their prints, known as Ukiyo-e, pictures of the floating world, where they adopt an erotic tone, shunga or springtime pictures.
Nanshoku was not considered incompatible with heterosexuality; books of erotic prints dedicated to nanshoku often featured erotic images of young women (concubines, mekake or prostitutes, jōrō) as well as attractive teenagers (wakashū) and young cross-dressers (onnagata). Similarly, women were seen as particularly attracted to wakashū and onnagata, and it was assumed that these young men would return this interest. Nanshoku practitioners and the young men they desired would be considered bisexual in modern terminology.
Ancient China
In Ancient China, there are many historical records about same sex relationships between upper-class people. The writings on sexuality in literature and historical records in ancient China are often allusive and implied, using phrases and words only recognizable for people who are familiar with the literary culture and background. Words like "Long Yang (龙阳 lóngyáng)" and "male trend (男風; nánfēng)" are created to describe men who are engaged in a sexual or romantic relationship with men. Although women's same sex relationships are less recorded compared to men's, some researchers believe that societal attitude towards same sex relationship between women are more stable compared to that of men's. People who engage in sexual or romantic relationships with the same sex typically also engage in heterosexual relationships. For example, emperors who have male concubines also have female concubines and offspring. In addition, the concept of sexual identity was not present in ancient China before Westerners' introduction of the idea.
One example that produced the word that describes a homosexual relationship - Duànxiù, or "breaking the sleeve" - happened between the Han Emperor Ai and his male lover Dong Xian (董賢). Emperor Ai was so devoted to his male lover that he attempted to pass the throne on to him. When Emperor Ai had to leave early in the morning, the Emperor carefully cut off his sleeve to not waken Dongxian, who had fallen asleep on top of it. People in China will imitate the cutting of sleeves to express their love for same sex lovers.
One of the most well-known historical stories about same sex relationships in ancient China is the story of "YuTao (余桃 yútáo)", the "leftover peach", as documented in the Intrigues of the Warring States. The book is a collection of political idioms and historical stories written by Han Fei (280 - 233 BC), a Chinese philosopher. Han Fei recorded this story between Mi Zixia (彌子瑕) and Duke Ling of Wei (衛靈公). His male lover Mi found a very sweet peach in the garden; after tasting it, he shared the remaining half with Emperor Ling.
As more Western and Central Asian visitors came to China during the Tang Dynasty, China became increasingly influenced by the sexual moral conduct of foreigners. Female companions of emperors began accumulating political power which only male companions could gain in the past. Same-sex relationships became more allusive and less recorded in the Tang Dynasty. From the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, stories about female same-sex companions between Buddhist and Taoist nuns were first discovered.
Modern history
According to Dutch anthropologist Gert Hekma, the term bisexual was used in Dutch for the first time in 1877, to refer to a hermaphrodite who had their sexual career as both a heterosexual woman and a heterosexual man. Later, the term bisexuality is used to represent both the double sexual-object choice and androgyny. Since the 19th century, bisexuality became a term with at least three different yet interconnected meanings. In the field of biology and anatomy, it referred to biological organisms that are sexually undifferentiated between male and female. By the early 20th century, in the field of psychology, bisexuality is used to describe a combination of masculinity and femininity in people psychologically instead of biologically. In the late 20th century, particularly since the AIDS epidemic, bisexuality is seen as sexual attraction to both male and female. Therefore, the contemporary history of bisexuality involved many intellectual, conceptual and sociocultural changes.
Freudian theory
In 1905, Sigmund Freud presented his theory of psychosexual development in Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality. In the book, he wished to demonstrate that bisexuality was the baseline sexual orientation for humans. Freud established his theory on a biological development basis that children in the pregenital phasedo not make a diffference between female and male sexes, but believe that both parents have the same reproductive powers and identical genitalia. When children reach the phallic stage, their gender identity becomes stable, and heterosexuality is the gradual result of the repression of an initial bisexuality. According to Freud, during the phallic stage, children develop an Oedipus complex where they have an inconscious sexual attraction for the parent of the opposite gender and feel jalousy towards the parent of the same gender. This situation transforms later into unconscious transference and conscious identification with the hated parent, providing a structural model which appeases sexual impulse towards the parnet asribed to the same sex by also provoking a fear of castration by the parent of the opposite sex to appease sexual impulses. Carl Jung criticized the notion of bisexuality lying at the basis for psychic life, and the fact that Freud did not according to him give an adequate description of the female child. In 1913 he proposed the Electra complex. Freud rejected this suggestion.
Kinsey reports
In 1948, American biologist Alfred C. Kinsey, who was himself bisexual, published two books on human sexual behaviors, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female, which are widely known as the "Kinsey reports". Kinsey and his team conducted 1,600 interviews with people about their sexual histories.
Kinsey rejected the notion of a clear-cut line between different sexualities. Instead of assigning people to different categories of sexualities, Kinsey and his colleagues developed a seven-level Kinsey scale. The scale considered people between K=1 and K=5 as "ambisexual" or "bisexual". According to the Kinsey Institute, the books Kinsey published sold nearly a million copies around the world and were influential in revolutionizing the public perception of sexuality.
Their research found that 11.6% of white males in United States (ages 20–35) had about equal heterosexual and homosexual experience/response throughout their adult lives, and that 7% of single females (ages 20–35) and 4% of previously married females (ages 20–35) had about equal heterosexual and homosexual experience/response for this period of their lives. As a result of this research, the earlier meanings of the word "bisexual" were largely displaced by the meaning of being attracted to both sexes. However, Kinsey himself disliked the use of the term bisexual to describe individuals who engage in sexual activity with both sexes, preferring to use "bisexual" in its original, biological sense as hermaphroditic, and saying, "Until it is demonstrated [that] taste in a sexual relation is dependent upon the individual containing within his [sic] anatomy both male and female structures, or male and female physiological capacities, it is unfortunate to call such individuals bisexual".
In the United States
1850 to 1950
The first English-language use of the word "bisexual", in the sense of being sexually attracted to both women and men, was by the American neurologist Charles Gilbert Chaddock in his 1892 translation of the same term used in the same way in the 7th edition of Krafft-Ebing's seminal work Psychopathia Sexualis. Prior to Krafft-Ebing, "bisexual" was usually used to mean having both female and male parts as in hermaphroditic or monoicous plants, or to mean inclusive of both males and females as in the sense of mixed-sex education.
Under any label, openly bisexual people were rare in early American life. One notable exception was the openly bisexual poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, who received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver in 1923. Furthermore, the poet Walt Whitman is usually described by biographers as either bisexual or homosexual in his feelings and attractions.
Early film, being a cutting-edge medium, also provided opportunity for bisexuality to be expressed. In 1914 the first documented appearance of bisexual characters (female and male) in an American motion picture occurred in A Florida Enchantment, by Sidney Drew. However, due to the censorship legally required by the Hays Code, the word bisexual could not be mentioned and almost no bisexual characters appeared in American film from 1934 until 1968.
1960s
LGBT political activism became more prominent in this decade. The first public protests for equal rights for gay and lesbian people were staged at governmental offices and historic landmarks in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. between 1965 and 1969. In DC, protesters picketed in front of the White House, Pentagon, and the U.S. Civil Service Commission. Two of the protesters at the second White House picket, Judith "J.D." Kuch and Kris "Gene" Kleeberg, identified themselves as bisexual.
In 1966 the Student Homophile League at New York University and Columbia University was founded by Stephen Donaldson (aka Donny the Punk), a bisexual activist.Columbia University officially recognized this group in 1967 and it became the official first gay student group college in the United States to be officially recognize by a university. Activism on behalf of bisexuals in particular also began to grow, especially in San Francisco. Still in San Francisco, in 1967 Frank Esposito and Margo Rila and founded one of the earliest organizations for bisexuals, the Sexual Freedom League in.
In 1969 protests erupted during a police raid at the Stonewall bar. Police raids were frequent in queer bars, and people grew tired of being controlled and harassed by the police.The protesters were Bar patrons and them were bisexeals. One of the main figure who started the rebellion was These events are known as The Stonewall Rebellion and are usually accepted as a milestone marking the beginning of the LGBT rights movement. In commemoration of this, the next year the first LGBT pride march was held. Brenda Howard, a bisexual activist coordinated the first LGBT Pride march and later became celebrated as the "Mother of Pride". She came up with the idea for organising events over one week around Pride Day which later generated the annual LGBT Pride celebrations that are now held around the world every June. Brenda Howard, with the bisexual activist Robert A. Martin (aka Donny the Punk) and gay activist L. Craig Schoonmaker were instrumental in disseminating the word "Pride" for these festivities.Tom Limoncelli, another bisexual activist later said "The next time someone asks you why LGBT Pride marches exist or why [LGBT] Pride Month is June tell them 'A bisexual woman named Brenda Howard thought it should be.
1970s
Bisexuals became more prominent in the media in the 1970s. In New York City, Don Fass founded the National Bisexual Liberation group in 1972, which issued The Bisexual Expression, most likely the earliest bisexual newsletter. In 1973 bisexual activist Woody Glenn was interviewed by a radio show of the National Organization for Women on WICC in Bridgeport, Connecticut. In 1974, both Newsweek and Time ran stories on "bisexual chic", bringing bisexuality to mainstream attention as never before. In 1976 the landmark book View from Another Closet: Exploring Bisexuality in Women, by Janet Mode, was published. In a September 1976 interview with Playboy, androgynous glam rock musician and pop star David Bowie discussed being bisexual; his wife, Angie Bowie, was also public in her assertions of bisexuality during this time.
Bisexuals were also important contributors to the larger LGBT rights movement. In 1972, Bill Beasley, who was a bisexual activist in the Civil Rights Movement and well as the LGBT movement, was organized the first Gay Pride March in Los Angeles. He was also active with the Gay Liberation Front. In 1975, activist Carol Queen came out as bisexual and organized GAYouth in Eugene, Ore. in Dade County, Florida in 1977 the psychologist Alan Rockway, who was bisexual, was the co-author of a county ordinance that banned discrimination in areas of housing, employment, and public accommodation based on sexual orientation.It was the first LGBT rights ordinance to be voted and achieve success in America. Anita Bryant led an ati-gay campaign called Save our children against the ordinance, and Rockway began a boycott of Florida orange juice, which she advertised, in response. A press conference was orrganized in opposition to Bryant with Del Martin, Phyllis Lyon and Benjamin Spock by the San Francisco Bisexual Center. Alexei Guren founded the Gay Teen Task Force in response to Bryant's campaign in Miami. The Florida Citrus Commission canceled her contract as a direct response to this pressure. Also in 1979, Dr. Marvin Colter founded ARETE, a support and social group for bisexuals in Whittier, Calif., which marched in the 1983 Los Angeles Gay Pride Parade and had a newsletter.
The bisexual movement had its own successes as well. Most notably, in 1972 a Quaker group issued the "Ithaca Statement on Bisexuality" supporting bisexuals. The Statement, which may have been "the first public declaration of the bisexual movement" and "was certainly the first statement on bisexuality issued by an American religious assembly", appeared in the Quaker Friends Journal and The Advocate in 1972.
In 1976 the San Francisco Bisexual Center was founded by Maggi Rubensteinand Harriet Levi. The community center offered support and counselling to Bay Area bisexuals, and published a newsletter from 1976 to 1984, called The Bi Monthly. It was the longest surviving community center for bisexuals. In 1978, the Klein Sexual Orientation Grid was introduced by Fritz Klein inThe Bisexual Option. Bisexual activism also began to spread beyond the coasts, a fnd in from 1978 until 1979, several Midwestern bisexual groups were created: BI Women Welcome in Minneapolis, One To Five (by Gary Lingen and Scott Bartell for Minneapolis/St.Paul, Minn), BI Ways in Chicago, and The BI Married Men's Group in Detroit.
1980s
In the 1980s AIDS began to affect the LGBT community, and bisexual people took an important role in combating it. San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein appointed David Lourea to a role on her AIDS advisory committee, resulting in the inclusion of bisexual men in official AIDS statisctics by the Department of Public Health in San Francisco. Health departments throughout the United States began to recognize bisexual men because of this, whereas before they had mostly only recognized gay men.
The first American bisexual newsletter published at national scale was edited in 1988 by Gary North, and it was called Bisexuality: News, Views, and Networking. In 1989 Cliff Arnesen testified concerning bisexual, lesbian, and gay veterans' issues. He was the first veteran to do so on such issues as well as the first outed LGBT veteran to testify before the Congress about general issues concerning veterans. He testified on May 3, 1989, during formal hearings held before the U.S. House Committee on Veterans Affairs: Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. He also testified before the same Subcommittee on May 16, 1990, as part of an HIV/AIDS panel.
Bisexual people also continued to be active in the larger LGBT movement. The first BiCon UK (a get-together in the United Kingdom for bisexuals, allies and friends) was held in 1984. In 1986 in San Francisco Autumn Courtney (from BiPOL) became co-chair of Lesbian Gay Freedom Day Pride Parade Committee; she was the first openly bisexual person to be elected to this sort of position in the United States.
In 1987 75 bisexuals activists formed a group to march in the first ever nationwide bisexual gathering, the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. Lani Ka'ahumanu published an article for the march: "The Bisexual Movement: Are We Visible Yet?". It was the first article about bisexuals and the emerging bisexual movement to be published in a national lesbian or gay publication. The foundation of the North American Bisexual Network (NABN), was evoked during this gathering though not founded until three years later. It would later become BiNet USA. Also in 1987, Barney Frank became the first U.S. congressman to come out as gay of his own volition; he was inspired in part by the death of Stewart McKinney, a closeted bisexual Republican representative from Connecticut. Barney Frank revealed to The Washington Post that after McKinney's death there was a debate on whether he was LGBT or not and that he did not want this to happen to him.
1990s
The oldest national bisexuality organization in the United States, BiNet USA (former NAMBN), was founded in 1990. It had its first meeting at the first National Bisexual Conference in America. This first conference was held in San Francisco, and sponsored by BiPOL. Bisexual health was included in the workshops at the conference, and the "NAMES Project" quilt included with bisexual quilt pieces. More than 450 people attended and the mayor of San Francisco declared that June 23, 1990 was the Bisexual Pride Day. The conference also inspired attendees to found the first bisexual group in their hometown, called BiNet Dallas.
The bisexual movement also became more accepted as part of established institutions. In 1990, Susan Carlton offered the first university course on bisexuality in America at UC Berkeley, and in 1991, Sari Dworkin and Ron Fox, two psycologists were the founding co-chairs of the Task Force on Bisexual Issues of Division 44 in the LGBT group of the American Psychological Association. In 1997, bisexual activist and psychologist Pat Ashbrook produced for the first time a national model for LGBT support groups within the Veterans Administration hospital.
Bisexual literature became more prominent in the 1990s. In 1991, the Bay Area Bisexual Network began publishing Anything That Moves: Beyond The Myths Of Bisexuality, founded by Karla Rossi, who was the managing editor of the editorial collective until 1993. It was the first national bisexual quarterly magazine.1991 also saw the publication of one of the seminal books in the history of the modern bisexual rights movement, Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out, an anthology edited by Loraine Hutchins and Lani Ka'ahumanu. After this anthology was forced to compete (and lost) in the Lambda Literary Awards under the category Lesbian Anthology, and in 2005, Directed by Desire: Collected Poems a posthumous collection of the bisexual Jamaican American writer June Jordan's work had to compete (and won) in the category "Lesbian Poetry", BiNet USA led the bisexual community in a multi-year campaign eventually resulting in the addition of a Bisexual category, starting with the 2006 Awards. In 1995, Harvard Shakespeare professor Marjorie Garber made the academic case for bisexuality with her book Vice Versa: Bisexuality and the Eroticism of Everyday Life, in which she argued that most people would be bisexual if not for "repression, religion, repugnance, denial, laziness, shyness, lack of opportunity, premature specialization, a failure of imagination, or a life already full to the brim with erotic experiences, albeit with only one person, or only one gender." Bi Community News began publishing as a monthly print journal in the UK in 1995. In 1997, bisexual activist Dr. Fritz Klein founded the first academic journal on bisexuality: Journal of Bisexuality. However, other media proved more mixed in terms of representing bisexuals. In 1990, a film with a relationship between two bisexual women, called Henry and June, became the first film to receive the NC-17 rating from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). But in 1993, bisexual activist Sheela Lambert wrote, produced, and hosted the first television series not only for bisexuals but made by bisexuals, called Bisexual Network.
Regional organizations in the bisexual movement also began to have more impact. Between 1992 and 1993 several "first" annual regional bisexual conference took place in Minnesota, Florida and Seattle: Bisexual Empowerment Conference: A Uniting, Supportive Experience (usually called BECAUSE) was the first in 1992, followed by First Annual Southeast Regional Bisexual Conference.
Minnesota also changed its State Civil Rights Law, obtaining the most progressive civil rights protections for LGBT people in the country. The bisexual community in Minnesota's lobbied with LGBT groups to obtain this. Also in 1992 the First Annual Southeast Regional Bisexual Conference was organized, then in 1993 the first Northwest regional conference in Seattle. In the UK, BiPhoria was formed in 1994, the oldest bi organisation in the UK today.
In 1993 the March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation took place and is considered an important moment for bisexuality rights in the USA. As a result of lobbying by BiPOL (San Francisco), openly bisexual people took leadership roles in the local and regional organization, and the word "bisexual" was included in the name of the March for the first time. Lani Ka'ahumanu spoke at the rally, and over 1,000 people marched with the bisexual group. Coinciding with the March in Washington, DC, 600 people attended the Second National Conference Celebrating Bisexuality held with the help of the Alliance of Multicultural Bisexuals, BiNet USA, and the Bisexual Resource Center. It was the largest Bisexual Conference ever held at the time.
Several important surveys concerning bisexuality were conducted around this time. In 1993, Ron Fox wrote the first large scale academic study on bisexual identity, and maintained an exhaustive bibliography on bi research. Also in 1993, The Janus Report on Sexual Behavior showed that 5 percent of men and 3 percent of women considered themselves bisexual. In 1995 BiNet USA Bisexual Youth Initiative, Fayetteville, N.C., developed a national LGBT youth survey, which was published and sent to communities, to improve services to bisexual youth.
In 1992, Colorado voters approved by initiative an amendment to the Colorado state constitution (Amendment 2) that would have prevented any city, town, or county in the state from taking any legislative, executive, or judicial action to recognize bisexuals or gay people as a protected class.
This led to the 1996 Supreme Court Case Romer v. Evans, in which the Court ruled in a 6–3 decision that the state constitutional amendment in Colorado preventing protected status based upon bisexuality or homosexuality did not satisfy the Equal Protection Clause. The majority opinion in Romer stated that the amendment lacked "a rational relationship to legitimate state interests", and the dissent stated that the majority "evidently agrees that 'rational basis'—the normal test for compliance with the Equal Protection Clause—is the governing standard". The state constitutional amendment failed rational basis review.
The concept of bisexual pride became more widespread in the late 1990s. At an LGBT PrideFest in Connecticut in 1997, Evelyn Mantilla came out as America's first openly bisexual state official. The next year, the Bisexual Pride flag was designed by Michael Page (it was unveiled on Dec 5th, 1998 ), and in 1999 the first Celebrate Bisexuality Day took place. It was organized by Gigi Raven Wilbur, Wendy Curry and Michael Page, and became an interrnational event held every year on September 23.
In France
In France, there is little research or documentation specifically related to bisexuality. One of the leading works is Catherine Deschamps' 2002 study entitled Le miroir bisexuel.
In 1995 a group of four women, including Catherine Deschamps, from the Act Up-Paris movement or from lesbian associations met at the (CGL) in Paris to work on an article on bisexuality for the newspaper Le 3 Keller. In the wake of this, they created a mixed group at the CGL, and in 1997 , the first bisexual association in France, was founded from this group.
In Switzerland
French-speaking Switzerland
In Switzerland, Stéphanie Pache founded Infobi - Antenne bisexuelle romande in Lausanne in 1997, the first bisexual association in French-speaking Switzerland. A feminist activist and involved in the LGBT movement, she was aware of her bisexuality and looked for resources and books on the issue in Switzerland, but found nothing except a book by sexologist Charlotte Wolff published in 1980. She founded a bi-group within the Vogay association, which was created on 1 July 1996 in Lausanne.
The association 360 in Geneva created in 1998 also responds to the need of LGBTIQ people with the wish to have a perspective of openness integrated in its statutes to tackle for the problem with a monolith perception of gay and lesbian identities. The newspaper 360° was created at the same time. Within this association, the bi discussion group was founded, which later became the Bipan group in 2021. The group organised its first public conference on 9 October 2013 entitled "Un soupçon de liberté: la bisexualité décomplexée" at the Maison des Associations in Geneva, inviting Karl Mengel, author of the book Pour et contre la bisexualité - Libre traité d'ambivalence érotique" published by Musardines in 2009.
References
Bisexuality | en |
doc-en-5643 | Iron Butterfly is an American rock band, formed in San Diego, California in 1966, among band members who used to be "arch enemies." They are best known for the 1968 hit "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida," providing a dramatic sound that led the way towards the development of hard rock and heavy metal music. Although their heyday was the late 1960s, the band has been reincarnated with various members with varying levels of success with no new recordings since 1975. Their second album In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (1968) remains a best-seller, and Iron Butterfly was the first group to receive an In-House platinum album award from Atlantic Records. Their music has found a significant impact on the international rock scenes, influencing numerous acts such as Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Rush, Alice Cooper, Mountain, Uriah Heep, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots and Queens of the Stone Age.
History
Formation and Heavy (1966–1968)
The band formed in 1966 in San Diego. The original members were Doug Ingle (vocals, organ, formerly of Jeri and the Jeritones and Palace Pages, Iron Butterfly's forerunner), Jack Pinney (drums), Greg Willis (bass), and Danny Weis (guitar, also of Palace Pages). The group were soon joined by vocalist and tambourine player Darryl DeLoach. DeLoach's parents’ garage served as the site for their almost nightly rehearsals.
Jerry Penrod replaced Willis after the band relocated to Los Angeles in the summer of 1966. Pinney eventually left to return to school. Bruce Morse then replaced Pinney until Ron Bushy (from a group called the Voxmen) came aboard when Morse left due to a family emergency. A booking at Bido Lito's club in Hollywood soon led to regular appearances at the Galaxy Club and the Whisky a Go Go.
In early 1968, the band's debut album Heavy was released after signing a deal with Atco Records, an Atlantic Records subsidiary. The group was signed by Atlantic's Charles Greene, who was co-producer of Heavy. All but Ingle and Bushy left the band after completing the album in the late summer of 1967. The two remaining musicians, faced with the possibility of the record not being released, quickly found replacements in bassist Lee Dorman and 17-year-old guitarist Erik Brann (also known as "Erik Braunn" and "Erik Braun") and resumed touring. In a 1986 interview with IB's fan club fanzine, The Butterfly Net, Brann stated that Jeff Beck, Neil Young, and Michael Monarch (who would go on to join Steppenwolf) had also expressed interest in joining the group to replace Weis.
After Brann was chosen, Penrod and DeLoach, uncomfortable with Brann's young age and frustrated with the time it was taking him to learn the band's repertoire, left the group after Weis did. Weis and Penrod went on to form the group Rhinoceros. In 1970 DeLoach formed Flintwhistle along with Jerry Penrod and Erik Brann. They performed live for about a year before breaking up.
Success with In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida and first breakup (1968–1971)
The 17-minute "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", the title track of Iron Butterfly's second album, became a top-30 hit (edited down to 2:52) in the U. S. The album was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA in December 1968 and had sold over three million copies by the end of 1970. The album stayed on the Billboard charts for over a year and ultimately sold over 30 million copies.
During this time, the band was represented by the William Morris Agency, which booked all their live concerts. Iron Butterfly played its first national tour in the summer of 1968 alongside Jefferson Airplane. By the end of 1968, the band was back in the studio at work on their next album. Iron Butterfly's third album, Ball, was released in January 1969 and went gold, reaching #3 on the Billboard charts.
The band had been booked to play at Woodstock in August 1969 but got stuck at New York City's LaGuardia Airport. They explained their situation to the concert promoters and asked for patience. Their manager, however, sent a telegram demanding that Iron Butterfly be flown in by helicopter, whereupon they would "immediately" take the stage. After their set, they would be paid and flown back to the airport. According to drummer Bushy, "We went down to the Port Authority three times and waited for the helicopter, but it never showed up". Woodstock Production Coordinator John Morris claims he sent the manager a telegram reading: "For reasons I can't go into / Until you are here / Clarifying your situation / Knowing you are having problems / You will have to find / Other transportation / Unless you plan not to come." The acrostic formed by the first letter of each line in the telegram made it clear that the band was not welcome.
Erik Brann left the band after a final show in San Diego on December 15, 1969. Brann was frustrated with the band's unwillingness to move towards a harder rock sound. He was replaced in the line-up by two new musicians: guitarist/vocalist Mike Pinera (whose Blues Image had opened for Iron Butterfly's Vida tour) and guitarist Larry Reinhardt (from the Allman Brothers Band forerunner Second Coming). Both Pinera and Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt had been rehearsing secretly with the band since September 1969 after Brann had voiced his objections to continuing. In August 1970 Iron Butterfly released its fourth studio album Metamorphosis. The album managed to get into the Billboard top 20.
While Iron Butterfly was touring in Europe with Yes in early 1971, Doug Ingle announced his intention to leave the group. Ingle had grown tired of endless touring and wasn't totally on board with the band's new guitar-oriented blues and soul direction. The remaining four members cut the 45 rpm single, "Silly Sally" (with Bushy eventually being replaced on the record by a session drummer, at the producer's prompting). Putting forth a horn-based sound more characteristic of groups like Blood Sweat and Tears, the single failed to chart and proved to be their last recording before their mid-1970s reformation.
The band, with Ingle in tow, decided to play one final tour, pairing with Black Oak Arkansas. Pinera's band-mate from Blues Image, drummer Manny Bertematti, filled in for Bushy for most of the tour dates because of the latter's shoulder injury. The group then broke up after playing the tour's final show at Central Oregon Community College in Bend, Oregon on May 23, 1971. Another reason for the band not continuing at this time, according to a later interview by Pinera, was the U. S. Internal Revenue Service's effort to collect unpaid taxes.
Dorman and Reinhardt subsequently founded Captain Beyond.
Reunions (1974–2011)
In 1974 Brann was contacted by a promoter about reforming Iron Butterfly, so he reunited with Ron Bushy to form a new version of the group, signing with MCA Records and joined by Bushy's friend, bassist Philip Taylor Kramer, and keyboardist Howard Reitzes, a friend of Brann's who worked in a music store. Brann, who had done occasional lead vocals during Iron Butterfly's original run, served as the band's main lead vocalist this time. The album Scorching Beauty was released in January 1975 with Reitzes and Sun and Steel in October 1975 with Bill DeMartines replacing Reitzes. Both albums were criticized for bearing little resemblance to the original tone of the group and sold poorly compared to their earlier releases.
In 1977 the Bushy/Brann/Kramer/DeMartines grouping wound down after being plagued with bad management and tour dates that had started off in theaters but ended up in bars and clubs. Bushy, Kramer and DeMartines formed Magic and Lee Dorman put together a new IB lineup with Rhino that contained British singer Jimi Henderson, Larry Kiernan on keyboards, David Love on guitar and Kevin Karamitros on drums. This grouping toured mostly in the South. By 1978 the lineup was Dorman, Karamitros, Pinera and John Leimseider on keyboards.
In the late fall of 1978, a German promoter made an offer for the band to tour. The Metamorphosis lineup (Ingle, Bushy, Dorman, Pinera and Rhino) made preparations, but just before they were to depart for Germany, Dorman's father took ill and another bassist, Keith Ellis (formerly of Boxer), was brought in to cover for Dorman in case he had to suddenly return to the US. During the tour, Ellis died in Darmstadt, Germany on December 12, 1978.
After their return to the US, the Metamorphosis group played a few homecoming shows in early 1979, joined by Erik Brann for guest appearances. Later in 1979, Bushy returned to his other group, Gold, and the next IB lineup was: Mike Pinera, Lee Dorman, Doug Ingle, a returning John Leimseider and Dorman's Captain Beyond band-mate, drummer Bobby Caldwell. Still later that same year, Bobby Hasbrook, from Hawaii, joined the band as lead guitarist and lead vocals alongside Dorman, Pinera, Caldwell and Leimseider.
IB's lineup was in a constant state of flux from late 1979 on as exhibited in the following groupings: Brann, Dorman, Leimseider, Caldwell and Hasbrook (1979); Pinera, Brann, Dorman, Hasbrook, Caldwell and Nathan Pino – keyboards (1979); Dorman, Brann, Hasbrook, Tim Kislan – keyboards, Zam Johnson – drums and Starz Vanderlocket – vocals, percussion (1980); Dorman, Rhino, Leimseider, Randy Skirvin – guitar, Jimmy Rock – drums and Luke – vocals, percussion (1981–1982); Pinera, Dorman, Rhino, Guy Babylon – keyboards and Jan Uvena – drums (1982) plus Pinera, Dorman, Rhino, Babylon and Bushy (1982).
On July 31, 1982, the Pinera, Dorman, Rhino, Babylon and Bushy lineup went into Music Sound Connection Studio in Studio City, California to record some material, none of which has ever been released.
At the tail end of 1982, Ingle returned to the fold once more as John Shearer (from Steve Hackett's band) came in on drums and percussionist Luke also rejoined since Bushy had taken a sales job outside of music for Makita Tools. Brann (who had guested at some shows during 1982) soon ended his association with the band at this time as well.
Pinera left again, as did Luke, in 1983 and IB worked on some more material in September of that year, with drummer Jerry Sommers playing on some tracks. But once again, nothing ever came of it.
Then Ingle, Dorman, Rhino and drummer Rick Rotante undertook the "Wings of Flight Tour" in early 1984, with Lenny Campanero (ex-Badfinger) replacing Rotante for more recording sessions at Salty Dog Studios in Van Nuys, California.
The "Legends Tour" took place in the fall of 1984 with Ingle, Dorman, Campanero and guitarist Steve Fister (later of Steppenwolf) and another Steppenwolf alumni, bassist Kurtis Teel, took Dorman's spot for the "Phoenix Tour" in the fall of '85, which ended in late November, shortly after which, Teel suddenly died of a heart murmur on December 2. The group then disbanded once again due to managerial problems.
In the spring of 1987, Bushy and Pinera got back together to tour as Iron Butterfly for the "Wings of Flight 87" tour (Dorman was captaining a fishing boat, so was not available at this time) with Ace Baker (keyboards) and Kelly Reubens (bass). Tim Von Hoffman and Glen Rappold (guitar, bass) soon replaced Ace Baker and drummer Donny Vosburgh (who'd been in Thee Image with Pinera) guested at some of these 1987 shows and subbed for Bushy on others. But this was short-lived, as Bushy and then Brann both rehearsed different IB lineups in August and September of that year (see Lineups below) that never made it to the concert stage.
In December 1987 the "classic lineup" of Ingle, Brann, Dorman and Bushy got together at The Roxy Theatre to prepare for a thirty date tour of the East Coast in the winter and spring of 1988 that culminated with an appearance at Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary celebration at Madison Square Garden on May 14, 1988, alongside Led Zeppelin and many others.
After this, Brann and Dorman decided to continue on, bringing in Rhino, keyboardist Derek Hilland and drummer Sal Rodriguez (replaced by Kenny Suarez). They were joined by singer/frontman Steve "Mick" Feldman and backup singers JoAnne Kurman-Montana and Cecelia Noel also appeared with the band for a few shows in 1989, as well as another drummer, Doug Freedman, who subbed for Suarez in the fall of '89. The 1989 IB lineup of Brann, Dorman, Rhino, Hilland, Feldman and Suarez appeared at Woodstock '89, which took place in August 1989 twenty years to the day of and on the site of the original Woodstock concert of 1969 as a spontaneous celebration of the event's 20th anniversary.
In 1990 after Brann fell out with the others and left Iron Butterfly for good, Dorman, Rhino, Hilland and Suarez recorded an album with singer Robert Tepper that was meant to be an IB album called We Will Rise but instead was shelved and eventually reworked into Tepper's 1996 solo album, No Rest For The Wounded Heart.
After the Tepper-led lineup failed to break through, Tepper left to continue his solo career and Dorman, Rhino and Bushy went back on the road in early 1993 with keyboardist Burt Diaz. But after Rhino and Diaz decided to leave, Pinera was brought back, along with keyboardist Hilland. Pinera, by this time, had formed his own group, the Classic Rock All-Stars, so was not available for all of the Butterfly's shows. Guitarist Denny Artache (summer 1993), then Doug Bossey (1994), filled in until Pinera was dropped in 1994, with Bossey, then Eric Barnett finally taking over (in 1995).
Doug Ingle rejoined the band, yet again, on vocals and keyboards in July 1994. In the spring of 1997 the band did a tour of Europe with "classic era" members Ingle, Bushy and Dorman, along with Hilland and Barnett. A DVD of live performances from this tour was released in 2008. Hilland was dropped in 1997 and Ingle officially retired from performing in early 1999. Singer/keysman Damian Bujanda had a brief tenure, but after leaving for personal reasons, Larry Rust joined the band as vocalist/keyboardist from 1999 to 2005.
In 2001, after Dorman took ill, one of the band's road crew, Oly Larios, sat in on bass.
Guitarist/vocalist Charlie Marinkovich joined the band in 2002. Originally from Seattle, Marinkovich had played with Randy Hansen and others.
Original vocalist Darryl DeLoach (born on September 12, 1947) died of liver cancer on October 3, 2002 at the age of 55.,
On July 25, 2003 Erik Brann died of heart failure at the age of 52.
Derek Hilland returned to play keyboards for the group's 2003 dates when Larry Rust was not available.
Larry Rust parted ways with the band in 2005 and was replaced by German violinist, keyboardist, and composer Martin Gerschwitz, who had formerly worked with Lita Ford, Meat Loaf, Walter Trout, and most recently Eric Burdon and The Animals.
In early 2006, Rust came back briefly to substitute for Gerschwitz for dates in Italy, Croatia and Austria. Later that very same year, Ken Chalupnik and Dave Meros filled in for Dorman.
In early 2010, an announcement was made that Iron Butterfly would receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 20th Annual San Diego Music Awards, which took place on September 12, 2010. The award was presented by San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders. Later the same year, Ray Weston (formerly of Wishbone Ash) came in to substitute on drums for Ron Bushy after he was sidelined by health issues.
In early 2012, Phil Parlapiano substituted for Martin Gerschwitz for a few shows when Gerschwitz was unable to play due to his own solo-tour schedule.
Deaths of Reinhardt and Dorman, and inactivity (2012–2014)
Former guitarist Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt died on January 2, 2012, at the age of 63, due to cirrhosis of the liver. Bassist Lee Dorman, who had a history of heart trouble, died on December 21, 2012 at the age of 70. Both Reinhardt and Dorman were also founding members of Captain Beyond.
Following Dorman's death, Iron Butterfly dissolved once more. Charlie Marinkovich revealed in 2013 that he had departed the band altogether and that Ron Bushy was very ill, shrouding the band's future in doubt. At times during his recovery in 2014, Ron Bushy entertained the idea of putting a new Iron Butterfly band together, possibly with Martin Gerschwitz returning on keyboards and lead vocals.
Third reunion/tribute band and death of Ron Bushy (2015–present)
In late 2014, reports surfaced of the band reforming, with a lineup consisting of Bushy, Mike Pinera, Doug Ingle, Jr. on keyboards and an unnamed bassist. However, this reformation did not come to fruition and in 2015 the band unveiled a lineup consisting of Bushy and returning guitarist Eric Barnett, along with new members Mike Green (percussion), Dave Meros (bass), Phil Parlapiano (keyboards) and Ray Weston (drums). Meros, Parlapiano and Weston had all previously played with Iron Butterfly as substitute musicians; Meros for Dorman (in 2006) Parlapiano for Gerschwitz (in 2012) and Weston for Bushy (in 2010) respectively.
At that time, Ron Bushy was still involved with Iron Butterfly, but was retired from performing due to his health concerns.
This left Weston as the only active drummer in the band at all appearances from the 2015 reunion through the end of 2019. In the summer of 2018, Bushy made a rare guest appearance with the band at a gig in California. This turned out to be his first performance on stage with Iron Butterfly since 2012 and his very last one with the band.
Former Butterfly keyboardist Larry Rust died peacefully at his home near Los Angeles on November 25, 2016, at the age of 63. Founding bassist Greg Willis died on November 11, 2016. A tribute concert was staged November 30 at Nicky Rottens in El Cajon.
On January 15, 2020 the Official Iron Butterfly website and their booking agent announced the lineup of the band for 2020: Eric Barnett (guitar, vocals), Dave Meros (bass, vocals), Bernie Pershey (drums, percussion), Martin Gerschwitz (keyboards, vocals), with occasional guests or fill in musicians being Ron Bushy (drums, percussion), Ray Weston (drums, percussion) and Michael Thomas Franklin (keyboards).
On August 29, 2021 TMZ reported that Ron Bushy had died that morning at the UCLA Medical Center at the age of 79 after a battle with esophageal cancer, leaving him as the third member of the In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida lineup to die, following Erik Brann and Lee Dorman in 2003 and 2012 respectively, and Doug Ingle as the only surviving member of this lineup.
Personnel
Current
Eric Barnett – guitar, vocals (1995–2002, 2015–present)
Martin Gerschwitz – keyboards, vocals (2005–2012, 2018–present)
Dave Meros – bass, vocals (2015–present; substitute – 2006)
Bernie Pershey – drums (2020–present)
Former
Doug Ingle – organ, vocals (1966–1971, 1978–79, 1983–1985, 1987–88, 1994–1999)
Jack Pinney – drums, percussion (1966)
Danny Weis – guitar (1966–1967)
Greg Willis – bass (1966)
Darryl DeLoach – tambourine, vocals (1966–1967)
Bruce Morse – drums, percussion (1966)
Jerry Penrod – bass, backing vocals (1966–1967)
Ron Bushy – drums, percussion (1966–1977, 1978–79, 1982, 1987–88, 1993–2012; guest 2015-2021)
Erik Brann – guitar, vocals (1967–1969, 1974–1977, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1982, 1987, 1987–1989)
Lee Dorman – bass, vocals (1967–1971, 1977–78, 1978–1985, 1987–2012)
Mike Pinera – guitar, vocals (1970–1972, 1978–1979, 1982, 1987, 1993)
Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt – guitar (1969–1971, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1981–1984, 1988–1993)
Philip Taylor Kramer – bass, keyboards, vocals (1974–1977)
Howard Reitzes – keyboards, vocals (1974–1975)
Bill DeMartines – keyboards, vocals (1975–1977, 1987)
Kevin Karamitros – drums (1977–1978)
Jimi Henderson – vocals (1977–1978)
Larry Kiernan – keyboards (1977–1978)
David Love – guitar (1977–1978)
John Leimseider – keyboards (1978, 1979, 1981–1982)
Keith Ellis – bass (1978)
Bobby Caldwell – drums, percussion (1979, substitute 1984)
Bobby Hasbrook – guitar, vocals (1979–1982)
Nathan Pino – keyboards (1979)
Zam Johnson – drums, percussion (1980)
Tim Kislan – keyboards (1980)
Starz Vanderlocket – percussion, vocals (1980)
Luke – percussion, vocals (1981–1982, 1982–1983)
Jimmy Rock – drums (1981–1982)
Randy Skirvin – guitar, vocals (1981–1982)
Guy Babylon – keyboards (1982–1983)
Jan Uvena – drums, percussion (1982)
John Shearer – drums (1982–1983)
Jerry Sommers – drums, percussion (1983)
Rick Rotante – drums, percussion (1983–1984)
Lenny Campanero – drums (1984–1985)
Steve Fister – guitar, backing vocals (1984–1985)
Kurtis Teel – bass (1985)
Kelly Reubens – bass (1987)
Tim Von Hoffman – keyboards (1987)
Glen Rappold – guitar, bass, vocals (1987)
Ace Baker – keyboards (1987)
Sal Rodriguez – drums (1987, 1988)
Jim Von Buelow – guitar (1987)
Bob Birch – bass (1987)
Doug Jackson – guitar (1987)
Lyle T. West – vocals (1987)
Derek Hilland – keyboards, backing vocals (1988–1990, 1993–1997; substitute – 2003)
Kenny Suarez – drums, percussion (1988–1992)
Steve "Mick" Feldman – vocals (1988–1990)
Robert Tepper – vocals (1990–1992)
Burt Diaz – keyboards (1993)
Denny Artache – guitar, vocals (1993)
Doug Bossey – guitar (1994–1995)
Damian Bujanda – keyboards, vocals (1999)
Larry Rust – keyboards, vocals (1999–2005)
Charlie Marinkovich – guitar, vocals (2002–2012)
Phil Parlapiano – keyboards, vocals (2015–2018, substitute – 2012)
Michael Green – percussion, vocals (2015–2019)
Ray Weston – drums, percussion (2015–2020; substitute – 2010, 2020)
Supporting musicians
Manny Bertematti – drums, percussion (substitute – 1971)
Donny Vosburgh – drums (guest – 1987)
Doug Freedman – drums, percussion (substitute – 1989)
JoAnne Kurman-Montana – backing vocals (live – 1989)
Cecelia Noel – backing vocals (live – 1989)
Oly Larios – bass (substitute – 2001)
Ken Chalupnik – bass (substitute – 2006)
Lineups
Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
Evolution: The Best of Iron Butterfly (1971)
Star Collection (1973)
Rare Flight (1988)
Light & Heavy: The Best of Iron Butterfly (1993)
Box sets
Unconscious Power: An Anthology 1967-1971 (2020)
EPs
"Iron Butterfly Theme" b/w "Look for the Sun", "Possession"
Radio EP: "Iron Butterfly Theme", "Possession" b/w "Get Out of My Life Woman", "Unconscious Power"
"In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", "Flowers and Beads" b/w "My Mirage"
Singles
Videography
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (video)|In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (Rhino Home Video, R3-2215) 1995
(Contained video performances of "Easy Rider" (3:21), "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" (17:03) and "Butterfly Bleu" (19:51))
Rock 'N' Roll Greats In Concert! (Passport Video) 2004
(Contained video performances of the full concert at Itchycoo Park in 1999)
References
Bibliography
External links
Collectors website with discography
Iron Butterfly Performances
[ Iron Butterfly All Music Guide Entry]
Acid rock music groups
1966 establishments in California
Atco Records artists
Hard rock musical groups from California
MCA Records artists
Musical groups established in 1966
Musical groups from San Diego
Psychedelic rock music groups from California
Articles which contain graphical timelines | en |
doc-en-503 | Hurricane Wilma was the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Atlantic basin, and the second-most intense tropical cyclone recorded in the Western Hemisphere, after Hurricane Patricia in 2015. Part of the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, which included three of the ten most intense Atlantic hurricanes ever in terms of barometric pressure (along with #4 Rita and #7 Katrina), Wilma was the twenty-second storm, thirteenth hurricane, sixth major hurricane, fourth Category 5 hurricane, and the second-most destructive hurricane of the 2005 season. A tropical depression formed in the Caribbean Sea near Jamaica on October 15, headed westward, and intensified into a tropical storm two days later, which abruptly turned southward and was named Wilma. Wilma continued to strengthen, and eventually became a hurricane on October 18. Shortly thereafter, explosive intensification occurred, and in only 24 hours, Wilma became a Category 5 hurricane with wind speeds of .
Wilma's intensity slowly leveled off after becoming a Category 5 hurricane, and winds had decreased to before it reached the Yucatán Peninsula on October 20 and 21. After crossing the Yucatán, Wilma emerged into the Gulf of Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane. As it began accelerating to the northeast, gradual re-intensification occurred, and the hurricane was upgraded to Category 3 status on October 24. Shortly thereafter, Wilma made landfall in Cape Romano, Florida with winds of . As Wilma was crossing Florida, it briefly weakened back to a Category 2 hurricane, but again re-intensified as it reached the Atlantic Ocean. The hurricane intensified into a Category 3 hurricane for the last time, before weakening while accelerating northeastward. By October 26, Wilma transitioned into an extratropical cyclone southeast of Nova Scotia.
Wilma made several landfalls, with the most destructive effects felt in the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, Cuba, and the U.S. state of Florida. At least 52 deaths were reported and damage totaled to $22.4 billion, most of which occurred in the United States. After Wilma, no other major hurricane made landfall in the contiguous United States until Hurricane Harvey made landfall in southern Texas on August 26, 2017, ending a record period of 11 years 10 months. During this time, major Atlantic hurricanes occurred slightly more frequently than average; they just either did not make landfall at that strength in the United States or just missed the United States entirely. Also, after Wilma, no hurricane struck the state of Florida until Hurricane Hermine did so nearly 11 years later in 2016, and no major hurricane struck Florida until nearly 12 years later when Hurricane Irma made landfall in early September 2017.
Meteorological history
During mid-October 2005, a large monsoon-like system developed in the Caribbean Sea. A broad low pressure area formed on October 13 to the southeast of Jamaica, which slowly became more defined. On October 15, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) classified the system as Tropical Depression Twenty-Four while located about east-southeast of Grand Cayman. The depression drifted southwestward through a favorable environment, including warm sea surface temperatures. The depression strengthened into a tropical storm on October 17, whereupon the NHC designated it Wilma. Initial intensification was slow, due to Wilma's large size and a flat pressure gradient, although the associated convection gradually organized.
On October 18, Wilma intensified into a hurricane, and subsequently underwent explosive deepening over the open waters of the Caribbean Sea. In a 30–hour period through October 19, Wilma's barometric pressure dropped from 982 mbar (29.00 inHg) to 882 mbar (26.05 inHg); this made Wilma the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record, based on pressure. During the same intensification period, the winds increased to a peak intensity of 185 mph (295 km/h), making Wilma a Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale. An eyewall replacement cycle caused Wilma to weaken below Category 5 status on October 20, as it drifted northwestward toward Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. Late on October 21, Wilma made landfall on the island of Cozumel, Quintana Roo, with sustained winds of 150 mph (240 km/h). About six hours later, Wilma made a second landfall on the Mexican mainland near Puerto Morelos.
The hurricane weakened over land, but re-intensified once it reached the Gulf of Mexico. Wilma accelerated to the northeast, steered by a powerful trough. After passing northwest of the Florida Keys, the hurricane struck southwestern Florida near Cape Romano on October 24 with winds of 120 mph (195 km/h). Wilma rapidly crossed the state and weakened, emerging into the Atlantic Ocean near Jupiter, Florida. The hurricane briefly re-intensified while passing north of the Bahamas, absorbing the smaller Tropical Storm Alpha to the east. The hurricane passed west of Bermuda on October 25. After cold air and wind shear penetrated the core of convection, Wilma transitioned into an extratropical cyclone on October 26 to the south of Nova Scotia; it was absorbed by another extratropical storm a day later over Atlantic Canada.
Records
At 18:01 UTC on October 19, a Hurricane Hunters dropsonde measured a barometric pressure of in the eye of Wilma, along with sustained winds of 23 mph (46 km/h); the wind value suggested that the central pressure was slightly lower, estimated at . This is the lowest central pressure on record for any Atlantic hurricane, breaking the previous record of set by Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. Wilma's intensification rate broke all records in the basin, with a 24–hour pressure drop of ; this also broke the record set by Gilbert. At the hurricane's peak intensity, the Hurricane Hunters estimated the eye of Wilma contracted to a record minimum diameter of 2.3 mi (3.7 km).
While striking Mexico, it dropped torrential rainfall on the offshore Isla Mujeres. Over 24 hours, a rain gauge recorded of precipitation, which set a record in Mexico for the nation's highest 24–hour rainfall total, as well as the highest 24 hour rainfall total in the western hemisphere.
When Tropical Storm Wilma formed on October 17, it became the first named "W" storm in the basin since naming began in 1950. It would be 15 years later for the next Atlantic Hurricane Season, to have another W-named storm Tropical Storm Wilfred in the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season.
Preparations
The various governments of the nations threatened by Wilma issued many tropical cyclone warnings and watches. At 09:00 UTC on October 16, a hurricane watch and tropical storm warning were posted for the Cayman Islands; these were dropped three days later. A tropical storm warning was issued in Honduras from the border with Nicaragua westward to Cabo Camaron at 15:00 UTC on October 17. In Belize, another tropical storm warning became in effect at 15:00 UTC on October 19 from the border with Mexico to Belize City. On October 21, the tropical storm warning in Honduras was discontinued at 03:00 UTC, while the other in Belize was canceled twelve hours later.
The Mexican government issued hurricane warnings from Chetumal near Belize to San Felipe, Yucatán; a tropical storm warning was extended westward to Celestún. Officials declared a state of emergency in 23 municipalities across the Yucatán, and placed Quintana Roo and Yucatán under a red alert, the highest on its color-coded alert system. About 75,000 people evacuated in northeastern Mexico, including about 45,000 people who rode out the storm in 200 emergency shelters, many of them tourists. Schools were canceled in Quintana Roo, Yucatán, and Campeche, up to 15 days in some areas. Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica – the MTV Video Music Awards Latinoamérica – were canceled due to the hurricane, originally scheduled to occur in Playa del Carmen on October 20.
The Cuban government issued several watches and warnings in relation to Wilma. By October 22, a hurricane warning was in place for the city of Havana, as well as the provinces of La Habana and Pinar del Río. A tropical storm warning was also issued for Isla de la Juventud, and a hurricane watch was issued for Matanzas Province. The Cuban government mobilized 93,154 workers to help evacuate 760,168 people across western of the island's western provinces. The evacuees generally stayed with family, friends, or in storm shelters. Officials closed all schools nationwide during the passage of Wilma and later Tropical Storm Alpha. During Wilma's passage, 41 hotels closed, of which five remained closed for two weeks after the storm. Many businesses, banks, and government institutions were closed for several days due to the storm. Along the coast, 554 boats were moved to protect them during the storm. Farmers moved 246,631 livestock, more than half of them cattle, to avoid the expected high waters. Passenger travel was halted for all trains nationwide, as well as ferry service between Batabanó and Isla de la Juventud. Poor weather conditions forced three airports to briefly close – José Martí International in Havana, Juan Gualberto Gómez in Varadero and Jardines del Rey in Cayo Coco.
The NHC issued tropical cyclone warnings and watches across much of southern Florida, with a hurricane warning ultimately covering all of south Florida from Longboat Key on the west coast to Titusville, including Lake Okeechobee and the Florida Keys. A tropical storm watch extended northward on the west coast to Steinhatchee River. On Florida's east coast, a tropical storm warning stretched northward from Titusville to St. Augustine, with a tropical storm watch extending north to Fernandina Beach. Florida governor Jeb Bush declared a state of emergency on October 19, allowing the deployment of the Florida National Guard and strategic placement of emergency supplies. A mandatory evacuation of residents was ordered for the Florida Keys in Monroe County and those in Collier County living west or south of US 41. County offices, schools and courts were closed October 24. At least 300 Keys evacuees were housed at the Monroe County shelter at Florida International University in Miami-Dade County. All Collier County public schools closed on October 21 and remained closed on October 24, as the hurricane made landfall. Schools around Fort Myers and Tampa, as well as Sumter, Marion, Osceola, Pasco, and Polk counties, were closed on October 24. In other areas of Central Florida, schools were closed in Flagler, Lake, Orange, and Volusia counties. Schools in Palm Beach and Broward counties were closed for two weeks because of extended power outages and some damage to school buildings.
Wilma's passage through Florida disrupted many festival and sporting matches. Key West postponed Fantasy Fest, usually held annually around Halloween, until December, which resulted in a loss of millions of dollars in revenue for hotels, restaurants, and stores. The NFL moved the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Miami Dolphins game at Dolphins Stadium from October 23 to October 21 and the NHL postponed the Florida Panthers vs. Ottawa Senators at the BankAtlantic Center from October 22 to December 5. The NCAA rescheduled three college football games scheduled on October 22. The Georgia Tech vs. Miami match was rescheduled to November 19, the West Virginia vs. South Florida game was moved to December 3, and the Central Florida vs. Tulane game played one day earlier, October 21.
The government of The Bahamas issued a hurricane warning for the northwestern Bahamas at 12:00 UTC on October 23, about 24 hours before Wilma made its closest approach to the archipelago. Officials ordered evacuations for the eastern and western portion of Grand Bahama island, with an estimated 300–1,000 people who ultimately evacuated. The hurricane halted production of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, forcing the cast and crew to evacuate.
The Bermuda Weather Service issued a gale warning for the island early on October 24, due to uncertainty whether Wilma would be tropical or not. After consulting with the NHC, the agency maintained the gale warning rather than changing it to a tropical storm warning to reduce confusion.
Impact
Caribbean
For several days in its formative stages, Wilma's outer rainbands dropped heavy rainfall in Haiti and as far east as the Dominican Republic. The rains triggered river flooding and landslides in Haiti, killing 12 people, and forcing 300 residents into shelters. The storm cut communications between Les Cayes and Tiburon. Less than a week after Wilma formed, Tropical Storm Alpha struck Hispaniola and caused additional deadly floods in Haiti. Damage in the country totaled around $500,000 (2005 USD).
Wilma caused one death in Jamaica as a tropical depression on October 16. It pounded the island for three days ending on October 18, flooding several low-lying communities and triggering mudslides that blocked roads and damaged several homes. Almost 250 people were in emergency shelters on the island. Damage on the island totaled $93.5 million (2005 USD).
While Wilma was moving northeast in the Gulf of Mexico, the hurricane produced high tides and gusty winds across western Cuba. The highest recorded gusts was 84 mph (135 km/h) at Casablanca near Havana. For several days, the storm spread rainfall across 11 of Cuba's 14 provinces, with a peak rainfall of in Pinar del Río province. The Cuban government tabulated the hurricane's economic cost at US$704.2 million, which included the expenses for preparations and lost production from factories. Nationwide, Wilma destroyed 446 houses and damaged another 7,149 to varying degree, mostly roofing damage. Due to high floodwaters, nearly 250 people required rescue from their homes in Havana, using inflatable rafts and amphibious vehicles to reach the most severely flooded areas. The hurricane wrecked worth of agriculture products in Pinar del Río and Havana provinces, which included damaged fruit trees, bee colonies, and tobacco houses. High floodwaters inundated parts of Havana and along Cuba's northwest coast, damaging roads and rail lines. Landslides blocked two bridges and five roads in eastern Cuba. The hurricane also damaged 364 schools and three hospitals. Officials cut electricity in Havana after winds reached 45 mph (70 km/h); after the storm, there were power and water outages in the city, nearby neighborhoods, and in Pinar del Río province. The storm downed 146 power poles and worth of electric lines.
Mexico
Across the Yucatán peninsula, Hurricane Wilma dropped torrential rainfall, inundated coastlines with a significant storm surge, and produced an extended period of strong winds. The hurricane lashed parts of the Yucatán peninsula with hurricane-force winds gusts for nearly 50 hours. On the Mexican mainland, a station in Cancún recorded 10–minute sustained winds of 160 km/h (100 mph), with gusts to 212 km/h (132 mph) before the anemometer failed; gusts were estimated at . The gust in Cancún was the strongest ever recorded in Mexico. The prolonged period of high waves eroded beaches and damaged coastal reefs.
Across Mexico, Wilma killed eight people – seven in Quintana Roo, and one in Yucatán. Throughout Mexico, Wilma's damage was estimated at $4.8 billion (MXN, US$454 million), mostly in Quintana Roo, where it was the state's costliest natural disaster. The hurricane resulted in $13.9 billion (US$1.3 billion) in lost economic output and earnings, 95% of which was related to lost tourism revenue. Wilma damaged 28,980 houses in Mexico, and destroyed or severely damaged 110 hotels in Cancún alone. In the city, about 300,000 people were left homeless. The water level in Cancún reached the third story of some buildings due to waves, in addition to the storm surge. About 300 people who were from Great Britain had to be evacuated when their shelter flooded in Cancún, while the Americans were left there by the United States. The hurricane also caused significant damage in Cozumel and Isla Mujeres. About 300,000 people lost power in Mexico. The storm also damaged 473 schools.
Flooding damaged houses in low-lying areas of eastern Yucatán state. The primary highway connecting Cancún and Mérida, Yucatán was impassible after the storm due to floods. Across Mexico, Wilma damaged worth of crops, majority of which was in Yucatán state. Across the Yucatán peninsula, the hurricane downed about of trees.
United States
Florida
In Florida, Wilma's swift movement across the state resulted in mostly light precipitation totals of , while some areas recorded only of rainfall or less. However, precipitation in Florida peaked at at the Kennedy Space Center. The highest observed sustained wind speed at surface-height was a 15-minute average of 92 mph (148 km/h) at a South Florida Water Management District observation site located in Lake Okeechobee, corresponding to a 1-minute average of 104 mph (167 km/h). Storm surge heights in the Florida Keys generally ranged from and peaked at nearly in Marathon. Collier County measured the highest storm surge on the mainland, reaching . Wilma also spawned 12 tornadoes in Florida.
Wind damage accounted for much of the storm's overall damage. The very large eye of Wilma moved across all of or portions of six counties – Broward, Collier, Hendry, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach. This resulted in widespread hurricane-force sustained winds and gusts, with Category 2 conditions likely occurring in southeastern Florida from Palm Beach County to northern Miami-Dade County. Strong winds left widespread power outages; Florida Power & Light reported more than 3,241,000 customers had lost power. At the time, this represented the largest power failure in the history of Florida. The outages affected approximately 2.5 million subscribers in the Miami metropolitan area – roughly 98% of electrical customers in that area. Florida's agricultural industry reported around $1.3 billion in damage. Nurseries and sugarcane crops were particularly hard hit – the former suffered damage totaling nearly $554 million and the latter experienced damages around $400 million. Overall, Wilma left about $19 billion in damage and 30 deaths in Florida, 5 from direct causes.
In Monroe County, storm surge from Wilma impacted the Florida Keys twice, with the second event causing the worst coastal flooding in the island chain since Hurricane Betsy in 1965. At Dry Tortugas National Park, storm surge and winds damaged boats, destroyed docking facilities, and flooded the park office and livings quarters, but Fort Jefferson saw no major damage. Water submerged roughly 60% of Key West and left approximately 690 apartment units, homes, and mobile homes uninhabitable. Wilma damaged more than 4,100 single-family residences, 20 of which sustained major damage, and 6 experienced complete destruction. The hurricane also damaged roughly 2,500 mobile homes, with 257 suffering substantial impact and 15 being destroyed. About 90 apartment and condominium units received some degree of impact. As many as 20,000 cars suffered damage, prompting the Key West Citizen to refer to the lower Florida Keys as a "car graveyard." The storm ran hundreds of vessels aground, including 223 boats between Key West and Islamorada. Damage in Monroe County reached at least $200 million, with approximately half the total occurring in Key West, though the figure did not include incorporated areas.
Storm surge in Collier County mostly impacted Chokoloskee, Everglades City, and Plantation Island. Surge destroyed around 200 recreational vehicles in Chokoloskee and covered Everglades City with about of water, flooding structures including the Old Collier County Courthouse. The hurricane also caused major impact in Naples, especially to 90 high-rise condos. Buildings in the city suffered $150 million in damage. Additionally, high winds severely damaged 100 hangars at Naples Airport. Wilma damaged 16,000 businesses and homes to some degree in Collier County, with 394 buildings suffering damage to at least 50 percent of their structure. The hurricane destroyed 2 dwellings, 8 workplaces, and 615 mobile homes, about one-third in Immokalee. In total, the county reported $1.2 billion in damage, along with a death toll of 7. Hurricane-force wind gusts extended northward into Lee County. Bonita Springs experienced the worst impact in Lee County, with 972 homes reporting minor to major damage. In Cape Coral, Wilma impacted 511 residences; 490 dwellings suffered minor damage, 20 others experienced extensive damage, and 1 mobile home was destroyed. The storm also inflicted moderate to major damage to 78 businesses and demolished 1 other workplace. Insured and uninsured damage in the county totaled $101 million and one fatality occurred.
Wilma inflicted a multi-billion dollar disaster in the Miami metropolitan area, including $2.9 billion in damage in Palm Beach County, $2 billion in Miami-Dade County, and $1.2 billion in Broward County. Numerous homes and businesses experienced some degree of impact, with over 55,000 dwellings and 3,600 workplaces damaged in Palm Beach County alone. Furthermore, officials declared 5,111 residences in Broward County and at least 2,059 others in Miami-Dade County as uninhabitable. An aerial survey in Broward County indicated that 70% of homes and businesses in Coconut Creek, Davie, Margate, North Lauderdale, Plantation, and Sunrise experienced some degree of impact. High winds also damaged skyscrapers and high-rises, including the Colonial Bank Building, the JW Marriott Miami, Espirito Santo Plaza, and the Four Seasons Hotel Miami in Greater Downtown Miami, as well as the One Financial Plaza, AutoNation Tower, Broward Financial Center, the Broward County Administration Building, the 14-floor Broward County School Board building, and the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale.
In Hendry County, high winds damaged around 90 percent of buildings and homes in Clewiston and other eastern sections of the county. The county suffered a loss of about half of orange and sugar crops. Overall, Wilma substantially damaged 250 homes and destroyed 550 other homes in Hendry County. Damage totaled at least $567 million, with $300 million to agriculture and $267 million in structures. Hurricane-force wind gusts in Glades County left approximately 3,000 people without electricity. Wilma destroyed more than 60 homes. Seventeen school district buildings suffered roof damage. Approximately 800 residences sustained damage in Okeechobee County, with 114 receiving major damage and 29 others being destroyed. In Martin County, which recorded a wind gust as high as in Hobe Sound, the storm extensively damaged 120 dwellings and destroyed 48 others. The county tallied $95.7 million in damage. Neighboring St. Lucie County reported damage totaling $43.4 million. Rainfall totals ranging from in parts of Brevard County left freshwater flooding; about 200 homes in Cocoa suffered water damage. Six tornadoes in the county also damaged or destroyed some apartments, cars, fences, power lines, restaurants, and trees. In the Florida Panhandle, abnormal high tides generated by Wilma washed the Cape St. George Lighthouse into the Gulf of Mexico. Damage elsewhere in the state was generally minor.
Other states
Rainfall from Hurricane Wilma extended up the east coast of the United States from Florida to Virginia. Precipitation reached along the Outer Banks of North Carolina. As Wilma was moving out to sea, a nor'easter developed near Cape Hatteras; the two systems produced high waves, coastal flooding, and beach erosion from Delaware to Maine, resulting in some road closures. The nor'easter drew moisture and energy from Wilma to produce heavy rainfall, snowfall in higher elevations, and gusty winds, with a peak wind gust of recorded at Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory in Milton. The high winds resulting in downed trees and scattered power outages, with traffic blocked on parts of Interstate 95 in Rhode Island and the Green Line train in Newton, Massachusetts. Snowfall reached in Vermont. In Maine, the snowfall left about 25,000 people without power.
Bahamas and Bermuda
After exiting Florida, Wilma passed just north of the northwestern Bahamas. A buoy just off West End on Grand Bahama recorded sustained winds of 95 mph (152 km/h), along with gusts of 114 mph (183 km/h). The hurricane also produced high waves and a storm surge, which washed about in some areas. The sudden rush of water destroyed about 250 homes and damaged another 400, mostly on the western portion of Grand Bahama. At one home in Eight Mile Rock, the waters swept away and killed a 15-month-old infant. The flooding unearthed 54 bodies from five cemeteries. Central and eastern Grand Bahama received little to no damage from the hurricane. The undersecretary to the prime minister, Carnard Bethell, estimated monetary damage at "just maybe under $100 million". However, the country estimated a damage total of about US$6.5 million in their report to the WMO. Damage in the Bahamas mostly consisted of torn roofs and uprooted trees.
On Bermuda, Hurricane Wilma produced wind gusts of 51 mph (81 km/h). The strongest winds on the island were short-lived due to the hurricane's fast forward motion at the time. The hurricane disrupted the flight path of migratory birds, resulting in an unusual increase in frigatebird sightings around the island.
Aftermath
Due to the hurricanes' widespread damage, the World Meteorological Organization retired the name "Wilma" in April 2006, at the 28th session of the regional hurricane committee. The name was replaced with "Whitney" on the naming list for the 2011 season.
Mexico
In Mexico, residents and tourists staying in shelters faced food shortages in Wilma's immediate aftermath. There were 10 community kitchens set up across Cancún, each capable of feeding 1,500 people every day. Local and federal troops quelled looting and rioting in Cancún. While Cancún's airport was closed to the public, stranded visitors filled taxis and buses to Mérida, Yucatán. Located 320 km (200 mi) from Cancún, Mérida was the region's closest functioning airport. Most hotels in Cozumel, Isla Mujeres, and the Riviera Maya were largely reopened by early January 2006. The resorts in Cancún took longer to reopen, but most were operational by Wilma's one-year anniversary.
On November 28, Mexico declared a disaster area for 9 of Quintana Roo's 11 municipalities – Benito Juárez, Cozumel, Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Isla Mujeres, Lázaro Cárdenas, Othon P. Blanco, and Solidaridad. Mexico's development bank – Nacional Financiera – provided financial assistance for businesses affected by Wilma and Stan through a $400 million fund (MXN, US$38 million). Quintana Roo's state government began a temporary work program for residents whose jobs were impacted by the hurricane. The Mexican Red Cross provided food, water, and health care to residents affected by the hurricane. The agency also distributed emergency supplies, such as mosquito nets, plastic sheeting, and hygiene supplies.
Cuba
Within a few days of Wilma's passage by Cuba, workers restored power and water access to impacted residents. The Revolutionary Armed Forces cleared and repaired roads around Havana that were flooded. The capital city was reopened and largely returned to normal within six days of the storm. On October 25, the government of the United States offered emergency assistance to Cuba, which the Cuban government accepted a day later. This acceptance of aid broke from previous practice; many times in the past, including during Hurricane Dennis, the United States offered aid, but the Cuban government declined. The United States provided US$100,000 to non-governmental organizations in the country.
United States
On October 24, 2005, the same day Wilma made landfall in Florida, President George W. Bush approved a disaster declaration for Brevard, Broward, Collier, Glades, Hendry, Indian River, Lee, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie counties. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) expended $342.5 million to the 227,321 approved applicants. The agency paid out $150.8 million for housing and $191.5 million for other significant disaster-related needs, including loss of personal property, moving and storage, and medical or funeral expenses relating to the hurricane. Additionally, public assistance from FEMA totaled over $1.4 billion and grants for hazard mitigation projects exceeded $141.5 million.
Florida governor Jeb Bush activated an emergency bridge loan program in early November 2005, allowing small businesses damaged by Wilma to apply for interest-free loans up to $25,000. The Florida legislature took several actions in the 2006 session in relation to Wilma. These included allocating $66.7 million to improving shelters, mandating that high-rise buildings have at least one elevator capable of operating by generator, and requiring gas stations and convenience stores to possess a back-up electrical supply in the event that they have fuel but no power.
Florida's sugar industry was greatly affected; the cropping had already started and had to be halted indefinitely. Damage to sugarcane crops was critical and widespread. Citrus canker spread rapidly throughout southern Florida following Hurricane Wilma, creating further hardships on an already stressed citrus economy due to damage from Wilma and previous years' hurricanes. Citrus production estimates fell to a low of 158 million boxes for the 2005–2006 production seasons from a high of 240 million for 2003–2004. Forecasts projected a decrease of 28 million boxes of oranges, the smallest crop since the 1989-1990 growing season, caused by a severe freeze.
By late-September 2010, roughly $9.2 billion had been paid for more than 1 million insurance claims that had been filed throughout Florida in relation to Hurricane Wilma.
After Wilma, the United States would not be struck by another major hurricane until Hurricane Harvey made landfall in southern Texas on August 26, 2017, ending a record period of 11 years and 10 months, a total of 4,323 days. During this time, major hurricanes occurred in the Atlantic slightly more frequently than average; they just did not make landfall in the United States. Additionally, Florida would not be struck by another hurricane for a record 11 years until Hurricane Hermine in September 2016. A total of 68 consecutive hurricanes either missed the state or weakened below hurricane intensity before making landfall in Florida. Furthermore, the state would not experience another major hurricane landfall until Hurricane Irma in September 2017.
See also
Tropical cyclones in 2005
List of Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes
List of Cuba hurricanes
List of Florida hurricanes (2000–present)
Timeline of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season
Hurricane Allen (1980) – Another record-breaking Category 5 storm that moved through the Caribbean Sea
Hurricane Gilbert (1988) – A Category 5 storm that previously held the record for the most intense Atlantic storm on record
Hurricane Mitch (1998) – An extremely deadly Category 5 storm that affected similar areas
Hurricane Delta (2020) – A Category 4 storm that rapidly intensified in the same area and struck the Yucatán Peninsula
Hurricane Eta (2020) – A Category 4 hurricane that also rapidly intensified in the same area and devastated Central America
Notes
References
External links
on Hurricane Wilma.
The NHC's archive on Hurricane Wilma.
Storm chaser George Kourounis documents the eye of Hurricane Wilma
U.S. Rainfall for Hurricane Wilma from HPC
Wilma pictures, satellites images
The Disaster Center's Coverage of Hurricane Wilma
2005 Atlantic hurricane season
Hurricane Wilma
Hurricane Wilma
Hurricane Wilma
Articles containing video clips
Atlantic hurricanes in Mexico
Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes
Hurricanes in Belize
Hurricanes in Canada
Hurricanes in Cuba
Hurricanes in Honduras
Hurricanes in Jamaica
Hurricanes in Florida
Hurricanes in the Bahamas
Hurricanes in the Cayman Islands
Retired Atlantic hurricanes
October 2005 events in North America
Wilma | en |
doc-en-2698 | The smallpox vaccine was the first vaccine to be developed against a contagious disease. In 1796, the British doctor Edward Jenner demonstrated that an infection with the relatively mild cowpox virus conferred immunity against the deadly smallpox virus. Cowpox served as a natural vaccine until the modern smallpox vaccine emerged in the 20th century. From 1958 to 1977, the World Health Organization conducted a global vaccination campaign that eradicated smallpox, making it the only human disease to be eradicated. Although routine smallpox vaccination is no longer performed on the general public, the vaccine is still being produced to guard against bioterrorism, biological warfare, and for monkeypox.
The term vaccine derives from the Latin word for cow, reflecting the origins of smallpox vaccination. Edward Jenner referred to cowpox as variolae vaccinae (smallpox of the cow). The origins of the smallpox vaccine became murky over time, especially after Louis Pasteur developed laboratory techniques for creating vaccines in the 19th century. Allan Watt Downie demonstrated in 1939 that the modern smallpox vaccine was serologically distinct from cowpox, and vaccinia was subsequently recognized as a separate viral species. Whole-genome sequencing has revealed that vaccinia is most closely related to horsepox, and the cowpox strains found in Great Britain are the least closely related to vaccinia.
Types
Calf lymph
Calf lymph was the name given to a type of smallpox vaccine used in the 19th century, and which was still manufactured up to the 1970s. Calf lymph was known as early as 1805 in Italy, but it was the Lyon Medical Conference of 1864 which made the technique known to the wider world. In 1898 calf lymph became the standard method of vaccination for smallpox in the United Kingdom, when arm-to-arm vaccination was eventually banned (due to complications such as the simultaneous transmission of syphilis, erysipelas or smallpox itself).
Dryvax
Dryvax was a freeze-dried live-virus smallpox vaccine prepared from calf lymph and used for smallpox eradication efforts. The vaccine was effective, providing successful immunogenicity in about 95% of vaccinated persons. Dryvax has serious adverse side-effects in about 1% to 2% of cases.
Before its discontinuation, it was the world's oldest smallpox vaccine, created in the late 19th century by American Home Products, a predecessor of Wyeth. By the 1940s, Wyeth was the leading U.S. manufacturer of the vaccine and the only manufacturer by the 1960s. After world health authorities declared smallpox had been eradicated from nature in 1980, Wyeth stopped making the vaccine. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) kept a stockpile for use in case of emergency. In 2003 this supply helped contain an outbreak of monkeypox in the United States. In February 2008, the CDC disposed of the last of its 12 million doses of Dryvax. Its supply was replaced by ACAM2000, a more modern product manufactured in laboratories by Acambis, a division of Sanofi Pasteur.
Trace amounts of the following antibiotics (added during processing) may have been present in Dryvax: neomycin sulfate, chlortetracycline hydrochloride, polymyxin B sulfate, and dihydrostreptomycin sulfate.
ACAM2000
ACAM2000 is a smallpox vaccine developed by Acambis. It was approved for use in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on 31 August 2007. It contains live vaccinia virus, cloned from the same strain used in an earlier vaccine, Dryvax. While the Dryvax virus was cultured in the skin of calves and freeze-dried, ACAM2000s virus is cultured in kidney epithelial cells (Vero cells) from an African green monkey. Efficacy and adverse reaction incidence are similar to Dryvax. The vaccine is not routinely available to the U.S. public; it is, however, used in the military and maintained in the Strategic National Stockpile.
A droplet of ACAM2000 is administered by the percutaneous route (scarification) using 15 jabs of a bifurcated needle. ACAM2000 should not be injected by the intradermal, subcutaneous, intramuscular, or intravenous route.
MVA-BN
MVA-BN (also known as: Imvanex in the European Union; Imvamune in Canada; and Jynneos in the United States) is a live, non-replicating vaccine for smallpox and monkeypox developed and manufactured by Bavarian Nordic and derived from Modified Vaccinia Ankara, an attenuated strain of the vaccinia virus. It was approved in the European Union for immunization against smallpox disease in adults in July 2013, and was approved in Canada. MVA-BN underwent further clinical trials in preparation for approval in the United States, and was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in September 2019.
MVA-BN contains Modified vaccinia Ankara, a attenuated form of the vaccinia virus that does not replicate in human cells and hence does not cause the sometimes serious side effects that are seen with replicating smallpox vaccines (i.e. preparations of unattenuated vaccinia virus). These replicating vaccines use different strains of the vaccinia virus, which all replicate in humans, and are not recommended for people with immune deficiencies and exfoliative skin disorders, such as eczema or atopic dermatitis. Vaccines containing vaccinia viruses were used effectively in the campaign to eradicate smallpox. Because of similarities between vaccinia and the smallpox virus, the antibodies produced against vaccinia have been shown to protect against smallpox. In contrast to replicating smallpox vaccines, which are applied by scarification using a bifurcated needle, MVA-BN is administered by injection via the subcutaneous route.
, 24 million doses of MVA-BN were delivered to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) for use by people with weakened immune systems or atopic dermatitis.
Safety
The vaccine is infectious, which improves its effectiveness, but causes serious complications for people with impaired immune systems (for example chemotherapy and AIDS patients, and people with eczema), and is not yet considered safe for pregnant women. A woman planning on conceiving should not receive smallpox immunization. Vaccines that only contain attenuated vaccinia viruses (an attenuated virus is one in which the pathogenicity has been decreased through serial passage) have been proposed, but some researchers have questioned the possible effectiveness of such a vaccine. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "vaccination within 3 days of exposure will prevent or significantly lessen the severity of smallpox symptoms in the vast majority of people. Vaccination 4 to 7 days after exposure likely offers some protection from disease or may modify the severity of disease." This, along with vaccinations of so-called first responders, is the current plan of action being devised by the United States Department of Homeland Security (including Federal Emergency Management Agency) in the United States.
Among US military service members vaccinated between December 2002 and March 2003 with smallpox vaccine 18 cases of probable myopericarditis were reported, an incidence of 7.8 per 100,000 over 30 days.
Starting in early 2003, the United States government started a program to vaccinate 500,000 volunteer health care professionals throughout the country. Recipients were healthcare workers who would be first-line responders in the event of a bioterrorist attack. Many healthcare workers refused, worried about vaccine side effects, and healthcare systems refused to participate. Fewer than 40,000 actually received the vaccine.
In May 2007, the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted unanimously that a new live virus vaccine produced by Acambis, ACAM2000, is both safe and effective for use in persons at high risk of exposure to smallpox virus. However, due to the high rate of serious adverse effects, the vaccine will only be made available to the CDC (a part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services) for the Strategic National Stockpile.
History
Variolation
The mortality of the severe form of smallpox – variola major – was very high without vaccination, up to 35% in some outbreaks. A method of inducing immunity known as inoculation, insufflation or "variolation" was practiced before the development of a modern vaccine and likely occurred in Africa and China well before the practice arrived in Europe. It may also have occurred in India, but this is disputed; other investigators contend the ancient Sanskrit medical texts of India do not describe these techniques. The first clear reference to smallpox inoculation was made by the Chinese author Wan Quan (1499–1582) in his Douzhen xinfa (痘疹心法) published in 1549. Inoculation for smallpox does not appear to have been widespread in China until the reign era of the Longqing Emperor (r. 1567–1572) during the Ming Dynasty. In China, powdered smallpox scabs were blown up the noses of the healthy. The patients would then develop a mild case of the disease and from then on were immune to it. The technique did have a 0.5–2.0% mortality rate, but that was considerably less than the 20–30% mortality rate of the disease itself. Two reports on the Chinese practice of inoculation were received by the Royal Society in London in 1700; one by Dr. Martin Lister who received a report by an employee of the East India Company stationed in China and another by Clopton Havers. According to Voltaire (1742), the Turks derived their use of inoculation from neighbouring Circassia. Voltaire does not speculate on where the Circassians derived their technique from, though he reports that the Chinese have practiced it "these hundred years".
Variolation was also practiced throughout the latter half of the 17th century by physicians in Turkey, Persia, and Africa. In 1714 and 1716, two reports of the Ottoman Empire Turkish method of inoculation were made to the Royal Society in England, by Emmanuel Timoni, a doctor affiliated with the British Embassy in Constantinople, and Giacomo Pylarini. Source material tells us on Lady Mary Wortley Montagu; "When Lady Mary was in the Ottoman Empire, she discovered the local practice of inoculation against smallpox called variolation." In 1718 she had her son, aged five variolated. He recovered quickly. She returned to London and had her daughter variolated in 1721 by Charles Maitland, during an epidemic of smallpox. This encouraged the British Royal Family to take an interest and a trial of variolation was carried out on prisoners in Newgate Prison. This was successful and in 1722 Caroline of Ansbach, the Princess of Wales, allowed Maitland to vaccinate her children. The success of these variolations assured the British people that the procedure was safe.
Stimulated by a severe epidemic, variolation was first employed in North America in 1721. The procedure had been known in Boston since 1706, when preacher Cotton Mather learned it from Onesimus, a man he held as a slave, who – like many of his peers – had been inoculated in Africa before they were kidnapped. This practice was widely criticized at first. However, a limited trial showed six deaths occurred out of 244 who were variolated (2.5%), while 844 out of 5980 died of natural disease (14%), and the process was widely adopted throughout the colonies.
The inoculation technique was documented as having a mortality rate of only one in a thousand. Two years after Kennedy's description appeared, March 1718, Dr. Charles Maitland successfully inoculated the five-year-old son of the British ambassador to the Turkish court under orders from the ambassador's wife Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, who four years later introduced the practice to England.
An account from letter by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu to Sarah Chiswell, dated 1 April 1717, from the Turkish Embassy describes this treatment:
The small-pox so fatal and so general amongst us is here entirely harmless by the invention of ingrafting (which is the term they give it). There is a set of old women who make it their business to perform the operation. Every autumn in the month of September, when the great heat is abated, people send to one another to know if any of their family has a mind to have the small-pox. They make parties for this purpose, and when they are met (commonly fifteen or sixteen together) the old woman comes with a nutshell full of the matter of the best sort of small-pox and asks what veins you please to have opened. She immediately rips open that you offer to her with a large needle (which gives you no more pain than a common scratch) and puts into the vein as much venom as can lye upon the head of her needle, and after binds up the little wound with a hollow bit of shell, and in this manner opens four or five veins. … The children or young patients play together all the rest of the day and are in perfect health till the eighth. Then the fever begins to seize them and they keep their beds two days, very seldom three. They have very rarely above twenty or thirty in their faces, which never mark, and in eight days time they are as well as before the illness. … There is no example of any one that has died in it, and you may believe I am very well satisfied of the safety of the experiment since I intend to try it on my dear little son. I am patriot enough to take pains to bring this useful invention into fashion in England, and I should not fail to write to some of our doctors very particularly about it if I knew any one of them that I thought had virtue enough to destroy such a considerable branch of their revenue for the good of mankind, but that distemper is too beneficial to them not to expose to all their resentment the hardy wight that should undertake to put an end to it. Perhaps if I live to return I may, however, have courage to war with them.
Early vaccination
In the early empirical days of vaccination, before Louis Pasteur's work on establishing the germ theory and Joseph Lister's on antisepsis and asepsis, there was considerable cross-infection. William Woodville, one of the early vaccinators and director of the London Smallpox Hospital is thought to have contaminated the cowpox matter – the vaccine – with smallpox matter and this essentially produced variolation. Other vaccine material was not reliably derived from cowpox, but from other skin eruptions of cattle.
During the earlier days of empirical experimentation in 1758, American Calvinist Jonathan Edwards died from a smallpox inoculation. Some of the earliest statistical and epidemiological studies were performed by James Jurin in 1727 and Daniel Bernoulli in 1766. In 1768 Dr John Fewster reported that variolation induced no reaction in persons who had had cowpox.
Edward Jenner was born in Berkeley, England. At the age of 13, he was apprenticed to apothecary Daniel Ludlow and later surgeon George Hardwick in nearby Sodbury. He observed that people who caught cowpox while working with cattle were known not to catch smallpox. Jenner assumed a causal connection but the idea was not taken up at that time. From 1770 to 1772 Jenner received advanced training in London at St Georges Hospital and as the private pupil of John Hunter, then returned to set up practice in Berkeley.
Perhaps there was already an informal public understanding of some connection between disease resistance and working with cattle. The "beautiful milkmaid" seems to have been a frequent image in the art and literature of this period. But it is known for certain that in the years following 1770, at least six people in England and Germany (Sevel, Jensen, Jesty 1774, Rendall, Plett 1791) tested successfully the possibility of using the cowpox vaccine as an immunization for smallpox in humans.
Jenner sent a paper reporting his observations to the Royal Society in April 1797. It was not submitted formally and there is no mention of it in the Society's records. Jenner had sent the paper informally to Sir Joseph Banks, the Society's president, who asked Everard Home for his views. Reviews of his rejected report, published for the first time in 1999, were skeptical and called for further vaccinations. Additional vaccinations were performed and in 1798 Jenner published his work entitled An Inquiry into the Causes and Effects of the Variolae Vaccinae, a disease discovered in some of the western counties of England, particularly Gloucestershire and Known by the Name of Cow Pox. It was an analysis of 23 cases including several individuals who had resisted natural exposure after previous cowpox. It is not known how many Jenner vaccinated or challenged by inoculation with smallpox virus; e.g. Case 21 included 'several children and adults'. Crucially all of at least four whom Jenner deliberately inoculated with smallpox virus resisted it. These included the first and last patients in a series of arm-to-arm transfers. He concluded that cowpox inoculation was a safe alternative to smallpox inoculation, but rashly claimed that the protective effect was lifelong. This last proved to be incorrect. Jenner also tried to distinguish between 'True' cowpox which produced the desired result and 'Spurious' cowpox which was ineffective and/or produced severe reaction. Modern research suggests Jenner was trying to distinguish between effects caused by what would now be recognised as non-infectious vaccine, a different virus (e.g. paravaccinia/milker's nodes), or contaminating bacterial pathogens. This caused confusion at the time, but would become important criteria in vaccine development. A further source of confusion was Jenner's belief that fully effective vaccine obtained from cows originated in an equine disease, which he mistakenly referred to as grease. This was criticised at the time but vaccines derived from horsepox were soon introduced and later contributed to the complicated problem of the origin of vaccinia virus, the virus in present-day vaccine.
The introduction of the vaccine to the New World took place in Trinity, Newfoundland, in 1798 by Dr. John Clinch, boyhood friend and medical colleague of Jenner. The first smallpox vaccine in the United States was administered in 1799. The physician Valentine Seaman gave his children a smallpox vaccination using a serum acquired from Jenner. By 1800, Jenner's work had been published in all the major European languages and had reached Benjamin Waterhouse in the United States – an indication of rapid spread and deep interest. Despite some concern about the safety of vaccination the mortality using carefully selected vaccine was close to zero, and it was soon in use all over Europe and the United States.
In 1804 the Balmis Expedition, an official Spanish mission commanded by Francisco Javier de Balmis, sailed to spread the vaccine throughout the Spanish Empire, first to the Canary Islands and on to Spanish Central America. While his deputy, José Salvany, took vaccine to the west and east coasts of Spanish South America, Balmis sailed to Manila in the Philippines and on to Canton and Macao on the Chinese coast. He returned to Spain in 1806.
Contrary to popular belief, the first state to introduce compulsory vaccinations was the Principality of Lucca and Piombino on September 25, 1806. On August 26, 1807, Bavaria introduced a similar measure. Baden followed in 1809, Prussia in 1815, Württemberg in 1818, Sweden in 1816, England in 1867 and the German Empire in 1874 through the Reichs Vaccination Act. In Lutheran Sweden, the Protestant clergy played a pioneering role in voluntary smallpox vaccination as early as 1800. The first vaccination was carried out in Liechtenstein in 1801, and from 1812 it was mandatory to vaccinate.
The question of who first tried cowpox inoculation/vaccination cannot be answered with certainty. Most, but still limited, information is available for Benjamin Jesty, Peter Plett and John Fewster. In 1774 Jesty, a farmer of Yetminster in Dorset, observing that the two milkmaids living with his family were immune to smallpox, inoculated his family with cowpox to protect them from smallpox. He attracted a certain amount of local criticism and ridicule at the time then interest waned. Attention was later drawn to Jesty, and he was brought to London in 1802 by critics jealous of Jenner's prominence at a time when he was applying to Parliament for financial reward. During 1790–92 Peter Plett, a teacher from Holstein, reported limited results of cowpox inoculation to the Medical Faculty of the University of Kiel. However, the Faculty favoured variolation and took no action. John Fewster, a surgeon friend of Jenner's from nearby Thornbury, discussed the possibility of cowpox inoculation at meetings as early as 1765. He may have done some cowpox inoculations in 1796 at about the same time that Jenner vaccinated Phipps. However, Fewster, who had a flourishing variolation practice, may have considered this option but used smallpox instead. He thought vaccination offered no advantage over variolation, but maintained friendly contact with Jenner and certainly made no claim of priority for vaccination when critics attacked Jenner's reputation. It seems clear that the idea of using cowpox instead of smallpox for inoculation was considered, and actually tried in the late 18th century, and not just by the medical profession. Therefore, Jenner was not the first to try cowpox inoculation. However, he was the first to publish his evidence and distribute vaccine freely, provide information on selection of suitable material, and maintain it by arm-to-arm transfer. The authors of the official World Health Organization (WHO) account Smallpox and its Eradication assessing Jenner's role wrote:
Publication of the Inquiry and the subsequent energetic promulgation by Jenner of the idea of vaccination with a virus other than variola virus constituted a watershed in the control of smallpox for which he, more than anyone else deserves the credit.
As vaccination spread, some European countries made it compulsory. Concern about its safety led to opposition and then repeal of legislation in some instances. Compulsory infant vaccination was introduced in England by the 1853 Vaccination Act. By 1871, parents could be fined for non-compliance, and then imprisoned for non-payment. This intensified opposition, and the 1898 Vaccination Act introduced a conscience clause. This allowed exemption on production of a certificate of conscientious objection signed by two magistrates. Such certificates were not always easily obtained and a further Act in 1907 allowed exemption by a statutory declaration which could not be refused. Although theoretically still compulsory, the 1907 Act effectively marked the end of compulsory infant vaccination in England.
In the United States vaccination was regulated by individual states, the first to impose compulsory vaccination being Massachusetts in 1809. There then followed sequences of compulsion, opposition and repeal in various states. By 1930 Arizona, Utah, North Dakota and Minnesota prohibited compulsory vaccination, 35 states allowed regulation by local authorities, or had no legislation affecting vaccination, whilst in ten states, including Washington, D.C. and Massachusetts, infant vaccination was compulsory. Compulsory infant vaccination was regulated by only allowing access to school for those who had been vaccinated. Those seeking to enforce compulsory vaccination argued that the public good overrode personal freedom, a view supported by the U.S. Supreme Court in Jacobson v. Massachusetts in 1905, a landmark ruling which set a precedent for cases dealing with personal freedom and the public good.
Louis T. Wright, an African-American Harvard Medical School graduate (1915), introduced, while serving in the Army during World War I, intradermal, smallpox vaccination for the soldiers.
Developments in production
Until the end of the 19th century, vaccination was performed either directly with vaccine produced on the skin of calves or, particularly in England, with vaccine obtained from the calf but then maintained by arm-to-arm transfer; initially in both cases vaccine could be dried on ivory points for short-term storage or transport but increasing use was made of glass capillary tubes for this purpose towards the end of the century. During this period there were no adequate methods for assessing the safety of the vaccine and there were instances of contaminated vaccine transmitting infections such as erysipelas, tetanus, septicaemia and tuberculosis. In the case of arm-to-arm transfer there was also the risk of transmitting syphilis. Although this did occur occasionally, estimated as 750 cases in 100 million vaccinations, some critics of vaccination e.g. Charles Creighton believed that uncontaminated vaccine itself was a cause of syphilis. Smallpox vaccine was the only vaccine available during this period, and so the determined opposition to it initiated a number of vaccine controversies that spread to other vaccines and into the 21st century.
Sydney Arthur Monckton Copeman, an English Government bacteriologist interested in smallpox vaccine investigated the effects on the bacteria in it of various treatments, including glycerine. Glycerine was sometimes used simply as a diluent by some continental vaccine producers. However, Copeman found that vaccine suspended in 50% chemically-pure glycerine and stored under controlled conditions contained very few "extraneous" bacteria and produced satisfactory vaccinations. He later reported that glycerine killed the causative organisms of erysipelas and tuberculosis when they were added to the vaccine in "considerable quantity", and that his method was widely used on the continent. In 1896, Copeman was asked to supply "extra good calf vaccine" to vaccinate the future Edward VIII.
Vaccine produced by Copeman's method was the only type issued free to public vaccinators by the English Government Vaccine Establishment from 1899. At the same time the 1898 Vaccination Act banned arm-to-arm vaccination, thus preventing transmission of syphilis by this vaccine. However, private practitioners had to purchase vaccine from commercial producers. Although proper use of glycerine reduced bacterial contamination considerably the crude starting material, scraped from the skin of infected calves, was always heavily contaminated and no vaccine was totally free from bacteria. A survey of vaccines in 1900 found wide variations in bacterial contamination. Vaccine issued by the Government Vaccine Establishment contained 5,000 bacteria per gram, while commercial vaccines contained up to 100,000 per gram. The level of bacterial contamination remained unregulated until the Therapeutic Substances Act, 1925 set an upper limit of 5,000 per gram, and rejected any batch of vaccine found to contain the causative organisms of erysipelas or wound infections. Unfortunately glycerolated vaccine soon lost its potency at ambient temperatures which restricted its use in tropical climates. However, it remained in use into the 1970s where a satisfactory cold chain was available. Animals continued to be widely used by vaccine producers during the smallpox eradication campaign. A WHO survey of 59 producers, some of whom used more than one source of vaccine, found that 39 used calves, 12 used sheep and 6 used water buffalo, whilst only 3 made vaccine in cell culture and 3 in embryonated hens' eggs. English vaccine was occasionally made in sheep during World War I but from 1946 only sheep were used.
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Leslie Collier, an English microbiologist working at the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine, developed a method for producing a heat-stable freeze-dried vaccine in powdered form. Collier added 0.5% phenol to the vaccine to reduce the number of bacterial contaminants but the key stage was to add 5% peptone to the liquid vaccine before it was dispensed into ampoules. This protected the virus during the freeze drying process. After drying the ampoules were sealed under nitrogen. Like other vaccines, once reconstituted it became ineffective after 1–2 days at ambient temperatures. However, the dried vaccine was 100% effective when reconstituted after 6 months storage at allowing it to be transported to, and stored in, remote tropical areas. Collier's method was increasingly used and, with minor modifications, became the standard for vaccine production adopted by the WHO Smallpox Eradication Unit when it initiated its global smallpox eradication campaign in 1967, at which time 23 of 59 manufacturers were using the Lister strain.
In a letter about landmarks in the history of smallpox vaccine, written to and quoted from by Derrick Baxby, Donald Henderson, chief of the Smallpox Eradication Unit from 1967–77 wrote; "Copeman and Collier made an enormous contribution for which neither, in my opinion ever received due credit".
Smallpox vaccine was inoculated by scratches into the superficial layers of the skin, with a wide variety of instruments used to achieve this. They ranged from simple needles to multi-pointed and multi-bladed spring-operated instruments specifically designed for the purpose.
A major contribution to smallpox vaccination was made in the 1960s by Benjamin Rubin, an American microbiologist working for Wyeth Laboratories. Based on initial tests with textile needles with the eyes cut off transversely half-way he developed the bifurcated needle. This was a sharpened two-prong fork designed to hold one dose of reconstituted freeze-dried vaccine by capillarity. Easy to use with minimum training, cheap to produce ($5 per 1000), using one quarter as much vaccine as other methods, and repeatedly re-usable after flame sterilization, it was used globally in the WHO Smallpox Eradication Campaign from 1968. Rubin estimated that it was used to do 200 million vaccinations per year during the last years of the campaign. Those closely involved in the campaign were awarded the "Order of the Bifurcated Needle". This, a personal initiative by Donald Henderson, was a lapel badge, designed and made by his daughter, formed from the needle shaped to form an "O". This represented "Target Zero", the objective of the campaign.
Eradication of smallpox
Smallpox was eradicated by a massive international search for outbreaks, backed up with a vaccination program, starting in 1967. It was organised and co-ordinated by a World Health Organization (WHO) unit, set up and headed by Donald Henderson. The last case in the Americas occurred in 1971 (Brazil), south-east Asia (Indonesia) in 1972, and on the Indian subcontinent in 1975 (Bangladesh). After two years of intensive searches, what proved to be the last endemic case anywhere in the world occurred in Somalia, in October 1977. A Global Commission for the Certification of Smallpox Eradication chaired by Frank Fenner examined the evidence from, and visited where necessary, all countries where smallpox had been endemic. In December 1979 they concluded that smallpox had been eradicated; a conclusion endorsed by the WHO General Assembly in May 1980. However, even as the disease was being eradicated there still remained stocks of smallpox virus in many laboratories. Accelerated by two cases of smallpox in 1978, one fatal (Janet Parker), caused by an accidental and unexplained containment breach at a laboratory at the University of Birmingham Medical School, the WHO ensured that known stocks of smallpox virus were either destroyed or moved to safer laboratories. By 1979, only four laboratories were known to have smallpox virus. All English stocks held at St Mary's Hospital, London were transferred to more secure facilities at Porton Down and then to the U.S. at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia in 1982, and all South African stocks were destroyed in 1983. By 1984, the only known stocks were kept at the CDC in the U.S. and the State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology (VECTOR) in Koltsovo, Russia. These states report that their repositories are for possible anti-bioweaponry research and insurance if some obscure reservoir of natural smallpox is discovered in the future.
Origin
The exact origin of the modern smallpox vaccine is unclear. Edward Jenner had obtained his vaccine from the cow, so he named the virus vaccinia, after the Latin word for cow. Jenner believed that both cowpox and smallpox were viruses that originated in the horse and passed to the cow. Some doctors followed up on this speculation by inoculating humans with horsepox. The situation was further muddied when Louis Pasteur developed techniques for creating vaccines in the laboratory in the late 19th century. As medical researchers subjected viruses to serial passage, inadequate recordkeeping resulted in the creation of laboratory strains with unclear origins.
By the early 20th century, the origins of the smallpox vaccine were muddled. It was unknown whether the vaccine originated in smallpox, horsepox, or cowpox. A number of competing hypotheses existed within the medical and scientific community. Some believed that Edward Jenner's cow had been accidentally inoculated with smallpox. Others believed that smallpox and vaccinia shared a common ancestor. In 1939, Allan Watt Downie showed that the vaccinia virus was serologically distinct from the "spontaneous" cowpox virus. This work established vaccinia and cowpox as two separate viral species. The term vaccinia now refers only to the smallpox vaccine, while cowpox no longer has a Latin name.
The development of whole genome sequencing in the 1990s made it possible to build a phylogenetic tree of the orthopoxviruses. The vaccinia strains are most similar to each other, followed by horsepox and rabbitpox. Vaccinia's nearest cowpox relatives are the strains found in Russia, Finland, and Austria. Out of 20 cowpox strains that have been sequenced, the cowpox strains found in Great Britain are the least related to vaccinia. However, the exact origin of vaccinia remains unclear. While rabbitpox is known to be a laboratory strain of vaccinia, the connection between vaccinia and horsepox is still debated. Some scientists think that horsepox is the ancestral strain that evolved into vaccinia. Horsepox was believed to have become extinct in the wild by 2013, but scientists controversially synthesized horsepox in 2017.
Terminology
The word "vaccine" is derived from Variolae vaccinae (i.e. smallpox of the cow), the term devised by Jenner to denote cowpox and used in the long title of his An enquiry into the causes and effects of Variolae vaccinae, known by the name of cow pox. Vaccination, the term which soon replaced cowpox inoculation and vaccine inoculation, was first used in print by Jenner's friend, Richard Dunning in 1800. Initially, the terms vaccine/vaccination referred only to smallpox, but in 1881 Louis Pasteur proposed that to honour Jenner the terms be widened to cover the new protective inoculations being introduced.
Vaccine stockpiles
In late 2001, the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom considered stockpiling smallpox vaccines, even while assuring the public that there was no "specific or credible" threat of bioterrorism. Later, the director of State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology VECTOR warned that terrorists could easily lure underpaid former Soviet researchers to turn over samples to be used as a weapon, saying "All you need is a sick fanatic to get to a populated place. The world health system is completely unprepared for this."
In the United Kingdom, controversy occurred regarding the company which had been contracted to supply the vaccine. This was because of the political connections of its owner, Paul Drayson, and questions over the choice of vaccine strain. The strain was different from that used in the United States. Plans for mass vaccinations in the United States stalled as the necessity of the inoculation came into question.
See also
John Clinch, first doctor to test the smallpox vaccine in North America
Eczema vaccinatum
Kinepox
References
Further reading
External links
Smallpox Vaccine: Contraindications, Administration, and Adverse Reactions
CDC Smallpox Home
Quick Guide to Preexposure Smallpox Vaccination
Early smallpox Vaccination Certificate Norway 1821 GG Archives. Norwegian and English Text
Episode 1 (of 4): Vaccines of the PBS and BBC Four show: Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer
Vaccinia | en |
doc-en-3645 | Below is a list of U.S. senators who have represented the State of New York in the United States Senate since 1789. The date of the start of the tenure is either the first day of the legislative term (Senators who were elected regularly before the term began), or the day when they took the seat (U.S. senators who were elected in special elections to fill vacancies, or after the term began). New York's current U.S. senators are Democrats Chuck Schumer (serving since 1999, also serving as Senate Democratic Leader since 2017) and Kirsten Gillibrand (serving since 2009).
List of senators
|- style="height:2em"
! 1
| align=left | Philip Schuyler
| | Pro-Admin.
| July 27, 1789 –March 3, 1791
| Elected in 1789.Lost re-election.
| 1
|
| rowspan=3 | 1
| rowspan=3 | Elected in 1789.
| rowspan=4 nowrap | July 25, 1789 –May 23, 1796
| rowspan=3 | Pro-Admin.
| rowspan=4 align=right | Rufus King
! rowspan=4 | 1
|- style="height:2em"
! rowspan=5 | 2
| rowspan=5 align=left | Aaron Burr
| rowspan=2 | Anti-Admin.
| rowspan=5 nowrap | March 4, 1791 –March 3, 1797
| rowspan=5 | Elected in 1791.Lost re-election.
| rowspan=5 | 2
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
| rowspan=3 | Democratic-Republican
|
| rowspan=14 | 2
| Re-elected in 1795.Resigned to become U.S. Minister to Great Britain.
| | Federalist
|- style="height:2em"
| Vacant
| nowrap | May 23, 1796 –December 8, 1796
| colspan=3 | Vacant
|- style="height:2em"
| rowspan=10 | Elected to finish King's term.Resigned.
| rowspan=10 nowrap | December 8, 1796 –August 1800
| rowspan=10 | Federalist
| rowspan=10 align=right | John Laurance
! rowspan=10 | 2
|- style="height:2em"
! 3
| align=left | Philip Schuyler
| | Federalist
| nowrap | March 4, 1797 –January 3, 1798
| Elected in 1797.Resigned due to ill health.
| rowspan=14 | 3
|
|- style="height:2em"
| colspan=3 | Vacant
| nowrap | January 3, 1798 –January 11, 1798
| Vacant
|- style="height:2em"
! 4
| align=left | John Sloss Hobart
| | Federalist
| nowrap | January 11, 1798 –April 16, 1798
| Elected to finish Schuyler's term.Resigned to become federal judge.
|- style="height:2em"
| colspan=3 | Vacant
| nowrap | April 16, 1798 –May 5, 1798
| Vacant
|- style="height:2em"
! 5
| align=left | William North
| | Federalist
| nowrap | May 5, 1798 –August 17, 1798
| Appointed to continue Hobart's term.Successor elected.
|- style="height:2em"
! rowspan=2 | 6
| rowspan=2 align=left | James Watson
| rowspan=2 | Federalist
| rowspan=2 nowrap | August 17, 1798 –March 19, 1800
| rowspan=2 | Elected to finish Hobart's term.Resigned to become Naval Officer of the Port of New York.
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
| colspan=3 | Vacant
| nowrap | March 19, 1800 –May 3, 1800
| Vacant
|- style="height:2em"
! rowspan=6 | 7
| rowspan=6 align=left | Gouverneur Morris
| rowspan=6 | Federalist
| rowspan=6 nowrap | May 3, 1800 –March 3, 1803
| rowspan=6 | Elected to finish Watson's term.Lost re-election.
|- style="height:2em"
| Vacant
| nowrap | August 1800 –November 6, 1800
| colspan=3 | Vacant
|- style="height:2em"
| Elected to finish Laurance's term.
| rowspan=2 nowrap | November 6, 1800 –February 5, 1802
| rowspan=2 | Democratic-Republican
| rowspan=2 align=right | John Armstrong Jr.
! rowspan=2 | 3
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=12 | 3
| Re-elected January 27, 1801.Resigned.
|- style="height:2em"
| Vacant
| nowrap | February 5, 1802 –February 23, 1802
| colspan=3 | Vacant
|- style="height:2em"
| rowspan=2 | Elected to finish Armstrong's term.Resigned; unhappy with living conditions in Washington, DC.
| rowspan=2 nowrap | February 23, 1802 –November 4, 1803
| rowspan=2 | Democratic-Republican
| rowspan=2 align=right | DeWitt Clinton
! rowspan=2 | 4
|- style="height:2em"
! rowspan=3 | 8
| rowspan=3 align=left | Theodorus Bailey
| rowspan=3 | Democratic-Republican
| rowspan=3 nowrap | March 4, 1803 –January 16, 1804
| rowspan=3 | Elected in 1803.Resigned.
| rowspan=10 | 4
|
|- style="height:2em"
| Vacant
| nowrap | November 4, 1803 –December 8, 1803
| colspan=3 | Vacant
|- style="height:2em"
| rowspan=2 | Appointed to continue Clinton's term.Resigned; Elected to the Class 1 seat.
| rowspan=2 nowrap | December 8, 1803 –February 23, 1804
| rowspan=2 | Democratic-Republican
| rowspan=2 align=right | John Armstrong Jr.
! rowspan=2 | 5
|- style="height:2em"
| rowspan=2 colspan=3 | Vacant
| rowspan=2 nowrap | January 16, 1804 –February 25, 1804
| rowspan=2 | Vacant
|- style="height:2em"
| rowspan=5 | Elected to finish Armstrong's term.
| rowspan=8 nowrap | February 23, 1804 –March 3, 1813
| rowspan=8 | Democratic-Republican
| rowspan=8 align=right | John Smith
! rowspan=8 | 6
|- style="height:2em"
! 9
| align=left | John Armstrong Jr.
| | Democratic-Republican
| nowrap | February 25, 1804 –June 30, 1804
| Elected to finish Bailey's term.Resigned to become U.S. Minister to France.
|- style="height:2em"
| colspan=3 | Vacant
| nowrap | June 30, 1804 –November 23, 1804
| Vacant
|- style="height:2em"
! rowspan=3 | 10
| rowspan=3 align=left | Samuel L. Mitchill
| rowspan=3 | Democratic-Republican
| rowspan=3 nowrap | November 23, 1804 –March 3, 1809
| rowspan=3 | Elected to finish Armstrong's term.Lost re-election.
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=3 | 4
| rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 1807.Retired or lost re-election.
|- style="height:2em"
! rowspan=3 | 11
| rowspan=3 align=left | Obadiah German
| rowspan=3 | Democratic-Republican
| rowspan=3 nowrap | March 4, 1809 –March 3, 1815
| rowspan=3 | Elected in 1809.Retired or lost re-election.
| rowspan=3 | 5
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=3 | 5
| rowspan=3 | Elected in 1813.Legislature failed to elect.
| rowspan=3 nowrap | March 4, 1813 –March 3, 1819
| rowspan=3 | Federalist
| rowspan=3 align=right | Rufus King
! rowspan=7 | 7
|- style="height:2em"
! rowspan=4 | 12
| rowspan=4 align=left | Nathan Sanford
| rowspan=4 | Democratic-Republican
| rowspan=4 nowrap | March 4, 1815 –March 3, 1821
| rowspan=4 | Elected in 1815.Lost re-election.
| rowspan=4 | 6
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=4 | 6
| Vacant
| nowrap | March 4, 1819 –January 25, 1820
| colspan=2 | Vacant
|- style="height:2em"
| rowspan=3 | Re-elected late.Retired.
| rowspan=3 nowrap | January 25, 1820 –March 3, 1825
| rowspan=3 | Federalist
| rowspan=3 align=right | Rufus King
|- style="height:2em"
! rowspan=5 | 13
| rowspan=5 align=left | Martin Van Buren
| rowspan=2 | Democratic-Republican/ Bucktails
| rowspan=5 nowrap | March 4, 1821 –December 20, 1828
| rowspan=4 | Elected in 1821.
| rowspan=4 | 7
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
| rowspan=3 | Jacksonian
|
| rowspan=6 | 7
| Legislature failed to elect.
| nowrap | March 4, 1825 –January 31, 1826
| colspan=3 | Vacant
|- style="height:2em"
| rowspan=5 | Elected late.Retired.
| rowspan=5 nowrap | January 31, 1826 –March 3, 1831
| rowspan=5 | NationalRepublican
| rowspan=5 align=right | Nathan Sanford
! rowspan=5 | 8
|- style="height:2em"
| Re-elected in 1827.Resigned to become N.Y. Governor.
| rowspan=7 | 8
|
|- style="height:2em"
| colspan=3 | Vacant
| nowrap | December 20, 1828 –January 15, 1829
| Vacant
|- style="height:2em"
! rowspan=5 | 14
| rowspan=5 align=left | Charles E. Dudley
| rowspan=5 | Jacksonian
| rowspan=5 nowrap | January 15, 1829 –March 3, 1833
| rowspan=5 | Elected to finish Van Buren's term.Retired or lost re-election.
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=5 | 8
| Elected in 1831.Resigned; elected N.Y. Governor.
| nowrap | March 4, 1831 –January 1, 1833
| | Jacksonian
| align=right | William L. Marcy
! 9
|- style="height:2em"
| Vacant
| nowrap | January 1, 1833 –January 14, 1833
| colspan=3 | Vacant
|- style="height:2em"
| rowspan=3 | Elected to finish Marcy's term.
| rowspan=9 nowrap | January 4, 1833 –November 26, 1844
| rowspan=3 | Jacksonian
| rowspan=9 align=right | Silas Wright Jr.
! rowspan=9 | 10
|- style="height:2em"
! rowspan=7 | 15
| rowspan=3 align=left | Nathaniel P. Tallmadge
| rowspan=2 | Jacksonian
| rowspan=3 nowrap | March 4, 1833 –March 3, 1839
| rowspan=3 | Elected in 1833.Legislature failed to re-elect.
| rowspan=3 | 9
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
| | Democratic
|
| rowspan=4 | 9
| rowspan=4 | Re-elected in 1837.
| rowspan=6 | Democratic
|- style="height:2em"
| colspan=2 | Vacant
| nowrap | March 4, 1839 –January 27, 1840
| Vacant
| rowspan=9 | 10
|
|- style="height:2em"
| rowspan=3 align=left | Nathaniel P. Tallmadge
| rowspan=3 | Whig
| rowspan=3 nowrap | January 27, 1840 –June 17, 1844
| rowspan=3 | Elected late.Resigned to become Governor of Wisconsin Territory.
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=8 | 10
| rowspan=2 | Re-elected in 1843.Resigned when elected N.Y. Governor.
|- style="height:2em"
| rowspan=3 colspan=3 | Vacant
| rowspan=3 nowrap | June 17, 1844 –December 9, 1844
| rowspan=3 | Vacant
|- style="height:2em"
| Vacant
| nowrap | November 26, 1844 –November 30, 1844
| colspan=3 | Vacant
|- style="height:2em"
| rowspan=2 | Appointed to continue Wright's term.Lost election for remainder of Wright's term.
| rowspan=2 nowrap | November 30, 1844 –January 27, 1845
| rowspan=2 | Democratic
| rowspan=2 align=right | Henry A. Foster
! rowspan=2 | 11
|- style="height:2em"
! rowspan=5 | 16
| rowspan=5 align=left | Daniel S. Dickinson
| rowspan=5 | Democratic
| rowspan=5 nowrap | December 9, 1844 –March 3, 1851
| rowspan=2 | Appointed to continue Tallmadge's term.Elected to finish Tallmadge's term.
|- style="height:2em"
| rowspan=3 | Elected to finish Wright's term.Lost re-election.
| rowspan=3 nowrap | January 27, 1845 –March 3, 1849
| rowspan=3 | Democratic
| rowspan=3 align=right | John Adams Dix
! rowspan=3 | 12
|- style="height:2em"
| rowspan=3 | Elected to full term in 1845.Lost re-election.
| rowspan=3 | 11
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=4 | 11
| rowspan=4 | Elected in 1849.
| rowspan=7 nowrap | March 4, 1849 –March 3, 1861
| rowspan=4 | Whig
| rowspan=7 align=right | William H. Seward
! rowspan=7 | 13
|- style="height:2em"
| colspan=3 | Vacant
| nowrap | March 4, 1851 –December 1, 1851
| Vacant
| rowspan=4 | 12
|
|- style="height:2em"
! rowspan=3 | 17
| rowspan=3 nowrap align=left | Hamilton Fish
| rowspan=3 | Whig
| rowspan=3 nowrap | December 1, 1851 –March 3, 1857
| rowspan=3 | Elected late.Retired.
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=3 | 12
| rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 1855.Retired to become Secretary of State
| rowspan=3 | Republican
|- style="height:2em"
! rowspan=3 | 18
| rowspan=3 align=left | Preston King
| rowspan=3 | Republican
| rowspan=3 nowrap | March 4, 1857 –March 3, 1863
| rowspan=3 | Elected in 1857.Lost renomination.
| rowspan=3 | 13
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=3 | 13
| rowspan=3 | Elected in 1861.Lost re-nomination.
| rowspan=3 nowrap | March 4, 1861 –March 3, 1867
| rowspan=3 | Republican
| rowspan=3 align=right | Ira Harris
! rowspan=3 | 14
|- style="height:2em"
! rowspan=3 | 19
| rowspan=3 align=left | Edwin D. Morgan
| rowspan=3 | Republican
| rowspan=3 nowrap | March 4, 1863 –March 3, 1869
| rowspan=3 | Elected in 1863.Lost re-nomination.
| rowspan=3 | 14
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=3 | 14
| rowspan=3 | Elected in 1867.
| rowspan=8 nowrap | March 4, 1867 –May 16, 1881
| rowspan=8 | Republican
| rowspan=8 align=right | Roscoe Conkling
! rowspan=8 | 15
|- style="height:2em"
! rowspan=3 | 20
| rowspan=3 align=left | Reuben Fenton
| rowspan=3 | Republican
| rowspan=3 nowrap | March 4, 1869 –March 3, 1875
| rowspan=3 | Elected in 1869.Not an active candidate for renomination in 1875.
| rowspan=3 | 15
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=3 | 15
| rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 1873.
|- style="height:2em"
! rowspan=3 | 21
| rowspan=3 align=left | Francis Kernan
| rowspan=3 | Democratic
| rowspan=3 nowrap | March 4, 1875 –March 3, 1881
| rowspan=3 | Elected in 1875.Lost re-election.
| rowspan=3 | 16
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=5 | 16
| rowspan=2 | Re-elected in 1879.Resigned because of a disagreement with the President over federal appointments in New York.
|- style="height:2em"
! 22
| align=left | Thomas C. Platt
| | Republican
| nowrap | March 4, 1881 –May 16, 1881
| Elected in 1881.Resigned because of a disagreement with the President over federal appointments in New York.
| rowspan=5 | 17
|
|- style="height:2em"
| colspan=3 | Vacant
| nowrap | May 16, 1881 –July 27, 1881
| Vacant
| Vacant
| nowrap | May 16, 1881 –July 29, 1881
| colspan=3 | Vacant
|- style="height:2em"
! rowspan=3 | 23
| rowspan=3 align=left | Warner Miller
| rowspan=3 | Republican
| rowspan=3 nowrap | July 27, 1881 –March 3, 1887
| rowspan=3 | Elected to finish Platt's term.Lost re-election.
| rowspan=2 | Elected to finish Conkling's term.Retired.
| rowspan=2 nowrap | July 29, 1881 –March 3, 1885
| rowspan=2 | Republican
| rowspan=2 align=right | Elbridge G. Lapham
! rowspan=2 | 16
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=3 | 17
| rowspan=3 | Elected in 1885.Lost re-election.
| rowspan=3 nowrap | March 4, 1885 –March 3, 1891
| rowspan=3 | Republican
| rowspan=3 align=right | William M. Evarts
! rowspan=3 | 17
|- style="height:2em"
! rowspan=4 | 24
| rowspan=4 align=left | Frank Hiscock
| rowspan=4 | Republican
| rowspan=4 nowrap | March 4, 1887 –March 3, 1893
| rowspan=4 | Elected in 1887.Lost re-election.
| rowspan=4 | 18
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=4 | 18
| Vacant
| nowrap | March 4, 1891 –January 7, 1892
| colspan=3 | Vacant
|- style="height:2em"
| rowspan=3 | Elected in 1891, but took his seat only after term as N.Y. Governor ended.Lost re-election.
| rowspan=3 nowrap | January 7, 1892 –March 3, 1897
| rowspan=3 | Democratic
| rowspan=3 align=right | David B. Hill
! rowspan=3 | 18
|- style="height:2em"
! rowspan=3 | 25
| rowspan=3 align=left | Edward Murphy Jr.
| rowspan=3 | Democratic
| rowspan=3 nowrap | March 4, 1893 –March 3, 1899
| rowspan=3 | Elected in 1893.Lost re-election.
| rowspan=3 | 19
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=3 | 19
| rowspan=3 | Elected January 20, 1897.
| rowspan=6 nowrap | March 4, 1897 –March 3, 1909
| rowspan=6 | Republican
| rowspan=6 align=right | Thomas C. Platt
! rowspan=6 | 19
|- style="height:2em"
! rowspan=6 | 26
| rowspan=6 align=left | Chauncey Depew
| rowspan=6 | Republican
| rowspan=6 nowrap | March 4, 1899 –March 3, 1911
| rowspan=3 | Elected in 1899.
| rowspan=3 | 20
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=3 | 20
| rowspan=3 | Re-elected January 20, 1903.Retired.
|- style="height:2em"
| rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 1905.Lost re-election.
| rowspan=3 | 21
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=4 | 21
| rowspan=4 | Elected January 19, 1909.Retired.
| rowspan=4 nowrap | March 4, 1909 –March 3, 1915
| rowspan=4 | Republican
| rowspan=4 align=right | Elihu Root
! rowspan=4 | 20
|- style="height:2em"
| colspan=3 | Vacant
| nowrap | March 3, 1911 –April 4, 1911
| Vacant
| rowspan=4 | 22
|
|- style="height:2em"
! rowspan=3 | 27
| rowspan=3 align=left | James A. O'Gorman
| rowspan=3 | Democratic
| rowspan=3 nowrap | April 4, 1911 –March 3, 1917
| rowspan=3 | Elected March 31, 1911.Retired.
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=3 | 22
| rowspan=3 | Elected in 1914.
| rowspan=6 nowrap | March 4, 1915 –March 3, 1927
| rowspan=6 | Republican
| rowspan=6 align=right | James W. Wadsworth Jr.
! rowspan=6 | 21
|- style="height:2em"
! rowspan=3 | 28
| rowspan=3 align=left | William M. Calder
| rowspan=3 | Republican
| rowspan=3 nowrap | March 4, 1917 –March 3, 1923
| rowspan=3 | Elected in 1916.Lost re-election.
| rowspan=3 | 23
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=3 | 23
| rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 1920.Lost re-election.
|- style="height:2em"
! rowspan=8 | 29
| rowspan=8 align=left | Royal S. Copeland
| rowspan=8 | Democratic
| rowspan=8 nowrap | March 4, 1923 –June 17, 1938
| rowspan=3 | Elected in 1922.
| rowspan=3 | 24
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=3 | 24
| rowspan=3 | Elected in 1926.
| rowspan=14 nowrap | March 4, 1927 –June 28, 1949
| rowspan=14 | Democratic
| rowspan=14 align=right | Robert F. Wagner
! rowspan=14 | 22
|- style="height:2em"
| rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 1928.
| rowspan=3 | 25
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em
|
| rowspan=5 | 25
| rowspan=5 | Re-elected in 1932.
|- style="height:2em"
| rowspan=2 | Re-elected in 1934.Died.
| rowspan=5 | 26
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
| colspan=3 | Vacant
| nowrap | June 17, 1938 –December 3, 1938
| Vacant
|- style="height:2em"
! rowspan=5 | 30
| rowspan=5 align=left | James M. Mead
| rowspan=5 | Democratic
| rowspan=5 nowrap | December 3, 1938 –January 3, 1947
| rowspan=2 | Elected to finish Copeland's term.
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=3 | 26
| rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 1938.
|- style="height:2em"
| rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 1940.Retired to run for N.Y. Governor.
| rowspan=3 | 27
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=6 | 27
| rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 1944.Resigned due to ill health.
|- style="height:2em"
! rowspan=10 | 31
| rowspan=10 align=left | Irving M. Ives
| rowspan=10 | Republican
| rowspan=10 nowrap | January 3, 1947 –January 3, 1959
| rowspan=6 | Elected in 1946.
| rowspan=6 | 28
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
| Vacant
| nowrap | June 28, 1949 –July 7, 1949
| colspan=3 | Vacant
|- style="height:2em"
| Appointed to continue Wagner's term.Lost election to finish Wagner's term.
| nowrap | July 7, 1949 –November 8, 1949
| | Republican
| align=right | John Foster Dulles
! 23
|- style="height:2em"
| Elected to finish Wagner's term.
| rowspan=4 nowrap | November 9, 1949 –January 3, 1957
| rowspan=4 | Democratic
| rowspan=4 align=right | Herbert H. Lehman
! rowspan=4 | 24
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=3 | 28
| rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 1950.Retired.
|- style="height:2em"
| rowspan=4 | Re-elected in 1952.Retired.
| rowspan=4 | 29
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=4 | 29
| Vacant
| nowrap | January 3, 1957 –January 9, 1957
| colspan=3 | Vacant
|- style="height:2em"
| rowspan=3 | Elected in 1956, but took seat late to prevent the Governor from appointing a rival to be his successor as N.Y. Attorney General
| rowspan=14 nowrap | January 9, 1957 –January 3, 1981
| rowspan=14 | Republican
| rowspan=14 align=right | Jacob Javits
! rowspan=14 | 25
|- style="height:2em"
! rowspan=3 | 32
| rowspan=3 align=left | Kenneth Keating
| rowspan=3 | Republican
| rowspan=3 nowrap | January 3, 1959 –January 3, 1965
| rowspan=3 | Elected in 1958.Lost re-election.
| rowspan=3 | 30
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=5 | 30
| rowspan=5 | Re-elected in 1962.
|- style="height:2em"
! rowspan=2 | 33
| rowspan=2 align=left | Robert F. Kennedy
| rowspan=2 | Democratic
| rowspan=2 nowrap | January 3, 1965 –June 6, 1968
| rowspan=2 | Elected in 1964.Died.
| rowspan=5 | 31
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
| colspan=3 | Vacant
| nowrap | June 6, 1968 –September 10, 1968
| Vacant
|- style="height:2em"
! rowspan=2 | 34
| rowspan=2 align=left | Charles Goodell
| rowspan=2 | Republican
| rowspan=2 nowrap | September 10, 1968 –January 3, 1971
| rowspan=2 | Appointed to finish Kennedy's term.Lost election to a full term.
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=3 | 31
| rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 1968.
|- style="height:2em"
! rowspan=3 | 35
| rowspan=3 align=left | James L. Buckley
| rowspan=3 | Conservative
| rowspan=3 nowrap | January 3, 1971 –January 3, 1977
| rowspan=3 | Elected in 1970.Changed parties to Republican in 1976.Lost re-election.
| rowspan=3 | 32
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=3 | 32
| rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 1974.Lost renomination and then lost re-election as a Liberal.
|- style="height:2em"
! rowspan=12 | 36
| rowspan=12 align=left | Daniel Patrick Moynihan
| rowspan=12 | Democratic
| rowspan=12 nowrap | January 3, 1977 –January 3, 2001
| rowspan=3 | Elected in 1976.
| rowspan=3 | 33
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=3 | 33
| rowspan=3 | Elected in 1980.
| rowspan=9 nowrap | January 3, 1981 –January 3, 1999
| rowspan=9 | Republican
| rowspan=9 align=right | Al D'Amato
! rowspan=9 | 26
|- style="height:2em"
| rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 1982.
| rowspan=3 | 34
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=3 | 34
| rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 1986.
|- style="height:2em"
| rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 1988.
| rowspan=3 | 35
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=3 | 35
| rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 1992.Lost re-election.
|- style="height:2em"
| rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 1994.Retired.
| rowspan=3 | 36
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=3 | 36
| rowspan=3 | Elected in 1998.
| rowspan=14 nowrap | January 3, 1999 –Present
| rowspan=14 | Democratic
| rowspan=14 align=right | Chuck Schumer
! rowspan=14 | 27
|- style="height:2em"
! rowspan=5 | 37
| rowspan=5 align=left | Hillary Clinton
| rowspan=5 | Democratic
| rowspan=5 nowrap | January 3, 2001 –January 21, 2009
| rowspan=3 | Elected in 2000.
| rowspan=3 | 37
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=5 | 37
| rowspan=5 | Re-elected in 2004.
|- style="height:2em"
| rowspan=2 | Re-elected in 2006.Resigned to become U.S. Secretary of State.
| rowspan=5 | 38
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
| colspan=3 | Vacant
| nowrap | January 21, 2009 –January 26, 2009
| Vacant
|- style="height:2em"
! rowspan=8 | 38
| rowspan=8 align=left | Kirsten Gillibrand
| rowspan=8 | Democratic
| rowspan=8 nowrap | January 26, 2009 –Present
| rowspan=2 | Appointed to continue Clinton's term.Elected November 2, 2010 to finish Clinton's term.
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=3 | 38
| rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 2010.
|- style="height:2em"
| rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 2012.
| rowspan=3 | 39
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=3 | 39
| rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 2016.
|- style="height:2em"
| rowspan=3 | Re-elected in 2018.
| rowspan=3 | 40
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
|- style="height:2em"
|
| rowspan=2 | 40
| rowspan=2 colspan=5 | To be determined in the 2022 election.
|- style="height:2em"
| colspan=5 | To be determined in the 2024 election.
| 41
|
Living former senators
, there are three living former U.S. senators from New York. The most recent and most recently serving senator to die was Daniel Patrick Moynihan (served 1977–2001) on March 26, 2003.
Superlatives
Longest service
Shortest service
Youngest at beginning of service
Oldest at end of service
See also
List of United States representatives from New York
United States congressional delegations from New York
Elections in New York
Notes
References
United States Senators
New York | en |
doc-en-842 | The Schwinn Bicycle Company was founded by German-born mechanical engineer Ignaz Schwinn (1860–1948) in Chicago in 1895. It became the dominant manufacturer of American bicycles through most of the 20th century. After declaring bankruptcy in 1992, Schwinn has since been a sub-brand of Pacific Cycle, owned by the multi-national conglomerate, Dorel Industries.
History
Founding of Schwinn
Ignaz Schwinn was born in Hardheim, Baden, Germany, in 1860 and worked on two-wheeled ancestors of the modern bicycle that appeared in 19th century Europe. Schwinn emigrated to the United States in 1891. In 1895, with the financial backing of fellow German American Adolph Frederick William Arnold (a meat packer), he founded Arnold, Schwinn & Company. Schwinn's new company coincided with a sudden bicycle craze in America. Chicago became the center of the American bicycle industry, with thirty factories turning out thousands of bikes every day. Bicycle output in the United States grew to over a million units per year by the turn of the 20th century.
The boom in bicycle sales was short-lived, saturating the market years before motor vehicles were common on American streets. By 1905, bicycle annual sales had fallen to only 25% of that reached in 1900. Many smaller companies were absorbed by larger firms or went bankrupt; in Chicago, only twelve bicycle makers remained in business. Competition became intense, both for parts suppliers and for contracts from the major department stores, which retailed the majority of bicycles produced in those days. Realizing he needed to grow the company, Ignaz Schwinn purchased several smaller bicycle firms, building a modern factory on Chicago's west side to mass-produce bicycles at lower cost. He finalized a purchase of Excelsior Company in 1912, and in 1917 added the Henderson Company to form Excelsior-Henderson. In an atmosphere of general decline elsewhere in the industry, Schwinn's new motorcycle division thrived, and by 1928 was in third place behind Indian and Harley-Davidson.
Depression years
At the close of the 1920s, the stock market crash decimated the American motorcycle industry, taking Excelsior-Henderson with it. Arnold, Schwinn, & Co. (as it remained until 1967) was on the verge of bankruptcy. With no buyers, Excelsior-Henderson motorcycles were discontinued in 1931. Ignaz's son, Frank W. "F. W." Schwinn, took over day-to-day operations at Schwinn. Putting all company efforts towards bicycles, he succeeded in developing a low-cost model that brought Schwinn recognition as an innovative company, as well as a product that would continue to sell during the inevitable downturns in business cycles. After traveling to Europe to get ideas, F. W. Schwinn returned to Chicago and in 1933 introduced the Schwinn B-10E Motorbike, actually a youth's bicycle designed to imitate a motorcycle. The company revised the model the next year and renamed it the Aerocycle. For the Aerocycle, F. W. Schwinn persuaded American Rubber Co. to make balloon tires, while adding streamlined fenders, an imitation "gas tank", a streamlined, chrome-plated headlight, and a push-button bicycle bell. The bicycle would eventually come to be known as a paperboy bike or cruiser.
Schwinn was soon sponsoring a bicycle racing team headed by Emil Wastyn, who designed the team bikes, and the company competed in six-day racing across the United States with riders such as Jerry Rodman and Russell Allen. In 1938, Frank W. Schwinn officially introduced the Paramount series. Developed from experiences gained in racing, Schwinn established Paramount as their answer to high-end, professional competition bicycles. The Paramount used high-strength chrome-molybdenum steel alloy tubing and expensive brass lug-brazed construction. During the next twenty years, most of the Paramount bikes would be built in limited numbers at a small frame shop headed by Wastyn, in spite of Schwinn's continued efforts to bring all frame production into the factory.
On 17 May 1941, Alfred Letourneur was able to beat the motor-paced world speed record on a bicycle, reaching on a Schwinn Paramount bicycle riding behind a car in Bakersfield, California.
Industry dominance
By 1950, Schwinn had decided the time was right to grow the brand. At the time, most bicycle manufacturers in the United States sold in bulk to department stores, which in turn sold them as store brand models. Schwinn decided to try something different. With the exception of B. F. Goodrich bicycles, sold in tire stores, Schwinn eliminated the practice of producing private label bicycles in 1950, insisting that the Schwinn brand and guarantee appear on all products. In exchange for ensuring the presence of the Schwinn name, distributors retained the right to distribute Schwinn bikes to any hardware store, toy store, or bicycle shop that ordered them. In 1952, F. W. Schwinn tasked a new team to plan future business strategy, consisting of marketing supervisor Ray Burch, general manager Bill Stoeffhaas, and design supervisor Al Fritz.
In the 1950s, Schwinn began to aggressively cultivate bicycle retailers, persuading them to sell Schwinns as their predominant, if not exclusive brand. During this period, bicycle sales enjoyed relatively slow growth, with the bulk of sales going to youth models. In 1900, during the height of the first bicycle boom, annual United States sales by all bicycle manufacturers had briefly topped one million. By 1960, annual sales had reached just 4.4 million. Nevertheless, Schwinn's share of the market was increasing, and would reach in excess of 1 million bicycles per year by the end of the decade.
In 1946, imports of foreign-made bicycles had increased tenfold over the previous year, to 46,840 bicycles; of that total, 95 per cent were from Great Britain. The postwar appearance of imported "English racers" (actually three-speed "sport" roadsters from Great Britain and West Germany) found a ready market among United States buyers seeking bicycles for exercise and recreation in the suburbs. Though substantially heavier than later European-style "racer" or sport/touring bikes, Americans found them a revelation, as they were still much lighter than existing models produced by Schwinn and other American bicycle manufacturers. Imports of foreign-made "English racers", sports roadsters, and recreational bicycles steadily increased through the early 1950s. Schwinn first responded to the new challenge by producing its own middleweight version of the "English racer". The middleweight incorporated most of the features of the English racer, but had wider tires and wheels.
The company also joined with other United States bicycle manufacturers in a campaign to raise import tariffs across the board on all imported bicycles. In August 1955, the Eisenhower administration implemented a 22.5% tariff rate for three out of four categories of bicycles. However, the most popular adult category, lightweight or "racer" bicycles, were only raised to 11.25%. The administration noted that the United States industry offered no direct competition in this category, and that lightweight bikes competed only indirectly with balloon-tire or cruiser bicycles. The share of the United States market taken by foreign-made bicycles dropped to 28.5% of the market, and remained under 30% through 1964. Despite the increased tariff, the only structural change in foreign imports during this period was a temporary decline in bicycles imported from Great Britain in favor of lower-priced models from the Netherlands and Germany. In 1961, after a successful appeal by bicycle importers, the Eisenhower tariffs were declared invalid by the Court of United States Customs Appeals, and President Kennedy imposed a new tariff rate at 50% on foreign-made bicycles, a rate which remained in place until 1964.
While every large bicycle manufacturer sponsored or participated in bicycle racing competition of some sort to keep up with the newest trends in technology, Schwinn had restricted its racing activities to events inside the United States, where Schwinn bicycles predominated. As a result, Schwinns became increasingly dated in both styling and technology. By 1957, the Paramount series, once a premier racing bicycle, had atrophied from a lack of attention and modernization. Aside from some new frame lug designs, the designs, methods and tooling were the same as had been used in the 1930s. After a crash-course in new frame-building techniques and derailleur technology, Schwinn introduced an updated Paramount with Reynolds 531 double-butted tubing, Nervex lugsets and bottom bracket shells, as well as Campagnolo derailleur dropouts. The Paramount continued as a limited production model, built in small numbers in a small apportioned area of the old Chicago assembly factory. The new frame and component technology incorporated in the Paramount largely failed to reach Schwinn's mass-market bicycle lines. In 1963 following the death of F. W. Schwinn, grandson Frank Valentine Schwinn took over management of the company.
Marketing and antitrust issues
By the late 1950s, Schwinn's exclusive marketing practices were well entrenched in the United States, practices that had ensured a dominant position in the United States bicycle market. In order to prevent competition among its wholesalers, Schwinn assisted them by dividing up the national market. Schwinn also strengthened its dealer network, shrinking the number of authorized dealers. Since Schwinn could decide who got their bikes and who didn't, the company rewarded the highest volume dealers with location exclusivity, as well as mandating service standards and layouts. In response, the company was sued by the Department of Justice in 1957 for restraint of trade. In a ten-year legal battle, many of Schwinn's practices were upheld by the courts: judges ruled they had the right to have their bicycles sold by retailers equipped to service the bikes as well as sell them. However, in a ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1967, U.S. v. Arnold, Schwinn & Co., Schwinn was found guilty of restraint of trade by preventing distributors shipping bicycles to unapproved dealers. Though the Arnold decision would be essentially overturned in later rulings, the company stopped working solely through independent local distributors and constructed four regional warehouses from which bicycles would — legally — be sent to shops. While this solved the problem of unfair trade practice with the courts, the new warehouses and distribution system cost millions of dollars at a time of rising competition from foreign manufacturers. It also made it more difficult for the company to stay informed of customer complaints regarding manufacturing or assembly problems.
During the 1960s, Schwinn aggressively campaigned to retain and expand its dominance of the child and youth bicycle markets. The company advertised heavily on television, and was an early sponsor (from 1958) of the children's television program Captain Kangaroo. The Captain himself was enlisted to regularly hawk Schwinn-brand bicycles to the show's audience, typically six years old and under. As these children matured, it was believed they would ask for Schwinn bicycles from their parents. By 1971, United States government councils had objected to Schwinn's marketing practices. In response, Schwinn had Captain Kangaroo alter its format. The Captain no longer insisted that viewers buy a Schwinn, but instead made regular on-air consultations of a new character, "Mr. Schwinn Dealer".
The Corvette
Schwinn developed the Corvette in 1954, after their catalog, for that year, had been in use. Therefore, with the release of a single photograph, the Corvette was introduced. The picture showed company executives standing behind their new product, that would remain in production for 10 years. 1955 was the first year in which the Corvette appeared in the Schwinn catalog; it was Schwinn's top listing in their "middleweight" category.
Schwinn Twinn
From the 1950s to the 1980s, Schwinn produced a series of lightweight tandem bicycles known as the Schwinn Twinn. They came in three different models: the single speed Twinn, a two speed semi-automatic, and the five speed Deluxe Twinn.
In 1962, Schwinn's designer Al Fritz heard about a new youth trend centered in California for retrofitting bicycles with the accoutrements of motorcycles customized in the "bobber" or "chopper" style, including high-rise, "ape-hanger" handlebars, and low-rider "banana seats". Inspired, he designed a mass-production bike for the youth market known as Project J-38. The result, a wheelie bike, was introduced to the public as the Schwinn Sting-Ray in June 1963.
The Sting-Ray had ape-hanger handlebars, Persons's Solo Polo Seat banana seat, and tires. Sales were initially slow, as many parents desiring a bicycle for their children did not relate to the new, unconventional design. After a few appeared on America's streets and neighborhoods, many young riders would accept nothing else, and sales took off.
In the December 1963 Schwinn Reporter, Schwinn announced the arrival of the Deluxe Sting-Ray. This model included Fenders, white-wall tires, and a padded Solo polo seat.
In July 1964, Schwinn announced the arrival of the Super Deluxe Sting-Ray. This model included a front spring-fork, a new sleeker Sting-Ray banana seat, and a Person's Hi-loop Sissy bar. The Super Deluxe also gave the rider a choice of White wall tires or the new Yellow oval rear Slik tire paired with a front black wall Westwind tire.
By 1965, a host of American and foreign manufacturers were offering their own version of the Sting-Ray.
The Ten Speed
A growing number of teens and young adults were purchasing imported European sport racing or sport touring bicycles, many fitted with multiple derailleur-shifted gears. Schwinn decided to meet the challenge by developing two lines of sport or road 'racer' bicycles. One was already in the catalog — the limited production Paramount series. As always, the Paramount spared no expense; the bicycles were given high-quality lightweight lugged steel frames using double-butted tubes of Reynolds 531 and fitted with quality European components including Campagnolo derailleurs, hubs, and gears. The Paramount series had limited production numbers, making vintage examples quite rare today. Starting in 1960, for the rest of the market, Schwinn offered the Schwinn Varsity, Continental, and LeTour -- now equipped as multi-geared sport bikes (10-speeds), and designed to imitate the style of the new narrow-tired 'racing' and sport bikes from Europe, though not their performance. The 1960 Varsity was introduced as an 8-speed bike, but in mid-1961 was upgraded to 10 speeds. Other road bikes were introduced by Schwinn in the early and mid 1960s, such as the Superior, Sierra, and Super Continental, but these were only produced for a few years. The Varsity and Continental sold in large numbers through the 1960s and early 1970s, becoming Scwhinn's leading models. The major difference between the two models was the use of a tubular front fork on the Continental -- both bikes used the same frame design, a lugless, steel unit, using Schwinn's standard Ashtabula cranksets and welded in such a way that the joints were smoothly filled (similar to the joints in 21st-century composite frames). The wheel rims were likewise robust, chromed, stamped steel with a unique profile designed to hold the tire bead securely, even if pressure were low or lost.
In the late 1960s, the Varsity and Continental pioneered the use of auxiliary brake levers, which allowed the rider to rest hands on the straight, horizontal center section of the ram's horn handlebars, yet still have braking control. To further improve control from this more-erect riding position, the levers used to move the derailleurs (shifting the chain from one sprocket to the next) were moved from the traditional position on the "down tube" to the top of the headset, on a ring which would turn with the handlebar stem. This feature, attractive to older riders, soon found its way to other Schwinn models, especially those intended for senior citizens.
By the mid-1970s, competition from lightweight and feature-rich imported bikes was making strong inroads in the budget-priced and beginners' market. While Schwinn's popular lines were far more durable than the budget bikes, they were also far heavier and more expensive, and parents were realizing that most of the budget bikes would outlast most kids' interest in bicycling. Although the Varsity and Continental series would still be produced in large numbers into the 1980s, even Schwinn recognized the growing market in young adults and environmentally-oriented purchasers, devoting the bulk of their marketing to lighter models intended to pull sales back from the imports.
The bicycle boom
The Sting-Ray sales boom of the 1960s accelerated in 1970, with United States bicycle sales doubling over a period of two years. However, there were clear warning signs on the horizon.
Despite a huge increase in popularity of lightweight European sport or road racing bicycles in the United States, Schwinn adhered to its existing strategy in the lightweight adult road bike market. For those unable to afford the Paramount, this meant a Schwinn 'sports' bike with a heavy steel electro-forged frame along with steel components such as wheels, stems, cranks, and handlebars from the company's established United States suppliers. Though weighing slightly less, the mid-priced Schwinn Superior or Sports Tourer was almost indistinguishable from Schwinn's other heavy, mass-produced models, such as the Varsity and Continental. While competitive in the 1960s, by 1972 these bicycles were much heavier and less responsive in comparison to the new sport and racing bicycles arriving from England, France, Italy, and increasingly, Japan.
Another problem was Schwinn's failure to design and market its bicycles to specific, identifiable buyers, especially the growing number of cyclists interested in road racing or touring. Instead, most Schwinn derailleur bikes were marketed to the general leisure market, equipped with heavy "old timer" accessories such as kickstands that cycling aficionados had long since abandoned. More and more cyclists, especially younger buyers, began to insist on stronger steel alloys (which allowed for lighter frames), responsive frame geometry, aluminum components, advanced derailleur shifting, and multiple gears. When they failed to find what they wanted at Schwinn, they went elsewhere. While the Paramount still sold in limited numbers to this market, the model's customer base began to age, changing from primarily bike racers to older, wealthier riders looking for the ultimate bicycle. Schwinn sold an impressive 1.5 million bicycles in 1974, but would pay the price for failing to keep up with new developments in bicycle technology and buying trends.
With their aging product line, Schwinn failed to dominate the huge sport bike boom of 1971–1975, which saw millions of 10-speed bicycles sold to new cyclists. Schwinn did allow some dealers to sell imported road racing bikes, and by 1973 was using the Schwinn name on the Le Tour, a Japanese-made low-cost sport/touring 10-speed bicycle. Schwinn developed strong trading relationships with two Japanese bicycle manufacturers in particular, Bridgestone and National/Panasonic. Though these met initial dealer resistance as "imports" and were not included in the Schwinn consumer catalog, it was soon realized that the Panasonic and Bridgestone 'Schwinn' bicycles were fully the equal of the American-made versions in quality and performance. Schwinn soon had a range of low, mid- and upper-level bicycles all imported from Japan. Schwinn's standard road bike model from Panasonic was the World Traveler, which had a high-quality lugged steel frame and Shimano components. Schwinn also marketed a top-shelf touring model from Panasonic, the World Voyager, lugged with butted Tange chrome-molybdenum alloy tubing, Shimano derailleurs, and SunTour bar-end shifters, a serious challenge to the Paramount series at half the price.
By 1975, bicycle customers interested in medium-priced road and touring bicycles had largely gravitated towards Japanese or European brands. Unlike Schwinn, many of these brands were perennial participants in professional bicycle racing, and their production road bicycles at least possessed the cachet and visual lineage of their racing heritage, if not always their componentry. One example was Peugeot, which won several Tour de France victories using race bikes with frames occasionally constructed by small race-oriented framebuilders such as Masi, suitably repainted in Team Peugeot colors. In reality, mass-market French manufacturers such as Peugeot were not infrequently criticized for material and assembly quality — as well as stagnant technology — in their low- and mid-level product lines. Nevertheless, Peugeot proudly advertised its victorious racing heritage at every opportunity. While not as prominent at the winner's podium, Japanese brands such as Fuji and Panasonic offered consistently high quality, reasonable prices, and state-of-the-art-derailleur, crankset, and gearing design. Unlike Schwinn, most Japanese bicycle manufacturers were quick to adopt the latest European road racing geometries, new steel alloys, and modern manufacturing techniques. As a result, their moderately-priced bicycles, equipped with the same Japanese-made components, usually weighed less and performed better than competitive models made by Schwinn. Schwinn brand loyalty began to suffer as huge numbers of buyers came to retailers asking for the latest sport and racing road bikes from European or Japanese manufacturers. By 1979, even the Paramount had been passed, technologically speaking, by a new generation of American as well as foreign custom bicycle manufacturers.
BMX bicycles
Schwinn also largely failed to capitalize on a new trend in Southern California: BMX racing. After first claiming it to be a dangerous sport, management changed their tune — too late — when they introduced the Scrambler in 1975, which evolved into a BMX design in the late 1970s, but it was heavier than designs from other manufacturers. The Sting-Ray based Scrambler spawned the light weight, fully competition capable, chrome-molybdenum-tubed Competition Scrambler in 1977, Scrambler 36/36, the Mag Scrambler in 1981, and the Sting with full Reynolds, double butted chrome-molybdenum frame that was made in the same assembly area as the Paramount road racing frames.
Schwinn followed the Scrambler line with the Predator in 1982, their first competitive step into the modern BMX market. A latecomer, the Predator took just eight percent of the BMX market. Schwinn also had a very successful BMX racing team made up of some of the best riders of the day. They were even used for an episode of the TV show CHiPs.
Mountain bikes
By the late 1970s, a new bicycle sport begun by enthusiasts in Northern California had grown into a new type of all-terrain bicycle, the mountain bike. Mountain bikes were originally based on Schwinn balloon-tired cruiser bicycles fitted with derailleur gears and called "Klunkers". A few participants began designing and building small numbers of mountain bikes with frames made out of modern butted chrome-molybdenum alloy steel. When the sport's original inventors demonstrated their new frame design, Schwinn marketing personnel initially discounted the growing popularity of the mountain bike, concluding that it would become a short-lived fad. The company briefly (1978–1979) produced a bicycle styled after the California mountain bikes, the Klunker 5. Using the standard electro-forged cantilever frame, and fitted with five-speed derailleur gears and knobby tires, the Klunker 5 was never heavily marketed, and was not even listed in the Schwinn product catalog. Unlike its progenitors, the Klunker proved incapable of withstanding hard off-road use, and after an unsuccessful attempt to reintroduce the model as the Spitfire 5, it was dropped from production.
The company's next answer to requests for a Schwinn mountain bike was the King Sting and the Sidewinder, inexpensive BMX-derived bicycles fabricated from existing electro-forged frame designs, and using off-the-shelf BMX parts. This proved to be a major miscalculation, as several new United States startup companies began producing high-quality frames designed from the ground up, and sourced from new, modern plants in Japan and Taiwan using new mass-production technologies such as TIG welding.
Schwinn fielded a mountain bike racing team in the United States where their team rider Ned Overend won two consecutive NORBA Mountain Biking National Championships for the team in 1986 and 1987. Schwinn's new competitors such as Specialized and Fisher MountainBikes were soon selling hundreds of thousands of mountain bikes at competitive prices to eager customers, setting sales records in a market niche that soon grew to enormous proportions.
Factory and retooling issues
By this time, Schwinn's bicycle factory was completely outmoded in comparison to modern bicycle manufacturing centers in Japan and Taiwan, who had continually invested in new and up-to-date manufacturing techniques and materials, including new joinery techniques and the latest lightweight chrome-molybdenum alloy steel, and later, aluminum. The company considered relocating to a single facility in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but financing the project would have required outside investors, perhaps even foreign ones. Schwinn's board of directors rejected the new plant in 1978.
Labor troubles, bankruptcy and demise
In October 1979, Edward R. Schwinn, Jr. took over the presidency of Schwinn from his uncle Frank, ensuring continuity of Schwinn family in the operations of the company. However, worker dissatisfaction, seldom a problem in the early years, grew with steep increases in inflation. In late 1980, the Schwinn Chicago factory workers voted to affiliate with the United Auto Workers.<ref>La Botz, Dan, Chicago Stewart-Warner Workers Stick With U.E.; Reject UAW Raid, Labor Notes, 22 December 1980, p. 5</ref> Plant assembly workers began a strike for higher pay in September 1980, and 1,400 assembly workers walked off the job for thirteen weeks.Yovovich, pp. 34–35 Although the strike ended in February 1981, only about 65% of the prior workforce was recalled to work. By this time, increasingly stiff competition from lower-cost competition in Asia resulted in declining market share. These problems were exacerbated by the inefficiency of producing modern bicycles in the 80-year-old Chicago factory equipped with outdated equipment and ancient inventory and information systems. After numerous meetings, the board of directors voted to source most Schwinn bicycle production from their established bicycle supplier in Japan, Panasonic Bicycle. As Schwinn's first outsourced bicycles, Panasonic had been the only vendor to meet Schwinn's production requirements. Later, Schwinn would sign a production supply agreement with Giant Bicycles of Taiwan. As time passed, Schwinn would import more and more Asian-made bicycles to carry the Schwinn brand, eventually becoming more a marketer than a maker of bikes.
In an attempt to preserve remaining market share and avoid a unionized workforce, Schwinn later moved remaining United States bicycle production to a new plant in Greenville, Mississippi, where bicycles could be assembled at lower cost using parts sourced from Asia. The Greenville plant was not a success, as it was remote from both the corporate headquarters as well as the West coast ports where the material components arrived from Taiwan and Japan. Additionally, Asian manufacturers could still produce and assemble high-quality bicycles at a far lower per-unit cost than Schwinn at its plant in Mississippi, which had to import parts, then assemble them using higher-priced United States labor. The Greenville manufacturing facility, which had lost money each year of its operation, finally closed in 1991, laying off 250 workers in the process.
After a series of production cuts and labor force reductions, Schwinn was able to restructure its operations. The company renegotiated loans by putting up the company and the name as collateral, and increased production of the Airdyne exercise bicycle, a moneymaker even in bad times. The company took advantage of the continued demand for mountain bikes, redesigning its product line with Schwinn-designed chrome-molybdenum alloy steel frames. Supplied by manufacturers in Asia, the new arrangement enabled Schwinn to reduce costs and stay competitive with Asian bicycle companies. In Taiwan, Schwinn was able to conclude a new production agreement with Giant Bicycles, transferring Schwinn's frame design and manufacturing expertise to Giant in the process. With this partnership, Schwinn increased their bicycle sales to 500,000 per year by 1985. Schwinn's annual sales soon neared the million mark, and the company turned a profit in the late 1980s. However, after unsuccessfully attempting to purchase a minority share in Giant Bicycles, Edward Schwinn Jr. negotiated a separate deal with the China Bicycle Co. (CBC) to produce bicycles to be sold under the Schwinn brand. In retaliation, Giant introduced its own line of Giant-branded bikes for sale to retailers carrying Schwinn bikes. Both Giant and CBC used the dies, plans, and technological expertise from Schwinn to greatly expand the market share of bicycles made under their own proprietary brands, first in Europe, and later in the United States.
By 1990, other United States bicycle companies with reputations for excellence in design such as Trek, Specialized, and Cannondale had cut further into Schwinn's market. Unable to produce bicycles in the United States at a competitive cost, by the end of 1991 Schwinn was sourcing its bicycles from overseas manufacturers. This period in Schwinn's history plays a cameo role in a novel by Dave Eggers, A Hologram for the King (2012). Seeking to increase its brand recognition, Schwinn established additional company-operated shops, a move that alienated existing independent bike retailers in cities where the company stores had opened. This in turn led to further inroads by domestic and foreign competitors. Faced with a downward sales spiral, Schwinn went into bankruptcy in 1992. The company and name were bought by the Zell/Chilmark Fund, an investment group, in 1993. Zell moved Schwinn's corporate headquarters to Boulder, Colorado.
In 1993, Richard Schwinn, great-grandson of Ignaz Schwinn, with business partner Marc Muller, purchased the Schwinn Paramount plant in Waterford, Wisconsin, where Paramounts were built since 1980. They founded Waterford Precision Cycles, which is still in operation. In 2003 they employed 18 workers building lightweight bicycles.
In late 1997, Questor Partners Fund, led by Jay Alix and Dan Lufkin, purchased Schwinn Bicycles. Questor/Schwinn later purchased GT Bicycles in 1998 for $8 a share in cash, roughly $80 million. The new company produced a series of well-regarded mountain bikes bearing the Schwinn name, called the Homegrown series. In 2001, Schwinn/GT declared bankruptcy.
Sale to Pacific and Nautilus
In September 2001, the Schwinn Company, its assets, and the rights to the brand, together with that of the GT Bicycle, was purchased at a bankruptcy auction by Pacific Cycle, a company previously known for mass-market brands owned by Wind Point Partners. In 2004, Pacific Cycle was in turn acquired by Dorel Industries. Once America's preeminent bicycle manufacturer, the Schwinn brand, as with many other bicycle manufacturers, affixed itself to fabrication in China and Taiwan, fueling most of its corporate parent's growth. In 2010, Dorel launched a major advertising campaign to revive and contemporize the Schwinn brand by associating it with consumer childhood memories of the company, including a reintroduction of the Schwinn Sting-Ray''.
Direct Focus, Inc., a marketing company for fitness and healthy lifestyle products, acquired the assets of Schwinn/GT's fitness equipment division. Direct Focus, Inc. subsequently became Nautilus, Inc.
Models
Schwinn sells essentially two lines of bicycles. One is a line of discount bikes offered through mass-merchandisers such as Wal-Mart, Sears and Kmart. The other line known as the Signature Series, featured on the website, are higher-end models sold through specialty shops. Schwinn produces the following types of bicycles:
Cruisers
Bike Path/Comfort
Mountain
Road
Hybrid
Urban includes folders
Kids
Electric
Stationary
Scooters
Starting in 2005, Schwinn also marketed Motorscooters under the Schwinn Motorsports brand. Production ceased in 2011
(approx).
Gear
Schwinn also produces the following gear: Helmets & Pads, Pumps, Saddles, Lights, Storage, Extras, Repair, Bike trailers, and Jogging strollers.
See also
Schwinn Racer
References
External links
Cycle manufacturers of the United States
History of cycling
History of Chicago
Manufacturing companies based in Illinois
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1895
1895 establishments in Illinois | en |
doc-en-15257 | Joan Doménec Bardina Castarà () (1877-1950) was a Spanish-Chilean theorist of education, acknowledged for his innovative approach to pedagogy and for his contribution to renewal of the Catalan schooling system. In Chile he is known also as a scholar in law; in Spain, and especially in Catalonia, he is recognized as a member of the Catalanist movement. Active in Carlism during his youth, he is considered a typical case of a transitional political identity, moving from Carlism to peripheral nationalism. Increasingly concerned with social issues, by the end of his life he sympathized with Francoism and Nazism; he also focused more on his extended family and became increasingly religious. His manuals, published anonymously and related mostly to health, hygiene and cuisine, were fairly popular in Spain in the 1920s and 1930s.
Family and youth
Joan Bardina Castarà descended from a working class Catalan family. His paternal grandparents, Josep Bardina and Maria Savarich, lived in a Pyrenean village of Llogaret de Santa Creu, Alto Urgel county, and had 12 children. The youngest of them, Joan Bardina Savarich (died 1891), left the family home early and in search of work settled in Sant Boi de Llobregat, a town at the outskirts of Barcelona. It is there where he commenced working, first as a locksmith and then as a blacksmith. He married a local girl, Dolores Castarà Sigró. She also came from a humble, though somewhat better positioned family; her parents, Josep Castarà Marigó and María Ciuró (originally Sigró) Puig, were handicraftsmen specializing in lace-making; especially the latter was recognized in the town. The newly married couple had one child, a daughter, before Dolores died. A widower, Joan married her younger sister, Josepa Castarà Ciuró. They had 4 children, Josepa, Joan, Baldiri and Magdalena.
Educated in a kindergarten, at the age of 5 Joan was able to read and write. In 1884 he moved to elementary school, excelling as an extraordinary student. It was the headmaster who suggested that the boy pursues a more ambitious career. In line with the advice, in 1887 Joan entered the Barcelona seminary. He kept collecting awards until the mid-1890s, as a teenager developing interest in photography, folk customs and tourism. However, path towards an ecclesiastical career was abruptly abandoned. Trying his hand in local journals, Bardina published a pamphlet deemed disrespectful towards the cardinal Sancha y Hervás; he considered a heavy reprimand received unfair. When his work on Kant, winning the first prize at a Valencia Seminary contest, was declared arrogant in his home seminary, in 1898 Bardina left the school. He obtained bachillerato in 1899 in Instituto de Girona and graduated in philosophy and letters from University of Barcelona in 1900. Himself exempted from military service, in 1901 he volunteered to spare conscription of his sickly brother Baldiri. At that time he was already trying to make a living by contributing to Barcelona periodicals and publishing own booklets.
In 1906 Bardina married Josepa Soronellas Brosé (1880-1910), a feminist activist; her father was involved in housekeeping, printing and distribution of a periodical Bardina worked with. In 1907 their only child, Remedios (Reimei) Bardina Soronellas, was born. The girl initially lived with her parents and then with her widowed father in Barcelona, after his departure to stay with her grandmother. Remedios was the first female law graduate of the University of Barcelona and among the first three female PhD graduates from the University of Madrid, to gain another PhD from the University of Berlin. She married Yen Huai Liu, a fellow PhD student from China. In the 1930s the couple settled in China and later, together with seven children, in Taiwan. In 1921, already in Chile, Bardina remarried with a local girl Raquel Venegas (born 1902); none of the sources consulted offers any information on her family. The couple had 4 children, Joan, Raquel, Rebeca and Marta, born between 1922 and 1927. All of them got married and had children; none has grown to prominence.
Carlist
Bardina did not demonstrate political sympathies until the mid-1890s; influenced by the spirit of fellow seminarians, he neared Carlism. In 1895 he published first poems in the Carlist press, signed with a histrionic pen-name "Valcarlos", and kept contributing to various Traditionalist titles; his pieces featured belligerent tone and scarce maturity. In 1897 he co-founded the Barcelona section of Joventut Escolar Tradicionalista, an activity which triggered correspondence between the minister of justice and ecclesiastic authorities. The same year Bardina joined a newly launched Carlist satirical weekly in Catalan, Lo Mestre Titas, and quickly emerged as one of its key contributors.
Lo Mestre Titas remained on the margins of the Catalan Carlism, ignored by the regional party mouthpiece, El Correo Catalan; its heterodoxy consisted of unusually militant tone, regionalism exceeding the standard party levels, and antipathy towards the regional leader Llauder. Bardina's contributions fell into 3 fields: lambasting Liberal governments, discussing political stand of the Church, and promoting Catalanism; he wrote poetry and essays. His advances against pro-Alfonsist course of the Church cost Bardina a conflict with seminarian superiors and led to leaving the seminary. His zealous, Carlism-formatted Catalanism cost Bardina a conflict with periodicals close to Unió Catalanista; it also cost Bardina a conflict with Llauder, who considered his Catalanist-Carlist propaganda beyond the party orthodoxy.
The climax of Bardina's Carlist engagement fell on 1899-1900, when he published an unorthodox biography of Aparisi Guijarro, first volume of an intended series on history of Carlism and two treaties discussing his vision of Carlist Catalonia; they raised many eyebrows, and in 1900 Llauder explicitly prohibited Bardina propagating his Catalanist-Carlist outlook. Militant tone of Lo Mestre Titas brought administrative fines, which in April 1900 led to disappearance of the title. Bardina was trialed for instigating to rebellion and fined; indeed by scholars he is considered representative of a “catastrophist” approach.
It is not clear whether Bardina took part in Carlist military gear-up to overthrow the regime in 1899-1900; his publications, including a self-devised infantry tactical rulebook, were clearly pointing in this direction. The conspiracy boiled down to few isolated attempts in October 1900, and most of those detained afterwards were Bardina's friends. He was profoundly disappointed by ambiguous stand of the claimant, whose official condemnation of those involved alienated Bardina further on. His Carlism started to assume increasingly offshoot tone. In 1901-1902 he was engaged in El Cañón, an even more heterodox successor of Lo Mestre Titas, and niche Catholic periodicals La Barretina and Luz Católica. He might have been involved in conspiracy to replace Don Carlos with his son, Don Jaime. In a symbolic gesture, he shortened his pen-name from “Valcarlos” to “Val”. Bardina's anti-regime stand cost him another detention; he was spared sanctions thanks to private links. In 1903 he openly lambasted Carlist executive for ineptitude. Ridiculed by the party press as ex-Carlista, Bardina declared having been a Traditionalist but never a Carlist, and in his later booklet openly challenged the “Carlo-traitors”.
Between Carlism and Catalanism
Support for historical territorial identities and for loose organization of state has been major component of the Carlist vision; initially it seemed that Bardina's view on the Catalan question was firmly anchored within this outlook. Feeling profoundly Catalan, in line with orthodox Carlism he confronted the emerging Catalan nationalism as a chaotic medley; lacking tradition and social base, according to Bardina it was advocated by a handful of intellectuals and students, indulging in sectarian exaltation and producing discord. Tending to separatism, they were “descendants of the federalists and republicans in political terms, atheists in religious terms, and Jacobins in social terms”. The only viable offer for Catalonia – Bardina argued - was this of Carlos VII, who already in the 1870s hailed Catalan identity and pledged to restore traditional regional establishments. Writing to Lo Mestre Titas, Bardina engaged in hostile exchange of arguments with Catalanist periodicals La Renaixensa or La Nació Catalana, lambasting their anti-Carlism.
By the turn of the centuries militant and zealous Bardina's tone gave way to somewhat moderated polemics, mostly with Enric Prat de la Riba; discussing differences of programs and contradictory positions of Carlism and nationalist Catalanism, he abandoned earlier venom. Declaring himself a Catalanist and a Carlist at the same time, he criticized the latter for scarce use of Catalan, provincial organization, cuñerismo, and giving precedence to Rey over Patria. Bardina's treaties published started to stress an autonomous concept of Catalonia. Though explicitly rejecting full political independence in favor of a self-government, his vision was mounted in a general, federal or confederal view of an Iberian peninsula as a conglomerate of kingdoms, principates, señorios and other entities. Such Catalonia would be a confessional Catholic entity with an own concordat, with freemasonry banned and no freedom of religion. It would be based on democratic principles, including political parties and universal suffrage, crowned with own Catalan parliament; the only official language would be Catalan.
Though Carlism adopted an ambiguous position on the question of autonomy and though federative concepts were vaguely advanced by some key Carlist pundits, definitive and adamant stand of Bardina was barely acceptable for the party executives. Aware of this skepticism, in 1900 Bardina declared he was prepared to abandon the Carlists if they adopt a centralist position. His relations with Prat de la Riba changed into rapprochement, acknowledged by his contributions to La Veu de Catalunya and other similarly formatted periodicals. In late 1902 he was entrusted with drafting educational program of Lliga Regionalista and in 1904 entered its Comisión de Escuelas, though Bardina is not known to have held any posts in the party. In the mid-1900s he was already within the “intellectuales orgánicos” circle of Prat de la Riba, individuals staying clear of politics but engaged in ground-level work within the conservative, bourgeoisie Catalanism. Starting mid-1900 Bardina was to engage in a variety of Catalanist educational initiatives, be it congresses, lectures, newspapers, schools, self-governmental or private institutions and various associations.
Catalanist educator
Apart from work as a private tutor in well-to-do Barcelona families Bardina had no experience as to education, though he grew enthusiastic about the subject and befriended individuals from the scholarly realm; among them were the Giner de los Rios brothers, chief promoters of Krausism in Spain. His interest in Catalanism and education led to taking part in the 1903 Congreso Universitario Catalán, one of mushrooming Catalanist education-related initiatives. He offered own views on a future Catalan academic system, declaring also that all primary education should be in Catalan. At the time La Lliga attempted to re-format education system along Catalanist lines; one of the instruments envisioned was Patronato de Escuelas, intended to supervise a network of Catalan schools for the working class. Starting 1904 Bardina worked closely with Prat de la Riba to finalize the project; eventually La Lliga failed to push it through the Catalan self-governing bodies.
In the mid-1900s Bardina was contemplating educative plans of his own; he launched Biblioteca Escolar Moderna, a series intended to provide comprehensive textbooks. His most notable initiative was a college for future teachers. As Hermenegildo Giner de los Rios was teniente de alcalde in the Barcelona ayuntamiento, the plan got heavily subsidized by municipal and provincial authorities and materialized as Escola de Mestres in 1906. Allocated prestigious premises, well-staffed and perfectly equipped, it was a fusion of Krausism and Catalanism, with Lliguista political designs in the background. With some 40 teenagers pursuing the curriculum every year, it became “Institució única en la história de l’educació catalana”. In 1908 Bardina opened another school, Collegio del Remei, where first alumni of Escola de Mestres assumed teaching. The period was marked by his hectic activities; Bardina took part in linguistic and pedagogic congresses, published textbooks, launched periodicals, gave lectures and set up new institutions. He remained engaged in numerous self-governmental activities. The most important of them was Presupuesto Extraordinario de Cultura, a long term educational project developed by the Barcelona city council and launched in 1908. Asked by Prat de la Riba to work on the document a few years earlier, Bardina heavily contributed to its pedagogical section, mostly within the Krausist-Catalanist framework and occasionally assuming a somewhat anti-conservative flavor.
In the summer of 1909 Barcelona and Catalonia were rocked by Anarchist-dominated and anti-religious riots, known as Semana Trágica. With army restoring order and massive casualties, political establishment took a decisively conservative turn; also Prat de la Riba and La Lliga re-considered the question of alliances and enemies. Liberal educational initiatives became the focus of suspicion. The Presupuesto project was cancelled by the civil governor. Francesc Ferrer Guardia, founder of Escuela Moderna, was sentenced and executed; also Bardina got ostracized and stigmatized, and police developed interest in his activities. 1909 marks the breakup date between him and Prat de la Riba. Subsidies for Bardina's projects dried out. Unable to cope financially on their own, both Escola de Mestres and Collegio del Remei closed in 1910; Bardina became sort of an outcast.
At the crossroads
Cut off from public money, Bardina ensured private support. In 1911 the Dural couple, owners of a well-to-do trading company, agreed to finance a new school. It materialized as Institución Spencer; Bardina, apart from having been a headmaster, taught math, geography, languages and history. The enterprise was largely a private Durall tuition affair, as the only alumni known were their numerous children and Bardina's own oldest daughter. For financial reasons or reasons which are not clear, the school closed after just one year, in 1912.
Bardina found himself in financial dire straits, especially that creditors of Escola de Mestres threatened him with legal action. With life in Barcelona becoming unbearable, he pondered upon starting an entirely new life elsewhere. In 1912 with some of his former alumni he moved to Paris to learn the French educational system, the stay financed initially with private money; having obtained public grant, he then extended the mission to Belgium and Britain. He viewed it already as a way to leave Spain forever, but at this stage things did not work out that way. He had to return to Barcelona; in 1914 the newly formed Mancomunitat launched a number of new educational establishments, but Bardina was not invited to take part in any. He resumed collaboration with La Veu de Catalunya; under a pen-name "Capitán de Estado Mayor", in 1914-1917 he contributed fairly popular chronicles of military developments of the Great War. In the 1910s he published also a few self-devised and hugely successful manuals on hygiene, medicine, self-defense, savoir-vivre and home cuisine.
In the mid-1910s Bardina's idea of leaving Spain focused on Colombia, where some of his alumni settled. However, in 1916 it was the government of Bolivia which sought assistance in Madrid to fill the post of philosophy and letters director at Instituto Normal Superior in La Paz. As initial recruitment process, staged by Ministry of Education, proved fruitless, advised by a Bolivian consul in Barcelona Bardina applied for the job. It is not clear whether his PhD dissertation, accepted in early 1917, was anyhow related to the recruitment process; one month later he signed a contract with the Bolivian government. In May 1917 Bardina already assumed his duties in La Paz, having found Instituto as a miserable institution adhering to medieval educational standards. He immediately attempted to implant his unorthodox methods, which instantly produced acute conflict with local staff. After 45 days in charge, Bardina resigned.
In La Paz Bardina befriended Rafael Edward Salas, head of military ordinariate of the Chilean armed forces. Acting on his advice, Bardina accompanied Salas on his return trip to Santiago de Chile and settled in the city. He took up assignment at a local religious school and commenced collaboration with a Catholic Valparaíso periodical, La Unión; it is also in Santiago where he remarried. Shortly afterwards La Unión managers offered Bardina a job in Valparaíso, the proposal he accepted. In 1921 he moved to the coastal city, where he would remain until the end of his life.
Pundit
In Valparaíso Bardina commenced teaching at Seminario San Rafael, a very prestigious establishment set up by the local archbishop and aimed at modelling not only future priests, but also as a stepping stone towards a lay career. He started contributing to Boy, a periodical issued by the college and in 1925 renamed to Lux. In the 1920s he published numerous pieces, centered on education though at times dealing also with social and political issues; set in the Catholic framework, they nevertheless kept advancing innovative views on schooling. He also dedicated himself to family life, enjoying birth and education of his four children. At unspecified time in the 1920s he commenced teaching at a customs officer training center, which proved to be a safe source of income and provided him with esteem of the civil servant.
In the early 1920s Bardina and his local collaborator Joaquín Blaya launched Annuario Internacional Americano, a business magazine focused on commerce. The project proved hugely successful, with the review distributed in many American countries; it also consumed much of his time, as gathering information and establishing new links Bardina started to travel across the continent; his trips took him to Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina and Ecuador. For the first time he enjoyed affluence, travelling extensively, staying in the best hotels and basking in the growing prestige. As he maintained contacts with his former Barcelona editors, he kept re-issuing manuals written back in Spain; posing as an expert and hailed by friendly periodicals as “celebre Dr. Saimbraum”, one of the pen-names he assumed, Bardina used to recommend booklets of “Dra. Fanny”, another nome de plume of him.
Apart from contributing to periodicals issued by Seminario San Rafael, Bardina kept supplying other newspapers and reviews, like Diario Hispano-Americano of Valparaíso or Diario Ilustrado of Santiago de Chile; some, however, refused to publish his pieces due to “exceso de originalidad”. His key partner remained La Unión, the assignment which originally brought him to Valparaíso; in fact, his contributions assumed massive scale. Bardina's flagship product was La Semana Internacional, a weekly Monday column discussing international politics which kept appearing until the early 1930s. His pieces fell chiefly into three fields: education, international politics and internal social and political issues, the last one covered mostly from the Catholic social perspective. It was his contributions to La Unión which over time earned Bardina the status of a pundit and high position in the Valparaíso societé. However, co-operation with the daily ended abruptly. In 1932 Bardina sided with the striking staff against the La Unión management; as a result he had to leave the newspaper.
Scholar
In 1928 Bardina was appointed professor of labor law at Escuela de Derecho, a newly established Valparaíso outlet of Universidad de Chile. Since he had neither juridical education nor juridical practice, circumstances of his nomination are not clear. The academic post gradually became his principal activity. He retained jefatura of Cátedra del Derecho de Trabajo throughout the 1930s and most of the 1940s, putting into practice his concepts of education. Bardina remained very distinct from other professors; he is remembered by his former disciples as attentive, encouraging, partner-like and sort of an “iconoclast”. Instead of lecturing the audience, he preferred – much in line with his educational outlook, though also perhaps not unrelated to his lack of juridical background – to engage in discussion. Periodically he was entrusted also with other academic assignments, e.g. temporarily holding Cátedra de Sociología y Economía Social.
In 1932 Bardina set up another weekly on his own, La Semana Internacional. The periodical, very much a one-man show, kept appearing for some 15 years and was distributed in America and in Europe. It turned into his personal tribune; apart from review of international politics, it covered a vast array of other topics, earning him position also abroad. Le Semana demonstrated Bardina's increasingly democratic penchant combined with concern about social issues and poverty. Initially sympathetic towards the Spanish Republic, he later started to view it as incapable of solving structural issues; following a period of hesitation, during the Civil War he tended to side with the Nationalists. Posing as an impartial observer, he welcomed Falange's program and Franco’s social legislation, considered “más acentuadamente social que la legislación obrera de la República”, yet he criticized Francoism for crackdown on Catalan and Basque culture. Bardina's sympathy for Nazism developed along the same lines; he considered Hitler a champion of genuine democracy, the voice of the people, against façade democracy and capital-driven imperialism of Britain, France and their sidekicks like Poland. Politically he neared Movimiento Nacional-Socialista de Chile of Jorge González von Marées.
The 1930s are perhaps the period of Bardina's professional and social climax. Holding a prestigious academic post, he enjoyed friendship with some highly positioned Chilean dignitaries, including the president of Chile, Carlos Ibañez del Campo; young people were turning to him when seeking jobs. He was offered newspaper management posts back in Spain, awarded prestigious medals and other international honors. The period of prospect lasted until the mid-1940s, when fortune abandoned Bardina again. Due to its pro-Nazi sympathies, La Semana was blacklisted by the US authorities, which caused problems in print and in distribution; the weekly went into decline. His manuals, reprinted for years in Spain, were already 20 years old and dried out as a source of royalties. Though in 1945 Bardina was still noted as an energetic, elderly gentleman, his health soon deteriorated rapidly and he had to abandon the academic post. As a result, his last years were plagued by financial problems.
Thought
Bardina's views on education are reconstructed predominantly on basis of his theoretical works. His opus consists mostly of articles, scattered across numerous periodicals issued in Spain or in Chile. His manuals, published anonymously and few of them covering education-related topics, attracted far less attention. How Bardina put his ideas into practice remains rather obscure; the 1906-1910 period at Escola de Mestres is analyzed in detail, but there is no study of his term in the Santiago seminary in the late 1910, in the Valparaíso college in the 1920s, in Escuela de Derecho in the 1930s and 1940s or in fiscal and customs training schools in Chile.
It is not completely clear how Bardina developed his interest in education and what his inspiration was. His ideas on the long term relationship between forming teachers and its socio-economic consequences are only reflected on his work. Some scholars assume that his first observations were a negative one, namely own 9-year period in the seminary. Having learnt the basics during university studies, he kept reading; personally he neared the Gines de los Rios brothers. Later on he admitted influence of Torres, Rey, Bolívar, Ortega, Bartolomé, father Manjón, Ribera and Altamira, which adds up to an amalgamate of innovators encompassing Escuelas del Ave María, technocrats, Liberals and heterodoxes from Institución Libre.
Bardina rejected what he perceived as antiquated education system and strove to build a new one. Its objective was not to pass on knowledge, but to prepare for life within a system. The means was to reinvigorate and channel natural potential of students; this in turn was to be achieved by focus on effort instead of result, on searching instead of absorbing, on satisfaction instead of awards/penalties and on co-operation instead of competition. The role of teachers was an apostolic one; to inspire and lead by example rather than to enforce and execute. School was to be a natural setting – hence the stress on Catalan as native tongue, excursions, hygiene, physical exercises, experiments and interfacing with the non-scholarly realm in general; mixed-sex education and a social mix were considered components of this natural realm. Catholic moral formation was an indispensable part of the curriculum; it was formatted in functional rather than transcendent terms with stress on freedom of choice rather than obedience.
Though Bardina remained highly sympathetic towards ILE, his vision differed by stress on Christian values and role of the family. Also the Montessori school was charged with excessive “institucionalismo”, apart from issues related to mixing ages and inward-leaning perspective. Padre Manjón was suspected of excessive stress on rules and the followers of Spencer were criticized for chaotic “robinsonismo” in education; a libertarian pedagogue Alexis Sluys found himself under particularly heavy fire for archaic concept, a clash perhaps related to Bardina's episode in Bolivia. Currently Bardina is counted among scholars forming l’Escola Nova, a common term applied retroactively to a number of Catalan educators who commenced activity in the late 19th century and consolidated in the 1920s. According to some, he was its “activista e impulsor”, and l’Escola de Mestres “provided an extraordinary momentum which from the onset directed all pedagogical renewal in Catalonia”.
Reception and legacy
During the period of 1904-1909 Bardina seemed a rising star of the Catalan education system; afterwards he remained sidetracked, to disappear entirely in 1917. Some scholars claim that schooling initiatives of Mancomunitat, launched in the 1910s and 1920s, were influenced by the Bardinian vision, though they note also that he was merely one of many contributors to the ongoing change in education. The most visible sign of Bardina's presence in Spain in the 1920s and 1930s were countless editions of his anonymous manuals. In the local Valparaíso realm he gained recognition as a press pundit; his academic role earned Bardina appreciation among the disciples, though he is not noted as an influential figure among Chilean scholars of law. It is rather his commentaries on international politics, especially on the American continent, which were acknowledged in Chile and some other Latin American countries. In 1944 he first earned a biography in Diccionario Biográfico de Chile, to be dropped in subsequent editions published after his death.
Upon the news of Bardina's demise, in 1951 his former disciples and alumni organized a homage in his native Sant Boi. Soon afterwards three of them started to collect data for his brief biography, which was published in 1959; in 1961 one of them issued a 20-page booklet, apart from biographical info attempting also a summary of his pedagogical thought. In 1966 a new schooling establishment in Sant Boi was named Grup Escolar Joan Bardina; renamed to Col·legi Joan Bardina, it keeps operating until today. Bardina was elevated to the status of a revolutionary Catalan educational thinker in 1980, entered into the public discourse and earned a number of later publications, the key of them a PhD thesis published in 1996. In Chile he attracted scholarly attention in the 1990s, focused on as a great figure of "educación chilena" and noted also in other Latin American countries. In 2008 Fundació Privada Joan Bardina was set up.
Currently Bardina is recognized in Catalonia and in Chile as an innovative theorist of education; though his direct influence was limited to own disciples, be it those of Escola de Mestres or Escuela de Derecho, he is credited for contributing to a new school of pedagogy. A few streets in Catalonia, including the one where he was born, are named after him. Centre d’Estudis Joan Bardina, a 1984-founded Catalan think-tank promoting “a third way” within democracy between socialism and capitalism, chose him as their icon. Within a decisively hagiographic ambience, Bardina's pro-Francoist and pro-Nazi views are generally ignored. In social history he is considered a typical case of transitional identity in-between Carlism and a peripheral nationalism. Numerous self-devised manuals he published are barely noted and await evaluation. So far it remains unclear whether Bardina's textbooks on topics ranging from infantry tactics to grammar, self-defense, hygiene, savoir-vire and home-made confectionery are charlatanry or rather useful contributions to popular education.
See also
Carlism
Catalanism
Centro de Estudios Joan Bardina
Lo Mestre Titas (1897-1900)
References
Further reading
Juan Carlos Campbell, Algunas ideas de Joan Bardina acerca de la Universidad, [in:] Perspectiva Educacional 18 (1991)
Juan Carlos Campbell, El aporte de Joan Bardina a la Educación Chilena, [in:] Revista Universitaria 10 (1992)
Juan Carlos Campbell, El aporte didáctico de Joan Bardina a la educación chilena, [in:] Sociedad y Educación, Bogota 1995
Jordi Canal, El carlismo catalanista a la fi del segle XIX: Joan Bardina i Lo Mestre Titas (1897-1900), [in:] Recerques 34 (1996), pp. 47–71
Jordi Canal, ¿En busca del precedente perdido? Tríptico sobre las complejas relaciones entre carlismo y catalanismo a fines del siglo XIX, [in:] Historia y Politica 14 (2005), pp. 45–84
Buenaventura Delgado, Juan Bardina i Castará, [in:] Perspectivas Pedagógicas 43 (1979), pp. 325–337
Buenaventura Delgado, Ramon Cortada, Josep Gonzalez-Agapito, Claudio Lozano, Joan Bardina. Un revolucionario de la pedagogia catalana, Barcelona 1980,
María Esperanza Franichevic Pedrals, Recuerdos de don Juan Bardina et Castara. Su vida, su obra [MA thesis Universidad de Valparaiso], Valparaíso 1995
Artur Martorell, Enric Cassasses, Josep Parunella, Joan Bardina I Castará. Dades Biográfiques recollides per alumnes de l’Escola de Mestres, Barcelona 1959
Anna Forés i Miravelles, Joan Bardina Castarà: Educator Catalán y sus proyecciones pedagógicas en Chile [PhD thesis Universidad de Barcelona], Barcelona 1996
Artur Martorell, Joan Bardina i l’Escola de Mestres, [in:] Miscellania Fonstere 1961, pp. 258–276
Xavier Torrebadella Flix, La aportación bibliográfica de Joan Bardina a la Educación Física moderna (1911-1939), [in:] Cabás 9 (2013), pp. 1–22
Jorge Villagran, Joan Bardina Castará en Bolivia y Chile, [in:] Perspectiva Educacional 18 (1991)
Jorge Villagran, Joan Bardina Castará destacado pedagogo catalán: su vida y obra en Chile, Valparaíso 1994
External links
Centre d'Estudis Joan Bardina website
Col·legi Joan Bardina website
Bardina's biography according to Col·legi Joan Bardina
Lo Mestre Titas at prensahistorica website
Anna Forés i Miravelles talking about Bardina (in Spanish, short)
Agustí Chalaux de Subirà talking about Bardina (in Catalan, long)
Por Dios y por España; contemporary Carlist propaganda
Carlists
Journalists from Catalonia
Catalan-language writers
Chilean educators
Chilean journalists
Chilean newspaper editors
Chilean lawyers
People from Barcelona
People from Valparaíso
Spanish educational theorists
Spanish journalists
Spanish Roman Catholics
Spanish monarchists
1877 births
1950 deaths
20th-century Chilean lawyers | en |
doc-en-818 | On August 25, 2020, Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old from Antioch, Illinois, fatally shot two men and wounded another in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The shootings occurred during the protests, riots, and civil unrest that followed the non-fatal shooting of a black man, Jacob Blake, by a white police officer. Rittenhouse and the three men he shot were white. At trial, Rittenhouse used the affirmative defense of self-defense and was acquitted of all charges. Rittenhouse was armed with a semi-automatic, AR-15 style rifle, and had joined a group of armed men in Kenosha who stated that they were in Kenosha to protect businesses.
Joseph Rosenbaum, a 36-year-old unarmed Kenosha man, chased Rittenhouse into a parking lot and was fatally shot four times at close range. Rittenhouse fled and was pursued by a crowd. Anthony Huber, a 26-year-old-resident of Silver Lake, struck Rittenhouse with his skateboard and was fatally shot once in the chest by Rittenhouse. Gaige Grosskreutz, a then-26-year-old West Allis man armed with a handgun, was shot by Rittenhouse once in the right arm and survived.
Rittenhouse was charged with two counts of homicide, one count of attempted homicide, two counts of reckless endangerment, one count of unlawful possession of a firearm, and one count of curfew violation. During his trial from November 1 to 19, 2021, his lawyer argued his actions were self-defense. Judge Bruce Schroeder dismissed the unlawful possession charge and the curfew violation charge for being legally unsupported, and a unanimous jury found Rittenhouse not guilty of the remaining charges.
Public sentiment of the shootings was polarized and media coverage both polarized and politicized. Multiple right-wing politicians and figures welcomed Rittenhouse's acquittal, stating that the shootings were self-defense, while President Joe Biden called for the jury's verdict to be respected. Multiple left-wing politicians and figures criticized the verdict as a miscarriage of justice, saying that the acquittal was emblematic of racial double standards in the American justice system. Gun control advocates proclaimed fears that the verdict would embolden vigilantism. An Economist/YouGov poll conducted during the trial found that two-thirds of Republicans thought Rittenhouse should be acquitted, while three-quarters of Democrats thought he should be convicted.
Background
On August 23, 2020, protests erupted in Kenosha after the shooting of Jacob Blake, an African-American man who was shot seven times (and hit four times) by a Kenosha police officer and became paralyzed from the waist down. Following a resurgence in protests that were part of the Black Lives Matter movement after other high-profile killings of African-Americans by police officers in 2020, the protests in Kenosha included rallies, marches, property damage, arson, and clashes with police between August 23 and September 1.
On August 25, former Kenosha alderman Kevin Mathewson put out a call on the Facebook page of the Kenosha Guard militia group for "patriots willing to take up arms and defend" Kenosha. Mathewson had previously formed the Kenosha Guard in response to the George Floyd protests earlier that year. The event post, titled "Armed Citizens to Protect our Lives and Property," was picked up and redistributed by InfoWars. It received a national and international online response, attracting a larger number of armed men than were present at other protests in Wisconsin that summer. Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian and County Sheriff David Beth expressed their disapproval of armed civilians patrolling the streets, while some Wisconsin police officers were seen in a video giving them water and heard saying, "We appreciate you guys, we really do."
At the time of the shooting, Kyle Rittenhouse was a 17-year-old resident of Antioch, Illinois, a community located about 20 miles from Kenosha by road. Prior to the Kenosha unrest, he had participated in local police cadet programs and expressed support on social media for the Blue Lives Matter movement and law enforcement. Three months prior to the shooting, Rittenhouse's friend, Dominick Black, purchased a semi-automatic, AR-15 style rifle as a favor for him in Wisconsin since Rittenhouse was too young to purchase a gun. Black's stepfather kept the gun stored in a locked safe at his home in Kenosha but had relocated the weapon to an unsecured area in the basement on August 24, the second day of the Kenosha unrest, in case of a break in.
Sequence of events
Before the shooting
During the day of August 25, peaceful protests in Kenosha were followed by chaos where demonstrators, armed civilians and others faced off against one another and the police at night. After the city suffered building and vehicle damage the preceding day, social media had drawn locals and outsiders, left-wing activists and right-wing militia into the city streets despite an evening curfew imposed on citizens. Some 250 National Guard members were deployed to the city. Militia that included Boogaloo boys and a biker crew carrying "hatchets, ball bats, and firearms" accumulated near two gas stations south of Car Source, an automotive business with three properties (a dealership, a used car lot, and another car lot to the South), which had been badly damaged during the first two nights of unrest. Car Source had suffered $1.5 million in arson damage the previous night. The shootings took place shortly before midnight along Sheridan Road in Kenosha after protesters were moved out of Civic Center Park following clashes with law enforcement. Police in armored vehicles drove protesters south away from the courthouse and Civic Center Park.
On August 24, Rittenhouse drove to Kenosha to stay with his friend Dominick Black. The following day, August 25, Rittenhouse helped clean graffiti off a school. Later, Rittenhouse and Black, both armed with rifles, arrived at Car Source. Accounts differ as to whether Rittenhouse and Black's help was requested by Car Source. The dealership owner's sons denied that gunmen had been asked to defend the business, but several witnesses testified that armed individuals had been directly sought out by the business to protect their property.
In the hours leading up to the shooting, Rittenhouse appeared in multiple videos taken by protesters and bystanders and was interviewed twice: first by a livestreamer at the car dealership where he and a number of other armed men had stationed themselves, second by Richie McGinniss, a reporter for The Daily Caller. Rittenhouse was seen talking with police officers, and offering medical aid to those who were injured. When McGinniss asked Rittenhouse why he was at the car dealership, he responded: "People are getting injured and our job is to protect this business, [...] [a]nd part of my job is to also help people. If there is somebody hurt, I'm running into harm's way. That's why I have my rifle – because I can protect myself, obviously. But I also have my med kit."
Police, using BearCat armored personnel carriers, began to drive the protesters south out of Civic Center Park two hours after the 8:00 pm curfew had ended. After 10:00 pm, Rittenhouse alternated between standing guard at the dealership and walking the street offering medical attention. Rittenhouse left Car Source around 11:40 pm and was blocked from returning to the business by the BearCats. Rittenhouse headed to the Car Source lot farthest to the South.
First confrontation
Part of the first confrontation between Rittenhouse and Rosenbaum was witnessed by McGinniss, whose perception was that Rosenbaum and other protesters were moving toward Rittenhouse, who was trying to evade them. Video footage showed Rittenhouse being pursued across a parking lot by a group of people. Rosenbaum threw a plastic bag containing socks, underwear, and deodorant at Rittenhouse. Joshua Ziminski fired a shot into the air. Rittenhouse stopped running and turned towards the sound of the shot. Rittenhouse testified at trial that prior to being chased by Rosenbaum, he heard another man tell Rosenbaum to "get him and kill him," but also knew that Rosenbaum was unarmed. Rittenhouse testified that he aimed his gun at Rosenbaum to deter him from pursuing him further.
Witnesses for the prosecution testified at trial that Rosenbaum engaged Rittenhouse and tried to take his rifle from him. At 11:48 pm Rittenhouse fired four shots at Rosenbaum, killing him. The bullets perforated Rosenbaum's heart, aorta, pulmonary artery and right lung, fractured his pelvis, and caused minor wounds to his left thigh and forehead. McGinniss, who had been standing fifteen feet away and felt one of the bullets whiz by his leg, checked himself before he began to administer first aid to Rosenbaum and told Rittenhouse to call 911. Rittenhouse stood over McGinniss for half of a minute before fleeing, and was heard saying "I just killed somebody" on his cell phone to his friend Dominick Black as he sprinted out of the parking lot where he had shot Rosenbaum. Rittenhouse then ran down the street towards police vehicles pursued by a few protesters.
Second confrontation
Gaige Grosskreutz testified that he was filming the protest as a legal observer for the American Civil Liberties Union on a Facebook livestream. Shortly before midnight Grosskreutz said he heard gunshots to the south and observed Rittenhouse running in his direction on Sheridan Road. Grosskreutz said he ran alongside Rittenhouse and asked "Hey, what are you doing. You shot somebody?"
Prosecutors said that protesters were heard on two different videos yelling "Beat him up!", "Hey, he shot him!" and "Get him! Get that dude!" One individual struck Rittenhouse, knocking off his cap, shortly after which Rittenhouse tripped and fell to the ground. Others shouted "What'd he do?", "Just shot someone!" and "Get his ass!" While he was on the ground, one of the men in pursuit jump kicked Rittenhouse, who fired twice but missed the man.
Another protester, Anthony Huber, made contact with Rittenhouse's left shoulder, neck and head with a skateboard as the pair struggled for control of the gun. As Huber was pulling on the rifle, Rittenhouse fired once, hitting Huber in the chest, perforating his heart and right lung, causing his rapid death.
Grosskreutz testified he believed Rittenhouse was an active shooter. Grosskreutz had an expired concealed carry permit for a handgun and was carrying a Glock pistol. Grosskreutz approached Rittenhouse, who was on the ground, but stopped and put his hands up after Huber was shot. Grosskreutz then pointed his handgun and advanced on Rittenhouse, who shot Grosskreutz once in the arm, severing most of the biceps of his right arm.
At least 16 gunshots from other sources were heard on video during the time that Rittenhouse was on the ground.
After the shooting
Rittenhouse got back to his feet and walked towards police with his hands up and the rifle strapped across his chest. Several police officers testified during the trial that they were responding to an active shooter incident and did not recognize that Rittenhouse was the shooter. He was repeatedly told to get out of the road, and when he continued to advance, one officer attempted to pepper-spray him. Several witnesses and protesters had shouted for Rittenhouse to be arrested. When asked at a press conference why Rittenhouse was not stopped, Kenosha Sheriff David Beth said, "In situations that are high-stress, you have such incredible tunnel vision" and implied officers may not have realized he had been involved in the shooting. Likewise, Kenosha Police Chief Daniel Miskinis said that "there was nothing to suggest this individual was involved in any criminal behavior" due to the fact that someone walking towards the police with their hands up was "no longer abnormal" in the wake of the protests.
Video clips from Kenosha immediately went viral after the shooting. Facebook, criticized for allowing militia groups to post solicitations for armed attendees and for failing to respond to several hundred complaints, removed the Kenosha Guard's post and classified the event as a mass shooting. On August 29, the legal team for Rittenhouse released a statement asserting that Rittenhouse acted in self-defense and was wrongly arrested. President Donald Trump visited Kenosha on September 1. On September 22, Rittenhouse's defense team released an 11-minute narrated video of the night, consisting of quick cuts between various angles. The video contended that several shots were fired before and after the shooting of Rosenbaum, and that Rosenbaum may have started chasing Rittenhouse because he mistook him for a man with whom he had a dispute earlier.
Detention and release
Rittenhouse turned himself in to police in his home town of Antioch, Illinois about an hour after the shootings in Kenosha and was held in a juvenile facility in Illinois until he was extradited to Wisconsin on October 30, 2020. He was released from detention on November 20, after posting $2 million bail.
On January 22, 2021, the conditions of Rittenhouse's release were changed so that he could not consume alcohol, have access to firearms, or associate with persons or groups known to be a threat to others based on race or religion. These changes were made after Rittenhouse was seen on January 5 at a bar with his mother in Mt. Pleasant, Wisconsin, drinking beers and posing for pictures alongside five men who sang "Proud of Your Boy", a song used by members of the far-right Proud Boys political organization. In one photo with two of them, Rittenhouse flashed an "OK" sign, a hand gesture allegedly used by white supremacists.
On February 11, judge Bruce Schroeder denied a request by prosecutors for a $200,000 increase in Rittenhouse's bond, after Rittenhouse failed to file an address change within 48 hours of moving, stating that people out on bail often fail to update their address. Rittenhouse's attorney said that Rittenhouse had been staying at an undisclosed address out of concern for his safety.
Rittenhouse criminal trial
The trial for Rittenhouse took place from November 1 to 19, 2021 in Kenosha County Circuit Court. Jury selection on November 1 resulted in a 20-person panel of 12 jurors and eight alternates. The jury heard testimony from over 30 witnesses and viewed more than a dozen videos taken on the night of the shooting.
Charges
Under Wisconsin state law, Rittenhouse was charged as an adult with the following crimes:
first-degree reckless homicide, punishable by imprisonment of up to 65 years (for killing Joseph Rosenbaum)
first-degree intentional homicide, punishable by a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole (for killing Anthony Huber)
attempted first-degree intentional homicide, punishable by imprisonment of up to 65 years (for shooting and injuring Gaige Grosskreutz)
first-degree recklessly endangering safety (two counts), punishable by imprisonment of up to 17 years and six months per count, one count for endangering Richard McGinnis and one count firing two shots that missed at a man who jump kicked Rittenhouse
possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18, punishable by imprisonment of up to nine months (dismissed when the judge ruled that the age limit in connection with carrying a rifle was 16, not 18)
failure to comply with an emergency order from state or local government, punishable by a fine of up to $200 (for breaking the 8 p.m. Kenosha curfew, dismissed)
Each felony charge's maximum imprisonment included a "use of a dangerous weapon" modifier, which invokes a Wisconsin law that prescribes an addition of no more than five years of imprisonment. The gun used in the shootings was identified as a Smith & Wesson M&P15 chambered in .223 Dominick Black gave the gun to Rittenhouse hours before the shootings, and Black had allegedly purchased the gun with cash that Rittenhouse paid him.
Rittenhouse pleaded not guilty to all charges on January 5, 2021.
Pretrial rulings
At a hearing on September 17, 2021, Schroeder denied prosecutors' requests to admit Rittenhouse's meeting with Proud Boys members and a previous fight that he was involved in as evidence in the case, finding that the incidents were "too dissimilar" to the shooting. Schroeder also denied the defense's request to admit evidence of Rosenbaum's prior criminal record as a sex offender. On October 25, Schroeder defined what testimony would or would not be admissible by both the defense and the prosecution. Schroeder ordered that the men shot by Rittenhouse could not be referred to as victims, but determined they could be described as arsonists or looters if the defense was able to establish evidence that Rosenbaum, Huber, or Grosskreutz were engaged in those activities that night. Legal experts stated that saying that the term "victim" can appear prejudicial in a court of law, which would heavily influence a jury by presupposing who is innocent and guilty.
Arguments and testimonies
Trial arguments and testimonies took place between November 2 and 15, 2021, in Kenosha County Courthouse. After opening arguments, jurors were shown multiple video recordings of the events. Video footage recorded shortly before the shooting showed Rosenbaum shouting "Shoot me, nigga!" at an armed man who pointed a gun at him. Two witnesses testified having seen Rosenbaum yelling and behaving violently before approaching Rittenhouse and trying to take his rifle. A former marine testified that Rosenbaum had taunted him and other armed men before the shootings but said he did not consider Rosenbaum a threat. A witness who had spoken with Rittenhouse after the shooting recalled a nervous, pale, and sweating Rittenhouse as repeatedly saying "I just shot someone." The prosecution questioned why Rittenhouse would feel threatened while holding a rifle, and described him as an armed threat.
On November 8, Grosskreutz, an armed paramedic, testified that he "thought the defendant was active shooter" and said "I thought I was going to die." Grosskreutz, who videos show putting his hands in the air when standing a few feet from Rittenhouse, testified that he then saw Rittenhouse re-rack his rifle. Grosskreutz said that "meant that the defendant pulled the trigger while my hands were in the air, but the gun didn't fire, so by reracking the weapon I inferred the defendant wasn't accepting my surrender." Grosskreutz testified that he decided to "close the distance" to Rittenhouse, to employ "non-lethal" methods of either wrestling the gun away from or detaining Rittenhouse. He further testified that he sought to preserve his own life but was "never trying to kill" Rittenhouse, and that as he moved closer to Rittenhouse, unintentionally pointing his handgun at him, Rittenhouse shot him.
On November 10, prosecution witness Ryan Balch, a military veteran who also carried an AR-style rifle that night, recalled Rosenbaum shouting "If I catch any of you guys alone tonight I'm going to fucking kill you!" Rittenhouse took the stand and testified that Rosenbaum threatened to kill him twice and ambushed him before the fatal shooting. Rittenhouse broke down on recounting those events, and the judge ordered a recess. Afterward, Rittenhouse said that Rosenbaum charged at him, putting his hand on Rittenhouse's gun barrel. In cross-examination, Rittenhouse acknowledged using deadly force to stop the attack on him, while also saying that killing was not his intent.
Judge Schroder ruled on November 12 that the jury could consider whether or not Rittenhouse provoked the attacks that unfolded.
The defense made several requests for a mistrial that included a motion for a mistrial with prejudice using the argument that there was "prosecutorial overreaching" and that the state acted "in bad faith." The defense later requested a mistrial without prejudice due to a dispute over drone video used in the trial. Defense attorneys stated that the version provided to them by the prosecution was in a lower resolution and different aspect ratio than the version presented by the state, in violation of rules of evidence and the right of defendants to confront their accuser.
The judge, who sparred with prosecutor Thomas Binger on several occasions, had accused Binger of a violation of the right to silence guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment after Binger alleged Rittenhouse deliberately refrained from commenting on the case in order to fit his testimony in response to witnesses' accounts once at trial. The defense also requested a mistrial over Binger's mention of video footage showing Rittenhouse express a willingness to shoot suspected shoplifters, which angered Schroeder who had ruled the material was neither related nor allowed at trial.
Media dispute
On November 18, Schroeder banned MSNBC and affiliates from the courthouse for the remainder of the trial after Kenosha police observed that a car driven by an MSNBC producer had followed the jury bus and ran a red light. The driver, detained on suspicion of photographing jurors, was issued traffic citations and released by police after they failed to find pictures of jurors. NBC News denied their affiliated driver had intended to photograph or contact jurors during deliberations.
Verdict
After the prosecution rested its case, the judge dismissed a charge of curfew violation against Rittenhouse, citing a lack of evidence offered by the prosecution; the charge of unlawful possession of a firearm was also dismissed, based on the defense argument that the Wisconsin law only restricted minors from carrying rifles if they are short-barreled. The barrel of Rittenhouse's rifle was longer than 16 inches, the minimum barrel length allowed under state law.
The jury reached a unanimous verdict on all other charges after more than 25 hours of deliberations spanning four days, finding Rittenhouse not guilty on all counts.
Other litigation
Criminal charges
Black was charged with two felony counts of intentionally giving a dangerous weapon to a minor, resulting in death, for supplying Rittenhouse with the rifle used to kill Rosenbaum and Huber. Bond was set at . Black pleaded not guilty to the charges. On January 8, 2022, Black pleaded no contest to a non-criminal citation, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, as part of a plea deal in which prosecutors agreed to drop the two felony charges.
Ziminski was charged with disorderly conduct using a dangerous weapon, obstructing an officer, and arson of property other than a building. He pled not guilty to the charges, but admitted to firing a shot in the air before Rittenhouse killed Rosenbaum.
Civil litigation
A lawsuit was filed in September 2020 by plaintiffs including the partner of Anthony Huber, seeking damages from Rittenhouse, Facebook, the far-right group Boogaloo Bois, and the Kenosha Guard militia and its commander. The suit alleged negligence on the part of Facebook in allowing the Kenosha Guard to call for militia members on its platform and alleged that the defendants had participated in a conspiracy to violate their civil rights. The suit was withdrawn by the plaintiffs without comment and dismissed with prejudice in the last week of January 2021.
On January 4, 2021, Huber's parents and Gaige Grosskreutz each filed $10 million claim notices, against both the city and county, alleging negligence due to inaction in protecting their rights.
On August 17, 2021, Huber's parents filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Kenosha Police Department and Kenosha County Sheriff's Department, claiming that law enforcement allowed Rittenhouse to harm people peacefully protesting against the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Huber's parents amended their lawsuit in January 2022 to add Rittenhouse as a named defendant.
Grosskreutz filed a federal lawsuit in the Eastern District of Wisconsin on October 14, 2021, alleging that Kenosha law enforcement officials, including the Kenosha Police Department and the Kenosha Sheriff's office, had coordinated with and encouraged the participation of armed militias, depriving protestors of their constitutional right to freedom of speech. Grosskreutz's lawsuit alleges that police enabled the violence by allowing militia to patrol the streets, then funneled protestors toward the armed citizens, telling militia members to take care of the protesters.
Responses
Public sentiment regarding the shootings was polarized. Coverage was both critical and supportive of Rittenhouse's actions, and used terms such as "vigilante" and "terrorist", but also "volunteer" and "maintaining peace" to describe him.
Writing for the American Bar Association Journal, Matt Reynolds observed that the "scenes in Wisconsin illustrated a tension between the Second Amendment right to bear arms and the First Amendment right to peacefully protest."
An Economist/YouGov poll conducted with 1,500 adult Americans between November 14–16 found that Black Americans overwhelmingly thought Rittenhouse should be found guilty of homicide while White Americans were closely divided.
Snopes tracked Facebook accounts they considered unusual and determined that "foreign-run Facebook accounts celebrated the Rittenhouse verdict." Facebook removed the accounts following the report.
Criticism of the police
Many commentators were critical of the fact that Rittenhouse was not immediately arrested despite witnesses shouting that he was the shooter. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) called for the resignations of Kenosha Police Chief Daniel Miskinis and of Kenosha Sheriff David Beth. The ACLU statement argued that Beth's deputies fraternized with "white supremacist counter-protesters" during the day of the shooting and did not arrest the shooter. The statement attacked Miskinis for blaming those shot in the course of the shooting when he said that the violence was the result of the "persons" involved violating curfew. The Kenosha mayor stated that he would not ask the sheriff or police chief to resign.
Responses by authorities
NBC News obtained a Department of Homeland Security internal document and reported that it directed federal law enforcement officials to make specific statements regarding Rittenhouse, such as noting that he "took his rifle to the scene of the rioting to help defend small business owners" and that "[Rittenhouse] is innocent until proven guilty and deserves a fair trial based on all the facts, not just the ones that support a certain narrative."
Responses by Internet companies
Several internet compaines including Facebook, Twitter and GoFundMe restricted content related to Rittenhouse and the shooting. Two days after the shooting, Facebook removed content supporting Rittenhouse, citing rules banning praise or support of mass shooters or glorification of violence. Facebook further disabled searches for "Kyle Rittenhouse", with a spokesperson saying "We've designated this shooting as a mass murder and have removed the shooter's accounts from Facebook and Instagram". Shortly after the trial ended, Facebook lifted their ban. An online merchandise store run by Rittenhouse's family to fundraise for legal expenses was deplatformed twice, once by an unnamed vendor and again by Printify, the latter of whom stated "we don't want to be affiliated with a story that's involved in such a complex, controversial and ongoing case." GoFundMe, who banned the Rittenhouse defense fund because he was accused of a violent crime, lifted their ban after Rittenhouse was acquitted.
Politicians
Republican
In public comments six days after the shooting, then-President Donald Trump showed support for the idea that Rittenhouse was acting in self-defense, saying "He was trying to get away from them, I guess, it looks like," noting the incident was under investigation and "I guess he was in very big trouble. He probably would have been killed." The former president later described the trial as a "witch hunt from the Radical Left", and praised the not guilty verdict from the jury.
Other conservative politicians have also lauded its decision, and Rittenhouse's figure was described as being a cause célèbre for the political right. Ron Johnson, the Republican senator from Wisconsin, said that "justice has been served" with the verdict and called to acknowledge the ruling. Ted Cruz, U.S. senator from Texas, and Chris Christie, former governor of New Jersey, also praised the ruling, with the latter saying that the verdict "renews our faith in the jury system". Three U.S. representatives, Paul Gosar from Arizona, Madison Cawthorn from North Carolina and Matt Gaetz from Florida, offered internships in their offices to Rittenhouse; with Cawthorn stating after the not guilty verdict: "You have a right to defend yourself, so be armed, be dangerous and be moral".
Democratic
On September 30, 2020, a month after the shootings, then-presidential candidate Joe Biden shared a post on Twitter criticizing Donald Trump for not condemning white supremacists that included a video with an image of Rittenhouse. Conservatives and right-wing politicians called upon Biden to apologize to Rittenhouse. After the November 19, 2021 verdict, Biden stated "I stand by what the jury has concluded. The jury system works and we have to abide by it." The White House issued a written statement saying "While the verdict in Kenosha will leave many Americans feeling angry and concerned, myself included, we must acknowledge that the jury has spoken[...]."
Wisconsin governor Tony Evers said in a statement that "No verdict will be able to bring back the lives of Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum, or heal Gaige Grosskreutz's injuries, just as no verdict can heal the wounds or trauma experienced by Jacob Blake and his family. No ruling today changes our reality in Wisconsin that we have work to do toward equity, accountability, and justice that communities across our state are demanding and deserve."
Illinois governor J. B. Pritzker said, "carrying a loaded gun into a community 20 miles from your home and shooting unarmed citizens is fundamentally wrong. It's a tragedy that the court could not acknowledge that basic fact." Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot acknowledged the verdict and added that "no one should ever take the law into their own hands, or attempt to make themselves the judge, jury, and executioner. What Kyle Rittenhouse did was reckless, dangerous, and showed an utter disregard for human life."
New York's representative Jerry Nadler, who also serves as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said the ruling was a miscarriage of justice and that the federal Department of Justice (DOJ) should intervene. In response to the verdict, U.S. representative from Michigan Rashida Tlaib said that the American justice system "protects white supremacy". Gun control advocates and California governor Gavin Newsom expressed concern that the verdict would encourage others to engage in vigilantism.
Actions after the verdict
Street protests and riots
People protested the Rittenhouse verdict in multiple large cities in the United States. In Portland, 200 protestors gathered in the downtown area. Authorities declared a riot after protestors broke windows and doors and also attacked police. In Chicago, 1,000 protestors marched against the verdict. In Raleigh, North Carolina, people protested in front of the state Capitol Building. Peaceful protests occurred in Brooklyn, New York, where protestors blocked lanes of the Brooklyn Bridge. In Middle Village, Queens, New York, protestors damaged vehicles and ripped up flags. Five people were arrested. In California, protesters assembled in Oakland, San Diego, and Los Angeles.
Public appearances
After the acquittal, Rittenhouse was interviewed by Tucker Carlson from Fox News. Against the advice of Rittenhouse's attorneys, a film crew for Carlson and Fox Nation followed him during the trial for a documentary feature. Rittenhouse made a number of public appearances on conservative programs and at associated events, including a Turning Point USA event titled AmericaFest.
References
External links
A visual timeline of violence in Kenosha after police shooting of Jacob Blake. USA Today (August 31, 2020).
A Fatal Night in Kenosha: How the Rittenhouse Shootings Unfolded (video). Visual investigation by The New York Times, via YouTube
How Kyle Rittenhouse and Joseph Rosenbaum's paths crossed in a fatal encounter (video). Visual investigation by The Washington Post, via YouTube
2020s trials
2020 controversies in the United States
2020 in Wisconsin
2020–2021 United States racial unrest
21st-century American trials
African-American-related controversies
August 2020 events in the United States
Criminal trials that ended in acquittal
Deaths by firearm in Wisconsin
Filmed deaths in the United States
Filmed killings
Gun politics in the United States
Unrest shooting
Shooting of Jacob Blake | en |
doc-en-12647 | Water treatment is any process that improves the quality of water to make it appropriate for a specific end-use. The end use may be drinking, industrial water supply, irrigation, river flow maintenance, water recreation or many other uses, including being safely returned to the environment. Water treatment removes contaminants and undesirable components, or reduces their concentration so that the water becomes fit for its desired end-use. This treatment is crucial to human health and allows humans to benefit from both drinking and irrigation use.
Water is the most crucial compound for life on Earth, and having drinkable water is a key worldwide concern for the twenty-first century. All living things require clean, uncontaminated water as a basic requirement. Water covers more than 71 percent of the earth’s surface, but only around 1% of it is drinkable according to international standards due to various contaminations . Waste water discharge from industries, agricultural pollution, municipal wastewater, environmental and global changes are the main sources of water contamination. Even trace levels of heavy metals, dyes, and microbes are hazardous to human health, aquatic systems, and the environment. According to a Food and Agriculture Organization assessment from 2007, absolute water scarcity will affect 1.8 billion people living in countries, and water stress might affect two-thirds of the global population.
To address water scarcity issues, it is required to recover water from current wastewater or develop alternate water sources for human consumption.
Domestic and industrial wastewater are the two types of wastewater. Domestic wastewater contains sewage, bacteria, viruses, hazardous and non-toxic organisms, sanitary outputs, rubbish, detergents, and other solid and liquid discharges from non-manufacturing processes.
Drinking water treatment
Water contamination is primarily caused by the discharge of untreated wastewater from enterprises. The effluent from various enterprises, which contains varying levels of contaminants, is dumped into rivers or other water resources. The wastewater may have a high proportion of organic and inorganic contaminants at the initial discharge. Industries generate wastewater as a result of fabrication processes, processes dealing with paper and pulp, textiles, chemicals, and from various streams such as cooling towers, boilers, and production lines.
Treatment for drinking water production involves the removal of contaminants and/or inactivation of any potentially harmful microbes from raw water to produce water that is pure enough for human consumption without any short term or long term risk of any adverse health effect. In general terms, the greatest microbial risks are associated with ingestion of water that is contaminated with human or animal (including bird) faeces. Faeces can be a source of pathogenic bacteria, viruses, protozoa and helminths. The removal or destruction of microbial pathogens is essential, and commonly involves the use of reactive chemical agents such as suspended solids, to remove bacteria, algae, viruses, fungi, and minerals including iron and manganese. Research including Professor Linda Lawton's group at Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen is working to improve detection of cyanobacteria. These substances continue to cause great harm to several less developed countries who do not have access to effective water purification systems.
Measures taken to ensure water quality not only relate to the treatment of the water, but to its conveyance and distribution after treatment. It is therefore common practice to keep residual disinfectants in the treated water to kill bacteriological contamination during distribution and to keep the pipes clean.
Water supplied to domestic properties such as for tap water or other uses, may be further treated before use, often using an in-line treatment process. Such treatments can include water softening or ion exchange. Many proprietary systems also claim to remove residual disinfectants and heavy metal ions.
Heavy Metals
Heavy metals in wastewater have become a serious environmental issue in recent years, owing to the high damage they pose to ecosystems and human health even at extremely low concentrations. Heavy metal pollution is a substantial environmental burden due to its flexibility, accumulation, non-biodegradability, and persistence. Its effluent is discharged into the environment by industries such as paper, Insecticides, tanneries, metal plating, mining operations, and so on. This effluent is non-biodegradable and poisonous or damaging to human physiology and other biological systems.
Organic and inorganic pollutants are two types of pollutants found in wastewater, each with a different spectrum of dangerous values.
In the treatment of organic pollutants, biological, physical, and chemical methods are commonly used. However, these approaches are ineffective against inorganic pollutants such as heavy metals. Heavy metal decomposition is a serious concern due to properties such as solubility, oxidation-reduction characteristics, and complex formation. Heavy metal is defined as an element with an atomic weight of between 63.5 and 200.6 and a specific gravity larger than 5.0.
Heavy metals in open waters cause aquatic life to perish, oxygen deficiency, and algae blooms. When heavy metals are discharged into rivers, they are transformed into hydrated ions, which are far more hazardous than metal atoms. The enzymatical processes is disrupted by these hydrated ions, and absorption is accelerated. As a result, heavy metals must be removed in order to reduce public risk.
Water Treatment Technologies
Processes
Elimination of hazardous chemicals from the water, many treatment procedures have been applied. The selection of wastewater treatment systems is contingent on a number of factors: (1)The degree to which a method is necessary to raise the waste water quality to a permissible level; (2) The control method's flexibility; (3) The process's cost; and (4) The process's environmental compatibility.
The processes involved in removing the contaminants include physical processes such as settling and filtration, chemical processes such as disinfection and coagulation, and biological processes such as slow sand filtration.
A combination selected from the following processes (depending on the season and contaminants and chemicals present in the raw water) is used for municipal drinking water treatment worldwide.
Chemical
Chemical approaches are used in addition to physical and biological measures to reduce the discharge of pollutants and waste water into water bodies. Different chemical procedures for the conversion into final products or the removal of pollutants are used for the safe disposal of contaminants.
Pre-chlorination for algae control and arresting biological growth.
Aeration along with pre-chlorination for removal of dissolved iron when present with relatively small amounts of manganese.
Disinfection for killing bacteria, viruses and other pathogens, using chlorine, ozone and ultra-violet light.
Physical
Physical techniques of water/waste water treatment rely on physical phenomena to complete the removal process, rather than biological or chemical changes.
Most common physical techniques are:
Sedimentation is one of the most important main wastewater treatment procedures. Gravity settling is a method of separating particles from a fluid. The particle in suspension remains stable in quiescent conditions due to the decrease in water velocity throughout the water treatment process, following which the particles settle by gravitational force. For solids separation that is the removal of suspended solids trapped in the floc.
Filtration is the technique of removing pollutants based on their particle size is known as filtration. Pollutant removal from waste water permits water to be reused for a variety of purposes. The types of filters used in the procedure differ depending on the contaminants present in the water. Particle filtration and Membrane filtration are the two main forms of waste water filtration.
Dissolved air flotation (Degasification) is the process of removing dissolved gases from a solution . The law of Henry's law states that the amount of dissolved gas in a liquid is proportionate to the partial pressure of the gas. Degasification is a low-cost method of removing carbon dioxide gas from waste water that raises the pH of the water by removing the gas.
Physico-chemical
Also referred to as "Conventional" Treatment
Coagulation for flocculation. The addition of coagulants destabilizes colloidal suspensions by neutralizing their charges, resulting in the aggregation of smaller particles during the coagulation process.
Coagulant aids, also known as polyelectrolytes – to improve coagulation and for more robust floc formation.
Polyelectrolytes or also known in the field as polymers, usually consist of either a positive or negative charge. The nature of the polyelectrolyte used is purely based on the source water characteristics of the treatment plant.
These will usually be used in conjunction with a primary coagulant such as ferric chloride, ferric sulfate, or alum.
Chemical Precipitation
Chemical precipitation is a common process of eliminating heavy metals from inorganic wastewater. The dissolved metal ions are transformed to the insoluble solid phase by a chemical interaction with a precipitant agent such as lime after the pH is adjusted to basic conditions (pH 11).
Flotation
Flotation uses bubble attachment to separate solids or dispersed liquids from a liquid phase.
Membrane Filtration
Membrane filtration has gotten a lot of attention for inorganic effluent treatment since it can remove not only suspended solids and organic components, but also inorganic pollutants such heavy metals. For heavy metal removal, several forms of membrane filtration, such as ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, and reverse osmosis, can be used depending on the particle size that can be maintained.
Ion Exchange
Ion exchange is a reversible ion exchange process in which an insoluble substance (resin) takes ions from an electrolytic solution and releases additional ions of the same charge in a chemically comparable amount without changing the resin's structure.
Electrochemical Treatment Techniques
Electrodialysis (ED)
Membrane electrolysis (ME)
Electrochemical precipitation (EP)
Adsorption
Adsorption is a mass transfer process in which a substance is transported from the liquid phase to the surface of a solid/liquid (adsorbent) and becomes physically and chemically bonded (adsorbate). Adsorption can be classified into two forms based on the type of attraction between the adsorbate and the adsorbent: physical and chemical adsorption, commonly known as physisorption and chemisorptions.
Activated Carbon
Activated carbons (ACs) are effective adsorbents for a wide variety of contaminants. The adsorptive removal of color, aroma, taste, and other harmful organics and inorganics from drinking water and wastewater is one of their industrial applications.
Both a high surface area and a large pore size can improve the efficiency of activated carbon. Activated carbon was utilized by a number of studies to remove heavy metals and other types of contaminants from wastewater. The cost of activated carbon is rising due to a shortage of commercial activated carbon (AC). Because of its high surface area, porosity, and flexibility, activated carbon has a lot of potential in wastewater treatment.
Biological Treatment
This is the method by which dissolved and suspended organic chemical components are eliminated through biodegradation, in which an optimal amount of microorganism is given to re-enact the same natural self-purification process. Through two distinct biological process, such as biological oxidation and biosynthesis, microorganisms can degrade organic materials in wastewater. Microorganisms involved in wastewater treatment produce end products such as minerals, carbon dioxide, and ammonia during the biological oxidation process. The minerals (products) remained in the wastewater and were discharged with the effluent. Microorganisms use organic materials in wastewater to generate new microbial cells with dense biomass that is eliminated by sedimentation throughout the biosynthesis process.
Bioremediation
Bioremediation is a biological treatment method in which microorganisms breakdown or transform hazardous contaminants in wastewater to a less toxic or non-toxic state. The following technologies can be used to bioremediate wastewater, which can be done by autotrophs or heterotrophs; Phytoremediation, Rhizofiltration, Bioaugmentation, and Biostimulation. Autotrophhs are organisms that can fix carbon and use inorganic chemicals (carbon dioxide) in wastewater to make organic compounds such as fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. Heterotrophs will use the organic substances produced for their growth and development. Heterotrophs are organisms that are unable to fix carbon and rely on organic molecules from wastewater as a source of energy.
Slow sand filtration using a biofilm to metabolize organic matter, adsorb soluble components and entrap particulates.
Technologies
Technologies for potable water and other uses are well-developed, and generalized designs are available from which treatment processes can be selected for pilot testing on the specific source water. In addition, a number of private companies provide patented technological solutions for the treatment of specific contaminants. Automation of water treatment is common in the developed world. Source water quality through the seasons, scale, and environmental impact can dictate capital costs and operating costs. End use of the treated water dictates the necessary quality monitoring technologies, and locally available skills typically dictate the level of automation adopted.
Desalination
Saline water can be treated to yield fresh water. Two main processes are used, reverse osmosis or distillation. Both methods require more energy than water treatment of local surface waters, and are usually only used in coastal areas or where water such as groundwater has high salinity.
Portable water purification
Living away from drinking water supplies often requires some form of portable water treatment process. These can vary in complexity from the simple addition of a disinfectant tablet in a hiker's water bottle through to complex multi-stage processes carried by boat or plane to disaster areas.
Standards
Many developed countries specify standards to be applied in their own country. In Europe, this includes the European Drinking Water Directive and in the United States the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) establishes standards as required by the Safe Drinking Water Act. For countries without a legislative or administrative framework for such standards, the World Health Organization publishes guidelines on the standards that should be achieved. China adopted its own drinking water standard GB3838-2002 (Type II) enacted by Ministry of Environmental Protection in 2002.
Where drinking water quality standards do exist, most are expressed as guidelines or targets rather than requirements, and very few water standards have any legal basis or, are subject to enforcement. Two exceptions are the European Drinking Water Directive and the Safe Drinking Water Act in the United States, which require legal compliance with specific standards.
Industrial water treatment
Processes
Two of the main processes of industrial water treatment are boiler water treatment and cooling water treatment. A large amount of proper water treatment can lead to the reaction of solids and bacteria within pipe work and boiler housing. Steam boilers can suffer from scale or corrosion when left untreated. Scale deposits can lead to weak and dangerous machinery, while additional fuel is required to heat the same level of water because of the rise in thermal resistance. Poor quality dirty water can become a breeding ground for bacteria such as Legionella causing a risk to public health.
Corrosion in low pressure boilers can be caused by dissolved oxygen, acidity and excessive alkalinity. Water treatment therefore should remove the dissolved oxygen and maintain the boiler water with the appropriate pH and alkalinity levels.
Without effective water treatment, a cooling water system can suffer from scale formation, corrosion and fouling and may become a breeding ground for harmful bacteria. This reduces efficiency, shortens plant life and makes operations unreliable and unsafe.
Boiler water treatment
Boiler water treatment is a type of industrial water treatment focused on removal or chemical modification of substances potentially damaging to the boiler. Varying types of treatment are used at different locations to avoid scale, corrosion, or foaming. External treatment of raw water supplies intended for use within a boiler is focused on removal of impurities before they reach the boiler. Internal treatment within the boiler is focused on limiting the tendency of water to dissolve the boiler, and maintaining impurities in forms least likely to cause trouble before they can be removed from the boiler in boiler blowdown.
Cooling water treatment
Water cooling is a method of heat removal from components of machinery and industrial equipment. Water may be a more efficient heat transfer fluid where air cooling is ineffective. In most occupied climates water offers the thermal conductivity advantages of a liquid with unusually high specific heat capacity and the option that of evaporative cooling. Low cost often allows rejection as waste after a single use, but recycling coolant loops may be pressurized to eliminate evaporative loss and offer greater portability and improved cleanliness. Unpressurized recycling coolant loops using evaporative cooling require a blowdown waste stream to remove impurities concentrated by evaporation. Disadvantages of water cooling systems include accelerated corrosion and maintenance requirements to prevent heat transfer reductions from biofouling or scale formation. Chemical additives to reduce these disadvantages may introduce toxicity to wastewater. Water cooling is commonly used for cooling automobile internal combustion engines and large industrial facilities such as nuclear and steam electric power plants, hydroelectric generators, petroleum refineries and chemical plants.
Technologies
Chemical treatment
Chemical treatments utilizes the additive of chemicals to make industrial water suitable for use or discharge. These includes processes like chemical precipitation, chemical disinfection, Advanced oxidation process (AOP), ion exchange, and chemical neutralization. AOPs are attractive in the treatment of hazardous wastewater due to its high oxidation potential and degradation performance. In AOPs, oxidants like Fenton's reagent, Ozone or Hydrogen peroxide are introduced in the wastewater to degrade harmful substances in industrial water for discharge.
Physical treatment
Physical treatment involves the separation of solids form industrial wastewater either through Filtration or Dissolved air flotation. Filtration involves the use of Membrane or filters such as mechanical filters like sand filtration etc to achieve solid-liquid separation. Whereas for Dissolved air flotation,
pressurized air is pumped into the wastewater. The pressurized air then forms small bubbles which adhere to the suspended matter causing them to float to the surface of the water where they can be removed by a skimming device or an overflow.
Biological treatment
Slow sand filters use a biological process to purify raw water to produce potable water. They work by using a complex biological film that grows naturally on the surface of sand. This gelatinous biofilm called the hypogeal layer or Schmutzdecke is located in the upper few millimetres of the sand layer. The surface biofilm purifies the water as it flows through the layer, the underlying sand provides a support medium for the biological treatment layer. The Schmutzdecke consists of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, rotifera and a range of aquatic insect larvae. As the biofilm ages, more algae may develop and larger aquatic organisms including bryozoa, snails and Annelid worms may be present. As water passes through the hypogeal layer, particles of matter are trapped in the mucilaginous matrix and soluble organic material is adsorbed. The contaminants are metabolised by the bacteria, fungi and protozoa.
Slow sand filters are typically 1–2 metres deep, and have a hydraulic loading rate of 0.2–0.4 cubic metres per square metre per hour. Filters lose their performance as the biofilm thickens and reduces the rate of flow. The filter is refurbished by removing the biofilm and a thin upper layer of sand. Water is decanted back into the filter and re-circulated to enable a new biofilm to develop. Alternatively wet harrowing involves stirring the sand and flushing the biolayer through for disposal.
Physio-chemical treatment
(Also referred to as 'conventional treatment'.) Chemical flocculants are used to generate a floc in the water that traps suspended solids. Chemical polyelectrolytes are used to increase coagulation of suspended solids to improve removal.
This consist of a primary coagulant such as ferric sulfate and a coagulant aid cationic polymer being flash-mixed before it enters a Flocculation Basin.
Once the source water being treated has been flash-mixed with a primary coagulant and a polymer, they are then put into some type of flocculation basin, where slow turning or mixing of the water, mixes the chemicals together and they can then form what is called "floc" or "flocc", which then settles out to the bottom of the floc basin.
After the water has mixed and the floc has formed, it is then passed to the next stage which would be the settling basin. Here the process would have either tube settlers or plate settlers. The water would flow up through these tubes or plates, allowing the clear water to flow over into an effluent launder, which would then carry the "settled" water to the filters for further treatment.
The tubes/plates in the settling stage, allow a greater surface area for the "floc" to settle on. These plates are typically at a 30–45° angle, allowing the floc particles to collect in the tubes or the plates and eventually ending up in the bottom of the settling basin.
There is typically some sort of sludge collection system that then will collect all of the settled floc a.k.a. sludge, and pump it or transfer the waste to a decant tank or basin, where it is later disposed of.
Once the settled water had traveled to the filters, and has made its way through the filters, it is then stored in a clearwell, where all the filtered water gets collected for additional chemical addition: pH adjuster, chlorine or UV light.
After the appropriate contact time or kill time, the water leaves the clearwell and heads out to storage tanks or into the distribution, all the way to the customers faucet for use
Developing countries
Appropriate technology options in water treatment include both community-scale and household-scale point-of-use (POU) or self-supply designs. Such designs may employ solar water disinfection methods, using solar irradiation to inactivate harmful waterborne microorganisms directly, mainly by the UV-A component of the solar spectrum, or indirectly through the presence of an oxide photocatalyst, typically supported TiO2 in its anatase or rutile phases. Despite progress in SODIS technology, military surplus water treatment units like the ERDLator are still frequently used in developing countries. Newer military style Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Units (ROWPU) are portable, self-contained water treatment plants are becoming more available for public use.
For waterborne disease reduction to last, water treatment programs that research and development groups start in developing countries must be sustainable by the citizens of those countries. This can ensure the efficiency of such programs after the departure of the research team, as monitoring is difficult because of the remoteness of many locations.
Energy Consumption: Water treatment plants can be significant consumers of energy. In California, more than 4% of the state's electricity consumption goes towards transporting moderate quality water over long distances, treating that water to a high standard. In areas with high quality water sources which flow by gravity to the point of consumption, costs will be much lower.
Much of the energy requirements are in pumping. Processes that avoid the need for pumping tend to have overall low energy demands. Those water treatment technologies that have very low energy requirements including trickling filters, slow sand filters, gravity aqueducts.
A 2021 study found that a large-scale water chlorination program in urban areas of Mexico massively reduced childhood diarrheal disease mortality rates.
Regulation
United States
The Safe Drinking Water Act requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set standards for drinking water quality in public water systems (entities that provide water for human consumption to at least 25 people for at least 60 days a year). Enforcement of the standards is mostly carried out by state health agencies. States may set standards that are more stringent than the federal standards.
EPA has set standards for over 90 contaminants organized into six groups: microorganisms, disinfectants, disinfection byproducts, inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals and radionuclides.
EPA also identifies and lists unregulated contaminants which may require regulation. The Contaminant Candidate List is published every five years, and EPA is required to decide whether to regulate at least five or more listed contaminants.
Local drinking water utilities may apply for low interest loans, to make facility improvements, through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom regulation of water supplies is a devolved matter to the Welsh and Scottish Parliaments and the Northern Ireland Assembly.
In England and Wales there are two water industry regulatory authorities.
Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) is the economic regulator of the water sector; it protects the interests of consumers by promoting effective competition and ensuring that water companies carry out their statutory functions. Ofwat has a management board comprising a Chairman, Chief Executive and Executive and Non-Executive members. There is a staff of about 240.
The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) provides independent assurance that the privatised water industry delivers safe, clean drinking water to consumers. The DWI was established in 1990 and comprises a Chief Inspector of Drinking Water and a team of about 40 people. The current standards of water quality are defined in Statutory Instrument 2016 No. 614 the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2016.
The functions and duties of the bodies are formally defined in the Water Industry Act 1991 (1991 c. 56) as amended by the Water Act 2003 (2003 c. 37) and the Water Act 2014 (2014 c. 21).
In Scotland water quality is the responsibility of independent Drinking Water Quality Regulator (DWQR).
In Northern Ireland the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) regulates drinking water quality of public and private supplies. The current standards of water quality are defined in the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017.
See also
Agricultural wastewater treatment
Control of water pollution
Clean Water Act
Peak water (water supply & demand)
Pulsed-power water treatment
Reclaimed water
Sewage treatment
Wastewater treatment
Water purification
Water quality
Water softening
Water supply
Heavy metals
Adsorption
Activated carbon
References
Further reading
External links
International Water Association Professional / research organization
NSF International – Independent non-profit standards organization
WHO.int, WHO Guidelines
Safe and Sustainable Water for Haiti web site hosted by Grand Valley State University
Treatment
Environmental issues with water | en |
doc-en-21 | Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in the Central American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the northwest, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Managua is the country's capital and largest city and is also the third-largest city in Central America, behind Tegucigalpa and Guatemala City. The multi-ethnic population of six million includes people of indigenous, European, African, and Asian heritage. The main language is Spanish. Indigenous tribes on the Mosquito Coast speak their own languages and English.
Originally inhabited by various indigenous cultures since ancient times, the region was conquered by the Spanish Empire in the 16th century. Nicaragua gained independence from Spain in 1821. The Mosquito Coast followed a different historical path, being colonized by the English in the 17th century and later coming under British rule. It became an autonomous territory of Nicaragua in 1860 and its northernmost part was transferred to Honduras in 1960. Since its independence, Nicaragua has undergone periods of political unrest, dictatorship, occupation and fiscal crisis, including the Nicaraguan Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s and the Contra War of the 1980s.
The mixture of cultural traditions has generated substantial diversity in folklore, cuisine, music, and literature, particularly the latter, given the literary contributions of Nicaraguan poets and writers such as Rubén Darío. Known as the "land of lakes and volcanoes", Nicaragua is also home to the Bosawás Biosphere Reserve, the second-largest rainforest of the Americas. The biological diversity, warm tropical climate and active volcanoes make Nicaragua an increasingly popular tourist destination. Nicaragua is a founding member of the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, Organization of American States, ALBA and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.
Etymology
There are two prevailing theories on how the name "Nicaragua" came to be. The first is that the name was coined by Spanish colonists based on the name Nicarao, who was the chieftain or cacique of a powerful indigenous tribe encountered by the Spanish conquistador Gil González Dávila during his entry into southwestern Nicaragua in 1522. This theory holds that the name Nicaragua was formed from Nicarao and agua (Spanish for "water"), to reference the fact that there are two large lakes and several other bodies of water within the country. However, as of 2002, it was determined that the cacique's real name was Macuilmiquiztli, which meant "Five Deaths" in the Nahuatl language, rather than Nicarao.
The second theory is that the country's name comes from any of the following Nahuatl words: nic-anahuac, which meant "Anahuac reached this far", or "the Nahuas came this far", or "those who come from Anahuac came this far"; nican-nahua, which meant "here are the Nahuas"; or nic-atl-nahuac, which meant "here by the water" or "surrounded by water".
History
Pre-Columbian history
Paleo-Americans first inhabited what is now known as Nicaragua as far back as 12,000 BCE. In later pre-Columbian times, Nicaragua's indigenous people were part of the Intermediate Area, between the Mesoamerican and Andean cultural regions, and within the influence of the Isthmo-Colombian area. Nicaragua's central region and its Caribbean coast were inhabited by Macro-Chibchan language ethnic groups such as the Miskito, Rama, Mayangna, and Matagalpas. They had coalesced in Central America and migrated both to and from present-day northern Colombia and nearby areas. Their food came primarily from hunting and gathering, but also fishing and slash-and-burn agriculture.
At the end of the 15th century, western Nicaragua was inhabited by several indigenous peoples related by culture to the Mesoamerican civilizations of the Aztec and Maya, and by language to the Mesoamerican Linguistic Area. The Chorotegas were Mangue language ethnic groups who had arrived in Nicaragua from what is now the Mexican state of Chiapas sometime around 800 CE. The Nicarao people were a branch of Nahuas who spoke the Nawat dialect and also came from Chiapas, around 1200 CE. Prior to that, the Nicaraos had been associated with the Toltec civilization. Both Chorotegas and Nicaraos originated in Mexico's Cholula valley, and migrated south. A third group, the Subtiabas, were an Oto-Manguean people who migrated from the Mexican state of Guerrero around 1200 CE. Additionally, there were trade-related colonies in Nicaragua set up by the Aztecs starting in the 14th century.
Spanish era (1523–1821)
In 1502, on his fourth voyage, Christopher Columbus became the first European known to have reached what is now Nicaragua as he sailed southeast toward the Isthmus of Panama. Columbus explored the Mosquito Coast on the Atlantic side of Nicaragua but did not encounter any indigenous people. 20 years later, the Spaniards returned to Nicaragua, this time to its southwestern part. The first attempt to conquer Nicaragua was by the conquistador Gil González Dávila, who had arrived in Panama in January 1520. In 1522, González Dávila ventured to the area that later became the Rivas Department of Nicaragua. There he encountered an indigenous Nahua tribe led by chief Macuilmiquiztli, whose name has sometimes been erroneously referred to as "Nicarao" or "Nicaragua". The tribe's capital was Quauhcapolca. González Dávila conversed with Macuilmiquiztli thanks to two indigenous interpreters who had learned Spanish, whom he had brought along. After exploring and gathering gold in the fertile western valleys, González Dávila and his men were attacked and driven off by the Chorotega, led by chief Diriangén. The Spanish tried to convert the tribes to Christianity; Macuilmiquiztli's tribe was baptized, but Diriangén was openly hostile to the Spaniards. Western Nicaragua, at the Pacific Coast, became a port and shipbuilding facility for the Galleons plying the waters between Manila, Philippines and Acapulco, Mexico.
The first Spanish permanent settlements were founded in 1524. That year, the conquistador Francisco Hernández de Córdoba founded two of Nicaragua's main cities: Granada on Lake Nicaragua, and then León, west of Lake Managua. Córdoba soon built defenses for the cities and fought against incursions by other conquistadors. Córdoba was later publicly beheaded for having defied his superior, Pedro Arias Dávila. Córdoba's tomb and remains were discovered in 2000 in the ruins of León Viejo.
The clashes among Spanish forces did not impede their destruction of the indigenous people and their culture. The series of battles came to be known as the "War of the Captains". Pedro Arias Dávila was a winner; although he lost control of Panama, he moved to Nicaragua and established his base in León. In 1527, León became the capital of the colony. Through diplomacy, Arias Dávila became the colony's first governor.
Without women in their parties, the Spanish conquerors took Nahua and Chorotega wives and partners, beginning the multiethnic mix of indigenous and European stock now known as "mestizo", which constitutes the great majority of the population in western Nicaragua. Many indigenous people were killed by European infectious diseases, compounded by neglect by the Spaniards, who controlled their subsistence. Many other indigenous peoples were captured and transported as slaves to Panama and Peru between 1526 and 1540.
In 1610, the Momotombo volcano erupted, destroying the city of León. The city was rebuilt northwest of the original, which is now known as the ruins of León Viejo. During the American Revolutionary War, Central America was subject to conflict between Britain and Spain. British navy admiral Horatio Nelson led expeditions in the Battle of San Fernando de Omoa in 1779 and on the San Juan River in 1780, the latter of which had temporary success before being abandoned due to disease.
Independent Nicaragua from 1821 to 1909
The Act of Independence of Central America dissolved the Captaincy General of Guatemala in September 1821, and Nicaragua soon became part of the First Mexican Empire. In July 1823, after the overthrow of the Mexican monarchy in March of the same year, Nicaragua joined the newly formed United Provinces of Central America, country later known as the Federal Republic of Central America. Nicaragua definitively became an independent republic in 1838.
The early years of independence were characterized by rivalry between the Liberal elite of León and the Conservative elite of Granada, which often degenerated into civil war, particularly during the 1840s and 1850s. Managua rose to undisputed preeminence as the nation's capital in 1852 to allay the rivalry between the two feuding cities. Following the start (1848) of the California Gold Rush, Nicaragua provided a route for travelers from the eastern United States to journey to California by sea, via the San Juan River and Lake Nicaragua. Invited by the Liberals in 1855 to join their struggle against the Conservatives, the United States adventurer and filibuster William Walker set himself up as President of Nicaragua after conducting a farcical election in 1856; his presidency lasted less than a year. Military forces from Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua itself united to drive Walker out of Nicaragua in 1857, bringing three decades of Conservative rule.
Great Britain, which had claimed the Mosquito Coast as a protectorate since 1655, delegated the area to Honduras in 1859 before transferring it to Nicaragua in 1860. The Mosquito Coast remained an autonomous area until 1894. José Santos Zelaya, President of Nicaragua from 1893 to 1909, negotiated the integration of the Mosquito Coast into Nicaragua. In his honor, the region became "Zelaya Department".
Throughout the late 19th-century, the United States and several European powers considered various schemes to link the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic by building a canal across Nicaragua.
United States occupation (1909–1933)
In 1909, the United States supported the conservative-led forces rebelling against President Zelaya. U.S. motives included differences over the proposed Nicaragua Canal, Nicaragua's potential to destabilize the region, and Zelaya's attempts to regulate foreign access to Nicaraguan natural resources. On November 18, 1909, U.S. warships were sent to the area after 500 revolutionaries (including two Americans) were executed by order of Zelaya. The U.S. justified the intervention by claiming to protect U.S. lives and property. Zelaya resigned later that year.
In August 1912, the President of Nicaragua, Adolfo Díaz, requested the secretary of war, General Luis Mena, to resign for fear he was leading an insurrection. Mena fled Managua with his brother, the chief of police of Managua, to start an insurrection. After Mena's troops captured steam boats of an American company, the U.S. delegation asked President Díaz to ensure the safety of American citizens and property during the insurrection. He replied he could not, and asked the U.S. to intervene in the conflict.
U.S. Marines occupied Nicaragua from 1912 to 1933, except for a nine-month period beginning in 1925. In 1914, the Bryan–Chamorro Treaty was signed, giving the U.S. control over a proposed canal through Nicaragua, as well as leases for potential canal defenses. After the U.S. Marines left, another violent conflict between Liberals and Conservatives in 1926, resulted in the return of U.S. Marines.
From 1927 to 1933, rebel general Augusto César Sandino led a sustained guerrilla war against the Conservative regime and then against the U.S. Marines, whom he fought for over five years. When the Americans left in 1933, they set up the Guardia Nacional (national guard), a combined military and police force trained and equipped by the Americans and designed to be loyal to U.S. interests.
After the U.S. Marines withdrew from Nicaragua in January 1933, Sandino and the newly elected administration of President Juan Bautista Sacasa reached an agreement that Sandino would cease his guerrilla activities in return for amnesty, a land grant for an agricultural colony, and retention of an armed band of 100 men for a year. However, due to a growing hostility between Sandino and National Guard director Anastasio Somoza García and a fear of armed opposition from Sandino, Somoza García ordered his assassination. Sacasa invited Sandino for dinner and to sign a peace treaty at the Presidential House on the night of February 21, 1934. After leaving the Presidential House, Sandino's car was stopped by National Guard soldiers and they kidnapped him. Later that night, Sandino was assassinated by National Guard soldiers. Later, hundreds of men, women, and children from Sandino's agricultural colony were executed.
Somoza dynasty (1927–1979)
Nicaragua has experienced several military dictatorships, the longest being the hereditary dictatorship of the Somoza family, who ruled for 43 nonconsecutive years during the 20th century. The Somoza family came to power as part of a U.S.-engineered pact in 1927 that stipulated the formation of the Guardia Nacional to replace the marines who had long reigned in the country. Somoza García slowly eliminated officers in the national guard who might have stood in his way, and then deposed Sacasa and became president on January 1, 1937, in a rigged election.
In 1941, during the Second World War, Nicaragua declared war on Japan (8 December), Germany (11 December), Italy (11 December), Bulgaria (19 December), Hungary (19 December) and Romania (19 December). Only Romania reciprocated, declaring war on Nicaragua on the same day (19 December 1941). No soldiers were sent to the war, but Somoza García confiscated properties held by German Nicaraguan residents. In 1945, Nicaragua was among the first countries to ratify the United Nations Charter.
On September 29, 1956, Somoza García was shot to death by Rigoberto López Pérez, a 27-year-old Liberal Nicaraguan poet. Luis Somoza Debayle, the eldest son of the late president, was appointed president by the congress and officially took charge of the country. He is remembered by some as moderate, but after only a few years in power died of a heart attack. His successor as president was René Schick Gutiérrez, whom most Nicaraguans viewed "as nothing more than a puppet of the Somozas". Somoza García's youngest son, Anastasio Somoza Debayle, often referred to simply as "Somoza", became president in 1967.
An earthquake in 1972 destroyed nearly 90% of Managua, including much of its infrastructure. Instead of helping to rebuild the city, Somoza siphoned off relief money. The mishandling of relief money also prompted Pittsburgh Pirates star Roberto Clemente to personally fly to Managua on December 31, 1972, but he died en route in an airplane accident. Even the economic elite were reluctant to support Somoza, as he had acquired monopolies in industries that were key to rebuilding the nation.
The Somoza family was among a few families or groups of influential firms which reaped most of the benefits of the country's growth from the 1950s to the 1970s. When Somoza was deposed by the Sandinistas in 1979, the family's worth was estimated to be between $500 million and $1.5 billion.
Nicaraguan Revolution (1960s–1990)
In 1961, Carlos Fonseca looked back to the historical figure of Sandino, and along with two other people (one of whom was believed to be Casimiro Sotelo, who was later assassinated), founded the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN). After the 1972 earthquake and Somoza's apparent corruption, the ranks of the Sandinistas were flooded with young disaffected Nicaraguans who no longer had anything to lose.
In December 1974, a group of the FSLN, in an attempt to kidnap U.S. ambassador Turner Shelton, held some Managuan partygoers hostage (after killing the host, former agriculture minister, Jose Maria Castillo), until the Somozan government met their demands for a large ransom and free transport to Cuba. Somoza granted this, then subsequently sent his national guard out into the countryside to look for the kidnappers, described by opponents of the kidnapping as "terrorists".
On January 10, 1978, Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal, the editor of the national newspaper La Prensa and ardent opponent of Somoza, was assassinated. It is alleged that the planners and perpetrators of the murder were at the highest echelons of the Somoza regime.
The Sandinistas forcefully took power in July 1979, ousting Somoza, and prompting the exodus of the majority of Nicaragua's middle class, wealthy landowners, and professionals, many of whom settled in the United States. The Carter administration decided to work with the new government, while attaching a provision for aid forfeiture if it was found to be assisting insurgencies in neighboring countries. Somoza fled the country and eventually ended up in Paraguay, where he was assassinated in September 1980, allegedly by members of the Argentinian Revolutionary Workers' Party.
In 1980, the Carter administration provided $60 million in aid to Nicaragua under the Sandinistas, but the aid was suspended when the administration obtained evidence of Nicaraguan shipment of arms to El Salvadoran rebels. In response to the coming to power of the Sandinistas, various rebel groups collectively known as the "contras" were formed to oppose the new government. The Reagan administration authorized the CIA to help the contra rebels with funding, weapons and training. The contras operated from camps in the neighboring countries of Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south.
They engaged in a systematic campaign of terror among rural Nicaraguans to disrupt the social reform projects of the Sandinistas. Several historians have criticized the contra campaign and the Reagan administration's support for the Contras, citing the brutality and numerous human rights violations of the contras. LaRamee and Polakoff, for example, describe the destruction of health centers, schools, and cooperatives at the hands of the rebels, and others have contended that murder, rape, and torture occurred on a large scale in contra-dominated areas. The U.S. also carried out a campaign of economic sabotage, and disrupted shipping by planting underwater mines in Nicaragua's port of Corinto, an action condemned by the International Court of Justice as illegal. The court also found that the U.S. encouraged acts contrary to humanitarian law by producing the manual Psychological Operations in Guerrilla Warfare and disseminating it to the contras. The manual, among other things, advised on how to rationalize killings of civilians. The U.S. also sought to place economic pressure on the Sandinistas, and the Reagan administration imposed a full trade embargo.
The Sandinistas were also accused of human rights abuses including torture, disappearances and mass executions. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights investigated abuses by Sandinista forces, including an execution of 35 to 40 Miskitos in December 1981, and an execution of 75 people in November 1984.
In the Nicaraguan general elections of 1984, which were judged to have been free and fair, the Sandinistas won the parliamentary election and their leader Daniel Ortega won the presidential election. The Reagan administration criticized the elections as a "sham" based on the claim that Arturo Cruz, the candidate nominated by the Coordinadora Democrática Nicaragüense, comprising three right wing political parties, did not participate in the elections. However, the administration privately argued against Cruz's participation for fear that his involvement would legitimize the elections, and thus weaken the case for American aid to the contras. According to Martin Kriele, the results of the election were rigged.
In 1983 the U.S. Congress prohibited federal funding of the contras, but the Reagan administration illegally continued to back them by covertly selling arms to Iran and channeling the proceeds to the contras (the Iran–Contra affair), for which several members of the Reagan administration were convicted of felonies. The International Court of Justice, in regard to the case of Nicaragua v. United States in 1984, found, "the United States of America was under an obligation to make reparation to the Republic of Nicaragua for all injury caused to Nicaragua by certain breaches of obligations under customary international law and treaty-law committed by the United States of America". During the war between the contras and the Sandinistas, 30,000 people were killed.
Post-war (1990–present)
In the Nicaraguan general election, 1990, a coalition of anti-Sandinista parties (from the left and right of the political spectrum) led by Violeta Chamorro, the widow of Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal, defeated the Sandinistas. The defeat shocked the Sandinistas, who had expected to win.
Exit polls of Nicaraguans reported Chamorro's victory over Ortega was achieved with a 55% majority. Chamorro was the first woman president of Nicaragua. Ortega vowed he would govern desde abajo (from below). Chamorro came to office with an economy in ruins, primarily because of the financial and social costs of the contra war with the Sandinista-led government. In the next election, the Nicaraguan general election, 1996, Daniel Ortega and the Sandinistas of the FSLN lost again, this time to Arnoldo Alemán of the Constitutional Liberal Party (PLC).
In the 2001 elections, the PLC again defeated the FSLN, with Alemán's Vice President Enrique Bolaños succeeding him as president. However, Alemán was convicted and sentenced in 2003 to 20 years in prison for embezzlement, money laundering, and corruption; liberal and Sandinista parliament members combined to strip the presidential powers of President Bolaños and his ministers, calling for his resignation and threatening impeachment. The Sandinistas said they no longer supported Bolaños after U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told Bolaños to distance from the FSLN. This "slow motion coup d'état" was averted partially by pressure from the Central American presidents, who vowed not to recognize any movement that removed Bolaños; the U.S., the OAS, and the European Union also opposed the action.
Before the general elections on November 5, 2006, the National Assembly passed a bill further restricting abortion in Nicaragua. As a result, Nicaragua is one of five countries in the world where abortion is illegal with no exceptions. Legislative and presidential elections took place on November 5, 2006. Ortega returned to the presidency with 37.99% of the vote. This percentage was enough to win the presidency outright, because of a change in electoral law which lowered the percentage requiring a runoff election from 45% to 35% (with a 5% margin of victory). Nicaragua's 2011 general election resulted in re-election of Ortega, with a landslide victory and 62.46% of the vote. In 2014 the National Assembly approved changes to the constitution allowing Ortega to run for a third successive term.
In November 2016, Ortega was elected for his third consecutive term (his fourth overall). International monitoring of the elections was initially prohibited, and as a result the validity of the elections has been disputed, but observation by the OAS was announced in October. Ortega was reported by Nicaraguan election officials as having received 72% of the vote. However the Broad Front for Democracy (FAD), having promoted boycotts of the elections, claimed that 70% of voters had abstained (while election officials claimed 65.8% participation).
In April 2018, demonstrations opposed a decree increasing taxes and reducing benefits in the country's pension system. Local independent press organizations had documented at least 19 dead and over 100 missing in the ensuing conflict. A reporter from NPR spoke to protestors who explained that while the initial issue was about the pension reform, the uprisings that spread across the country reflected many grievances about the government's time in office, and that the fight is for President Ortega and his vice president wife to step down. April 24, 2018 marked the day of the greatest march in opposition of the Sandinista party. On May 2, 2018, university-student leaders publicly announced that they give the government seven days to set a date and time for a dialogue that was promised to the people due to the recent events of repression. The students also scheduled another march on that same day for a peaceful protest. As of May 2018, estimates of the death toll were as high as 63, many of them student protesters, and the wounded totalled more than 400. Following a working visit from May 17 to 21, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights adopted precautionary measures aimed at protecting members of the student movement and their families after testimonies indicated the majority of them had suffered acts of violence and death threats for their participation. In the last week of May, thousands who accuse Mr. Ortega and his wife of acting like dictators joined in resuming anti-government rallies after attempted peace talks have remained unresolved.
Geography and climate
Nicaragua occupies a landmass of , which makes it slightly larger than England. Nicaragua has three distinct geographical regions: the Pacific lowlands – fertile valleys which the Spanish colonists settled, the Amerrisque Mountains (North-central highlands), and the Mosquito Coast (Atlantic lowlands/Caribbean lowlands).
The low plains of the Atlantic Coast are wide in areas. They have long been exploited for their natural resources.
On the Pacific side of Nicaragua are the two largest fresh water lakes in Central America—Lake Managua and Lake Nicaragua. Surrounding these lakes and extending to their northwest along the rift valley of the Gulf of Fonseca are fertile lowland plains, with soil highly enriched by ash from nearby volcanoes of the central highlands. Nicaragua's abundance of biologically significant and unique ecosystems contribute to Mesoamerica's designation as a biodiversity hotspot. Nicaragua has made efforts to become less dependent on fossil fuels, and it expects to acquire 90% of its energy from renewable resources by the year 2020. Nicaragua was one of the few countries that did not enter an INDC at COP21. Nicaragua initially chose not to join the Paris Climate Accord because it felt that "much more action is required" by individual countries on restricting global temperature rise. However, in October 2017, Nicaragua made the decision to join the agreement. It ratified this agreement on November 22, 2017.
Nearly one fifth of Nicaragua is designated as protected areas like national parks, nature reserves, and biological reserves. The country had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 3.63/10, ranking it 146th globally out of 172 countries. Geophysically, Nicaragua is surrounded by the Caribbean Plate, an oceanic tectonic plate underlying Central America and the Cocos Plate. Since Central America is a major subduction zone, Nicaragua hosts most of the Central American Volcanic Arc.
Pacific lowlands
In the west of the country, these lowlands consist of a broad, hot, fertile plain. Punctuating this plain are several large volcanoes of the Cordillera Los Maribios mountain range, including Mombacho just outside Granada, and Momotombo near León. The lowland area runs from the Gulf of Fonseca to Nicaragua's Pacific border with Costa Rica south of Lake Nicaragua. Lake Nicaragua is the largest freshwater lake in Central America (20th largest in the world), and is home to some of the world's rare freshwater sharks (Nicaraguan shark). The Pacific lowlands region is the most populous, with over half of the nation's population.
The eruptions of western Nicaragua's 40 volcanoes, many of which are still active, have sometimes devastated settlements but also have enriched the land with layers of fertile ash. The geologic activity that produces vulcanism also breeds powerful earthquakes. Tremors occur regularly throughout the Pacific zone, and earthquakes have nearly destroyed the capital city, Managua, more than once.
Most of the Pacific zone is tierra caliente, the "hot land" of tropical Spanish America at elevations under . Temperatures remain virtually constant throughout the year, with highs ranging between . After a dry season lasting from November to April, rains begin in May and continue to October, giving the Pacific lowlands of precipitation. Good soils and a favourable climate combine to make western Nicaragua the country's economic and demographic centre. The southwestern shore of Lake Nicaragua lies within of the Pacific Ocean. Thus the lake and the San Juan River were often proposed in the 19th century as the longest part of a canal route across the Central American isthmus. Canal proposals were periodically revived in the 20th and 21st centuries. Roughly a century after the opening of the Panama Canal, the prospect of a Nicaraguan ecocanal remains a topic of interest.
In addition to its beach and resort communities, the Pacific lowlands contains most of Nicaragua's Spanish colonial architecture and artifacts. Cities such as León and Granada abound in colonial architecture; founded in 1524, Granada is the oldest colonial city in the Americas.
North central highlands
Northern Nicaragua is the most diversified region producing coffee, cattle, milk products, vegetables, wood, gold, and flowers. Its extensive forests, rivers and geography are suited for ecotourism.
The central highlands are a significantly less populated and economically developed area in the north, between Lake Nicaragua and the Caribbean. Forming the country's tierra templada, or "temperate land", at elevations between , the highlands enjoy mild temperatures with daily highs of . This region has a longer, wetter rainy season than the Pacific lowlands, making erosion a problem on its steep slopes. Rugged terrain, poor soils, and low population density characterize the area as a whole, but the northwestern valleys are fertile and well settled.
The area has a cooler climate than the Pacific lowlands. About a quarter of the country's agriculture takes place in this region, with coffee grown on the higher slopes. Oaks, pines, moss, ferns and orchids are abundant in the cloud forests of the region.
Bird life in the forests of the central region includes resplendent quetzals, goldfinches, hummingbirds, jays and toucanets.
Caribbean lowlands
This large rainforest region is irrigated by several large rivers and is sparsely populated. The area has 57% of the territory of the nation and most of its mineral resources. It has been heavily exploited, but much natural diversity remains. The Rio Coco is the largest river in Central America; it forms the border with Honduras. The Caribbean coastline is much more sinuous than its generally straight Pacific counterpart; lagoons and deltas make it very irregular.
Nicaragua's Bosawás Biosphere Reserve is in the Atlantic lowlands, part of which is located in the municipality of Siuna; it protects of La Mosquitia forest – almost 7% of the country's area – making it the largest rainforest north of the Amazon in Brazil.
The municipalities of Siuna, Rosita, and Bonanza, known as the "Mining Triangle", are located in the region known as the North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region, in the Caribbean lowlands. Bonanza still contains an active gold mine owned by HEMCO. Siuna and Rosita do not have active mines but panning for gold is still very common in the region.
Nicaragua's tropical east coast is very different from the rest of the country. The climate is predominantly tropical, with high temperature and high humidity. Around the area's principal city of Bluefields, English is widely spoken along with the official Spanish. The population more closely resembles that found in many typical Caribbean ports than the rest of Nicaragua.
A great variety of birds can be observed including eagles, toucans, parakeets and macaws. Other animal life in the area includes different species of monkeys, anteaters, white-tailed deer and tapirs.
Flora and fauna
Nicaragua is home to a rich variety of plants and animals. Nicaragua is located in the middle of the Americas and this privileged location has enabled the country to serve as host to a great biodiversity. This factor, along with the weather and light altitudinal variations, allows the country to harbor 248 species of amphibians and reptiles, 183 species of mammals, 705 bird species, 640 fish species, and about 5,796 species of plants.
The region of great forests is located on the eastern side of the country. Rainforests are found in the Río San Juan Department and in the autonomous regions of RAAN and RAAS. This biome groups together the greatest biodiversity in the country and is largely protected by the Indio Maíz Biological Reserve in the south and the Bosawás Biosphere Reserve in the north. The Nicaraguan jungles, which represent about , are considered the lungs of Central America and comprise the second largest-sized rainforest of the Americas.
There are currently 78 protected areas in Nicaragua, covering more than , or about 17% of its landmass. These include wildlife refuges and nature reserves that shelter a wide range of ecosystems. There are more than 1,400 animal species classified thus far in Nicaragua. Some 12,000 species of plants have been classified thus far in Nicaragua, with an estimated 5,000 species not yet classified.
The bull shark is a species of shark that can survive for an extended period of time in fresh water. It can be found in Lake Nicaragua and the San Juan River, where it is often referred to as the "Nicaragua shark". Nicaragua has recently banned freshwater fishing of the Nicaragua shark and the sawfish in response to the declining populations of these animals.
Government
Politics of Nicaragua takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Nicaragua is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the national assembly. The judiciary makes up the third branch of government.
Between 2007 and 2009, Nicaragua's major political parties discussed the possibility of going from a presidential system to a parliamentary system. Their reason: there would be a clear differentiation between the head of government (prime minister) and the head of state (president). Nevertheless, it was later argued that the true reason behind this proposal was to find a legal way for President Ortega to stay in power after January 2012, when his second and last government period was expected to end. Ortega was reelected to a third term in November 2016.
Foreign relations
Nicaragua pursues an independent foreign policy. Nicaragua is in territorial disputes with Colombia over the Archipelago de San Andrés y Providencia and Quita Sueño Bank and with Costa Rica over a boundary dispute involving the San Juan River.
Military
The armed forces of Nicaragua consists of various military contingents. Nicaragua has an army, navy and an air force. There are roughly 14,000 active duty personnel, which is much less compared to the numbers seen during the Nicaraguan Revolution. Although the army has had a rough military history, a portion of its forces, which were known as the national guard, became integrated with what is now the National Police of Nicaragua. In essence, the police became a gendarmerie. The National Police of Nicaragua are rarely, if ever, labeled as a gendarmerie. The other elements and manpower that were not devoted to the national police were sent over to cultivate the new Army of Nicaragua.
The age to serve in the armed forces is 17 and conscription is not imminent. , the military budget was roughly 0.7% of Nicaragua's expenditures.
In 2017, Nicaragua signed the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Law enforcement
The National Police of Nicaragua Force (in Spanish: La Policía Nacional Nicaragüense) is the national police of Nicaragua. The force is in charge of regular police functions and, at times, works in conjunction with the Nicaraguan military, making it an indirect and rather subtle version of a gendarmerie. However, the Nicaraguan National Police work separately and have a different established set of norms than the nation's military. According to a recent US Department of State report, corruption is endemic, especially within law enforcement and the judiciary, and arbitrary arrests, torture, and harsh prison conditions are the norm.
Nicaragua is the safest country in Central America and one of the safest in Latin America, according to the United Nations Development Program, with a homicide rate of 8.7 per 100,000 inhabitants.
Administrative divisions
Nicaragua is a unitary republic. For administrative purposes it is divided into 15 departments (departamentos) and two self-governing regions (autonomous communities) based on the Spanish model. The departments are then subdivided into 153 municipios (municipalities). The two autonomous regions are the North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region
and South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region, often referred to as RACCN and RACCS, respectively.
Economy
Nicaragua is among the poorest countries in the Americas. Its gross domestic product (GDP) in purchasing power parity (PPP) in 2008 was estimated at US$17.37 billion. Agriculture represents 15.5% of GDP, the highest percentage in Central America. Remittances account for over 15% of the Nicaraguan GDP. Close to one billion dollars are sent to the country by Nicaraguans living abroad. The economy grew at a rate of about 4% in 2011. By 2019, given restrictive taxes and a civil conflict, it recorded a negative growth of - 3.9%; the International Monetary Fund forecast for 2020 is a further decline of 6% due to COVID-19.
The restrictive tax measures put in place in 2019 and a political crisis over social security negatively affected the country's weak public spending and investor confidence in sovereign debt. According to the update IMF forecasts from 14 April 2020, due to the outbreak of the COVID-19, GDP growth is expected to fall to -6% in 2020.
According to the United Nations Development Programme, 48% of the population of Nicaragua live below the poverty line, 79.9% of the population live with less than $2 per day, According to UN figures, 80% of the indigenous people (who make up 5% of the population) live on less than $1 per day.
According to the World Bank, Nicaragua ranked as the 123rd out of 190 best economy for starting a business. In 2007, Nicaragua's economy was labelled "62.7% free" by the Heritage Foundation, with high levels of fiscal, government, labor, investment, financial, and trade freedom. It ranked as the 61st freest economy, and 14th (of 29) in the Americas.
In March 2007, Poland and Nicaragua signed an agreement to write off 30.6 million dollars which was borrowed by the Nicaraguan government in the 1980s. Inflation reduced from 33,500% in 1988 to 9.45% in 2006, and the foreign debt was cut in half.
Nicaragua is primarily an agricultural country; agriculture constitutes 60% of its total exports which annually yield approximately US$300 million. Nearly two-thirds of the coffee crop comes from the northern part of the central highlands, in the area north and east of the town of Estelí. Tobacco, grown in the same northern highlands region as coffee, has become an increasingly important cash crop since the 1990s, with annual exports of leaf and cigars in the neighborhood of $200 million per year. Soil erosion and pollution from the heavy use of pesticides have become serious concerns in the cotton district. Yields and exports have both been declining since 1985. Today most of Nicaragua's bananas are grown in the northwestern part of the country near the port of Corinto; sugarcane is also grown in the same district. Cassava, a root crop somewhat similar to the potato, is an important food in tropical regions. Cassava is also the main ingredient in tapioca pudding. Nicaragua's agricultural sector has benefited because of the country's strong ties to Venezuela. It is estimated that Venezuela will import approximately $200 million in agricultural goods. In the 1990s, the government initiated efforts to diversify agriculture. Some of the new export-oriented crops were peanuts, sesame, melons, and onions.
Fishing boats on the Caribbean side bring shrimp as well as lobsters into processing plants at Puerto Cabezas, Bluefields, and Laguna de Perlas. A turtle fishery thrived on the Caribbean coast before it collapsed from overexploitation.
Mining is becoming a major industry in Nicaragua, contributing less than 1% of gross domestic product (GDP). Restrictions are being placed on lumbering due to increased environmental concerns about destruction of the rain forests. But lumbering continues despite these obstacles; indeed, a single hardwood tree may be worth thousands of dollars.
During the war between the US-backed Contras and the government of the Sandinistas in the 1980s, much of the country's infrastructure was damaged or destroyed. Transportation throughout the nation is often inadequate. For example, it was until recently impossible to travel all the way by highway from Managua to the Caribbean coast. A new road between Nueva Guinea and Bluefields was completed in 2019 and allows regular bus service to the capital. The Centroamérica power plant on the Tuma River in the Central highlands has been expanded, and other hydroelectric projects have been undertaken to help provide electricity to the nation's newer industries. Nicaragua has long been considered as a possible site for a new canal that could supplement the Panama Canal, connecting the Caribbean Sea (and therefore the Atlantic Ocean) with the Pacific Ocean.
Nicaragua's minimum wage is among the lowest in the Americas and in the world. Remittances are equivalent to roughly 15% of the country's gross domestic product. Growth in the maquila sector slowed in the first decade of the 21st century with rising competition from Asian markets, particularly China. Land is the traditional basis of wealth in Nicaragua, with great fortunes coming from the export of staples such as coffee, cotton, beef, and sugar. Almost all of the upper class and nearly a quarter of the middle class are substantial landowners.
A 1985 government study classified 69.4 percent of the population as poor on the basis that they were unable to satisfy one or more of their basic needs in housing, sanitary services (water, sewage, and garbage collection), education, and employment. The defining standards for this study were very low; housing was considered substandard if it was constructed of discarded materials with dirt floors or if it was occupied by more than four persons per room.
Rural workers are dependent on agricultural wage labor, especially in coffee and cotton. Only a small fraction hold permanent jobs. Most are migrants who follow crops during the harvest period and find other work during the off-season. The "lower" peasants are typically smallholders without sufficient land to sustain a family; they also join the harvest labor force. The "upper" peasants have sufficient resources to be economically independent. They produce enough surplus, beyond their personal needs, to allow them to participate in the national and world markets.
The urban lower class is characterized by the informal sector of the economy. The informal sector consists of small-scale enterprises that utilize traditional technologies and operate outside the legal regime of labor protections and taxation. Workers in the informal sector are self-employed, unsalaried family workers or employees of small-enterprises, and they are generally poor.
Nicaragua's informal sector workers include tinsmiths, mattress makers, seamstresses, bakers, shoemakers, and carpenters; people who take in laundry and ironing or prepare food for sale in the streets; and thousands of peddlers, owners of small businesses (often operating out of their own homes), and market stall operators. Some work alone, but others labor in the small talleres (workshops/factories) that are responsible for a large share of the country's industrial production. Because informal sector earnings are generally very low, few families can subsist on one income. Like most Latin American nations Nicaragua is also characterized by a very small upper-class, roughly 2% of the population, that is very wealthy and wields the political and economic power in the country that is not in the hands of foreign corporations and private industries. These families are oligarchical in nature and have ruled Nicaragua for generations and their wealth is politically and economically horizontally and vertically integrated.
Nicaragua is currently a member of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas, which is also known as ALBA. ALBA has proposed creating a new currency, the Sucre, for use among its members. In essence, this means that the Nicaraguan córdoba will be replaced with the Sucre. Other nations that will follow a similar pattern include: Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Honduras, Cuba, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda.
Nicaragua is considering construction of a canal linking the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, which President Daniel Ortega has said will give Nicaragua its "economic independence." Scientists have raised concerns about environmental impacts, but the government has maintained that the canal will benefit the country by creating new jobs and potentially increasing its annual growth to an average of 8% per year. The project was scheduled to begin construction in December 2014, however the Nicaragua Canal has yet to be started.
Tourism
By 2006, tourism had become the second largest industry in Nicaragua. Previously, tourism had grown about 70% nationwide during a period of 7 years, with rates of 10%–16% annually. The increase and growth led to the income from tourism to rise more than 300% over a period of 10 years. The growth in tourism has also positively affected the agricultural, commercial, and finance industries, as well as the construction industry. President Daniel Ortega has stated his intention to use tourism to combat poverty throughout the country. The results for Nicaragua's tourism-driven economy have been significant, with the nation welcoming one million tourists in a calendar year for the first time in its history in 2010.
Every year about 60,000 U.S. citizens visit Nicaragua, primarily business people, tourists, and those visiting relatives. Some 5,300 people from the U.S. reside in Nicaragua. The majority of tourists who visit Nicaragua are from the U.S., Central or South America, and Europe. According to the Ministry of Tourism of Nicaragua (INTUR), the colonial cities of León and Granada are the preferred spots for tourists. Also, the cities of Masaya, Rivas and the likes of San Juan del Sur, El Ostional, the Fortress of the Immaculate Conception, Ometepe Island, the Mombacho volcano, and the Corn Islands among other locations are the main tourist attractions. In addition, ecotourism, sport fishing and surfing attract many tourists to Nicaragua.
According to the TV Noticias news program, the main attractions in Nicaragua for tourists are the beaches, the scenic routes, the architecture of cities such as León and Granada, ecotourism, and agritourism particularly in northern Nicaragua. As a result of increased tourism, Nicaragua has seen its foreign direct investment increase by 79.1% from 2007 to 2009.
Nicaragua is referred to as "the land of lakes and volcanoes" due to the number of lagoons and lakes, and the chain of volcanoes that runs from the north to the south along the country's Pacific side. Today, only 7 of the 50 volcanoes in Nicaragua are considered active. Many of these volcanoes offer some great possibilities for tourists with activities such as hiking, climbing, camping, and swimming in crater lakes.
The Apoyo Lagoon Natural Reserve was created by the eruption of the Apoyo Volcano about 23,000 years ago, which left a huge 7 km-wide crater that gradually filled with water. It is surrounded by the old crater wall. The rim of the lagoon is lined with restaurants, many of which have kayaks available. Besides exploring the forest around it, many water sports are practiced in the lagoon, most notably kayaking.
Sand skiing has become a popular attraction at the Cerro Negro volcano in León. Both dormant and active volcanoes can be climbed. Some of the most visited volcanoes include the Masaya Volcano, Momotombo, Mombacho, Cosigüina and Ometepe's Maderas and Concepción.
Ecotourism aims to be ecologically and socially conscious; it focuses on local culture, wilderness, and adventure. Nicaragua's ecotourism is growing with every passing year. It boasts a number of ecotourist tours and perfect places for adventurers. Nicaragua has three eco-regions (the Pacific, Central, and Atlantic) which contain volcanoes, tropical rainforests, and agricultural land. The majority of the eco-lodges and other environmentally-focused touristic destinations are found on Ometepe Island, located in the middle of Lake Nicaragua just an hour's boat ride from Granada. While some are foreign-owned, others are owned by local families.
Demographics
According to a 2014 research published in the journal Genetics and Molecular Biology, European ancestry predominates in 69% of Nicaraguans, followed by African ancestry in 20%, and lastly indigenous ancestry in 11%. A Japanese research of "Genomic Components in America's demography" demonstrated that, on average, the ancestry of Nicaraguans is 58–62% European, 28% Native American, and 14% African, with a very small Near Eastern contribution. Non-genetic data from the CIA World Factbook establish that from Nicaragua's 2016 population of 5,966,798, around 69% are mestizo, 17% white, 5% Native American, and 9% black and other races. This fluctuates with changes in migration patterns. The population is 58% urban .
The capital Managua is the biggest city, with an estimated population of 1,042,641 in 2016. In 2005, over 5 million people lived in the Pacific, Central and North regions, and 700,000 in the Caribbean region.
There is a growing expatriate community, the majority of whom move for business, investment or retirement from across the world, such as from the US, Canada, Taiwan, and European countries; the majority have settled in Managua, Granada and San Juan del Sur.
Many Nicaraguans live abroad, particularly in Costa Rica, the United States, Spain, Canada, and other Central American countries.
Nicaragua has a population growth rate of 1.5% . This is the result of one of the highest birth rates in the Western Hemisphere: 17.7 per 1,000 as of 2017. The death rate was 4.7 per 1,000 during the same period according to the United Nations.
Ethnic groups
The majority of the Nicaraguan population is composed of mestizos, roughly 69%, while 17% of Nicaragua's population is white, with the majority of them being of Spanish descent, while others are of German, Italian, English, Turkish, Danish or French ancestry.
Black Creoles
About 9% of Nicaragua's population is black and mainly resides on the country's Caribbean (or Atlantic) coast. The black population is mostly composed of black English-speaking Creoles who are the descendants of escaped or shipwrecked slaves; many carry the name of Scottish settlers who brought slaves with them, such as Campbell, Gordon, Downs, and Hodgson. Although many Creoles supported Somoza because of his close association with the United States, they rallied to the Sandinista cause in July 1979 only to reject the revolution soon afterwards in response to a new phase of 'westernization' and imposition of central rule from Managua. There is a smaller number of Garifuna, a people of mixed West African, Carib and Arawak descent. In the mid-1980s, the government divided the Zelaya Department – consisting of the eastern half of the country – into two autonomous regions and granted the black and indigenous people of this region limited self-rule within the republic.
Indigenous population
The remaining 5% of Nicaraguans are indigenous, the descendants of the country's original inhabitants. Nicaragua's pre-Columbian population consisted of many indigenous groups. In the western region, the Nahuas (Nicarao people) were present along with other groups such as the Chorotega people and the Subtiabas (also known as Maribios or Hokan Xiu). The central region and the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua were inhabited by indigenous peoples who were Macro-Chibchan language groups that had migrated to and from South America in ancient times, primarily what is now Colombia and Venezuela. These groups include the present-day Matagalpas, Miskitos, Ramas, as well as Mayangnas and Ulwas who are also known as Sumos. In the 19th century, there was a substantial indigenous minority, but this group was largely assimilated culturally into the mestizo majority. The Garifuna are also present, mainly on the Caribbean Coast. They are a people of mixed African and Indigenous descent.
Languages
Nicaraguan Spanish has many indigenous influences and several distinguishing characteristics. For example, some Nicaraguans have a tendency to replace /s/ with /h/ when speaking. Although Spanish is spoken throughout, the country has great variety: vocabulary, accents and colloquial language can vary between towns and departments.
On the Caribbean coast, indigenous languages, English-based creoles, and Spanish are spoken. The Miskito language, spoken by the Miskito people as a first language and some other indigenous and Afro-descendants people as a second, third, or fourth language, is the most commonly spoken indigenous language. The indigenous Misumalpan languages of Mayangna and Ulwa are spoken by the respective peoples of the same names. Many Miskito, Mayangna, and Sumo people also speak Miskito Coast Creole, and a large majority also speak Spanish. Fewer than three dozen of nearly 2,000 Rama people speak their Chibchan language fluently, with nearly all Ramas speaking Rama Cay Creole and the vast majority speaking Spanish. Linguists have attempted to document and revitalize the language over the past three decades.
The Garifuna people, descendants of indigenous and Afro-descendant people who came to Nicaragua from Honduras in the early twentieth century, have recently attempted to revitalize their Arawakan language. The majority speak Miskito Coast Creole as their first language and Spanish as their second. The Creole or Kriol people, descendants of enslaved Africans brought to the Mosquito Coast during the British colonial period and European, Chinese, Arab, and British West Indian immigrants, also speak Miskito Coast Creole as their first language and Spanish as their second.
Largest cities
Religion
Religion plays a significant part of the culture of Nicaragua and is afforded special protections in the constitution. Religious freedom, which has been guaranteed since 1939, and religious tolerance are promoted by the government and the constitution.
Nicaragua has no official religion. Catholic bishops are expected to lend their authority to important state occasions, and their pronouncements on national issues are closely followed. They can be called upon to mediate between contending parties at moments of political crisis. In 1979, Miguel D'Escoto Brockman, a priest who had embraced Liberation Theology, served in the government as foreign minister when the Sandinistas came to power. The largest denomination, and traditionally the religion of the majority, is the Roman Catholic Church. It came to Nicaragua in the 16th century with the Spanish conquest and remained, until 1939, the established faith.
The number of practicing Roman Catholics has been declining, while membership of evangelical Protestant groups and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) has been growing rapidly since the 1990s. There is a significant LDS missionary effort in Nicaragua. There are two missions and 95,768 members of the LDS Church (1.54% of the population). There are also strong Anglican and Moravian communities on the Caribbean coast in what once constituted the sparsely populated Mosquito Coast colony. It was under British influence for nearly three centuries. Protestantism was brought to the Mosquito Coast mainly by British and German colonists in forms of Anglicanism and the Moravian Church. Other kinds of Protestant and other Christian denominations were introduced to the rest of Nicaragua during the 19th century.
Popular religion revolves around the saints, who are perceived as intercessors between human beings and God. Most localities, from the capital of Managua to small rural communities, honor patron saints, selected from the Roman Catholic calendar, with annual fiestas. In many communities, a rich lore has grown up around the celebrations of patron saints, such as Managua's Saint Dominic (Santo Domingo), honored in August with two colorful, often riotous, day-long processions through the city. The high point of Nicaragua's religious calendar for the masses is neither Christmas nor Easter, but La Purísima, a week of festivities in early December dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, during which elaborate altars to the Virgin Mary are constructed in homes and workplaces.
Buddhism has increased with a steady influx of immigration.
Although Jews have been living in Nicaragua since the 18th century, the Jewish population is small, numbering less than 200 people in 2017. Of these, 112 were recent converts who claimed Sephardic Jewish ancestry.
As of 2007, approximately 1,200 to 1,500 Nicaraguan residents practiced Islam, most of them Sunnis who are resident aliens or naturalized citizens from Palestine, Libya, and Iran or natural-born Nicaraguan descendants of the two groups.
Immigration
Relative to its population, Nicaragua has not experienced large waves of immigration. The number of immigrants in Nicaragua, from other Latin American countries or other countries, never surpassed 1% of its total population before 1995. The 2005 census showed the foreign-born population at 1.2%, having risen a mere 0.06% in 10 years.
In the 19th century, Nicaragua experienced modest waves of immigration from Europe. In particular, families from Germany, Italy, Spain, France and Belgium immigrated to Nicaragua, particularly the departments in the Central and Pacific region.
Also present is a small Middle Eastern-Nicaraguan community of Syrians, Armenians, Jewish Nicaraguans, and Lebanese people in Nicaragua. This community numbers about 30,000. There is an East Asian community mostly consisting of Chinese, Taiwanese, and Japanese. The Chinese Nicaraguan population is estimated at around 12,000. The Chinese arrived in the late 19th century but were unsubstantiated until the 1920s.
Diaspora
The Civil War forced many Nicaraguans to start lives outside of their country. Many people emigrated during the 1990s and the first decade of the 21st century due to the lack of employment opportunities and poverty. The majority of the Nicaraguan Diaspora migrated to the United States and Costa Rica. Today one in six Nicaraguans live in these two countries.
The diaspora has seen Nicaraguans settling around in smaller communities in other parts of the world, particularly Western Europe. Small communities of Nicaraguans are found in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Communities also exist in Australia and New Zealand. Canada, Brazil and Argentina host small groups of these communities. In Asia, Japan hosts a small Nicaraguan community.
Due to extreme poverty at home, many Nicaraguans are now living and working in neighboring El Salvador, a country that has the US dollar as its currency.
Healthcare
Although Nicaragua's health outcomes have improved over the past few decades with the efficient utilization of resources relative to other Central American nations, healthcare in Nicaragua still confronts challenges responding to its populations' diverse healthcare needs.
The Nicaraguan government guarantees universal free health care for its citizens. However, limitations of current delivery models and unequal distribution of resources and medical personnel contribute to the persistent lack of quality care in more remote areas of Nicaragua, especially among rural communities in the Central and Atlantic region. To respond to the dynamic needs of localities, the government has adopted a decentralized model that emphasizes community-based preventive and primary medical care.
Education
The adult literacy rate in 2005 was 78.0%.
Primary education is free in Nicaragua. A system of private schools exists, many of which are religiously affiliated and often have more robust English programs. As of 1979, the educational system was one of the poorest in Latin America. One of the first acts of the newly elected Sandinista government in 1980 was an extensive and successful literacy campaign, using secondary school students, university students and teachers as volunteer teachers: it reduced the overall illiteracy rate from 50.3% to 12.9% within only five months. This was one of a number of large-scale programs which received international recognition for their gains in literacy, health care, education, childcare, unions, and land reform. The Sandinistas also added a leftist ideological content to the curriculum, which was removed after 1990. In September 1980, UNESCO awarded Nicaragua the Soviet Union sponsored Nadezhda Krupskaya award for the literacy campaign.
Gender equality
When it comes to gender equality in Latin America, Nicaragua ranks high among the other countries in the region. When it came to global rankings regarding gender equality, the World Economic Forum ranked Nicaragua at number twelve in 2015, and in its 2020 report Nicaragua ranked number five, behind only northern European countries.
Nicaragua was among the many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which aimed to promote women's rights.
In 2009, a Special Ombudsman for Sexual Diversity position was created within its Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman. And, in 2014, the Health Ministry in 2014 banned discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. Nevertheless, discrimination against LGBTQ individuals is common, particularly in housing, education, and the workplace.
The Human Development Report ranked Nicaragua 106 out of 160 countries in the Gender Inequality Index (GII) in 2017. It reflects gender-based inequalities in three dimensions - reproductive health, empowerment, and economic activity.
Culture
Nicaraguan culture has strong folklore, music and religious traditions, deeply influenced by European culture but also including Native American sounds and flavors. Nicaraguan culture can further be defined in several distinct strands. The Pacific coast has strong folklore, music and religious traditions, deeply influenced by Europeans. It was colonized by Spain and has a similar culture to other Spanish-speaking Latin American countries. The indigenous groups that historically inhabited the Pacific coast have largely been assimilated into the mestizo culture.
The Caribbean coast of Nicaragua was once a British protectorate. English is still predominant in this region and spoken domestically along with Spanish and indigenous languages. Its culture is similar to that of Caribbean nations that were or are British possessions, such as Jamaica, Belize, the Cayman Islands, etc. Unlike on the west coast, the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean coast have maintained distinct identities, and some still speak their native languages as first languages.
Music
Nicaraguan music is a mixture of indigenous and Spanish influences. Musical instruments include the marimba and others common across Central America. The marimba of Nicaragua is played by a sitting performer holding the instrument on his knees. He is usually accompanied by a bass fiddle, guitar and guitarrilla (a small guitar like a mandolin). This music is played at social functions as a sort of background music.
The marimba is made with hardwood plates placed over bamboo or metal tubes of varying lengths. It is played with two or four hammers. The Caribbean coast of Nicaragua is known for a lively, sensual form of dance music called Palo de Mayo which is popular throughout the country. It is especially loud and celebrated during the Palo de Mayo festival in May. The Garifuna community (Afro-Native American) is known for its popular music called Punta.
Nicaragua enjoys a variety of international influence in the music arena. Bachata, Merengue, Salsa and Cumbia have gained prominence in cultural centres such as Managua, Leon and Granada. Cumbia dancing has grown popular with the introduction of Nicaraguan artists, including Gustavo Leyton, on Ometepe Island and in Managua. Salsa dancing has become extremely popular in Managua's nightclubs. With various influences, the form of salsa dancing varies in Nicaragua. New York style and Cuban Salsa (Salsa Casino) elements have gained popularity across the country.
Dance
Dance in Nicaragua varies depending upon the region. Rural areas tend to have a stronger focus on movement of the hips and turns. The dance style in cities focuses primarily on more sophisticated footwork in addition to movement and turns. Combinations of styles from the Dominican Republic and the United States can be found throughout Nicaragua. Bachata dancing is popular in Nicaragua. A considerable amount of Bachata dancing influence comes from Nicaraguans living abroad, in cities that include Miami, Los Angeles and, to a much lesser extent, New York City. Tango has also surfaced recently in cultural cities and ballroom dance occasions.
Literature
The origin of Nicaraguan literature can arguably be traced to pre-Columbian times. The myths and oral literature formed the cosmogenic view of the world of the indigenous people. Some of these stories are still known in Nicaragua. Like many Latin American countries, the Spanish conquerors have had the most effect on both the culture and the literature. Nicaraguan literature has historically been an important source of poetry in the Spanish-speaking world, with internationally renowned contributors such as Rubén Darío who is regarded as the most important literary figure in Nicaragua. He is called the "Father of Modernism" for leading the modernismo literary movement at the end of the 19th century. Other literary figures include Carlos Martinez Rivas, Pablo Antonio Cuadra, Alberto Cuadra Mejia, Manolo Cuadra, Pablo Alberto Cuadra Arguello, Orlando Cuadra Downing, Alfredo Alegría Rosales, Sergio Ramirez Mercado, Ernesto Cardenal, Gioconda Belli, Claribel Alegría and José Coronel Urtecho, among others.
The satirical drama El Güegüense was the first literary work of post-Columbian Nicaragua. It was written in both Nicarao and Spanish. It's regarded as one of Latin America's most distinctive colonial-era expressions and as Nicaragua's signature folkloric masterpiece. El Güegüense is a work of resistance to Spanish colonialism that combined music, dance and theatre. The theatrical play was written by an anonymous author in the 16th century, making it one of the oldest indigenous theatrical/dance works of the Western Hemisphere. In 2005 it was recognized by UNESCO as "a patrimony of humanity". After centuries of popular performance, the play was first published in a book in 1942.
Cuisine
Nicaraguan cuisine is a mixture of Spanish food and dishes of a pre-Columbian origin. Traditional cuisine changes from the Pacific to the Caribbean coast. The Pacific coast's main staple revolves around local fruits and corn, the Caribbean coast cuisine makes use of seafood and the coconut.
As in many other Latin American countries, maize is a staple food and is used in many of the widely consumed dishes, such as the nacatamal, güirila], and indio viejo. Maize is also an ingredient for drinks such as pinolillo and chicha as well as sweets and desserts. In addition to corn, rice and beans are eaten very often.
Gallo pinto, Nicaragua's national dish, is made with white rice and small red beans that are cooked individually and then fried together. The dish has several variations including the addition of coconut milk and/or grated coconut on the Caribbean coast. Most Nicaraguans begin their day with gallo pinto. Gallo pinto is most usually served with carne asada, a salad, fried cheese, plantains or maduros.
Many of Nicaragua's dishes include indigenous fruits and vegetables such as jocote, mango, papaya, tamarindo, pipian, banana, avocado, yuca, and herbs such as cilantro, oregano and achiote.
Traditional street food snacks found in Nicaragua include "quesillo", a thick tortilla with soft cheese and cream, "tajadas" (deep-fried plantain chips), "maduros" (a sautéed ripe plantain), and "fresco" (fresh juices such as hibiscus and tamarind commonly served in a plastic bag with a straw).
Nicaraguans have been known to eat guinea pigs, known as cuy. Tapirs, iguanas, turtle eggs, armadillos and boas are also sometimes eaten, but because of extinction threats to these wild creatures, there are efforts to curb this custom.
Media
For most Nicaraguans radio and TV are the main sources of news. There are more than 100 radio stations and several TV networks. Cable TV is available in most urban areas.
The Nicaraguan print media are varied and partisan, representing pro and anti-government positions. Publications include La Prensa, El Nuevo Diario, Confidencial, Hoy, and Mercurio. Online news publications include Confidencial and The Nicaragua Dispatch.
Sports
Baseball is the most popular sport in Nicaragua. Although some professional Nicaraguan baseball teams have recently folded, the country still enjoys a strong tradition of American-style baseball.
Baseball was introduced to Nicaragua during the 19th century. In the Caribbean coast, locals from Bluefields were taught how to play baseball in 1888 by Albert Addlesberg, a retailer from the United States. Baseball did not catch on in the Pacific coast until 1891 when a group of mostly college students from the United States formed "La Sociedad de Recreo" (Society of Recreation) where they played various sports, baseball being the most popular.
Nicaragua has had its share of MLB players, including shortstop Everth Cabrera and pitcher Vicente Padilla, but the most notable is Dennis Martínez, who was the first baseball player from Nicaragua to play in Major League Baseball. He became the first Latin-born pitcher to throw a perfect game, and the 13th in the major league history, when he played with the Montreal Expos against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in 1991.
Boxing is the second most popular sport in Nicaragua. The country has had world champions such as Alexis Argüello and Ricardo Mayorga as well as Román González. Recently, football has gained popularity. The Dennis Martínez National Stadium has served as a venue for both baseball and football. The first ever national football-only stadium in Managua, the Nicaragua National Football Stadium, was completed in 2011.
Nicaragua's national basketball team had some recent success as it won the silver medal at the 2017 Central American Games.
Nicaragua featured national teams in beach volleyball that competed at the 2018–2020 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Continental Cup in both the women's and the men's sections.
See also
Bibliography of Nicaragua
Index of Nicaragua-related articles
Outline of Nicaragua
Notes
References
Additional sources
External links
Government
Chief of State and Cabinet Members
General information
Nicaragua. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency.
Nicaragua Corruption Profile from the Business Anti-Corruption Portal
Nicaragua at UCB Libraries GovPubs
Nicaragua profile from the BBC News
Maps from WorldAtlas.com
Nicaraguaportal: Official information of the Honorary Consulate of Nicaragua
Key Development Forecasts for Nicaragua from International Futures
Other
Visit Nicaragua
Teaching Central America
The State of the World's Midwifery – Nicaragua Country Profile
1821 establishments in North America
Countries in Central America
Countries in North America
Former Spanish colonies
Current member states of the United Nations
Republics
Spanish-speaking countries and territories
States and territories established in 1821 | en |
doc-en-8871 | H. L. Hunley, often referred to as Hunley, CSS H. L. Hunley, or as CSS Hunley, was a submarine of the Confederate States of America that played a small part in the American Civil War. Hunley demonstrated the advantages and the dangers of undersea warfare. She was the first combat submarine to sink a warship (), although Hunley was not completely submerged and, following her successful attack, was lost along with her crew before she could return to base. The Confederacy lost 21 crewmen in three sinkings of Hunley during her short career. She was named for her inventor, Horace Lawson Hunley, shortly after she was taken into government service under the control of the Confederate States Army at Charleston, South Carolina.
Hunley, nearly long, was built at Mobile, Alabama, and launched in July 1863. She was then shipped by rail on 12 August 1863, to Charleston. Hunley (then referred to as the "fish boat", the "fish torpedo boat", or the "porpoise") sank on 29 August 1863, during a test run, killing five members of her crew. She sank again on 15 October 1863, killing all eight of her second crew, including Horace Lawson Hunley himself, who was aboard at the time, even though he was not a member of the Confederate military. Both times Hunley was raised and returned to service.
On 17 February 1864, Hunley attacked and sank the 1,240-ton United States Navy screw sloop-of-war Housatonic, which had been on Union blockade-duty in Charleston's outer harbor. Hunley did not survive the attack and also sank, taking with her all eight members of her third crew, and was lost.
Finally located in 1995, Hunley was raised in 2000, and is on display in North Charleston, South Carolina, at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center on the Cooper River. Examination in 2012 of recovered Hunley artifacts suggests that the submarine was as close as to her target, Housatonic, when her deployed torpedo exploded, which caused the submarine's own loss.
Predecessors
Horace Lawson Hunley provided financing for James McClintock to design three submarines: in New Orleans, Louisiana, built in Mobile, and Hunley.
While the United States Navy was constructing its first submarine , in late 1861, the Confederacy were doing so as well. Hunley, McClintock, and Baxter Watson first built Pioneer, which was tested in February 1862, in the Mississippi River, and was later towed to Lake Pontchartrain, for additional trials. But the Union advance towards New Orleans caused the men to abandon development and scuttle Pioneer the following month. The Bayou St. John Confederate submarine may have been constructed about this time.
Hunley and McClintock moved to Mobile, to begin development of a second submarine, American Diver with the collaboration of two others. Their efforts were supported by the Confederate States Army. Lieutenant William Alexander of the 21st Alabama Infantry Regiment was assigned to oversee the project. The builders experimented with electric and steam propulsion for the new submarine, before falling back on a simple hand-cranked propulsion system. American Diver was ready for harbor trials by January 1863, but she proved too slow to be practical. Nonetheless, it was decided to tow the submarine down the bay to Fort Morgan and attempt an attack on the Union blockade. However, the submarine foundered in the heavy chop caused by foul weather and the currents at the mouth of Mobile Bay and sank. The crew escaped, but the boat was not recovered.
Construction and testing
Construction of Hunley began soon after the loss of American Diver. At this stage, Hunley was variously referred to as the "fish boat", the "fish torpedo boat", or the "porpoise". Legend held that Hunley was made from a cast-off steam boiler—perhaps because a cutaway drawing by William Alexander, who had seen her, showed a short and stubby machine. In fact, Hunley was designed and built for her role, and the sleek, modern-looking craft shown in R.G. Skerrett's 1902 drawing is an accurate representation. Hunley was designed for a crew of eight, seven to turn the hand-cranked ducted propeller, about , and one to steer and direct the boat. Each end was equipped with ballast tanks that could be flooded by valves or pumped dry by hand pumps. Extra ballast was added through the use of iron weights bolted to the underside of the hull. In the event the submarine needed additional buoyancy to rise in an emergency, the iron weight could be removed by unscrewing the heads of the bolts from inside the vessel.
Hunley was equipped with two watertight hatches, one forward and one aft, atop two short conning towers equipped with small portholes and slender, triangular cutwaters. The hatches, bigger than original estimates, measure about wide and nearly long), making entrance to and egress from the hull difficult. The height of the ship's hull was .
By July 1863, Hunley was ready for a demonstration. Supervised by Confederate Admiral Franklin Buchanan, Hunley successfully attacked a coal flatboat in Mobile Bay. Following this, the submarine was shipped by rail to Charleston, South Carolina, arriving on 12 August 1863.
However, the Confederate military seized the submarine from her private builders and owners shortly after arriving, turning her over to the Confederate Army. Hunley would operate as a Confederate Army vessel from then on, although Horace Hunley and his partners would remain involved in her further testing and operation. While sometimes referred to as CSS Hunley, she was never officially commissioned into service.
Confederate Navy Lieutenant John A. Payne of CSS Chicora volunteered to be Hunleys captain, and seven men from Chicora and CSS Palmetto State volunteered to operate her. On 29 August 1863, Hunleys new crew was preparing to make a test dive, when Lieutenant Payne accidentally stepped on the lever controlling the sub's diving planes as she was running on the surface. This caused Hunley to dive with one of her hatches still open. Payne and two others escaped, but the other five crewmen drowned.
H. L. Hunley crew lost 29 August 1863:
Michael Cane
Nicholas Davis
Frank Doyle
John Kelly
Absolum Williams
The Confederate Army took control of Hunley, with all orders coming directly from General P. G. T. Beauregard, with Lt. George E. Dixon placed in charge. On 15 October 1863, Hunley failed to surface after a mock attack, killing all eight crewmen. Among these was Hunley himself, who had joined the crew for the exercise and possibly had taken over command from Dixon, for the attack maneuver. The Confederate Navy once more salvaged the submarine and returned her to service.
H. L. Hunley Crew lost 15 October 1863:
Horace Hunley
Thomas S. Parks
Henry Beard.
R. Brookbanks
John Marshall
Charles McHugh
Joseph Patterson
Charles L. Sprague
Armament
Hunley was originally intended to attack by using a floating explosive charge with a contact fuse (a torpedo in 19th century terminology) which was towed at the end of a long rope. Hunley was to approach an enemy ship on the surface, then dive under her, and surface again once beyond her. The torpedo would be drawn against the targeted ship and explode. This plan was discarded as dangerous because of the possibility of the tow line fouling Hunleys screw or drifting into the submarine herself.
Instead, a spar torpedo—a copper cylinder containing of black powder—was attached to a -long wooden spar, as seen in illustrations made at this time. Mounted on Hunleys bow, the spar was to be used when the submarine was or more below the surface. Previous spar torpedoes had been designed with a barbed point: the spar torpedo would be jammed in the target's side by ramming, and then detonated by a mechanical trigger attached to the submarine by a line, so that as she backed away from her target, the torpedo would set off. However, archaeologists working on Hunley discovered evidence, including a spool of copper wire and components of a battery, that it may actually have been electrically detonated. In the configuration used in the attack on Housatonic, it appears Hunleys torpedo had no barbs, and was designed to explode on contact as it was pushed against an enemy vessel at close range. After Horace Hunley's death, General Beauregard ordered that the submarine should no longer be used to attack underwater. An iron pipe was then attached to her bow, angled downwards so the explosive charge would be delivered sufficiently under water to make it effective. This was the same method developed for the earlier "David" surface attack craft used successfully against the USS New Ironsides. The Confederate Veteran of 1902, printed a reminiscence authored by an engineer stationed at Battery Marshall who, with another engineer, made adjustments to the iron pipe mechanism before Hunley left on her last fatal mission on 17 February 1864. A drawing of the iron pipe spar, confirming her "David" type configuration, was published in early histories of submarine warfare.
Attack on Housatonic
Hunley made her only attack against an enemy target on the night of 17 February 1864. The target was USS Housatonic, a wooden-hulled steam-powered sloop-of-war with 12 large cannons, which was stationed at the entrance to Charleston, about offshore.
Desperate to break the naval blockade of the city, Lieutenant George E. Dixon, and a crew of seven volunteers successfully attacked Housatonic, ramming Hunleys only spar torpedo against the enemy's hull. The torpedo was detonated, sending Housatonic to the bottom in five minutes, along with five of her crewmen.
Years later, when the area around the wreck of Housatonic was surveyed, the sunken Hunley was found on the seaward side of the sloop, where no one had considered looking before. This later indicated that the ocean current was going out following the attack on Housatonic, taking Hunley with her to where she was eventually found and later recovered.
Disappearance
After the attack, H.L. Hunley failed to return to her base. At one point there appeared to be evidence that Hunley survived as long as one hour following the attack, which occurred at about 20:45. The day after the attack, the commander of "Battery Marshall" reported that he had received "the signals" from the submarine indicating she was returning to her base. The report did not say what the signals were. A postwar correspondent wrote that "two blue lights" were the prearranged signals, and a lookout on Housatonic reported he saw a "blue light" on the water after his ship sank. "Blue light" in 1864 referred to a pyrotechnic signal in long use by the U.S. Navy. It has been falsely represented in published works as a blue lantern; the lantern eventually found on the recovered H. L. Hunley had a clear, not a blue, lens. Pyrotechnic "blue light" could be seen easily over the distance between Battery Marshall and the site of Hunleys attack on Housatonic.
After signalling, Dixon's plan could have been to take his submarine underwater to make a return to Sullivan's Island, although he left no confirmed documentation of this plan. At one point the finders of Hunley suggested she was unintentionally rammed by USS Canandaigua when that warship was going to rescue the crew of Housatonic, but no such damage was found when she was raised from the bottom of the harbor. Instead, all evidence and analysis eventually pointed to the instantaneous death of Hunleys entire crew at the moment of the spar torpedo's contact with the hull of Housatonic. Upon removal of the silt inside the hull, the skeletons of the crewmembers were found seated at their stations, with no signs of skeletal trauma. In October 2008, scientists reported they had found that the crew of Hunley had not set her pump to remove water from the crew's compartment, and this might indicate she was not flooded until after they died. In January 2013, it was announced that conservator Paul Mardikian had found evidence of a copper sleeve at the end of Hunleys spar. This finding indicated the torpedo had been attached directly to the spar, meaning the submarine may have been less than from Housatonic when the torpedo exploded. In 2018, researchers reported that the keel blocks, which the crew could release from inside the vessel to allow the sub to surface quickly in an emergency, had never been released.
The short distance between the torpedo and the vessel, in addition to the signs that the crew died instantaneously and without a struggle to survive, led a team of blast trauma specialists from Duke University to theorize that the Hunleys crew was killed by the blast itself, which could have transmitted pressure waves inside the vessel without damaging its hull. Their research, which included scaled experiments with live black powder bombs, provided data indicating the crew was likely killed by the explosion of their own torpedo, which could have caused immediate pulmonary blast trauma. The Duke team's experiments and results were published August 2017 in the peer-reviewed journal PLoS One and eventually became the subject of the book In the Waves: My Quest to Solve the Mystery of a Civil War Submarine. Although their conclusions have been disputed by archaeologists with the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC), the NHCC website disputing the results of the scientific experiments contains several inconsistencies. For example, the website implies that the experiments are not valid because "a 1/8th inch plate at 1/6th scale is only 0.02 inches thick," but neither of these dimensions are relevant to either the original Hunley or the scale model used by Duke.
Recovery of wreckage
Hunleys discovery was described by Dr. William Dudley, Director of Naval History at the Naval Historical Center as "probably the most important find of the century." The tiny sub and her contents have been valued at more than $40 million, making her discovery and subsequent donation one of the most important and valuable contributions made to South Carolina.
The discovery of Hunley has been claimed by two different individuals. Underwater archaeologist E. Lee Spence, president, Sea Research Society, reportedly discovered Hunley in 1970, and has a collection of evidence claiming to validate this, including a 1980 Civil Admiralty Case. The court took the position that the wreck was outside the jurisdiction of the U.S. Marshals Office, and no determination of ownership was made.
On 13 September 1976, the National Park Service submitted Sea Research Society's (Spence's) location for H. L. Hunley for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. Spence's location for Hunley became a matter of public record when H. L. Hunleys placement on that list was officially approved on 29 December 1978. Spence's book Treasures of the Confederate Coast, which had a chapter on his discovery of Hunley and included a map complete with an "X" showing the wreck's location, was published in January 1995.
Diver Ralph Wilbanks located the wreck in April 1995, while leading a NUMA dive team originally organized by archaeologist Mark Newell, and funded by novelist Clive Cussler, who announced the find as a new discovery and first claimed that the location was in about of water over inshore of Housatonic, but later admitted to a reporter that that was false. The wreck was actually away from and on the seaward side of Housatonic in of water. The submarine was buried under several feet of silt, which had both concealed and protected the vessel for more than a hundred years. The divers exposed the forward hatch and the ventilator box (the air box for the attachment of her twin snorkels) in order to identify her. The submarine was resting on her starboard side, at about a 45-degree angle, and was covered in a thick encrustation of rust bonded with sand and seashell particles. Archaeologists exposed part of the ship's port side and uncovered the bow dive plane. More probing revealed an approximate length of , with all of the vessel preserved under the sediment.
On 14 September 1995, at the official request of Senator Glenn F. McConnell, Chairman, South Carolina Hunley Commission, E. Lee Spence, with South Carolina Attorney General Charles M. Condon signing, donated Hunley to the State of South Carolina. Shortly thereafter, NUMA disclosed to government officials Wilbank's location for the wreck which, when finally made public in October 2000, matched Spence's 1970s plot of the wreck's location well within standard mapping tolerances. Spence avows that he discovered Hunley in 1970, revisiting and mapping the site in 1971 and again in 1979, and that after he published the location in his 1995 book he expected NUMA to independently verify the wreck as Hunley, not to claim that NUMA had discovered her. NUMA was actually part of a SCIAA expedition directed by Dr. Mark M. Newell and not Cussler. Dr. Newell swore under oath that he used Spence's maps to direct the joint SCIAA/NUMA expedition and credited Spence with the original discovery. Dr. Newell credits his expedition only with the official verification of Hunley.
The in situ underwater archaeological investigation and excavation culminated with the raising of Hunley on 8 August 2000. A large team of professionals from the Naval Historical Center's Underwater Archaeology Branch, National Park Service, the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, and various other individuals investigated the vessel, measuring and documenting her prior to removal. Once the on-site investigation was complete, harnesses were slipped underneath the sub and attached to a truss designed by Oceaneering International. After the last harness had been secured, the crane from the recovery barge Karlissa B hoisted the submarine from the sea floor. She was raised from the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean, just over from Sullivan's Island outside the entrance to Charleston Harbor. Despite having used a sextant and hand-held compass, thirty years earlier, to plot the wreck's location, Dr. Spence's accuracy turned out to be well within the length of the recovery barge, which was long. On 8 August 2000, at 08:37, the sub broke the surface for the first time in more than 136 years, greeted by a cheering crowd on shore and in surrounding watercraft, including author Clive Cussler. Once safely on her transporting barge, Hunley was shipped back to Charleston. The removal operation concluded when the submarine was secured inside the Warren Lasch Conservation Center, at the former Charleston Navy Yard in North Charleston, in a specially designed tank of fresh water to await conservation until she could eventually be exposed to air.
The exploits of Hunley and her final recovery were the subject of an episode of the television series The Sea Hunters, called Hunley: First Kill. This program was based on a section ("Part 6") in Clive Cussler's 1996 non-fiction book of the same name (which was accepted by the Board of Governors of the Maritime College of the State University of New York in lieu of his Ph.D. thesis).
In 2001, Clive Cussler, filed a lawsuit against E. Lee Spence, for unfair competition, injurious falsehood, civil conspiracy, and defamation. Spence filed a countersuit against Cussler, in 2002, seeking damages, claiming that Cussler was engaging in unfair competition, tortious interference, and civil conspiracy by claiming Cussler had discovered the location of the wreck of Hunley in 1995, when she had already been discovered by Spence in 1970, and that such claims by Cussler were damaging to Spence's career, and had caused him damages in excess of $100,000. Spence's lawsuit was dismissed through summary judgment in 2007, on the legal theory that, under the Lanham Act, regardless of whether Cussler's claims were factual or not, Cussler had been making them for over three years before Spence brought his suit against Cussler, and thus the suit was not filed within the statute of limitations. Cussler dropped his suit a year later, after the judge agreed that Spence could introduce evidence in support of his discovery claims as a truth defense against Cussler's claims against him.
Hunley may be viewed during tours at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center, in Charleston. A replica is on display at Battleship Memorial Park, Mobile, Alabama, alongside the and the .
Crew
The crew was composed of Lieutenant George E. Dixon (Commander) (of Alabama or Ohio), Frank Collins (of Virginia), Joseph F. Ridgaway (of Maryland), James A. Wicks (North Carolina native living in Florida), Arnold Becker (of Germany), Corporal Johan Frederik Carlsen (of Denmark), C. Lumpkin (probably of the British Isles), and Augustus Miller (probably a former member of the German Artillery).
Apart from the commander of the submarine, Lieutenant George E. Dixon, the identities of the volunteer crewmen of Hunley had long remained a mystery. Douglas Owsley, a physical anthropologist working for the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, examined the remains and determined that four of the men were American born, while the four others were of European birth, based on the chemical signatures left on the men's teeth and bones by the predominant components of their diet. Four of the men had eaten plenty of corn, an American diet, while the remainder ate mostly wheat and rye, a mainly European one. By examining Civil War records and conducting DNA testing with possible relatives, forensic genealogist Linda Abrams, was able to identify the remains of Dixon, and the three other Americans: Frank G. Collins of Fredericksburg, Va., Joseph Ridgaway, and James A. Wicks. Identifying the European crewmen has been more problematic, but was apparently solved in late 2004. The position of the remains indicated that the men died at their stations and were not trying to escape from the sinking submarine.
On 17 April 2004, the remains of the crew were laid to rest at Magnolia Cemetery, in Charleston. Tens of thousands of people attended including some 6,000 reenactors and 4,000 civilians wearing period clothing. Color guards from all five branches of the U.S. armed forces—wearing modern uniforms—were also in the procession. Even though only two of the crew were from the Confederate States, all were buried with full Confederate honors, including being buried with the 2nd Confederate national flag, known as the Stainless Banner.
Another surprise occurred in 2002, when lead researcher Maria Jacobsen, examining the area close to Lieutenant Dixon, found a misshapen $20 gold piece, minted in 1860, with the inscription "Shiloh April 6, 1862 My life Preserver G. E. D." on a sanded-smooth area of the coin's reverse side, and a forensic anthropologist found a healed injury to Lt. Dixon's hip bone. The findings matched a legend, passed down in the family, that Dixon's sweetheart, Queenie Bennett, had given him the coin to protect him. However, the supposed relationship between Bennett and Dixon has not been supported by archaeological investigation of the legend. Dixon had the coin with him at the Battle of Shiloh, where he was wounded in the thigh on 6 April 1862. The bullet struck the coin in his pocket, saving his leg and possibly his life. He had the gold coin engraved and carried it as a lucky charm.
A.J. Kronegh, of the Danish National Archive, has identified the J.F. Carlsen of Hunley. Johan F. Carlsen, was born in Ærøskøbing 9 April 1841. The last year he is registered in the census of Ærøskøbing is 1860, where he is registered as "sailor". The teeth of his remains in Hunley still bear significant marks of a cobbler, which was the profession of his father. In 1861, J.F. Carlsen entered the freight ship Grethe of Dragør, which landed in Charleston, in February 1861, where J.F. Carlsen left (deserted) the ship. In June 1861, he entered Jefferson Davis (the Confederate privateer brig originally named Putnam) as mate.
Tours
Visitors can obtain tickets for guided tours of the conservation laboratory that houses Hunley, at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center, on weekends. The actual Hunley is preserved and on display in a tank of water, while a replica can be entered by the public. The Center includes artifacts found inside Hunley, exhibits about the submarine and a video. After a yearlong partial hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the H.L. Hunley viewing facility is reopening to the public with self-guided tours and a new multimedia video presentation showing the vessel’s story.
In popular culture
Hunleys story was the subject of the first episode (entitled "The Hunley") of the TV series The Great Adventure. It aired on 27 September 1963, on CBS. The role of Lt. Dixon (misspelled in the credits as "Lt. Dickson") was played by Jackie Cooper.
The original TNT Network made-for-cable movie The Hunley (1999) tells the story of H. L. Hunleys final mission while on station in Charleston. It stars Armand Assante, as Lt. Dixon, and Donald Sutherland, as General Beauregard, Dixon's direct superior on the Hunley project.
Hunley is the inspiration of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, H. L. Hunley JROTC Award, presented to cadets on the basis of strong corps values, honor, courage, and commitment to their unit during the school year.
In the novel The Stingray Shuffle by Tim Dorsey, a minor drug cartel decides to emulate the larger cartels' narco-submarine cocaine trafficking by building a replica of Hunley using blueprints downloaded off the Internet.
The story of the Duke University experiments that concluded the Hunley crew died of pulmonary blast trauma became the subject of the non-fiction book In the Waves: My Quest to Solve the Mystery of a Civil War Submarine by Rachel Lance (2020).
See also
– U. S. Navy submarine launched a year before Hunley
The American Turtle – built in 1775, the world's first submersible with a documented record of use in combat
French submarine Plongeur – launched a few months before Hunley
Peral Submarine – 1888 submarine from Spain, the first to be powered by electric batteries
References
Citations
Bibliography
The H. L. Hunley: The Secret Hope of the Confederacy by Tom Chaffin (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008),
The Hunley: Submarines, Sacrifice & Success in the Civil War by Mark Ragan (Narwhal Press, Charleston/Miami, 1995),
Ghosts from the Coast, "The Man Who Found the Hunley" by Nancy Roberts, UNC Press, 2001,
Treasures of the Confederate Coast: the "real Rhett Butler" & Other Revelations by Dr. E. Lee Spence, (Narwhal Press, Charleston/Miami, 1995),
Civil War Sub
The Voyage of the Hunley,
Raising the Hunley,
The CSS H. L. Hunley,
The CSS Hunley,
Shipwreck Encyclopedia of the Civil War: South Carolina & Georgia, 1861–1865 by Edward Lee Spence (Sullivan's Island, S. C., Shipwreck Press, 1991) OCLC: 24420089
Shipwrecks of South Carolina and Georgia: (includes Spence's List, 1520–1865) Sullivan's Island, S. C. (Sullivan's Island 29482, Sea Research Society, 1984)
Shipwrecks of the Civil War : Charleston, South Carolina, 1861–1865 map by E. Lee Spence (Sullivan's Island, S. C., 1984)
External links
Friends of the Hunley – includes visiting information
Pre-Hunley – Confederate Submarines
The Hunley (TV movie)
Rootsweb
Hunley – Archaeological Interpretation and 3D Reconstruction
H.L. Hunley article, Encyclopedia of Alabama
An Interview with Dr. Lee Spence – Discoverer of the Confederate Submarine HL Hunley
Submarines of the Confederate States Navy
Shipwrecks of the Carolina coast
Shipwrecks on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina
Shipwrecks of the American Civil War
Maritime incidents in February 1864
Archaeological sites in South Carolina
Ships built in Mobile, Alabama
North Charleston, South Carolina
1863 ships
American Civil War museums in South Carolina
Museum ships in South Carolina
National Register of Historic Places in North Charleston, South Carolina
Ships lost with all hands
American Civil War on the National Register of Historic Places
Hand-cranked submarines
Submarine accidents
Maritime incidents in August 1863
Maritime incidents in October 1863 | en |
doc-en-16930 | The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953. All Council of Europe member states are party to the Convention and new members are expected to ratify the convention at the earliest opportunity.
The Convention established the European Court of Human Rights (generally referred to by the initials ECtHR). Any person who feels their rights have been violated under the Convention by a state party can take a case to the Court. Judgments finding violations are binding on the States concerned and they are obliged to execute them. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe monitors the execution of judgements, particularly to ensure payments awarded by the Court appropriately compensate applicants for the damage they have sustained.
The Convention has several protocols, which amend the convention framework.
The Convention has had a significant influence on the law in Council of Europe member countries and is widely considered the most effective international treaty for human rights protection.
History
The European Convention on Human Rights has played an important role in the development and awareness of human rights in Europe.
The development of a regional system of human rights protections operating across Europe can be seen as a direct response to twin concerns. First, in the aftermath of the Second World War, the convention, drawing on the inspiration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, can be seen as part of a wider response from the Allied powers in delivering a human rights agenda to prevent the most serious human rights violations which had occurred during the Second World War from happening again. Second, the Convention was a response to the growth of Stalinism in Central and Eastern Europe and designed to protect the member states of the Council of Europe from communist subversion. This, in part, explains the constant references to values and principles that are "necessary in a democratic society" throughout the Convention, despite the fact that such principles are not in any way defined within the convention itself.
From 7 to 10 May 1948, politicians including Winston Churchill, François Mitterrand and Konrad Adenauer, civil society representatives, academics, business leaders, trade unionists, and religious leaders convened the Congress of Europe in The Hague. At the end of the Congress, a declaration and following pledge to create the Convention was issued. The second and third Articles of the Pledge stated: "We desire a Charter of Human Rights guaranteeing liberty of thought, assembly and expression as well as right to form a political opposition. We desire a Court of Justice with adequate sanctions for the implementation of this Charter."
The Convention was drafted by the Council of Europe after the Second World War and Hague Congress. Over 100 parliamentarians from the twelve member states of the Council of Europe gathered in Strasbourg in the summer of 1949 for the first ever meeting of the Council's Consultative Assembly to draft a "charter of human rights" and to establish a court to enforce it. British MP and lawyer Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe, the Chair of the Assembly's Committee on Legal and Administrative Questions, was one of its leading members and guided the drafting of the Convention, based on an earlier draft produced by the European Movement. As a prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials, he had seen first-hand how international justice could be effectively applied. French former minister and Resistance fighter Pierre-Henri Teitgen submitted a report to the Assembly proposing a list of rights to be protected, selecting a number from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that had recently been agreed to in New York, and defining how the enforcing judicial mechanism might operate. After extensive debates, the Assembly sent its final proposal to the Council's Committee of Ministers, which convened a group of experts to draft the Convention itself.
The Convention was designed to incorporate a traditional civil liberties approach to securing "effective political democracy", from the strongest traditions in the United Kingdom, France and other member states of the fledgling Council of Europe, as said by Guido Raimondi, President of European Court of Human Rights:
The Convention was opened for signature on 4 November 1950 in Rome. It was ratified and entered into force on 3 September 1953. It is overseen and enforced by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, and the Council of Europe. Until procedural reforms in the late 1990s, the Convention was also overseen by a European Commission on Human Rights.
Drafting
The Convention is drafted in broad terms, in a similar (albeit more modern) manner to the 1689 Scottish Claim of Right Act 1689, to the 1689 English Bill of Rights, the 1791 U.S. Bill of Rights, the 1789 French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, or the first part of the German Basic Law. Statements of principle are, from a legal point of view, not determinative and require extensive interpretation by courts to bring out meaning in particular factual situations.
Convention articles
As amended by Protocol 11, the Convention consists of three parts. The main rights and freedoms are contained in Section I, which consists of Articles 2 to 18. Section II (Articles 19 to 51) sets up the Court and its rules of operation. Section III contains various concluding provisions.
Before the entry into force of Protocol 11, Section II (Article 19) set up the Commission and the Court, Sections III (Articles 20 to 37) and IV (Articles 38 to 59) included the high-level machinery for the operation of, respectively, the Commission and the Court, and Section V contained various concluding provisions.
Many of the Articles in Section I are structured in two paragraphs: the first sets out a basic right or freedom (such as Article 2(1) – the right to life) but the second contains various exclusions, exceptions or limitations on the basic right (such as Article 2(2) – which excepts certain uses of force leading to death).
Article 1 – respecting rights
Article 1 simply binds the signatory parties to secure the rights under the other Articles of the Convention "within their jurisdiction". In exceptional cases, "jurisdiction" may not be confined to a Contracting State's own national territory; the obligation to secure Convention rights then also extends to foreign territories, such as occupied land in which the State exercises effective control.
In Loizidou v Turkey, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that jurisdiction of member states to the convention extended to areas under that state's effective control as a result of military action.
Article 2 – life
Article 2 protects the right of every person to their life. The right to life extends only to human beings, not to animals, or to "legal persons" such as corporations. In Evans v United Kingdom, the Court ruled that the question of whether the right to life extends to a human embryo fell within a state's margin of appreciation. In Vo v France, the Court declined to extend the right to life to an unborn child, while stating that "it is neither desirable, nor even possible as matters stand, to answer in the abstract the question whether the unborn child is a person for the purposes of Article 2 of the Convention".
The Court has ruled that states have three main duties under Article 2:
a duty to refrain from unlawful killing,
a duty to investigate suspicious deaths, and
in certain circumstances, a positive duty to prevent foreseeable loss of life.
The first paragraph of the article contains an exception for lawful executions, although this exception has largely been superseded by Protocols 6 and 13. Protocol 6 prohibits the imposition of the death penalty in peacetime, while Protocol 13 extends the prohibition to all circumstances. (For more on Protocols 6 and 13, see below).
The second paragraph of Article 2 provides that death resulting from defending oneself or others, arresting a suspect or fugitive, or suppressing riots or insurrections, will not contravene the Article when the use of force involved is "no more than absolutely necessary".
Signatory states to the Convention can only derogate from the rights contained in Article 2 for deaths which result from lawful acts of war.
The European Court of Human Rights did not rule upon the right to life until 1995, when in McCann and Others v United Kingdom it ruled that the exception contained in the second paragraph does not constitute situations when it is permitted to kill, but situations where it is permitted to use force which might result in the deprivation of life.
Article 3 – torture
Article 3 prohibits torture and "inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment". There are no exceptions or limitations on this right. This provision usually applies, apart from torture, to cases of severe police violence and poor conditions in detention.
The Court has emphasized the fundamental nature of Article 3 in holding that the prohibition is made in "absolute terms ... irrespective of a victim's conduct". The Court has also held that states cannot deport or extradite individuals who might be subjected to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, in the recipient state.
The first case to examine Article 3 was the Greek case, which set an influential precedent. In Ireland v. United Kingdom (1979–1980) the Court ruled that the five techniques developed by the United Kingdom (wall-standing, hooding, subjection to noise, deprivation of sleep, and deprivation of food and drink), as used against fourteen detainees in Northern Ireland by the United Kingdom were "inhuman and degrading" and breached the European Convention on Human Rights, but did not amount to "torture".
In Aksoy v. Turkey (1997) the Court found Turkey guilty of torture in 1996 in the case of a detainee who was suspended by his arms while his hands were tied behind his back.
Selmouni v. France (2000) the Court has appeared to be more open to finding states guilty of torture ruling that since the Convention is a "living instrument", treatment which it had previously characterized as inhuman or degrading treatment might in future be regarded as torture.
In 2014, after new information was uncovered that showed the decision to use the five techniques in Northern Ireland in 1971–1972 had been taken by British ministers, the Irish Government asked the European Court of Human Rights to review its judgement. In 2018, by six votes to one, the Court declined.
Article 4 – servitude
Article 4 prohibits slavery, servitude and forced labour but exempts labour:
done as a normal part of imprisonment,
in the form of compulsory military service or work done as an alternative by conscientious objectors,
required to be done during a state of emergency, and
considered to be a part of a person's normal "civic obligations".
Article 5 – liberty and security
Article 5 provides that everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. Liberty and security of the person are taken as a "compound" concept – security of the person has not been subject to separate interpretation by the Court.
Article 5 provides the right to liberty, subject only to lawful arrest or detention under certain other circumstances, such as arrest on reasonable suspicion of a crime or imprisonment in fulfilment of a sentence. The article also provides those arrested with the right to be informed, in a language they understand, of the reasons for the arrest and any charge they face, the right of prompt access to judicial proceedings to determine the legality of the arrest or detention, to trial within a reasonable time or release pending trial, and the right to compensation in the case of arrest or detention in violation of this article.
Assanidze v. Georgia, App. No. 71503/01 (Eur. Ct. H.R. 8 April 2004)
Article 6 – fair trial
Article 6 provides a detailed right to a fair trial, including the right to a public hearing before an independent and impartial tribunal within reasonable time, the presumption of innocence, and other minimum rights for those charged with a criminal offence (adequate time and facilities to prepare their defence, access to legal representation, right to examine witnesses against them or have them examined, right to the free assistance of an interpreter).
The majority of convention violations that the court finds today are excessive delays, in violation of the "reasonable time" requirement, in civil and criminal proceedings before national courts, mostly in Italy and France. Under the "independent tribunal" requirement, the court has ruled that military judges in Turkish state security courts are incompatible with Article 6. In compliance with this Article, Turkey has now adopted a law abolishing these courts.
Another significant set of violations concerns the "confrontation clause" of Article 6 (i.e. the right to examine witnesses or have them examined). In this respect, problems of compliance with Article 6 may arise when national laws allow the use in evidence of the testimonies of absent, anonymous and vulnerable witnesses.
Steel v. United Kingdom (1998) 28 EHRR 603
Assanidze v. Georgia [2004] ECHR 140
Othman (Abu Qatada) v. United Kingdom (2012) – Abu Qatada could not be deported to Jordan as that would be a violation of Article 6 "given the real risk of the admission of evidence obtained by torture". This was the first time the court ruled that such an expulsion would be a violation of Article 6.
Article 7 – retroactivity
Article 7 prohibits the retroactive criminalisation of acts and omissions. No person may be punished for an act that was not a criminal offence at the time of its commission. The article states that a criminal offence is one under either national or international law, which would permit a party to prosecute someone for a crime which was not illegal under domestic law at the time, so long as it was prohibited by international law. The Article also prohibits a heavier penalty being imposed than was applicable at the time when the criminal act was committed.
Article 7 incorporates the legal principle nullum crimen, nulla poena sine lege (no crime, no penalty without law) into the convention.
Relevant cases are:
Kokkinakis v. Greece [1993] ECHR 20
S.A.S. v. France [2014] ECHR 69
Article 8 – privacy
Article 8 provides a right to respect for one's "private and family life, his home and his correspondence", subject to certain restrictions that are "in accordance with law" and "necessary in a democratic society". This article clearly provides a right to be free of unlawful searches, but the Court has given the protection for "private and family life" that this article provides a broad interpretation, taking for instance that prohibition of private consensual homosexual acts violates this article. There have been cases discussing consensual familial sexual relationships, and how the criminalisation of this may violate this article. However, the ECHR still allows such familial sexual acts to be criminal. This may be compared to the jurisprudence of the United States Supreme Court, which has also adopted a somewhat broad interpretation of the right to privacy. Furthermore, Article 8 sometimes comprises positive obligations: whereas classical human rights are formulated as prohibiting a State from interfering with rights, and thus not to do something (e.g. not to separate a family under family life protection), the effective enjoyment of such rights may also include an obligation for the State to become active, and to do something (e.g. to enforce access for a divorced parent to his/her child).
Notable cases:
Zakharov v. Russia [2015] EHCR 47143/06
Malone v. United Kingdom [1984] ECHR 10, (1984) 7 EHRR 14
Oliari and Others v. Italy (2015)
Article 9 – conscience and religion
Article 9 provides a right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This includes the freedom to change a religion or belief, and to manifest a religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance, subject to certain restrictions that are "in accordance with law" and "necessary in a democratic society".
Relevant cases are:
Kokkinakis v. Greece [1993] ECHR 20
Universelles Leben e.V. v. Germany [1996] (app. no. 29745/96)
Buscarini and Others v. San Marino [1999] ECHR 7
Pichon and Sajous v. France [2001] ECHR 898
Leyla Şahin v. Turkey [2004] ECHR 299
Leela Förderkreis E.V. and Others v. Germany [2008] ECHR
Lautsi v. Italy [2011] ECHR 2412
S.A.S. v. France [2014] ECHR 695
Eweida v. United Kingdom [2013] ECHR 2013
Article 10 – expression
Article 10 provides the right to freedom of expression, subject to certain restrictions that are "in accordance with law" and "necessary in a democratic society". This right includes the freedom to hold opinions, and to receive and impart information and ideas, but allows restrictions for:
interests of national security
territorial integrity or public safety
prevention of disorder or crime
protection of health or morals
protection of the reputation or the rights of others
preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence
maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary
Relevant cases are:
Lingens v. Austria (1986) 8 EHRR 407
The Observer and The Guardian v. United Kingdom (1991) 14 EHRR 153, the "Spycatcher" case.
Bowman v. United Kingdom [1998] ECHR 4, (1998) 26 EHRR 1, distributing vast quantities of anti-abortion material in contravention of election spending laws
Communist Party v. Turkey (1998) 26 EHRR 1211
Appleby v. United Kingdom (2003) 37 EHRR 38, protests in a private shopping centre
Article 11 – association
Article 11 protects the right to freedom of assembly and association, including the right to form trade unions, subject to certain restrictions that are "in accordance with law" and "necessary in a democratic society".
Vogt v. Germany (1995)
Yazar, Karatas, Aksoy and Hep v. Turkey (2003) 36 EHRR 59
Bączkowski v. Poland (2005)
Article 12 – marriage
Article 12 provides a right for women and men of marriageable age to marry and establish a family.
Despite a number of invitations, the Court has so far refused to apply the protections of this article to same-sex marriage. The Court has defended this on the grounds that the article was intended to apply only to different-sex marriage, and that a wide margin of appreciation must be granted to parties in this area.
In Goodwin v. United Kingdom the Court ruled that a law which still classified post-operative transsexual persons under their pre-operative sex violated article 12 as it meant that transsexual persons were unable to marry individuals of their post-operative opposite sex. This reversed an earlier ruling in Rees v. United Kingdom. This did not, however, alter the Court's understanding that Article 12 protects only different-sex couples.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled in Schalk and Kopf v. Austria that countries are not required to provide marriage licenses for same-sex couples; however, if a country allows same-sex couple marriage it must be done under the same conditions that opposite-sex couples marriage face, in order to prevent a breach of article 14 – the prohibition of discrimination. Additionally, the court ruled in the 2015 case of Oliari and Others v. Italy that states have a positive obligation to ensure there is a specific legal framework for the recognition and protection of same-sex couples.
Article 13 – effective remedy
Article 13 provides for the right for an effective remedy before national authorities for violations of rights under the Convention. The inability to obtain a remedy before a national court for an infringement of a Convention right is thus a free-standing and separately actionable infringement of the Convention.
Article 14 – discrimination
Article 14 contains a prohibition of discrimination. This prohibition is broad in some ways and narrow in others. It is broad in that it prohibits discrimination under a potentially unlimited number of grounds. While the article specifically prohibits discrimination based on "sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinions, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status", the last of these allows the court to extend to Article 14 protection to other grounds not specifically mentioned such as has been done regarding discrimination based on a person's sexual orientation.
At the same time, the article's protection is limited in that it only prohibits discrimination with respect to rights under the Convention. Thus, an applicant must prove discrimination in the enjoyment of a specific right that is guaranteed elsewhere in the Convention (e.g. discrimination based on sex – Article 14 – in the enjoyment of the right to freedom of expression – Article 10).
Protocol 12 extends this prohibition to cover discrimination in any legal right, even when that legal right is not protected under the Convention, so long as it is provided for in national law.
Article 15 – derogations
Article 15 allows contracting states to derogate from certain rights guaranteed by the Convention in a time of "war or other public emergency threatening the life of the nation". Permissible derogations under article 15 must meet three substantive conditions:
there must be a public emergency threatening the life of the nation;
any measures taken in response must be "strictly required by the exigencies of the situation"; and
the measures taken in response to it must be in compliance with a state's other obligations under international law.
In addition to these substantive requirements, the derogation must be procedurally sound. There must be some formal announcement of the derogation and notice of the derogation and any measures adopted under it, and the ending of the derogation must be communicated to the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe.
As of 2016, eight member states had ever invoked derogations. The Court is quite permissive in accepting a state's derogations from the Convention but applies a higher degree of scrutiny in deciding whether measures taken by states under a derogation are, in the words of Article 15, "strictly required by the exigencies of the situation". Thus in A v United Kingdom, the Court dismissed a claim that a derogation lodged by the British government in response to the September 11 attacks was invalid, but went on to find that measures taken by the United Kingdom under that derogation were disproportionate.
Examples of such derogations include:
In the 1969 Greek case, the European Commission of Human Rights ruled that the derogation was invalid because the alleged Communist subversion did not pose a sufficient threat. This is the only time to date that the Convention system has rejected an attempted derogation.
Operation Demetrius—Internees arrested without trial pursuant to "Operation Demetrius" could not complain to the European Commission of Human Rights about breaches of Article 5 because on 27 June 1975, the UK lodged a notice with the Council of Europe declaring that there was a "public emergency within the meaning of Article 15(1) of the Convention".
Article 16 – foreign parties
Article 16 allows states to restrict the political activity of foreigners. The Court has ruled that European Union member states cannot consider the nationals of other member states to be aliens.
Article 17 – abuse of rights
Article 17 provides that no one may use the rights guaranteed by the Convention to seek the abolition or limitation of rights guaranteed in the Convention. This addresses instances where states seek to restrict a human right in the name of another human right, or where individuals rely on a human right to undermine other human rights (for example where an individual issues a death threat).
Communist Party of Germany v. the Federal Republic of Germany (1957), the Commission refused to consider the appeal by the Communist Party of Germany, stating that the communist doctrine advocated by them is incompatible with the convention, citing article 17's limitations on the rights to the extent necessarily to prevent their subversion by adherents of a totalitarian doctrine.
Article 18 – permitted restrictions
Article 18 provides that any limitations on the rights provided for in the Convention may be used only for the purpose for which they are provided. For example, Article 5, which guarantees the right to personal freedom, may be explicitly limited in order to bring a suspect before a judge. To use pre-trial detention as a means of intimidation of a person under a false pretext is, therefore, a limitation of right (to freedom) which does not serve an explicitly provided purpose (to be brought before a judge), and is therefore contrary to Article 18.
Convention protocols
, fifteen protocols to the Convention have been opened for signature. These can be divided into two main groups: those amending the framework of the convention system, and those expanding the rights that can be protected. The former require unanimous ratification by member states before coming into force, while the latter require a certain number of states to sign before coming into force.
Protocol 1
This Protocol contains three different rights which the signatories could not agree to place in the Convention itself. Monaco and Switzerland have signed but never ratified Protocol 1.
Article 1 – property
Article 1 ("A1P1") provides that "every natural or legal person is entitled to the peaceful enjoyment of his possessions". The European Court of Human Rights acknowledged a violation of the fair balance between the demands of the general interest of the community and the requirements of the protection of the individual's fundamental rights, also, in the uncertainty – for the owner – about the future of the property, and in the absence of an allowance.
Article 2 – education
Article 2 provides for the right not to be denied an education and the right for parents to have their children educated in accordance with their religious and other views. It does not however guarantee any particular level of education of any particular quality.
Although phrased in the Protocol as a negative right, in Şahin v. Turkey the Court ruled that:
Article 3 – elections
Article 3 provides for the right to elections performed by secret ballot, that are also free and that occur at regular intervals.
Matthews v. United Kingdom (1999) 28 EHRR 361
Protocol 4 – civil imprisonment, free movement, expulsion
Article 1 prohibits the imprisonment of people for inability to fulfil a contract. Article 2 provides for a right to freely move within a country once lawfully there and for a right to leave any country. Article 3 prohibits the expulsion of nationals and provides for the right of an individual to enter a country of their nationality. Article 4 prohibits the collective expulsion of foreigners.
Turkey and the United Kingdom have signed but never ratified Protocol 4. Greece and Switzerland have neither signed nor ratified this protocol.
The United Kingdom's failure to ratify this protocol is due to concerns over the interaction of Article 2 and Article 3 with British nationality law. Specifically, several classes of "British national" (such as British National (Overseas)) do not have the right of abode in the United Kingdom and are subject to immigration control there. In 2009, the UK government stated that it had no plans to ratify Protocol 4 because of concerns that those articles could be taken as conferring that right.
Protocol 6 – restriction of death penalty
Requires parties to restrict the application of the death penalty to times of war or "imminent threat of war".
Every Council of Europe member state has signed and ratified Protocol 6, except Russia, which has signed but not ratified.
Protocol 7 – crime and family
Article 1 provides for a right to fair procedures for lawfully resident foreigners facing expulsion.
Article 2 provides for the right to appeal in criminal matters.
Article 3 provides for compensation for the victims of miscarriages of justice.
Article 4 prohibits the re-trial of anyone who has already been finally acquitted or convicted of a particular offence (Double jeopardy).
Article 5 provides for equality between spouses.
Despite having signed the protocol more than thirty years ago Germany and the Netherlands have never ratified it. Turkey, which signed the protocol in 1985, ratified it in 2016, becoming the latest member state to do so. The United Kingdom has neither signed nor ratified the protocol.
Protocol 12 – discrimination
Applies the current expansive and indefinite grounds of prohibited discrimination in Article 14 to the exercise of any legal right and to the actions (including the obligations) of public authorities.
The Protocol entered into force on 1 April 2005 and has () been ratified by 20 member states. Several member states—Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Lithuania, Monaco, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom—have not signed the protocol.
The United Kingdom government has declined to sign Protocol 12 on the basis that they believe the wording of protocol is too wide and would result in a flood of new cases testing the extent of the new provision. They believe that the phrase "rights set forth by law" might include international conventions to which the UK is not a party, and would result in incorporation of these instruments by stealth. It has been suggested that the protocol is therefore in a catch-22, since the UK will decline to either sign or ratify the protocol until the European Court of Human Rights has addressed the meaning of the provision, while the court is hindered in doing so by the lack of applications to the court concerning the protocol caused by the decisions of Europe's most populous states—including the UK—not to ratify the protocol. The UK government, nevertheless, stated in 2004 that it "agrees in principle that the ECHR should contain a provision against discrimination that is free-standing and not parasitic on the other Convention rights". The first judgment that found a violation of Protocol No. 12, Sejdić and Finci v. Bosnia and Herzegovina, was delivered in 2009.
Protocol 13 – complete abolition of death penalty
Protocol 13 provides for the total abolition of the death penalty. Currently all Council of Europe member states but three have ratified Protocol 13. Armenia has signed but not ratified the protocol. Russia and Azerbaijan have not signed it.
Procedural and institutional protocols
The Convention's provisions affecting institutional and procedural matters have been altered several times by means of protocols. These amendments have, with the exception of Protocol 2, amended the text of the convention. Protocol 2 did not amend the text of the convention as such but stipulated that it was to be treated as an integral part of the text. All of these protocols have required the unanimous ratification of all the member states of the Council of Europe to enter into force.
Protocol 11
Protocols 2, 3, 5, 8, 9 and 10 have now been superseded by Protocol 11 which entered into force on 1 November 1998. It established a fundamental change in the machinery of the convention. It abolished the Commission, allowing individuals to apply directly to the Court, which was given compulsory jurisdiction and altered the latter's structure. Previously states could ratify the Convention without accepting the jurisdiction of the Court of Human Rights. The protocol also abolished the judicial functions of the Committee of Ministers.
Protocol 14
Protocol 14 follows on from Protocol 11 in proposing to further improve the efficiency of the Court. It seeks to "filter" out cases that have less chance of succeeding along with those that are broadly similar to cases brought previously against the same member state. Furthermore, a case will not be considered admissible where an applicant has not suffered a "significant disadvantage". This latter ground can only be used when an examination of the application on the merits is not considered necessary and where the subject-matter of the application had already been considered by a national court.
A new mechanism was introduced by Protocol 14 to assist enforcement of judgements by the Committee of Ministers. The Committee can ask the Court for an interpretation of a judgement and can even bring a member state before the Court for non-compliance of a previous judgement against that state. Protocol 14 also allows for European Union accession to the Convention. The protocol has been ratified by every Council of Europe member state, Russia being last in February 2010. It entered into force on 1 June 2010.
A provisional Protocol 14bis had been opened for signature in 2009. Pending the ratification of Protocol 14 itself, 14bis was devised to allow the Court to implement revised procedures in respect of the states which have ratified it. It allowed single judges to reject manifestly inadmissible applications made against the states that have ratified the protocol. It also extended the competence of three-judge chambers to declare applications made against those states admissible and to decide on their merits where there already is a well-established case law of the Court. Now that all Council of Europe member states have ratified Protocol 14, Protocol 14bis has lost its raison d'être and according to its own terms ceased to have any effect when Protocol 14 entered into force on 1 June 2010.
See also
Strasbourg Observers
Capital punishment in Europe
Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union
European Social Charter
Human Rights Act 1998 for how the Convention has been incorporated into the law of the United Kingdom.
Human rights in Europe
Territorial scope of European Convention on Human Rights
European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003 Irish Act similar to the British Human Rights Act 1998.
International Institute of Human Rights
United Kingdom constitutional law
Notes
Further reading
Kälin W., Künzli J. (2019). The Law of International Human Rights Protection. .
External links
Official text of the European Convention on Human Rights
Protocols to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
Database of European Human Rights Court (Strasbourg) judgments
Human rights instruments
Convention on Human Rights
Treaties concluded in 1950
Treaties entered into force in 1953
Treaties of Albania
Treaties of Andorra
Treaties of Armenia
Treaties of Austria
Treaties of Azerbaijan
Treaties of Belgium
Treaties of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Treaties of Bulgaria
Treaties of Croatia
Treaties of Cyprus
Treaties of the Czech Republic
Treaties of Denmark
Treaties of Estonia
Treaties of Finland
Treaties of France
Treaties of Georgia (country)
Treaties of West Germany
Treaties of Greece
Treaties of Hungary
Treaties of Iceland
Treaties of Ireland
Treaties of Italy
Treaties of Latvia
Treaties of Liechtenstein
Treaties of Lithuania
Treaties of Luxembourg
Treaties of Malta
Treaties of Moldova
Treaties of Monaco
Treaties of Montenegro
Treaties of the Netherlands
Treaties of Norway
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Treaties of Romania
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Treaties of San Marino
Treaties of Serbia and Montenegro
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1950 in Italy
1950s in Rome
Anti–death penalty treaties | en |
doc-en-5308 | Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. According to the International Skating Union (ISU), the governing body of figure skating, an ice dance team consists of one woman and one man.
Ice dance, like pair skating, has its roots in the "combined skating" developed in the 19th century by skating clubs and organizations and in recreational social skating. Couples and friends would skate waltzes, marches, and other social dances. The first steps in ice dance were similar to those used in ballroom dancing. In the late 1800s, American Jackson Haines, known as "the Father of Figure Skating", brought his style of skating, which included waltz steps and social dances, to Europe. By the end of the 19th century, waltzing competitions on the ice became popular throughout the world. By the early 1900s, ice dance was popular around the world and was primarily a recreational sport, although during the 1920s, local skating clubs in Britain and the U.S. conducted informal dance contests. Recreational skating became more popular during the 1930s in England.
The first national competitions occurred in England, Canada, the U.S., and Austria during the 1930s. The first international ice dance competition took place as a special event at the World Championships in 1950 in London. British ice dance teams dominated the sport throughout the 1950s and 1960s, then Soviet teams up until the 1990s. Ice dance was formally added to the 1952 World Figure Skating Championships; it became an Olympic sport in 1976. In the 1980s and 1990s, there was an attempt by ice dancers, their coaches, and choreographers to move ice dance away from its ballroom origins to more theatrical performances. The ISU pushed back by tightening rules and definitions of ice dance to emphasize its connection to ballroom dancing. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, ice dance lost much of its integrity as a sport after a series of judging scandals, which also affected the other figure skating disciplines. There were calls to suspend the sport for a year to deal with the dispute, which seemed to affect ice dance teams from North America the most. Teams from North America began to dominate the sport starting in the early 2000s.
Before the 2010–11 figure skating season, there were three segments in ice dance competitions: the compulsory dance (CD), the original dance (OD), and the free dance (FD). In 2010, the ISU voted to change the competition format by eliminating the CD and the OD and adding the new short dance (SD) segment to the competition schedule. In 2018, the ISU voted to rename the short dance to the rhythm dance (RD).
Ice dance has required elements that competitors must perform and that make up a well-balanced ice dance program. They include the dance lift, the dance spin, the step sequence, twizzles, and choreographic elements. These must be performed in specific ways, as described in published communications by the ISU, unless otherwise specified. Each year the ISU publishes a list specifying the points that can be deducted from performance scores for various reasons, including falls, interruptions, and violations of the rules concerning time, music, and clothing.
History
Beginnings
Ice dance, like pair skating, has its roots in the "combined skating" developed in the 19th century by skating clubs and organizations and in recreational social skating. Couples and friends would skate waltzes, marches, and other social dances together. According to writer Ellyn Kestnbaum, ice dance began with late 19th-century attempts by the Viennese and British to create ballroom-style performances on ice skates. However, figure skating historian James Hines argues that ice dance had its beginnings in hand-in-hand skating, a short-lived but popular discipline of figure skating in England in the 1890s; many of the positions used in modern ice dance can be traced back to hand-in-hand skating. The first steps in ice dance were similar to those used in ballroom dancing, so unlike modern ice dance, skaters tended to keep both feet on the ice most of the time, without the "long and flowing edges associated with graceful figure skating".
In the late 1800s, American Jackson Haines, known as "the Father of Figure Skating", brought his style of skating to Europe. He taught people in Vienna how to dance on the ice, both singly and with partners. Capitalizing on the popularity of the waltz in Vienna, Haines introduced the American waltz, a simple four-step sequence, each step lasting one beat of music, repeated as the partners moved in a circular pattern. By the 1880s, it and the Jackson Haines waltz, a variation of the American waltz, were among the most popular ice dances. Other popular ice dance steps included the mazurka, a version of the Jackson Haines waltz developed in Sweden, and the three-step waltz, which Hines considered "the direct predecessor of ice dancing in the modern sense".
By the end of the 19th century, the three-step waltz, called the English waltz in Europe, became the standard for waltzing competitions. It was first skated in Paris in 1894; Hines stated that it was responsible for the popularity of ice dance in Europe. The three-step waltz was easy and could be done by less skilled skaters, although more experienced skaters added variations to make it more difficult. Two other steps, the killian and the ten-step, survived into the 20th century. The ten-step, which became the fourteen-step, was first skated by Franz Schöller in 1889. Also in the 1890s, combined and hand-in-hand skating moved skating away from basic figures to the continuous movement of ice dancers around an ice rink. Hines insists that the popularity of skating waltzes, which depended upon the speed and flow across the ice of couples in dance positions and not just on holding hands with a partner, ended the popularity of hand-in-hand skating. Hines writes that Vienna was "the dancing capital of Europe, both on and off skates" during the 19th century; by the end of the century, waltzing competitions became popular throughout the world. The killian, first skated in 1909 by Austrian Karl Schreiter, was the last ice dance invented before World War I still being done as of the 21st century.
Early years
By the early 1900s, ice dance was popular around the world and was primarily a recreational sport, although during the 1920s, local clubs in Britain and the U.S. conducted informal dance contests in the ten-step, the fourteen-step, and the killian, which were the only three dances used in competition until the 1930s. Recreational skating became more popular during the 1930s in England, and new and more difficult set-pattern dances, which later were used in compulsory dances during competitions, were developed. According to Hines, the development of new ice dances was necessary to expand upon the three dances already developed; three British teams in the 1930s—Erik van der Wyden and Eva Keats, Reginald Wilkie and Daphne B. Wallis, and Robert Dench and Rosemarie Stewart—created one-fourth of the dances used in International Skating Union (ISU) competitions by 2006. In 1933, the Westminster Skating Club conducted a competition encouraging the creation of new dances. Beginning in the mid-1930s, national organizations began to introduce skating proficiency tests in set-pattern dances, improve the judging of dance tests, and oversee competitions. The first national competitions occurred in England in 1934, Canada in 1935, the U.S. in 1936, and Austria in 1937. These competitions included one or more compulsory dances, the original dance, and the free dance. By the late 1930s, ice dancers swelled memberships in skating clubs throughout the world, and in Hines' words "became the backbone of skating clubs".
The ISU began to develop rules, standards, and international tests for ice dance in the 1950s. The first international ice dance competition occurred as a special event during the 1950 World Figure Skating Championships in London; Lois Waring and Michael McGean of the U.S. won the event, much to the embarrassment of the British, who considered themselves the best ice dancers in the world. A second event was planned the following year, at the 1951 World Championships in Milan; Jean Westwood and Lawrence Demmy of Great Britain came in first place. Ice dance, with the CD and FD segments, was formally added to the World Championships in 1952. Westwood and Demmy won that year, and went on to dominate ice dance, winning the next four World Championships as well. British teams won every world ice dance title through 1960. Eva Romanova and Pavel Roman of Czechoslovakia were the first non-British ice dancers to win a world title, in 1962.
1970s to 1990s
Ice dance became an Olympic sport in 1976; Lyudmila Pakhomova and Alexandr Gorshkov from the Soviet Union were the first gold medalists. The Soviets dominated ice dance during most of the 1970s, as they did in pair skating. They won every Worlds and Olympic title between 1970 and 1978, and won medals at every competition between 1976 and 1982. In 1984, British dancers Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, who Hines calls "the greatest ice dancers in the history of the sport", briefly interrupted Soviet domination of ice dance by winning a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Sarajevo. Their free dance to Ravel's Boléro has been called "probably the most well known single program in the history of ice dance". Hines asserts that Torvill and Dean, with their innovative choreography, dramatically altered "established concepts of ice dancing".
During the 1970s, there was a movement in ice dance away from its ballroom roots to a more theatrical style. The top Soviet teams were the first to emphasize the dramatic aspects of ice dance, as well as the first to choreograph their programs around a central theme. They also incorporated elements of ballet techniques, especially "the classic ballet pas de deux of the high-art instance of a man and woman dancing together". They performed as predictable characters, included body positions that were no longer rooted in traditional ballroom holds, and used music with less predictable rhythms.
The ISU pushed back during the 1980s and 1990s by tightening rules and definitions of ice dance to emphasize its connection to ballroom dancing, especially in the free dance. The restrictions introduced during this period were designed to emphasize skating skills rather than the theatrical and dramatic aspects of ice dance. Kestnbaum argues that there was a conflict in the ice dance community between social dance, represented by the British, the Canadians, and the Americans, and theatrical dance represented by the Russians. Initially the historic and traditional cultural school of ice dance prevailed, but in 1998 the ISU reduced penalties for violations and relaxed rules on technical content, in what Hines describes as a "major step forward" in recognizing the move towards more theatrical skating in ice dance.
At the 1998 Olympics, while ice dance was struggling to retain its integrity and legitimacy as a sport, writer Jere Longman reported that ice dance was "mired in controversies", including bloc voting by the judges that favored European dance teams. There were even calls to suspend the sport for a year to deal with the dispute, which seemed to impact ice dance teams from North America the most. A series of judging scandals in the late 1990s and early 2000s, affecting most figure skating disciplines, culminated in a controversy at the 2002 Olympics.
21st century
The European dominance of ice dance was interrupted at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver by Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir and Americans Meryl Davis and Charlie White. The Canadian ice dance team won the first Olympic ice dance gold medal for North America, and the Americans won the silver. Russians Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin won bronze, but it was the first time Europeans had not won a gold medal in the history of ice dance at the Olympics. The U.S. then began to dominate international competitions in ice dance; at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Davis and White won the Olympic gold medal. In 2018, at the Olympics in Pyeongchang, Virtue and Moir became the most decorated figure skaters in Olympic history after winning the gold medal there.
According to Caroline Silby, a consultant with U.S. Figure Skating, ice dance teams and pair skaters have the added challenge of strengthening partnerships and ensuring that teams stay together for several years; unresolved conflict between partners can often cause the early break-up of a team. Silby further asserts that the early demise or break-up of a team is often caused by consistent and unresolved conflict between partners. Both ice dancers and pairs skaters face challenges that make conflict resolution and communication difficult: fewer available boys for girls to partner with; different priorities regarding commitment and scheduling; differences in partners' ages and developmental stages; differences in family situations; the common necessity of one or both partners moving to train at a new facility; and different skill levels when the partnership is formed. Silby estimates that the lack of effective communication within dance and pairs teams is associated with a six-fold increase in the risk of ending their partnerships. Teams with strong skills in communication and conflict resolution, however, tend to produce more successful medalists at national championship events.
Competition segments
Before the 2010–2011 figure skating season, there were three segments in ice dance competitions: the compulsory dance (CD), the original dance (OD), and the free dance (FD). In 2010, after many years of pressure from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to restructure competitive ice dance to follow the other figure skating disciplines, the ISU voted to change the competition format by eliminating the CD and the OD and adding the new short dance segment to the competition schedule. According to the then-president of the ISU, Ottavio Cinquanta, the changes were also made because "the compulsory dances were not very attractive for spectators and television". This new ice dance competition format was first included in the 2010–2011 season, incorporating just two segments: the short dance (renamed the rhythm dance, or RD in 2018) and the free dance.
Rhythm dance
The RD is the first segment performed in all junior and senior ice dance competitions. It combines many of the elements of the CD and the OD, retaining the characteristic set patterns of the CD, in which each dance team must perform the same two patterns of a set "pattern dance", providing "an essential comparison of the dancers' technical skills". The ice dance team is judged on how well the pattern dance is integrated into the entire RD routine. The RD must also include a short six-second lift, a set of twizzles, and a step sequence.
The rhythms and themes of the RD are determined by the ISU prior to the start of each new season. The RD should be "developed through skating skill and quality", instead of through "non-skating actions such as sliding on one knee" or through the use of toe steps (which should only be used to reflect the dance's character and the music's nuances and underlining rhythm). The RD must have a duration of two minutes and fifty seconds.
The first RD in international competitions was performed by U.S. junior ice dancers Anastasia Cannuscio and Colin McManus, at the 2010 Junior Grand Prix Courchevel. , at the NHK Trophy, French ice dancers Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron hold the five highest RD scores, including the highest RD score of 90.03 points.
Free dance
The free dance takes place after the RD in all junior and senior ice dance competitions. The "2019 U.S. Figure Skating Rulebook" defines it as "the skating by the couple of a creative dance program blending dance steps and movements expressing the character/rhythm(s) of the dance music chosen by the couple". The program must be skated on the entire surface of the ice and be well-balanced. It must contain required combinations of elements (spins, lifts, steps, and movements), and choreography that express both the characters of the competitors and their music. It must also display the skaters' "excellent skating technique" and creativity in expression, concept, and arrangement. The free dance's choreography must reflect the music's accents, nuances, and dance character, and the ice dancers must not skate only to the melody alone, but also primarily in time to the music's rhythmic beat. For senior ice dancers, the free dance must have a duration of four minutes; for juniors, three-and-one-half minutes.
, at the NHK Trophy, Papadakis and Cizeron hold the five highest free dance scores, including the highest free dance score of 136.58points.
Discontinued segments
Compulsory dance
Before 2010, the CD was the first segment performed in ice dance competitions. The teams performed the same pattern around two circuits of the rink, one team after another, using the same step sequences and the same standardized tempo chosen by the ISU before the beginning of each season. The CD has been compared with compulsory figures; competitors were "judged for their mastery of fundamental elements". Early in ice dance history, the CD contributed 60% of the total score.
The 2010 World Championships was the last event to include a CD (the Golden Waltz); Federica Faiella and Massimo Scali from Italy were the last ice dance team to perform a CD in international competition.
Original dance
The OD was first added to ice dance competitions in 1967. It was called the "original set pattern dance" until 1990, when it became known simply as the "original dance". The OD remained the second competition segment (sandwiched between the CD and the free dance) until the end of the 2009–2010 season. Ice dancers were able to create their own routines, but they had to use a set rhythm and type of music which, like the compulsory dances, changed every season and was selected by the ISU in advance. The timing and interpretation of the rhythm were considered to be the most important aspects of the routine, and were worth the highest proportion of the OD score. The routine had a two-minute time limit and the OD accounted for 30% of the overall competition score.
Canadian ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir hold the highest OD score of 70.27 points, achieved at the 2010 World Championships.
Competition elements
Ice dance has required elements that ice dancers must perform during a competition to make up a well-balanced skating program, including the dance lift, the dance spin, the step sequence, turn sequences, and choreographic elements. They must be performed in specific ways, as described in published communications by the ISU, unless otherwise specified.
Dance lift: "a movement in which one of the partners is elevated with active and/or passive assistance of the other partner to any permitted height, sustained there and set down on the ice". The ISU permits any rotation, position, and changes of position during a dance lift. Dance lifts are delineated from pair lifts to ensure that ice dance and pair skating remain separate disciplines. After the judging system changed from the 6.0 system to the ISU Judging System, dance lifts became more "athletic, dramatic and exciting".
Dance spin: "a spin skated by the Couple together in any hold". There are two types of dance spins: the spin and the combination spin, which is multiple spins in succession.
Step sequence: "a series of prescribed or un-prescribed steps, turns and movements".
Turn sequences: a set of twizzles and a one foot turns sequence, or "Specified Turns performed on one foot by each partner simultaneously, in Hold or separately".
Choreographic elements: "a listed or unlisted movement or series of movement(s) as specified".
Rules and regulations
Skaters must execute the prescribed elements at least once; any extra or unprescribed elements will not be counted in their score. Only the first attempt of an element is scored. In 1974, the ISU published the first judges' handbook describing what judges needed to look for during ice dance competitions. Violations in ice dance include falls and interruptions, time, music, and clothing.
Falls and interruptions
According to ice dancer and commentator Tanith White, unlike in other disciplines wherein skaters can make up for their falls in other elements, falls in ice dance usually mean that the team will not win. White argues that falls are rare in ice dance, and since falls constitute interruptions, they tend to have large deductions because the mood of their program's theme is broken. The ISU defines a fall as the "loss of control by a Skater with the result that the majority of his/her own body weight is on the ice supported by any other part of the body other than the blades; e.g. hand(s), knee(s), back, buttock(s) or any part of the arm". The ISU defines an interruption as "the period of time starting immediately when the Competitor stops performing the program or is ordered to do so by the Referee, whichever is earlier, and ending when the Competitor resumes the performance". A study conducted during a U.S. national competition including 58 ice dancers recorded an average of 0.97 injuries per athlete.
In ice dance, teams can lose one point for every fall by one partner, and two points if both partners fall. If there is an interruption while performing their program, ice dancers can lose one point if it lasts more than ten seconds but not over twenty seconds. They can lose two points if the interruption lasts twenty seconds but not over thirty seconds, and three points if it lasts thirty seconds but not more than forty seconds. They can lose five points if the interruption lasts three or more minutes. Teams can also lose points if a fall or interruption occurs during the beginning of an elevating moment in a dance lift, or as the man begins to lift the woman. They can lose an additional five points if the interruption is caused by an "adverse condition" up to three minutes before the start of their program.
Time
Judges penalize ice dancers one point up to every five seconds for ending their pattern dances too early or too late. Dancers can also be penalized one point for up to every five seconds "in excess of [the] permitted time after the last prescribed step" (their final movement and/or pose) in their pattern dances. If they start their programs between one and thirty seconds late, they can lose one point. Restrictions for finishing the rhythm and free dance are similar to the requirements of the other disciplines in figure skating. They can complete these programs within plus or minus ten seconds of the required times; if they cannot, judges can deduct points for finishing their program up to five seconds too early or too late. If they begin skating any element after their required time (plus the required ten seconds they have to begin), they earn no points for those elements. If the program's duration is "thirty (30) seconds or more under the required time range, no marks will be awarded".
If a team performs a dance lift that exceeds the permitted duration, judges can deduct one point. White argues that deductions in ice dance, in the absence of a fall or interruption, are most often due to "extended lifts", or lifts that last too long.
Music
The ISU defines interpretation of the music and timing in ice dance as "the personal, creative, and genuine translation of the rhythm, character and content of music to movement on ice". The ISU has allowed vocals in the music used in ice dance since the 1997–1998 season, most likely because of the difficulty in finding suitable music without words for certain genres. Judges take the following things into account when scoring ice dances: timing (steps and movement in time to the music); the expression of the character and/or feeling and rhythm of the music, when they can be identified clearly; the use of finesse; the relationship between the dancers' ability to reflect the rhythm and character of the music; if the dancers skate primarily to the rhythmic beat during their rhythm dance; and if they can keep a "good balance" between skating to the melody and beat during their free dance.
Violations against the music requirements have a two-point deduction, and violations against the dance tempo requirements have a one-point deduction. Judges can deduct one point per program if the ice dancers break choreography restrictions. If the quality or tempo of the music the team uses in their program is deficient, or if there is a stop or interruption in their music, for any reason, they must stop skating when they become aware of the problem "or at the acoustic signal of the Referee", whichever occurs first. If any problems with the music happens within 20 seconds after they have begun their program, the team can choose to either restart their program or to continue from the point where they have stopped performing. If they decide to continue from the point where they stopped, they are continued to be judged at that point onward, as well as their performance up to that point. If any of the above mentioned problems occurs over 20 seconds after the start their program, they team can resume their program from the point of the interruption or at the point immediately before an element, if the interruption occurred at the entrance to or during the element. The element must be deleting from the team's score and the team can repeat the deleted element when they resume their program. No deductions are made for interruptions caused by music deficiencies.
Clothing
As for the other disciplines of figure skating, the clothing worn by ice dancers at ISU Championships, the Olympics, and international competitions must be "modest, dignified and appropriate for athletic competition—not garish or theatrical in design". Rules about clothing tend to be more strict in ice dance; Juliet Newcomer from U.S. Figure Skating has speculated limits in the kind of costumes ice dancers chose were pushed farther during the 1990s and early 2000s than in the other disciplines, resulting in stricter rules. Clothing can, however, reflect the character of ice dancers' chosen music. Their costumes must not "give the effect of excessive nudity inappropriate for the discipline".
All men must wear trousers. Female ice dancers must wear skirts. Accessories and props on the costumes of both dancers are not allowed. The decorations on costumes must be "non-detachable"; judges can deduct one point per program if part of the competitors' costumes or decorations fall on the ice. If there is a costume or prop violation, the judges can deduct one point per program. If competitors do not adhere to these guidelines, the judges can deduct points from their total score, if most of the panel, including the referee, thinks a team's outfit is inappropriate or non-compliant. However, costume deductions are rare. According to Newcomer, by the time skaters get to a national or world championship, they have received enough feedback about their costumes and are no longer willing to risk losing points.
Footnotes
References
Works cited
"The 2021-22 Official U.S. Figure Skating Rulebook". (Rulebook) Colorado Springs, Colorado: U.S Figure Skating. July 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
"Communication No. 2371: Ice Dance" (PDF). (ISU No. 2371) International Skating Union. 2 February 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
"Communication No. 2403: Summary of Results of Mail Voting on Proposals in Replacement of the 58th Ordinary Congress 2021". Lausanne, Switzerland: International Skating Union. 30 June 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2022 (ISU No. 2403).
Hines, James R. (2006) Figure Skating: A History. Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press. .
Hines, James R. (2011). Historical Dictionary of Figure Skating. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. .
Kestnbaum, Ellyn (2003). Culture on Ice: Figure Skating and Cultural Meaning. Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press. .
"Special Regulations & Technical Rules Single & Pair Skating and Ice Dance 2021". (S&P/ID 2021) International Skating Union. 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
Figure skating disciplines
Mixed-sex sports | en |
doc-en-2173 | Galician (, ; ), also known as Gallego, is a Western Ibero-Romance language. It is spoken by some 2.4 million people, mainly in Galicia, an autonomous community located in northwestern Spain, where it is co-official with Spanish. The language is also spoken in some border zones of the neighbouring Spanish regions of Asturias and Castile and León, as well as by Galician migrant communities in the rest of Spain, in Latin America including Puerto Rico, the United States, Switzerland and elsewhere in Europe.
Modern Galician is part of the West Iberian languages group, a family of Romance languages that includes the Portuguese language. Galician evolved locally from Vulgar Latin and developed, by the 13th century, into what modern scholars have called Galician-Portuguese. The earliest document written integrally in the local Galician variety is dated in 1230, although the subjacent Romance permeates most written Latin local charters since the High Middle Ages, being specially notorious in personal and place names recorded in that documents, as well as in terms originated in languages other than Latin. The earliest reference to Galician-Portuguese as an international language of culture dates to 1290, in the Regles de Trobar by Catalan author Jofre de Foixà, where it is simply called Galician (gallego).
Dialectal divergences are observable between the northern and southern forms of Galician-Portuguese in 13th-century texts but the two dialects were similar enough to maintain a high level of cultural unity until the middle of the 14th century, producing the medieval Galician-Portuguese lyric. The divergence has continued to this day, most frequently due to innovations in Portuguese, producing the modern languages of Galician and Portuguese.
The lexicon of Galician is predominantly of Latin extraction, although it also contains a moderate number of words of Germanic and Celtic origin, among other substrates and adstrates, having also received, mainly via Spanish, a number of nouns from Andalusian Arabic.
The language is officially regulated in Galicia by the Royal Galician Academy. Other organizations without institutional support, such as the Galician Association of Language and the Galician Academy of the Portuguese Language, include Galician as part of the Portuguese language.
Classification and relation with Portuguese
Modern Galician and Portuguese originated from a common medieval ancestor designated variously by modern linguists as Galician-Portuguese (or as Medieval Galician, Medieval Portuguese, Old Galician or Old Portuguese). This common ancestral stage developed from Vulgar Latin in the territories of the old Kingdom of Galicia, Galicia and Northern Portugal, as a Western Romance language. In the century it became a written and cultivated language with two main varieties, but during the century the standards of these varieties, Galician and Portuguese, began to diverge, as Portuguese became the official language of the independent kingdom of Portugal and its chancellery, while Galician was the language of the scriptoria of the lawyers, noblemen and churchmen of the Kingdom of Galicia, then integrated in the crown of Castile and open to influence from Spanish language, culture, and politics. During the 16th century the Galician language stopped being used in legal documentation, becoming de facto an oral language spoken by the vast majority of the Galicians, but having just some minor written use in lyric, theatre and private letters.
It was not until the century that linguists elaborated the first Galician dictionaries, and the language did not recover a proper literature until the century; only since the last quarter of the century is it taught in schools and used in lawmaking. The first complete translation of the Bible from the original languages dates from 1989. Currently, at the level of rural dialects, Galician forms a dialect continuum with Portuguese in the south, and with Astur-Leonese in the east. Mutual intelligibility (estimated at 85% by Robert A. Hall Jr., 1989) is very high between Galicians and northern Portuguese.
The current linguistic status of Galician with respect to Portuguese is controversial in Galicia, and the issue sometimes carries political overtones. There are linguists who deal with modern Galician and Portuguese as norms or varieties of the same language. Some authors, such as Lindley Cintra, consider that they are still co-dialects of a common language in spite of differences in phonology and vocabulary, while others, argue that they have become separate languages due to differences in phonetics and vocabulary usage, and, to a lesser extent, morphology and syntax. Fernández Rei in 1990 stated that the Galician language is, with respect to Portuguese, an ausbau language, a language through elaboration, and not an abstand language, a language through detachment.
With respect to the external and internal perception of this relation, for instance in past editions of the Encyclopædia Britannica, Galician was defined as a Portuguese dialect spoken in northwestern Spain. On the other hand, the director of the Instituto Camões declared in 2019 that Galician and Portuguese were close kin, but different languages. According to the Galician government, universities and main cultural institutions, such as the Galician Language Institute or the Royal Galician Academy, Galician and Portuguese are independent languages that stemmed from medieval Galician-Portuguese, and modern Galician must be considered an independent Romance language belonging to the group of Ibero-Romance languages having strong ties with Portuguese and its northern dialects. The standard orthography has its roots in the writing of relatively modern Rexurdimento authors, who largely adapted Spanish orthography to the then mostly unwritten language. Most Galician speakers do not regard Galician as a variety of Portuguese, but as a different language,<ref>Answers to the question "Name of the local language?" in the Atlas Lingüístico de la Península Ibérica".</ref> which evolved without interruption and in situ from Latin, both languages maintaining separate literary traditions since the 14th century.
Portuguese Early Modern Era grammars and scholars, at least since Duarte Nunes de Leão in 1606, considered Portuguese and Galician two different languages derived from old Galician, understood as the language spoken in the Northwest before the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal in the 12th century. The surge of the two languages would be the result of both the elaboration of Portuguese, through the royal court, its internationalization and its study and culture; and of the stagnation of Galician.
The earliest internal attestation of the expression Galician language ("lingoajen galego") dates from the 14th century. In Spanish "lenguaje gallego" is already documented in this same century, circa 1330; in Occitan circa 1290, in the Regles de Trobar by Catalan author Jofre de Foixà: "si tu vols far un cantar en frances, no·s tayn que·y mescles proençal ne cicilia ne gallego ne altre lengatge que sia strayn a aquell" [If you want to compose a song in French, you should not admix Provençal nor Sicilian nor Galician nor other language which is different from it].
Reintegrationism and political implications
Private cultural associations, not endorsed by Galician or Portuguese governments, such as the Galician Language Association (Associaçom Galega da Língua) and Galician Academy of the Portuguese Language (Academia Galega da Língua Portuguesa), advocates of the minority Reintegrationist movement, support the idea that differences between Galician and Portuguese speech are not enough to justify considering them as separate languages: Galician would be simply one variety of Galician-Portuguese, along with European Portuguese; Brazilian Portuguese; African Portuguese; the Galician-Portuguese still spoken in Spanish Extremadura, Fala; and other dialects. They have adopted slightly-modified or actual Portuguese orthography, which has its roots in medieval Galician-Portuguese poetry as later adapted by the Portuguese Chancellery.
According to Reintegrationists, considering Galician as an independent language reduces contact with Portuguese culture, leaving Galician as a minor language with less capacity to counterbalance the influence of Spanish, the only official language between the 18th century and 1975. On the other hand, viewing Galician as a part of the Lusophony, while not denying its own characteristics (cf. Swiss German), shifts cultural influence from the Spanish domain to the Portuguese. Although it is difficult to clarify the political positions of those who favor one view or the other, Reintegrationism is usually associated with the more radical spectrum of Galician independentism. Some scholars have described the situation as properly a continuum, from the Galician variants of Portuguese in one extreme to the Spanish language in the other (which would represent the complete linguistic shift from Galician to Spanish); reintegrationist points of view are closer to the Portuguese extreme, and so-called isolationist ones would be closer to the Spanish one; however, the major Galician nationalist parties, Anova–Nationalist Brotherhood and Galician Nationalist Bloc, do not use reintegrationist orthographical conventions.
Official relations between Galicia and the Lusophony
In 2014, the parliament of Galicia unanimously approved Law 1/2014 regarding the promotion of the Portuguese language and links with the Lusophony. Similarly, on 20 October 2016, the city of Santiago de Compostela, the political capital of Galicia, approved by unanimity a proposal to become an observer member of the Union of Portuguese-Speaking Capitals (UCCLA). Also, on 1 November 2016, the Council of Galician Culture (Consello da Cultura Galega, an official institution of defence and promotion of the Galician culture and language) was admitted as a consultative observer of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP).
A "friendship and cooperation" protocol was signed between the Royal Galician Academy (RAG) and the Brazilian Academy of Letters on 10 January 2019. Víctor F. Freixanes, president of the RAG, stated during the ceremony that "there is a conscience that the Galician language is part of a family which includes our brothers from Portugal, Brasil, Angola, Cape Verde, Mozambique... a territory full of possibilities also for Galician. We always said that Galician is not a regional language, but is in fact part of that international project".
Geographic distribution and legal status
Galician is spoken by some three million people, including most of the population of Galicia and the numerous Galician communities established elsewhere, in Spain (Madrid, Barcelona, Biscay), in other European cities (Andorra la Vella, Geneva, London, Paris), and in the Americas (New York, New Jersey, Buenos Aires, Córdoba/Argentina, Montevideo, Mexico City, Havana, Caracas, San Juan in Puerto Rico, São Paulo, Managua, Mayagüez, Ponce, Panama City).
Galician is today official, together with the Spanish language, in the autonomous community of Galicia, where it is recognized as the autochthonous language (lingua propia), being by law the first language of the local administrations and governments. It is supposed by law to be taught bilingually, alongside Spanish, in both primary and secondary education, although the accomplishment of this law is allegedly doubted. It is also used at the three universities established in Galicia, having also the consideration of official language of the three institutions. Galician has also legal recognition in the Bierzo region in León, and in four municipalities in Zamora. The other languages with official status elsewhere in Spain are Spanish, Catalan (or Valencian), Basque and Aranese. Galician has also been accepted orally as Portuguese in the European Parliament, being used by some Galician representatives, among others: José Posada, Camilo Nogueira and Xosé Manuel Beiras.
Controversy exists regarding the inclusion of Eonavian (spoken in the western end of Asturias, bordering Galicia) into the Galician language, as it has some traits in common with Western Asturian (spoken in the middle west of Asturias). There are those defending these linguistic varieties as dialects of transition to the Astur-Leonese group on the one hand, and those defending it as clearly Galician varieties on the other (actually both views are compatible). The recent edition of the cartularies of Oscos in Eonavia and cartularies of Obona, Cornellana, Corias and Belmonte in middle west of Asturias have shown a huge difference in the medieval speech between both banks of the Navia river.Laverde e Ruiz, Gumersindo, "O dialecto asturiano", Review Ibérica of Politic Science, Literature, Arts and Public Instruction, vol. V, 1862. An examination of the old documents of the Eonavian monastery of Oscos, written from the late 12th to early 14th century to 16th century, shows a clear identification of this language with the Galician-Portuguese linguistic group; while contemporary parchments elsewhere in Asturias are written in Spanish. The two most important traits of those commonly used to tell apart Galician-Portuguese and Asturian-Leonese varieties are the preservation of the mid-open vowels and , which became diphthongs in Asturian-Leonese, and the loss of intervocalic , preserved in the latter language.
History
Latinate Galician charters from the century onward show that the local written Latin was heavily influenced by local spoken Romance, yet is not until the century that there is evidence for the identification of the local language as a language different from Latin itself. During this same century there are full Galician sentences being inadvertently used inside Latin texts, while its first reckoned use as a literary language dates to the last years of this same century.
The linguistic stage from the to the centuries is usually known as Galician-Portuguese (or Old Portuguese, or Old Galician) as an acknowledgement of the cultural and linguistic unity of Galicia and Portugal during the Middle Ages, as the two linguistic varieties differed only in dialectal minor phenomena.
This language flourished during the and centuries as a language of culture, developing a rich lyric tradition of which some 2000 compositions (cantigas, meaning 'songs') have been preserved—a few hundred even with their musical score—in a series of collections, and belonging to four main genres: cantigas de amor, love songs, where a man sings for his ladylove; cantigas de amigo, where a woman sings for her boyfriend; cantigas de escarnio, crude, taunting, and sexual songs of scorn; cantigas de maldecir, where the poet vents his spleen openly; and also the Cantigas de Santa María, which are religious songs.
The oldest known document is the poem Ora faz ost'o Senhor de Navarra by Joam Soares de Paiva, written around 1200. The first non-literary documents in Galician-Portuguese date from the early century, the Noticia de Torto (1211) and the Testamento of Afonso II of Portugal (1214), both samples of medieval notarial prose.
Its most notable patrons—themselves reputed authors—were king Dom Dinis in Portugal, and king Alfonso X the Learned in Galicia, Castile and León, who was a great promoter of both Galician and Castilian Spanish languages. Not just the kings encouraged literary creation in Galician-Portuguese, but also the noble houses of Galicia and Portugal, as being an author or bringing reputed troubadours into one's home became a way of promoting social prestige; as a result many noblemen, businessmen and clergymen of the and centuries became notable authors, such as Paio Gomes Charinho, lord of Rianxo, and the aforementioned kings.
Aside from the lyric genres, Galicia developed also a minor tradition on literary prose, most notably in translation of European popular series, as those dealing with King Arthur written by Chretien de Troyes, or those based on the war of Troy, usually paid and commissioned by noblemen who desired to read those romances in their own language. Other genres include history books (either translation of Spanish ones, or original creations like the Chronicle of St. Mary of Iria, by Rui Vasques), religious books, legal studies, and a treaty on horse breeding. Most prose literary creation in Galician had stopped by the century, when printing press became popular; the first complete translation of the Bible was not printed until the century.
As for other written uses of Galician, legal charters (last wills, hirings, sales, constitutional charters, city council book of acts, guild constitutions, books of possessions, and any type of public or private contracts and inventories) written in Galicia are to be found from 1230 to 1530—the earliest one probably a document from the monastery of Melón, dated in 1231—being Galician by far the most used language during the , and centuries, in substitution of Latin.
Diglossia and influence of the Spanish language
Galician-Portuguese lost its political unity when the County of Portugal obtained its independence from the Kingdom of León, a transition initiated in 1139 and completed in 1179, establishing the Kingdom of Portugal. Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Galicia was united with the Kingdom of León, and later with the Kingdom of Castile, under kings of the House of Burgundy. The Galician and Portuguese standards of the language diverged over time, following independent evolutionary paths. Portuguese was the official language of the Portuguese chancellery, while Galician was the usual language not only of troubadours and peasants, but also of local noblemen and clergy, and of their officials, so forging and maintaining two slightly different standards.
During the reign of Alfonso X, Spanish became the official language of the chancellery of the Kingdom of Castile. However, in Galicia and neighboring regions of Asturias and León in 1200–1500, the local languages remained the usual written languages in any type of document, either legal or narrative, public or private. Spanish was progressively introduced through Royal decrees and the edicts of foreign churchmen and officials. This led, from the late 15th century on, to the end of legal documents in Galician; the last ones were issued around 1530. Also, from 1480 on, notaries of the Crown of Castile were required to obtain their licenses in Toledo, where they had to prove their mastery of Spanish.
In spite of Galician being the most spoken language, during the 17th century the elites of the Kingdom began speaking Spanish, most notably in towns and cities. The linguistic situation in Galicia became one of diglossia, with Galician as the low variety and Spanish as the high one. In reaction to the relegation of the autochthonous language, a series of literary and historical works (always written in Spanish) appeared in the 17th century through 19th century, meant to vindicate the history, language, people, and culture of Galicia. The period from the 16th century to the early 19th century, when Galician had little literary—and no legal—use, is considered the dark age of Galician language. The Galician spoken and written then is usually referred to as Middle Galician.
Middle Galician
Middle Galician is known mostly through popular literature (songs, carols, proverbs, theatrical scripts, personal letters), but also through the frequent apparition of Galician interferences and personal and place names in local works and documents otherwise written in Spanish. Other important sources are a number of sonnets and other lyric poetry, as well as other literate productions, including the forgery of allegedly mediaeval scriptures or chronicles under diverse pretensions—usually to show the ancient nobility of the forger's family—being these writings elaborated in an archaic looking Galician which nevertheless could not conceal the state of the language during this period.
Middle Galician is characterized by a series of phonetic processes which led to a further separation from Portuguese, and to the apparition of some of the more notorious dialectal features, among other phenomenons: emergence of the gheada or pronunciation of as a pharyngeal fricative; denasalization of nasal vowels in most of Galicia, becoming oral vowels in the east, or a group formed by an oral vowels plus a nasal in the west; reduction of the sibilant system, with the confluence (except in the Baixa Limia region) of voiced and voiceless fricatives, followed by a process of de-affrication which led to different results in the west and in the east.
The most important author during this period of the language was the enlightened scholar Martín Sarmiento, unconditional defender and the first researcher of Galician language (history, evolution, lexicon, etymology, onomastics). His Elementos etimológicos segun el método de Euclides (1766), written in Spanish but dealing with Galician, was in fact one of the first comprehensive studies on sound change and evolution of any European language.
Rexurdimento (Renaissance)
During the 19th century a thriving literature developed, in what was called the Rexurdimento (Resurgence), of the Galician language. It was headed by three main authors: Rosalia de Castro, an intimist poet; Eduardo Pondal, of nationalist ideology, who championed a Celtic revival; and Manuel Curros Enríquez, a liberal and anticlerical author whose ideas and proclamations were scandalous for part of the 19th-century society.
An important landmark was the establishment of the Seminario de Estudos Galegos in 1923, devoted to research and study of Galician culture. It was created by a group of students: Fermín Bouza Brey, Xosé Filgueira Valverde, Lois Tobío Fernández, with the collaboration of Ricardo Carvalho Calero, Antón Fraguas and Xaquín Lorenzo Fernández.
Following the victory of Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War, the written or public use of the Galician language was outlawed.
Publishing of Galician-language material revived on a small scale in the 1950s.
The Galician language today
With the advent of democracy, Galician has been brought into the country's institutions, and it is now co-official with Spanish in Galicia. Galician is taught in schools, and there is a public Galician-language television channel, Televisión de Galicia.
Today, the most common language for everyday use in the largest cities of Galicia is Spanish rather than Galician, as a result of this long process of language shift. However, Galician is still the main language in rural areas.
The Royal Galician Academy and other Galician institutions celebrate each 17 May as Galician Literature Day (), dedicated each year to a deceased Galician-language writer chosen by the academy.
Use of the Galician language
Use of Galician splits by age, with over half of those over 45 indicating that Galician is their primary language, with lower numbers for the younger population. Those under 45 were more likely than those over 45 to answer that they never use Galician.
Use of Galician also varies greatly depending on the regions and municipalities of Galicia. While in two areas of the Province of A Coruña (Costa da Morte and the Southeast) more than 90% of the population always or mostly speaks in Galician, only the 15,2% of the population does the same in the city of Vigo.
Dialects
Some authors are of the opinion that Galician possesses no real dialects. Despite this, Galician local varieties are collected in three main dialectal blocks, each block comprising a series of areas, being local linguistic varieties that are all mutually intelligible. Some of the main features which distinguish the three blocks are:
The resolution of medieval nasalized vowels and hiatus: these sometimes turned into diphthongs in the east, while in the center and west the vowels in the hiatus were sometimes assimilated. Later, in the eastern—except Ancarese Galician—and central blocks, the nasal trait was lost, while in the west the nasal trait usually developed into an implosive nasal consonant . In general, these led to important dialectal variability in the inflection in genre and number of words ended in a nasal consonant. So, from medieval irmão 'brother', ladrões 'robbers', irmãas 'sisters' developed eastern Galician , , ; central Galician , , ; western Galician , , .
An exception to this rule is constituted by the hiatus in which the first vowel was a nasalized i or u. In those cases, a nasal, palatal or velar was usually inserted: ũa 'a / one (fem.)' > unha (Portuguese uma), -ina > -ĩa > -iña (Portuguese -inha). Nevertheless, in Ancarese and Asturian Galician, this process did not take place: A-G vecía, Ancarese vecĩa vs. standard veciña '(female) neighbor' (Port. vizinha), A-G úa, Ancarese ũa vs. standard unha (Port. uma).
The resolution of hiatus formed by oral vowels had similar developments, most notably those derived from the loss of , which again had important consequences for the declension of words ending in . So, Medieval Galician 'animals' (sing. animal); central and western Galician animás; eastern Galician animais; Asturian Galician animales ( is preserved).
In the west, is rendered as a fricative (gheada), except after a nasal, where it can become a stop .
Stressed vowel metaphony is most notable in the west and center, while in the east it is unknown. It is triggered by a final , which tends to close open-mid vowels, or by a final which tends to open close-mid ones.
There are three main sibilant systems, all derived from the medieval Galician one, which was richer and more complex:
The common one, extended in the eastern and center regions, presents an opposition . In the westernmost parts of this area the opposition of and is lost in postnuclear position, in the coda, both being produced .
In the coastal western areas the opposition is , being produced in some regions as a laminal or in some others as an apical. Sometimes this system is even further reduced to just a single . On the other hand, in some areas final is produced as , as in plenty of Portuguese dialects.
In the Limia Baixa region an old six sibilant system is still preserved, with voiced/voiceless opposition: ; (apical) and (laminal).
Each dialectal area is then further defined by these and other more restricted traits or isoglosses:
Eastern Galician: Asturian area (Eonavian), Ancares area, Zamora area and Central-Eastern area.
Central Galician: Mindoniense area, Lucu-auriense area, Central Transitional area, and Eastern Transitional area.
Western Galician: Bergantiños area, Fisterra area, Pontevedra area and Lower Limia area.
Standard Galician is usually based on Central Galician characteristics, but it also incorporates western and eastern traits and features.
Examples
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|-
! colspan=3 scope="col" | Galician !! rowspan=2 scope=col | Medieval Galician (13th–15th c.) !! rowspan=2 scope=col | Portuguese !! rowspan=2 scope=col | Spanish !! rowspan=2 scope=col | Latin !! rowspan=2 scope=col | English
|-
! scope="col" | Western !! scope="col" | Central !! scope="col" | Eastern
|-
| || || || / || || / || || dogs
|-
| || || || || || || || thieves
|-
| || colspan=2 | || || || || || brother
|-
| colspan=2 | || || || || || , gen. || light
|-
| || colspan=2 | || || || || || five
|-
| colspan=3 | || || || || || eye
|-
| || / || || || || || || hour
|-
| || || / || || || || || you sang
|-
| colspan=2 | || || || || || || animals
|}
Bold type''' indicate official standard spelling. On the phonemic representation.
Metaphony produced by final and by final (usually produced ). All the diverse productions are considered admissible. In the east there's little to no metaphony.
Different evolution of the group led to different desinences for the past tense formation along Galician geography.
Phonology
Grammar
Galician allows pronominal clitics to be attached to indicative and subjunctive forms, as does Portuguese, unlike modern Spanish. After many centuries of close contact between the two languages, Galician has also adopted many loan words from Spanish, and some calques of Spanish syntax.
Galician usually makes the difference according to gender and categorizes words as masculine "o rapaz" (the young man) or feminine "a rapaza" (the young woman). This difference is present in the articles "o / a / os/ as" (the), nouns "o can / a cadela" (the dog / the (female) dog), pronouns "el / ela", (he / she) and adjectives "bonitiño / bonitiña" (pretty, beautiful). There is also a neuter set of demonstrative pronouns "isto, iso, aquilo" (this / that). The most typical ending for masculine words is -o, whereas the most typical ending for feminine is -a "o prato / a tixola" (the plate / the frying pan). The difference in the grammatical gender of a word may correspond to a real gender difference in the physical world "xuicioso / xuiciosa" (sensible); the former adjective will qualify a male, and the latter, a female. However, there is no particular reason for objects to be ascribed to a particular grammatical gender or another, it has to do with the gender having been ascribed by tradition and the use of speakers as in the following examples: "o xis / o samba / a mesa / a caricatura" (chalk / the samba / the table / the caricature).
Galician expresses the difference in number with a form for the singular and another for the plural. The most typical suffix to express a plural number is "s", "cantiga / cantigas".
There are two different ways of addressing people: one is the most usual informal pronoun "ti" for the second person singular and "vos" for the second person plural. There are formal ways of addressing directly people "vostede" for the singular and "vostedes" for the plural.
The last review of the official grammar has established that, if there is no risk of confusion, the exclamation and question marks will appear only at the end of the sentence, thus deprecating the general use of Spanish-like inverted question and exclamation marks.
The verb is inflected. There are regular and irregular verbs in the language. All verbs will appear listed by means of their infinitive form in dictionaries, and there are three typical endings for verbs "-ar / -er / ir".
Orthography
The current official Galician orthography is guided by the "Normas ortográficas e morfolóxicas do Idioma Galego" (NOMIGa), first introduced in 1982, by the Royal Galician Academy (RAG), based on a report by the Instituto da Lingua Galega (ILG). These norms were not accepted by some sectors desiring a norm closer to modern Portuguese (see reintegrationism). In July 2003, the Royal Galician Academy modified the language normative to admit and promote some archaic Galician-Portuguese forms conserved in modern Portuguese, merging the NOMIG and the main proposals of the moderate sectors of reintegrationism; the resulting orthography is used by the vast majority of media, cultural production and virtually all official matters including education.
There still exists a reintegrationist movement that opts for the use of writing systems that range from adapted to whole Portuguese orthography.
Acute accent
Syllabic stress is significant in Galician. One syllable in each word receives primary stress. The syllable receiving the primary stress can generally be identified by the spelling of the word according to the language's rules of orthography. In cases where the stress is not at the default location indicated by the spelling, an acute accent (´) is placed over the main vowel of the stressed syllable, as in paspallás ('quail'), móbil ('mobile'), and cárcere ('jail', 'gaol').
The acute accent has some other functions. Sometimes it shows that adjacent vowels represent separate syllables rather than a diphthong, as in aínda ('yet'). Acute accents are written on top of upper- as well as lower-case letters: Óscar. An acute accent may also be used to distinguish between two words that are otherwise homonyms, as in the case of cómpre ('it is necessary') and compre ('to buy').
Examples
See also
Barallete
Castrapo
Fala dos arxiñas, a jargon of Galician masons
Galician-language literature
Galicia irredenta Languages of Spain
Leonese language
List of Galician words of Celtic origin
References
Bibliography
Notes
Further reading
Examines the arguments for and against the use of inclusive language in (literary) translation through an analysis of the "ideological struggle" that emerged from two ideologically disparate rewritings of gender markers into Galician of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time'', by Mark Haddon (2003), focusing on the ideological, poetic and economic pressures that (still) define the professional practice of translation.
External links
Galician guides:
lingua.gal – Galician government's portal on the Galician language
LOIA: Open guide to Galician Language .
Basic information on Galician language
Records, phonetic and dialectology:
Arquivo do Galego Oral – An archive of records of Galician speakers.
A Nosa Fala – Sound recordings of the different dialects of the Galician language.
Amostra comparativa – Comparison between Galician, Portuguese and Brazilian-Portuguese pronunciation (with sound files) (reintegrationist Galician)
Corpora:
Tesouro medieval informatizado da lingua galega.
Corpus Xelmirez – A corpus on medieval Galician documentation, in Galician, Latin, and Spanish.
Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega.
Dictionaries:
Royal Galician Academy Dictionary
Appendix:Galician pronouns – on Wiktionary
English-Galician CLUVI Online Dictionary (official Galician), )
Galician – English Dictionary: from Webster's Online Dictionary – The Rosetta Edition. (Official Galician),
A short English-Galician-Japanese Phraselist (Renewal) incl. sound soft (Official Galician),
Dicionario de dicionarios do galego medieval – A dictionary of Old Galician dictionaries.
Dicionario de dicionarios – A dictionary of Galician dictionaries.
e-Estraviz – Isaac Alonso Estraviz's dictionary (on-line). (reintegrationist norm and official norm)
Texts:
Gallaeciae Monumenta Historica – An on-line repository of medieval texts
Cantigas Medievais Galego-Portuguesas – A complete DB, containing the totality of the medieval profane lyric.
Biblioteca Virtual Galega
Cantigas de Santa Maria
Newspapers in Galician:
Luns a Venres – free daily newspaper
Sermos Galiza – weekly newspaper and online news portal
Galiciaé.es – online news portal
Galicia Hoxe – online news portal
Praza Pública – online news portal
Dioivo – online news portal
Arroutada Noticias – online news portal
Diário Liberdade – online news portal (in reintegrationist Galician)
Novas da Galiza – monthly newspaper (in reintegrationist Galician)
Galiza Livre – pro-independence online news portal (in reintegrationist Galician)
Other links related to Galician:
Royal Galician Academy
Instituto da Lingua Galega
Academia Galega da Língua Portuguesa (reintegrationist Galician)
Associaçom Galega da Língua – Portal Galego da Língua (reintegrationist Galician)
Movimento Defesa da Lingua (reintegrationist Galician) | en |
doc-en-9129 | The architecture of Fremantle Prison includes the site of the former prison on The Terrace, Fremantle, in Western Australia. Limestone was quarried on-site during construction, and the south-western corner (the South Knoll) and eastern portion of the site are at a considerably higher ground level. The Fremantle Prison site includes the prison cell blocks, gatehouse, perimeter walls, cottages, tunnels, and related infrastructure.
The Main Cell Block is the longest and tallest cell range in Australia, and a dominating feature of the prison. New Division, constructed between 1904 and 1907, continues the façade alignment of the main block. Service buildings were converted into the separate Women's Prison. Fremantle Prison is surrounded by limestone perimeter walls, while a two storey limestone gatehouse, with a central clock, presents an imposing entrance. North and south of the gatehouse, on The Terrace, are several cottages and houses – three of which are built in Victorian style in contrast to the Georgian style of the others.
A tunnel network exists under the prison, built to provide the prison, and later the town of Fremantle, with a supply of fresh water. Other elements of the site include the hospital building, prisoner workshops, open spaces, and a limestone ramp on the axis of the gatehouse, heading down towards the port area of Fremantle. Archaeological zones and sub-surface remains of varying levels of significance are found throughout the area of the convict grant.
Background
Fremantle Prison dates from the early years of European settlement, when it was constructed as the centre of the British Imperial Convict Establishment in Western Australia. While the colony was established as a "free settlement" in 1829, by the 1840s the early reluctance to accept Britain's convicts was overcome. Cheap convict labour could overcome the significant shortage of manpower in the colony. However, the arrival of the first convict ship on 2 June 1850 was unexpected. While a sailing ship had been sent ahead to inform of the pending arrival of seventy-five convicts, it had been blown off course. The Round House was full to capacity, almost overflowing, so the convicts had to be left on the ship. There was also no prepared accommodation for the warders, pensioner guards, Captain Edward Walcott Henderson, Comptroller General of Convicts, or his clerk, James Manning. Rents for accommodation in Fremantle quickly rose due to the sudden increase in demand, leaving Henderson paying more for his basic lodgings in Fremantle than for his house in London. Eventually Henderson leased two properties in Essex Street for £250 per year, at the site of the modern-day Esplanade Hotel. He used his convicts to convert the buildings into a temporary prison. Meanwhile, Henderson was looking for a site to build a permanent convict establishment. Whilst he favoured Mount Eliza (now known as Kings Park) due to its height, which gave it pleasing vistas and supposedly healthier air, Governor Charles Fitzgerald rejected that proposal. Henderson ultimately settled on the current site on a hill, in a raised and dominant position overlooking the port city of Fremantle.
Site
Description
Fremantle Prison was built on a land grant of about from limestone quarried on-site, and timber cut from Mount Eliza. The site exhibits considerable changes in ground level, natural and man-made, as a result of its location and former use. The ground level is considerably higher in the south-western corner of the site with what remains of the natural landform, formerly known as Church Hill, now referred to as the South Knoll. The eastern portion of the site is also considerably higher than the ground level established around the main cell block. It is a comparatively level terrace and is the highest part of the precinct.
Fremantle Prison comprises substantially intact convict era structures, including the limestone perimeter walls of exceptional heritage significance. Other structures, dating from the time the precinct was in use as a colonial and state prison, are also significant. The convict era complex includes the 1859 main cell block, chapel and wards, yards and refractory cells; perimeter walls, gate house complex and prison officer residences on the Terrace; service buildings and hospital; south-eastern workshops; ramp access tramway (Fairbairn Street) and Henderson Street Warder's Cottages. Other elements which contribute to the site's overall heritage significance include the western workshops (1900); new division (1907); and conversion of service building to the female division and the addition of an eastern range (1889–1909).
Layout
A boundary wall encloses the prison grounds, with a gatehouse in the centre of the western wall, facing The Terrace. Other roads bounding the site are Knutsford Street to the north, Hampton Road to the east, and Fothergill Street to the south. Cottages, which housed prison workers and officials, are located outside the wall either side of the gatehouse. Inside the walls, the parade ground is located east of the gatehouse. Beyond it is the Main Cell Block at the centre of the site, which contains two chapels. North of the main block is New Division, and west of that, in the north-western corner, is the former Women's Prison, previously the cookhouse, bakehouse and laundry. The hospital building stands in the north-eastern corner, while the former workshops are located in the south-eastern corner, as well as to the north of the gatehouse. A system of tunnels, constructed to provide fresh water from an aquifer, runs under the eastern edge of the site.
Archaeology
Archaeological zones and sub-surface remains of varying levels of significance are found throughout the area of the convict grant. In particular, the sites of the three former cottages to the east of the perimeter wall in the Hampton Road reserve, the site of the former 'cage' in the New Division courtyard and the features upon and under the knoll terraces. Other site features include those associated with the water supply system constructed in the 1890s: the brick-vaulted underground reservoir, the associated pumping station, a complex series of rock cut shafts, drives, weirs and the tunnel network. Graffiti and a tablet records the progress of the excavators.
Walls and gatehouse
The prison is surrounded by limestone perimeter walls, which define the extent of the depot and its original topography to the south, east and north. The walls are of random rubble limestone and lime mortar and range in height from . The additional four courses added in 1898 are of dark stone with a coping. Attached piers occur at approximately centres on the lee sides of the walls. There are a number of openings including both vehicular and pedestrian gates. The walls are of exceptional heritage significance being a vital part of the precinct defining its character. Sterile zones, inside the main perimeter walls and the walls encircling the female division and outside the prison wall, were standard prison practice for surveillance and contribute to the austere character of the prison.
The entry complex consists of a combined gate house and quarters, an entry court and military and civil guard houses with embrasures flanking the inner gate. The two storey limestone gatehouse, with a central clock, presents an imposing entry to the former prison. The gatehouse and associated entry complex was constructed between 1854 and 1855 using convict labour. It was designed by Royal Engineer Edmund Henderson, and constructed out of limestone. The gatehouse has two towers either side of a narrow gate, reminiscent of those found in 13th century English castles or walled cities. The gate was made from iron which had been scavenged from shipwrecks, while the clock at the top of the structure was imported from England. The clock was made in London in 1854, installed two years later, and as of 2004, was still sounding every hour.
The gatehouse also has a smaller, second, inner gate, engraved with the names of three significant figures: H. Wray RE, who designed the gate; J. Manning, clerk of works, who supervised its fabrication; and Joseph Nelson, the Royal Sappers soldier that wrought the iron. The complex was expanded and altered successively throughout the use of the entry complex for prison's functions. The entry complex was extended north to the female division as a workshop range, the western workshops, leaving a sterile zone beside the perimeter wall. The gatehouse has remained a significant feature and landmark since the closure of the prison, as the main entrance, and housing a café and office areas. Restoration was carried out in 2005, preserving the original stone facade and removing non-original rendering.
Cell blocks
Main Cell Block
Based on the English Pentonville Prison design model of Joshua Jebb, the site's key feature, the Main Cell Block, was designed by the Comptroller of Convicts Captain Henderson, and completed in 1859. Designed to hold up to 1000 prisoners, it is long and four storeys high, the longest and tallest cell range in Australia. It was constructed by convicts in the 1850s, and there have been few changes since that time. The 1859 main cell block has an impressive facade and is built of limestone ashlar blocks quarried from the site. It is significant for the ways in which its scale, position in the precinct, simplicity, material and near pristine character ensures that it is the focal and dominating feature of the prison; the evidence of its fabric, internal configuration and spaces reveals its functioning as a convict depot and subsequent prison and its atmosphere. It has come to symbolise the imperial convict era in colonial Western Australia.
The central, four-storey high cell block is flanked on either end by large dormitory wards, called the Association Rooms. Here, as many as 80 men slept in hammocks, either as a reward for good behaviour or because they would soon receive their Ticket of Leave. In contrast, the cells were a confining space measuring just . While each cell initially had a basin connected to running water, the installation was before the advent of S-bends; the smells coming up the pipes lead to their removal by the 1860s. Following a Royal Commission, the cells were made larger by removing a dividing wall from between two cells. Electric lighting was installed in the 1920s, but there were never any toilets – buckets were used for the duration of the prison's operation.
Since the prison's closure, six cells have been restored to represent the varying living conditions at different times in the prison's history. The main block also houses the gallows, solitary confinement cells, and two chapels.
The single storey 1855 refractory block is on the same axis as the main cell block to its east. It consists of twelve punishment cells and six dark cells with no light. The gallows chamber, built in 1888, is between this and the main cell block and relates to the colonial use of the prison. The gallows operated via a rope tied around a beam, over a trap door, on the upper level. Opening the trap door would cause the condemned prisoner fall, and thus be hanged.
At the centre of the Main Cell Block is the Anglican Chapel, whose windows were the only ones without bars. It occupies a prominent position in the projecting wing in the centre of the facade. It retains its original painted and stencilled wall patterns beneath later paint layers and is the most intact early prison chapel in Australia. Its interior features include an early and substantial example of a laminated arch construction in the colonies and the first in WA, handsome decalogue boards and some original and elegant joinery. Behind the Anglican chapel altar, there is a painted representation of the Ten Commandments. The words to the sixth commandment use the unusual translation of "thou shalt do no murder" rather than "thou shalt not kill," the more common interpretation in the Church of England. Given that the gallows were still in regular use, it was felt that "thou shalt not kill" would have been hypocritical. The Catholic Chapel was put into the upper northern Association Ward in 1861. The floor has evidence of its former use for communal prisoner accommodation, in the form of mortices for hammock rails and a convict painted mural which decorates its wall.
New Division
Fremantle Prison's New Division was constructed between 1904 and 1907, as a response to overcrowding. The division continues the façade alignment of the main block. The building, L shaped in plan, is three storeys high of regular coursed pale ashlar limestone blocks with rock-face. Openings are set in brick and freestone and it has a handsome lantern range above the main atrium. The building is visually significant as it complements the main cell block and completes the northern zone of the prison. The interior configuration and cells are significant as an example of an attempt to introduce the separate system to Western Australia, whereby prisoners were completely isolated for the first three months of their sentence. The division's exercise yard initially used a panopticon to facilitate this concept during the prisoners' hour of exercise each day. The system was not successful, and considered a dated prisoner management strategy, leading its removal within five years.
The New Division was the first to have electricity, with underground wiring. During World War Two, the Australian Army appropriated the New Division, to keep prisoners separate from the main population, and for those condemned to death. In 1994 the building was retrofitted to cater for offices, small business premises, and meeting rooms.
Women's Prison
The north-western complex was originally a service area with a cookhouse, bakehouse and laundry, built in the 1850s. A place for women prisoners was needed following the closure of Perth Gaol and the transfer of prisoners to Fremantle. The buildings were converted to a prison, and a wall built around them, creating Western Australia's first separate prison for women – a gaol within a gaol. Population and crime growth led to them being extended in the 1890s and 1910s. The single storey limestone building, also known as the female division, has a distinctive monitor roof and an upper storey addition to part of the eastern range in red brick. The construction of Bandyup Women's Prison saw Fremantle's Women's Prison close in 1970. The space was used for education and assessment until the main prison's closure in 1991, and has since been adapted for TAFE use as a visual arts facility.
Staff accommodation
A flat area, to the immediate west of the prison, is called The Terrace and was formed from rubble resulting from the levelling of the prison site. Adjoining the western perimeter wall, but outside the prison on the northern side of the terrace compound, is staff accommodation. Three adjoining residences were built in the 1890s as quarters for prison staff.
The cottages at 2, 4, and 6 The Terrace, at the northern end of the street, were built in a Victorian style, in contrast to the Georgian style of the other houses. Number 2 incorporates parts of an 1857 guard room and was converted in the 1890s to quarters, when Numbers 4 and 6 were built alongside as a duplex. Number 2 is a single storey house with random rubble limestone walls and corrugated iron roof separated from the perimeter wall by a rear yard. Numbers 4 and 6 are a pair of single duplex units with random rubble limestone walls, corrugated iron roofs and front verandahs, separated from the perimeter wall by a rear yard.
Four two storey residences, Numbers 8, 10, 16 and 18 The Terrace, were built during the 1850s for officer accommodation. Number 8, also known as the Chaplain's House, is a two storey house with rendered and painted limestone walls. The plan is roughly square with verandahs and balconies along the west and south sides. A single storey building connects the south-east side of the house to the main prison wall.
Number 10, also known as the Superintendent's House, is a two storey house with rendered limestone walls and a corrugated iron roof behind parapet walls. It is connected to the gatehouse with limestone walled buildings. The plan is roughly square and there is a door from the house into the prison from the north-east room of the ground floor. The house was initially built in 1853 for the Chaplain, but was taken over by the superintendent in 1878 and was later used by the prison administration.
Number 16 is a house is two storey building, roughly square in plan, with painted limestone walls and a corrugated sheet metal roof behind a parapet. It accommodated first the superintendent, later on the resident magistrate, and remained in-use as housing for prison officers until the 1970s. Number 18, also known as the Surgeon's House, is a two storey structure with limestone walls. It is the southernmost house on The Terrace. Numbers 18 and 8, the northernmost of the initial buildings, both featured two sitting rooms, three bedrooms, and two dressing rooms, as well as a kitchen, water closet and shed, but with mirrored layouts. Number 18 was expanded with additions built in the 1890s. A single storey limestone structure (former stables) is located to the south of Number 18.
Other buildings
Hospital
The hospital, built between 1857 and 1859, was a crucial component of Fremantle Prison. Public works during the convict era relied on convict labour, which could only be provided if the convicts were healthy. Located in the north-eastern corner of the prison compound, the building is H-shaped in plan, single storey with rendered and painted limestone walls. It features a wide verandah with timber posts. From 1886 to 1903, medical services were relocated to the main cell block, with the former building used to keep invalids and female prisoners. The hospital was refurbished, and reopened in 1904. It subsequently remained in continuous operation until the prison's closure in 1991.
Adjacent to the hospital building is the east reservoir. The brick vaulted reservoir and reticulation system, constructed in 1890 and about 1895, appear as a low brick structure. The reservoir roof consists of five rendered vaults each side of a central vault raised above those each side. The centre of the eastern terrace contains the subsurface remains of the 1850s bathhouse and well.
Workshops
The prison's workshops provided activities and training for the prisoners. They also reduced the cost of maintenance, repairs, and construction by providing an in-house service. The original workshop was a blacksmith's shop, one of the first buildings to be constructed on the prison site. Later known as the East Workshops, other workshops included carpenter's, plumber's and painter's, a printing office, and from the 1850s, a metal shop. The West Workshops were built at the start of the twentieth century, providing more work for prisoners through a paint shop, mat maker, shoe maker, book binder and tailor shop. The five western workshops are a single storey squared limestone rubble building with openings dressed in brick, with an open saw-tooth roof with southern skylights, concealed behind a parapet wall. In 1993 the western workshops were adapted for use as TAFE art workshops.
Buildings in the area south of the east workshops were used for a shower block, helmet workshop and associated sheds. The structures are recent and, with the exception of some terrace walling, are the last of a series that have been erected and dismantled since World War I.
Tunnels
At the south eastern corner of the eastern terrace is the former pumping station, associated tunnels and a set of 1850s workshops within an enclosing wall. Underneath parts of the eastern terrace, the adjacent Hampton Road, the pumping station and the workshops there are a complex series of shafts, drives and weirs cut from the rock during the 1890s and early twentieth century. The east workshops is a single storey limestone building on the western side with an enclosed area to the east. The entire workshops yard was roofed using a light steel truss on steel supports in 1960.
A tunnel network exists under the prison, including a connection to South Beach in South Fremantle. It was built by prisoners, but the purpose was not to enable escapes; their labour was used to provide the prison, and later the town of Fremantle, with a supply of fresh water. Guards in a gun tower adjacent to the tunnel entrance prevented any attempted escapes.
In 1852, during construction of the buildings, shafts were sunk into the limestone bedrock to provide the prison with fresh water from an aquifer. In 1874, the Fremantle's "Water House Well", used to supply ships, suffered storm damage. This prompted a tank to be installed at the prison, behind the main cell block, to offer the town an alternative water supply. Prisoners worked a pump to fill the tank, which was connected to the jetties through gravity-fed pipes.
Increasing demand led to the construction of a reservoir in 1876, from which water was drawn, still pumped by prisoners. From 1888 to 1894, additional wells were built, connected by a series of tunnels or horizontal drives under the north-east of the prison. A steam pump was implemented, which drew per hour of water into the new East Reservoir. In 1896, a town reservoir was constructed on Swanbourne Street, fed from the prison by a triple expansion steam-driven pump which could take more than per day from the prison tunnels. Prisoners, relieved of manual pumping, were employed to supply wood and stoke boilers.
The Metropolitan Sewerage & Water Supply authority took over control of the pumping station from 1901 until 1910, when both the prison and town were connected to Perth's metropolitan water supply. The tunnels were closed in 1910, but the groundwater continued to be used for the prison's gardens. In 1989, oil leaking from nearby tanks contaminated the water. The pollution was eventually cleared by 1996 through bioremediation.
Since the prison's closure the water supply system including the tunnels, were the subject of heritage studies, including a 2004 inspection by the Western Australia Maritime Museum. The tunnels were re-opened in mid-2005, and within one year the main shaft had been refurbished, including "installation of audio-visual equipment, railings and lighting as well as the removal of debris from the access shaft and tunnels, the creation of new steel platforms and ladders and the addition of extra limestone rocks in the tunnels to help lift users out of the water."
Open spaces and related elements
The open spaces of the precinct are significant as they provide impressive settings for the structures. They are also important spaces in their own right retaining the stark open character of a penal institution required for surveillance. The extensive forecourt of the main cell block, with its scale and secure location within the perimeter walls, is particularly impressive. Paths are bitumen with grassed garden beds delineated by raised brick edging. South Knoll comprises the remains of the high, natural ground level which at least by 1896 had been terraced to form flat, grassed areas. The former playing fields and tennis courts are still in evidence. There is a brick-vaulted reservoir located under the Knoll. The significant landscape presents an austere and formal quality within the perimeter walls. Generally the landscape is sparse and simple, comprising unobtrusive elements such as lawn, low plantings and pavement. Landscape elements outside the walls include the exotic almond and pine trees on the Terrace.
An inclined tramway, the ramp, was built from the front of the terrace, on the axis of the gatehouse, down towards the port area of Fremantle. The ramp, constructed between 1852 and 1853, is of limestone rubble from the cut and fill activities required to create the prison site and the terrace. The ramp is an integral part of the original design of the prison complex and is of exceptional heritage significance. It is now cut at its western end by a modern road which severs the historic visual link with Fremantle. On each side of the alignment of the ramp, where it intersects with Henderson Street, are three terrace houses for the accommodation of prison warders. These were erected between 1851 and 1858 and mark the boundary of the Convict Establishment at this point. The limestone used for the early prison and its associated housing was quarried on the site.
Other surviving elements of the early convict establishment include Henderson's house, "The Knowle", the three Henderson Street cottages (terrace housing) at numbers 7–17, 19–29, and 31–41 Henderson Street, a range of terraces at 3–9 Holdsworth Street, paths, roads and ramps, garden sites, walls, sub surface works and the more distant routes to the Asylum, the Commissariat Store and wharf site.
See also
List of executions at Fremantle Prison
History of Fremantle Prison
Riots at Fremantle Prison
Staff and prisoners of Fremantle Prison
Notes
References
Attribution
This article incorporates text from the source Australian Heritage Database – Fremantle Prison (former), 1 The Terrace, Fremantle, WA, Australia, which is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia licence (CC-BY 3.0 AU). Required attribution: © Commonwealth of Australia 2013.
External links
Fremantle Prison official site
Australia's Heritage – National Treasures: Fremantle Prison at the National Film and Sound Archive
Australia's Hardest Prison: Fremantle (video) from National Geographic Channel Australia
Fremantle Prison
Architecture in Western Australia | en |
doc-en-15262 | The French Riviera (known in French as the ; ; literal translation "Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend from Toulon, Le Lavandou or Saint-Tropez in the west to Menton at the France–Italy border in the east. The coast is entirely within the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France. The Principality of Monaco is a semi-enclave within the region, surrounded on three sides by France and fronting the Mediterranean. Riviera is an Italian word that corresponds to the ancient Ligurian territory, wedged between the Var and Magra rivers. The Côte d'Azur or French Riviera, is a nickname given by France to the County of Nice after its annexation in 1860, because the rain and the Mistral (south French cold wind) were stopped by the Alps and the climate was similar to that of the north of Italy, even in winter, with a sky as blue as its sea. When the Mistral and the Tramontane are blowing, this provokes an upwelling phenomenon between Languedoc and Provence: they push the surface waters out to sea and bring deeper, cooler waters up to the seaside. Consequently, on these beaches, the temperature of the Mediterranean can be very cool in summer depending on the wind regime. This phenomenon is observed very little or not on the coast between the French Riviera and the Italian Riviera. After the 2000s it was extended to the rest of Southern France, although the geography, culture or climate is different. The County of Nice is a mountainous area like Italy which stands out from the South of France. While the Saharan warm wind Sirocco blows over Italy, the cold wind Mistral blows over the south of France. As the County of Nice is protected by the Alps, it has a northern Italian climate. This corresponds to the mountain range of the Apennines and Ligurian Alps and located between the rivers of Var and Magra.
This coastline was one of the first modern resort areas. It began as a winter health resort for the British upper class at the end of the 18th century. With the arrival of the railway in the mid-19th century, it became the playground and vacation spot of British, Russian, and other aristocrats, such as Queen Victoria, Tsar Alexander II and King Edward VII, when he was Prince of Wales. In the summer, it also played home to many members of the Rothschild family. In the first half of the 20th century, it was frequented by artists and writers, including Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Francis Bacon, Edith Wharton, Somerset Maugham and Aldous Huxley, as well as wealthy Americans and Europeans. After World War II, it became a popular tourist destination and convention site. Many celebrities, such as Elton John and Brigitte Bardot, have homes in the region. Officially, the French Riviera is home to 163 nationalities with 83,962 foreign residents, although estimates of the number of non-French nationals living in the area are often much higher. Its largest city is Nice, which has a population of 340,017 as of 2017. The city is the centre of a métropole—Nice-Côte d'Azur—bringing together 49 communes and more than 540,000 inhabitants and 943,000 in the urban area. Nice is home to Nice Côte d'Azur Airport, France's third-busiest airport (after Charles de Gaulle Airport and Orly Airport), which is on an area of partially reclaimed coastal land at the western end of the Promenade des Anglais. A second airport at Mandelieu was once the region's commercial airport, but is now mainly used by private and business aircraft.
The A8 autoroute runs through the region, as does the old main road generally known as the Route nationale 7 (officially now DN7 in Var and D6007 in Alpes-Maritimes). High-speed trains serve the coastal region and inland to Grasse, with the TGV Sud-Est service reaching Nice-Ville station in five and a half hours from Paris. The French Riviera has a total population of more than two million. It contains the seaside resorts of Cap-d'Ail, Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Antibes, Juan-les-Pins, Cannes, Saint-Raphaël, Fréjus, Sainte-Maxime and Saint-Tropez. It is also home to a high tech and science park (French: technopole) at Sophia-Antipolis (north of Antibes) and a research and technology centre at the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis. The region has 35,000 students, of whom 25 percent are working toward a doctorate. The French Riviera is a major yachting and cruising area with several marinas along its coast. According to the Côte d'Azur Economic Development Agency, each year the Riviera hosts 50 percent of the world's superyacht fleet, with 90 percent of all superyachts visiting the region's coast at least once in their lifetime. As a tourist centre, the French Riviera benefits from 310 to 330 days of sunshine per year, of coastline and beaches, 18 golf courses, 14 ski resorts and 3,000 restaurants.
Etymology
Origin of term
The term French Riviera comes by analogy with the term Italian Riviera, which extends east of the French Riviera (from Ventimiglia to La Spezia). As early as the 19th century, the British referred to the region as the Riviera or the French Riviera, usually referring to the eastern part of the coast, between Monaco and the Italian border. Originally, riviera is an Italian noun which means "coastline".
The name Côte d'Azur was given to the coast by the writer Stéphen Liégeard in his book, La Côte d’azur, published in December 1887. Liégeard was born in Dijon, in the French department of Côte-d'Or, and adapted that name by substituting the azure colour of the Mediterranean for the gold of Côte-d'Or.
In Occitan (Niçard and Provençal) and French, the only usual names are Còsta d'Azur in Occitan and Côte d'Azur in French. A term like "French Riviera" (Ribiera Francesa in Occitan, Riviera Française in French) would only be used in literal translation, or adaptations of it. For instance, in French, "Riviera Française" is found in the online Larousse encyclopedia to refer to the holidays of a group of English workers (moreover, in Occitan, the word ribiera "coastline" mostly works as a common name, whereas in French, the old-fashioned term Rivière de Gênes was used to refer to the Italian Riviera whose center is Genoa).
Disputes over the extent of the Riviera and the Côte d'Azur
Côte d'Azur and the French Riviera have no official boundaries. Some sources put the western boundary at Saint-Tropez. Others include Saint Tropez, Hyères or Toulon in the Var (departement), or as far as Cassis in the Bouches-du-Rhône departement.
In her 1955 novel, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Patricia Highsmith describes the Riviera as including all of the coast between Toulon and the Italian border.
History
From prehistory to the Bronze Age
The region of the French Riviera has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Primitive tools dating to between 1,000,000 and 1,050,000 years ago were discovered in the Grotte du Vallonnet, near Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, with stones and bones of animals, including bovines, rhinoceros, and bison. At Terra Amata (380,000 to 230,000 years ago), near the Nice Port, a fireplace was discovered that is one of the oldest found in Europe.
Stone dolmens, monuments from the Bronze Age, can be found near Draguignan, while the Valley of Marvels (Vallée des Merveilles) near Mount Bégo, at elevation, is presumed to have been an outdoor religious sanctuary, having over 40,000 drawings of people and animals, dated to about 2000 BC.
Greek influence
Beginning in the 7th century BC, Greek sailors from Phocaea in Asia Minor began to visit and then build emporia along the Côte d'Azur. Emporia were started at Olbia (Hyères); Antipolis (Antibes) and Nikaia (Nice). These settlements, which traded with the inhabitants of the interior, became rivals of the Etruscans and Phoenicians, who also visited the Côte d'Azur.
Roman colonization
In 8 BC the Emperor Augustus built an imposing trophy monument at La Turbie (the Trophy of the Alps or Trophy of Augustus) to mark the pacification of the region.
Roman towns, monuments and amphitheatres were built along the Côte d'Azur and many still survive, such as the amphitheatre and baths at Cimiez, above Nice, and the amphitheatre, Roman walls and other remains at Fréjus.
Barbarians and Christians
Roman Provence reached the height of its power and prosperity during the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. In the mid-3rd century, Germanic peoples began to invade the region, and Roman power weakened.
In the same period, Christianity started to become a powerful force in the region. The first cathedrals were built in the 4th century, and bishoprics were established: in Fréjus at the end of the 4th century, Cimiez and Vence in 439, and Antibes in 442. The oldest Christian structure still in existence on the Côte d'Azur is the baptistery of Fréjus Cathedral, built at the end of the 5th century, which also saw the founding of the first monastery in the region, Lerins Monastery on an island off the coast at Cannes.
The fall of the Western Roman Empire in the first half of the 5th century was followed by invasions of Provence by the Visigoths, the Burgundians and the Ostrogoths. There was then a long period of wars and dynastic quarrels, which in turn led to further invasions by the Saracens and the Normans in the 9th century.
The Counts of Provence and the House of Grimaldi
Some peace was restored to the coast by the establishment in 879 of a new kingdom of Provence, ruled first by the Bosonids dynasty (879–1112), then by the Catalans (1112–1246), and finally by the Angevins (1246–1382, elder branch, 1382–1483 (younger branch).
In the 13th century, another powerful political force appeared, the House of Grimaldi. Descended from a Genoese nobleman expelled from Genoa by his rivals in 1271, members of the different branches of the Grimaldis took power in Monaco, Antibes and Nice, and built castles at Grimaud, Cagnes-sur-Mer and Antibes. Albert II, the current Prince of Monaco is a descendant of the Grimaldis.
In 1388, the city of Nice and its surrounding territory, from the mouth of the Var to the Italian border, were separated from Provence and came under the protection of the House of Savoy. The territory was called the Comté de Nice after 1526, and thereafter its language, history and culture were separate from those of Provence until 1860, when it was re-attached to France under Napoleon III.
Provence retained its formal independence until 1480, when the last Comte de Provence, René I of Naples, died and left the Comté to his nephew, Charles du Maine, who in turn left it to Louis XI of France. In 1486, Provence formally became part of France.
Popularity with the British upper class in 18th and 19th centuries
Until the end of the 18th century, the area later known as the Côte d'Azur was a remote and impoverished region, known mostly for fishing, olive groves and the production of flowers for perfume (manufactured in Grasse).
A new phase began when the coast became a fashionable health resort for the British upper class in the late 18th century. The first British traveller to describe its benefits was the novelist Tobias Smollett, who visited Nice in 1763 when it was still an Italian city within the Kingdom of Sardinia. Smollett brought Nice and its warm winter climate to the attention of the British aristocracy with Travels through France and Italy, written in 1765. At about the same time, a Scottish doctor, John Brown, became famous for prescribing what he called climato-therapy, a change in climate, to cure a variety of diseases including tuberculosis, known then as consumption. The French historian Paul Gonnet wrote that, as a result, Nice was filled with "a colony of pale and listless English women and listless sons of nobility near death".
In 1834, a British nobleman and politician named Henry Peter Brougham, First Baron Brougham and Vaux, who had played an important part in the abolition of the slave trade, travelled with his unwell daughter to the south of France, intending to go to Italy. A cholera epidemic in Italy forced him to stop at Cannes, where he enjoyed the climate and scenery so much that he bought land and built a villa. He began to spend his winters there and, owing to his fame, others followed: Cannes soon had a small British enclave.
Robert Louis Stevenson was a later British visitor who came for his health. In 1882 he rented a villa called La Solitude at Hyères, where he wrote much of A Child's Garden of Verses.
Railway, gambling and royalty
In 1864, six years after Nice became part of France following the Second Italian War of Independence the first railway was completed, making Nice and the Riviera accessible to visitors from all over Europe. One hundred thousand visitors arrived in 1865. By 1874, residents of foreign enclaves in Nice, most of whom were British, numbered 25,000.
In the mid-19th century, British and French entrepreneurs began to see the potential of promoting tourism along the Côte d'Azur. At the time, gambling was illegal in France and Italy. In 1856, the Prince of Monaco, Charles III, began constructing a casino in Monaco, which was called a health spa to avoid criticism by the church. The casino was a failure, but in 1863 the Prince signed an agreement with François Blanc, a French businessman already operating a successful casino at Baden-Baden (southwestern Germany), to build a resort and new casino. Blanc arranged for steamships and carriages to take visitors from Nice to Monaco, and built hotels, gardens and a casino in a place called Spélugues. At the suggestion of his mother, Princess Caroline, Charles III renamed the place Monte Carlo after himself. When the railway reached Monte Carlo in 1870, many thousands of visitors began to arrive and the population of the principality of Monaco doubled.
The French Riviera soon became a popular destination for European royalty. Just days after the railway reached Nice in 1864, Tsar Alexander II of Russia visited on a private train, followed soon afterwards by Napoleon III and then Leopold II, the King of the Belgians.
Queen Victoria was a frequent visitor. In 1882 she stayed in Menton, and in 1891 spent several weeks at the Grand Hotel at Grasse. In 1892 she stayed at the Hotel Cost-belle in Hyères. In successive years from 1895 to 1899 she stayed in Cimiez in the hills above Nice. First, in 1895 and 1896, she patronised the Grand Hôtel, while in later years she and her staff took over the entire west wing of the Excelsior Hôtel Régina, which had been designed with her needs specifically in mind (part of which later became the home and studio of the renowned artist Henri Matisse). She travelled with an entourage of between sixty and a hundred, including chef, ladies in waiting, dentist, Indian servants, her own bed and her own food.
The Prince of Wales was a regular visitor to Cannes, starting in 1872. He frequented the Club Nautique, a private club on the Croisette, the fashionable seafront boulevard of Cannes. He visited there each spring for a two-month period, observing yacht races from shore while the royal yacht, Britannia, was sailed by professional crewmen. After he became King in 1901, he never again visited the French Riviera.
By the end of the 19th century the Côte d'Azur began to attract artistic painters, who appreciated the climate, the bright colors and clear light. Among them were Auguste Renoir, who settled in Cagnes-sur-Mer and in Mougins, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso.
Inter-war period, American visitors and decline of the aristocracy
The First World War brought down many of the royal houses of Europe and altered the nature and the calendar of the French Riviera. Following the war, greater numbers of Americans began arriving, with business moguls and celebrities eventually outnumbering aristocrats. The 'High Society' scene moved from a winter season to a summer season.
Americans began coming to the south of France in the 19th century. Henry James set part of his novel The Ambassadors on the Riviera. James Gordon Bennett Jr., the son and heir of the founder of the New York Herald, had a villa in Beaulieu. Industrialist John Pierpont Morgan gambled at Monte Carlo and bought 18th-century paintings by Fragonard in Grasse – shipping them to the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
A feature of the French Riviera in the inter-war years was the Train Bleu, an all first-class sleeper train which brought wealthy passengers down from Calais. It made its first trip in 1922, and carried Winston Churchill, Somerset Maugham, and the future King Edward VIII over the years.
While Europe was still recovering from the war and the American dollar was strong, American writers and artists started arriving on the Côte d'Azur. Edith Wharton wrote The Age of Innocence (1920) at a villa near Hyères, winning the Pulitzer Prize for the novel (the first woman to do so). Dancer Isadora Duncan frequented Cannes and Nice, but died in 1927 when her scarf caught in a wheel of the Amilcar motor car in which she was a passenger and strangled her. The writer F. Scott Fitzgerald first visited with his wife Zelda in 1924, stopping at Hyères, Cannes and Monte Carlo – eventually staying at Saint-Raphaël, where he wrote much of The Great Gatsby and began Tender Is the Night.
While Americans were largely responsible for making summer the high season, a French fashion designer, Coco Chanel, made sunbathing fashionable. She acquired a striking tan during the summer of 1923, and tans then became the fashion in Paris.
During the abdication crisis of the British Monarchy in 1936, Wallis Simpson, the intended bride of King Edward VIII, was staying at the Villa Lou Viei in Cannes, talking with the King by telephone each day. After his abdication, the Duke of Windsor (as he became) and his new wife stayed at the Villa La Croë on the Cap d'Antibes.
The English playwright and novelist Somerset Maugham also became a resident in 1926, buying the Villa La Mauresque toward the tip of Cap Ferrat, near Nice.
Second World War
When Germany invaded France in June 1940, the remaining British colony was evacuated to Gibraltar and eventually to Britain. American Jewish groups helped some of the Jewish artists living in the south of France, such as Marc Chagall, to escape to the United States. In August 1942, 600 Jews from Nice were rounded up by French police and sent to Drancy, and eventually to death camps. In all about 5,000 French Jews from Nice perished during the war.
Following D-Day in Normandy, Operation Dragoon (initially Operation Anvil), the code name for the Allied invasion of Southern France, commenced on 15 August 1944, when American parachute troops landed near Fréjus, and a fleet landed 60,000 troops of the American Seventh Army and French First Army between Cavalaire and Agay, east of Saint-Raphaël. German resistance was not as fanatical as Hitler and the High Command had ordered, and crumbled in days.
Saint-Tropez was badly damaged by German mines at the time of the liberation. The novelist Colette organized an effort to assure the town was rebuilt in its original style.
When the war ended, artists Marc Chagall and Pablo Picasso returned to live and work.
Post-war period and late 20th century
The Cannes Film Festival was launched in September 1946, marking the return of French cinema to world screens. The Festival Palace was built in 1949 on the site of the old Cercle Nautique, where the Prince of Wales had met his mistresses in the late 19th century. The release of the French film Et Dieu… créa la femme (And God Created Woman) in November 1956 was a major event for the Riviera, making an international star of Brigitte Bardot, and making an international tourist destination of Saint-Tropez, particularly for the new class of wealthy international travellers called the jet set.
The marriage of American film actress Grace Kelly to Prince Rainier of Monaco on 18 April 1956, attracted world attention once again. It was viewed on television by 30 million people.
During the 1960s, the Mayor of Nice, Jacques Médecin, decided to reduce the dependence of the Riviera on ordinary tourism, and to make it a destination for international congresses and conventions. He built the Palais des Congrès at the Acropolis in Nice, and founded a Chagall Museum and a Matisse Museum at Cimiez. High-rise apartment buildings and real estate developments began to spread.
At the end of August 1997, Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed spent their last days together on his father's yacht off Pampelonne Beach near Saint-Tropez, shortly before they were killed in a traffic accident in the Alma Tunnel in Paris.
Geography
Coastal municipalities
Places
Places on the Côte d'Azur (following the broadest definition), following the coast from south-west to north-east, include:
Cassis
La Ciotat
Bandol
Sanary-sur-Mer
Six-Fours-les-Plages
La Seyne-sur-Mer
Toulon
Hyères and the Îles d'Hyères (Porquerolles, Port-Cros and Île du Levant)
Le Lavandou
Cavalaire-sur-Mer
Saint-Tropez
Inland – Grimaud, with Port-Grimaud on the coast
Sainte-Maxime
Roquebrune-sur-Argens
Fréjus and Saint-Raphaël
Inland – Fayence
Les Adrets-de-l'Estérel
Tanneron
Théoule-sur-Mer
Mandelieu-la-Napoule
Inland – Grasse
Inland – Mougins
the Îles de Lérins – Île Sainte-Marguerite and Île Saint-Honorat
Cannes
Inland – Vallauris
Inland – Valbonne
Inland – Sophia-Antipolis
Golfe-Juan
Juan-les-Pins
Antibes
Inland – Biot
Villeneuve-Loubet
Cagnes-sur-Mer
Inland – Vence
Inland – Saint-Paul-de-Vence
Inland – Saint-Jeannet
Saint-Laurent-du-Var
Inland – Belvédère
Nice
Villefranche-sur-Mer
Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat
Beaulieu-sur-Mer
Èze
Cap d'Ail
Monaco (including Monte-Carlo)
Beausoleil
Roquebrune-Cap-Martin
Menton
Tourism
Some data related to tourism on the Riviera in 2006:
More than 14 million tourists
52% of customers from abroad
65 million nights stayed
Tourists spending €5 billion
75,000 jobs; tourism is 18% of total employment in the Alpes-Maritimes.
500,000 tourists in the High Country
500,000 delegates
3 million admissions to museums and monuments
More than 45% of tourists come by air
Climate
The French Riviera has a Mediterranean climate, with sunny, hot, dry summers and mild winters. Winter temperatures are moderated by the Mediterranean; days of frost are rare. The average daily low temperature in Nice in January is ; the January average daily low temperature in Toulon is . The average high temperature in August in Nice is ; in Toulon the average daily high temperature is
The Côte d'Azur receives more rainfall annually than Paris ( annually in Nice and in Toulon compared with in Paris), but the rainy days are much less frequent and the Riviera is considerably sunnier; 111 rainy days a year in Paris compared with 61 days in Toulon and 63 in Nice. Rain is generally more common in the Autumn and Winter months while the summers are drier. Toulon has 2,793 hours of sunshine a year, Nice has 2,668 hours.
Micro-climates exist in these coastal regions, and there can be great differences in the weather between various locations. Strong winds such as the mistral, a cold dry wind from the northwest or from the east, are another characteristic, particularly in the winter. Nice, in particular is surrounded by mountains to the North, protecting it from the Mistral winds making it feel milder on sunny days.
The Sirocco is a southerly wind, coming from the African continent and often felt on the Mediterranean coast of Europe. It is a hot and humid wind, occasionally carrying sand from the Sahara which is then deposited in coastal areas across Southern Europe.
The French Riviera is one of the mildest locations in the world for its latitude, owing to the Gulf Stream which moderates the temperatures in Western Europe, particularly in winter and the warming effect of the Mediterranean Sea. Because of this, the region boasts a long growing season and supports the growth of exotic flora such as Citrus Fruits and Palm Trees. Snow is very uncommon in the winters and the long, hot and sunny summers have long been a draw for tourists since the days of British Aristocracy.
Nice and Alpes-Maritimes
Nice and the Alpes-Maritimes département are sheltered by the Alps. The winds are usually gentle, from the sea to the land, though sometimes the mistral blows strongly from the northwest, or, turned by the mountains, from the east. In 1956 a mistral from the northwest reached at Nice Airport. Sometimes, in summer, the sirocco brings high temperatures and reddish desert sand from the Sahara (see Winds of Provence).
Rain can be torrential, particularly in the autumn, when storms and rain are caused by the difference between the colder air inland and the warm Mediterranean water temperature (). The rainiest months are September ( average rainfall); October (); November () and December ().
Snow on the coast is rare, falling on average once every ten years. 1956 was exceptional, when blanketed the coast. In January 1985 the coast between Cannes and Menton received . In the mountains, snow is present from November to May.
Var
The département of Var (which includes Saint-Tropez and Hyères) has a climate slightly warmer, drier and sunnier than Nice and Alpes-Maritimes, but is less sheltered from the wind.
The mistral, which brings cold and dry air down from the upper Alpine regions via the Rhône valley and extends with diminishing intensity along the Côte d'Azur, blows frequently during the winter. Strong winds blow for about 75 days a year in Fréjus.
Events and festivals
Several major events take place:
Monaco and southeast France: Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo, January
Monaco: International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo, January / February
Mandelieu-la-Napoule: La Fête du Mimosa, February
Nice: Carnival, February
Menton: Lemon Festival, February
Tourrettes-sur-Loup: Violet Festival, March
Monaco: Monte-Carlo Masters, April–May
Monaco: Formula One Grand Prix race, May
Grasse; Rose Festival, May
Cannes: Cannes Film Festival and Cannes Film Market, May
Nice: Jazz Festival, July
Juan-les-Pins: Jazz à Juan, late July.
Grasse: Jasmine Festival, August
Toulon: Toulon Tournament, Tall Ships' Race
Painters
The climate and vivid colors of the Mediterranean attracted many famous artists during the 19th and 20th centuries. They included:
Pierre Bonnard (1867–1947); retired to and died at Le Cannet.
Roger Broders (1883–1953); Parisian travel poster illustrator.
Marc Chagall (1887–1985); lived in Saint-Paul-de-Vence between 1948 and 1985.
Henri-Edmond Cross (1856–1910); discovered the Côte d'Azur in 1883, and painted at Monaco and Hyères.
Maurice Denis (1870–1943); painted at St. Tropez and Bandol.
Raoul Dufy (1877–1953); whose wife was from Nice, painted in the region, including in Nice.
Albert Marquet (1873–1947); painted at St. Tropez.
Henri Matisse (1869–1954); first visited St. Tropez in 1904. In 1917 he settled in Nice, first at the Hôtel Beau Rivage, then at the Hôtel de la Méditerranée, then at la Villa des Alliés in Cimiez. In 1921 he lived in an apartment in Nice, next to the flower market and overlooking the sea, where he lived until 1938. He then moved to the Hôtel Régina in the hills of Cimiez, above Nice. During World War II he lived in Vence, then returned to Cimiez, where he died and is buried.
Claude Monet (1840–1927); visited Menton, Bordighera, Juan-les-Pins, Monte Carlo, Nice, Cannes, Beaulieu and Villefranche, and painted a number of seascapes of Cap Martin, near Menton, and at Cap d'Antibes.
Edvard Munch (1863–1944); visited and painted in Nice and Monte Carlo (where he developed a passion for gambling), and rented a villa at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat in 1891.
Pablo Picasso (1881–1973); spent each summer from 1919 to 1939 on the Côte d'Azur, and moved there permanently in 1946, first at Vallauris, then at Mougins, where he spent his last years.
Auguste Renoir (1841–1919); visited Beaulieu, Grasse, Saint-Raphaël and Cannes, before finally settling in Cagnes-sur-Mer in 1907, where he bought a farm in the hills and built a new house and workshop on the grounds. He continued to paint there until his death in 1919. His house is now a museum.
Paul Signac (1863–1935); visited St. Tropez in 1892, and bought a villa, La Hune, at the foot of citadel in 1897. It was at his villa that his friend, Henri Matisse, painted his famous Luxe, Calme et Volupté in 1904. Signac made numerous paintings along the coast.
Yves Klein (1928–1962); a native of Nice, considered an important figure in post-war European art.
Sacha Sosno (1937–2013); French painter and sculptor who lived and worked in Nice.
See also
Gardens of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
American Riviera
Southern France
Italian Riviera
Portuguese Riviera
Turkish Riviera
Riviera
Bibliography
History
Henry de Lumley, La Grand Histoire des premiers hommes européens, Odile Jacob, Paris, 2010. ()
Aldo Bastié, Histoire de la Provence, Éditions Ouest-France, 2001.
Mary Blume, Côte d'Azur: Inventing the French Riviera, Thames and Hudson, London, 1992.
Patrick Howarth, When the Riviera was Ours, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1977.
Jim Ring, Riviera, the Rise and Fall of the Côte d'Azur, John Murray Publishers, London, 1988.
Edouard Baratier (editor), Histoire de la Provence, Editions Privat, Toulouse, 1969 ()
Painters
La Méditerranée de Courbet à Matisse, catalog of the exhibit at the Grand Palais, Paris from September 2000 to January 2001. Published by the Réunion des musées nationaux, 2000.
References
Seaside resorts in France
Coasts of France
Landforms of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Ligurian Sea | en |
doc-en-8001 | Mark Wayne Clark (May 1, 1896 – April 17, 1984) was a United States Army officer who saw service during World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. He was the youngest four-star general in the US Army during World War II.
During World War I, he was a company commander and served in France in 1918, as a 22-year-old captain, where he was seriously wounded by shrapnel. After the war, the future US Army Chief of Staff, General George C. Marshall, noticed Clark's abilities. During World War II, he commanded the United States Fifth Army, and later the 15th Army Group, in the Italian campaign. He is known for leading the Fifth Army when it captured Rome in June 1944.
Clark has been heavily criticized for ignoring the orders of his superior officer, British General Sir Harold Alexander, and for allowing the German 10th Army to slip away, in his drive to take Rome, the capital of Italy, a strategically unimportant city. Clark ordered Lucian Truscott to select Operation Turtle (moving towards Rome) rather than Operation Buffalo (moving to cut Route 6 at Valmontone), which Alexander had ordered. Clark had, however, left Operation Turtle as an option if Operation Buffalo ran into difficulty. The German 10th Army then joined the rest of the German army group at the Trasimene Line.
In March 1945, at the age of 48, Clark became one of the youngest American officers who was ever promoted to the rank of four-star general. Dwight Eisenhower, a close friend, considered Clark to be a brilliant staff officer and trainer of men.
Clark was awarded many medals, including the Distinguished Service Cross, the US Army's second-highest award.
A legacy of the "Clark Task Force," which he led from 1953 to 1955 to review and to make recommendations on all federal intelligence activities, is the term "intelligence community."
Early life and career
Clark was born in Madison Barracks, Sackets Harbor, New York, but spent much of his youth in Highland Park, Illinois, while his father, Charles Carr Clark, a career infantry officer in the United States Army, was stationed at Fort Sheridan. His mother, Rebecca "Beckie" Ezekkiels, was the daughter of Romanian Jews; Mark Clark was baptized Episcopalian as a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.
Clark gained an early appointment to the USMA in June 1913 at the age of 17, but lost time from frequent illnesses. Known as "Contraband" by his classmates, because of his ability to smuggle sweets into the barracks, while at West Point, he met and befriended Dwight D. Eisenhower, who lived in the same barracks division and was his company cadet sergeant. Although Eisenhower was two years senior to him and had graduated as part of the West Point class of 1915, both formed a friendship. Clark graduated from West Point on April 20, 1917, exactly two weeks after the American entry into World War I, and six weeks before schedule, with a class ranking of 110 in a class of 139, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Infantry Branch. He graduated alongside young men such as Matthew Ridgway, J. Lawton Collins, (both of whom later became U.S. Army Chief of Staff) Ernest N. Harmon, William W. Eagles, Norman Cota, Laurence B. Keiser, John M. Devine, Albert C. Smith, Frederick A. Irving, Charles H. Gerhardt, Bryant Moore and William K. Harrison. All of these men would, like Clark himself, rise to high command and become generals.
Like his father, he decided to join the Infantry Branch. He was assigned to the 11th Infantry Regiment, which later became part of the 5th Division, where he became a company commander in Company 'K' of the 3rd Battalion, 11th Infantry, with First Lieutenant John W. O'Daniel serving as a platoon commander in his company. In the rapid expansion of the U.S. Army during World War I, he rose quickly in rank, promoted to first lieutenant on May 15 and captain on August 5, 1917.
In late April 1918, shortly before Clark's 22nd birthday and over a year after his graduation from West Point, he arrived on the Western Front, to join the American Expeditionary Force (AEF). Arriving with his company at the French port of Brest on 1 May, his 22nd birthday, the next few weeks were spent in training in trench warfare under the tutelage of the French Army and soon afterwards the division was inspected by General John J. Pershing, the Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the AEF on the Western Front. Serving in the Vosges mountains, the Commanding Officer (CO) of the regiment's 3rd Battalion, Major R. E. Kingman, fell ill and Clark was promoted to acting battalion commander on June 12, 1918, with O'Daniel taking over command of Clark's company. Two days later, when Clark's division was relieving a French division in the trenches, he was wounded by German artillery in the right shoulder and upper back, knocking him unconscious; the soldier standing next to him, Private Joseph Kanieski, was killed. They were two of the first casualties suffered by the 5th Division during the war.
Despite his injuries, however, Captain Clark managed to recover within six weeks, although he was graded unfit to return to the infantry. As a result of his convalescence, he was transferred to the Supply Section of the First Army. In this position he served with Colonel John L. DeWitt, and supervised the daily provision of food for the men of the First Army, which earned Clark recognition at the higher levels of command. He stayed in this post until the end of hostilities on November 11, 1918. He then served with the Third Army in its occupation duties in Germany and returned to the United States in June 1919, just over a year after he was sent overseas.
Interwar period
During the interwar period, Clark served in a variety of staff and training roles. From 1921 to 1924, he served as an aide in the office of the Assistant Secretary of War. In 1925, he completed the professional officer's course at the US Army Infantry School and then served as a staff officer with the 30th Infantry Regiment at The Presidio in San Francisco, California. His next assignment was as a training instructor to the Indiana Army National Guard, in which he was promoted to major on January 14, 1933, more than 15 years after his promotion to captain.
Major Clark served as a deputy commander of the Civilian Conservation Corps district in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1935–1936, between tours at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff School in 1935 and the U.S. Army War College in 1937. Among his classmates there were Matthew Ridgway, Walter Bedell Smith and Geoffrey Keyes, all of whom he would serve with during World War II.
Assigned to Fort Lewis, Washington, Clark was selected by General George C. Marshall, the newly promoted Army Chief of Staff, to instruct at the U.S. Army War College in March 1940, where he received a promotion to lieutenant colonel on July 1. Clark and Brigadier General Lesley J. McNair, later the commander of Army Ground Forces, selected the thousands of acres of unused land in Louisiana for military maneuvers in the Louisiana Maneuvers. On August 4, 1941, Clark, skipping the rank of colonel, was promoted two grades to brigadier general as the U.S. Army geared up for entry in World War II, and made Assistant Chief of Staff (G-3) at General Headquarters, United States Army, in Washington, D.C.
World War II
In January 1942, a month after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the American entry into World War II, Clark was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff of Army Ground Forces, commanded by Lieutenant General Lesley J. McNair, and in May 1942, became its Chief of Staff.
On April 17, 1942 Clark was promoted to the two-star rank of major general. Just two weeks before his 46th birthday, he was the youngest major general in the U.S. Army. In June, Clark, along with Major General Dwight Eisenhower, was sent to England as Commanding General (CG) of II Corps, and the next month moved up to CG, Army Forces in the European Theater of Operations (ETO). Along with Eisenhower, he was sent to work out the feasibility of a cross-channel invasion of German-occupied Europe that year, based on the Germany first strategy, which had been agreed on by American and British military and political leaders the year before if the United States were to enter the conflict. It was while in England that Clark first met the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, who was much impressed by Clark, referring to him as "The American Eagle", along with General Sir Alan Brooke, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS, the professional head of the British Army), and Lieutenant General Bernard Montgomery, then commander of the South Eastern Command. After a cross-channel invasion was ruled out for 1942, attention was turned to planning for an Allied invasion of French North Africa, given the codename of Operation Gymnast, later Operation Torch. In October, Clark was assigned to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) as deputy to Eisenhower, who was now the Supreme Allied Commander in the theater. In doing so he relinquished command of II Corps. Clark's duty was to prepare for Operation Torch. Clark also made a covert visit to French North Africa (see Operation Flagpole) to meet with pro-Allied officers of the Vichy French forces.
Eisenhower greatly appreciated Clark's contributions. Clark, at the age of 46, was promoted to lieutenant general on November 11, 1942, three days after the Torch landings. He was the youngest three-star general in the U.S. Army. On January 5, 1943, the United States created its first field army overseas, the Fifth Army, with Clark as its CG, although neither Clark nor Fifth Army would see service in the fighting in North Africa. Many officers, most notably Major General George S. Patton, Jr., who was both older and senior to Clark, and was then commanding I Armored Corps, came to resent him, believing he had advanced too quickly. Patton, in particular, believed Clark was "too damned slick" and believed Clark was much too concerned with himself. In the presence of senior commanders Patton and Clark were friendly, although Patton, in his journal, wrote "I think that if you treat a skunk nicely, he will not piss on you—as often", referring to Clark after both he and General George Marshall, the Army Chief of Staff, visited Patton's headquarters as the latter explained his plans for the upcoming invasion of Sicily. Clark, for his part, claimed he found it difficult to command men who had been his senior, and he proved reluctant to remove those commanders if they failed in battle. The Fifth Army's initial mission was preparing to keep a surveillance on Spanish Morocco.
On September 9, 1943, the Fifth Army, composed of the U.S. VI Corps, under Major General Ernest J. Dawley—who was a decade older than Clark and about whom Clark had doubts—and the British X Corps, under Lieutenant General Sir Richard L. McCreery—to whom Clark would later scornfully refer as a "feather duster"—under Clark's command landed at Salerno (codenamed Operation Avalanche). The invasion, despite good initial progress, was nearly defeated over the next few days by numerous German counterattacks and Major General Dawley, the VI Corps commander, was sacked and replaced by Major General John P. Lucas, who himself was later sacked and replaced after his perceived failure during Operation Shingle. Clark was subsequently criticized by historians and critics for this near-failure, blamed on poor planning by Clark and his staff. Despite this, however, Clark was later awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. The Fifth Army, by now composed of five American divisions (the 3rd, 34th, 36th and 45th Infantry, along with the 82nd Airborne) and three British divisions (7th Armoured, 46th and 56th Infantry), operating alongside the British Eighth Army, under General Bernard Montgomery, subsequently advanced up the spine of Italy, and captured the Italian city of Naples on October 1, 1943 and crossed the Volturno Line in mid-October. Progress, however, soon began to slow down, due to German resistance, lack of Allied manpower in Italy, and the formidable German defenses known as the Winter Line, which was to hold the Allies up for the next six months.
During the Battle of Monte Cassino, Clark ordered the bombing of the Abbey on 15 February 1944. This was under direct orders from his superior, British General Sir Harold R. L. G. Alexander, Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the Allied Armies in Italy (AAI). Clark and his chief of staff, Major General Alfred Gruenther, remained unconvinced of the military necessity of the bombing. When handing over the U.S. II Corps position to the New Zealand Corps, under Lieutenant General Sir Bernard C. Freyberg, the Assistant Division Commander (ADC) of the U.S. 34th Infantry Division, Brigadier General Frederic B. Butler, claimed "I don't know, but I don't believe the enemy is in the convent. All the fire has been from the slopes of the hill below the wall." The commander of the 4th Indian Infantry Division, Major General Francis Tuker, urged the bombing of the entire massif with the heaviest bombs available. Clark finally pinned down the Commander-in-Chief, Alexander, recounting that "I said, 'You give me a direct order and we'll do it' and he did."
Clark's conduct of operations in the Italian Campaign is controversial, particularly during the actions around the German Winter Line, such as the U.S. 36th Infantry Division's assault on the Gari river in January 1944, which failed with 1,681 casualties and nothing gained. American military historian Carlo D'Este called Clark's choice to take the undefended Italian capital of Rome, after Operation Diadem and the breakout from the Anzio beachhead, in early June, rather than focusing on the destruction of the German 10th Army, "as militarily stupid as it was insubordinate". Although Clark described a "race to Rome" and released an edited version of his diary for the official historians, his complete papers became available only after his death.
Clark led the Fifth Army, now much reduced in manpower, having given up both the U.S. VI Corps and the French Expeditionary Corps (CEF) for Operation Dragoon, the Allied invasion of Southern France (which Clark had always opposed), throughout the battles around the Gothic Line. For the offensive, Clark's Fifth Army (now composed only of the II Corps—with the 34th and 85th Infantry Divisions—under Major General Geoffrey Keyes, and the IV Corps—with the 88th and 91st Infantry Divisions—under Major General Willis D. Crittenberger and the 1st Armored Division in reserve) was reinforced by the British XIII Corps, under Lieutenant General Sidney Kirkman. The initial stages went well until the autumn weather began and, as it did the previous year, the advance bogged down.
Early on the morning of January 28, 1944, a PT boat carrying Clark to the Anzio beachhead, six days after the Anzio landings, was mistakenly fired on by U.S. naval vessels. Several sailors were killed and wounded around him. Next month, during the air raid he ordered on Monte Cassino abbey, 16 bombs were mistakenly dropped at the Fifth Army headquarter compound then 17 miles (27 km) away from there, exploding yards from his trailer while he was at his desk inside. A few months later, on June 10, he again narrowly escaped death when, while flying over Civitavecchia, his pilot failed to see the cable of a barrage balloon. The cable entwined the wing, forcing the Piper Cub into a rapid downward spiral. The plane broke free of the cable after the third time around, leaving a large section of the wing behind. The fuel tank ruptured, spraying the fuselage with gasoline. Miraculously, the pilot managed to land safely in a cornfield. "I never had a worse experience" wrote Clark to his wife.
In December 1944 Clark succeeded Alexander as commander of the AAI, renamed the 15th Army Group, and Alexander was made the Supreme Commander of the AFHQ in the Mediterranean, replacing Field Marshal Sir Henry Maitland Wilson, who himself was called to Washington to replace Field Marshal Sir John Dill as head of the British Joint Chiefs of Staff. Succeeding Clark as commander of the Fifth Army was Lieutenant General Lucian Truscott, who had previously commanded VI Corps and, before that, the 3rd Division. Clark was promoted to the four-star rank of general on March 10, 1945, aged 48, the youngest in the United States Army. Clark led the 15th Army Group in the Spring 1945 offensive in Italy, codenamed Operation Grapeshot, which brought the war in Italy to an end, and afterwards he accepted the German surrender in Italy in May and became Commander of the Allied Forces in Italy at the end of World War II in Europe.
Post-war era and Korean War
Later in 1945, as Commander in Chief of US Forces of Occupation in Austria, Clark gained experience negotiating with communists, which he would put to good use a few years later. Clark served as deputy to the US Secretary of State in 1947 and attended the negotiations for an Austrian treaty with the Council of Foreign Ministers in London and Moscow. In June 1947, Clark returned home and assumed command of the Sixth Army, headquartered at the Presidio in San Francisco and two years later was named chief of Army Field Forces. On October 20, 1951, he was nominated by President Harry S Truman to be the US emissary to the Holy See. Clark withdrew his nomination on January 13, 1952 after protests from Texas Senator Tom Connally and from Protestant groups.
Congressional inquiry
It was announced on 20 January 1946 that the 36th Infantry Division Veteran's Association had unanimously called for a congressional inquiry into Clark's actions during the 36th Infantry Division's disastrous crossing of the Gari River (erroneously identified as the Rapido) on the night of 20 January 1944. The petition read:
Be it resolved, that the men of the 36th Division Association petition the Congress of the United States to investigate the river Rapido fiasco and take the necessary steps to correct a military system that will permit an inefficient and inexperienced officer, such as General Mark W. Clark, in a high command to destroy the young manhood of this country and to prevent future soldiers being sacrificed wastefully and uselessly.
Two resolutions were heard in the House of Representatives, one of which claimed the incident was "one of the most colossal blunders of the Second World War... a murderous blunder" that "every man connected with this undertaking knew... was doomed to failure."
Clark was absolved of blame by the House of Representatives but never commented on the Rapido River episode.
Korean War
During the Korean War, he took over as commander of the United Nations Command on May 12, 1952, succeeding General Matthew Ridgway, a close friend and a fellow graduate of the West Point class of 1917. Clark commanded the UN forces in Korea until the armistice was signed on July 27, 1953 and retired from the Army on October 31 of the same year.
Later career
From 1954 to 1965, after retiring from the Army, Clark served as president of The Citadel, the military college in Charleston, South Carolina.
From 1954 to 1955, Clark was head of the so-called Clark Task Force to study and make recommendations on all intelligence activities of the Federal government. The task force had been created in 1953 by the second Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government, or the Hoover Commission, which had been chaired by Herbert Hoover.
Members of the Clark Task Force were Admiral Richard L. Conolly, a former Deputy Chief of Naval Operations; Ernest F. Hollings, the speaker pro tempore of South Carolina's House of Representatives; California businessman Henry Kearns; Edward V. Rickenbacker, World War I flying ace and president of Eastern Air Lines; and Donald S. Russell, a former Assistant Secretary of State. The staff director was Major General James G. Christiansen. The task force first met in early November 1954 and in May 1955 submitted a top-secret report for the president and another that was unclassified for the Hoover Commission and Congress. The Clark task force coined the term Intelligence Community to describe "the machinery for accomplishing our intelligence objectives."
Clark wrote two memoirs: Calculated Risk (1950) and From the Danube to the Yalu (1954). His wife, Maurine, also wrote a memoir: Captain's Bride, General's Lady (1956).
In 1962, Clark was elected an honorary member of the South Carolina Society of the Cincinnati in recognition of his outstanding service to his country.
Retirement and death
General Clark retired in 1965 when he stepped down as president of The Citadel. He lived in Charleston, South Carolina, in retirement and died there on April 17, 1984, shortly before his 88th birthday. He was the last surviving American officer who had held four-star rank during World War II. He was buried on the campus of The Citadel.
Awards and decorations
Dates of rank
Personal life
Clark married Maurine Doran, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. M. A. Doran of Muncie, Ind., May 17, 1924. Mrs. Clark died October 5, 1966. Their son was Maj. William Doran Clark, U.S.A. (Ret.), and their daughter Patricia Ann (Mrs. Gordon H. Oosting). Later in life he married Mary Dean. Patricia Ann did not have any children. William had 5 children: Louise Clark Goddard, Doran Clark Abrams, D'Wayne Clark Waterman, Helen Clark Atkeson, and Larry Clark.
Mark W. Clark was initiated to the Scottish Rite Freemasonry in the Mystic Tie Lodge No. 398, Indianapolis, IN, receiving the 33rd and highest degree.
Legacy
An interstate spur (I-526) in the suburbs of Charleston, South Carolina, was named Mark Clark Expressway in his honor.
Mark Clark Hall on the campus of The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, is named in General Clark's honor.
From 1949 to August 17, 2010, the Mark Clark Bridge in Washington connected Camano Island with the adjacent town of Stanwood on the mainland. It was then superseded by the Camano Gateway Bridge, and the Mark Clark Bridge was demolished the following month.
Fort Drum's Clark Hall is named after him. Fort Drum is near Clark's Madison Barracks birthplace, and Clark Hall is used for administrative in processing and out-processing soldiers assigned to the 10th Mountain Division.
The term "intelligence community" was created by the federal intelligence-review "Clark Task Force," which he headed from 1953 to 1955. The term remains in use by the US government and by civilians.
He was used in the 1979 novel Kane and Abel as the reason for the Abel character going to World War II.
In film
Clark was portrayed by Michael Rennie in the film The Devil's Brigade. The film is about the exploits of the 1st Special Service Force, commanded by Colonel Robert T. Frederick, which came under Clark's command in the Italian Campaign.
See also
Notes
References
Bibliography
Blumenson, Martin (1984). Mark Clark: The Last of the Great World War II Commanders. Cordon & Weed.
(first edition 1950)
External links
United States Army Officers 1939–1945
Generals of World War II
Papers of Mark W. Clark, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
Finding aid for the Mark W. Clark Oral History, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
Historical Sound from General Clark (some statements with German translation)
Biography from the Korean War Encyclopedia
General Mark W. Clark – TIME magazine cover of July 7, 1952
From the Liberation of Rome to the Korean Armistice – General Mark Wayne Clark interview – 1975 Three Monkeys Online
Footage
Mark W. Clark Collection The Citadel Archives & Museum
Sidney T. Mathews: General Clark's Decision to drive on Rome. In: Command Decisions (editor: Center for Military History, 2000). CMH Pub 70-7-1; partly edited already in 1960. Chapter 14 (p. 351–364)
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doc-en-3120 | The 2016–2018 India–Pakistan border skirmishes were a series of armed clashes between India and Pakistan, mostly consisting of heavy exchanges of gunfire between Indian and Pakistani forces across the de facto border, known as the Line of Control (LoC), between the two states in the disputed region of Kashmir. The skirmishes began after India claimed to have conducted surgical strikes against militant launch pads within the Pakistani-administered territory of Azad Jammu and Kashmir on 29 September 2016.
Pakistan rejected the reports that any deep strike had taken place, stating that Indian forces had only engaged in a gunfight with Pakistani troops at the LoC without crossing over into Pakistani territory, an engagement that reportedly resulted in the deaths of two Pakistani soldiers and the wounding of nine. Pakistan also rejected India's claims that there had been additional casualties. Following this, Pakistani sources reported that in the 29 September skirmish, at least eight Indian soldiers were killed while one was captured by the Pakistan Army. India subsequently confirmed that one of its soldiers was in Pakistani custody, but denied that the mentioned gunfight was linked to the surgical strike incident or that any of its soldiers had been killed in the hostilities.
The Indian operation was said to be in retaliation for a militant attack on an Indian Army base in Uri, in the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir, that left 19 Indian Army soldiers dead on 18 September 2016. Over the course of the next 20 months, India and Pakistan continued to regularly exchange fire across the LoC in Kashmir, resulting in dozens of military and civilian casualties on both sides.
Timeline
2016 – initial strikes
On 29 September, eleven days after the Uri attack, the Indian army reported it conducted surgical strikes against suspected militants in Pakistani-administered Kashmir. Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, Indian Director General of Military Operations (DGMO), said that it had received "very credible and specific information" about "terrorist teams" who were preparing to "carry out infiltration and conduct terrorist strikes inside Jammu and Kashmir and in various metros in other states". The Indian action was meant to pre-empt their infiltration. Indian media reported variously that between 35 and 70 terrorists had been killed.
Pakistan denied that such surgical strikes occurred. The Inter-Services Public Relations said that there had been only "cross border firing". Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the "unprovoked and naked aggression of Indian forces", which he said resulted in the death of two Pakistani soldiers.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said that the UN Observer Group in Pakistani Kashmir did not directly observe any "firing across the Line of Control" relating to the incident. The Indian envoy at UN Syed Akbaruddin dismissed this statement, saying "facts on the ground do not change whether somebody acknowledges or not."
Analyst Sandeep Singh, writing in The Diplomat, said that the operation is better characterised as a cross-border raid because "surgical strikes" involve striking deep into the enemy territory and typically using air power.
2016 – Post-strikes
On 1 October, Pakistan said its soldiers had come under fire in Bhimber and they responded to the attack. Indian media stated that Pakistan had started the firing. 6 Indian civilians in Poonch district were reported to be injured in firing from Pakistani soldiers on 3 October. On 4 October, the Indian Border Security Force said it witnessed Pakistani-operated unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) flying close to the border, presumably to survey Indian positions. The same day, an Indian soldier was injured by Pakistani fire in the Naushera sector of Rajouri district in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Three to at least four Indian soldiers were injured on 5 October because of firing and shelling. Nine Pakistani soldiers were also reported to be injured in retaliatory fire.
Border skirmishes continued throughout the month of October. An Indian soldier was killed by Pakistani fire in the Rajouri District of Indian controlled Jammu and Kashmir on 16 October. One Pakistani civilian was stated to have been killed by Pakistani authorities while 12 others were stated to have been injured in firing by Indian forces on 19 October. On 21 October, the BSF said that it killed 7 Pakistan rangers, a militant and injured 3 other Pakistani soldier in retaliatory fire after a sniper attack by Pakistani forces injured an Indian soldier, Gurnam Singh in Hiranagar, who later succumbed to his injuries in hospital. The BSF claimed that the Pakistani media confirmed the "fatalities suffered by Pakistani rangers" with a news report that put the number of dead at 5. Pakistan's ISPR denied that any of its soldiers died and claimed that Indian forces resorted to unprovoked firing, which was dealt by Pakistani soldiers.
On 24 October, a BSF personnel and an Indian civilian were reported to have been killed in exchange of fire between both countries, while nine Indian civilians were reported to be injured. BSF also stated that four to five Pakistan Rangers were injured in firing from Indian side. Pakistani authorities also stated that 2 Pakistani civilians were killed in firing by Indian forces, with 6 civilians being injured.
Pakistani military claimed that it had killed 5 Indian soldiers and destroyed 4 Indian military outposts on 25 October. Pakistani authorities on 26 October alleged that two civilians were killed while nine others were injured in firing by Indian troops at the working boundary in Chaprar and Harpal sectors and on the LoC in Bhimber sector on 25–26 October. A BSF personnel was reported to be killed on 27 October in R.S. Pora sector while ten Indian civilians were reported to be injured along the International Border in Jammu region in firing by Pakistani forces. BSF claimed that it killed one Pakistan Ranger and injured another in retaliatory firing. 6 Pakistani civilians were killed and 22 were injured in firing by Indian forces at Shakargarh and Nikial sectors on the same day in a claim made 2 days later by Pakistani authorities. In addition, another two civilians were reported to be killed while nine others were reported to be injured in Chaprar, Harpal and Bhimber sectors.
Two Indian civilians were reported to be killed, while four civilians were reported to be injured in shelling by Pakistani forces on 28 October. A BSF constable was killed in an accident while retaliating to fire by Pakistani forces on the same day. Meanwhile, BSF claimed that 15 Pakistani soldiers had been killed in retaliatory fire. Three Pakistani civilians were reported to have been killed while five others were injured in firing by Indian forces on the same day in Nakyal sector.
According to a report by India Today, the Indian Army had destroyed a company headquarters and four military posts of the Pakistan Army on 29 October in retaliation to the beheading of an Indian soldiers by militants who were aided by cover fire from Pakistan Army. At least 20 Pakistani soldiers were reported to be killed in the attack according to the report.
A soldier was killed in Tarkundi area of Rajouri while a civilian was killed in Mendhar and another was injured in firing and shelling by Pakistani forces on 31 October. Pakistani authorities claimed on the same day that 4 Pakistani civilians were reported to be killed while 6 were injured in firing by Indian forces. 8 Indian civilians were reported to be killed in firing and shelling by Pakistan Rangers while 23 were injured on 1 November. The Indian Army stated that it had killed 2 Pakistani soldiers and destroyed 14 military posts in retaliation. 2 Indian soldiers were reported to be killed while two other soldiers and a woman were reported to be injured in firing by Pakistan Army who were trying to facilitate an infiltration bid on 5 November in Poonch district.
Pakistani officials stated on 7 November that 3 Pakistani civilians were killed while 6 civilians were injured in firing by Indian troops. On 8 November, three Pakistani civilians were killed while three were others were injured in shelling by Indian troops according to a senior police official of Poonch district. On the same day, an Indian soldier was reportedly killed while another was seriously injured in shelling by Pakistani troops in Nowshera sector. Another 4 Indian soldiers were also reportedly injured in shelling by Pakistani troops on the same day. The soldier who was seriously wounded in Rajouri succumbed to his injuries on the following day while another was killed in sniper fire by Pakistani troops in Machil sector of Kupwara according to an Indian Army official. On 9 November, Pakistani authorities stated that 4 civilians were killed while 7 were injured in firing by Indian troops in Khuirata and Battal sectors on the previous day.
An Indian soldier was reportedly killed in Keran sector on 11 November in firing by Pakistan Army while 6 soldiers were injured. Pakistani authorities stated on 14 November that 7 Pakistani soldiers had been killed in gunfire by Indian forces. General Raheel Sharif later claimed that they had killed 11 Indian soldiers on the same day in retaliatory firing. The Indian Army rejected the claim. On 17 November, Northern Command of the Indian Army said in a tweet: "No fatal casualties due to Pak firing on 14,15 or 16 Nov. Pak Army Chief claim of killing Indian soldiers on 14 Nov false."
On 18 November, the Pakistan Navy alleged that its warship had intercepted and prevented the covert infiltration of Indian submarine in Pakistan's seaborne territories on 14 November. The ISPR released the military video footage of the alleged Indian submarine patrolling in the Arabian sea. However, Pakistan had not identified the type of submarine it claim to have intercepted. The Navy claimed that its warships had intercepted the incurring Indian submarine once it was detected on their military radars, and diverted the submarine from its course of actions. The Indian Navy strongly rejected the claims and termed Pakistan's interception claims as: "blatant lies". The Indian Navy also said that none of its ships are near Pakistan." An Indian Navy officer said in a statement, "Why would an Indian submarine surface or come to snorkelling depth near Pakistani waters?", Submarines are meant to be stealthy, and they do not reveal their presence so easily whether they are on intelligence gathering or in combat missions. Another navy officer stated that there are more than 150 ships in the northern Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf of different nations including submarines of the China, "either the Pakistan Navy mistook some other nation's submarine as an Indian one or is just doing propaganda warfare." NDTV stated that, analysis of the video and the images released by Pakistani authorities does not indicate that the mast of the submarine which are visible in the images matches the mast of either India's Shishumar-class submarines, its Kilo-class submarines or its Chakra nuclear attack submarine.
On 18 November, Commander of X Corps of the Pakistan Army Lieutenant-General Malik Zafar Iqbal said to a selected gathering of Pakistani parliamentarians and journalists in Gilgit: "Only 20 of our soldiers embraced martyrdom" and claimed: "they [Indian Army] lost more than 40 soldiers".
On 19 November, the Pakistani military claimed that it shot down an Indian quad-copter type drone that had allegedly crossed the LoC into Pakistani controlled Kashmir. The same day, the Pakistani police said that four Pakistani civilians were killed in cross-border firing.
On 22 November, Indian reports said that militants or a Pakistani "Border Action Team" killed three Indian soldiers and savagely mutilated one of the bodies in Machhil sector of Kupwara district along the LoC. The Northern Command of the Indian Army said that "retribution will be heavy for this cowardly act". This was the second such incident of mutilation of an Indian soldier's body in the same sector since 28 October, when the militants mutilated the body of Mandeep Singh of 17 Sikh Regiment before retreating back into Pakistan controlled Kashmir under covering fire from Pakistan Army. Pakistan denied the accusation, calling it fabricated.
On 23 November the Indian army launched a massive attack. 120 mm heavy mortars and machine guns were used in the attack on Pakistani army posts. Artillery fire and shelling from India targeted several Pakistani villages and struck a passenger bus near the dividing line in the disputed region of Kashmir on Wednesday killing 9 civilians. Pakistan announced that it also killed 3 soldiers including an army captain. Two more civilians were also killed in another region of Kashmir. Pakistan military also claims 7 Indian soldiers have been killed in retaliatory fire, which was not confirmed by India. Following the incident, DGMO of Pakistan requested for unscheduled talks on hotline and complain about killing of civilians caused by Indian Army fire. However, Indian DGMO, Lt Gen Ranbir Singh made it clear to its counterpart about the unprovoked firing by Pakistani troops to provide cover fire to the terrorists coming from POK.
On 29 November, Pakistan and India exchanged fire on the LOC north of Baramulla sector as well as in Uri sector. On 2 December, a Border Security Force trooper was wounded by a Pakistani sniper in Bhimbher Gali sector of Rajouri district. On 29 December, it was reported that Pakistan Army fired at Indian positions in Gulpur sector of Poonch district. No casualties were reported on the Indian side.
2017
On 13 February 2017, Pakistan Army's official public relations outlet, the ISPR stated that three Pakistani soldiers were killed in cross-border firing by Indian troops.
The Indian Army stated on 1 May that the Border Action Team (BAT), which is alleged to be made up from terrorists and soldiers of Pakistan's Army, killed and mutilated bodies of 2 Indian soldiers. Pakistan's government denied it.
On 11 May 2017, the two countries exchanged artillery and small-arms fire. Pakistan's foreign office stated that a civilian had been killed while 2 others were injured by Indian shelling in Subzkot in Azad Kashmir while the Associated Press reported that an Indian civilian had been killed in Nowshera. On 14 May 2017, an Indian army official claimed that Pakistan shelling in Nowshera killed 3 Indian civilians and injured 9 others including a BSF officer.
On 23 May 2017, the Indian Army claimed it had "bombed" Pakistani army checkposts in Nowshera Sector along the border. An Indian military spokesman said the action was taken to prevent infiltration of militants into the Indian side. However, the Pakistani military swiftly rejected the claim as "false".
The Indian Army stated on 26 May that it had scuttled the attempts at a cross-border infiltration by BAT, killing 2 BAT terrorists. 2 days later it stated that an army porter was killed and another injured in firing by Pakistan Army in Keran sector.
On 29 May 2017, the Indian media reports, citing defence sources, said that special forces of the Indian Army foiled an attack by Pakistan's Border Action Team, killing 2 Pakistani soldiers along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri sector.
On 1 June 2017, Livemint reported, quoting an Indian government official, that the Indian Army's special forces eliminated a Pakistani Border Action Team composed of five enemy soldiers along the Line of Control in the Muzaffarabad sector. On the same day one Indian civilian was also killed after Pakistani troops attacked Indian military positions along the line of control. On 2 June 2017, Indian military reported that one personnel of General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) was killed and two Border Security Force (BSF) personnel were injured after Pakistani military opened fire on Indian military positions.
On 4 June, Pakistan's ISPR said that the military destroyed Indian bunkers during cross-border firing, in which five Indian soldiers were killed. It released video footage showing the Pakistani forces' destruction of the posts. However, the Indian Army denied the claim. "No casualties have been caused to our own soldiers in ceasefire violation along LoC," a senior officer of 16 Corps of the Indian Army said. "The claim of the Pakistan Army that it killed 5 Indian soldiers, destroyed bunkers in firing on LoC, is totally wrong," he said. Following hotline contact, the ISPR stated any Indian violations would be responded with "full force at the time and place of our choosing with the onus of responsibility on Indian aggressive behaviour." Dawn reported the number of Indian ceasefire violations in 2017 at over 400, crossing last year's 382. Pakistan's DGMO, Major-General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, said that Indian forces were killing civilians and inadvertent crossers of the LoC and labeling them infiltrators, which was "highly unprofessional and unsoldierly". He told his Indian counterpart to "look inwards" instead of at Pakistan for the unrest in Kashmir.
On 14 June, a cross border firing between Indian and Pak army, in Poonch and Rajouri area along LOC, left two Pak soldiers dead. On 16 June, An Indian soldier was killed by Pakistan army's cross-border firing on forward posts along the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir.
On 22 June, Pakistan Border action team (BAT) sneaked 600 metres across the LoC into the Poonch sector and killed two Indian soldiers. The same day, two Pakistani civilians were injured by Indian army's firing in Kotli district of Azad Kashmir.
On 25 June, Pakistan army cross border firing resulted in death of 1 civilian in Naushera sector. On 29 June, Indian military reported that two Indian soldiers were injured after Pakistan's army fired mortar, targeting Indian military positions along the Line of Control in Poonch district.
On 1 July 2017, a Pakistani civilian was injured by Indian army's cross border firing in Rawlakot, Azad Kashmir.
On 8 July, Indian officials reported that an on leave Indian soldier and his wife were killed and their three children were injured after Pakistani military opened fire targeting Poonch district along LOC. On next day of incident, Pande Rajiv Omparkash, SSP Poonch, said that Indian army destroyed a Pakistani checkpost.
On 10 July, Pakistan's ISPR said that Pak army responded with an attack that destroyed two Indian military posts and killed four of their soldiers.
On 12 July, two Indian soldiers were killed after a cross border firing by Pakistan army in Kupwara area along LOC.
On 15 July, an Indian soldier was killed by Pakistan army's cross border firing in Rajouri.
On 16 July, Indian army targeted one of the military vehicles of Pak army which eventually fell into Neelum River at Athmuqam along LOC resulting in deaths of 4 Pak army soldiers.
On 17 July, an Indian army men and a minor girl were killed while 2 other civilians were critically injured in cross border firing by Pakistan army along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday in Rajouri's Manjakote sector.
On 18 July, two Indian army men were killed by Pakistan army's firing in Rajouri district. The deceased were rifleman Vimal Sinjali and Sepoy Jaspreet Singh. Around six Indian civilians were also reported to be injured as result of Pakistan's army shelling of hamlets and military posts along Line of Control.
On 19 July, an Indian army Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) Shashi Kumar succumbed to his injuries. He was grievously injured as a result of Pakistan firing in Naushera yesterday. That same day, the Pakistan Army said that it targeted Indian military posts in retaliation to Indian army ceasefire violations the previous day. Pakistan Army stated that it had killed around five Indian soldiers in this attack.
On 21 July, an Indian Army soldier was killed in cross-border firing across the Line of Control on Friday by Pakistani army in Sunderbani sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district.
On 8 August, an Indian soldier was killed by Pakistani fire in skirmishing along the Line of Control.
On 12 August, an Indian army Junior commissioned officer (JCO) and one Indian civilian were killed by Pakistani shelling in Poonch district of Kashmir.
On 13 August 3 Indian soldiers were injured in Pakistan firing in Uri Sector of Baramulla.
On 25 August, a BSF soldier sustained injuries when he was hit by a Pakistani sniper just below his right ear in the RS Pura sector. His condition was said to be stable. The next day, on 26 August, the BSF said that the Pakistani rangers started unprovoked mortar shelling at forward Indian posts in Dewra village of Rajouri's Sunderbani district and in retaliation it "shot dead at least three Pakistan Rangers".
On 1 September 1 Border Security Force (BSF) soldier was Killed in Pakistani Sniper Fire From Across Line of Control in Poonch.
On 13 September, Indian officials stated that three BSF troopers sustained injuries as result of unprovoked firing by Pakistani forces on BSF posts in Poonch and Jammu districts.
On 14 September, the BSF said it killed two Pakistani soldiers in retaliatory fire.
On 15 September, an Indian border guard was killed by Pakistani fire in skirmishing along the Line of Control.
On 17 September, One woman killed, 5 injured as a result of Pakistan army firing in Arina sector.
On 20 September, an Indian army soldier was killed in Keran sector as a result of Pakistan army firing.
On 22 September, the Pakistan military said that six Pak civilians were killed while 26 others including 15 women and 5 children were injured by Indian army's firing in Charwah and Harpal sector. That same day, Indian police officials said that the Pakistani forces violated the ceasefire first, injuring four Indian civilians.
On 2 October, the Indian Army said that two children were killed and a dozen civilians were wounded in "unprovoked and indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics and mortars" by Pakistan soldiers in Poonch, where Indian troops killed 5 militants trying to infiltrate into India from the Pakistani side. Hindustan Times, citing an Indian Army spokesperson, said that Indian troops retaliated and the exchange of firing continued till afternoon.
On 3 October, an Indian Army soldier was killed when Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire along the LoC in Poonch.
On 4 October, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported that three Indian soldiers sustained injuries when Pakistani troops opened "unprovoked and indiscriminate" fire at them. A Defence spokesperson said that Indian troops "retaliated effectively". That same day, the Pakistan Army said that two children were killed from Indian firing across the LoC. The Pakistan Army added that it was engaging Indian posts, and three Indian soldiers were reported killed in addition to five injured during retaliatory firing.
On 12 October, eight Indian Army personnel including two porters sustained injuries due to unprovoked firing by the Pakistani troops. An army soldier and a porter later succumbed to their injuries. A defence spokesperson said, "The Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked and indiscriminate firing of small arms and automatics from 1035 hours in Krishnagati sector along the Line of Control (LoC)."
On 21 October, Indian army porter was killed and a girl was injured in Baramulla district as result of ceasefire violation.
On 2 November, a BSF constable was killed in Samaba sector as result of ceasefire violation.
On 4 December, a Pakistani soldier was killed as result of ceasefire violation on LOC. The deceased was Juma Khan Bugti belonging to 47 Baloch Regiment.
On 6 December, a Pakistan Army Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) on leave, Subedar Shaukat Kiani was killed due to Indian shelling in Abbaspur sector along with a civilian.
On 23 December, the Indian Army said that four Indian soldiers including an army major were killed in Keri sector in unprovoked firing by Pakistan. The next day, the Indian media reported that two Pakistani snipers were killed in Poonch and Rajouri districts. On 25 December, the Indian Army said that a team of 5–6 Ghatak commandos carried out a cross-LoC raid, during which they went around 250–300 meters inside the Pakistani side of the LoC, killing at least 3 Pakistani soldiers and injuring a few others. The Times of India cited a senior Indian Army officer as saying that intelligence inputs suggested that Pakistanis could have suffered more casualties. Pakistan rejected Indian media reports that Indian soldiers had crossed the Line of Control. Initially, the Pakistan Army said that the soldiers were killed by ceasefire violation, and the Foreign Office later said that India provided cover fire for "non-state actors" to plant improvised explosive devices that killed the soldiers.
On 31 December 2017, an Indian soldier was killed as a result of ceasefire violation in Nowshera sector.
2018
On 3 January 2018, a BSF head constable was killed as a result of ceasefire violation in Samba sector of Jammu and Kashmir.
On 4 January 2018, Pakistani media reported that three Pakistani civilians were injured as a result of ceasefire violation in Sialkot's Zafarwal sector. The Indian media reported that BSF had destroyed three Pakistani border outposts and two mortar positions killing 10-12 Pakistani Rangers.
On 10 January 2018, India reported that it had killed 138 Pakistani soldiers along the Line of Control during 2017, wounding 155 more. During the same time period the Indian government admitted that it suffered 28 soldiers killed in action and a further 70 more wounded in fighting along the Line of Control.
On 14 January 2018, an Indian army soldier was killed in Pakistani firing in Rajouri district.
On 15 January, the Indian Army said that it killed seven Pakistani soldiers, including a Major-rank officer and injured four others in retaliation. Additionally, the Indian army said it also foiled an infiltration bid, killing 6 Jaish-e-Muhammad militants. A senior Indian Army officer said, "Though we responded strongly and effectively on Saturday as well, we retaliated on Monday, resulting in seven fatal casualties and four injuries on Pakistan’s side in Janglote area across the LoC opposite Mendhar." The same day, the Pakistani army said that four of its soldiers were killed in Indian firing along the LoC in Jandrot, Kotli sector. It also claimed that it killed three Indian soldiers. The Indian Army denied any casualties.
On 18 January, India claimed that one BSF constable and a teenage girl were killed in shelling by Pakistani Rangers in RS Pura sector. Pakistan claimed that 2 civilians were killed and 5 others wounded in cross-border firing by Indian troops in Sialkot.
On 19 January, India claimed that one BSF and an Indian Army soldier were killed in ceasefire violations along the LoC in Samba sector in the Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district respectively. In addition, two civilians were killed in the RS Pura sector while eleven others were injured. In retaliation, Indian claimed to have killed 4-10 Pakistani Rangers and destroyed six Pakistani posts. Pakistan claimed that a man and a minor girl were killed in Bhimber district because of "unprovoked" shelling by the Indian forces.
On 20 January, India claimed that one Indian Army soldier and two civilians were killed in ceasefire violations in Poonch and Jammu districts respectively. Pakistan claimed that one Pakistan Army soldier and two civilians were killed in ceasefire violations by the Indian army in Nakyal sector of Kotli district. In addition, 5 civilians were reported wounded. One Indian army soldier who sustained injuries in Krishna Gati sector succumbed to his wounds on 24 January.
On 21 January, Pakistan claimed that two of its civilians were killed in a ceasefire violation in Nikial sector. India claimed that one Indian Army soldier and three civilians were killed in ceasefire violations in Mendhar and RS Pura and Kanachak sectors respectively.
On 22 January, India claimed that a 35-year-old woman was injured in cross border shelling by Pakistan. She was reported to have succumbed to her wounds on 28 January.
On 28 January, Pakistan claimed that three civilians were injured during ceasefire violations in Khuiratta, Kotli and Battal in Rawalakot.
On 4 February, four Indian Army soldiers were reported killed and one injured during cross-border shelling in Rajouri sector. Two other Indian soldiers were also reported injured by ceasefire violations in Poonch district. One soldier who suffered splinter injuries in Poonch district succumbed to his wounds on 12 February.
On 8 February, India claimed that one Indian civilian was killed as a result of ceasefire violations by Pakistan in Krishna Gati sector.
On 11 February, India claimed that one civilian was killed during a ceasefire violation in Pkukherni and Lairan villages of Noushera.
On 15 February, the Indian media, citing government sources, said that the Indian Army killed 20 Pakistani soldiers in retaliatory firing this year, while suffering 10 casualties of its own. The same day, the Pakistan Army claimed that it destroyed an Indian army post, leaving five soldiers killed and several injured. Pakistan reported that the "retaliative" strike took place hours after shelling from Indian troops hit a school van on the Pakistani side, killing its driver. India rejected Pakistan's claim as "totally false". A senior Indian Army officer said, "Unlike Pakistan Army, we do not, and cannot, hide our casualties."
On 19 February, Pakistani media reported that an eight-year-old boy was killed due to Indian firing across the LoC. The Pakistan Army claimed that it had neutralized an Indian army post killing two soldiers.
On 20 February, Indian Army claimed that in a direct fire assault they had destroyed a Pakistani post in the Tangdhar sector killing one soldier and seriously injuring another. Another Pakistani post was destroyed in the Haji Pir sector killing at least 2 soldiers.
On 28 February, Indian Army claimed that they killed two Pakistani soldiers in retaliation against ceasefire violations in the Bhimber Gali sector in Rajouri district. The Pakistan Army claimed that these 2 soldiers were killed in Indian firing.
On 2 March, Indian media claimed that two Pakistani soldiers were killed in retaliation by the Indian Army in Poonch district.
On 18 March, India claimed that five civilians were killed and two wounded as a result of Pakistan army shelling on Balakote sector of Poonch.
On 3 April, Indian army claimed that a soldier was killed and four wounded as a result of Pakistan army shelling in Krishna Ghati sector.
On 10 April, Indian army claimed that two soldiers were killed as a result of Pakistan army firing in Rajouri.
On 12 April, Indian army claimed that a soldier was killed as result of Pakistan army firing in Poonch's Krishna Ghati sector.
On 16 April, India claimed that an army porter was killed as result of Pakistan army firing in Baramulla district.
On 17 April, India claimed that a soldier was injured as a result of Pakistan firing in Rajouri and later succumbed to his wounds on 21 April.
On 23 April, Indian Army claimed that they killed five Pakistani soldiers and destroyed three Pakistani bunkers in Poonch and Rajouri districts in retaliatory fire.
On 26 April, Indian Army claimed that three Pakistani soldiers were killed in retaliation in Padhar sector, opposite Sunderbani, in Rajouri district. Pakistan Army claimed that two civilians were killed in Bramla village, Padhar Sector) during a ceasefire violation.
On 12 May, India claimed that a civilian was killed as result of Pakistan firing in Gulpur-Degawar area in Poonch district of Jammu division.
On 16 May, India claimed that a BSF soldier was killed as result of Pakistan firing on Mangu Chak border outpost on the international border. Pakistan also claimed that 1 of its civilian was killed as result of Indian firing
On 19 May, India claimed that a BSF soldier and four civilians were killed as a result of Pakistan firing in R S Pura and Arnia sectors of Jammu. Pakistan claimed that four civilians were killed in Indian firing in Pukhlian, Cahprar, Harpal, Charwah and Shakargarh sectors.
On 21 May, India claimed that a civilian was killed and six other wounded as a result of Pakistan firing in Jammu district. Pakistan claimed that a Pakistani Ranger was killed and three others wounded in Indian shelling of Badwal post in Charwah sector.
On 22 May, Pakistan claimed that a Pakistani Ranger and a civilian was killed in Indian firing in Shakargarh sector.
On 23 May, India claimed that five civilians were killed as result of Pakistani shelling in Jammu, Kathua and Samba district.
On 24 May, India claimed that had killed 8–10, injured 12 Pakistani Rangers and destroyed several posts in retaliatory fire during the past few days.
On 27 June, an alleged Partial footage of the strikes was released by the Indian government to the Indian media as proof to the strike. Pakistan's foreign office spokesman, however, rejected the alleged video and termed Indian claims as farcical.
2018 – Ceasefire
On 29 May, India and Pakistan agreed to "fully implement" the 2003 ceasefire and stop cross-border firing. Despite this, cross-border clashes continued until mid-June, during which seven more Indian soldiers were killed and eleven civilians were wounded. India also claimed to had carried out nine strikes which destroyed ten bunkers and posts of the Pakistani Rangers in Kanachak and Akhnoor sectors of Jammu district, killing at least five Pakistani Rangers and injuring three. The last confirmed death was of an Indian soldier on 16 June.
Aftermath
Subsequently, the ceasefire along the Line of Control largely held, despite sporadic violations, leading to cautious optimism among Indian officials that it would continue.
Between early August and early September, Pakistan reported four civilians were killed in Indian cross-border shelling. In addition, India reported two civilian deaths due to Pakistani fire by the start of October and claimed that in retaliation its Army had killed two Pakistani soldiers. Despite this, during military talks between India and Pakistan that were held in mid-August, Pakistan expressed satisfaction on the measures being taken along the Line of Control by troops to maintain the ceasefire. Firing continued for the next months, after the end of ceasefire. From November to December, 7 Indian army soldiers were killed by Pakistani sniper fire from across the border. Indian media reported that there were 2,936 instances of ceasefire violations by Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir in 2018.
See also
Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts
2016 Uri attack
India–Pakistan relations
2011 India–Pakistan border skirmish
2013 India–Pakistan border skirmishes
India–Pakistan border skirmishes (2014–2015)
References
Conflicts in 2016
Conflicts in 2017
Conflicts in 2018
India–Pakistan border
2016 in foreign relations of India
2017 in India
2018 in India
2016 in Pakistan
2017 in Pakistan
2018 in Pakistan
Indo-Pakistani wars
History of Azad Kashmir
2010s in Jammu and Kashmir
Kashmir conflict
September 2016 events in India
October 2016 events in India
November 2016 events in India
September 2016 events in Pakistan
October 2016 events in Pakistan
November 2016 events in Pakistan
Counter-terrorism
Operations involving Indian special forces
India–Pakistan military relations | en |
doc-en-11392 | Thief II: The Metal Age is a 2000 stealth video game developed by Looking Glass Studios and published by Eidos Interactive. Like its predecessor Thief: The Dark Project, the game follows Garrett, a master thief who works in and around a steampunk metropolis called the City. The player assumes the role of Garrett as he unravels a conspiracy related to a new religious sect. Garrett takes on missions such as burglaries and frameups, while trying to avoid detection by guards and automated security.
Thief II was designed to build on the foundation of its predecessor. In response to feedback from players of Thief, the team placed a heavy focus on urban stealth in the sequel, and they minimized the use of monsters and maze-like levels. The game was made with the third iteration of the Dark Engine, which had been used previously to develop Thief and System Shock 2. Thief II was announced at the 1999 Electronic Entertainment Expo, as part of an extended contract between Looking Glass and Eidos to release games in the Thief series. Looking Glass neared bankruptcy as the game was developed, and the company was kept running by advances from Eidos.
Thief II received positive reviews from critics, and its initial sales were stronger than those of its predecessor. However, the game's royalties were processed slowly, which compounded Looking Glass's financial troubles. As a result, the company closed in May 2000, with plans for Thief III cancelled. The third game in the series, entitled Thief: Deadly Shadows, was developed by Ion Storm and published by Eidos in 2004. Thief 2X: Shadows of the Metal Age, a widely praised expansion mod for Thief II, was released in 2005. In 2014, Square Enix published a reboot of the series, developed by Eidos Montréal.
Gameplay
Thief II is a stealth game that takes place from a first-person perspective in a three-dimensional (3D) graphical environment. The player seeks to complete mission objectives and to evade the notice of opponents such as guards. The player must minimize the visibility and audibility of the player character, Garrett, to escape detection. Players try to avoid lit areas and loud flooring in favor of shadows and quiet flooring. A light monitor on the heads-up display (HUD) indicates the player character's visibility. While it is possible for the player character to engage in direct combat, he is easily defeated.
The game's 15 missions take place in large levels that can be confronted in multiple ways. Guards may be knocked out with a blackjack or killed with a bow or sword, and their fallen bodies may be picked up and hidden. In addition to human enemies, the game features security automatons and surveillance cameras. While completing objectives such as frameups and blackmail, the player steals valuables that may be used to purchase thieving gear between missions. The player's main tools are specialized arrows, including water arrows to douse lights, moss arrows to dampen the player character's footsteps and rope arrows to reach higher ground.
Thief II is designed to be played methodically, and the player plans ahead by scouting, reading the game's map and observing patrol patterns. The player character has a zooming mechanical eye, which connects to throwable "Scouting Orb" cameras. One Scouting Orb may be deployed at a time; when it lands, the player views the game world from its perspective until normal play is resumed. The player can listen for noises, such as footsteps and humming, to determine the locations of enemies. On the highest of the game's three difficulty levels, killing humans results in a game over, and in certain missions the player must not knock out any guards.
Plot
Setting and characters
Like its predecessor Thief: The Dark Project, Thief II is set in a steampunk metropolis called the City, whose appearance resembles that of both medieval and Victorian era cities. Magic and steam technology exist side by side, and three factions—the manipulative and enigmatic Keepers, the technology-focused Hammerites and the "pagan" worshippers of the Pan-like Trickster god—are in operation. Thief II takes place one year after the first game. In the aftermath of the Trickster's defeat and the failure of his plan to revert the world to a wild, primitive state, a schism in the Hammerite religion spawns the "Mechanist" sect, which fanatically values technological progress. The new inventions of the Mechanists are used by a resurgent police force to crack down on crime. The pagans are in disarray, and have been driven into the wilderness beyond the City. From there, they engage in guerrilla warfare against the Mechanists. The Keeper faction is dormant as the game begins.
The game continues the story of Garrett (voiced by Stephen Russell), the cynical master thief who defeated the Trickster. Pursuing Garrett is the new sheriff, Gorman Truart (voiced by Sam Babbitt), who has imposed a zero tolerance policy on crime. Viktoria (voiced by Terri Brosius), the former ally of the Trickster, eventually joins with Garrett to combat the Mechanists. The game's primary antagonist is the founder of the Mechanists, Father Karras (also voiced by Russell), a mentally unstable inventor who despises the natural world.
Story
The game begins as Garrett continues his life as a thief. However, he is betrayed by his fence and ambushed after an early mission, and he determines that Truart, the local sheriff, is hunting him. Keepers take Garrett to hear a prophecy about the "Metal Age", which he ignores. As Garrett leaves, Artemus, the Keeper who brought him into the order, informs him that Truart had been hired to kill him, and he gives Garrett a letter that directs him to eavesdrop on a Mechanist meeting. There, Garrett overhears Truart and Father Karras discussing the conversion of street people into mindless "Servants", who wear masks that emit a red vapor capable of reducing themselves and any nearby organic material to rust. Truart promises to provide Karras with twenty victims for the Servant project, not realizing that Karras is recording his words for use in blackmail. Garrett steals the recording from a safe deposit box, in order to coerce Truart into revealing his employer.
However, Garrett finds Truart murdered at his estate. Evidence at the crime scene leads him to spy on the police officer Lt. Mosley. Garrett sees Mosley deliver a suspicious letter, which is carried through a portal by a wounded pagan. Garrett enters the portal and finds himself outside the City, and he follows the pagan's trail of blood to Viktoria, who persuades Garrett to join her against the Mechanists. On a lead from Viktoria, he infiltrates Karras' office to learn about the "Cetus Project", and inadvertently discovers that Karras is giving Servants to the City's nobles. Garrett travels to a Mechanist base to find out more about the Cetus Project, which is revealed to be a submarine. In order to locate and kidnap a high-ranking Mechanist named Brother Cavador, Garrett stows away in the vehicle.
After delivering Cavador to Viktoria, Garrett steals a Servant mask to learn about a Mechanist technology called a "Cultivator". Meanwhile, Karras hides inside the Mechanist cathedral in preparation for his plan. Garrett and Viktoria learn that it is the Cultivators inside Servant masks which emit red vapor, or "rust gas". Karras had provided Servants to nobles with gardens in order to set off an apocalyptic chain reaction. Viktoria plans to lure the Servants into the hermetically sealed Mechanist cathedral before Karras activates their masks, but Garrett believes this to be too dangerous and leaves. Viktoria goes to the cathedral alone and dies while filling it with plants, and Garrett completes her plan, killing Karras in the rust gas. Afterward, Garrett is approached by Artemus, who explains that Karras' scheme and Viktoria's death had been prophesied. Garrett demands to know the rest of the Keepers' prophecies as the game ends.
Development
Early production
Looking Glass Studios began designing Thief II in January 1999. The team's goal was to build on the foundation of Thief: The Dark Project, a game that Thief II project director Steve Pearsall later said was an experiment. He explained that the team had played it safe by including certain "exploration ... or adventure oriented" missions with "jumping and climbing puzzles" in Thief, and that the new game was significantly more focused on stealth. Combat was given less prominence than in the original. Based on feedback from players and reviewers of Thief, the team decided to scale back the use of maze-like levels and monsters such as zombies in favor of urban environments and human enemies. Pearsall stated that Thiefs monsters were negatively received because, unlike the game's human enemies, they did not clearly indicate when they noticed the player. The team sought to remedy this problem by improving the audio cues given by non-human enemies in the sequel.
Production of Thief II commenced in February. Looking Glass chose to compose the game's team of "half the original designers and half new blood", according to executive producer James Poole. The company tried to select people who meshed well both personally and creatively, in an attempt to guarantee a smooth development cycle. Adrenaline Vault editor-in-chief Emil Pagliarulo was hired as a junior designer, in part because of his positive review of Thief. Rich "zdim" Carlson and Iikka Keränen joined from Ion Storm's Daikatana team, and Looking Glass contractor Terri Brosius was hired as a full-time designer. One-third of the team was female, which Pearsall believed contributed to a strong group dynamic. As was typical at Looking Glass, the Thief II team worked in a wall-less space called a "pit", which allowed them to converse easily. Describing the work environment at the time, writer Laura Baldwin noted that "conversations dash madly about the room, [and] when someone is demonstrating something interesting everyone gravitates over to look."
During the first months of development, the team regularly gathered to watch films pertinent to Garrett's character and to the game's visual design, such as The Third Man, The Castle of Cagliostro, M and Metropolis. Pearsall said that the latter two films were Thief IIs "biggest aesthetic influences", while the main inspiration for its plot was Umberto Eco's novel The Name of the Rose. The team also drew influence from Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. The game's story was written in the three-act structure: Garrett was intended to transition from his "cynical self" in the first act to a private investigator in the second, and to a character similar to James Bond in the third. The City's technology and architecture were influenced by the appearance of Victorian London, and certain areas were given an Art Deco theme to provide "sort of a Batman feel", in reference to the 1989 film. Lead artist Mark Lizotte captured over two-thousand photographs during his vacation in Europe, and these were the basis for many of the game's textures.
Thief II was built with the third iteration of the Dark Engine, which had been used previously for Thief and System Shock 2. According to Pearsall, the Dark Engine had become "a very well understood development environment", which made for an easier production process. Engine updates created for System Shock 2, such as support for 16-bit color, were carried over to Thief II. The average character model in Thief II was given close to double the polygons of the average model in Thief, with much of the added detail focused on characters' heads. This was an attempt to give the characters a "more organic" look. Certain artificial intelligence (AI) routines written into the Dark Engine, which allowed enemies to notice changes in the environment such as open doors, had not been used in Thief or in System Shock 2 but were implemented in Thief II. Weather effects such as fog and rain were added, and technology from Flight Unlimited III was used to generate the sky and clouds.
Announcement and continued development
Thief II was announced during the Electronic Entertainment Expo on May 13, 1999, as part of a contract between Looking Glass and Eidos Interactive to release four new games in the Thief series, beginning with Thief Gold. The deal had been signed on May 7, roughly three months after Thief II entered production. A tech demo of the game, which Bruce Geryk of Games Domain described as "about three rooms with some Mages", was displayed on the show floor. The demo was used to showcase the updated Dark Engine, which featured support for colored lighting, higher polygon models and larger environments. The team revealed their intention to include more levels with human enemies, and announced a projected release date of spring 2000. Plans to include a cooperative multiplayer mode were also detailed at the show. IGN's Jason Bates noted that the Thief II display attracted "a bit of a buzz and a small crowd of dedicated onlookers".
By July, the team had begun initial construction of the game's levels. Thief IIs increased focus on stealth necessitated new level design concepts: the most stealth-based missions in Thief had centered on urban burglary, but Pearsall explained that this "would get tired pretty fast" if repeated in every level. The team diversified Thief II by designing missions with such objectives as kidnapping, blackmail and eavesdropping. The first two levels were designed to seamlessly introduce new players to the core game mechanics, without a tutorial mission that might lose the interest of experienced players. When creating a mission, the team would often begin by deciding on the player's objective, after which they would produce a rough level design. The mission would then undergo a peer review to determine if it should be added to the game. Each of the game's levels was a team effort rather than the work of a single designer. Designer Randy Smith explained that, while Thiefs levels had been designed to fit a pre-existing story, the Thief II team "tried to think of really good missions first" and then adjusted the plot to suit them. He noted that it was highly difficult to harmonize the two.
The game's sound team was composed of Kemal Amarasingham, Damin Djawadi and audio director Eric Brosius. According to Brosius, each member of the audio department did "everything", without clear demarcations between roles. Like Thief, Thief II features a sound engine that simulates propagation in real-time. To achieve this effect, each level's geometry was input both to the level editor and to a "separate [sound] database", which mapped how sound would realistically propagate based on "the physical room characteristics [... and] how all the different rooms and areas are connected together". For example, noise travels freely through an open door but is blocked when the door is closed. The team used the new "occlusion" feature in EAX 2.0 to make Thief IIs sound environment more realistic and to allow the player to listen through doors. The game features more sound effects, music and speech than the original Thief. Thief IIs score, as with that of its predecessor, was designed to "blur ambient [sound] and music" together. However, Brosius later stated that, while Thiefs soundtrack is composed of "simple and hypnotic" loops only a few seconds in length, Thief II features longer and "more thoughtfully" constructed pieces. He believed that this method had positive aspects, but that it resulted in a less immersive audio environment.
Artist Dan Thron returned to create the game's cutscenes, with assistance from Jennifer Hrabota-Lesser. Thron later called Hrabota-Lesser "one of the greatest artists I've ever seen". The cutscenes, which Computer Games Magazine called "unique", feature multiple layers of artwork and footage of live actors filmed against a green screen. These components were combined and animated in Adobe After Effects. The technique had been developed for the original Thief, as an evolution of designer Ken Levine's suggestion to use motion comic cutscenes. David Lynch's films Eraserhead and The Elephant Man were important influences on their style.
Final months
By October 1999, the team had cut the game's multiplayer feature. Pearsall explained that Looking Glass did not "have the resources to do a new kind of multiplayer and ship a finely tuned single-player game". Plans were announced in January 2000 to release a multiplayer-only Thief game shortly after the completion of Thief II. As Thief IIs development continued, Looking Glass experienced extreme financial troubles. The company's Marc LeBlanc later said that "Eidos was writing a check every week to cover our burn rate" during the last months of the project. The game's final cost was roughly $2.5 million. According to company head Paul Neurath, Eidos informed Looking Glass that "it was not an option" for Thief II to miss its release date, and that there would be "dire consequences if [we] missed by even a day". An anonymous Looking Glass staffer later told Salon.com that Eidos "told us basically to ship [Thief II] by their fiscal quarter or die".
By January, Pearsall confirmed that the game had reached beta, and that most of the team's energy was being spent "tuning, polishing, and fixing bugs". He noted in early February that Thief II had been produced almost entirely on schedule. The company slipped behind near the end of the project and entered crunch time to make up the loss. On February 24, Thief II producer Michael McHale announced that the game had reached "feature freeze", and that the team was in "super crunch mode". Numerous game testers from Eidos joined the project. However, McHale said that the team was energized and that "spirits [were] high". Certain employees slept in the office and avoided bathing so that the game could reach its March deadline. LeBlanc later stated his belief that the game was rushed, and that its quality suffered as a result. Nevertheless, the team met their goal, and the game was released on March 23, 2000. Eidos expedited the company's payment for completing the game.
Reception
Thief 2 debuted high on the bestsellers list for computer games, and its initial sales were better than those of its commercially successful predecessor. By November 2000, its global sales had surpassed 220,000 copies; PC Zone described these figures as "commercial acclaim." The United States alone accounted for 67,084 sales by the end of 2000, which drew in revenues of $2.37 million. The game later received a "Silver" sales award by the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom. Thief II also received positive reviews from critics, with an aggregate score of 87/100 on Metacritic.
Computer Gaming Worlds Thomas L. McDonald wrote that "everything in Thief II is bigger, sharper, better, and more effective" than in its predecessor. He enjoyed its story and called its levels "vast and intricate", with "astonishingly complex and often beautiful" architecture; but he found the game's graphics to be somewhat lackluster. McDonald summarized Thief II as a unique "gamer's game". Jim Preston of PC Gamer US considered the game to be "more focused and polished than the original", and he praised the removal of "zombie battles". While he faulted its graphics, he summarized it as "one hell of a good game".
Jasen Torres of GameFan wrote, "If you liked Thief, you'll love Thief 2: The Metal Age; it's more of the stuff that made Thief great, with less of the annoying stuff". He applauded the removal of "zombie killer" missions and believed the game's sound to be "superior to any other game". He considered its story to be "good" but "nothing great" and its graphics to be "decent"; but he commented that the game was "really all about the gameplay", which he praised as "quite compelling and fun". Benjamin E. Sones of Computer Games Magazine considered the game's story to be "quite good", but he faulted Looking Glass for failing to detail the events of the first game for new players. He wrote that Thief IIs graphics were passable but that its sound design was "phenomenal". Sones praised its missions as "very well crafted", and noted that they gave the impression of being in "a living, breathing world." He summarized, "It may not be perfect, but Thief 2 has got it where it counts".
Charles Harold of The New York Times called the game a "refreshing alternative to games that glorify violence". He found its story to be "slight", but he lauded its world as "amazingly alive" and its AI as a "remarkable impersonation of real intelligence". Writing for GamePro, Barry Brenesal commented that Thief II "provides a solid gaming experience" but "doesn't startle like its predecessor". He wrote that its missions featured a "great deal of variety", and he praised their "ability to casually suggest a much larger world", but he complained that they were linear. He considered the game's writing to be "among the best in the business". While Brenesal enjoyed the game's textures and lighting, he noted the low detail of the game's human models, whose animations he found to be "arthritic". PC Zones Paul Presley wrote that the game's levels were larger but easier than those of Thief, and he considered their objectives to be somewhat linear. He found Thief IIs graphics to be dated and wrote that its lack of real-time lighting "tends to give each environment a sort of 'false' quality". However, he believed that the game "still has enough atmosphere to immerse you", and he praised its sound design. Presley considered the game to be a straightforward rehash of its predecessor, and he finished, "A more clear-cut case of sequel-itis there has never been."
Jim Preston reviewed the PC version of the game for Next Generation, rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "Great, skulking gameplay, useful new tools, and clever level design make Thief II an excellent first-person 'sneaker.'"
Post-release
While Thief II performed well commercially, Looking Glass was not set to receive royalties for several months. The company had struggled financially since the commercial failures of its self-published games Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri and British Open Championship Golf. Looking Glass's Flight Unlimited III had flopped at retail, and the development of Jane's Attack Squadron had gone over budget and fallen behind schedule. A deal to co-develop the stealth game Deep Cover with Irrational Games had recently collapsed. According to Looking Glass's Tim Stellmach, the delay in Thief II royalties "faced [us] with the prospect of running out of money." Looking Glass management signed a deal in which Eidos Interactive would acquire the company, but Eidos fell into a sudden financial crisis, in part because of the failure of Ion Storm's $40 million game Daikatana. These factors led to the closure of Looking Glass on May 24, 2000, with the planned Thief II successors Thief II Gold and Thief III cancelled.
Later installments
The Thief series had been planned as a trilogy, and work on Thief III was "in a fairly advanced stage" when Looking Glass closed, according to PC Zones Keith Pullin. Randy Smith and Terri Brosius were appointed as lead designers, and they developed the game's concept over several months. In an open letter published after the company's bankruptcy, Smith wrote that the third game would have taken place in an "open-ended, self-directed city", and that its plot would have centered on the Keepers. Brosius suggested that Thief III would have seen Garrett "accept[ing] that there are consequences to his actions", and that he would likely have become "ready to give, rather than always take." The player would have uncovered the game's story gradually, while exploring a free-roam environment. Serious plans had been made to include co-operative multiplayer, and a new engine, Siege, had been in production. When Looking Glass closed, its assets were liquidated and the Thief intellectual property was sold at auction. This raised doubts that the Thief trilogy would be completed, a situation that Salon.com writer Wagner James Au compared to Lucasfilm closing after the release of The Empire Strikes Back. However, following rumors, Eidos announced on August 9, 2000 that it had purchased the rights to Thief.
Development of Thief III was delegated to the Warren Spector-supervised Ion Storm, which had recently completed Deus Ex. According to Spector, Thief III would have been given to Core Design or Crystal Dynamics had he not accepted it. The game was announced for Windows and the PlayStation 2. On August 10, Spector commented that Ion Storm's first goal was to assemble a core team, composed in part of former Looking Glass employees, to design and plot the game. Thief II team members Randy Smith, Lulu Lamer, Emil Pagliarulo and Terri Brosius were hired to begin the project. On August 16, Ion Storm announced its hires, and stated that concept work on Thief III would begin in September. The team planned to "wrap up [the] loose ends" of the series, and they built directly upon the Thief III concept work done at Looking Glass. Thief III was eventually renamed Thief: Deadly Shadows, and it was released for Windows and the Xbox on May 25, 2004.
In May 2009, after several months of rumors, a fourth game in the Thief series was announced by Deus Ex: Human Revolution developer Eidos Montréal. It was unveiled in the April 2013 issue of Game Informer. The game, entitled Thief, is a reboot of the Thief series; and it does not feature the Hammerites, pagans or Keepers. Its plot follows Garrett (voiced by Romano Orzari in place of Stephen Russell) in the aftermath of an accident that leaves his protégé, Erin, missing. Garrett has amnesia after this incident, and the City is beset by a plague called the Gloom. The game was released for Windows and the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in February 2014.
Fan expansion
Soon after the bankruptcy of Looking Glass, a fan group called the Dark Engineering Guild began developing an expansion mod to Thief II, entitled Thief 2X: Shadows of the Metal Age. Initially, they hoped to fill the void left by the cancellation of Thief III, but they continued to work on the mod after the announcement and release of Thief: Deadly Shadows. Released in 2005 after five years in development, the mod follows Zaya, a young woman who is robbed while visiting the City and who then seeks revenge. She is mentored by a pagan hermit named Malak, who trains her as a thief but who has ulterior motives. The team designed Zaya to be physically capable and to have a "middle-eastern/north-African look", but made an effort to avoid similarities to Mulan. Chronologically, the story starts near the end of Thief and ends in the middle of Thief II, thereby depicting the rise of Gorman Truart and the early days of the Mechanists. Thief 2X features 13 missions, with new animated cutscenes and roughly 3,000 new lines of recorded dialogue.
The mod was praised by critics and by the Thief fan community. Brett Todd of PC Gamer US awarded it "Mod of the Month" and wrote: "It doesn't quite have the mysterious allure of the original games, but it's awfully close". A writer for Jolt Online Gaming praised the mod's visuals and considered its missions to be "incredibly well designed". While the writer commented that Thief 2X did not perfectly follow the series' tone and that its voice acting was "not the best", they finished by saying that fans of the Thief series had "no excuse not to play T2X". PC Gamer UKs Kieron Gillen wrote that he had expected the mod to be cancelled, given that the "web is full of [...] five-percent finished masterworks from people who aimed far, far too high". After Thief 2Xs release, he lauded it as the best Thief fan work and as "one of the most impressive achievements of any fan community for any game".
See also
The Dark Mod
Emergent gameplay
Immersive sim
References
External links
2000 video games
Action-adventure games
Eidos Interactive games
Looking Glass Studios games
Stealth video games
Steampunk video games
Thief (series)
Video game sequels
Video games developed in the United States
Video games scored by Eric Brosius
Windows games
Windows-only games
Video games about crime
Immersive sims | en |
doc-en-12341 | Rear-Admiral Samuel Jackson (1775–16 January 1845) was a Royal Navy officer of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Jackson joined the Royal Navy in 1790 and served before the French Revolutionary War in the cutter HMS Kite. He transferred in 1793 to the frigate HMS Romulus, in which he participated in the Siege of Toulon. After having served for a while in the Mediterranean Jackson transferred with the captain of Romulus, John Sutton, to the ship of the line HMS Egmont. In her Jackson fought in 1795 at the battles of Genoa and the Hyères Islands. In 1796, having been promoted to lieutenant and still in Egmont, Jackson was integral in the saving of the entire crew of the ship of the line HMS Bombay Castle off the Tagus during a large storm. In the following year he fought at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent and with Horatio Nelson at the Assault on Cádiz.
In 1798 Jackson moved with Sutton to the ship of the line HMS Superb, where he became her first lieutenant. Serving on the Cadiz blockade, Superb fought at the Second Battle of Algeciras in 1801. Jackson was given command of one of the prizes from the battle, the ship of the line San Antoine. Despite being vastly outnumbered by the captives on board, Jackson distinguished himself by successfully subduing an attempted take over and bringing the ship safely to Gibraltar. For his services in San Antoine and the battle he was promoted to commander. In 1803 he was given command of the sloop HMS Autumn in which he spent the majority of his time fighting the forces of the Boulogne Flotilla. He fought a number of engagements against the ships and fortifications of Calais and Boulogne in this period, and also in 1805 saved a large troop convoy under his control from destruction off the Texel. In 1807 Jackson, now commanding the brig HMS Musquito, was part of a squadron blockading Zealand in the Copenhagen Expedition.
Jackson was promoted to post captain after this and given command of his old ship Superb at the end of the year. He served for a while in the English Channel and Mediterranean before going to the Baltic Sea where he participated in the evacuation of La Romana's division in 1808. After being frozen in at Gothenburg through the winter, Jackson then joined the Walcheren Expedition in 1809. Superb was decommissioned after this and Jackson stayed unemployed until 1812 when he was made temporary captain of the ship of the line HMS Poictiers, in which he served in the English Channel and North Sea Fleet. After this he was given command of the frigate HMS Lacedaemonian, sailing to the North America Station to fight in the War of 1812 in 1813. Here he commanded a blockading squadron, taking and destroying £500,000 worth of goods in the last year of the war. After returning home in 1815 Jackson was given command of another frigate, HMS Niger, and sent back to North America where he became senior naval officer on the coast of Nova Scotia. In 1817 Niger was in such a poor state that Jackson was forced to leave her and return home in a transport ship.
Jackson was not given another command until 1822 when he was appointed to the Ordinary at Sheerness Dockyard, where he stayed for three years. He then commanded the ship of the line HMS Bellerophon in the Mediterranean between 1836 and 1838, and upon returning home became captain of the royal yacht HMS Royal Sovereign and captain-superintendent of Pembroke Dockyard. He held both these commands until he was promoted to rear-admiral in 1841. He did not serve again after achieving flag rank, and died in 1845.
Naval career
Junior officer
Initial service
Samuel Jackson was born at Bognor in Sussex, in 1775. He joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman on board the cutter HMS Kite on 4 July 1790. In Kite he served primarily on the Irish Station through the years of peace preceding the beginning of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793, fighting smugglers. Kite was broken up in December 1793, but before this Jackson had transferred to the frigate HMS Romulus, commanded by Captain John Sutton. In Romulus Jackson was promoted to master's mate, and he was already serving in her when she sailed to Gibraltar on 22 April. The journey was fraught with illness and over 100 members of the crew had to be sent to Gibraltar's hospital upon their reaching that port. Despite this Romulus was immediately sent to join the initial naval force capturing the city of Toulon. Jackson stayed in Romulus throughout this period, and was still with her when she was sent to Leghorn afterwards.
Mediterranean Fleet
From here Romulus joined with the frigate HMS Meleager to hunt down a group of privateers loyal to the French cause and known to operate off Capraja. The two frigates discovered the enemy force holed up in a location inaccessible to the two large vessels, and so the small boats of the ships were launched to attack them. The command of one of the boats involved in the attack was given to Jackson. The French had left their ships to hide behind rocky outcrops on the coast, and the British boats sailed in under heavy musket fire before successfully attacking and capturing the force and their ships. Four ships were captured in this attack, and in a similarly successful attack soon after Jackson was again the commander of one of the boats involved.
Romulus and Jackson stayed in the Mediterranean Sea after these actions, participating in a prolonged attack on the forts of Bastia with the ship of the line HMS Agamemnon. Sutton was then transferred to the command of the ship of the line HMS Egmont in May 1794, and he brought Jackson with him. Egmont was part of the main force of Vice-Admiral William Hotham's Mediterranean Fleet; as such she fought in the Battle of Genoa on 14 March 1795, against the French fleet from Toulon, in which battle he was slightly wounded. The day after this Egmont was preparing to move on and Jackson was tasked with gathering in some of the ship's cables in a small boat trailing behind the ship. While he was doing this Egmont suddenly backed her sails, slowing considerably, to get nearer to a prize. In doing so the large ship completely destroyed Jackson's boat, sinking it instantly, but Jackson and his crew were "providentially" saved from death by Egmont.
Egmont stayed with the fleet after this, fighting in the Battle of the Hyères Islands on 13 July where the French ship of the line Alcide was destroyed. Jackson continued in Egmont after this when she joined the force of Vice-Admiral William Waldegrave to participate in negotiations in Tunisia in spring 1796. On 9 March, Jackson participated in a boat action wherein the force captured the French warships Nemesis and Sardine, as well as a polacre, and destroyed a cutter.
Bombay Castle rescue
Soon after this Jackson left the service of Sutton and joined the ship of the line HMS Victory, the flagship of the new commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, Admiral Sir John Jervis. Jervis promoted Jackson to lieutenant on 3 November, and he was transferred in that rank to serve in the store ship HMS Alliance. He served only briefly in this vessel, re-joining Sutton in Egmont as her most junior lieutenant at the end of the year. The fleet then sailed to Lisbon. On 23 December the fleet was entering the Tagus when one of the ships, the ship of the line HMS Bombay Castle, was grounded on a sandbank after being swept away by a current while avoiding a collision with the store ship HMS Camel. An effort to free Bombay Castle was immediately launched and Jackson was given command of Egmonts boats for the operation.
After two days of attempting to free the ship a strong gale began which convinced the crews that it was now impossible to save the ship. Jackson then volunteered to and successfully traversed the increasingly bad sea conditions to bring a letter to Jervis explaining the perilous position of Bombay Castles crew. Jervis gave Jackson the responsibility of navigating all the remaining boats of the fleet back to the stranded ship to remove her crew to safety. This being done, all of the crew bar her officers were transported to the ship of the line HMS Zealous. The ship's officers had refused to leave until the rest of the crew did, but while this operation was taking place the sands around Bombay Castle moved and made it impossible for Jackson's boats to go alongside to take them off. Despite the increasingly stormy condition of the seas Jackson took the boat he was in, Egmonts launch, through the waves to the jibboom of the ship, from where the officers were able to lower themselves into his boat and were saved. In the subsequent court martial held for the loss of Bombay Castle Jackson was praised by the president of the court, Captain Thomas Foley, for his "intrepidity and humanity" in saving the entire crew.
Cadiz blockade
Despite this Jackson was not further rewarded for his actions and stayed in Egmont with the Mediterranean Fleet. As such on 13 February 1797 he fought in the Battle of Cape St. Vincent and was slightly wounded during the fighting, although Egmont had no outright casualties recorded in the engagement. By 3 July Egmont was part of a force bombarding Cadiz with the bomb vessel HMS Thunder. In firing so much Thunder damaged the barrel of her mortar and began to retire towards the main fleet of Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson. The Spanish inside Cadiz sent out a large force of small ships to cut off Thunder in an attempt to capture her. Again Jackson took charge of one of Egmonts boats, this time as part of the rescue effort led by Nelson himself. As Nelson attacked the Spanish commander's vessel from one side, Jackson boarded it from the other, and the action was successful in saving Thunder and also capturing three of the Spanish vessels.
Jackson continued in his role as a lieutenant in Egmont until that ship was paid off in early 1798. He was then appointed to the brand new ship of the line HMS Superb with Sutton as her captain and Jackson as the first lieutenant, serving in the Channel Fleet, in May. In June 1799 Superb was sent as part of a detached squadron to join the force of Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Cotton in chasing the escaped fleet of Étienne Eustache Bruix from Brest to the Mediterranean. This chase having concluded when Bruix reached Cadiz, Egmont returned to the Channel. In 1801 Sutton was replaced in command of Superb with Captain Richard Goodwin Keats, but for a period after this he was absent and Jackson was given temporary command of the ship. Superb then served as a convoy escort before joining the Cadiz blockade in around June 1801. Keats having returned to command Superb, they were still on station on 12 July when the British force, under Rear-Admiral Sir James Saumarez, attacked a combined Spanish and French fleet in the Second Battle of Algeciras. Superb was charged with attacking the rear-most enemy ship as the British chased them, which was the much larger Spanish ship of the line Real Carlos. She fired into her, but some of her shot missed and hit another Spanish ship of the line, San Hermengildo. San Hermengildo was not aware of Superb and assumed Real Carlos to be the enemy ship attacking her; she began to fire into her compatriot and the combined fire of this ship and Superb soon set Real Carlos on fire, and being out of control she crashed into San Hermengildo who was then also set on fire. Both Spanish ships were thus destroyed.
Capture of San Antoine
In the subsequent fleet action Superb continued fighting and engaged the French ship of the line San Antoine for half an hour before accepting her surrender. Jackson was given command of San Antoine as a prize ship. In taking control of the recently captured ship, Jackson had under his command only his boat's crew and five marines. San Antoine on the other hand still had on board 200 of her French crew, 100 French soldiers and 500 Spanish seamen. Jackson's command of the ship started ignominiously when his boat sank just as he was going on board San Antoine, for a second time in his career narrowly avoiding disaster in a small boat. By the beginning of 13 July the British fleet had moved on and left Jackson alone with San Antoine. The ship was heavily damaged from the battle and in order to safely navigate the ship Jackson took her close to the coast of Cape Trafalgar, and being so close to home this gave hope of escape to the multitude of enemy prisoners on board.
A plan was begun to retake the ship and to run her in to Cadiz. The French officers on board learned of the plan and in respect for their status as honourable captives they chose to tell Jackson of the plan. Jackson and his men quickly disarmed the prisoners before they could put their plan into action. This action caused the two factions, French and Spanish, to accuse each other of giving up the secret and violent attacks to break out between the prisoners. Jackson drew on his relationship with the French officers and their men and temporarily conscripted them as guards over the Spanish, who were locked below in the ship. This finalised Jackson's control of San Antoine and the French extended their assistance to him by helping to repair the ship as well. Being now completely safe, Jackson survived unharmed until the next day when Keats and Superb returned to tow him into Gibraltar. For his success in this endeavour, and for being first lieutenant of one of the most heavily engaged ships in the prior battle, Jackson was promoted to commander on 18 August.
Commander
Calais and the Boulogne Flotilla
Jackson was not given a command through the rest of the French Revolutionary War and the Peace of Amiens, but upon the start of the Napoleonic Wars in 1803 he was given command of the sloop HMS Autumn to serve in the English Channel, on 10 May. Soon after, Rear-Admiral Robert Montague assigned Jackson in Autumn to the command of a squadron of small ships stationed offshore of Calais. The squadron was given the task of preventing the gun boats inside the port from sallying to join with and strengthen the Boulogne Flotilla nearby. Jackson took his small fleet close to the north east shore of the town on 27 September to bombard the ships anchored inside. The French returned a heavy fire but failed to hit any of the ships for the several hours they attacked the port. Jackson's bombardment set the east end of Calais on fire with the shots that had overflown the anchored ships, also destroying many of the gun boats, and only stopped when a change in the wind moved the ships out of position and altered their firing pattern. The attack was lauded by Admiral Lord Keith in a letter to Jackson. While it was surmised that much damage was done in the operation, Jackson felt that more could be done with better preparation and his comments resulted in bombardments of the coastal towns being suspended until a larger force could be provided for the task.
Towards the beginning of 1804 some of the ships left in Calais sailed for Boulogne, staying close to the French coast so as to gain the added protection of the shore batteries there. Jackson and his squadron quickly attacked them as their made their move, driving a number of them ashore before they could reach their goal, however some of the ships succeeded in escaping his attack, in which he lost one man killed and six wounded. By July he was serving in the squadron of Captain Edward Owen, tasked with obstructing the traffic of warships along the coast. On the night of 19 July there was a large storm off Boulogne which imperilled many of the French ships, forcing them to leave their anchors and run for safety. Owen's squadron was situated twenty-four miles off Boulogne at the time and managed to intercept a number of the ships as they moved away from the cover of the French coast. When the force attacked there were forty-five brigs and forty-three luggers left off Boulogne, and after a night of attacking and chasing what vessels they could find, there were only nineteen brigs and eight luggers remaining in the morning. While the darkness and sea conditions made it impossible to gauge how many French ships had escaped, been destroyed by the British or been blown ashore independently by the storm, it was seen as a great success and Jackson was praised for his part in the attack.
In the autumn of the same year, another attack was planned against the Boulogne Flotilla, this time with a mass of explosive ships, called the Catamaran Expedition. Jackson was ordered to attack one of the French ships, Admiral Bruix, and sailed his explosive ship alongside in the middle of the night. While preparing to light the string that would set off the explosives, it was lost in the dark and as the ship sailed past Admiral Bruix the moment to attack was almost lost, but Jackson personally broke open the ship's hatches and set alight the explosives before escaping in his boat twenty-five seconds before the explosion occurred. He was congratulated for this feat despite the ensuing explosion doing nothing but destroying the French ship's bowsprit.
The force were at this time assigned as part of the Downs Station, and upon returning there after this failed attack Jackson was invited to dine with the Prime Minister, William Pitt, Foreign Secretary, Lord Harrowby, and the First Lord of the Admiralty, Lord Melville, at Walmer Castle. During this meeting Melville promised that he would promote Jackson to post-captain for his deeds. Despite Melville considering Jackson's and a number of officers on the Down Station's promotions as "a duty I owe them", he retired from office in the following year and did not follow through on his promise. Jackson left Autumn in October, and was immediately appointed to a new command, that of the brig HMS Musquito, to serve on the North Sea Station.
North Sea and Hanover Expedition
On 12 April 1805 he was patrolling in Musquito off Scarborough when three ships were spotted; two of these were firing at and chasing the third. Jackson caught the ship being chased first, which was a smuggler based out of Guernsey. Musquito chased the other two ships through the night and finally captured them in the following morning. They were the French privateer koffs Orestes and Pylades. As 1805 came to an end Jackson still commanded Musquito, and was given control of a convoy of troopships containing 5,000 soldiers and a large amount of ammunition and provisions, intended for the Hanover Expedition. Jackson was given a group of special government-appointed pilots to assist him in conveying the convoy across the Channel. The fleet left the Nore and a day later Jackson estimated that they had reached the mouth of the Texel and were in danger of the wind blowing them ashore. The pilots argued that Jackson was incorrect in his calculations and that the convoy was safely at sea. In reply to this, Jackson suspended the pilots from their duties just as Musquito approached a series of sand banks.
As this occurred, a transport closer in to shore than Jackson's vessel, the converted frigate HMS Helder, grounded on the Dutch shore. The convoy was unable to save the ship and her crew and the 500 soldiers on board were captured the next day. It was noted that without the intervention of Jackson as to the course of the convoy, it was very possible that the entirety of it would have suffered the fate of Helder. The senior army officer in the convoy, Colonel Cookson of the Royal Artillery, wrote a letter to the commander of the Hanover Expedition, Lieutenant-General Lord Cathcart, complimenting Jackson on his actions after the remainder of the convoy had safely arrived in the Weser.
After this, and into 1806, Jackson was given command of a group of ships stationed off Boulogne and Calais, again tasked with stopping the transit of small and lightly armed warships along the coast. He again found success in this duty, on one occasion attacking five French schooners and destroying two of them. In October 1806 he again attempted to attack Boulogne, this time with ships armed with Congreve rockets. After thirty minutes of firing, the town was set on fire and much damaged, but the rockets failed to do any considerable damage to the Flotilla itself. Despite this the rockets were deemed a success and would go on to be used more frequently in operations by the military.
Post-captain
Baltic service
Jackson continued serving in the Channel in Musquito, and was next attached to a squadron commanded by his old captain Keats, now a commodore for the purposes of his command. The squadron took part in the Copenhagen Expedition in 1807, patrolling the Great Belt to stop supplies being transported to the beleaguered garrisons of Zealand. When Copenhagen surrendered and gave up the navy to the British, Jackson was given temporary command of the frigate HMS Surveillante when in turn her captain was sent home with the Expedition's celebratory dispatches. Jackson in turn sailed the frigate to England as well, and was subsequently confirmed in that position as a post-captain on 5 November. His position in Surveillante being only temporary, Jackson was given a different command on 8 December, which was of his old ship Superb.
In Superb Jackson joined the squadron of Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Strachan and chased a French squadron that had escaped from Rochefort to the Mediterranean. Having been unable to catch that force, Superb and Jackson returned to England from where he was assigned to the Baltic Sea squadron of the now Rear-Admiral Keats as his flag captain. In August 1808 the squadron participated in the evacuation of La Romana's division, wherein a Spanish division that had been serving with the French army in Germany was repatriated to Spain after France began the Peninsular War. Having completed this operation, Jackson was unable to do anything else over the winter because Superb was frozen in ice while anchored at Gothenburg. He was able to return to duty in January 1809 after a canal was cut through four miles of ice for his ship to travel through, but by this point the heavy service of Superb had left her in a poor condition to continue serving.
Expecting that he would soon be removed from his command due to her defectiveness, Jackson offered his services to Keith in the hope that that admiral would soon receive a new command. While Keith responded positively to Jackson's request, he did not receive a new command nor did he expect one. Instead, Jackson was sent under Strachan again to participate in the Walcheren Campaign from July 1809. The operation ended in December and Superb sailed back to England having deteriorated even more, to such an extent that she was put in for a major repair and decommissioned. Jackson stayed ashore, unemployed by the navy, until 14 January 1812 when he was appointed to temporarily command the ship of the line HMS Poictiers in the English Channel. He transferred with Poictiers soon after to join the North Sea Fleet of Admiral William Young off the Texel. Jackson commanded the ship until July, and received a new command on 21 December of the same year; the brand new frigate HMS Lacedaemonian to command on the North American Station, the War of 1812 being underway. He arrived on station in Lacedaemonian on 2 June 1813.
War of 1812
Jackson was given command of a squadron to blockade the American ports and rivers between Cape Fear and Amelia Island. On 23 September, with the brig HMS Mohawk under his command, he used his ship's boats to attack and capture an American gunboat and four merchant ships in a stream that were being protected from land by a force of American militia, while he patrolled between the islands of Cumberland and Jekyll. He continued on station, and shortly after 15 January 1815 Jackson sailed up the Chesapeake River and successfully recaptured an East India Company ship, that had recently been taken, finding no resistance from American forces as he did so. The war ended a month later and Jackson sailed for home in Lacedaemonian, arriving at Portsmouth on 4 June. It was calculated that his work in blockade during the war had captured or destroyed £500,000 worth of American goods.
Jackson left Lacedaemonian soon afterwards and was given command of another frigate, HMS Niger, on 29 August. He sailed back to North America in Niger, transporting the new Ambassador to the United States, Charles Bagot. Having left Bagot at Annapolis, Jackson then took the new Governor of Canada, Lieutenant-General Sir John Sherbrooke, from Halifax to Quebec. Jackson was then assigned as senior naval officer on the coast of Nova Scotia towards the end of 1816. He continued serving in this position until September 1817 when Niger was found to be unserviceable and he was forced to return with his crew to England in a transport ship, arriving there in September. For his services in North America he had been made a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 8 December 1815.
Later service and flag rank
Niger being unrepairable, Jackson stayed ashore for the next five years. For part of this he commanded the laid up frigate HMS Madagascar until she was broken up in May 1819. He was then given command of the Ordinary at Sheerness Dockyard on 29 October 1822, which position he held for the proscribed period of three years. In September 1827 a friend of Jackson's, the naval officer and explorer Frederick William Beechey, named one of the points at the entrance to Port Clarence, Alaska after him in compliment to some assistance Jackson had given him in starting the voyage of exploration.
Jackson did not receive his next command until 5 April 1836 when he was given the ship of the line HMS Bellerophon, which he sailed out to the Mediterranean in. Here he served as flag captain to Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Paget for twenty months before relinquishing his command. Jackson did not stay on half pay for long as he was appointed to command the royal yacht HMS Royal Sovereign, the largest yacht built during the reign of King George III, on 19 February 1838. At the same time he was appointed captain-superintendent of Pembroke Dockyard, where the yacht was based. He was described in his service as captain-superintendent as a "Nelson man". He relinquished these appointments upon his promotion to rear-admiral, which occurred on 23 November 1841. He was not employed again by the Royal Navy after this. Jackson died on 16 January 1845 at Bognor, Sussex.
Ancient coins
While serving in command of Bellerophon in the Mediterranean, Jackson met soldier, antiquarian and scholar Sir Thomas Reade who was at the time the British consul general in Tunis. Together they obtained a large collection of ancient Roman, Greek, and Cufic coins, probably from a merchant, at Carthage. Jackson had previously met and made a friend of the doctor Benjamin Fonseca Outram, while serving on Superb as a lieutenant. In 1843 Outram exhibited Jackson and Reade's coin collection to a meeting of the Royal Numismatic Society. Some time after this the collection was lost and not rediscovered until 1986 in Scotland. Upon its rediscovery the collection was examined again, and has been described as singularly important. Among the 483 coins is the largest single collection of Umayyad and Abassid copper coins, and the oldest known hoard of Roman Republic coinage found in North Africa.
Family
Jackson married Clarissa Harriet Madden, the daughter of Captain Charles Madden, Royal Marines, and niece of Major-General Sir George Madden, on 6 December 1817. They had three sons:
Captain Charles Keats Jackson, Royal Navy officer, died 25 December 1897.
Lieutenant-Colonel George Edward Owen Jackson, Royal Marines officer, died 2 May 1903.
Ensign Outram Montagu Jackson, East India Company officer of the 26th Native Infantry Regiment, died 17 March 1844 while serving in the East Indies.
Citations
References
Royal Navy admirals
Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars
Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars
Royal Navy personnel of the War of 1812
Companions of the Order of the Bath
1775 births
1845 deaths | en |
doc-en-17152 | Jerusalem (; ; ) is a city in Western Asia. Situated on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea, it is one of the oldest cities in the world, and is considered holy for the three major Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The city straddles the Green Line between Israel and the West Bank; both Israelis and Palestinians claim Jerusalem as their capital, as Israel controls the entire city and maintains its primary governmental institutions there while the Palestinian National Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization ultimately foresee it as the seat of power for the State of Palestine. Due to this long-running dispute, neither claim is widely recognized internationally.
Throughout its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed at least twice, besieged 23 times, captured and recaptured 44 times, and attacked 52 times. The part of Jerusalem called the City of David shows first signs of settlement in the 4th millennium BCE, in the shape of encampments of nomadic shepherds. During the Canaanite period (14th century BCE), Jerusalem was referred to as Urusalim on ancient Egyptian tablets, which probably referred to Shalim, a Canaanite deity. During the Israelite period, significant construction activities began throughout the city in the 9th century BCE (Iron Age II), and by the 8th century BCE, Jerusalem had developed into the religious and administrative centre of the Kingdom of Judah. In 1538 CE, the surrounding city walls were rebuilt for a last time under Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire. Today, these walls define the Old City, which has traditionally been divided into four sections, individually known since the early 19th century as (going clockwise from the southeastern end): the Jewish Quarter, the Armenian Quarter, the Christian Quarter, and the Muslim Quarter. The Old City became a World Heritage Site in 1981, and has been on the List of World Heritage in Danger since 1982. Since 1860, Jerusalem has grown far beyond the Old City's boundaries. In 2015, Jerusalem had a population of some 850,000 residents, comprising approximately 200,000 secular Jewish Israelis, 350,000 Haredi Jews, and 300,000 Palestinian Arabs. In 2016, the city's population was 882,700, of which Jews comprised 536,600 (61%), Muslims comprised 319,800 (36%), Christians comprised 15,800 (2%), and unclassified subjects comprised 10,300 (1%).
According to the Hebrew Bible, the city was conquered from the Jebusites by the Israelite king David, who established it as the capital of the United Kingdom of Israel. David's son and successor, Solomon, later commissioned the building of the First Temple in the city. Modern scholars argue that Jews branched out of the Canaanite peoples and culture through the development of a distinct monolatrous—and later monotheistic—religion centred on El/Yahweh. These foundational events, straddling the dawn of the 1st millennium BCE, assumed central symbolic importance for the Jewish people. The sobriquet of "holy city" () was probably attached to Jerusalem in post-exilic times. The holiness of Jerusalem in Christianity, conserved in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible that was adopted by Christians as the Old Testament, was reinforced by the New Testament's account of Jesus' crucifixion and subsequent resurrection there. In Sunni Islam, Jerusalem is the third-holiest city after Mecca and Medina in present-day Saudi Arabia. This is due to its status as the first qibla (the standard direction for Muslim prayers) before Mecca. In Islamic tradition, Muhammad made his Night Journey to Jerusalem in 621 CE, from where he ascended to heaven and spoke to God, according to the Quran. As a result of all of these events, despite having an area of only , the Old City is home to many sites of seminal religious importance; namely the Temple Mount with its Western Wall, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque.
Today, the status of Jerusalem remains one of the core issues of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and its peace process. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, West Jerusalem was among the areas captured and later annexed by Israel while East Jerusalem, including the Old City, was captured and later annexed by Jordan. However, during the 1967 Six-Day War, East Jerusalem was captured from Jordan by Israel, after which it was effectively annexed and incorporated into the other Israeli-held parts of the city, together with additional surrounding territory. One of Israel's Basic Laws, the Jerusalem Law of 1980, refers to "complete and undivided" Jerusalem as the country's capital. All of the institutions of the Israeli government are located within Jerusalem, including the Knesset, the residences of the Prime Minister (Beit Aghion) and President (Beit HaNassi), and the Supreme Court. While Israel's claim to sovereignty over West Jerusalem is more widely accepted by the international community, its claim to sovereignty over East Jerusalem is regarded as illegitimate, and East Jerusalem is consequently recognized by the United Nations as Palestinian territory that is occupied by Israel.
Names: history and etymology
Ancient Egyptian sources
A city called Rušalim in the execration texts of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt (c. 19th century BCE) is widely, but not universally, identified as Jerusalem. Jerusalem is called Urušalim in the Amarna letters of Abdi-Heba (1330s BCE).
Etymology
The name "Jerusalem" is variously etymologized to mean "foundation (Semitic yry''' 'to found, to lay a cornerstone') of the god Shalem"; the god Shalem was thus the original tutelary deity of the Bronze Age city.
Shalim or Shalem was the name of the god of dusk in the Canaanite religion, whose name is based on the same root S-L-M from which the Hebrew word for "peace" is derived (Shalom in Hebrew, cognate with Arabic Salam).Ringgren, H., Die Religionen des Alten Orients (Göttingen, 1979), 212. The name thus offered itself to etymologizations such as "The City of Peace", "Abode of Peace", "Dwelling of Peace" ("founded in safety"), or "Vision of Peace" in some Christian authors.
The ending -ayim indicates the dual, thus leading to the suggestion that the name Yerushalayim refers to the fact that the city initially sat on two hills. (see )
Hebrew Bible and Jewish sources
The form Yerushalem or Yerushalayim first appears in the Bible, in the Book of Joshua. According to a Midrash, the name is a combination of two names united by God, Yireh ("the abiding place", the name given by Abraham to the place where he planned to sacrifice his son) and Shalem ("Place of Peace", the name given by high priest Shem).
Oldest written mention of "Jerusalem"
One of the earliest extra-biblical Hebrew writing of the word Jerusalem is dated to the sixth or seventh century BCEKing Manasseh and Child Sacrifice: Biblical Distortions of Historical Realities by Francesca Stavrakopoulou p. 98 and was discovered in Khirbet Beit Lei near Beit Guvrin in 1961. The inscription states: "I am Yahweh thy God, I will accept the cities of Judah and I will redeem Jerusalem",The Mountain of the Lord by Benyamin Mazar p. 60 or as other scholars suggest: "Yahweh is the God of the whole earth. The mountains of Judah belong to him, to the God of Jerusalem".Discovering the World of the Bible by LaMar C. Berrett p. 178 An older example on papyrus is known from the previous century.
In extra-biblical inscriptions, the earliest known example of the -ayim ending was discovered on a column about 3 km west of ancient Jerusalem, dated to the first century BCE.
Jebus, Zion, City of David
An ancient settlement of Jerusalem, founded as early as the Bronze Age on the hill above the Gihon Spring, was, according to the Bible, named Jebus. Called the "Fortress of Zion" (metsudat Zion), it was renamed as the City of David, and was known by this name in antiquity. Another name, "Zion", initially referred to a distinct part of the city, but later came to signify the city as a whole, and afterwards to represent the whole biblical Land of Israel.
Greek, Roman and Byzantine names
In Greek and Latin, the city's name was transliterated Hierosolyma (Greek: Ἱεροσόλυμα; in Greek hieròs, ἱερός, means holy), although the city was renamed Aelia Capitolina for part of the Roman period of its history.
Salem
The Aramaic Apocryphon of Genesis of the Dead Sea Scrolls (1QapGen 22:13) equates Jerusalem with the earlier "Salem" (שלם), said to be the kingdom of Melchizedek in Genesis 14. Other early Hebrew sources, early Christian renderings of the verse and targumim, however, put Salem in Northern Israel near Shechem (Sichem), now Nablus, a city of some importance in early sacred Hebrew writing. Possibly the redactor of the Apocryphon of Genesis wanted to dissociate Melchizedek from the area of Shechem, which at the time was in possession of the Samaritans. However that may be, later Rabbinic sources also equate Salem with Jerusalem, mainly to link Melchizedek to later Temple traditions.
Arabic names
In Arabic, Jerusalem is most commonly known as , transliterated as al-Quds and meaning "The Holy" or "The Holy Sanctuary". The (Q) is pronounced either with a voiceless uvular plosive (/q/), as in Classical Arabic, or with a glottal stop (ʔ) as in Levantine Arabic. Official Israeli government policy mandates that , transliterated as Ūršalīm, which is the cognate of the Hebrew and English names, be used as the Arabic language name for the city in conjunction with . . Palestinian Arab families who hail from this city are often called "Qudsi" or "Maqdisi", while Palestinian Muslim Jerusalemites may use these terms as a demonym.
History
Given the city's central position in both Jewish nationalism (Zionism) and Palestinian nationalism, the selectivity required to summarize some 5,000 years of inhabited history is often influenced by ideological bias or background. Israeli or Jewish nationalists claim a right to the city based on Jewish indigeneity to the land, particularly their origins in and descent from the Israelites, for whom Jerusalem is their capital, and their yearning for return."For three thousand years, Jerusalem has been the center of Jewish hope and longing. No other city has played such a dominant role in the history, culture, religion and consciousness of a people as has Jerusalem in the life of Jewry and Judaism. Throughout centuries of exile, Jerusalem remained alive in the hearts of Jews everywhere as the focal point of Jewish history, the symbol of ancient glory, spiritual fulfillment and modern renewal. This heart and soul of the Jewish people engenders the thought that if you want one simple word to symbolize all of Jewish history, that word would be 'Jerusalem.'" Teddy Kollek (DC: Washington Institute For Near East Policy, 1990), pp. 19–20. In contrast, Palestinian nationalists claim the right to the city based on modern Palestinians' longstanding presence and descent from many different peoples who have settled or lived in the region over the centuries."(With reference to Palestinians in Ottoman times) Although proud of their Arab heritage and ancestry, the Palestinians considered themselves to be descended not only from Arab conquerors of the seventh century but also from indigenous peoples who had lived in the country since time immemorial, including the ancient Hebrews and the Canaanites before them. Acutely aware of the distinctiveness of Palestinian history, the Palestinians saw themselves as the heirs of its rich associations." Walid Khalidi, 1984, Before Their Diaspora: A Photographic History of the Palestinians, 1876–1948. Institute for Palestine Studies Both sides claim the history of the city has been politicized by the other in order to strengthen their relative claims to the city, and that this is borne out by the different focuses the different writers place on the various events and eras in the city's history.
Overview of Jerusalem's historical periods
Age
Jerusalem proper
For historians and archaeologists, it is Jerusalem's South-East Hill, known as the City of David, that is taken into consideration when discussing the age of Jerusalem, since it is the most widely accepted site considered to be where permanent settlement began in ancient Jerusalem.
Shuafat
After the Six-Day War in 1967, Shuafat was incorporated into the Jerusalem municipal district, in a move not internationally recognized.Noah Browning, 'In bleak Arab hinterland, hints of Jerusalem's partition,' Reuters 20 December 2013. Shuafat lies about 6 kilometres north of Jerusalem's oldest historical part, the so-called City of David, and about 5 kilometres north of the walled Old City. What is today Shuafat lay outside the settlement area of its neighbour, Jerusalem, throughout the Bronze Age and until Jerusalem's destruction in 70 CE, and even outside Jerusalem's main Second Temple period northern necropolis. Shuafat is officially described in archaeological terms as being "in the vicinity of Jerusalem".
Shuafat has an intermittent settlement history, in part from periods other than Jerusalem's, with 7,000-year-old architectural findings from the Chalcolithic, then from the Second Temple period (2nd–1st century BCE, a fortified agricultural settlement) and the short period between the end of the First Jewish–Roman War (66–70) and the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–135), being re-inhabited on a smaller scale during the 2nd–4th centuries CE.
Prehistory
The South-Eastern Hill, also known as the City of David, is the initial nucleus of historical Jerusalem. There, the Gihon Spring attracted shepherds who camped near the water between 6000 and 7000 years ago, leaving behind ceramics and flint artifacts during the Chalcolithic, or Copper Age (c. 4500–3500 BCE).
Ancient period
Permanent houses only appeared on the South-Eastern Hill several centuries later, with a small village emerging around 3000–2800 BCE, during the Early Bronze Age I or II. Some call the site of this first settlement, the Ophel ridge. The city's inhabitants at this time were Canaanites, who are believed by scholars to have evolved into the Israelites via the development of a distinct Yahweh-centric monotheistic belief system.Mark Smith in "The Early History of God: Yahweh and Other Deities of Ancient Israel" states "Despite the long regnant model that the Canaanites and Israelites were people of fundamentally different culture, archaeological data now casts doubt on this view. The material culture of the region exhibits numerous common points between Israelites and Canaanites in the Iron I period (c. 1200–1000 BCE). The record would suggest that the Israelite culture largely overlapped with and derived from Canaanite culture... In short, Israelite culture was largely Canaanite in nature. Given the information available, one cannot maintain a radical cultural separation between Canaanites and Israelites for the Iron I period." (pp. 6–7). Smith, Mark (2002) "The Early History of God: Yahweh and Other Deities of Ancient Israel" (Eerdman's)
The Execration Texts (c. 19th century BCE), which refer to a city called rwš3lmm, variously transcribed as Rušalimum/Urušalimum/Rôsh-ramenNadav Na'aman, op.cit pp. 178–79. and the Amarna letters (c. 14th century BCE) may be the earliest mention of the city. Nadav Na'aman argues its fortification as the centre of a kingdom dates to around the 18th century BCE.
In the Late Bronze Age, Jerusalem was the capital of an Egyptian vassal city-state, a modest settlement governing a few outlying villages and pastoral areas, with a small Egyptian garrison and ruled by appointees such as king Abdi-Heba, At the time of Seti I (r. 1290–1279 BCE) and Ramesses II (r. 1279–1213 BCE), major construction took place as prosperity increased.
Archaeological remains from the ancient Israelite period include the Siloam Tunnel, an aqueduct built by Judahite king Hezekiah and once containing an ancient Hebrew inscription, known as the Siloam Inscription; the so-called Broad Wall, a defensive fortification built in the 8th century BCE, also by Hezekiah; the Silwan necropolis with the Monolith of Silwan and the Tomb of the Royal Steward, which were decorated with monumental Hebrew inscriptions; and the so-called Israelite Tower, remnants of ancient fortifications, built from large, sturdy rocks with carved cornerstones. A huge water reservoir dating from this period was discovered in 2012 near Robinson's Arch, indicating the existence of a densely built-up quarter across the area west of the Temple Mount during the Kingdom of Judah.
When the Assyrians conquered the Kingdom of Israel in 722 BCE, Jerusalem was strengthened by a great influx of refugees from the northern kingdom.
The First Temple period ended around 586 BCE, as Nebuchadnezzar's Neo-Babylonian Empire conquered Judah and Jerusalem, and laid waste to Solomon's Temple and the city.
Biblical account
This period, when Canaan formed part of the Egyptian empire, corresponds in biblical accounts to Joshua's invasion, but almost all scholars agree that the Book of Joshua holds little historical value for early Israel.
In the Bible, Jerusalem is defined as lying within territory allocated to the tribe of Benjamin though occupied by Jebusites. David is said to have conquered these in the Siege of Jebus, and transferred his capital from Hebron to Jerusalem which then became the capital of a United Kingdom of Israel, and one of its several religious centres. The choice was perhaps dictated by the fact that Jerusalem did not form part of Israel's tribal system, and was thus suited to serve as the centre of its confederation. Opinion is divided over whether the so-called Large Stone Structure and the nearby Stepped Stone Structure may be identified with King David's palace, or dates to a later period.Finkelstein & Mazar(2007, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=jpbngoKHg8gC&pgtps://books.google.com/books?id=jpbngoKHg8gC&=PA104}}, 113, 125–28, 165, 174. Re-accessed 9 Jan 2022.
According to the Bible, King David reigned for 40 years and was succeeded by his son Solomon, who built the Holy Temple on Mount Moriah. Solomon's Temple (later known as the First Temple), went on to play a pivotal role in Jewish religion as the repository of the Ark of the Covenant. On Solomon's death, ten of the northern Tribes of Israel broke with the United Monarchy to form their own nation, with its kings, prophets, priests, traditions relating to religion, capitals and temples in northern Israel. The southern tribes, together with the Aaronid priesthood, remained in Jerusalem, with the city becoming the capital of the Kingdom of Judah.
Classical antiquity
In 538 BCE, the Persian King Cyrus the Great invited the Jews of Babylon to return to Judah to rebuild the Temple. Construction of the Second Temple was completed in 516 BCE, during the reign of Darius the Great, 70 years after the destruction of the First Temple.
Sometime soon after 485 BCE Jerusalem was besieged, conquered and largely destroyed by a coalition of neighbouring states. In about 445 BCE, King Artaxerxes I of Persia issued a decree allowing the city (including its walls) to be rebuilt. Jerusalem resumed its role as capital of Judah and center of Jewish worship.
Many Jewish tombs from the Second Temple period have been unearthed in Jerusalem. One example, discovered north of the Old City, contains human remains in an 1st century CE ossuary decorated with the Aramaic inscription "Simon the Temple Builder." The Tomb of Abba, also located north of the Old City, bears an Aramaic inscription with Paleo-Hebrew letters reading: "I, Abba, son of the priest Eleaz(ar), son of Aaron the high (priest), Abba, the oppressed and the persecuted, who was born in Jerusalem, and went into exile into Babylonia and brought (back to Jerusalem) Mattathi(ah), son of Jud(ah), and buried him in a cave which I bought by deed." The Tomb of Benei Hezir located in Kidron Valley is decorated by monumental Doric columns and Hebrew inscription, identifying it as the burial site of Second Temple priests. The Tombs of the Sanhedrin, an underground complex of 63 rock-cut tombs, is located in a public park in the northern Jerusalem neighborhood of Sanhedria. These tombs, probably reserved for members of the Sanhedrin and inscribed by ancient Hebrew and Aramaic writings, are dated to between 100 BCE and 100 CE.
When Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire, Jerusalem and Judea came under Macedonian control, eventually falling to the Ptolemaic dynasty under Ptolemy I. In 198 BCE, Ptolemy V Epiphanes lost Jerusalem and Judea to the Seleucids under Antiochus III. The Seleucid attempt to recast Jerusalem as a Hellenized city-state came to a head in 168 BCE with the successful Maccabean revolt of Mattathias and his five sons against Antiochus IV Epiphanes, and their establishment of the Hasmonean Kingdom in 152 BCE with Jerusalem as its capital.
In 63 BCE, Pompey the Great intervened in a struggle for the Hasmonean throne and captured Jerusalem, extending the influence of the Roman Republic over Judea. Following a short invasion by Parthians, backing the rival Hasmonean rulers, Judea became a scene of struggle between pro-Roman and pro-Parthian forces, eventually leading to the emergence of an Edomite named Herod.
As Rome became stronger, it installed Herod as a Jewish client king. Herod the Great, as he was known, devoted himself to developing and beautifying the city. He built walls, towers and palaces, and expanded the Temple Mount, buttressing the courtyard with blocks of stone weighing up to 100 tons. Under Herod, the area of the Temple Mount doubled in size. Shortly after Herod's death, in 6 CE Judea came under direct Roman rule as the Iudaea Province, although the Herodian dynasty through Agrippa II remained client kings of neighbouring territories until 96 CE. Roman rule over Jerusalem and the region was challenged in the First Jewish–Roman War, which ended with a Roman victory. The Second Temple was destroyed in 70 CE, and the entire city was destroyed in the war. The contemporary Jewish historian Josephus wrote that the city "was so thoroughly razed to the ground by those that demolished it to its foundations, that nothing was left that could ever persuade visitors that it had once been a place of habitation." Roman rule was again challenged during the Bar Kokhba revolt, beginning in 132 CE and suppressed by the Romans in 135 CE. More recent research indicates that the Romans had founded Aelia Capitolina before the outbreak of the revolt, and found no evidence for Bar Kokhba ever managing to hold the city.
Following the Bar Kokhba revolt, Emperor Hadrian combined Iudaea Province with neighboring provinces under the new name of Syria Palaestina, replacing the name of Judea. The city was renamed Aelia Capitolina, and rebuilt it in the style of a typical Roman town. Jews were prohibited from entering the city on pain of death, except for one day each year, during the holiday of Tisha B'Av. Taken together, these measures (which also affected Jewish Christians) essentially "secularized" the city. The ban was maintained until the 7th century, though Christians would soon be granted an exemption: during the 4th century, the Roman emperor Constantine I ordered the construction of Christian holy sites in the city, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Burial remains from the Byzantine period are exclusively Christian, suggesting that the population of Jerusalem in Byzantine times probably consisted only of Christians.
In the 5th century, the eastern continuation of the Roman Empire, ruled from the recently renamed Constantinople, maintained control of the city. Within the span of a few decades, Jerusalem shifted from Byzantine to Persian rule, then back to Roman-Byzantine dominion. Following Sassanid Khosrau II's early 7th century push through Syria, his generals Shahrbaraz and Shahin attacked Jerusalem () aided by the Jews of Palaestina Prima, who had risen up against the Byzantines.
In the Siege of Jerusalem of 614, after 21 days of relentless siege warfare, Jerusalem was captured. Byzantine chronicles relate that the Sassanids and Jews slaughtered tens of thousands of Christians in the city, many at the Mamilla Pool,Jerusalem blessed, Jerusalem cursed: Jews, Christians, and Muslims in the Holy City from David's time to our own. By Thomas A. Idinopulos, I.R. Dee, 1991, p. 152 and destroyed their monuments and churches, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This episode has been the subject of much debate between historians. The conquered city would remain in Sassanid hands for some fifteen years until the Byzantine emperor Heraclius reconquered it in 629.
Jerusalem reached a peak in size and population at the end of the Second Temple Period, when the city covered and had a population of 200,000.
Early Muslim period
Byzantine Jerusalem was conquered by the Arab armies of Umar ibn al-Khattab in 638 CE. Among the first Muslims, it was referred to as Madinat bayt al-Maqdis ("City of the Temple"), a name restricted to the Temple Mount. The rest of the city "was called Iliya, reflecting the Roman name given the city following the destruction of 70 CE: Aelia Capitolina". Later the Temple Mount became known as al-Haram al-Sharif, "The Noble Sanctuary", while the city around it became known as Bayt al-Maqdis, and later still, al-Quds al-Sharif "The Holy, Noble". The Islamization of Jerusalem began in the first year A.H. (623 CE), when Muslims were instructed to face the city while performing their daily prostrations and, according to Muslim religious tradition, Muhammad's night journey and ascension to heaven took place. After 13 years, the direction of prayer was changed to Mecca. In 638 CE the Islamic Caliphate extended its dominion to Jerusalem. With the Arab conquest, Jews were allowed back into the city. The Rashidun caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab signed a treaty with Christian Patriarch of Jerusalem Sophronius, assuring him that Jerusalem's Christian holy places and population would be protected under Muslim rule. Christian-Arab tradition records that, when led to pray at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of the holiest sites for Christians, the caliph Umar refused to pray in the church so that Muslims would not request conversion of the church to a mosque. He prayed outside the church, where the Mosque of Umar (Omar) stands to this day, opposite the entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. According to the Gaullic bishop Arculf, who lived in Jerusalem from 679 to 688, the Mosque of Umar was a rectangular wooden structure built over ruins which could accommodate 3,000 worshipers.
When the Arab armies under Umar went to Bayt Al-Maqdes in 637 CE, they searched for the site of al-masjid al-aqsa, "the farthest place of prayer/mosque", that was mentioned in the Quran and Hadith according to Islamic beliefs. Contemporary Arabic and Hebrew sources say the site was full of rubbish, and that Arabs and Jews cleaned it. The Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik commissioned the construction of a shrine on the Temple Mount, now known as the Dome of the Rock, in the late 7th century. Two of the city's most-distinguished Arab citizens of the 10th-century were Al-Muqaddasi, the geographer, and Al-Tamimi, the physician. Al-Muqaddasi writes that Abd al-Malik built the edifice on the Temple Mount in order to compete in grandeur with Jerusalem's monumental churches.
Over the next four hundred years, Jerusalem's prominence diminished as Arab powers in the region vied for control of the city. Jerusalem was captured in 1073 by the Seljuk Turkish commander Atsız. After Atsız was killed, the Seljuk prince Tutush I granted the city to Artuk Bey, another Seljuk commander. After Artuk's death in 1091 his sons Sökmen and Ilghazi governed in the city up to 1098 when the Fatimids recaptured the city.
A messianic Karaite movement to gather in Jerusalem took place at the turn of the millennium, leading to a "Golden Age" of Karaite scholarship there, which was only terminated by the Crusades.
Crusader/Ayyubid period
In 1099, the Fatimid ruler expelled the native Christian population before Jerusalem was besieged by the soldiers of the First Crusade. After taking the solidly defended city by assault, the Crusaders massacred most of its Muslim and Jewish inhabitants, and made it the capital of their Kingdom of Jerusalem. The city, which had been virtually emptied, was recolonized by a variegated inflow of Greeks, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Georgians, Armenians, Syrians, Egyptians, Nestorians, Maronites, Jacobite Miaphysites, Copts and others, to block the return of the surviving Muslims and Jews. The north-eastern quarter was repopulated with Eastern Christians from the Transjordan. As a result, by 1099 Jerusalem's population had climbed back to some 30,000.
In 1187, the city was wrested from the Crusaders by Saladin who permitted Jews and Muslims to return and settle in the city. Under the terms of surrender, once ransomed, 60,000 Franks were expelled. The Eastern Christian populace was permitted to stay. Under the Ayyubid dynasty of Saladin, a period of huge investment began in the construction of houses, markets, public baths, and pilgrim hostels as well as the establishment of religious endowments. However, for most of the 13th century, Jerusalem declined to the status of a village due to city's fall of strategic value and Ayyubid internecine struggles.
From 1229 to 1244, Jerusalem peacefully reverted to Christian control as a result of a 1229 treaty agreed between the crusading Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and al-Kamil, the Ayyubid sultan of Egypt, that ended the Sixth Crusade. The Ayyubids retained control of the Muslim holy places, and Arab sources suggest that Frederick was not permitted to restore Jerusalem's fortifications.
In 1244, Jerusalem was sacked by the Khwarezmian Tatars, who decimated the city's Christian population and drove out the Jews. The Khwarezmian Tatars were driven out by the Ayyubids in 1247.
Mamluk period
From 1260 to 1516/17, Jerusalem was ruled by the Mamluks. In the wider region and until around 1300, many clashes occurred between the Mamluks on one side, and the crusaders and the Mongols, on the other side. The area also suffered from many earthquakes and black plague. When Nachmanides visited in 1267 he found only two Jewish families, in a population of 2,000, 300 of whom were Christians, in the city. The well-known and far-traveled lexicographer Fairuzabadi (1329–1414) spent ten years in Jerusalem.
Jerusalem was a significant site of Mamluk architectural patronage. The frequent building activity in the city during this period is evidenced by the 90 remaining structures. The types of structures built included madrasas, libraries, hospitals, caravanserais, fountains (or sabils), and public baths. Much of the building activity was concentrated around the edges of the Temple Mount or Haram al-Sharif. Old gates to the Haram lost importance and new gates were built, while significant parts of the northern and western porticoes along the edge of the Temple Mount plaza were built or rebuilt in this period. Tankiz, the Mamluk amir in charge of Syria during the reign of al-Nasir Muhammad, built a new market called Suq al-Qattatin (Cotton Market) in 1336–7, along with the gate known as Bab al-Qattanin (Cotton Gate), which gave access to the Temple Mount from this market. The late Mamluk sultan al-Ashraf Qaytbay also took interest in the city. He commissioned the building of the Madrasa al-Ashrafiyya, completed in 1482, and the nearby Sabil of Qaytbay, built shortly after in 1482; both were located on the Temple Mount. Qaytbay's monuments were the last major Mamluk constructions in the city.
Ottoman period (16th–19th centuries)
In 1517, Jerusalem and its environs fell to the Ottoman Turks, who generally remained in control until 1917. Jerusalem enjoyed a prosperous period of renewal and peace under Suleiman the Magnificent—including the rebuilding of magnificent walls around the Old City. Throughout much of Ottoman rule, Jerusalem remained a provincial, if religiously important center, and did not straddle the main trade route between Damascus and Cairo. The English reference book Modern history or the present state of all nations, written in 1744, stated that "Jerusalem is still reckoned the capital city of Palestine, though much fallen from its ancient grandeaur".The Ottomans brought many innovations: modern postal systems run by the various consulates and regular stagecoach and carriage services were among the first signs of modernization in the city. In the mid 19th century, the Ottomans constructed the first paved road from Jaffa to Jerusalem, and by 1892 the railroad had reached the city.
With the annexation of Jerusalem by Muhammad Ali of Egypt in 1831, foreign missions and consulates began to establish a foothold in the city. In 1836, Ibrahim Pasha allowed Jerusalem's Jewish residents to restore four major synagogues, among them the Hurva. In the countrywide Peasants' Revolt, Qasim al-Ahmad led his forces from Nablus and attacked Jerusalem, aided by the Abu Ghosh clan, and entered the city on 31 May 1834. The Christians and Jews of Jerusalem were subjected to attacks. Ibrahim's Egyptian army routed Qasim's forces in Jerusalem the following month.
Ottoman rule was reinstated in 1840, but many Egyptian Muslims remained in Jerusalem and Jews from Algiers and North Africa began to settle in the city in growing numbers. In the 1840s and 1850s, the international powers began a tug-of-war in Palestine as they sought to extend their protection over the region's religious minorities, a struggle carried out mainly through consular representatives in Jerusalem. According to the Prussian consul, the population in 1845 was 16,410, with 7,120 Jews, 5,000 Muslims, 3,390 Christians, 800 Turkish soldiers and 100 Europeans. The volume of Christian pilgrims increased under the Ottomans, doubling the city's population around Easter time.In the 1860s, new neighborhoods began to develop outside the Old City walls to house pilgrims and relieve the intense overcrowding and poor sanitation inside the city. The Russian Compound and Mishkenot Sha'ananim were founded in 1860, followed by many others that included Mahane Israel (1868), Nahalat Shiv'a (1869), German Colony (1872), Beit David (1873), Mea Shearim (1874), Shimon HaZadiq (1876), Beit Ya'aqov (1877), Abu Tor (1880s), American-Swedish Colony (1882), Yemin Moshe (1891), and Mamilla, Wadi al-Joz around the turn of the century. In 1867 an American Missionary reports an estimated population of Jerusalem of 'above' 15,000, with 4,000 to 5,000 Jews and 6,000 Muslims. Every year there were 5,000 to 6,000 Russian Christian Pilgrims. In 1872 Jerusalem became the center of a special administrative district, independent of the Syria Vilayet and under the direct authority of Istanbul called the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem.
The great number of Christian orphans resulting from the 1860 civil war in Mount Lebanon and the Damascus massacre led in the same year to the opening of the German Protestant Syrian Orphanage, better known as the Schneller Orphanage after its founder. Until the 1880s there were no formal Jewish orphanages in Jerusalem, as families generally took care of each other. In 1881 the Diskin Orphanage was founded in Jerusalem with the arrival of Jewish children orphaned by a Russian pogrom. Other orphanages founded in Jerusalem at the beginning of the 20th century were Zion Blumenthal Orphanage (1900) and General Israel Orphan's Home for Girls (1902).
British Mandate (1917–1948)
In 1917 after the Battle of Jerusalem, the British Army, led by General Edmund Allenby, captured the city. In 1922, the League of Nations at the Conference of Lausanne entrusted the United Kingdom to administer Palestine, neighbouring Transjordan, and Iraq beyond it.
The British had to deal with a conflicting demand that was rooted in Ottoman rule. Agreements for the supply of water, electricity, and the construction of a tramway system—all under concessions granted by the Ottoman authorities—had been signed by the city of Jerusalem and a Greek citizen, Euripides Mavromatis, on 27 January 1914. Work under these concessions had not begun and, by the end of the war the British occupying forces refused to recognize their validity. Mavromatis claimed that his concessions overlapped with the Auja Concession that the government had awarded to Rutenberg in 1921 and that he had been deprived of his legal rights. The Mavromatis concession, in effect despite earlier British attempts to abolish it, covered Jerusalem and other localities (e.g., Bethlehem) within a radius of around the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
From 1922 to 1948 the total population of the city rose from 52,000 to 165,000, comprising two-thirds Jews and one-third Arabs (Muslims and Christians). Relations between Arab Christians and Muslims and the growing Jewish population in Jerusalem deteriorated, resulting in recurring unrest. In Jerusalem, in particular, Arab riots occurred in 1920 and in 1929. Under the British, new garden suburbs were built in the western and northern parts of the city and institutions of higher learning such as the Hebrew University were founded.
Divided city: Jordanian and Israeli rule (1948–1967)
As the British Mandate for Palestine was expiring, the 1947 UN Partition Plan recommended "the creation of a special international regime in the City of Jerusalem, constituting it as a corpus separatum under the administration of the UN." The international regime (which also included the city of Bethlehem) was to remain in force for a period of ten years, whereupon a referendum was to be held in which the residents were to decide the future regime of their city. However, this plan was not implemented, as the 1948 war erupted, while the British withdrew from Palestine and Israel declared its independence.
In contradiction to the Partition Plan, which envisioned a city separated from the Arab state and the Jewish state, Israel took control of the area which later would become West Jerusalem, along with major parts of the Arab territory allotted to the future Arab State; Jordan took control of East Jerusalem, along with the West Bank. The war led to displacement of Arab and Jewish populations in the city. The 1,500 residents of the Jewish Quarter of the Old City were expelled and a few hundred taken prisoner when the Arab Legion captured the quarter on 28 May.Mordechai Weingarten Arab residents of Katamon, Talbiya, and the German Colony were driven from their homes. By the time of the armistice that ended active fighting, Israel had control of 12 of Jerusalem's 15 Arab residential quarters. An estimated minimum of 30,000 people had become refugees.Asali, K. J. (1989) Jerusalem in History. Scorpion Publishing. . p. 259. Estimate of number of refugees (Michael C. Hudson).
The war of 1948 resulted in the division of Jerusalem, so that the old walled city lay entirely on the Jordanian side of the line. A no-man's land between East and West Jerusalem came into being in November 1948: Moshe Dayan, commander of the Israeli forces in Jerusalem, met with his Jordanian counterpart Abdullah el-Tell in a deserted house in Jerusalem's Musrara neighborhood and marked out their respective positions: Israel's position in red and Jordan's in green. This rough map, which was not meant as an official one, became the final line in the 1949 Armistice Agreements, which divided the city and left Mount Scopus as an Israeli exclave inside East Jerusalem. Barbed wire and concrete barriers ran down the center of the city, passing close by Jaffa Gate on the western side of the old walled city, and a crossing point was established at Mandelbaum Gate slightly to the north of the old walled city. Military skirmishes frequently threatened the ceasefire.
After the establishment of the state of Israel, Jerusalem was declared its capital city. Jordan formally annexed East Jerusalem in 1950, subjecting it to Jordanian law, and in 1953 declared it the "second capital" of Jordan. Only the United Kingdom and Pakistan formally recognized such annexation, which, in regard to Jerusalem, was on a de facto basis. Some scholars argue that the view that Pakistan recognized Jordan's annexation is dubious.
After 1948, since the old walled city in its entirety was to the east of the armistice line, Jordan was able to take control of all the holy places therein. While Muslim holy sites were maintained and renovated, contrary to the terms of the armistice agreement, Jews were denied access to Jewish holy sites, many of which were destroyed or desecrated. Jordan allowed only very limited access to Christian holy sites, and restrictions were imposed on the Christian population that led many to leave the city. Of the 58 synagogues in the Old City, half were either razed or converted to stables and hen-houses over the course of the next 19 years, including the Hurva and the Tiferet Yisrael Synagogue. The 3,000-year-old Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery was desecrated, with gravestones used to build roads, latrines and Jordanian army fortifications. 38,000 graves in the Jewish Cemetery were destroyed, and Jews were forbidden from being buried there. The Western Wall was transformed into an exclusively Muslim holy site associated with al-Buraq. Israeli authorities neglected to protect the tombs in the Muslim Mamilla Cemetery in West Jerusalem, which contains the remains of figures from the early Islamic period, facilitating the creation of a parking lot and public lavatories in 1964. Many other historic and religiously significant buildings were demolished and replaced by modern structures during the Jordanian occupation. During this period, the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque underwent major renovations.
During the 1948 war, the Jewish residents of Eastern Jerusalem were expelled by Jordan's Arab Legion. Jordan allowed Arab Palestinian refugees from the war to settle in the vacated Jewish Quarter, which became known as Harat al-Sharaf. In 1966 the Jordanian authorities relocated 500 of them to the Shua'fat refugee camp as part of plans to turn the Jewish quarter into a public park.
Israeli rule (1967–present)
In 1967, despite Israeli pleas that Jordan remain neutral during the Six-Day War, Jordan, which had concluded a defense agreement with Egypt on 30 May 1967, attacked Israeli-held West Jerusalem on the war's second day. After hand-to-hand fighting between Israeli and Jordanian soldiers on the Temple Mount, the Israel Defense Forces captured East Jerusalem, along with the entire West Bank. On 27 June 1967, three weeks after the war ended, in the reunification of Jerusalem, Israel extended its law and jurisdiction to East Jerusalem, including the city's Christian and Muslim holy sites, along with some nearby West Bank territory which comprised 28 Palestinian villages, incorporating it into the Jerusalem Municipality, although it carefully avoided using the term annexation. On 10 July, Foreign Minister Abba Eban explained to the UN Secretary General: "The term 'annexation' which was used by supporters of the vote is not accurate. The steps that were taken [by Israel] relate to the integration of Jerusalem in administrative and municipal areas, and served as a legal basis for the protection of the holy places of Jerusalem." Israel conducted a census of Arab residents in the areas annexed. Residents were given permanent residency status and the option of applying for Israeli citizenship. Since 1967, new Jewish residential areas have mushroomed in the eastern sector, while no new Palestinian neighbourhoods have been created.
Jewish and Christian access to the holy sites inside the old walled city was restored. Israel left the Temple Mount under the jurisdiction of an Islamic waqf, but opened the Western Wall to Jewish access. The Moroccan Quarter, which was located adjacent to the Western Wall, was evacuated and razed to make way for a plaza for those visiting the wall. On 18 April 1968, an expropriation order by the Israeli Ministry of Finance more than doubled the size of the Jewish Quarter, evicting its Arab residents and seizing over 700 buildings of which 105 belonged to Jewish inhabitants prior to the Jordanian occupation of the city. The order designated these areas for public use, but they were intended for Jews alone. The government offered 200 Jordanian dinars to each displaced Arab family.
After the Six-Day War the population of Jerusalem increased by 196%. The Jewish population grew by 155%, while the Arab population grew by 314%. The proportion of the Jewish population fell from 74% in 1967 to 72% in 1980, to 68% in 2000, and to 64% in 2010. Israeli Agriculture Minister Ariel Sharon proposed building a ring of Jewish neighborhoods around the city's eastern edges. The plan was intended to make East Jerusalem more Jewish and prevent it from becoming part of an urban Palestinian bloc stretching from Bethlehem to Ramallah. On 2 October 1977, the Israeli cabinet approved the plan, and seven neighborhoods were subsequently built on the city's eastern edges. They became known as the Ring Neighborhoods. Other Jewish neighborhoods were built within East Jerusalem, and Israeli Jews also settled in Arab neighborhoods.
The annexation of East Jerusalem was met with international criticism. The Israeli Foreign Ministry disputes that the annexation of Jerusalem was a violation of international law.The Status of Jerusalem – Israeli Foreign Ministry website, 14 March 1999 The final status of Jerusalem has been one of the most important areas of discord between Palestinian and Israeli negotiators for peace. Areas of discord have included whether the Palestinian flag can be raised over areas of Palestinian custodianship and the specificity of Israeli and Palestinian territorial borders.
Political status
From 1923 until 1948, Jerusalem served as the administrative capital of Mandatory Palestine.
From 1949 until 1967, West Jerusalem served as Israel's capital, but was not recognized as such internationally because UN General Assembly Resolution 194 envisaged Jerusalem as an international city. As a result of the Six-Day War in 1967, the whole of Jerusalem came under Israeli control. On 27 June 1967, the government of Levi Eshkol extended Israeli law and jurisdiction to East Jerusalem, but agreed that administration of the Temple Mount compound would be maintained by the Jordanian waqf, under the Jordanian Ministry of Religious Endowments.
In 1988, Israel ordered the closure of Orient House, home of the Arab Studies Society, but also the headquarters of the Palestine Liberation Organization, for security reasons. The building reopened in 1992 as a Palestinian guesthouse. The Oslo Accords stated that the final status of Jerusalem would be determined by negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. The accords banned any official Palestinian presence in the city until a final peace agreement, but provided for the opening of a Palestinian trade office in East Jerusalem. The Palestinian Authority regards East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. President Mahmoud Abbas has said that any agreement that did not include East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine would be unacceptable. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has similarly stated that Jerusalem would remain the undivided capital of Israel. Due to its proximity to the city, especially the Temple Mount, Abu Dis, a Palestinian suburb of Jerusalem, has been proposed as the future capital of a Palestinian state by Israel. Israel has not incorporated Abu Dis within its security wall around Jerusalem. The Palestinian Authority has built a possible future parliament building for the Palestinian Legislative Council in the town, and its Jerusalem Affairs Offices are all located in Abu Dis.
International status
While the international community regards East Jerusalem, including the entire Old City, as part of the occupied Palestinian territories, neither part, West or East Jerusalem, is recognized as part of the territory of Israel or the State of Palestine.Jerusalem: Opposition to mooted Trump Israel announcement grows"Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem has never been recognised internationally"The Jerusalem Law states that "Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel" and the city serves as the seat of the government, home to the President's residence, government offices, supreme court, and parliament. United Nations Security Council Resolution 478 (20 August 1980; 14–0, U.S. abstaining) declared the Jerusalem Law "null and void" and called on member states to withdraw their diplomatic missions from Jerusalem (see ). See Status of Jerusalem for more information. Under the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1947, Jerusalem was envisaged to become a corpus separatum administered by the United Nations. In the war of 1948, the western part of the city was occupied by forces of the nascent state of Israel, while the eastern part was occupied by Jordan. The international community largely considers the legal status of Jerusalem to derive from the partition plan, and correspondingly refuses to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the city.
Status under Israeli rule
Following the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel extended its jurisdiction and administration over East Jerusalem, establishing new municipal borders.
In 2010, Israel approved legislation giving Jerusalem the highest national priority status in Israel. The law prioritized construction throughout the city, and offered grants and tax benefits to residents to make housing, infrastructure, education, employment, business, tourism, and cultural events more affordable. Communications Minister Moshe Kahlon said that the bill sent "a clear, unequivocal political message that Jerusalem will not be divided", and that "all those within the Palestinian and international community who expect the current Israeli government to accept any demands regarding Israel's sovereignty over its capital are mistaken and misleading".
The status of the city, and especially its holy places, remains a core issue in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The Israeli government has approved building plans in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City in order to expand the Jewish presence in East Jerusalem, while some Islamic leaders have made claims that Jews have no historical connection to Jerusalem, alleging that the 2,500-year-old Western Wall was constructed as part of a mosque. Palestinians regard Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine, and the city's borders have been the subject of bilateral talks. A team of experts assembled by the then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak in 2000 concluded that the city must be divided, since Israel had failed to achieve any of its national aims there. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in 2014 that "Jerusalem will never be divided". A poll conducted in June 2013 found that 74% of Israeli Jews reject the idea of a Palestinian capital in any portion of Jerusalem, though 72% of the public regarded it as a divided city. A poll conducted by Palestinian Center for Public Opinion and American Pechter Middle East Polls for the Council on Foreign Relations, among East Jerusalem Arab residents in 2011 revealed that 39% of East Jerusalem Arab residents would prefer Israeli citizenship contrary to 31% who opted for Palestinian citizenship. According to the poll, 40% of Palestinian residents would prefer to leave their neighborhoods if they would be placed under Palestinian rule.
Jerusalem as capital of Israel
On 5 December 1949, Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, proclaimed Jerusalem as Israel's "eternal" and "sacred" capital, and eight days later specified that only the war had "compelled" the Israeli leadership "to establish the seat of Government in Tel Aviv", while "for the State of Israel there has always been and always will be one capital only – Jerusalem the Eternal", and that after the war, efforts had been ongoing for creating the conditions for "the Knesset... returning to Jerusalem." This indeed took place, and since the beginning of 1950 all branches of the Israeli government—legislative, judicial, and executive—have resided there, except for the Ministry of Defense, which is located at HaKirya in Tel Aviv. At the time of Ben Gurion's proclamations and the ensuing Knesset vote of 24 January 1950, Jerusalem was divided between Israel and Jordan, and thus the proclamation only applied to West Jerusalem.
In July 1980, Israel passed the Jerusalem Law as Basic Law. The law declared Jerusalem the "complete and united" capital of Israel. The Jerusalem Law was condemned by the international community, which did not recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 478 on 20 August 1980, which declared that the Jerusalem Law is "a violation of international law", is "null and void and must be rescinded forthwith". Member states were called upon to withdraw their diplomatic representation from Jerusalem. Following the resolution, 22 of the 24 countries that previously had their embassy in (West) Jerusalem relocated them in Tel Aviv, where many embassies already resided prior to Resolution 478. Costa Rica and El Salvador followed in 2006. There are two embassies—United States and Guatemala—and two consulates located within the city limits of Jerusalem, and two Latin American states maintain embassies in the Jerusalem District town of Mevaseret Zion (Bolivia and Paraguay). There are a number of consulates-general located in Jerusalem, which work primarily either with Israel, or the Palestinian authorities.
In 1995, the United States Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act, which required, subject to conditions, that its embassy be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. On 6 December 2017 U.S. President Donald Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and announced his intention to move the American embassy to Jerusalem, reversing decades of United States policy on the issue. The move was criticized by many nations. A resolution condemning the US decision was supported by all the 14 other members of the UN Security Council, but was vetoed by the US on 18 December 2017, and a subsequent resolution condemning the US decision was passed in the United Nations General Assembly. On 14 May 2018, the United States officially moved the location of its embassy to Jerusalem, transforming its Tel Aviv location into a consulate. Due to the general lack of international recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, some non-Israeli media outlets use Tel Aviv as a metonym for Israel.Times Online Style Guide – J "Jerusalem must not be used as a metonym or variant for Israel. It is not internationally recognised as the Israeli capital, and its status is one of the central controversies in the Middle East."
In April 2017, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced it viewed Western Jerusalem as Israel's capital in the context of UN-approved principles which include the status of East Jerusalem as the capital of the future Palestinian state. On 15 December 2018, Australia officially recognized West Jerusalem as Israel's capital, but said their embassy in Tel Aviv would stay until a two-state resolution was settled.
Government precinct and national institutions
Many national institutions of Israel are located in Kiryat HaMemshala in Givat Ram in Jerusalem as a part of the Kiryat HaLeom project which is intended to create a large district that will house most government agencies and national cultural institutions. Some government buildings are located in Kiryat Menachem Begin. The city is home to the Knesset, the Supreme Court, the Bank of Israel, the National Headquarters of the Israel Police, the official residences of the President and Prime Minister, the Cabinet, and all ministries except for the Ministry of Defense (which is located in central Tel Aviv's HaKirya district) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (which is located in Rishon LeZion, in the wider Tel Aviv metropolitan area, near Beit Dagan).
Jerusalem as capital of Palestine
The Palestinian National Authority views East Jerusalem as occupied territory according to United Nations Security Council Resolution 242. The Palestinian Authority claims Jerusalem, including the Haram al-Sharif, as the capital of the State of Palestine, The PLO claims that West Jerusalem is also subject to permanent status negotiations. However, it has stated that it would be willing to consider alternative solutions, such as making Jerusalem an open city.
The PLO's position is that East Jerusalem, as defined by the pre-1967 municipal boundaries, shall be the capital of Palestine and West Jerusalem the capital of Israel, with each state enjoying full sovereignty over its respective part of the city and with its own municipality. A joint development council would be responsible for coordinated development.
Some states, such as Russia and China, recognize the Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. United Nations General Assembly Resolution 58/292 affirmed that the Palestinian people have the right to sovereignty over East Jerusalem.
Municipal administration
The Jerusalem City Council is a body of 31 elected members headed by the mayor, who serves a five-year term and appoints eight deputies. The former mayor of Jerusalem, Uri Lupolianski, was elected in 2003. In the November 2008 city elections, Nir Barkat was elected. In November 2018, Moshe Lion was elected mayor.
Apart from the mayor and his deputies, City Council members receive no salaries and work on a voluntary basis. The longest-serving Jerusalem mayor was Teddy Kollek, who spent 28 years—six consecutive terms—in office. Most of the meetings of the Jerusalem City Council are private, but each month, it holds a session that is open to the public. Within the city council, religious political parties form an especially powerful faction, accounting for the majority of its seats. The headquarters of the Jerusalem Municipality and the mayor's office are at Safra Square (Kikar Safra) on Jaffa Road. The municipal complex, comprising two modern buildings and ten renovated historic buildings surrounding a large plaza, opened in 1993 when it moved from the old town hall building built by the Mandate authorities. The city falls under the Jerusalem District, with Jerusalem as the district's capital. 37% of the population is Palestinian, but in 2014 not more than 10% of tax revenues were allocated for them. In East Jerusalem, 52% of the land was excluded from development, 35% designated for Jewish settlements, and 13% for Palestinian use, almost all of which was already built on.
Geography
Jerusalem is situated on the southern spur of a plateau in the Judaean Mountains, which include the Mount of Olives (East) and Mount Scopus (North East). The elevation of the Old City is approximately . The whole of Jerusalem is surrounded by valleys and dry riverbeds (wadis). The Kidron, Hinnom, and Tyropoeon Valleys intersect in an area just south of the Old City of Jerusalem. The Kidron Valley runs to the east of the Old City and separates the Mount of Olives from the city proper. Along the southern side of old Jerusalem is the Valley of Hinnom, a steep ravine associated in biblical eschatology with the concept of Gehenna or Hell. The Tyropoeon Valley commenced in the northwest near the Damascus Gate, ran south-southeasterly through the center of the Old City down to the Pool of Siloam, and divided the lower part into two hills, the Temple Mount to the east, and the rest of the city to the west (the lower and the upper cities described by Josephus). Today, this valley is hidden by debris that has accumulated over the centuries.
In biblical times, Jerusalem was surrounded by forests of almond, olive and pine trees. Over centuries of warfare and neglect, these forests were destroyed. Farmers in the Jerusalem region thus built stone terraces along the slopes to hold back the soil, a feature still very much in evidence in the Jerusalem landscape.
Water supply has always been a major problem in Jerusalem, as attested to by the intricate network of ancient aqueducts, tunnels, pools and cisterns found in the city.
Jerusalem is east of Tel Aviv and the Mediterranean Sea. On the opposite side of the city, approximately away, is the Dead Sea, the lowest body of water on Earth. Neighboring cities and towns include Bethlehem and Beit Jala to the south, Abu Dis and Ma'ale Adumim to the east, Mevaseret Zion to the west, and Ramallah and Giv'at Ze'ev to the north. (See map 9 for Jerusalem)
Mount Herzl, at the western side of the city near the Jerusalem Forest, serves as the national cemetery of Israel.
Climate
The city is characterized by a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa), with hot, dry summers, and mild, wet winters. Snow flurries usually occur once or twice a winter, although the city experiences heavy snowfall every three to four years, on average, with short-lived accumulation.
January is the coldest month of the year, with an average temperature of ; July and August are the hottest months, with an average temperature of , and the summer months are usually rainless. The average annual precipitation is around , with rain occurring almost entirely between October and May. Snowfall is rare, and large snowfalls are even more rare. Jerusalem received over of snow on 13 December 2013, which nearly paralyzed the city. A day in Jerusalem has on average, 9.3 sunshine hours. With summers averaging similar temperatures as the coastline, the maritime influence from the Mediterranean Sea is strong, in particular given that Jerusalem is located on a similar latitude as scorching hot deserts not far to its east.
The highest recorded temperature in Jerusalem was on 28 and 30 August 1881, and the lowest temperature recorded was on 25 January 1907.
Most of the air pollution in Jerusalem comes from vehicular traffic. Many main streets in Jerusalem were not built to accommodate such a large volume of traffic, leading to traffic congestion and more carbon monoxide released into the air. Industrial pollution inside the city is sparse, but emissions from factories on the Israeli Mediterranean coast can travel eastward and settle over the city.
Demographics
Demographic history
Jerusalem's population size and composition has shifted many times over its 5,000-year history. Since medieval times, the Old City of Jerusalem has been divided into Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Armenian quarters.
Most population data before 1905 is based on estimates, often from foreign travellers or organisations, since previous census data usually covered wider areas such as the Jerusalem District. These estimates suggest that since the end of the Crusades, Muslims formed the largest group in Jerusalem until the mid-nineteenth century.
Between 1838 and 1876, a number of estimates exist which conflict as to whether Jews or Muslims were the largest group during this period, and between 1882 and 1922 estimates conflict as to exactly when Jews became an absolute majority of the population.
Current demographics
In December 2007, Jerusalem had a population of 747,600—63.7% were Jewish, 33.1% Muslim, and 2% Christian. At the end of 2005, the population density was . According to a study published in 2000, the percentage of Jews in the city's population had been decreasing; this was attributed to a higher Muslim birth rate, and Jewish residents leaving. The study also found that about nine percent of the Old City's 32,488 people were Jews. Of the Jewish population, 200,000 live in East Jerusalem settlements which are considered illegal under international law.
In 2005, 2,850 new immigrants settled in Jerusalem, mostly from the United States, France and the former Soviet Union. In terms of the local population, the number of outgoing residents exceeds the number of incoming residents. In 2005, 16,000 left Jerusalem and only 10,000 moved in. Nevertheless, the population of Jerusalem continues to rise due to the high birth rate, especially in the Haredi Jewish and Arab communities. Consequently, the total fertility rate in Jerusalem (4.02) is higher than in Tel Aviv (1.98) and well above the national average of 2.90. The average size of Jerusalem's 180,000 households is 3.8 people.
In 2005, the total population grew by 13,000 (1.8%)—similar to the Israeli national average, but the religious and ethnic composition is shifting. While 31% of the Jewish population is made up of children below the age fifteen, the figure for the Arab population is 42%. This would seem to corroborate the observation that the percentage of Jews in Jerusalem has declined over the past four decades. In 1967, Jews accounted for 74 percent of the population, while the figure for 2006 is down nine percent. Possible factors are the high cost of housing, fewer job opportunities and the increasingly religious character of the city, although proportionally, young Haredim are leaving in higher numbers. The percentage of secular Jews, or those who 'wear their faith lightly' is dropping, with some 20,000 leaving the city over the past seven years (2012). They now number 31% of the population, the same percentage as the rising Haredi population. Many move to the suburbs and coastal cities in search of cheaper housing and a more secular lifestyle.
In 2009, the percentage of Haredim in the city was increasing. , out of 150,100 schoolchildren, 59,900 or 40% are in state-run secular and National Religious schools, while 90,200 or 60% are in Haredi schools. This correlates with the high number of children in Haredi families.
While some Israelis avoid Jerusalem for its relative lack of development and religious and political tensions, the city has attracted Palestinians, offering more jobs and opportunity than any city in the West Bank or Gaza Strip. Palestinian officials have encouraged Arabs over the years to stay in the city to maintain their claim. Palestinians are attracted to the access to jobs, healthcare, social security, other benefits, and quality of life Israel provides to Jerusalem residents. Arab residents of Jerusalem who choose not to have Israeli citizenship are granted an Israeli identity card that allows them to pass through checkpoints with relative ease and to travel throughout Israel, making it easier to find work. Residents also are entitled to the subsidized healthcare and social security benefits Israel provides its citizens, and have the right to vote in municipal elections. Arabs in Jerusalem can send their children to Israeli-run schools, although not every neighborhood has one, and universities. Israeli doctors and highly regarded hospitals such as Hadassah Medical Center are available to residents.
Demographics and the Jewish-Arab population divide play a major role in the dispute over Jerusalem. In 1998, the Jerusalem Development Authority proposed expanding city limits to the west to include more areas heavily populated with Jews.
Within the past few years, there has been a steady increase in the Jewish birthrate and a steady decrease in the Arab birthrate. In May 2012, it was reported that the Jewish birthrate had overtaken the Arab birthrate. The city's birthrate stands about 4.2 children per Jewish family and 3.9 children per Arab family. In addition, increasing numbers of Jewish immigrants chose to settle in Jerusalem. In the last few years, thousands of Palestinians have moved to previously fully Jewish neighborhoods of East Jerusalem, built after the 1967 Six-Day War. In 2007, 1,300 Palestinians lived in the previously exclusively Jewish neighborhood of Pisgat Ze'ev and constituted three percent of the population in Neve Ya'akov. In the French Hill neighborhood, Palestinians today constitute one-sixth of the overall population.
At the end of 2008, the population of East Jerusalem was 456,300, comprising 60% of Jerusalem's residents. Of these, 195,500 (43%) were Jews, (comprising 40% of the Jewish population of Jerusalem as a whole), and 260,800 (57%) were Muslim (comprising 98% of the Muslim population of Jerusalem). In 2008, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics reported the number of Palestinians living in East Jerusalem was 208,000 according to a recently completed census.
Jerusalem's Jewish population is overwhelmingly religious. Only 21% of Jewish residents are secular. In addition, Haredi Jews comprise 30% of the city's adult Jewish population. In a phenomenon seen rarely around the world, the percentage of Jewish men who work, 47%, is exceeded by the percentage of Jewish women who work, 50%. The young and less religious continue to leave according to a 2016 Central Bureau of Statistics report which noted 6,740 people left. The opening of high speed rail transit to Tel Aviv in 2018 and the New Jerusalem Gateway Business District currently under construction is designed to alter business, tourism, and hopefully reverse the population exodus.
Jerusalem had a population of 804,400 in 2011, of which Jews comprised 499,400 (62.1%), Muslims 281,100 (34.9%), Christians 14,700 (1.8%), and 9,000 (1.1%) were not classified by religion.
Jerusalem had a population of 882,700 in 2016, of which Jews comprised 536,600 (60.8%), Muslims 319,800 (36.2%), Christians 15,800 (1.8%), and 10,300 unclassified (1.2%).
According to Peace Now, approvals for building in Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem have expanded by 60% since Trump became U.S. president in 2017. Since 1991, Palestinians who make up the majority of the residents in the area have only received 30% of the building permits.
Urban planning issues
Critics of efforts to promote a Jewish majority in Jerusalem say that government planning policies are motivated by demographic considerations and seek to limit Arab construction while promoting Jewish construction. According to a World Bank report, the number of recorded building violations between 1996 and 2000 was four and half times higher in Jewish neighborhoods but four times fewer demolition orders were issued in West Jerusalem than in East Jerusalem; Arabs in Jerusalem were less likely to receive construction permits than Jews, and "the authorities are much more likely to take action against Palestinian violators" than Jewish violators of the permit process. In recent years, private Jewish foundations have received permission from the government to develop projects on disputed lands, such as the City of David archaeological park in the 60% Arab neighborhood of Silwan (adjacent to the Old City), and the Museum of Tolerance on Mamilla Cemetery (adjacent to Zion Square).Esther Zandberg."The architectural conspiracy of silence"; Haaretz, 24 February 2007
Religious significance
Jerusalem has been sacred to Judaism for roughly 3000 years, to Christianity for around 2000 years, and to Islam for approximately 1400 years. The 2000 Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem lists 1204 synagogues, 158 churches, and 73 mosques within the city. Despite efforts to maintain peaceful religious coexistence, some sites, such as the Temple Mount, have been a continuous source of friction and controversy.
Judaism
Jerusalem has been the holiest city in Judaism and the ancestral and spiritual homeland of the Jewish people since King David proclaimed it his capital in the 10th century BCE. Without counting its other names, Jerusalem appears in the Hebrew Bible 669 times. The first section, the Torah (Pentateuch), only mentions Moriah, but in later parts of the Bible, the city is mentioned explicitly. The Temple Mount, which was the site of Solomon's Temple and the Second Temple, is the holiest site in Judaism and the place Jews turn towards during prayer. The Western Wall, a remnant of the wall surrounding the Second Temple, is the holiest place where Jews are permitted to pray. Synagogues around the world are traditionally built with the Holy Ark facing Jerusalem, and Arks within Jerusalem face the Holy of Holies. As prescribed in the Mishna and codified in the Shulchan Aruch, daily prayers are recited while facing towards Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. Many Jews have "Mizrach" plaques hung on a wall of their homes to indicate the direction of prayer.The Jewish injunction to pray toward Jerusalem comes in the Orach Chayim section of Shulchan Aruch (94:1) – "When one rises to pray anywhere in the Diaspora, he should face towards the Land of Israel, directing himself also toward Jerusalem, the Temple, and the Holy of Holies."
Christianity
Jerusalem is generally considered the cradle of Christianity. Christianity reveres Jerusalem for its Old Testament history, and also for its significance in the life of Jesus. According to the New Testament, Jesus was brought to Jerusalem soon after his birth and later in his life cleansed the Second Temple. The Cenacle, believed to be the site of Jesus' Last Supper, is located on Mount Zion in the same building that houses the Tomb of King David. Another prominent Christian site in Jerusalem is Golgotha, the site of the crucifixion. The Gospel of John describes it as being located outside Jerusalem, but recent archaeological evidence suggests Golgotha is a short distance from the Old City walls, within the present-day confines of the city. The land occupied by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is considered one of the top candidates for Golgotha and thus has been a Christian pilgrimage site for the past 2000 years.
Islam
Jerusalem is the third-holiest city in Sunni Islam. Islamic tradition holds that for approximately a year, before it was permanently switched to the Kaaba in Mecca, the qibla (direction of prayer) for Muslims was Jerusalem. The city's lasting place in Islam, however, is primarily due to Muhammad's Night Journey (c. 620 CE). Muslims believe that Muhammad was miraculously transported one night from the Great Mosque of Mecca to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, whereupon he ascended to Heaven to meet previous prophets of Islam. (from an English translation of Sahih Bukhari, Volume IX, Book 93, Number 608) The first verse in the Qur'an's Surat al-Isra notes the destination of Muhammad's journey as al-masjid al-aqṣā ("the farthest place of prayer"), which was understood in early Islam as relating to Jerusalem, and particularly to the site of the former Jewish Temple. The hadith, a collection of the sayings of Muhammad, confirm that the location of the Al-Aqsa Mosque is indeed in Jerusalem. The Al-Aqsa Mosque, derived from the name mentioned in the Qur'an, was built on the Temple Mount under the Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid several decades after Muhammad's death to commemorate the place from which Muslims believe he had ascended to Heaven.
Economy
Historically, Jerusalem's economy was supported almost exclusively by religious pilgrims, as it was far from the major ports of Jaffa and Gaza. Jerusalem's religious and cultural landmarks today remain the top draw for foreign visitors, with the majority of tourists visiting the Western Wall and the Old City, In 2010, Jerusalem was named the top leisure travel city in Africa and the Middle East by Travel + Leisure magazine.
in 2013, 75% of the 3.5 million tourists to Israel visited Jerusalem.
Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the national government has remained a major player in Jerusalem's economy. The government, centered in Jerusalem, generates a large number of jobs, and offers subsidies and incentives for new business initiatives and start-ups. Although Tel Aviv remains Israel's financial center, a growing number of high tech companies are moving to Jerusalem, providing 12,000 jobs in 2006. Northern Jerusalem's Har Hotzvim industrial park and the Jerusalem Technology Park in south Jerusalem are home to large Research and Development centers of international tech companies, among them Intel, Cisco Systems, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, IBM, Mobileye, Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic and more. In April 2015, Time Magazine picked Jerusalem as one of the five emerging tech hubs in the world, proclaiming that "The city has become a flourishing center for biomed, cleantech, Internet/mobile startups, accelerators, investors and supporting service providers."
Higher than average percentages are employed in education (17.9% vs. 12.7%); health and welfare (12.6% vs. 10.7%); community and social services (6.4% vs. 4.7%); hotels and restaurants (6.1% vs. 4.7%); and public administration (8.2% vs. 4.7%). During the British Mandate, a law was passed requiring all buildings to be constructed of Jerusalem stone in order to preserve the unique historic and aesthetic character of the city. Complementing this building code, which is still in force, is the discouragement of heavy industry in Jerusalem; only about 2.2% of Jerusalem's land is zoned for "industry and infrastructure." By comparison, the percentage of land in Tel Aviv zoned for industry and infrastructure is twice as high, and in Haifa, seven times as high. Only 8.5% of the Jerusalem District work force is employed in the manufacturing sector, which is half the national average (15.8%).
Although many statistics indicate economic growth in the city, since 1967, East Jerusalem has lagged behind the development of West Jerusalem. Nevertheless, the percentage of households with employed persons is higher for Arab households (76.1%) than for Jewish households (66.8%). The unemployment rate in Jerusalem (8.3%) is slightly better than the national average (9.0%), although the civilian labor force accounted for less than half of all persons fifteen years or older—lower in comparison to that of Tel Aviv (58.0%) and Haifa (52.4%). Poverty remains a problem in the city as 37% of the families in Jerusalem lived in 2011 below the poverty line. According to a report by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), 78% of Arabs in Jerusalem lived in poverty in 2012, up from 64% in 2006. While the ACRI attributes the increase to the lack of employment opportunities, infrastructure and a worsening educational system, Ir Amim blames the legal status of Palestinians in Jerusalem.
High-rise construction
Jerusalem has traditionally had a low-rise skyline. About 18 tall buildings were built at different times in the downtown area when there was no clear policy over the matter. One of them, Holyland Tower 1, Jerusalem's tallest building, is a skyscraper by international standards, rising 32 stories. Holyland Tower 2, which has been approved for construction, will reach the same height.
A new master plan for the city will see many high-rise buildings, including skyscrapers, built in certain, designated areas of downtown Jerusalem. Under the plan, towers will line Jaffa Road and King George Street. One of the proposed towers along King George Street, the Migdal Merkaz HaYekum, is planned as a 65-story building, which would make it one of the tallest buildings in Israel. At the entrance to the city, near the Jerusalem Chords Bridge and the Central Bus Station, twelve towers rising between 24 and 33 stories will be built, as part of a complex that will also include an open square and an underground train station serving a new express line between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, and will be connected by bridges and tunnels. Eleven of the skyscrapers will be either office or apartment buildings, and one will be a 2,000-room hotel. The complex is expected to attract many businesses from Tel Aviv, and become the city's main business hub. In addition, a complex for the city's courts and the prosecutor's office will be built, as well as new buildings for Central Zionist Archives and Israel State Archives. The skyscrapers built throughout the city are expected to contain public space, shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues, and it has been speculated that this may lead to a revitalization of downtown Jerusalem. In August 2015, the city council approved construction of a 344-foot pyramid-shaped skyscraper designed by Daniel Libeskind and Yigal Levi, in place of a rejected previous design by Libeskind; it is set to break ground by 2019.
Transportation
Jerusalem is served by highly developed communication infrastructures, making it a leading logistics hub for Israel.
The Jerusalem Central Bus Station, located on Jaffa Road, is the busiest bus station in Israel. It is served by Egged Bus Cooperative, which is the second-largest bus company in the world, The Dan serves the Bnei Brak-Jerusalem route along with Egged, and Superbus serves the routes between Jerusalem, Modi'in Illit, and Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut. The companies operate from Jerusalem Central Bus Station. Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem and routes between Jerusalem and locations in the West Bank are served by the East Jerusalem Central Bus Station, a transportation hub located near the Old City's Damascus Gate. The Jerusalem Light Rail initiated service in August 2011. According to plans, the first rail line will be capable of transporting an estimated 200,000 people daily, and has 23 stops. The route is from Pisgat Ze'ev in the north via the Old City and city center to Mt. Herzl in the south.
Another work in progress is a new high-speed rail line from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which became partially operational in 2018 and is expected to be completed in 2019. Its terminus will be a new underground station ( deep) serving the International Convention Center and the Central Bus Station, and is planned to be extended eventually to Malha station. Israel Railways operates train services to Malha train station from Tel Aviv via Beit Shemesh.
Begin Expressway is one of Jerusalem's major north–south thoroughfares; it runs on the western side of the city, merging in the north with Route 443, which continues toward Tel Aviv. Route 60 runs through the center of the city near the Green Line between East and West Jerusalem. Construction is progressing on parts of a ring road around the city, fostering faster connection between the suburbs. The eastern half of the project was conceptualized decades ago, but reaction to the proposed highway is still mixed.
Airport
Jerusalem is served by Ben Gurion Airport, some northwest of the Jerusalem, on the route to Tel Aviv. The Tel Aviv–Jerusalem railway runs non-stop from Jerusalem–Yitzhak Navon railway station to the airport and began operation in 2018.
In the past, Jerusalem was also served by the local Atarot Airport. Atarot ceased operation in 2000.
Education
Universities
Jerusalem is home to several prestigious universities offering courses in Hebrew, Arabic and English.
Founded in 1925, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has been ranked among the top 100 schools in the world. The Board of Governors has included such prominent Jewish intellectuals as Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud. The university has produced several Nobel laureates; recent winners associated with Hebrew University include Avram Hershko, David Gross, and Daniel Kahneman. One of the university's major assets is the Jewish National and University Library, which houses over five million books. The library opened in 1892, over three decades before the university was established, and is one of the world's largest repositories of books on Jewish subjects. Today it is both the central library of the university and the national library of Israel. The Hebrew University operates three campuses in Jerusalem, on Mount Scopus, on Giv'at Ram and a medical campus at the Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital. The Academy of the Hebrew Language are located in the Hebrew university in Givat Ram and the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities located near the Presidents House.
The Jerusalem College of Technology, founded in 1969, combines training in engineering and other high-tech industries with a Jewish studies program. It is one of many schools in Jerusalem, from elementary school and up, that combine secular and religious studies. Numerous religious educational institutions and Yeshivot, including some of the most prestigious yeshivas, among them the Brisk, Chevron, Midrash Shmuel and Mir, are based in the city, with the Mir Yeshiva claiming to be the largest. There were nearly 8,000 twelfth-grade students in Hebrew-language schools during the 2003–2004 school year. However, due to the large portion of students in Haredi Jewish frameworks, only fifty-five percent of twelfth graders took matriculation exams (Bagrut) and only thirty-seven percent were eligible to graduate. Unlike public schools, many Haredi schools do not prepare students to take standardized tests. To attract more university students to Jerusalem, the city has begun to offer a special package of financial incentives and housing subsidies to students who rent apartments in downtown Jerusalem.
Al-Quds University was established in 1984 to serve as a flagship university for the Arab and Palestinian peoples. It describes itself as the "only Arab university in Jerusalem". Bard College of Annandale-on-Hudson, New York and Al-Quds University agreed to open a joint college in a building originally built to house the Palestinian Legislative Council and Yasser Arafat's office. The college gives Master of Arts in Teaching degrees. Al-Quds University resides southeast of the city proper on a Abu Dis campus.
Other institutions of higher learning in Jerusalem are the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance and Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, whose buildings are located on the campuses of the Hebrew University.
Arab schools
Schools for Arabs in Jerusalem and other parts of Israel have been criticized for offering a lower quality education than those catering to Israeli Jewish students. While many schools in the heavily Arab East Jerusalem are filled to capacity and there have been complaints of overcrowding, the Jerusalem Municipality is building over a dozen new schools in the city's Arab neighborhoods. Schools in Ras el-Amud and Umm Lison opened in 2008. In March 2007, the Israeli government approved a 5-year plan to build 8,000 new classrooms in the city, 40 percent in the Arab sector and 28 percent in the Haredi sector. A budget of 4.6 billion shekels was allocated for this project. In 2008, Jewish British philanthropists donated $3 million for the construction of schools for Arabs in East Jerusalem. Arab high school students take the Bagrut matriculation exams, so that much of their curriculum parallels that of other Israeli high schools and includes certain Jewish subjects.
Culture
Although Jerusalem is known primarily for its religious significance, the city is also home to many artistic and cultural venues. The Israel Museum attracts nearly one million visitors a year, approximately one-third of them tourists. The museum complex comprises several buildings featuring special exhibits and extensive collections of Judaica, archaeological findings, and Israeli and European art. The Dead Sea scrolls, discovered in the mid-20th century in the Qumran Caves near the Dead Sea, are housed in the Museum's Shrine of the Book. The Youth Wing, which mounts changing exhibits and runs an extensive art education program, is visited by 100,000 children a year. The museum has a large outdoor sculpture garden and includes the Holyland Model of Jerusalem, a scale-model of the city during the late Second Temple period. The Ticho House in downtown Jerusalem houses the paintings of Anna Ticho and the Judaica collections of her husband, an ophthalmologist who opened Jerusalem's first eye clinic in this building in 1912.
Next to the Israel Museum is the Bible Lands Museum, near The National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel, which includes the Israel Antiquities Authority offices. A World Bible Center is planned to be built adjacent to Mount Zion at a site called the "Bible Hill". A planned World Kabbalah Center is to be located on the nearby promenade, overlooking the Old City. The Rockefeller Museum, located in East Jerusalem, was the first archaeological museum in the Middle East. It was built in 1938 during the British Mandate. In 2006, a Jerusalem Trail was opened, a hiking trail that goes to many cultural sites and national parks in and around Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Biblical Zoo has ranked consistently as Israel's top tourist attraction for Israelis.
The national cemetery of Israel is located at the city's western edge, near the Jerusalem Forest on Mount Herzl. The western extension of Mount Herzl is the Mount of Remembrance, where the main Holocaust museum of Israel is located. Yad Vashem, Israel's national memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, houses the world's largest library of Holocaust-related information. It houses an estimated 100,000 books and articles. The complex contains a state-of-the-art museum that explores the genocide of the Jews through exhibits that focus on the personal stories of individuals and families killed in the Holocaust. An art gallery featuring the work of artists who perished is also present. Further, Yad Vashem commemorates the 1.5 million Jewish children murdered by the Nazis, and honors the Righteous among the Nations.
The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, established in the 1940s, has appeared around the world. The International Convention Center (Binyanei HaUma) near the entrance to city houses the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. The Jerusalem Cinemateque, the Gerard Behar Center (formerly Beit Ha'Am) in downtown Jerusalem, the Jerusalem Music Center in Yemin Moshe, and the Targ Music Center in Ein Kerem also present the arts. The Israel Festival, featuring indoor and outdoor performances by local and international singers, concerts, plays, and street theater has been held annually since 1961, and Jerusalem has been the major organizer of this event. The Jerusalem Theater in the Talbiya neighborhood hosts over 150 concerts a year, as well as theater and dance companies and performing artists from overseas. The Khan Theater, located in a caravanserai opposite the old Jerusalem train station, is the city's only repertoire theater. The station itself has become a venue for cultural events in recent years as the site of Shav'ua Hasefer (an annual week-long book fair) and outdoor music performances. The Jerusalem Film Festival is held annually, screening Israeli and international films. In 1974 the Jerusalem Cinematheque was founded. In 1981 it was moved to a new building on Hebron Road near the Valley of Hinnom and the Old City.
Jerusalem was declared the Capital of Arab Culture in 2009. Jerusalem is home to the Palestinian National Theatre, which engages in cultural preservation as well as innovation, working to rekindle Palestinian interest in the arts. The Edward Said National Conservatory of Music sponsors the Palestine Youth Orchestra which toured Arab states of the Persian Gulf and other Middle East countries in 2009. The Islamic Museum on the Temple Mount, established in 1923, houses many Islamic artifacts, from tiny kohl flasks and rare manuscripts to giant marble columns. Al-Hoash, established in 2004, is a gallery for the preservation of Palestinian art. While Israel approves and financially supports some Arab cultural activities, Arab Capital of Culture events were banned because they were sponsored by the Palestine National Authority. In 2009, a four-day culture festival was held in the Beit 'Anan suburb of Jerusalem, attended by more than 15,000 people
The Museum on the Seam, which explores issues of coexistence through art, is situated on the road dividing eastern and western Jerusalem. The Abraham Fund and the Jerusalem Intercultural Center (JICC) promote joint Jewish-Palestinian cultural projects. The Jerusalem Center for Middle Eastern Music and Dance is open to Arabs and Jews and offers workshops on Jewish-Arab dialogue through the arts. The Jewish-Arab Youth Orchestra performs both European classical and Middle Eastern music. In 2008, the Tolerance Monument, an outdoor sculpture by Czesław Dźwigaj, was erected on a hill between Jewish Armon HaNetziv and Arab Jebl Mukaber as a symbol of Jerusalem's quest for peace.
Media
Jerusalem is the state broadcasting center of Israel. The Israel Broadcasting Authority's main office is located in Jerusalem, as well as the TV and radio studios for Israel Radio, Channel 2, Channel 10, and part of the radio studios of BBC News. The Jerusalem Post and The Times of Israel are also headquartered in Jerusalem. Local newspapers include Kol Ha'Ir and The Jerusalem Times. God TV, an international Christian television network is also based in the city.
Sports
The two most popular sports are football (soccer) and basketball. Beitar Jerusalem Football Club is one of the most well known in Israel. Fans include political figures who often attend its games. Jerusalem's other major football team, and one of Beitar's top rivals, is Hapoel Jerusalem F.C. Whereas Beitar has been Israel State Cup champion seven times, Hapoel has won the Cup only once. Beitar has won the top league six times, while Hapoel has never succeeded. Beitar plays in the more prestigious Ligat HaAl, while Hapoel is in the second division Liga Leumit. Since its opening in 1992, Teddy Stadium has been Jerusalem's primary football stadium, with a capacity of 34,000. The most popular Palestinian football club is Jabal Al Mukaber (since 1976) which plays in West Bank Premier League. The club hails from Mount Scopus at Jerusalem, part of the Asian Football Confederation, and plays at the Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium at Al-Ram, across the West Bank Barrier.Football and the wall: The divided soccer community of Jerusalem, by James Montague, CNN 17 September 2010
In basketball, Hapoel Jerusalem is one of the top teams in the top division. The club has won Israel's championship in 2015, the State Cup four times, and the ULEB Cup in 2004.
The Jerusalem Marathon, established in 2011, is an international marathon race held annually in Jerusalem in the month of March. The full 42-kilometer race begins at the Knesset, passes through Mount Scopus and the Old City's Armenian Quarter, and concludes at Sacher Park. In 2012, the Jerusalem Marathon drew 15,000 runners, including 1,500 from fifty countries outside Israel.
A popular non-competitive sports event is the Jerusalem March, held annually during the Sukkot festival.
International relations
Jerusalem is twinned with
Prague, Czech Republic
Ayabe, Japan
New York City, United States (since 1993) Partner city
Marseille, France
See also
Greater Jerusalem
List of people from Jerusalem
List of places in Jerusalem
List of songs about Jerusalem
Outline of Jerusalem
Notes
References
Bibliography
Gilbert, Martin (1978). Jerusalem: Illustrated History Atlas. New York: Macmillan Publishing.
Further reading
Cheshin, Amir S.; Bill Hutman and Avi Melamed (1999). Separate and Unequal: the Inside Story of Israeli Rule in East Jerusalem. Harvard University Press. .
Cline, Eric (2004). Jerusalem Besieged: From Ancient Canaan to Modern Israel. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. .
Collins, Larry, and La Pierre, Dominique (1988). O Jerusalem!. New York: Simon & Schuster .
Gold, Dore (2007) The Fight for Jerusalem: Radical Islam, The West, and the Future of the Holy City. International Publishing Company J-M, Ltd. .
Köchler, Hans (1981) The Legal Aspects of the Palestine Problem with Special Regard to the Question of Jerusalem Vienna: Braumüller .
The Holy Cities: Jerusalem produced by Danae Film Production, distributed by HDH Communications; 2006
Wasserstein, Bernard (2002) Divided Jerusalem: The Struggle for the Holy City New Haven and London: Yale University Press. .
"Keys to Jerusalem: A Brief Overview", The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center, Amman, Jordan, 2010.
Sebag Montefiore, Simon (2011) Jerusalem: The Biography, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, .
Young, Robb A (2012) Hezekiah in History and Tradition'' Brill Global Oriental Hotei Publishing, Netherlands.
External links
of the Jerusalem Municipality
What makes Jerusalem so holy? BBC
The Status of Jerusalem. United Nations document related to the dispute over the city
English translation of the Jerusalem Law, the Israeli law making Jerusalem the capital of Israel
Jerusalem Virtual Library, joint project by Al-Quds University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Official website of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the city's foremost institution of higher education
Official website of Al-Quds University, the only Palestinian university in Jerusalem
Ancient Hebrew pilgrimage sites
Ancient Jewish settlements of Judaea
Arab Christian communities in Israel
Capitals in Asia
Capitals in the State of Palestine
Christian holy places
Cities in Israel
Cities in Jerusalem District
Cities in the State of Palestine
Disputed territories in Asia
Hebrew Bible cities
Holy cities
Islamic holy places
Jerusalem Governorate
Jewish holy places
Land of Israel
Mixed Israeli communities
New Testament cities
Orthodox Jewish communities
Populated places established in the 5th millennium BC
Territorial disputes of Israel
Torah cities
Holy cities of Judaism | en |
doc-en-532 | Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus on innovative sound, and his releases have spanned genres ranging from blues rock, hard rock, jazz fusion and a blend of guitar-rock and electronica.
Beck is considered among the greatest players in history with Rolling Stone, upon whose cover he has appeared three times, describing him as "one of the most influential lead guitarists in rock". He is often called a "guitarist's guitarist". Although he recorded two hit albums (in 1975 and 1976) as a solo act, Beck has not established or maintained the sustained commercial success of many of his contemporaries and bandmates. However, he has recorded with many artists.
Beck has earned wide critical praise and received the Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance six times and Best Pop Instrumental Performance once. In 2014 he received the British Academy's Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. Beck has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: as a member of the Yardbirds (1992) and as a solo artist (2009).
Early life
Geoffrey Arnold Beck was born on 24 June 1944 to Arnold and Ethel Beck at 206 Demesne Road, Wallington, England. As a 10-year-old, Beck sang in a church choir. He attended Sutton Manor School and Sutton East County Secondary Modern School.
Beck has cited Les Paul as the first electric guitar player who impressed him. Beck has said that he first heard an electric guitar when he was 6 years old and heard Paul playing "How High the Moon" on the radio. He asked his mother what it was. After she replied it was an electric guitar and was all tricks, he said, "That's for me". Cliff Gallup, lead guitarist with Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps, was also an early musical influence, followed by B.B. King and Steve Cropper. Beck considers Lonnie Mack "a rock guitarist [who] was unjustly overlooked [and] a major influence on him and many others."
As a teenager he learned to play on a borrowed guitar and made several attempts to build his own instrument, first by gluing and bolting together cigar boxes for the body and an unsanded fence-post for the neck with model aircraft control-lines and frets simply painted on.
Upon leaving school, he attended Wimbledon College of Art, after which he was briefly employed as a painter and decorator, a groundsman on a golf course and a car paint-sprayer. Beck's sister Annetta introduced him to Jimmy Page when both were teenagers.
Career
1960s
While still attending Wimbledon College of Art, Beck was playing in a succession of groups, including Screaming Lord Sutch and the Savages during 1962 when they recorded "Dracula's Daughter"/"Come Back Baby" for Oriole Records.
In 1963, after Ian Stewart of the Rolling Stones introduced him to R&B, he formed the Nightshift with whom he played at the 100 Club in Oxford Street, and recorded a single, "Stormy Monday" backed with "That's My Story", for the Piccadilly label. Beck joined the Rumbles, a Croydon band, in 1963 for a short period as lead guitarist, playing Gene Vincent and Buddy Holly songs, displaying a talent for mimicking guitar styles. Later in 1963, he joined the Tridents, a band from the Chiswick area. "They were really my scene because they were playing flat-out R&B, like Jimmy Reed stuff, and we supercharged it all up and made it really rocky. I got off on that, even though it was only twelve-bar blues." He was a session guitarist on a 1964 Parlophone single by the Fitz and Startz titled "I'm Not Running Away", with B-side "So Sweet".
In March 1965, Beck was recruited by the Yardbirds to succeed Eric Clapton on the recommendation of fellow session musician Jimmy Page, who had been their initial choice. The Yardbirds recorded most of their Top 40 hit songs during Beck's short but significant 20-month tenure with the band allowing him only one full album, which became known as Roger the Engineer (titled Over Under Sideways Down in the US), released in 1966. In May 1966, Beck recorded an instrumental titled "Beck's Bolero". Rather than members of the Yardbirds, he was backed by Page on 12-string rhythm guitar, Keith Moon on drums, John Paul Jones on bass, and Nicky Hopkins on piano. In June, Page joined the Yardbirds, at first on bass and later on second lead guitar. This dual lead-guitar lineup was filmed performing an adaptation of "Train Kept A-Rollin'", titled "Stroll On", for the 1966 Michelangelo Antonioni film Blow Up.
Beck was fired during a US tour for being a consistent no-show—as well as difficulties caused by his perfectionism and explosive temper. In 1967, he recorded two solo singles for pop producer Mickie Most, "Hi Ho Silver Lining" and "Tallyman", which also included his vocals. He then formed the Jeff Beck Group, which included Rod Stewart on vocals, Ronnie Wood on bass, Nicky Hopkins on piano and Aynsley Dunbar on drums (replaced by Micky Waller).
The group produced two albums for Columbia Records (Epic in the United States): Truth (as Jeff BecK, August 1968) and Beck-Ola (July 1969). Truth, released five months before the first Led Zeppelin album, features "You Shook Me", a song written by Willie Dixon and first recorded by Muddy Waters, also covered on the Led Zeppelin debut with a similar arrangement. It sold well (reaching No. 15 on the Billboard charts). Beck-Ola saw drummer Micky Waller replaced by Tony Newman, and, while well-received, was less successful both commercially and critically. Resentment, coupled with touring incidents, led the group to dissolve in July 1969.
In his autobiography, Nick Mason recalls that during 1967 Pink Floyd had wanted to recruit Beck to be its guitarist after the departure of Syd Barrett but "None of us had the nerve to ask him." In 1969, following the death of Brian Jones, Beck was approached about joining the Rolling Stones.
After the break-up of his group, Beck took part in the Music from Free Creek "super session" project, billed as "A.N. Other" and contributed lead guitar on four songs, including one co-written by him. In September 1969, he teamed with the rhythm section of Vanilla Fudge: bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice (when they were in England to resolve contractual issues), but when Beck fractured his skull in a car accident near Maidstone in December the plan was postponed for two and a half years, during which time Bogert and Appice formed Cactus. Beck later remarked on the 1960s period of his life: "Everyone thinks of the 1960s as something they really weren't. It was the frustration period of my life. The electronic equipment just wasn't up to the sounds I had in my head."
1970s
In 1970, when Beck had regained his health, he set about forming a band with drummer Cozy Powell. Beck, Powell and producer Mickie Most flew to the United States and recorded several tracks at Motown's famed Studio A in Hitsville U.S.A. with the Funk Brothers, Motown's in-house band, but the results remained unreleased. By April 1971 Beck had completed the line-up of this new group with guitarist/vocalist Bobby Tench, keyboard player Max Middleton and bassist Clive Chaman. The new band performed as "the Jeff Beck Group" but had a substantially different sound from the first line-up.
Rough and Ready (October 1971), the first album they recorded, on which Beck wrote or co-wrote six of the album's seven tracks (the exception being written by Middleton), included elements of soul, rhythm-and-blues and jazz, foreshadowing the direction Beck's music would take later in the decade.
A second album Jeff Beck Group (July 1972) was recorded at TMI studios in Memphis, Tennessee with the same personnel. Beck employed Steve Cropper as producer and the album displayed a strong soul influence, five of the nine tracks being covers of songs by American artists. One, "I Got to Have a Song", was the first of four Stevie Wonder compositions covered by Beck. Shortly after the release of the Jeff Beck Group album, the band was dissolved and Beck's management put out the statement that: "The fusion of the musical styles of the various members has been successful within the terms of individual musicians, but they didn't feel it had led to the creation of a new musical style with the strength they had originally sought."
Beck then started collaborating with bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice, who became available following the demise of Cactus but continued touring as the Jeff Beck Group in August 1972, to fulfill contractual obligations with his promoter, with a line-up including Bogert, Appice, Max Middleton and vocalist Kim Milford. After six appearances Milford was replaced by Bobby Tench, who was flown in from the UK for the Arie Crown Theatre Chicago performance and the rest of the tour, which concluded at the Paramount North West Theatre, Seattle. After the tour Tench and Middleton left the band and the power trio Beck, Bogert & Appice emerged. Appice took on the role of vocalist with Bogert and Beck contributing occasionally.
They were included on the bill for Rock at The Oval in September 1972, still as "the Jeff Beck Group," which marked the start of a tour schedule of UK, the Netherlands and Germany. Another U.S. tour began in October 1972, starting at the Hollywood Sportatorium Florida and concluding on 11 November 1972 at The Warehouse, New Orleans. In April 1973 the album Beck, Bogert & Appice was released (on Epic Records). While critics acknowledged the band's instrumental prowess the album was not commercially well received except for its cover of Stevie Wonder's hit "Superstition".
On 3 July 1973 Beck joined David Bowie onstage to perform "The Jean Genie"/"Love Me Do" and "Around and Around." The show was recorded and filmed, but none of the released editions included Beck. During October 1973 Beck recorded tracks for Michael Fennelly's album Lane Changer and attended sessions with Hummingbird, a band derived from the Jeff Beck Group, but did not to contribute to their eponymous first album.
Early in January 1974 Beck, Bogert & Appice played at the Rainbow Theatre, as part of a European tour. The concert was broadcast in full on the US show Rock Around the World in September of the same year. This last recorded work by the band previewed material intended for a second studio album, included on the bootleg At Last Rainbow. The tracks "Blues Deluxe" and "BBA Boogie" from this concert were later included on the Jeff Beck compilation Beckology (1991).
Beck, Bogert & Appice dissolved in April 1974 before their second studio album (produced by Jimmy Miller) was finished. Their live album Beck, Bogert & Appice Live in Japan, recorded during their 1973 tour of Japan, was not released until February 1975 by Epic/Sony.
After a few months Beck entered Underhill Studio and met with the group Upp, whom he recruited as backing band for his appearance on the BBC TV programme Guitar Workshop in August 1974. Beck produced and played on their self-titled debut album and their second album This Way Upp, though his contributions to the second album went uncredited. In October Beck began to record instrumentals at AIR Studios with Max Middleton, bassist Phil Chen and drummer Richard Bailey, using George Martin as producer and arranger.
Jeff Beck's solo album Blow by Blow (March 1975) evolved from these sessions and showcased Beck's technical prowess in jazz-rock. The album reached number four in the charts and is Beck's most commercially successful release. Beck, fastidious about overdubs and often dissatisfied with his solos, often returned to AIR Studios until he was satisfied. A couple of months after the sessions had finished producer George Martin received a telephone call from Beck, who wanted to record a solo section again. Bemused, Martin replied: "I'm sorry, Jeff, but the record is in the shops!"
Beck put together a live band for a US tour, preceded by a small and unannounced gig at The Newlands Tavern in Peckham, London. He toured through April and May 1975, mostly supporting the Mahavishnu Orchestra, retaining Max Middleton on keyboards but with a new rhythm section of bassist Wilbur Bascomb and noted session drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie.
In a May 1975 show in Cleveland, Ohio (Music Hall), he became frustrated with an early version of a talk box he used on his arrangement of the Beatles' "She's a Woman", and after breaking a string, tossed his legendary Yardbirds-era Stratocaster guitar off the stage. He did the same with the talk box and finished the show playing a Les Paul and without the box. During this tour he performed at Yuya Uchida's "World Rock Festival", playing a total of eight songs with Purdie. In addition he performed a guitar and drum instrumental with Johnny Yoshinaga and, at the end of the festival, joined in a live jam with bassist Felix Pappalardi of Mountain and vocalist Akira "Joe" Yamanaka from the Flower Travellin' Band. Only his set with Purdie was recorded and released.
He returned to the studio and recorded Wired (1976), which paired ex-Mahavishnu Orchestra drummer and composer Narada Michael Walden and keyboardist Jan Hammer. The album used a jazz-rock fusion style, which sounded similar to the work of his two collaborators. To promote the album, Beck joined forces with the Jan Hammer Group, playing a show supporting Alvin Lee at The Roundhouse in May 1976, before embarking on a seven-month-long world tour. This resulted in the live album Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group Live (1977).
At this point, Beck was a tax exile and took up residency in the US, remaining there until his return to the UK in the autumn of 1977. In the spring of 1978, he began rehearsing with ex-Return to Forever bassist Stanley Clarke and drummer Gerry Brown towards a projected appearance at the Knebworth Festival, but this was cancelled after Brown dropped out. Beck toured Japan for three weeks in November 1978 with an ad hoc group consisting of Clarke and newcomers Tony Hymas (keyboards) and Simon Phillips (drums) from Jack Bruce's band.
Work then began on a new studio album at the Who's Ramport Studios in London and continued sporadically throughout 1979, resulting in There & Back in June 1980. It featured three tracks composed and recorded with Jan Hammer, while five were written with Hymas. Stanley Clarke was replaced by Mo Foster on bass, both on the album and the subsequent tours. Its release was followed by extensive touring in the US, Japan and the UK.
1980s
In 1981 Beck made a series of historic live appearances with his Yardbirds predecessor Eric Clapton at the Amnesty International-sponsored benefit concerts dubbed The Secret Policeman's Other Ball shows. He appeared with Clapton on "Crossroads", "Further on up the Road", and his own arrangement of Stevie Wonder's "Cause We've Ended As Lovers". Beck also featured prominently in an all-star band finale performance of "I Shall Be Released" with Clapton, Sting, Phil Collins, Donovan and Bob Geldof. Beck's contributions were seen and heard in the resulting album and film, both of which achieved worldwide success in 1982. Another benefit show, the ARMS Concert for multiple sclerosis featured a jam with Beck, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page. They performed "Tulsa Time" and "Layla".
In 1985 Beck released Flash, featuring a variety of vocalists, but most notably former bandmate Rod Stewart on a rendition of Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready. The aforementioned cover song was also released as a single which went on to become a hit. A video was made for the track and the clip achieved heavy rotation on MTV. The two also played a few dates together during this time but a full tour in tandem never materialized.
At Stewart's induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, Beck gave the induction speech, saying of Stewart, "We have a love hate relationship – he loves me and I hate him."
During this period, Beck made several guest appearances with other performers, including the movie Twins, where he played guitar with singer Nicolette Larson.
After a four-year break, he made a return to instrumental music with the album Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop (1989), the first album to feature Beck as a fingerstyle guitarist, leaving the plectrum playing style. It was only his third album to be released in the 1980s. Much of Beck's sparse and sporadic recording schedule was due in part to a long battle with tinnitus.
1990s
In the 1990s, Beck had a higher musical output. He contributed to Jon Bon Jovi's solo debut album "Blaze of Glory" in 1990, playing the main solo of the album's title song, which was also the theme song to the movie Young Guns II. The same year, he was a featured performer on Hans Zimmer's score for the film Days of Thunder. He played lead guitar on Roger Waters' 1992 concept album Amused to Death, and on the 1993 albums The Red Shoes by Kate Bush and Love Scenes by Beverley Craven. He recorded the instrumental soundtrack album Frankie's House (1992), as well as Crazy Legs (1993), a tribute album to 1950s rockabilly group Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps and their influential guitarist Cliff Gallup.
Beck rehearsed with Guns N' Roses for their concert in Paris in 1992, but did not play in the actual concert due to ear damage caused by a Matt Sorum cymbal crash, causing Beck to become temporarily deaf. The Yardbirds were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. In Beck's acceptance speech he humorously noted that:
He accompanied Paul Rodgers of Bad Company on the album Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters in 1993. Beck's next release was in 1999, his first foray into guitar based electronica, Who Else!. The album also marked Beck's first collaboration with a female musician, Jennifer Batten, in touring, writing, and recording as well as the first time he had worked with another guitarist on his own material since playing in the Yardbirds. Beck continued to work with Batten through the post-release tour of You Had It Coming in 2001.
2000s
Beck won his third Grammy Award, this one for 'Best Rock Instrumental Performance' for the track "Dirty Mind" from You Had It Coming (2001).
The song "Plan B" from the 2003 release Jeff, earned Beck his fourth Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance, and was proof that the new electro-guitar style he used for the two earlier albums would continue to dominate. Beck was the opening act for B.B. King in the summer of 2003 and appeared at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2004. Additionally in 2004, Beck was featured on the song "54-46 Was My Number" by Toots and the Maytals as part of the album True Love which won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album.
In 2007, he accompanied Kelly Clarkson for her cover of Patty Griffin's "Up to the Mountain", during the Idol Gives Back episode of American Idol. The performance was recorded live and afterwards was immediately released for sale. In the same year, he appeared once again at Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival, performing with Vinnie Colaiuta, Jason Rebello, and the then 21-year-old bassist Tal Wilkenfeld.
Beck announced a world tour in early 2009 and remained faithful to the same lineup of musicians as in his tour two years before, playing and recording at Ronnie Scott's in London to a sold-out audience. Beck played on the song "Black Cloud" on the 2009 Morrissey album Years of Refusal and later that year, Harvey Goldsmith became Beck's Manager.
Beck was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 4 April 2009, as a solo artist. The award was presented by Jimmy Page. Beck performed "Train Kept A-Rollin'" along with Page, Ronnie Wood, Joe Perry, Flea, and Metallica members James Hetfield, Robert Trujillo, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Jason Newsted.
On 4 July 2009, David Gilmour joined Beck onstage at the Albert Hall. Beck and Gilmour traded solos on "Jerusalem" and closed the show with "Hi Ho Silver Lining".
2010s
Beck's album, Emotion & Commotion, was released in April 2010. It features a mixture of original songs and covers such as "Over the Rainbow" and "Nessun Dorma". Joss Stone and Imelda May provided some of the guest vocals. Two tracks from Emotion & Commotion won Grammy Awards in 2011: "Nessun Dorma" won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance, and "Hammerhead" won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. Beck collaborated on "Imagine" for the 2010 Herbie Hancock album, The Imagine Project along with Seal, P!nk, India.Arie, Konono N°1, Oumou Sangare and others and received a third Grammy in 2011 for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for the track.
Beck's 2010 World Tour band featured Grammy-winning musician Narada Michael Walden on drums, Rhonda Smith on bass and Jason Rebello on keyboards. He has also released a live album titled Live and Exclusive from the Grammy Museum on 25 October 2010. On 9 June 2010 Beck with Imelda May's band recorded a DVD named Rock 'n' Roll Party (Honoring Les Paul), of a concert at the Iridium in NYC featuring several Les Paul songs (with Ms May doing the Mary Ford vocals).
In 2011, Beck received two honorary degrees from British universities. On 18 July 2011, he was honoured with a fellowship from University of the Arts London in recognition of his "outstanding contribution to the field of Music". On 21 July 2011 Beck was also presented with an honorary doctorate from University of Sussex (by Sanjeev Bhaskar, the university's chancellor), stating the honour acknowledged "an outstanding musical career and celebrated the relationship between the university and the Brighton Institute of Modern Music(BIMM)".
In 2013, it was announced that he would be performing on Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson's solo album (alongside Beach Boys Al Jardine and David Marks) on Capitol Records. On 20 June, Wilson's website announced that the material might be split into three albums; one of new pop songs, another of mostly instrumental tracks with Beck, and another of interwoven tracks dubbed "the suite". Beck also accompanied Wilson (along with Jardine and Marks) on an eighteen date fall 2013 tour which started in late September and ended in late October (prior which, Beck made clear he regarded sharing the stage with Wilson as a complete honor for him).
In 2014, to mark the beginning of Jeff's World Tour in Japan, a three-track CD titled Yosogai was released on 5 April; the album had yet to be finalized at the time of the tour. In November 2014 he accompanied Joss Stone at The Royal British Legion's Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall. He released album Loud Hailer in 2016.
On 16 April 2020, Beck released a new single, in which Beck collaborates with Johnny Depp to cover John Lennon's song Isolation, stating this is a first release of an ongoing musical collaboration between the two. The two had been recording music together for some time, with the track being produced the year before, but Beck explained that the decision to release it was influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns: "We weren't expecting to release it so soon but given all the hard days and true 'isolation' that people are going through in these challenging times, we decided now might be the right time to let you all hear it".
Style and influence
Described by Rolling Stone as "one of the most influential lead guitarists in rock", Jeff Beck has cited his major influences as Les Paul, the Shadows, Cliff Gallup, Ravi Shankar, Roy Buchanan, Chet Atkins, Django Reinhardt, Steve Cropper and Lonnie Mack. Of John McLaughlin, Beck said: "[he] has given us so many different facets of the guitar and introduced thousands of us to world music, by blending Indian music with jazz and classical. I'd say he was the best guitarist alive."
According to musicologist and historian Bob Gulla, Beck is credited for popularising the use of audio feedback and distortion in rock guitar. Prior to Beck's arrival, guitar playing generally conformed to the "clean, bright, and jangly" sounds of early-1960s British Invasion bands or the bluesy aesthetic of 1950s African-American performers like Muddy Waters and Bo Diddley. During his short time with the Yardbirds, Beck's experimentation with feedback, distortion, and "fuzz" tone "pushed the band into directions that would open the door for psychedelic rock" while "jolt[ing] British rock forward", according to Gulla. While Beck was not the first rock guitarist to experiment with electronic distortion, he nonetheless helped to redefine the sound and role of the electric guitar in rock music. Beck's work with the Yardbirds and the Jeff Beck Group's 1968 album Truth were seminal influences on heavy metal music, which emerged in full force in the early 1970s. Gulla identifies one of Beck's characteristic traits to be his sense of pitch, particularly in exercising the whammy bar to create sounds ranging from "nose-diving bombs to subtle, perfectly pitched harmonic melodies".
According to guitarist and author Jack Wilkins, Beck is regarded alongside Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton as one of his generation's greatest guitarists, receiving praise for his technical skill and versatile playing. Stephen Thomas Erlewine finds him to be "as innovative as Jimmy Page, as tasteful as Eric Clapton, and nearly as visionary as Jimi Hendrix", although unable to achieve their mainstream success, "primarily because of the haphazard way he approached his career" while often lacking a star singer to help make his music more accessible. On his recorded output by 1991, Erlewine remarked that "never has such a gifted musician had such a spotty discography", believing Beck had largely released "remarkably uneven" solo records and only "a few terrific albums". In Christgau's Record Guide (1981), Robert Christgau essentialised Beck as "a technician" and questioned his ability to "improvise long lines, or jazz it up with a modicum of delicacy, or for that matter get funky", although he later observed a "customary focus, loyalty, and consistency of taste".
In 2015, Beck was ranked No. 5 in Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists". In an accompanying essay, guitarist Mike Campbell applauded Beck for his "brilliant technique" and "personality" in his playing, including a sense of humor expressed through the growl of his wah-wah effects. Campbell also credited Beck with expanding the boundaries of the blues, particularly on his two collaborations with Stewart.
Technique and equipment
Beck stopped regular use of a pick in the 1980s. He produces a wide variety of sounds by using his thumb to pluck the strings, his ring finger on the volume knob and his little finger on the vibrato bar on his signature Fender Stratocaster. By plucking a string and then 'fading in' the sound with the volume knob he creates a unique sound that can resemble a human voice, among other effects. He frequently uses a wah-wah pedal both live and in the studio. Eric Clapton once said, "With Jeff, it's all in his hands".
Along with Stratocasters, Beck occasionally plays Fender Telecaster and Gibson Les Paul models as well. His amplifiers are primarily Fender and Marshall. In his earlier days with the Yardbirds, Beck also used a 1954 Fender Esquire guitar (now owned by Seymour W. Duncan, and housed in the Cleveland Rock and Roll Hall of Fame) through Vox AC30s. He has also played through a variety of fuzz pedals and echo units along with this set-up and has used the Pro Co RAT distortion pedal. The pickup is based on a Gibson pickup rewound by Duncan and used in a salvaged Telecaster dubbed the "Tele-Gib" which he had constructed as a gift to Beck. Scott Morgan of the Rationals, who at one point shared a dressing room with the Yardbirds, recalls how Beck amplified his lead guitar through a Vox Superbeetle while using banjo strings for the unwound G string on his guitar because "they didn't make sets with an unwound G at that point."
During the ARMS Charity Concerts in 1983 Beck used his battered Fender Esquire along with a 1954 Stratocaster and a Jackson Soloist. On Crazy Legs (1993) he played a Gretsch Duo Jet, his signature Stratocaster and various other guitars. In 2007, Fender created a Custom Shop Tribute series version of his beat-up Fender Esquire as well as his Artist Signature series Stratocaster.
Personal life
Beck has been married to Sandra Beck since 2005 and has been a vegetarian since 1969. He is a patron of the Folly Wildlife Rescue Trust. He has an interest in classic Ford hot rods, performing much of the work on the exteriors and engines of the cars by himself. Beck has a house near Wadhurst, East Sussex.
Awards
Beck is the winner of eight Grammy awards, the first being Best Rock Instrumental Performance for "Escape" from the album Flash at the 1986 Grammys.
Grammy Awards
Information is taken from Grammy.com.
1976 - Best Pop Instrumental Performance - Wired - (nominee)
1985 - Best Rock Instrumental Performance - "Escape" - (winner)
1989 - Best Rock Instrumental Performance - Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop with Terry Bozzio & Tony Hymas - (winner)
1992 - Best Rock Instrumental Performance - "Hound Dog" (track) - (nominee)
1993 - Best Rock Instrumental Performance - "Hi-Heel Sneakers" (track) - (nominee)
1999 - Best Rock Instrumental Performance - "A Day In The Life" (track) and "What Mama Said" (track) - (nominee)
2001 - Best Rock Instrumental Performance - "Dirty Mind" - (winner)
2003 - Best Rock Instrumental Performance - "Plan B" - (winner)
2009 - Best Rock Instrumental Performance - "A Day In The Life" - (winner)
2010 - Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals - "Imagine" - (winner)
2010 - Best Pop Instrumental Performance - "Nessun Dorma" - (winner)
2010 - Best Rock Instrumental Performance - "Hammerhead" - (winner)
2010 - Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals - "I Put A Spell On You" - (nominee)
2010 - Best Rock Album - Emotion & Commotion - (nominee)
2011 - Best Rock Album - Rock 'N' Roll Party Honoring Les Paul - (nominee)
Discography
Studio albums
Truth (1968)
Beck-Ola (1969) (by the Jeff Beck Group)
Rough and Ready (1971) (by the Jeff Beck Group)
Jeff Beck Group (1972) (by the Jeff Beck Group)
Blow by Blow (1975)
Wired (1976)
There & Back (1980)
Flash (1985)
Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop (1989)
Crazy Legs (1993)
Who Else! (1999)
You Had It Coming (2001)
Jeff (2003)
Emotion & Commotion (2010)
Loud Hailer (2016)
Collaborative albums
Beck, Bogert & Appice (1973) (by Beck, Bogert & Appice)
Frankie's House (1992) (with Jed Leiber)
References
Bibliography
External links
Jeff Beck at Epic Records
Jeff Beck 1954 Les Paul Oxblood
Jeff Beck unofficial website
Living people
1944 births
20th-century English musicians
21st-century English musicians
Alumni of Wimbledon College of Arts
Atco Records artists
Beck, Bogert & Appice members
Blues rock musicians
British rhythm and blues boom musicians
EMI Records artists
English blues guitarists
English blues musicians
English male guitarists
English rock guitarists
English songwriters
Epic Records artists
Fingerstyle guitarists
Grammy Award winners
The Honeydrippers members
The Jeff Beck Group members
Lead guitarists
Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends members
Musicians from London
People from Wallington, London
Screaming Lord Sutch and the Savages members
The Yardbirds members | en |
doc-en-139 | A BioBlitz, also written without capitals as bioblitz, is an intense period of biological surveying in an attempt to record all the living species within a designated area. Groups of scientists, naturalists and volunteers conduct an intensive field study over a continuous time period (e.g., usually 24 hours). There is a public component to many BioBlitzes, with the goal of getting the public interested in biodiversity. To encourage more public participation, these BioBlitzes are often held in urban parks or nature reserves close to cities.
Features
A BioBlitz has different opportunities and benefits than a traditional, scientific field study. Some of these potential benefits include:
Enjoyment – Instead of a highly structured and measured field survey, this sort of event has the atmosphere of a festival. The short time frame makes the searching more exciting.
Local – The concept of biodiversity tends to be associated with coral reefs or tropical rain forests. A BioBlitz offers the chance for people to visit a nearby setting and see that local parks have biodiversity and are important to conserve.
Science – These one-day events gather basic taxonomic information on some groups of species.
Meet the Scientists – A BioBlitz encourages people to meet working scientists and ask them questions.
Identifying rare and unique species/groups – When volunteers and scientists work together, they are able to identify uncommon or special habitats for protection and management and, in some cases, rare species may be uncovered.
Documenting species occurrence – BioBlitzes do not provide a complete species inventory for a site, but they provide a species list which makes a basis for a more complete inventory and will often show what area or what taxon would benefit from a further study.
History
The term "BioBlitz" was first coined by U.S. National Park Service naturalist Susan Rudy while assisting with the first BioBlitz. The first BioBlitz was held at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, Washington, D.C. in 1996. Approximately 1000 species were identified at this first event. This first accounting of biodiversity was organized by Sam Droege (USGS) and Dan Roddy (NPS) with the assistance of other government scientists. The public and especially the news media were invited. Since the success of the first bioblitz, many organisations around the world have repeated this concept.
Since then, most BioBlitz contain a public component so that adults, kids, teens and anyone interested can join experts and scientists in the field. Participating in these hands-on field studies is a fun and exciting way for people to learn about biodiversity and better understand how to protect it.
In 1998, Harvard biologist E.O. Wilson and Massachusetts wildlife expert Peter Alden developed a program to catalog the organisms around Walden Pond. This led to a statewide program known as Biodiversity Days. This concept is very similar to a BioBlitz and occasionally the two terms are used interchangeably.
A variation on the BioBlitz, the Blogger Blitz began in 2007. Rather than gather volunteers and scientists at one location, participant blogs pledged to conduct individual surveys of biodiversity. These results were then compiled and mapped. The purpose of this blitz is not to survey down to species level across all taxonomic groups, but rather to raise awareness about biodiversity and provide a general snapshot of diversity.
From 2007 through 2016 National Geographic Society and the US National Park Service partnered to put on a Bioblitz in a different National Park each year culminating in a Bioblitz across the National Park Service in 2016 as part of the National Park Service Centennial Celebration. The iNaturalist platform was used as the recording tool for the 2014, 2015, and 2016 Centennial Bioblitzes in this series.
Highlights of the 2016 nationwide BioBlitz include:
The National Parks BioBlitz—Washington, D.C. was the cornerstone of the national event. Nearly 300 scientists and experts led more than 2,600 students and thousands of members of the general public in all 13 of the National Capital Region's parks. As of the closing ceremony on May 21, nearly 900 species were recorded from this area alone.
The Biodiversity Festival at Constitution Gardens on the National Mall served as a window to events across the country, with regular live feeds featuring species discoveries on jumbo screens located on the National Mall.
E. O. Wilson, "father of biodiversity", was a significant part of the pre-BioBlitz events, including the Special Speaker Series at the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the 2016 National Parks BioBlitz Scientist Dinner at National Geographic Headquarters on Thursday, May 19.
The BioBlitz Dance was a common activity throughout the festival weekend. Participants danced with John Griffith, founder of the dance, on the main stage several times at Constitution Gardens, and on the jumbotron from other park units across the nation.
National parks and participating partners shared their BioBlitz activities via social media, using the hashtags #BioBlitz2016 and #FindYourPark. During the weekend's event, #BioBlitz2016 ranked in the top 10 on Twitter!
At Cabrillo National Monument, Green Abalone (Haliotis fulgens) was documented. For the past thirty years, abalone have faced substantial conservation concerns due to overharvesting and disease. Their presence in the Cabrillo Rocky Intertidal Zone can be described as ephemeral at best.
Knife River National Park conducted an ArcheoBlitz. A centuries-old bison tooth was found at Big Hidatsa Village, which was occupied from about 1740 to 1850. DNA extracted from this tooth can provide data on bison populations before their near-extinction at the end of the 19th century, a useful comparison for managers of modern herds.
At Great Smoky Mountain National Park, experts teamed up with about 100 5thgraders. Together they set out to explore pollinators and succeeded in discovering nearly 200 species. While it is too early to tell if they found any new species, they have added significant information to the park's database.
Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve conducted a lichen survey and added several new species to their park list. One of those identified is Xanthoria elegans. This species of lichen survived an 18-month exposure to solar UV radiation, cosmic rays, vacuum and varying temperatures in an experiment performed by the ESA outside of the ISS.
Channel Islands National Park broadcast a dive with oceanographer and National Geographic Explorer, Dr. Sylvia Earle, with support from the National Park Trust. The feed was featured online and on the jumbotrons on the National Mall and enabled the public to follow the exploration of one of the richest marine ecosystems in the world, the giant kelp forest.
The National Parks BioBlitz used the iNaturalist app to deliver real-time information on species finds. Verified data will be included in National Park Service databases and international databases tracking biodiversity on the planet. This application can be used by parks and citizen scientists well into the future.
Beginning with the 2010 NPS/NGS BioBlitz at Biscayne National Park, NPS initiated a corps of Biodiversity Youth Ambassadors. Each year through 2016, a student ambassador is selected by the host park to participate in the BioBlitz and assist in raising biodiversity awareness to their peers and in their home communities. In addition to the new NCR Biodiversity Youth Ambassador, Ms. Katherine Hagan, Ms. Mikaila Ulmer, 11, was selected to be the National Park Service Biodiversity Youth Ambassador representing the President's Pollinator Conservation Initiative for the National Park Service.
BioBlitzes by country
Australia
The Woodland Watch Project (part of the World Wide Fund for Nature) (WWF) has organised BioBlitz's in the wheatbelt area of Western Australia in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010.
Two 'SpiderBlitz's' (variants of the BioBlitz concept) were organised in 2007 and 2008 in the wheatbelt by WWF to focus attention on threatened trapdoor spiders, and their unique habitats.
Wheatbelt Natural Resource Management Wheatbelt NRM ran a BioBlitz around the wheatbelt town of Korrelocking in 2012.
The Discovery Circle program (UniSA) ran two BioBlitzes at a park in Salisbury and wetlands at Marion, South Australia.
The Atlas of Life in the Coastal Wilderness www.alcw.org.au has run three successful bioblitzes – in Bermagui 2012, Pambula 2014 and Mimosa Rocks National Park 2014. The Atlas of Life works in association with the Atlas of Living Australia (the national biodiversity database)
takayna BioBlitz The Bob Brown Foundation runs an annual takayna BioBlitz in Tasmania, Australia. The takayna BioBlitz is a festival of science in nature, held in one of the world's last truly wild places. This event brings together scientists, experts, naturalists and members of the public for a weekend of environmental scientific discovery. See: bobbrown.org.au
Tarkine BioBlitz, 19–22 November 2015, was the first BioBlitz in Tasmania. More than 100 people surveyed moorland, rainforest, rivers and coastline in the remote Tarkine region in support of the Bob Brown Foundation's campaign for a Tarkine National Park to protect the natural values of the region.
Melbourne City Council conducted a BioBlitz in 2014 and 2016, engaging citizens in nature conservation in cities .
Canada
Active Bioblitz
The Robert Bateman Get to Know BioBlitz started in 2010 to celebrate the international year of biodiversity. In a partnership with Parks Canada there were many sites all across Canada which celebrated bioblitzes on the international day of biodiversity (May 22).
British Columbia
There has been an annual BioBlitz in Whistler, BC since 2007. The 2013 BioBlitz reported 497 species.
Metro Vancouver has hosted their annual BioBlitz at Burnaby Lake Regional Park since 2010. This bioblitz has much public participation with many activities including pond-dipping, nature walks and meeting live animals up close. The species count currently stands at 488, including a Western Screech Owl, Red-legged Frog, Brassy Minnows and Common Fern which, despite its name, had never been found in the area before.
Ontario:
The Royal Ontario Museum and several other organizations have sponsored BioBlitz in the Toronto area since 2012, with the 2015 event scheduled for the Don River watershed. The 2014 Humber BioBlitz had over 500 participants and counted 1,560 species, including 2 spiders that were new to Canada.
The Rouge National Urban Park hosted a Bioblitz event on June 24 and 25 of 2017. The previous Bioblitz at the park was held in 2013 where over 1700 species of flora and fauna were identified.
New Brunswick:
The New Brunswick Museum has held an annual bioblitz since 2009 in Protected Natural Areas (PNA) around the province. Scientists spend two weeks each year in the field, alternating June in one year with August in the next to catch seasonally available biodiversity. The bioblitz was held in Jacquet River Gorge PNA 2009–2010, Caldonia Gorge PNA in 2011–2012, Grand Lake PNA in 2013–2014, Nepisiguit PNA in 2015–2016, and Spednic Lake PNA in 2017–2018. More information is here. The 2013-2014 bioblitzes were the subject of a documentary
Inactive and historic BioBlitz
The Canadian Biodiversity Institute held numerous BioBlitzes between 1997 and 2001.
Victoria's Beacon Hill has had two BioBlitzes, in April 2007 and October 2007. They successfully gave thanks for the biodiversity of the region. Beacon Hill has since been a site for Arborblitzs, which focus on identifying all the trees within the park.
Saint Mary's University (Halifax) held BioBlitz in Nova Scotia between 2008 and 2010 with the report on the 2010 BioBlitz available here.
The Warren Lake BioBlitz was scheduled for 11–13 August 2011. Warren Lake is on the east side of Cape Breton Highlands National Park. There is a hiking trail which circumnavigates the lake and it will be considered the border of the BioBlitz, i.e., there will be quite an extensive aquatic focus.
Stanley Park in Vancouver held BioBlitz between 2011 and 2013.
Harrison Hot Springs had a BioBlitz in July 2011 to highlight the biodiversity of species in the Fraser Valley.
Hong Kong
In Traditional Chinese this has been referred to as: 生態速查 (Ecological quick check).
First HK's BioBlitz was organized by Tai Tam Tuk Foundation from 24 to 25 Oct, 2015. 50 experts leading 300 secondary students recorded more than 680 species in 30 hours, covering marine, terrestrial and intertidal habitats, in Tai Tam site of special scientific interest (SSSI). This event comes as part of the ‘Biodiversity Festival 2015’, an Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) lead project that encompasses many events, exhibitions and seminars, and is a major section of Hong Kong's Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (BSAP). Highlights included 2 species of moth that are extremely rare and native to Hong Kong, the first official record of coral in Tai Tam Bay and the first official record of juvenile horseshoe crabs on Hong Kong island. Data are made available through an online platform iSpot.
BioBlitz@CityU is a competition in the small wooded park on university campus organized by City University of Hong Kong on 4 March 2016.
On 21–22 Oct, 2017, Lung Fu Shan Environmental Education Centre organized their first BioBlitz. This center was jointly established by the Environmental Protection Department of HK Government and The University of Hong Kong in 2008. 100 participants and volunteers found 151 species in Lung Fu Shan with the guidance of 11 experts within 24 hours. In 2018 this was expanded to separate bioblitz surveys into four animal groups: Birds; Butterflies, (other) Insects, and Amphibians and Reptiles. And in 2019 another bioblitz is planned.
Tai Tam Tuk Foundation organized their second BioBlitz on 3–4 Nov, 2017. They translated the iNaturalist app and slideshow into Chinese with the help of Hong Kong Explorers Initiative and the technical support of Scott Loarie and Alex Shepard from iNaturalist.org for better data collection among local participants. Also, they organized the pilot self-guided activity "DIY BioBlitz" with the help of Environmental Life Science Society, HKU and the teacher training in this event. Data are made available: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/hk-bioblitz-2017 This event is subvented by Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department of HK Government.
In January 2019 the Hong Kong BioBlitz @ Hong Kong Park was carried out in Kong Kong Park. Utilizing iNaturalist and experts from the Natural History Museum, London, and Tai Tam Tuk Eco Education Centre.
With popularity of City Nature Challenge in Hong Kong since its first participation in 2018, bioblitzes have increasingly been combined with this and other iNaturalist based challenges such as the Hong Kong Inter-School City Nature Challenge.
Hungary
BioBlitz Events in Hungary are organized by the Hungarian Biodiversity Research Society http://www.biodiverzitasnap.hu/ since 2006, starting with the eco-village Gyürüfű and its surroundings in Baranya County. Since then the Society organizes BioBlitz Events (called also Biodiversity Days) every year, sometimes even several events a year, during which 60-80 experts and researchers contribute to a profound momentary inventory of a chosen area in Hungary, and from time to time in cross-border areas in joint-projects with neighbour countries. The Hungarian Biodiversity Research Society invites local inhabitants and the interested public to join their events, and focusses in its outreach to young local and regional pupils and their teachers just like students from Hungary and abroad. The BioBlitz Events are taking place in partnership with the local National Park Directories, Municipalities and Civil Organisations. A rather fresh approach is the involvement of high school students during their obligatory community/voluntary work into research and field work in the topics of biodiversity and nature protection based upon long term co-operation contracts with schools and educational centres. The main goals pursued by the Hungarian Biodiversity Research Society are to promote the correct understanding of biodiversity in its true context, based upon data collection, monitoring, research and expertise, passing on knowledge from generation to generation and outreach to the broader public. It also aims to strengthen national and international networks. The results of the BioBlitz Events are published in print and on-line media and serve mainly as fundamentals for maintenance-instructions for protected areas and for appropriate natural-resource management, but also for educational purposes.
Ireland
An Ireland's BioBlitz Event has been held annually since 2010 – established by the National Biodiversity Data Centre http://www.biodiversityireland.ie/ to celebrate International Year of Biodiversity. A unique feature of this event is that it has a number of parks through the island competing against each other to see which site records the most species over a 24hr period. The event is usually held on the third weekend in May each year.
In 2010, the first year it was held, Connemara National Park won the competition having recording 542 species. In 2011, Killareny National Park won the event having recorded an astonishing tally of 1088 species. Crawfordsburn Country Park won in 2012 having recorded 984 species. All of the data are made available through an online mapping system, Biodiversity Maps http://maps.biodiversityireland.ie/# and hard copy species lists are produced http://bioblitz.biodiversityireland.ie/bioblitz-species-lists-now-available/
The event is co-ordinated by the National Biodiversity Data Centre who maintain a special website http://bioblitz.biodiversityireland.ie/ each year so that progress with the event can be tracked on-line.
To cater for the success of BioBlitz in Ireland, support is provided for a special 'Local BioBlitz Challenge' for local sites. Also, on 14–15 June 2013 Limerick City hosts the first Urban BioBlitz in Ireland.
On May 1, 2014, the first Intervarsity BioBlitz was held with support from the National Biodiversity Data Centre. University College Cork, National University of Ireland Galway, Trinity, Dublin City University and Dundalk IT all competed to count Biodiversity on campus, with NUIG being the inaugural winner.
Israel
On April 24, 2014, the first BioBlitz in Israel took place in Yeruham lake park. The event was supported by Ben Gurion University of the Negev. 531 different species were found. A second Bioblitz is scheduled to take place on March 26, 2015.
Malaysia
Since 2011 the Malaysian Nature Society has held an annual birdwatching bioblitz named "MY Garden Birdwatch".
México
Since 2019 the Rancho Komchén de los Pájaros has held an annual bioblitz. Check out the iNaturalist results
New Zealand
Landcare Research, in conjunction with colleagues in other institutes and agencies, held BioBlitzes in Auckland in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2008; and in Christchurch in 2005. A BioBlitz was planned for early April 2009 in Christchurch. Other New Zealand BioBlitzes have been held in Hamilton and in Wellington.
The first marine BioBlitz occurred on the Wellington South Coast over a month, since a marine BioBlitz is trickier weatherwise than a terrestrial one.
In March 2012 Forest and Bird organised a BioBlitz on the Denniston Plateau on the West Coast of the South Island. It is the site of the proposed Escarpment Mine Project.
See a List of BioBlitzes in New Zealand.
Poland
The first BioBlitz in Poland was organized in Sopot in May 2008 by the Polish Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
Portugal
Faro was the first city in Portugal to have a BioBlitz, in October 2009.
Singapore
The Singapore National Parks (NParks) Community in Nature (CIN) program have been running BioBlitz in various parks and gardens across Singapore to coincide with the International Day for Biological Diversity.
Slovenia
Slovene's first BioBlitz took place on May 19/20 2017 in Draga pri Igu (Central Slovenia). The event was conducted during the project »Invazivke nikoli ne počivajo: Ozaveščanje o in preprečevanje negativnega vpliva invazivnih vrst na evropsko ogrožene vrste« held in partnership by herpetology society Societas herpetologica slovenica as a leading partner and supported by Slovene Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning. Event was organised in cooperation of Societas herpetologica slovenica, Botanical Society of Slovenia, Centre for Cartography of Fauna and Flora and Slovene Dragonfly Society. 124 experts participated and 1.588 different species were found.
BioBlitz Slovenia 2018 was organized in Rače (NE Slovenia) on June 15/16. Together 71 experts from 21 different organisations participated and at the end of 24 hours event 934 species or higher taxon were identified. BioBlitz Slovenia 2018 was organised by four NGOs: Societas herpetologica slovenica, Slovene Dragonfly Society, Botanical Society of Slovenia and Centre for Cartography of Fauna and Flora.
A third BioBlitz Slovenia took place on May 17/18 2019 in Loško polje. As a part of the project "Še smo tu – domorodne vrste še nismo izrinjene" it was supported by Slovene Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning. 80 experts participated and 899 different species were found. BioBlitz Slovenia 2019 was organised by three NGOs: Societas herpetologica slovenica, Slovene Dragonfly Society and Centre for Cartography of Fauna and Flora.
The results of the events are published in print and on-line media and journals, also together with the list of species. BioBlitz Slovenia became a traditional annual event and has its own webpage.
Spain
In Formentera (Balearic Islands), during the Posidonia Festival 2008, there was a bioblitz.
Barcelona (Catalonia) hosts a BioBlitz yearly since 2010, organized by Barcelona City Council, University of Barcelona and Natural History Museum of Barcelona, in collaboration with several naturalist and scientific societies. First BioBlitzBcn was held in June 2010 at Laberint d'Horta and Parc de la Ciutadella. Second in October 2011 at Jardí Botànic de Barcelona. Third in May 2012 at Jardí Botànic Històric.
The university of Almeria organizes the AmBioBlitz in April yearly since 2018, with the collaboration of CECOUAL (Centre of Scientific Collections of the University of Almería) and Observation.org
The Pablo de Olavide University, from Seville, will host in April 2021 its first BioBlitz in collaboration with Observation.org and Biological Station of Doñana-CSIC
Sweden
Sweden's first BioBlitz was organized in Röttle (Gränna) on the 4th and 5 August 2012.
On the 7th and 8 September 2012 a BioBlitz was organized in Fliseryd near the river Emån. A total of 345 species were reported in this former industrial site on islands in the river.
Sweden's fourth BioBlitz will be organized in Högsby on June 5 and 6 2014.
Taiwan
Taipei 228 Peace Park 2008 BioBlitz on December 20, sponsored by Taiwan Forestry Bureau and National Taiwan Museum, found more than 180 plants, 11 birds and 1 mammal.
Trinidad & Tobago
Tucker Valley Bioblitz 2012 was the first bioblitz in Trinidad and possibly the Caribbean. It was organised by Mike G. Rutherford, curator of the University of the West Indies Zoology Museum (UWIZM) with help from the Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists' Club (TTFNC) and was sponsored by First Citizens Bank. The 24-hour event found 654 species – 211 plants and 443 animals.
Arima Valley Bioblitz 2013 was based at the Asa Wright Nature Centre. The event found 139 vertebrates, 247 invertebrates, 30 fungi, 7 diatoms and 317 plants making a total of 740 species.
Nariva Swamp Bioblitz 2014 was based at the Forestry Division Field Station near Bush Bush Forest Reserve, the teams found 742 species.
Charlotteville Bioblitz 2015 was the first event to take place in Tobago. Based at the Environmental Research Institute Charlotteville (ERIC) there was a large marine component and all together 1,044 species were recorded.
Port of Spain Bioblitz 2016 took the event to the nation's capital and included a Nature Fair with over 20 local NGOs, government organisations and charity groups putting on a biodiversity and environmental display. 762 species were found in and around the city.
Icacos Bioblitz 2017 was the final event organised by Rutherford and took the bioblitz to the far south-west of Trinidad and recorded 769 species.
Toco Bioblitz 2018 was organised by a committee made up of TTFNC members and staff from the University of the West Indies Department of Life Sciences from the St. Augustine campus. The north-east corner of Trinidad yielded 906 species records.
United Kingdom
Natural History Consortium host the National BioBlitz Network hosting free resources for running a BioBlitz event and the national BioBlitz Calendar. (www.bnhc.org.uk)
Examples of regions and organisations which have held BioBlitz events include:
First UK Marine BioBlitz undertaken by the Marine Biological Association and the Natural History Museum together with other partners. Wembury, South Devon 2009
Bristol – Organised by Bristol Natural History Consortium
Northumberland – Organised by Northumberland Biodiversity Network
New Forest National Park – Organised by New Forest National Park Authority
Swansea – Organised by Swansea City Council
Cairngorms – Organised by Cairngorms Biodiversity
Dundee – Organised by Dundee City Council
Leicester – Organised by Leicester City and County Council
Isle of Wight – Organised by Isle of Wight Council
London – Organised by OPAL
Derby – Organised by Derby City Council
Brighton – Organised by Sussex Wildlife Trust
Bath – Organised by Bristol Natural History Consortium
Mothecombe, Devon, – Marine and coastal BioBlitz – Organised by OPAL and the Marine Biological Association
Jersey – Organised by the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust
Fife – Organised by Fife Coast and Countryside Trust and "Celebrating Fife 2010"
Cambridge – Organised by Cambridge University
Lincolnshire – Organised by Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust
Nottingham – Organised by Nottinghamshire Biodiversity Action Group
Flintshire – Organised by Flintshire County Council
North Ayrshire – Organised by North Ayrshire Council
Lancashire – Organised by Lancashire Wildlife Trust
Kent – Organised by Kent Wildlife Trust
Corfe Mullen – Organised by Corfe Mullen Nature Watch
Cornwall – Organised by ERCCIS
North Devon – Organised by Coastwise North Devon.
Sandford – Organised by Ambios
Mount Edgcumb – Marine and coastal bioblitz organised by the Marine Biological Association
United States
Alaska: The Chugach National Forest and Alaska Department of Fish & Game-Diversity Program organized the first BioBlitz in Southcentral Alaska on July 23 and 24, 2011, to coincide with the International Year of Forests.
Arizona: More than 5,500 people, including 2,000 students and 150 scientists, attended the 2011 Saguaro BioBlitz, (October 21–22) and discovered 859 species during the 24 hour inventory period. Included in that total were more than 400 species, mostly invertebrate animals and non-vascular plants, which were previously unknown in the park. The accompanying Biodiversity Festival had an integrated art program that included pieces featuring local species, created by local students, seniors, and artists.
California: The Santa Monica Mountains NPS/National Geographic Society BioBlitz (May 30–31, 2008) was accomplished through collaboration with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, California State Parks, and Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Department. Six thousand participants discovered more than 1,700 species during the 24 hour inventory period.
California: The San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research hosted a BioBlitz in the San Dieguito River Park on the North Shore of Lake Hodges in Escondido April 25–26.
California: The San Diego Natural History Museum began hosting a yearly BioBlitz starting in 2008. The 2008 BioBlitz was held in Balboa Park and in 2009 the event was held at Mission Trails Regional Park on May 1–2.
California: The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden organized a BioBlitz of its natural spaces in May 2007.
California: Golden Gate National Recreation Area: On March 28–29, 2014, participants in the BioBlitz at Golden Gate Park sites, including Pt. Reyes National Seashore, Muir Woods National Monument, the Presidio of San Francisco, Mori Point, and Rancho Corral de Tierra observed and recorded biodiversity in habitats ranging from the redwood canopy to windswept beaches. Highlights included the first ever canopy survey of redwoods at Muir Woods, the first-ever, park sighting of a climbing salamander in Muir Woods; sightings of great horned, spotted, barred and saw-whet owls; and a mountain lion at Corral de Tierra.
Colorado: The National Wildlife Federation has been providing a toolset based on the eNature.com species data in the Denver/Boulder metropolitan area since 2004. Results are online.
Colorado: On August 24–25, 2012, more than 150 scientists joined forces with 5,000 people of all ages and backgrounds to seek out the living creatures in Rocky Mountain National Park. Inventories took place in various ecological life zones, including ponderosa pine forests, the subalpine region, the tundra, and mountain meadows. Among the overall total of 490 species discovered, 138 were previously unknown to be in the park. A companion festival at the Estes Park Fairgrounds advanced and celebrated public awareness of biodiversity.
Connecticut: The Center for Conservation and Biodiversity and Connecticut State Museum of Natural History have held nine BioBlitz events since 1999. The current record for a single Connecticut BioBlitz was set June 3–4, 2016 in a 5-mile radius around the Two Rivers Magnet School in East Hartford, where 2,765 species were recorded in the 24-hour period. Many of the organisms sighted in the 2016 BioBlitz were documented in an online iNaturalist project. The previous record was set in 2001 at Tarrywile Park in Danbury, where 2,519 species were recorded in the 24-hour period.
District of Columbia: A BioBlitz at the Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens in Washington, D.C. in 1996 found approximately 1000 species.
Washington, D.C. 2007: The National Geographic Society held a BioBlitz in Rock Creek Park on May 18–19. The event was later on a segment of the TV series Wild Chronicles which airs on PBS. Participants included J. Michael Fay, Sylvia Earle, and Boyd Matson. The first National Park Service/National Geographic Society BioBlitz took place on May 18–19, 2007. A wide breadth of taxonomic groups was examined, including amphibians and reptiles, invertebrates, birds, fish, fungi, mammals, plants, insects, and more. The total number of species found was 661 over a 24-hour period.
Florida: In Manatee County, the local government's Department of Natural Resources (formerly Conservation Lands Management) has sponsored annual BioBlitz events, every spring since 2007. The surveys rotate between the county's different parks and preserves. This event, however, involves only a 12-hour survey instead of the standard 24-hour.
Florida: On April 30-May 1, 2010, 2,500 citizen scientists worked with their professional counterparts to explore life in one of the nation's largest marine national parks, Biscayne National Park. More than 800 species were found, including a number of species rare to the park, such as the mangrove cuckoo, and silver hairstreak butterfly. Also, 11 species of lichen and 22 species of ants were found that had not previously been documented in the park.
Hawaii: At Punahou School, a biannual BioBlitz is organized by the students. The event examines certain parts of the campus, and has been held there since the summer of 2008. The BioBlitz there happens once in winter, and once in summer.
Hawai'i: at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park in 2015, working under the theme of I ka nānā no a ’ike ("By observing, one Learns"), traditional Hawaiian cultural practitioners, "alakai’i," were integrated into the survey teams, providing a holistic approach to the research and exploration activities. More than 170 leading scientists and alakai’i, teamed with thousands of public participants of all ages to explore one of the most fascinating biological landscapes in the world. Together they documented species that thrive in ecosystems from sea level to the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. Exciting finds included 22 new species added to the park's species list, and sightings of 73 threatened species, including the nēnē and Kamehameha butterfly. The number of fungi species on the park's list more than doubled, with 17 new fungi documented at the close of the event.
Illinois: The Field Museum of Natural History and other organizations held a BioBlitz in Chicago in 2002. There are several bioblitzes in parts of the forest preserves of Cook and Lake County.
Indiana: Indiana Dunes National Park – On May 16-16, 2009, more than 150 scientists, assisted by 2,000 grade school students and other members of the public, explored the sand dunes, lake shore, forests, wetlands, prairie, and streams of the recreation area. The excitement persevered through driving rain and high winds and resulted in the discovery of more than 1,200 species.
Louisiana: The NPS/National Geographic Society BioBlitz at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve (May 17–18, 2013), brought together leading scientists and naturalists from around the country and local citizens of all ages. Inventories included herpetofaunal counts, aquatic and terrestrial invertebrate inventories, avifauna observations, and native and non-native plant surveys. Participants also used technology, such as tree cameras and smartphones, to record and understand the diverse ecosystems of this unique national park. At the time of the event's closing ceremony, 458 species had been identified, including a rare Louisiana milk snake, 288 plants, and 122 invertebrate species.
Maine: The Maine Entomological Society and other organizations have been holding Entomological BioBlitzes at Acadia National Park every summer since 2003. Results of the 2003-2011 blitzes were summarized by Chandler et al., 2012, showing that 1,605 species representing 348 families of insects were taken and identified over the 8-year period. Many were new to the Park fauna, and a significant number were also new to the known state fauna.
Maryland/DC/Virginia, 2006: The Nature Conservancy sponsored a Potomac Gorge BioBlitz where more than 130 field biologists and experienced naturalists volunteered their expertise in an effort to see how many species they could find. During a 30-hour survey period from Saturday, June 24, through Sunday, June 25 their surveys revealed more than 1,000 species.
Maryland: Jug Bay BioBlitz was sponsored by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission's (M-NCPPC) Patuxent River Park staff and rangers, May 30–31, 2009.
Massachusetts
2006 collaboration between the Boston Museum of Science and the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History. The first bioblitz in a series sponsored by the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation. The first bioblitz to utilize CyberTracker and NatureMapping technologies for data collection.
On June 25–26, 2010, a BioBlitz was held in Falmouth, Massachusetts, using town conservation land and adjacent land owned by the 300 Committee (T3C), Falmouth's land trust. Surveys for 15 taxa were planned. About 120 volunteers participated. Preliminary estimate of 930 species found but this number is likely to increase as data are finalized. Full results to be published later in 2010 on the T3C website.
On September 29, 2010, the TDWG Techno/BioBlitz was held alongside the Annual Biodiversity Information Standards Conference in Woods Hole.
On July 8, 2019, the Great Walden BioBlitz was held at Walden Pond, Massachusetts, surveying a five-mile radius around Walden Woods. Organized by Peter Alden in honor of E.O. Wilson's 90th birthday and the 30th Massachusetts bioblitz, public participants were encouraged to explore Walden Woods and Minute Man NHP using the iNaturalist phone app to help document species.
Minnesota: A group of organizations including the Bell Museum of Natural History has sponsored BioBlitzes in natural areas in or near the Twin Cities yearly in June since 2004.
Missouri: Sponsored by the Academy of Science of St. Louis, partners from the public, academic and corporate sectors collaborate on the Academy of Science-St. Louis BioBlitz at urban parks, such as Forest Park in St Louis . Held at least once a year since 2006, the academy's BioBlitz has hosted future BioBlitz leaders from throughout the country and is a signature event of one of the oldest Academies of Science in the USA. www.academyofsciencestl.org
New Hampshire:
Odiorne Point State Park: The Seacoast Science Center has been hosting an annual BioBlitz! in September since 2003. The park's diversity of coastal habitats provides BioBlitzers the opportunity to find marine, freshwater and terrestrial species. The Center compiles and maintains each year's data.
Squam Lakes. 2008. The Squam Lakes Natural Science Center in collaboration with Squam Lakes Association and Squam Lakes Conservation Society in cooperation with the Holderness Conservation Commission, the US Forest Service Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, UNH Cooperative Extension, Plymouth State University, NH Fish and Game Department, and Ecosystem Management Consultants.
New Jersey State
Highlands, NJ
Gateway National Recreation Area, Sandy Hook Unit, 2011. On Sept. 16–17, science students, along with park staff and over 150 volunteers, located nearly 450 species, mostly birds, terrestrial plants and invertebrates.
Gateway National Recreation Area, Sandy Hook Unit, 2015. On September 18–19, the American Littoral Society, in partnership with the National Park Service, hosted the second Sandy Hook BioBlitz. Over 150 scientists, naturalists, and volunteers raced against the clock to identify as many species as possible. This BioBlitz found 75 birds, 12 fungi/lichen, 21 fish, 2 reptiles/amphibians, 44 marine invertebrates, 2 insects, 13 mammals, 15 aquatic plants, and 87 terrestrial plants.
New York State
New York City
Central Park, 2003. This BioBlitz found more than 800 species, including 393 species of plants, 78 of moths, 14 fungi, 10 spiders, 9 dragonflies, 2 tardigrades, 102 other invertebrates, 7 mammals, 3 turtles, 46 birds and 2 frog species. s.
Central Park, 2006. In collaboration with the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation, the Explorers Club, the American Museum of Natural History and the Boston Museum of Science. This is the first bioblitz in history to incorporate the collection and analysis of microorganisms.
Central Park, 2013. On August 27–28, 2013 a BioBlitz at Central Park was held in partnership with Macaulay Honors College of CUNY. With help from the Central Park Conservancy over 350 Macaulay students worked with nearly 30 scientists and cataloged more than 460 species.
New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, 2014, September 6 and 7, in partnership with Macaulay Honors College of CUNY.
The Saw Mill River watershed in Westchester County, September 2009. Groundwork Hudson Valley, leading the Saw Mill River Coalition, conducted a Saw Mill River BioBlitz on September 25–26 with more than 50 scientists from a wide variety of fields. A concurrent conference on the health of the river was held at Pace University in Pleasantville that was open to the public and had activities geared for children. Funded by a grant from Westchester Community Foundation with additional support from US EPA and NYS/DEC Hudson River Estuary Program. Major co-sponsors joining the effort were Westchester County Parks, Recreation and Conservation; Teatown Lake Reservation; Pace University's Department of Biology and Health Sciences; Pace University's Academy for Applied Environmental Studies; Sigma Xi: The Scientific Research Society; Greenburgh Nature Center; and the Saw Mill River Audubon.
North Carolina: The North Carolina Botanical Garden in collaboration with the Morehead Planetarium sponsor an annual bioblitz in September on garden-owned property.
Ohio: The Geauga Park District has hosted an annual BioBlitz at different park district properties since 2003.
Oklahoma: The Oklahoma Biological Survey hosted an annual BioBlitz at different locations around Oklahoma starting in 2001. Their 2010 BioBlitz will be held on October 8–9 at Kaw Lake in north-central Oklahoma with a base camp at Camp McFadden.
Pennsylvania: Phipps Conservatory hosted a Bioblitz on June 10, 2018, in Pittsburgh.
Rhode Island: Rhode Island Natural History Survey has conducted a BioBlitz at a different site in the state every year since 2000. In the 17 events through 2016, the average participation is 151 and the average species count is 991.
Vermont: The Vermont Institute of Natural Science held a BioBlitz in 2004 at Hartford.
Washington: BioBlitzes conducted using NatureTracker software on PDAs for conservation planning./
Wisconsin: The Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM) hosts an annual BioBlitz program that began in 2015. MPM events have occurred at Schlitz Audubon Nature Center in Milwaukee (2015), Grant Park in South Milwaukee (2016), Fox River Park in Waukesha (2017), Lake Farm County Park/Capitol Springs Recreation Area in Madison (2018), Riveredge Nature Center in Saukville (2019), and Whitnall Park in Franklin (2020). The non-profit Biodiversity Project held three Great Lakes BioBlitzes with support from the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program and NOAA in 2004. The sites were Riverside Park in Milwaukee; Baird Creek Parkway in Green Bay; and Wisconsin Point in Superior.
See also
Australian Bird Count (ABC)
Bush Blitz an Australian Government variant of the concept co funded by BHP Billiton and with the participation of Earthwatch Australia
Breeding Bird Survey
Christmas Bird Count (CBC) (in the Western Hemisphere)
City Nature Challenge
Seabird Colony Register (SCR)
The EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds
Tucson Bird Count (TBC) (in Arizona, US)
References
External links
BioBlitzes at National Geographic
National BioBlitz Network (United Kingdom)
Biological censuses
Biodiversity
Citizen science
Ecological experiments | en |
doc-en-2824 | Canada's Worst Handyman 2 was the second season of the Canadian reality TV show Canada's Worst Handyman, which aired on the Discovery Channel. As with the past season, five contestants and their nominators enter the "Handyman Rehabilitation Centre," where a series of challenges await them. This year, the Handyman Rehabilitation Centre is once again located in Toronto, this time at The Foundry, a warehouse in the Corktown neighborhood. Unlike the previous season, when the focus was on home renovation, the focus of this season was on the increasing trend in garage and shed renovation. In each episode, contestants partake in a series of challenges, with one contestant being named the most improved handyman and another being named the worst. At the end of the series, the contestant with the worst shed overall is given the title of Canada's Worst Handyman. The five sheds, as well as one built by the experts, have been sold to the one unlucky and five lucky bidders on eBay, sight unseen. The winning bidders will also appear on the final episode of the series (which traditionally is a recap episode) as the shed is being delivered to them. The proceeds of the eco-shed sale goes to Habitat for Humanity Canada.
Experts
Jill Rydall, a licensed carpenter, was the first female member of the Sault Ste. Marie Carpenter's Union. She has over 20 years of experience under her belt, including 14 years as a construction teacher. She replaces Robin Lockhart, who served as the interior designer in the previous season.
Greg House, a general contractor, is back for his second season as the show's resident contracting expert. He has experience in building both within Canada and internationally and has 35 years of experience under his belt, including 24 years of residential and commercial contracting.
Contestants
Terry Cress, a truck driver from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, is nominated by his friend, tech support professional Harvey Houle, for his never-ending endeavor into building a shed of his own, using cheap materials (including extension cords to wire his shed, reused wood and straightened-out nails) and tools. Cress takes pride in his skills and claims that his shed costs less than $50. At the beginning of the fifth episode, Harvey had to be hospitalized due to persistent back pain and was replaced with Terry's wife, Angie.
Jaime García, 29, is a web designer from Regina, Saskatchewan who is meticulous in reading the directions but not acting on them. He is nominated by his mother-in-law, Sheilla Stengler, a plumbing business owner who, by her own admission, takes great pleasure in belittling and insulting Jaime whenever he makes any mistake. To make things worse, Jaime's wife, Kendra, who is pregnant with their fourth child (at the time of filming; she has since given birth) and, thus, unable to do any handiwork because of it, agrees with her mother.
Jeff Gignac, a management consultant from Mississauga, Ontario, is a father whose sons have recently been taking an interest in tools. As the owner of a business, he specializes in delegation of duties, including letting his nominator, firefighter Fred Johnson, do all of his handiwork.
Candace Landmark, a nurse's assistant from Calgary, Alberta, is a fan of many design and construction TV shows (including Flip This House and Holmes on Homes), but is very shy around lifting heavy objects, using tools and other basic construction knowhow. Still, she believes that she can do things as seen on TV just because she has seen it done on TV and contends that she is better at the do-it-yourself process than her husband and nominator, Justin, a construction worker specializing in metalworking. It is later revealed during the Grouting Challenge that Candace is three months pregnant with her second child (at the time of filming; she has since given birth to a boy).
Ruth Summersides, 55, is a retired teacher/psychologist from Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan (near Regina) whose experience as a single mother of three has led her to numerous unsafe projects. Ruth is nominated by one of her two daughters, Michelle Pine, a call center supervisor. She has reportedly complained to the manufacturers about power tools and how she feels they are too big for her to use.
Synopsis
CWH – The contestant is Canada's Worst Handyman.
WORST – The contestant is the worst of the episode.
NOM – The nominator of the contestant is the worst of the episode.
IN – The contestant was considered for the worst for this episode.
M/W – The contestant was named both the most improved and the worst for this episode.
IMP – The contestant is the most improved of the episode.
NOM – The nominator of the contestant is the most improved of the episode.
IMP - The contestant and their nominator are both the most improved for the episode.
WORST - The contestant and their nominator are both the worst for the episode.
Episode 1: Starting from Scratch
Original airdate: April 16, 2007
In this episode, the five contestants arrive at the Handyman Rehabilitation Centre. Prior to entering rehabilitation, the contestants were asked to specify the dimensions of their shed, along with a birdhouse-sized replica. At the end of the episode, Jeff, by virtue of never having done anything considered handiwork prior to rehab and nailing three boards together in this episode during the skills evaluation, is deemed the most improved handyman of this episode, while Candace, whose self-proclaimed "renovation skills" contrasted with it taking her 171 tries and five minutes to hammer in a single nail, was deemed the worst. Her extra lesson was in the use of hammers of all sorts.
The Birdhouse
Prior to entering the Handyman Rehabilitation Centre, each contestant was asked to specify the dimensions of the shed they would like to build, with the only restriction that the total dimensions of the shed be no bigger than by by . Then, the contestants are asked to build a birdhouse-sized replica using 100-year-old barnboard.
Terry: Terry had issues with splitting the wood, which caused him to nail the pieces back together, but in doing so, he nailed the pieces to his deck. His birdhouse was eventually completed with the help of a stapler and a reciprocating saw.
Jaime: Jaime was constantly pressured by nominator Sheilla throughout the task. Although he had minor issues with splitting the wood while installing screws, he did take the time to meticulously measure.
Jeff: Jeff nearly cuts his work surface in the process of cutting his wood with a jigsaw and he uses oversized screws to screw his pieces together, causing the wood to split.
Ruth: Ruth had made numerous unsquare cuts from her skill saw and had numerous issues with splitting the wood (accidentally or on purpose). The end result is that her birdhouse has a significant number of holes.
Candace: Candace, despite having no experience with power tools, is pressured by nominator, Justin, to use a skill saw to cut her wood. When she starts installing screws, Justin forces Candace to stop as she doesn't actually screw her pieces together.
The Reveal
Upon entering the Handyman Rehabilitation Centre, the shed frames, assembled by the show crew to the contestants' specifications, are revealed to the contestants (and their nominators) for the first time. They are also given their own color-coded areas: Candace in orange, Terry in blue, Jaime in yellow, Jeff in purple and Ruth in green. Ruth's, Jeff's and Candace's sheds are on one side of the warehouse, with Jaime's shed opposite Ruth's and Terry's shed opposite Jeff's. The area opposite Candace is used as the site for various challenges as well as the area where contestants "hang their head in shame" when they are named the worst of the episode.
Terry: Terry's dream shed, at tall, was too tall for a roof to be installed (as it alone was nearly the height of the warehouse). With its large width and length, Terry was forced to settle for a shed half the size. Furthermore, Terry inexplicably asked for three different types of roof (flat, peaked and sloped) to be installed-- a moot point considering the height of his shed.
Jaime: Jaime's shed had only one major flaw, caused by changing his mind on the dimensions three times due to pressure from Sheilla. The flaw in question is that the peaked roof made the shed far too tall.
Jeff: Jeff's shed, criticized by Terry and Jaime as being far too flimsy, had between studs (which resulted in the entire shed being held up by a total of only six studs). His shed is also far too short, as it was only in total height-- meaning that, with the subfloor taken into account, that both Jeff and nominator Fred would not be able to stand in the shed. Jeff also chose to have a flat roof, which Andrew notes was an option specifically intended to catch out the handymen, as flat roofs have far too many problems (including far more water and snow buildup than their sloped counterparts) to be viable choices.
Ruth: Ruth's shed is perfect for her frame, which makes it too short for virtually everyone else (including Andrew, who worries that his shoulder would bump up against the roof.
Candace: Candace's shed was specified ambiguously, having given an area ("7'4x10") instead of a length. Her resulting shed is a 7x10 shed with studs apart (far too close together and using far too much lumber), with a sloped roof three feet higher at the front (she originally intended her shed to be three feet wide, which she later told Andrew that it was meant to be three inches), meaning that the -tall shed is too tall for the warehouse door.
Skills Evaluation
In the skills evaluations, the contestants have up to 30 minutes to cut a board into three equal pieces, so that the laminated board can be used as a pedestal for their birdhouse replica sheds.
Terry: Terry, apart from determining where to make his cut by trial and error (which did, however, get him to the correct measurement of per piece), manages to cut and screw his pieces together without too much issue. He is also the fastest to finish at 12:36.
Jaime: Jaime's strategy is to purposely undercut the wood and use the previous piece to cut his next piece. Although it gives him three pieces of equal size, he has four pieces overall. He had minor troubles in using the power drill to screw in his pieces, instead opting to install screws by hand. When that does not work out, he resorts to using only nails. Nevertheless, he finishes in 21:44.
Jeff: Jeff takes a whole minute in staring at a measuring tape, although he uses a jigsaw to cut his pieces (although the technique is incorrect, as he nearly jackhammers his saw to make a cut). Jeff finishes in 28:23, although his lack of skills meant that very little was done correctly.
Ruth: Ruth, with gardening gloves on, had accidentally mismeasured her boards, resulting in the third piece being shorter than the first two. When laminating the boards, she does not securely place her bits in the drill's chuck, causing her gloves to be trapped in the drill. Avoiding the gloves from then on, Ruth finishes in 20:07, but admits she needs rehabilitation.
Candace: Although Candace figures out the correct length needed, cutting the boards proves to be quite the task, as she misuses her initial choice of a crosscut saw (by using the saw to cut forwards when in fact it is a back saw) and opts for a jigsaw that scared her. However, her biggest problem is laminating the cut boards: she could not even sink a single screw in due to the drill being set off-center to the screw and it took her 171 tries to hammer in a single nail. Because of this, she could not finish in the 30-minute time limit.
Building a Workbench
The contestants are introduced to the experts, who showed the contestants how to build their own workbench from pre-cut materials (including a $400 piece of bamboo board). The contestants are asked to build the workbench as shown by the experts in 90 minutes.
Terry: Harvey did most of the grunt work in this challenge, especially after Terry had mounted his bamboo countertop from the top instead of from the bottom. The duo, however, did manage to finish the fastest at 79 minutes.
Jaime: Jaime took the experts' instructions to heart, but Sheilla believes that he isn't following her instructions. Despite the struggle between the in-laws due to Jaime's slow and steady meticulousness and Sheilla's demand for more speed (which, at one point, forced Sheilla to be removed from Jaime's area), Jaime finishes in 83 minutes.
Jeff: Jeff had issues operating a heavy drill and refused a smaller and lighter drill (although one was given to him anyway). No footage of him finishing the bench was shown, although he was on the final touchups when the 90 minutes were up.
Ruth: Ruth continued to struggle with securing the drill bits in the drill (forcing the drill bit to be hammered out on numerous occasions), although this problem had been settled down when she was given a smaller and lighter drill. However, she manages to abandon the experts' step-by-step instructions, creating an incomplete bench that was nowhere near level or in one piece.
Candace: Candace had problems with the drill being set on reverse and nearly breaks down prior to installing the legs. Justin manages to get most of the bench assembled for her and she was nearly complete thanks to his assistance when time expired.
Group Challenge: Building a Rain Catcher
The group challenge takes the contestants to the roof of the Handyman Rehabilitation Centre, where they are to build a rain catcher from plastic tubing, vapour barrier, T-connectors and a bucket. The rain catcher, in turn, will be needed to provide water to the sheds in upcoming challenges, as the Handyman Rehabilitation Centre lacks plumbing. Right after Andrew explains the challenge and gives the assembly instructions to Jaime, Jaime begins reading it, ignoring Andrew's instructions to drill a hole from the top of the bucket (which would haunt him later). The group challenge begins with everyone trying to agree on the size of the catcher, and everyone eventually agrees that the diameter at the top of the funnel should be eight feet. However, confusion between the circumference and the diameter of a circle results them in going with Jaime's advice and cutting of tubing-- good only for a -diameter top. Because Jaime is the one with the manual and made the most important decisions to this point, he was named almost by consensus as the challenge's foreman (although Jaime was apparently unaware of this). Jaime's attempt to assert authority fails (and the bottom of the raincatcher was assembled using duct tape in the process) and he also does not listen to the advice of the others (Terry in particular) when they advised him to drill a hole in the bucket near the top-- the part where Jaime had missed out when reading the instructions. Because of this, the rain catcher was deemed a failure.
Episode 2: Electric Circus
Original Airdate: April 23, 2007
The episode begins with Andrew and Jaime repairing the bucket of the incorrectly built rain catcher (so that the hole in the bucket, drilled by Jaime in the first group challenge, is now at the top instead of at the bottom), needed in fact to do the very next challenge. The episode ends with Candace being named the most improved due to her redesigned shed, while Ruth was named the worst as she made unnecessary changes to her shed and did not do a single challenge correctly. Her extra lesson is not shown.
Group Challenge: The Barbecue Pit
In the episode's group challenge, Jeff must lead the contestants to build a barbecue pit, using reclaimed bricks, bags of mortar mix and water collected from their new rain catcher. The challenge begins with Jeff being the only person not to read the instructions in the mortar, leading the team to lay dry bricks with no gap for mortar between. When he is informed by Andrew that wet bricks bond better to mortar, the team simply continues to lay bricks, with wet bricks over dry ones (as opposed to starting over and having all wet bricks). Furthermore, there is very little mortar applied and the mortar is applied after the bricks are in place (as opposed to buttering the brick with mortar before setting the bricks in place). While Jeff, Ruth and Candace continue to lay bricks, Jaime uses the pointing trowel to do tuck pointing while Terry adds in ventilation for the barbecue pit by leaving holes in the brickwork. When the nominators arrive to see the contestants' progress, the nominators (Sheilla in particular) do not like the contestants' work so far in the challenge-- in particular, Jeff had not used a level at all in the challenge (needed to ensure that each row of bricks are applied to a uniform height). Despite Jaime's last-ditch attempt to level the brickwork using said level (only to stop when he realizes that it is a pointless endeavour with multiple layers of brick already installed), when the challenge is over (after 82 minutes) and the nominators are asked to give a thumbs-up thumbs-down rating, the fire pit received five emphatic thumbs-downs-- two each from the experts and one from Andrew.
The Countersink Challenge
Despite the camaraderie that had formed between the contests, nominators and even the crew, Jeff and Ruth have not gotten along well with each other: this is due to Ruth seeing Jeff as an arrogant chauvinist and Jeff having previously proclaimed that he could improve far better than any of the other four contestants. To settle the score, Jeff and Ruth decide on a race to see who could countersink one nail with fewer strokes. The race, with Andrew as referee and everyone else watching, was close wire-to-wire, but Ruth was declared the winner after video replay as it took Jeff two more strokes (which he had claimed was "for insurance") of the hammer to drive his nail home.
The Redesign
After some instruction on basic framing knowledge from Jill, each contestant could choose to redesign their sheds to new specifications. This was necessary for four of the contestants, whose sheds are either too tall for the warehouse door (Candace, Terry, Jaime) or would fail a building inspection (Jeff). These redesigned shed frames would then be assembled by the show's staff.
Terry: Having half of his shed taken away in the first episode (leaving it with only three walls), as well as the fact that his two-storey shed lacked a roof, Terry's redesign was a necessity. His redesigned shed is eight feet tall, with a one-foot high sloped roof. Unfortunately, with his -tall subfloor, his redesigned shed is still too tall for the warehouse door.
Jaime: Contending that the height restriction is entirely arbitrary, Jaime decides to lower the roof of his shed by ten inches, which made it still too tall.
Jeff – Jeff decides to add the studs desperately needed to his building, as well as to make it taller. His new shed is from the warehouse floor to the shed's soffit, which means that his shed, with high rafters (the flat unsloped roof is retained), is too tall for the warehouse door.
Candace – Candace decides to take out a lot of her lumber and keep every fourth stud in her tightly studded shed, as well as lower her sloped roof by two feet (so that it is now one foot tall on the high side instead of three feet tall). She is the only person in the end to have her shed be under the height of the warehouse door at nine feet.
Ruth: Although being the only contestant whose changes were not strictly necessary, Ruth decides to make her shed taller by keeping the roof unchanged but making her shed eight feet tall, leaving the shortest contestant with the tallest shed and far too high for the warehouse door.
The Tool Test
While the show's crew get busy on rebuilding the contestants' shed frames, the contestants themselves are given a simple test, administered by Jill, to see if they can identify 11 different handyman tools. Among the tools were bevels, coping saws, files, pliers, reciprocating saws and screwdrivers. Although very little of the test was shown, Jeff was the worst, having been able to identify three of the 11 tools.
Solar Panels
The contestants in this challenge are tasked to build a triangular frame that would house a solar panel, which would power two lightbulbs and two wall outlets in their sheds, within 60 minutes. To help them, they are given one prototype frame from which they can take and copy their measurements.
Terry – Terry begins measuring for his base, but is frustrated when he constantly mismeasures. Frustrated by his jigsaw, Terry proceeds to use his crosscut saw to do his cutting. Harvey then uses his combination square to ensure that his base (and Terry's cuts) are truly square. However, he attaches the top cross piece without checking whether his sloped pieces are at the correct angle of 60°. After adjustments, Terry believes "close enough" is good enough, while Harvey disagrees. Harvey eventually wins out and Terry goes adjusting. He is eventually finished at 63 minutes, with all angles correct.
Jaime – Jaime works at a feverish pace, with no issues besides Sheilla dropping subtle hints about whether his measurements were accurate or his joins were square. Like the other contestants, Jaime has trouble using his speed square to determine the correct angle. When he seeks Justin for advice on using it, he discovers that his angles are wrong and tries many times to fix the angle. Although he believes that Sheilla was no help at all, eventually, Jaime does run out of things to adjust and his final result is correct. He finishes with only two minutes left on the clock, the only person to do so correctly within the time limit.
Jeff – Jeff begins by making the measurements, which are marked down on the wood by his nominator, Fred, who also does the cutting work for Jeff. Although Fred does his best to assist Jeff in building the frame, his frame is not square or at the correct angle. Although they try to use a shim to prop up the solar panel so that it is at the correct angle, Jeff is given a failing grade. He is also the first to finish at 47 minutes.
Candace – Because it took her five whole minutes to make a single cut in her wood with her crosscut saw in the skills evaluation (only to give up and use the power tools), Justin is doing the cutting for Candace. Just soon after Justin begins assembling the frame himself, leaving Candace out of the picture. This, however, did not mean that she was done-- neither saw that her vertical boards were cut too short (meaning that their angles were not correct either). Although both eventually notice this, Candace, even with Justin's help, is puzzled by where to place the speed square so that she could measure the proper angles. After 70 minutes, Candace gets the correct frame, but is clueless as to why the frame is correct.
Ruth – Ruth begins by making measurements, although the marking on her wood is a barely visible dot rather than a whole line across her lumber. Thus, when she begins cutting, her pieces are not square. When she begins to use a combination square for marking a line across her lumber, Michelle contends that she is not using it correctly. Ruth also chooses to ignore measuring the angles. When she declares herself finished, Andrew contends that her frame is not square and her angle is incorrect due to the lack of measurement, which she addresses by using shims. She finishes in 68 minutes, but the frame is not correct.
Electrical Wiring
The next step in shed building is electrical work, which they are given tutoring by Jill (who states simply, "White-on-white, black-on-black, no sparky-sparky" on how to properly connect wires). In this challenge, the contestants must wire their shed by adding an electrical panel, which would be connected to the solar panels (by Jaime, who volunteered), as well as connect two $90 energy-efficient lightbulbs on one series circuit to it (the entire electrical setup, including the solar panel, is over $2,300 per shed). If, at the end of the challenge, the lighting is faulty, Rob MacDonald, the show's own lighting technician who bet eventual "winner" Keith Cole ten dollars that he wouldn't finish the wallpapering before the time ran out in the final exam in the previous season (a bet Andrew also took, by the way), would help the contestants fix their faulty wiring. When the solar panel captures energy, it is stored in a car battery and then through an inverter, which would then be used to power their sheds (as well as charge their power tools in later challenges). To aid the contestants in their electrical work, detailed diagrams have been given. The contestants are free to place their rectangular box (for the switch) and octagon boxes (for their lights) anywhere in their shed.
Terry – Terry, who had wired his "man-shed" back home with extension cords, installs his light boxes so that it is not recessed, meaning that the light box will be visible even after the lights are installed and the shed is finished. Although Terry fixes this, he makes another error in not extending the light box from the roof rafters. Terry is further puzzled by the presence of a ground wire, adding to the confusion of how the lights and the battery should be wired up to the panel. In the end, though, Terry solves all his issues and finishes his wiring correctly in 122 minutes. However, he never got around to fixing his octagon box positions.
Jaime – Jaime installs his rectangular box so that they extend too far from the wall (one and a half inches instead of half an inch) and installs his light boxes at the very top of his shed, on the ridgeboards (meaning that it is not recessed in the rafters either). Jaime also makes the mistake of attaching a black wire to a white one while wiring his lights, which (while Jaime is fixing the wiring) infuriates her to the point that Sheilla stops helping her nominee, leaving their work area. No footage of Jaime working after Sheilla leaves is shown, although Jaime proceeds to connect the solar panels after he is finished. Before his own test (for which Sheilla is present), however, Andrew sees that his switch is already in the on position-- from Jaime having installed the switch upside-down. Despite this minor mistake, Jaime's work is finished and correct after 129 minutes.
Jeff – Jeff begins by installing his boxes so that they are flush to the edge of the wood, rather than extending them out by a half-inch (to account for the finished wall). When drilling holes in his studs for his electrical, Jeff does not realize that his drill is in reverse and prompts Fred to try doing what he could not do after a whole minute. Harvey goes through in seconds after setting Jeff's drill back to forward. No further footage of Jeff's work is shown, although he is finished by the time Jaime has finished connecting the solar panels to the sheds. Jeff's electrical work, by the time it is put to the test, fails, giving him an overall failing grade after 165 minutes of work. Jeff's mistake, as found by Rob, was that the wire that connects the lights to his panel is far too loose.
Candace – Candace is easily confused as to where she should begin, much less where to install her boxes. After a moment of inspiration, Candace begins in earnest by having Justin install the boxes. After wiring is done, Candace makes another mistake when trying to install her light bulbs, snapping the lightbulb in half when twisting the bulb into the socket, which she discovers when she asks for Justin's assistance. Crestfallen over the loss of an expensive lightbulb, Candace begins to break down, prompting Justin to finish the electrical work for her. Because of the broken bulb, her circuit does not function at all, even after the two bulbs are switched around. After 159 minutes, her effort only gets her a failing grade. Rob finds the fault in their wiring, ironically enough, in the socket with the broken bulb.
Ruth – Ruth begins by installing her switch box higher than her head, and her light box higher up the wall (which would create shadows). When she drills holes in her studs to allow wire to pass through, she complains that her drill is slow, only to realize that her drill was on reverse when Michelle asks. Ruth is far from finished by the time the other sheds have finished their electrical tests. Eventually, Rob is brought in to finish Ruth's wiring, taking half an hour to fix 12 mistakes that already exists in Ruth's wiring work. Eventually, after 233 minutes, Ruth's wiring is complete.
After the electrical, the final evaluations are made. Greg notes that Ruth's fixtures are too low for her shed, while Greg and Jill note down Jeff's flat unsloped roof (flat roofs are slightly sloped so as to allow water on the roof to run off). Greg's and Jill's critique of Candace's shed is that the lights were installed in the wrong places (which, when they were on, would create shadow), while the criticism against Jaime is that he made the smallest change in the height of his shed (needing a two-foot lowering of his original shed to make the height limit). Finally, the experts' critique of Terry's shed is that much of the work done so far is not his own work-- and the work that Harvey has put in is not too great, either. As for the barbecue pit, it is still not in one solid piece after several days of the mortar curing (as Andrew demonstrates, he is able to take apart pieces of the brickwork with his own hands).
Episode 3: Sealing the Deal
Original Airdate: April 30, 2007
In this episode, the five contestants continue building their sheds by installing a window as well as finishing their shed exterior by adding insulation and vapour barrier. At the end of the episode, Terry is named the most improved despite his noticeable imperfections, as he was the only one other than Candace to finish all of their tasks (Candace doing so due largely to the work that Justin had done). On the other end, Jeff was named the worst due to his self-proclaimed perfectionism and his actual results leaving much to be desired, as well as refusing help from others when it was needed. Jeff's extra task is to name all of the imperfections in his own shed.
Framing a Window
After being taught another lesson in framing by Jill, the contestants must frame for a window in their shed.
Terry – Although Terry is clueless as to how to approach this challenge, he eventually gets started, but makes the mistake of using the finger-joined wood (not designed to be secured horizontally) as his window sill. He also wants an asymmetric frame, but is convinced otherwise by Harvey. In the end, though, it is mentioned that either his window or Jaime's window is slightly too large for their frame.
Jaime – The tension between Jaime and Sheilla goes into a boiling point in this challenge: first, Sheilla criticizes Jaime's use of cut pieces as a template for cutting other pieces. Then, Jaime rearranges the studs in his shed to make the window frame fit.
Jeff – Little footage is shown of Jeff's framing, but it is noted that he made his window opening too tight.
Candace – Although Candace's framing goes off without too many problems, they are only informed of an error in their top plate (using one 2x4 instead of two laminated ones) when they are nearly done. Not wanting Candace to fail, Justin takes charge of the work in fixing this mistakes, as well as performing a test fit of their window. Candace eventually finishes her window in 91 minutes (while nearly avoiding injury when their old top plate nearly hit Candace in the mouth), but it was Justin that did the majority of the work.
Ruth – Ruth begins by cutting the studs in the hope of shrinking the cut-out hole with more lumber to make the window fit. Her resulting hole is large enough to accommodate two windows, largely as she nearly cuts off all the studs in one wall of her shed, but also as she fails to recognize that inches are divided into 16ths and not tenths on a measuring tape.
Plywood Sheeting
Before installing the window, the exterior must be covered in plywood. As per Candace's suggestion, however, similar to the Switcheroo episode from the previous season, contestants will be assisted by someone else's nominator.
Terry – Terry's shed was in the best position to be easy covered, due to his shed's studs being on centre. However, when paired with Sheilla, Terry made several mistakes in cutting the plywood so that the pieces will not fit together properly. This is evident in the piece under the window, where he repeatedly cut down his plywood to size. In the end, his admittedly patchwork sheeting is full of self-described "jigsaw puzzles."
Jaime – Jaime is paired with Harvey. Little footage is shown of their work, except that in order for the sheeting to fit his adjusted frame without cutting the plywood sheets down, he does so by moving more studs around. The duo finish in 211 minutes.
Jeff – Jeff, whose relationship with Ruth has been adversarial, is paired with Ruth's nominator, Michelle. Despite being told that the shed should be covered from the bottom-up, Jeff instead starts from the top and working their way down, with him on a ladder while Michelle is under the ladder and propping up the plywood. Eventually, Andrew pulls Michelle out for her own safety, leading Jeff to refuse help from a helpful Michelle. In fact, Jeff proceeds to drown out Michelle with earplugs... which were put in wrong. Eventually, Fred helps Jeff complete his sheeting after he finishes helping Candace, but it makes Michelle feel left out due to both of them ignoring her.
Candace – Candace is paired with Fred, although very little footage of Candace's work was done beyond the need to cut sheets down to size.
Ruth – Ruth is paired with Justin. Due to Justin's determination to help Ruth succeed (she had yet to complete a challenge successfully at this point), Ruth becomes the first to finish in 192 minutes-- correctly to boot.
Installing the Window
With the plywood exterior, the contestants now have to test their work from the previous two challenges by installing the window.
Terry – It is, in fact, Terry's shed, not Jaime's, that is slightly too large, when Terry and Harvey discover a gap in the left side of their window (which Harvey deems as "unfixable"). Because of this, Terry's installation is deemed incomplete.
Jaime – Jaime's major mistake is in his unlevel windowsill and the fact that he installs his shims parallel to the sill (instead of perpendicular). Still, he does finish in 19:02.
Jeff – Jeff's installation is going swimmingly until Jeff and Fred decide to screw their window into their shim (which would cause the shim to split). Then, Fred, believing that the screws that came into the window were too small (due to believing that the screws should be flush with the window's inside frame-- and hence the predrilled holes are too big), proceeds to void the window's warranty by drilling holes next to the window's predrilled holes. When informed by Andrew of Fred's mistake, though, they do manage to finish.
Candace – Due to their previous work, including a perfect test fit, it only take Candace two minutes to install the shims, with the rest of her 18:38 installation devoted to screwing the window in place (and being slightly confused over the fact that the screws are being installed through open space).
Ruth – Ruth's extra large hole cannot accommodate her window and by the time the window can even remotely fit, the window frame now has four 2x4s on all sides, yet there is still a gap big enough to put two fingers in on all sides. Ruth's solution of using a lumber shim does not help either.
Insulation
The contestants must insulate their sheds, using batt insulation created from recycled denim. The insulation comes in two different widths-- one for on centre frames (needed for Candace in particular) and one for on centre frames. Following the denim insulation, they must then spray form all of their remaining spaces-- particularly in the area around their window and shed door.
Terry – Terry's insulation job is remarkably easy due to his convenient frame, but Harvey manages to replicate the boneheaded decision Merle Auger made in the previous season's Upholstery Challenge when he cuts himself while cutting down insulation with a utility knife. He also nearly forgets to install insulation into the corners of his shed. Harvey also makes the mistake of getting spray foam all over his hands, as well as not shaking the can of spray foam before using it.
Jaime – Jaime begins by obtaining a bag for frames and a bag for frames, believing both bags were for frames-- a moot point, though, with Jaime's adjusted studs taken into account. Jaime is forced to cut every piece he installs down to fit. His mistake in the spray foam was using the can right-side up instead of upside-down.
Jeff – Little footage is seen of Jeff's insulation work, except for using many pieces of cut-down insulation to fit and not using masks while installing (as denim insulation tends to raise dust).
Candace – Beyond overstuffing certain insulation spaces, little footage is seen of Candace's work, although she is shown meticulously reading the spray foam instructions.
Ruth – Due to not taking her medication (needed to treat a head injury from the past), Ruth suffers a seizure while insulating, due to the increased temperature in the shed from insulation and the hot lights. While Michelle and Rob (who is also the head safety officer) help her recover, the other contestants (and their nominators), after finishing their own insulation and learning of Ruth's plight, help Ruth complete her insulation in ten minutes.
Vapour Barrier
Without any environmentally friendly solution around vapour barrier to stop air movement, the contestants must install their (non-recycled) plastic on top of their insulation. Little footage of the process is seen overall, except that nearly all teams deploy their vapour barrier vertically rather than horizontally (horizontally would allow a continuous barrier around the shed) and that nearly all sheds had problems securing the vapour barrier in the corners. In the end, Jaime's shed is the only one with good vapour barrier (after 55:08), while the others were drafty.
Group Challenge: Picnic Tables
In this group challenge, Candace must lead the contestants in assembling two identical picnic tables from a schematic. Although Candace makes a concerted effort in reading the instructions, she has difficulty in processing them, leading to the rest of the team being idle and trying to help her understand the instructions. Although after 50 minutes they manage to cut all of the pieces of wood to perfection, Candace is further confused by how and where to drill holes to connect the pieces together, leading to the team finishing neither table within the specified time.
In the final critique, Jaime's main critique was that his sheeting was not secure, his corners were badly done, and that he had rearranged his studs in both his framing and sheeting; he also didn't clean up afterwards, including leaving a ladder in the doorway, which meant that his shed was no longer a safe workplace (with Jill even refusing to enter his shed). The main criticism against Terry's work was the gap in his window from his installation, as well as inadequate support for his window frame, while the critique against Jeff's shed was on both an incomplete vapour barrier job and loose sheeting. Ruth's shed had major structural problems from the window frame which could not house a window (with Greg claiming that the window would never fit), while Candace's critique was localized to one area where her insulation was not wide enough for a gap next to the window that was slightly over , causing the insulation to droop and the vapour barrier to bulge.
Episode 4: Clear as Mud
Original Airdate: May 7, 2007
The episode begins with the contestants being informed that their sheds have been sold on eBay to the highest bidder. Surprisingly, all of the contestants and nominators took to the news well, with Candace even asking how much each shed was worth. However, Harvey's back pain issues, persistent throughout the series so far, is too much for him to handle and he has to be carried away on a stretcher. Although he eventually recovers (earning him the title of "most improved," joining David Hawe from the previous season as the only nominators to be named the most improved), his back pain means that he will be going home to rest instead of continuing to assist Terry. As such, Terry is forced to do many of the challenges in this episode alone, although he is given some assistance by Sheilla and Andrew. As for the worst, Jeff becomes the first contestant to date to be named the worst for two consecutive episodes. His extra lesson is not shown, as Harvey reads another poem.
Drywalling
The contestants must drywall the walls of their shed. The experts will assist in installing one wall (not the wall with the window) in each shed.
Terry – Due to Harvey's back pain, Terry must rely on assistance from Andrew and Sheilla. However, his main mistake (which he eventually realizes) was installing one piece of drywall in his windowed wall backwards. Terry also makes the mistake of having four pieces of drywall (including his backwards piece) meeting in one part of the wall, creating a structural weakness, as well as installing his backwards piece over the window and cutting the drywall later (instead of cutting the drywall first). Terry finishes his work in 2:29, but he never gets around to fixing the piece that he got on backwards.
Jaime – Jaime has difficulty in hitting his studs, having moved them in previous challenges. Nevertheless, he finishes drywalling in 2:23.
Jeff – No footage was shown in Jeff's shed, but he finishes in 2:47.
Candace – Candace's slow pace frustrates Justin, especially as how drywall pieces are cut confuses her (believing that she needs a special tool to cut drywall and not realizing that she is, in fact, holding and using a utility knife while making the statement) and the proper procedure often eludes her even as she is saying it (believing that there is no way to drywall around the window other than to measure and cut the drywall, which, although she is unaware of it, is correct). Justin takes matters into his own hands after seeing Candace take six minutes to cut a piece of drywall with a drywall saw, literally finishing the drywalling for Candace: while it took Candace 2:05 to cover a small section of a wall, it takes Justin 42 minutes to do the rest of the shed.
Ruth – Ruth and Michelle quickly go to a war of words during the drywalling, but although they make up, their drywall remains incomplete.
Clay Primer
Although three sides of the shed will be plastered, the side with the window will be covered in a clay wall treatment, to be installed later. Right now, though, primer must be put up so that the clay will stick to the wall and the primer takes five hours to dry. Jaime is puzzled as to why this is going up in the first place, while Candace has trouble opening the bucket of primer. To prevent Justin from "butting in," he is consigned to a back room to watch alongside the experts while Candace does the actual priming job alone. No other footage is shown other than Ruth, Candace and Jaime using rollers when the instructions state that brushes should be used.
Tiling
After being given some instruction on how to tile by Greg, the contestants must now tile a small corner of their shed, where toilets will be installed in a later challenge. These recycled glass tiles come in 36 one-inch squares, held together by a piece of plastic and each contestant is given tiles that match their workspace colors (except for Jeff's red tiles and Jaime's gray ones). The thinset mortar provided is also fast-drying, completely setting in eight hours. One mistake made by nearly everyone is that everyone uses a whole bag of mortar when only one-sixth of a bag is needed.
Terry – Terry is caught by Sheilla doing incorrect things on multiple occasions-- first, his water to mix ratio is incorrect (Terry having believed that the ratio is the same as that for grout), the fact that he did not use a notched trowel to apply the mortar to the wall and finally when the gap between his tile sheets is different from the gap between the tiles on the same sheet. Terry quickly fixes all of these and is done correctly in 60 minutes.
Jaime – Jaime has trouble keeping his tiles on the wall, largely due to his grooves from the notched end of his trowel being not deep enough.
Jeff – Jeff has issues with tiling largely from not using the notched trowel to create the grooves needed to hold his tiles in place, causing mortar to fill the gaps between tiles. To rectify the problem of falling tiles, Jeff pushes the tiles together, leaving no room for grout.
Candace – Candace's defense to using the whole bag was that the bag merely provided instructions for mixing the whole bag with water, and not wanting to mess around with the ratios. Applying the thinset also confuses her: when Justin reads the instructions on how to use her trowel, she misinterprets using the trowel at a 45° angle to the wall as turning her trowel diagonally and applying the mortar with her trowel flat on the wall. Eventually, Justin takes over again in an effort to get Candace to finish.
Ruth – Ruth starts on the mortar and the tiles simultaneously, causing her to not use the trowel to create the grooves needed to hold the tiles in place, causing the mortar to fill the gaps between tiles and also causing her tiles to fall. Frustrated by her work, Michelle pulls off her tiles and tries to put them on again.
Plastering
In this challenge, plaster is applied to the three remaining walls of the sheds.
Terry – Terry's mix is too wet from using too much water, but little footage is shown of the plaster being applied.
Jaime – Before Jaime starts plastering, he wants to further secure his drywall with more screws. As they move on, Sheilla insists on covering the mesh tape that had covered the seams with paper tape, which is a mistake (although Sheilla realizes this but refuses to admit). Sheilla is also aggressive with the tape, accidentally plastering over the primed wall (meaning that the clay wall treatment will not stick to the wall now that there is plaster on it).
Jeff – Jeff's mix is too gritty from having used too much plaster, but little footage is shown of the plaster being applied.
Candace – Candace's emotions get the better of her, causing her to break down. She recovers enough, though, to finish the challenge while doing most of the work herself.
Ruth – Ruth begins by using a scrap piece of metal instead of a palette to apply the plaster and later uses her finger, both of which angers Andrew. Little footage of Ruth's work is shown from that point on.
Clay Wall Treatment
At the end of their last challenge, much of the unused plaster and thinset mortar had settled and hardened (with one even having their notched trowel stuck in their hardened thinset mortar). The contestants begin the challenge of applying the clay plaster over their primed wall by cleaning up their wasted products, totaling over 100 pounds. Again, the contestants use a whole bag (which is far too much) each, mixing a combined 215 pounds of clay (Jaime and Jeff mixing 50 pounds, while Terry and Candace mix 40 pounds of clay and Ruth with 35 pounds)-- nearly a pound of clay for every square foot of wall in the sheds. In retrospect, Jaime states that they would have been better off mixing one bag together and sharing the mortar.
Terry – Very little footage of Terry's work is shown.
Jaime – Because of Sheilla's overzealousness with the drywall tape, the clay will not stick to parts of Jaime's wall. Nevertheless, they manage to finish the wall with reasonable consistency.
Jeff – Jeff begins by applying the plaster inconsistently using the notched side of his trowel, but soon realizes the mistake when told by Andrew. The end result is that there are trowel marks on his wall.
Candace – Candace lets Justin control the consistency of the clay mixture, which results in it being entirely too thin (when told that it needs to be the consistency of pudding, Candace is noted in asking "What kind of pudding do you eat?"). Justin, on the other hand, believes that everyone else is having their clay mixed too thick. In the end, their clay is so thin that Justin remarks that it would be easier to spray the clay onto the wall rather than using a trowel.
Ruth – Little footage is shown of Ruth's work, but it is noted that her clay mixture is too thick.
Group Challenge: Building a Doghouse
Along with Ruth and Michelle, Ruth's dog, Dica, had also made the trip to the Handyman Rehabilitation Centre, but because of safety concerns, she isn't allowed on set while challenges are being done. In order to give Dica a home away from home, Terry leads the team in building Dica a new doghouse. As leader, though, Terry delegates much of the leadership work to Jaime and Jeff, while he gets down and does the work. Due to miscommunication, Jaime and Terry both make sub floors for the shed, although Terry later uses Jaime's sub floor rather than his own. The framing also goes up without a hitch, as is the exterior plywood. In the end, Dica's new doghouse is a mini-shed (not unlike Terry's own, but in Ruth's green color) with a door that may be slightly too small. Although Andrew has doubts about whether Dica would accept the doghouse, Dica nevertheless nestles comfortably in her new home, making the challenge a success.
In the final evaluation, Ruth's main critique in the episode is that her plaster job was horrible (which would require many hours of sanding with a power sander and many coats of plaster to fix) and that she had used too much mortar to tile, while Candace's main critique was that she did not keep her workplace clean. The hammer falls hard on Jeff, though, as the experts thought that he made the largest number of mistakes.
Episode 5: In Too Deep
Original Airdate: May 14, 2007
At the start of the episode, Angie is brought in to replace Harvey, who has gone home to nurse his back. Angie's first impressions were of surprise: after seeing Terry's shed for the first time, Angie was impressed as the work seemed to come from a competent handyman. At the end of the episode, Terry is named both the most improved and the worst for the episode: the most improved because, despite the usual husband-wife interactions causing trouble, Angie, ironically enough, caused Terry to do more things correctly. However, he is named the worst when, given the opportunity to finish unfinished work, Terry took a pass (although Angie did some work in Terry's shed during this time). He is the first contestant to be named most improved twice and is also the first to be named both most improved and the worst in the same episode. His extra work involves uninstalling his partially installed urinal and replacing it with Ruth's toilet.
Grouting
In this challenge, the contestants must grout their tiles, using grout designed to set in 15 minutes. Meanwhile, the nominators place a second coat of plaster on the wall.
Terry – Terry's grout job goes well, due to Angie taking charge of the grouting while Terry himself takes care of the plastering. Despite this, Terry takes care of cleaning the tiles off and adding grout to fix minor imperfections, resulting in a good grout job.
Jaime – Jaime makes the mistake of mixing the grout first before peeling the plastic off his tiles, meaning that his grout had already set when his plastic is partly off. Meanwhile, Sheilla, bored with Jaime, visits Terry's shed, where Andrew invites her to take his role, even giving her his black leather jacket. Sheilla continues to torment Terry while Jaime works in peace.
Jeff – Not much of Jeff's work is shown, other than using grout to adhere tiles that had fallen off his wall. Because of this and the fact that he did not do a good job of wiping down his tiles, he gets a failing grade, as the tiles will eventually fall off and his tiles will not appear clean.
Candace – Candace is confused by the grout instructions, but eventually manages to apply grout after accidentally letting the grout set while peeling out the plastic sheets that held the glass tiles together. Although the job was a failure in the sense that her grout is too thin (having mixed more water to try and liquefy the hardened grout), the biggest news to come out of Candace's shed is that she reveals she is three months pregnant with her second child.
Ruth – Ruth's grout job was termed incomplete largely because she had used too much mortar to apply the tiles (that resulting from peeling the tiles off and reapplying them in the previous episode). Although a thinset mortar saw was given to her in order to clean up the mortar that had accumulated between the tiles, the effort to clean up the tiles so that it would be ready for grout far exceeded the time limit.
Group Challenge: The Hot Tub
As Harvey is absent, Angie takes over foreman duties and leads the five contestants into building a wood-fired hot tub from a pre-fab kit. The contestants have three hours to build the tub, while it takes three hours to fill the tub with water and another three hours to heat the water. Thus, at the end of the day, the contestants could finally enjoy the tub they built... if it was built right. Before Angie even begins reading the instructions, the men begin trying to assemble the cedar staves around the hot tub, attaching the slats to the base. This is correct, but caulking must be added to seal the joint so as to prevent the water from leaking. The completed tub has 43 staves, but, because the later staves were fitted in using a mallet while the earlier ones were not, the hot tub is assembled in two discontinuous portions rather than in one piece. As a result, there is enough room for all but one stave, and any attempt to jam the last stave in resulted in the stave splitting. Although they try to work around it by using the supplied metal rings to tighten the existing staves, this reduces the diameter of the tub, making it impossible to fit wooden benches meant to fit in the interior of the tub. While Ruth and Candace mull over how to trim the benches to fit, Terry and Jeff focus on assembling the plumbing, which is initially correct even though neither had read the kit's instructions. However, Terry's fanaticism over using every part (even if the instructions state that not all parts would be needed) causes Terry to install valves and connections everywhere, which were not secured using glue. In the end, the hot water intake from the heater to the tub has a section travelling straight upwards. When only 15 minutes remain, the other four nominators enter to try to move things along. Sheilla, in particular, is trying to force everyone to work. By this time, everyone agrees that finishing the benches is a futile effort and are resigned to a leaking tub. By the time the tub is ready (at the end of the episode), the men all try the tub out in front of Candace, Ruth and the nominators. Although everyone enjoys the time, the tub, admittedly, is a failure.
Tongue-in-Groove Ceiling
The contestants have two hours to vapour barrier and line their ceiling with tongue-in-groove ceiling boards.
Terry – Terry's main mistake was in not staggering his ceiling boards, causing all his boards to end at the same rafter. Although he acknowledges that he made a mistake (especially after seeing the work in Candace's shed and Jaime's shed), he refuses to start over after spending an hour on his erroneous construction. His ceiling work is incomplete at the end of the two hours.
Jaime – Jaime's work begins well, but Sheilla is removed from Jaime's workspace when she attempts to hit him over the head with one of the boards, an even more dangerous act considering he was stood at the top of a ladder at the time. He does eventually get help from Justin after finishing Candace's shed (mainly in cutting boards down) and the two finish with seconds to spare.
Jeff – Jeff staggers his boards, but does not cut them so that the boards end at rafters, resulting in holes in the ceiling (where the boards end but do not meet the rafters). His ceiling is incomplete after two hours.
Candace – Because Candace had revealed to everyone that she was three months pregnant with her second child earlier, she is banned from using ladders, meaning that Justin is forced to take up much of the work. Candace, though, absolutely insists on trying to do the work herself, although is convinced by Justin to let him handle the work (letting Candace order him around) when she gets disoriented while atop a ladder. It goes without saying that Justin finishes the work correctly in 1:42, which was also the fastest time.
Ruth – Ruth, because her shed is the tallest and is over twice her height, had troubles using a ladder and, even with Sheilla's help, did not finish her ceiling.
Toilets and Urinals
In this challenge, the contestants must install either a urinal (for the men) or a toilet (for Candace and Ruth) on top of their tile, while the nominators prime the shed. The toilets are specially designed to turn human waste into compost for flower beds, while the urinals are entirely waterless (the only maintenance required is having to replace a filter every 7,000 uses). At the end of the challenge, the contestants are given an hour to finish any work from previous challenges that were incomplete.
Terry – Terry, although initially stumped by the installation instructions (going so far as to ask Jaime and Jeff for help) spends his time on ensuring that his urinal is level, even alienating his wife in the process. Although they do kiss and make up, none of Terry's exterior hookups are made. Terry, however, declines the extra hour, believing that he can make up for his work at another time and takes an hour-long smoke break instead. Angie, though, does some work in his shed, believing that his decision will come back to haunt him.
Jaime – Jaime's urinal is complete and functional in 1:47, although the urinal itself is not level and his exterior vent pipe is at ground level instead of in the air. No footage was shown of Jaime's work in the extra hour.
Jeff – No footage was shown of Jeff's work in installing the urinal, although he claims that the installation was incompletely simply because it was beyond him. In his extra hour, Jeff finishes his ceiling.
Candace – Candace begins on the right track, but admits to making two mistakes: first was using silicone to adhere the vent pipe when the toilet was not installed, and second was installing a drainage pipe straight through a load-bearing stud. Nevertheless, Candace manages to finish the task in 1:47, with her as much involved as Justin. No footage was shown of Candace's work in the extra hour.
Ruth – Ruth had made no progress in installing her toilet (due to having drilled through a stud for her drainage pipe and then getting her drill bit stuck within the tiles) and even going so far as to ask for it to be removed in the extra hour. In her extra hour, Ruth makes another attempt at installing her window.
In the final evaluation, Greg and Jill also note that by this point installing the window for Ruth's shed (now that the hole has been narrowed down yet again and the window has parts broken off) will still not fit, while Terry's shed is inconsistent at best (the grout job and the level urinal were both positives but the rest of the work was incomplete). In Jaime's shed, the main critique is that Jaime had not cleaned off his tiles prior to installing the toilet, meaning that at this point it would be difficult (if not impossible) to get the tiles clean. No critiques were shown on Candace's or Jeff's sheds.
Episode 6: The Finishing Touches
Original Airdate: May 21, 2007
The episode begins with a lighthearted rib: because of Terry's surprising "most improved" title from the previous episode, someone (presumably Andrew) put on a "kick me" sign behind Terry, causing nearly everyone (cast and crew) to kick Terry in the rear. It would be not until part way through the first challenge when Terry finds out (for Angie had also known about this and had kept quiet). In this episode, the experts focus on the fact that two persons are working on a shed at a time, and decide to name both a contestant and their nominator as the most improved and another pair the worst. For the most improved, the relationship between Jaime and Sheilla had gone over the edge, but, as a result, they completed their next challenge correctly in uncharacteristic silence. On the flip side, the duo of Candace and Justin is named the worst because of Justin's continual butting-in and Candace's often-futile attempts to take charge, resulting in Justin doing much of the work. The resulting picture of the pair as the worst is, fittingly enough, a picture formed from half of Justin and half of Candace (titled "Justice" as a play on both their names). The extra lesson for the husband and wife is in a task meant for one-- one must hold a tiny nail or a screw while the other must drive it into place.
The Entertainment Unit
In this challenge, the contestants must build a shelf that will house a set of speakers, their electrical panel, as well as the two batteries that will be storing the power to their sheds. To protect the batteries from dust, doors must be installed where they are housed. The contestants also have access to a chop saw (although a crew member will do the cutting on the chop saw). Meanwhile, the floor is to be cleaned in preparation for installing the floor later.
Terry – Terry, as it reveals, has experience in making furniture, but his sides are taller than his top and his shelf has no doors for the battery protection. He is the first to finish at 31:16, though. Because of this, Angie insists on starting the cork flooring early-- a decision that proves to be costly, as Angie does not allow the contact cement used in adhering the tiles to dry before placing the tiles.
Jaime – Jaime's original design, with two overhanging shelves, was far too ambitious of a plan for the time allotted. This, in addition to the fact that Sheilla had started on the cork floor and had to be repeatedly stopped (by both Jaime and Andrew), led Jaime to not finish.
Jeff – Jeff's main mistake is in the use of his hinges: originally, he wanted his hinges to be mounted on the bottom, so that his door would "flop open." Although Fred convinces him to put his hinges on the top, he puts his hinges on backwards, meaning that his door would not close all the way. There is also suspicion that his shelf cannot house his electrical panel, as it has yet to be re-mounted on the wall, having it dismounted during the drywall installation. Still, his shelf is done after 41:26.
Candace – Although Candace designed the unit, it was Justin who built virtually every aspect of it, leaving Candace out of the construction. The only thing Candace got to do was unpack the speakers.
Ruth – Ruth mounted her brackets for her shelving unit backwards (with the bracket on top rather than underneath) and decides to brace the back of her cabinet (meaning that the cabinet was no longer flush with the wall. Furthermore, her hinge installation was on in an awkward manner, with half the hinge on the inside and the other half on the outside, meaning that opening and shutting the door (which would not close all the way) would amount to an attempt at ripping the hinge apart.
The Rematch
In the original "countersink challenge" from Episode 2, Ruth had beaten Jeff in sinking a nail the fastest by the slightest of margins, the only thing Ruth succeeded at in that episode. During the previous challenge, as Ruth was waiting on Jeff to finish using the chop saw, Jeff challenges her to a rematch. In this rematch (with Andrew, the experts, the nominators, the crew and their fellow contestants all watching-- Justin even holding up a makeshift sign cheering Ruth on, with Candace, Jaime, Terry and Jill taking up the other front-row seats), the premise is the same, except that Jeff and Ruth will take turns hammering in their single nail to avoid the need for video replay. The rematch begins clearly in Ruth's favor as Jeff wastes turns lightly tapping his hammer (in preparing for a real forceful hit) while his forceful hits often bent the nail (forcing him to reset) or missed the nail completely. Ruth's slow-and-steady approach wins the match after 13 strokes.
The Television
The next creature comfort to be installed is a wall-mounted high-definition television. The contestants must determine where to mount the television, as well as mount and power the unit.
Terry – Terry quickly gets his mounting bracket up, but he installs the mount to his television sideways. As a result, the screw connecting the TV to the wall-mount is not tightened properly.
Jaime – Jaime had entirely tuned out to Sheilla's input in this and the previous challenge, which eventually caused Sheilla to break down. Although Jaime and Andrew both try to help her, Sheilla leaves the workspace in disgust. Despite this, Jaime mounts his TV on an empty part of the wall next to his urinal, but has trouble tightening the screw connecting the TV to his mounting bracket.
Jeff – No footage is shown of Jeff's installation, although his end result was similar to that of Jaime, Candace and Terry.
Candace – Candace proceeds slowly through this challenge, and eventually gets the TV mounted (with Justin's help in mounting the TV, but not in assembling the mount itself) above her speaker box (which is itself on the same wall as her toilet). However, the screw connecting the TV to the wall-mount is not tightened properly.
Ruth – Ruth's main trouble (as was the case for nearly everyone) was having trouble in finding a stud. In drilling holes in the drywall (in the wall opposite where her toilet used to be), she drills two oversized holes using a screwdriver bit, then tries to drill a hole for a wall plug with a drill bit too small for the plug to fit. Attempting to ream a larger hole using the same bit on her fourth try also fails. In the end, although she has her wall-mount in place, her TV is not mounted at all.
The Cork Floor
With the floors clean and Terry's and Jaime's false starts removed, the contestants can now apply their cork tiles (costing $5 apiece) onto their floors with contact cement in earnest.
Terry – After making the decision to rip up 40 tiles placed by Angie in the first challenge, Terry proceeds to make the same mistake as Angie by placing the tiles before the contact cement is dry (and this is only revealed to him by Sheilla). Although the later tiles are good (by virtue of having dried while the earlier tiles were applied), the earlier tiles cost Terry a passing grade.
Jaime – It had appeared that the rift between Jaime and Sheilla had healed somewhat: although Sheilla points out that Jaime miscalculated on the number of tiles he needs and Jaime notes the fact that in a larger space they should be working from the center of the space to the edges, Jaime and Sheilla complete the challenge in relative silence. However, this different approach pays off, as the work done (in 1:39) is correct. Sheilla notes, though, that the fun had been taken out of the equation.
Jeff – Jeff begins tiling from the middle of the floor and working towards the sides of the shed (which is correct for a larger space, but not for smaller spaces such as the shed, where the tiles should be laid starting at the door and proceeding inwards). His end results create minor imperfections in his tiles, which he is not satisfied with. He finishes in 1:56, but admits to failing the challenge based on the imperfections.
Candace – Candace and Justin begin by making a chalk line grid pattern all over their floor, in the hope that the tiles will fit the grid pattern. It is a bad idea, as their tiles begin to diverge from the grid, creating visible gaps.
Ruth – Little footage of consequence happens in Ruth's shed, except that her tiles were not mounted in a straight line, curving outwards slightly. She also hammers her edge tiles in place (rather than using a rolling pin) as a result of the mismeasurement.
Trimwork
The contestants must install a nailing edge around their windows and doors in order to install trim and baseboards. Again, all contestants have access to a chop saw, although Jeff and Terry are the only ones seen using it (with everyone else cutting using their mitre box and their crosscut saw-- none of the contestants have a proper miter saw).
Terry – Terry makes a slight mistake in measuring his door trim, but is able to salvage the piece for the window. However, he makes the wrong cut, forcing him to install his trim on upside-down.
Jaime – Jaime tries to use multiple pieces of pine per side for his nailing edge (when it is recommended to have only one piece per side). When informed of this (and the fact that the trimwork will look cleaner if one piece is used) by Andrew, Jaime fixes the issue.
Jeff – No footage of Jeff's work is shown apart from Jeff using the services of a chop saw.
Candace – Again, Justin takes charge of this challenge, going so far as to distrust Candace's accurate measurements and remeasuring them on his own. However, he does leave one piece of trim for Candace to install herself, which (due to inexperience) results in disaster when it takes her eight nails to secure the trim in place.
Ruth – After taking a break after splitting the trim on numerous occasions (although much of the trimwork is done), Ruth decides to install her window (which had not been installed earlier due to its large hole). Fred graciously assists in helping Ruth install the window, which is finally in-- six days after the window challenge. Her trimwork is incomplete, but that is explainable as the window is not sealed by the end of the challenge.
Group Challenge: Finishing the Sheds
In the group challenge, Terry must lead the other nine persons into finishing as much of the incomplete work across all sheds as possible within 90 minutes. Although simple on paper, Terry identifies 47 unfinished tasks (including the reinstallation of features that were removed for the flooring) in total between the sheds (with 10 tasks in his, Jeff's and Jamie's sheds, 13 in Ruth's and only four in Candace's). The nine other persons, for their part, are offended when Terry takes this opportunity to get everyone working on his own shed (Candace, as a reaction to Terry making everyone work on his shed: "You lazy SOB!"), much to everyone's objections-- to the point where when Terry hands his orders out to Angie, Sheilla promptly takes it from her hands and rips it up in protest (Sheilla, on having everyone working on Terry's shed: "You know, this isn't fair. We should be doing everyone's shed but yours."). Terry eventually allows Jaime to work on his own shed and also assigns Fred and Justin to take care of the ceilings (Fred in Ruth's shed and Justin in Jaime's), although Terry is also rebuked when he wants Fred to install a urinal in Ruth's shed (Fred objects, of course, because Ruth would have no use for a urinal, saying simply, "Ladies don't like using urinals"). Terry is even forced from barking orders in Ruth's shed-- not because of his apparent lack of leadership ability, but because he was smoking in Ruth's self-declared no-smoking zone. Terry's lack of organization leads to his downfall: first, he tries to reassign people on the spot as a task is nearing completion, first by pulling Justin so that he could assist Fred (although both roofs would eventually be completed) and replacing him with Angie (in Terry' shed at the time), then by kicking Ruth out of her own shed (and into Terry's, where Jeff is also working) and forcing Michelle and Candace (both working in Ruth's shed, sealing the window) to meet Justin in Jaime's shed-- only for none of them to show up. In the end, only seven of the tasks that Terry identifies is complete: the ceilings on Terry's, Ruth's and Jaime's sheds, the sealing of Ruth's window, the installation of Ruth's electrical panel and the trimwork in Jaime's shed.
In the final evaluation, the focus on Jaime's imperfect trimwork was on the mind of the experts, when Andrew raised the issue of whether Jaime's interaction with Sheilla should even be considered to be the main critique. Although the experts validate Andrew, they also state that the perfectly finished floor vindicates him somewhat. The work on Terry's shed is criticized as being wasteful (having destroyed 40 cork tiles in his false start and not waiting until the contact cement was dry before adhering tiles causing more and also having six persons working on his shed in the group challenge with little to show for it), while the main criticisms in Jeff's shed is his visible gap between his cork tiles and his battery door not closing all the way (due to, as Greg puts it, hinge-bound hinges). Ruth's shed is critiqued for its overall incompleteness (including her hinge-bound hinges), while Candace's shed is critiqued over the fact that to this point, Justin had been doing much of the work, leaving the contestant to do virtually nothing except yell at her nominator when he is either doing too little or too much of the work.
Episode 7: Hanging by a Thread
Original Airdate: May 28, 2007
In this episode, the contestants install roofs on their sheds and Jaime and Sheilla are considered to be the co-foremen in the two-part group challenge. Being the penultimate episode, no one is named the most improved, but Jaime is named the worst for his disastrous leadership work (despite his shed being arguably the best overall) which rendered every roof to be done incorrectly. His remedial work is to identify the faults in the roofs that he had caused as the foreman. With Jaime being named the worst, this marks the first time that all of the contestants have been named the worst at one point or another.
Group Challenge: Sheeting
In the first of the two-part group challenge, Jaime and Sheilla, as co-foremen, must lead the other eight cast members in insulating, sheeting and shingling the roofs in all five sheds. The first part of the group challenge involves the former two. Because of the height of Ruth's shed (at 10'10"), all the contestants and nominators are trained in a course on fall safety prior to the challenge, as Ontario's regulations require this for working on the roof of any structure over in height. Despite the fact that Candace is barred from being on a roof due to her pregnancy, she, too, must also take the training. In addition, due to Jeff's flat roof, his shed requires thicker plywood, and enough plywood is provided to cover Jeff's exactly and 10% more than what is needed is provided for the other four sheds. Jaime and Sheilla quickly organize the eight others so that two two-man crews (Terry and Fred on one team, while Justin and Jeff are on the other) are on the roofs on two sheds (although Jaime had initially wanted three-man crews), while Ruth and Angie relay measurements for Candace and Michelle to cut. However, things go out of control when Sheilla insists on cutting down the plywood sheets instead of relying on full sheets, meaning that by the time the first two sheds (Jaime's-- done by Justin and Jeff-- and Terry's, done by Terry and Fred) are sheeted, there are no full sheets remaining. In fact, by the time the last shed (Candace's, done by Justin and Jeff) is left to be done, only cut pieces of all shapes and sizes remain. However, Jaime and Sheilla do get the roofs to be sheeted in two and a half hours.
Group Challenge: Shingling
The second of the two-part group challenge involves installing tar paper over the sheeting and then installing shingles on each roof (except for Jeff's, whose flat roof requires galvanized steel). Regardless of the outcome of this challenge, every roof will eventually be completed-- either through the contestants and their nominators in this challenge, or by the show's staff after the fact. Due to Justin being a metalworker by trade, Justin and Jeff get working on Jeff's shed, while Terry and Fred form one of the roofing teams while Angie and Sheilla form the other. In Justin's and Jeff's shed, the two make the mistake of installing the flashing first instead of last, creating a water dam. Jeff's progression in his skills is also showcased when he is shown cutting the metal with a circular saw under Justin's supervision-- a far cry from his inability to use a jigsaw well during the skills evaluation. However, Jeff had cut his metal too short, resulting in a roof that will leak. Meanwhile, things go badly due to Jaime's and Sheilla's different leadership styles: while Jaime tries to be an inspirational leader, Sheilla is more of a demanding workhorse, trying to get Michelle to help out on the roof. When Michelle refuses, Sheilla does not take it well at all. Terry and Fred, on Candace's roof, made the mistake of not shingling around the rubber gasket (in fact, the rubber gasket was stapled down to the sheeting with no tar paper underneath). Meanwhile, Angie and Sheilla would begin to work on Terry's roof, while Jaime tackles Ruth's shed with Michelle, leaving Ruth to do nothing. In the end, with only 15 minutes to go in the challenge and two sheds (Terry's and Candace's) fully done, Jaime and Sheilla decide to abort and cleanup.
Finishing Touches
After finishing the group challenge, the contestants have 90 minutes to finish any unfinished tasks (which largely amounted to painting the shed in their colors). They are assisted by Greg and Jill wherever necessary, so as to give everyone completed sheds. Much of the remaining work is painting the sheds and putting a sign on their sheds. Finally, to complete their shed interiors, the contestants' workbenches, complete with tools are moved into their sheds.
The Shed Door
As their final act, the contestants install the doors to their sheds. The doors were built as part of the shed frames at the start of the series, but had been removed-- even the screw holes remain after 26 challenges. The doors are brought back for four of the contestants to install. Ruth, who had, in the design of her shed, insisted that, to fit into the "eco-shed" theme, that wooden barn doors to be installed, is provided with wooden doors instead of the metal doors that were originally part of her shed.
Terry – Terry's door installation goes without a hitch, until he tries to close the shed door. It closes, but only from the inside (due to his strike plates not matching up), locking Terry inside his own shed.
Jaime – Jaime's door installation had minor issues (including a moment where Jaime was using a chisel with the blade towards himself). His door closes, but only with force.
Jeff – Footage was shown of Jeff's installation was limited to the use of a chisel to create recessions for the strike plates, although the door itself was later shown to be correct in the sense that it closes correctly (but was also incorrect in the sense that it was secured with only one or two screws per hinge).
Candace – Candace, in what is arguably the first challenge entirely without Justin taking over the job (stemming from the promise that Justin had made at the end of the previous episode to let Candace's mistakes lie instead of quickly correcting her when she is doing something wrong), struggled with using a chisel through the entire challenge and could not install her own shed door.
Ruth – Ruth's barn doors were originally installed upside-down and backwards, and this fact was only discovered when they discovered that the shed doors would only open inwards. This is quickly fixed by Ruth and Michelle; however, the end result left an inch-wide gap between the doors.
When the sheds are complete, Jaime completes the most of the challenges at 18, while Terry and Candace finish 13 challenges correctly. Jeff finishes three of the challenges correctly, while Ruth finishes the fewest with only two. However, despite Jaime completing two-thirds of the challenges, the criticisms fall hard on Jaime over the group challenge: Terry's roof is incorrect as his shingles (done by Angie and Sheilla) were not staggered) while Candace's roof (done by Terry and Fred) was not correctly shingled around her toilet's vent stack. In Ruth's shed (whose roof was done by the show staff), the main criticism was over her work in general, as she had done the fewest of the challenges (at one point, Andrew could tear down her trim with only one hand). Jeff's main criticisms largely resulted in the choice of the flat roof, which Jill compared to a deck-- its almost nonexistent slope, despite the steel roofing, meant that puddles could still easily form on the roof, compromising the shed's structure.
Episode 8: Raising the Roof
Original Airdate: June 4, 2007
In this episode, the five completed sheds are moved out of the Handyman Rehabilitation Centre, where they will be loaded onto a truck, awaiting delivery to their new owners. However, only Candace's shed will be able to move out in one piece, due to the height restriction of (despite the doorway itself being to allow some room for error)-- the four others must be cut down to size. Because of the effort of moving the sheds (despite the fact that they are on castors under the subfloor), the show's crew as well as the experts are all there to assist.
Terry's Shed
After seeing Jaime's initial failure, Terry is worried about his shed, which is taller than Jaime's. In addition, his measurements reveal that his shed is also too wide and too long. Terry suggests that a chainsaw be taken to Terry's shed so that it can come out in four pieces (after telling everyone of having quartered a moose with a chainsaw), for which Jill is happy to oblige. The shed is cut front to back with the chainsaw, and the front half is cut again, only to find the second cut unnecessary. The rear half of the shed is taken out, but the roof is also taken off (so indeed, Terry's "Bud Shed" is in four pieces). After his shed is removed, Terry resolves to reassemble his pieces with duct tape, something Merle from the previous season would have done in rehab.
Jaime's Shed
Because of Jaime's claim that his shed is the best (justified by the fact that he finished more challenges correctly than anyone else), his shed is the first shed to be moved out... until he discovers that his roof will not fit due to the height restriction (being too tall). Jaime goes back to the drawing board and tries to figure out a way to remove his shed in two pieces. After three sheds have been removed, Jaime comes up with the idea of using the overhead pulley inside the shop to lift the roof off the shed, and using it again to reassemble the shed once both pieces are outside. He first braces the underside of the roof at both ends of the shed (so that the roof will not collapse when it is lifted) and installs castors on the underside of the braces. Separating the top plate from the roof proves to be not too difficult and, after extensive harnessing, manages to successfully carry out his plan.
Jeff's Shed
After measuring his shed and the doorway after Jaime's initial failure, Jeff discovers that his shed is just over the height of the door, making for a tight fit. His first attempt at pushing the shed at high speed fails, he discovers that his shed is only a small amount over the height of the door (in his words, less than the thickness of a screw). To address this, he removes his steel roof and after three more attempts, finally makes it through the door. His shed is the first shed to be removed from the Handyman Rehabilitation Centre.
Candace's Shed
Because her shed is fully within the building guidelines put out by the show, her shed easily rolls out of the Handyman Rehabilitation Centre with the minor caveat of detaching her vent stack and reattaching it later. Her shed is the second to be moved out, after Jeff's.
Ruth's Shed
As the tallest shed, Ruth has her work cut out, as she is too tall. As part of the redesign, though, Ruth had asked for a three-foot increase in height, which was accommodated by the experts by adding a -high pony wall. Ruth, after tearing off the exterior sheeting, resolves to cut the shed where the main wall meets the pony wall and move the two pieces (each of which is easily under the height restriction) and reassemble it later. However, instead of adopting Jaime's approach (as Jaime had a similar problem and was successful at it), Ruth instead uses pipes as rollers to move the top half of the shed onto scaffolding, freeing the bottom half. However, she is stuck with what to do about getting the top half off the scaffolding. Resolving to weaken the scaffolding so that the top half easily drops onto the floor, the top of Ruth's shed collapses instead, crushing the pony wall and flattening her peaked roof. Ruth's shed is the last shed to make it out of the Handyman Rehabilitation Centre, but is now in three (incomplete) pieces (the bottom half of her shed and the two halves of what was her roof).
The Verdict
In the final evaluation by the experts, Jeff's shed is the first to be evaluated. Although the poor workmanship is clearly shown (Jeff claiming that he had finished the fewest challenges correctly-- which is not actually true as Ruth finished fewer), he is vindicated as his learning experience was well worth the trip (to support this, his troubles with the jigsaw in the Skills Evaluation and his use of a circular saw to cut metal for his roof are contrasted, as is his lack of knowledge of a drywall file during the tool test and his usage of one during drywalling). Despite Jaime's claims, the experts actually consider Candace's shed to be the best, as it has a solid overall quality of workmanship and was the only one of the five to fully meet all the requirements. While there were questions over exactly how much of the work was really done by Justin, Candace did learn that doing things is not as simple as it appears on television and she too is deemed not the worst by the experts (consideration was also given to her pregnancy, which made it impossible for her to safely carry out several of the challenges). Jaime's shed is also deemed not the worst, though the experts were still rather scornful that he had to resort to such lengths to get it out of the warehouse. The main critique they had for Jaime was lack of planning skills and his relationship with Sheilla, both of which were addressed over the course of the series (Sheilla, in fact, was entirely supportive of Jaime's plan in this episode, which was a shock, considering Sheilla usually criticized Jaime). In fact, when informally polled by the contestants and nominators on who may be Canada's Worst Handyman, Jaime's name had never come up, not even by Sheilla (again, a shock, considering it was because of Sheilla constantly criticizing Jaime when she should have been criticizing Kendra for not accompanying Jaime to rehab, since Candace was able to attend rehab while pregnant; Candace and Jeff having named themselves-- Jeff from his self-admitted skill level and Candace due to Justin having done most of the work-- and Ruth and Terry having named each other). In a sense, these three had addressed the main issues that had led them to their nominations. This left the two contestants with their sheds in pieces: Terry and Ruth. Although Greg and Jill vehemently differed on who is worse (Greg claiming that Ruth is the worst because she was slow, prone to giving up and had the least amount of work done, while Jill puts Terry as the worst due to his lack of commitment to the instructions, including having his shed exceed the show's limits in all three dimensions and also due to the quality of his work having dropped considerably after Harvey left), eventually they agree: over the course of the series, one took pride in their work but failed to deliver, while the other did not. The final factor was clearly visible: while Ruth was visibly disappointed in the fact that her shed had to be cut up, Terry revelled and fully enjoyed what amounted to tearing his shed down. Because of this, despite the fact that he finished more challenges than Ruth and was the only contestant to be named most improved twice, Terry is named Canada's Worst Handyman.
Can-Cam Confessions
In the bonus segment, the Can-Cam has everyone give their insights on the final day at the Handyman Rehabilitation Centre, as well as each contestant or nominator's picks to be Canada's Worst Handyman.
Michelle insisted that Ruth's plan was unsound and that she fully deserved the title, not Terry. Justin also picks Ruth to be Canada's Worst Handyman, while Jeff contends that it is a two-way battle between his admittedly poor skills versus Terry's end results that would determine who was Canada's Worst Handyman.
Jaime contends that Terry quartering his shed may have been his undoing (believing that he should have had a more sound plan to take his shed apart). Terry admitting privately that his shed is unsalvageable after having quartered it.
Terry and Ruth each putting down the other's shed, while complimenting their own.
Candace and Jeff, during the lunch break (as Ruth's shed lie separated and Jaime's yet to be removed), believing that the experts may swerve and name either one of them as Canada's Worst Handyman, despite Andrew's reassurances to the contrary (as Canada's Worst Handyman would be decided on the "final look" of the shed and both had gotten their sheds out in one piece) and Justin's convictions.
Jeff, on his laptop, calls Harvey back home to tell him that Terry was named Canada's Worst Handyman. Harvey's surprised at the fact that Jeff didn't win and his reaction to Terry having quartered his shed was particularly notable: "You dummy, what did you do?!"
Sheilla defends her attitude towards Jaime throughout the series and admits that both parties had learned from this ordeal.
Angie's reactions to being "Mrs. Canada's Worst Handyman" is explored briefly.
Michelle laments her inability to assist in the later part of the day due to a gallbladder attack.
Candace remarks on her pregnancy, hoping that she would not give multiple birth.
Jaime, Jeff and Terry reflect on what they had learned: Jeff in the importance of instructions, Jaime in his relationship with Sheilla (though he admits that he'd be better off not working with her) and Terry in "doing it the right way and not a shortcut way." Terry also claims that he would tear his man-shed back home down and build it over again.
Michelle claims that Ruth did not learn from the two-week stay at the Handyman Rehabilitation Centre... except being a further danger to herself from doing electrical. She concludes by saying that she would never look at a shed in the same way again.
Episode 9: Special Delivery
Original Airdate: June 11, 2007
In the recap episode, the six sheds (the five belonging to the contestants, plus one built by the experts) are delivered to the persons who had bought them sight unseen on eBay. As Canada's Worst Handyman, Terry will be present to personally present his shed to the ones who had purchased his. The six eco-sheds, one each from the contestants and one built by the experts, combined raised over $10,000 for Habitat for Humanity Canada. As it is an hour-long drive from the Handyman Rehabilitation Centre to the shed's new owners, the Lange family in Caledon, Ontario, Terry and Andrew reminisce on their time at the Handyman Rehabilitation Centre on the way there. Terry and Andrew first reminisce about Jeff, the computer expert Terry was convinced he could beat. Jeff finally learned the importance of instructions through his adventures and was ultimately considered rehabilitated. In the end, his shed arrives to the Boettcher family, who had bought the shed as a Father's Day gift. Terry and Andrew then reminisce about Ruth, the retired teacher/psychologist Terry was convinced was the worst. The birdhouse column (built during the Skills Evaluation) collapsing during the window challenge may have been an ominous sign of things to come, as her oversized shed may have been a cause of why she had only completed one challenge unassisted and why she was named the worst on the second episode and was on the experts' shortlist in nearly every subsequent one. Because of this, Ruth was declared to have not been rehabilitated. Ruth's shed arrives in Newcastle, Ontario to the Noble family, who had paid $1,725 for her three-piece remains. Terry and Andrew then reminisce about Jaime, the web designer whose constant battling with Sheilla was a source of contention for Jaime and nearly everyone else as well. Still, the spat during the TV installing challenge that caused Sheilla to finally go over the edge, but it gave them the opportunity to improve their relationship, cooperating to salvage their oversized shed using a plan that not even the experts and crew believed would succeed, thus rehabilitating him. Jaime's shed arrives in Caledon to the Eturi family, who were glad that the shed was of a passable quality... and even more so that Sheilla didn't come with it. Terry and Andrew finally reminisce about Candace, the nurse's assistant whose self-proclaimed prowess was contrasted with Justin's actual expertise and it was Justin who helped Candace go through entire challenges correctly, almost to the point of excluding Candace entirely. Candace's sometimes wild mood swings were often something that would lead Justin to take charge and complete challenges by himself and it was only halfway through rehab (namely the Grouting Challenge) that the show crew (and the other contestants, for that matter) learned that this was because Candace was three months pregnant with their second child (Candace has since given birth to a boy). Terry admits that Candace having Justin may have given her an advantage in the rehab process, as he helped her bail her out of her troubles. However, after becoming the worst in the second-to-last episode (leading Justin to give a more hands-off approach due to it being a factor), Candace finally learns that construction is not as easy in real-life as it is on TV, thus rehabilitating her. Candace's shed arrives at the home of common-law partners Debra Hale and Dale Roach, who paid $1,825 for the shed, and are completely satisfied with what they had paid for, being well worth their investment. As for the Lange family, who paid $1,676 for Canada's Worst Shed, Canada's Worst Handyman arrives at their home. The Lange family had hoped to put the shed near their pool to rival their neighbour's gazebo, but clearly, that was not going to happen. Terry's shed arrives in two packages: one driven by Terry and Andrew and the second by Harvey (arriving with Angie), who had last seen the shed when it was still in one piece. As the pieces are being unloaded, Harvey delivers a final poem, A Shed in Torment, to close off the series. The episode ends with Terry stating that he wants to build a gazebo. Throughout the episode, Andrew also explains the various costs of these eco-sheds: these sheds cost over $2,809.40 for the structure alone, due to the various expensive materials involved (compared to roughly $1,318 using conventional materials) and how their eco-friendly materials compare to their regular counterparts. Among the highlights of this cost comparison:
Eco-friendly lumber approved by the Forest Stewardship Council of Canada for the frame (largely recycled lumber) cost $417 compared to $200 for regular lumber. FSC-approved plywood (differing only from regular plywood through the use of sustainable tree-harvesting practices) cost $1,040 compared to $480 for regular plywood.
The cotton insulation used in the eco-sheds cost $730 per shed, compared to $176 for fibreglass insulation.
The eco-drywall, made from 96% recycled materials, costs the same as regular drywall-- $132 per shed. Furthermore, it can also double as fertilizer and does not release hydrogen sulfide as it breaks down.
The eco-friendly paint, free of all volatile organic compounds such as formaldehyde, cost three times as much as regular paint.
External links
Canada's Worst Handyman 2 press release
Media in Canada article on Canada's Worst Handyman 2
Canada's Worst Handyman official site
Season 02
2007 Canadian television seasons | en |
doc-en-9324 | Brockville, formerly Elizabethtown, is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, it is politically independent of the county. It is included with Leeds and Grenville for census purposes only.
Known as the "City of the 1000 Islands", Brockville is located on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River, about halfway between Kingston to the west and Cornwall to the east. It is south of the national capital Ottawa. Brockville faces the village of Morristown, New York, on the south side of the river.
Brockville is situated on land that was inhabited by the St. Lawrence Iroquoians and later by the Oswegatchie people. Brockville is one of Ontario's oldest communities established by Loyalist settlers and is named after the British general Sir Isaac Brock.
Tourist attractions in Brockville include the Brockville Tunnel, Fulford Place, and the Aquatarium.
History
Human inhabitation of the upper St. Lawrence River dates at least to the late Middle Woodland period by the Point Peninsula people. Iron oxide pictographs on rock faces have been documented on the Fulford property in Brockville and at Hillcrest west of Brockville. From around 1450 until sometime in the 1500s, the St. Lawrence Iroquoians established a cluster of palisaded agricultural villages in the vicinity of Brockville and Prescott, the Roebuck site being the best known. By 1751, the Oswegatchie people had occupied the north shore of the St. Lawrence between Toniato Creek (now known as Jones Creek, in Thousand Islands National Park) and the Long Sault. After negotiations with the British, they withdrew from the frontage on the north shore of the St. Lawrence in 1784, resettling at what is now Lisbon, New York.
This area of Ontario was first settled by English speakers in 1784, when thousands of American refugees arrived from the American colonies after the American Revolutionary War. They were later called United Empire Loyalists because of their continued allegiance to King George III. The struggle between Britain and the 13 American colonies occurred in the years 1776 to 1783, and seriously divided loyalties among people in some colonies such as New York and Vermont. In many areas traders and merchants, especially in the coastal cities or the northern border regions, had stronger business ties and allegiance to the Crown than did the frontiersmen of the interior. During the six-year war, which ended with the capitulation of the British in 1782, many colonists who remained loyal to the crown were frequently subject to harsh reprisals and unfair dispossession of their property by their countrymen. Many Loyalists chose to flee north to the British colony of Quebec. Great Britain opened the western region of Canada (first known as Upper Canada and now Ontario), purchasing land from First Nations to allocate to the mostly English-speaking Loyalists in compensation for their losses, and helping them with some supplies as they founded new settlements. The first years were very harsh as they struggled on the frontier. Some exiles returned to the United States.
The Saint Lawrence River was named by French explorers in the 18th century to honour the martyred Roman Christian, Saint Lawrence. In 1785, the first Loyalist to take up land, where Brockville is now located, was William Buell Sr. (1751–1832), an ensign disbanded from the King's Rangers, from the state of New York. Residents commonly called the first settlement Buell's Bay. Around 1810, government officials of Upper Canada assigned the name Elizabethtown for the developing village. However, as this was the name of the surrounding township, the villagers were not satisfied.
During the Summer of 1812, the Hon. Charles Jones, and other leading residents of the village, then known by the misleading name, Elizabethtown, started to refer to the village as Brockville in their correspondence. The commanding British General in Upper Canada and temporary administrator of the province was Major-General Isaac Brock. He was celebrated as the "Hero and Saviour" of Upper Canada because of his recent success in securing the surrender by Americans of Fort Detroit during the first months of the War of 1812–14.
After the surrender of Fort Detroit, General Brock was next involved in other battles on the Niagara Peninsula. On October 13, 1812, he was fatally wounded while leading troops up the heights near the village of Queenston, then temporarily held by American militia.
A raid on Elizabethtown occurred on the early morning of February 7, 1813, when Benjamin Forsyth and 200 of his American forces crossed the frozen Saint Lawrence River, occupied the settlement, seized military and public stores, freed American prisoners, and captured local militia soldiers and leading citizens.
General Brock had learned of the honour being offered by the residents of Elizabethtown but had no chance to give it his official blessing before his death. It took quite a few years for Provincial officials to officially accept the new name, though most residents used it.
By 1830, the population of Brockville exceeded 1000. This entitled it to be represented by its own elected member in the House of Assembly. Henry Jones, the village postmaster, was elected in October 1830 to the 11th Parliament of the Province.
Brockville became Ontario's first incorporated self-governing town on January 28, 1832, two years before the town of Toronto. By means of the Brockville Police Act passed by the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada, Brockville was granted the right to govern its own affairs, pass laws, and raise taxes. The first elections for the new Board of Police were held on April 2, 1832, when four male citizens were elected to the Police Board. These four, in turn, chose a fifth member, Daniel Jones, who became the first Police Board President (or Mayor) of Brockville. In March 1836, he became the first native Upper Canadian to receive a knighthood for services to the Crown.
By 1846, the population was 2,111, and there were many buildings made of stone and brick. There was a County Court House and Jail, six churches or chapels, and a steamboat pier for travel to and from Montreal and Kingston. Two newspapers were published, there were two bank agencies and the post office received mail daily. Several court and government departments had offices here. The first industries consisted of one grist mill, four tanneries, two asheries and four wagon makers, in addition to tradesmen of various types.
Later in the 19th century, the town developed as a local centre of industry, including shipbuilding, saddleries, tanneries, tinsmiths, a foundry, a brewery, and several hotels. By 1854, a patent medicine industry had sprung up in Brockville and in Morristown, New York, across the Saint Lawrence River, featuring such products as Dr Morse's Indian Root Pills, Dr. McKenzie's Worm Tablets, and later, Dr. Williams' Pink Pills for Pale People.
In 1855, Brockville was chosen as a divisional point of the new Grand Trunk Railway between Montreal and Toronto. This contributed to its growth, as it could offer jobs in railway maintenance and related fields. At the same time, the north–south line of the Brockville and Ottawa Railway was built to join the timber trade of the Ottawa Valley with the Saint Lawrence River ship route. A well-engineered tunnel for this railway was dug and blasted underneath the middle of Brockville. Completed in December 1860, the Brockville Tunnel was the first railway tunnel built in Canada.
Brockville and many other towns in Canada West were targets of the threatened Fenian invasion after the American Civil War ended in 1865. In June 1866, the Irish-American Brotherhood of Fenians invaded Canada. They launched raids across the Niagara River into Canada West (Ontario) and from Vermont into Canada East (Quebec). Canadian Prime Minister John A. Macdonald called upon the volunteer militia companies in every town to protect Canada. The Brockville Infantry Company and the Brockville Rifle Company (now The Brockville Rifles) were mobilized. The unsuccessful Fenian Raids were a catalyst that contributed to the creation of the new confederated Canada in 1867.
By 1869, Brockville had a population of 5000 and a passenger station on the Grand Trunk Railway. It was the County Town of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville and a Port of Entry. Steamboats stopped in Brockville daily while plying among Montreal, Kingston, Toronto and Hamilton. The Brockville and Ottawa Railway connected Brockville with Smith's Falls, Perth, Almonte, Carleton Place and Sandy Point. During the summer, a steam ferry plied every half-hour between Brockville and Morristown, New York.
In 1962, Brockville was granted official status as a city. Its coat of arms featured a beehive surrounded by a golden chain and bears the motto Industria, Intelligentia, Prosperitas. This is an official heraldic design. Brockville is one of the few Canadian cities to have a recognized heraldic flag.
Climate
Brockville experiences a Humid continental climate (Dfb). The highest temperature ever recorded in Brockville was on July 31, 1917 and June 4, 1919. The coldest temperature ever recorded was on February 4, 1886 and January 28, 1925.
Transportation and communications
Brockville is midway between Toronto and Montreal ( northeast of Toronto and southwest of Montreal) and less than one hour from Ottawa. Highway 401 runs through Brockville, with exits at Leeds & Grenville County Road 29 and North Augusta Road. There are several daily Via Rail connections at Brockville station to Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa along the Corridor.
The town has a municipal airport (Brockville Regional Tackaberry Airport) in the neighbouring Elizabethtown-Kitley Township. The Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport is approximately 100 km away.
The Thousand Islands Bridge and the Ogdensburg–Prescott International Bridge, both of which cross the Saint Lawrence River into New York, are south-west and north-east from Brockville, respectively.
Brockville Transit is the city-operated public transit system which covers the urban area, providing three regular scheduled bus routes and paratransit services, from Monday to Saturday.
Economy
Brockville is home to several large industrial manufacturers. 3M operates three factories in Brockville, manufacturing tape and occupational health and safety products. Procter & Gamble manufactures dryer sheets and cleaning products from the brands their brands Bounce and Swiffer respectively, employing 600 people, however, operations began to slow down in 2017 until the closure of the plant in 2020 and all operations of the plant being moved to locations in West Virginia. In January of 2022, the Canadian food company Leclerc, a brand known for making dessert products announced it would be moving into the vacant P&G plant. Other industries include ceiling fan manufacturer Canarm, pharmaceutical manufacturer Trillium Canada, and the oil-blending plant of Shell Canada. Canadian retailer Giant Tiger has also opened a distribution centre for frozen food in Brockville. Some area residents are employed at the Invista Canada facility (formerly DuPont Canada Ltd.) in Maitland, just east of Brockville.
Brockville is also the main administrative, health-care and commercial centre for Leeds—Grenville county. The Upper Canada District School Board, has its headquarters in Brockville. The Brockville General Hospital is embarking on a major expansion project. The Brockville Mental Health Centre is located east of Brockville.
Demographics
Tourism
Brockville, known as The City of the Thousand Islands, is located on the shore of the Saint Lawrence River. The city has revitalized its downtown area, enhancing a waterfront open to the public with parks and walking trails, and numerous shopping locations are found throughout the city. The city is an outdoor museum of architecture, with hundreds of fine buildings on its streets, from all historical periods.
The Aquatarium at Tall Ships Landing, operates the Tourism Office or Visitor Information Centre at 6 Broad Street, 12 months a year, along with a small outlet on Blockhouse Island during the Summer season. both are close to the south end of the Brockville Tunnel, Canada's first railway tunnel. Closed in 1970, it was acquired by the City of Brockville in 1982, and the tunnel reopened in August 2017 as an LED illuminated pedestrian tunnel with music.
The Aquatarium, is an interactive discovery centre about the ecology and history of the 1000 Islands region, opened in March 2016. It is located at the bottom of Broad Street next to the Tall Ships Landing, a condominium project. Both overlook the Saint Lawrence River.
The classically designed Brockville Court House, built in 1842–43, and set in its surrounding central Court House Square, stands as the most impressive of all Brockville's 19th Century architectural structures. It was designed by Toronto architect, John G. Howard. Howard is known to have designed 3 buildings in Brockville.
The Fulford Place house museum was built in 1899-1901 for Senator George Taylor Fulford at 287 King Street East in Brockville's east end. His palatial home was built on his success in marketing patent medicines, including Dr. Williams' Pink Pills for Pale People around the world. He was one of the area's richest industrialists before his untimely death in 1905. The house owned and operated by the Ontario Heritage Trust is open for public tours on a seasonal schedule.
The Brockville Museum, situated in the historic downtown core, at 5 Henry Street, features exhibits and artifacts related to Brockville's rich history and the city's development as a waterfront community.
The John H. Fulford Memorial Fountain was erected in 1917.
1000 Islands Cruises out of Brockville are offered by 1000 Islands and Seaway Cruises offering scenic cruises on the Saint Lawrence River.
The Brockville area is the launching point for underwater wreck diving on sunken ships discovered in the Saint Lawrence, and a number of dive operators take divers to these sites. In 2014, the City of Brockville started a collaboration with S.O.S. (Save Ontario Shipwrecks) to launch an underwater Sculpture Park off of Centeen Park. New sculptures are added annually. (Since the early 1990s underwater visibility had increased, due to effects of the invasive species zebra mussels.)
Brockville was named one of Canada's safest communities by the World Health Organization.
Brockville boating
Brockville's boating resources include a Municipal Harbour and public marina, a Yacht Club and several commercial marinas. Upstream is the Brockville-owned Islands group, which contain some city island parks, as well as an island park belonging to the Thousand Islands National Park system.
Brockville is at the downstream end of the Thousand Islands region, which extends to Kingston, Ontario (at the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River at Lake Ontario), away.
The next closest commercial boating facilities are each about a half-day boat-trip away (at displacement speeds), downstream at Prescott, Ontario and upstream at Rockport, Ontario.
Culture
The city has several music, art and dance organizations, such as the Brockville Artists Studio Association, the Brockville Community Choir, the Brockville Concert Association, the Brockville Musicians' Association, the Brockville Operatic Society, the Brockville Theatre Guild, the Uppity Improv Society the City of Brockville Pipes & Drums, and the Thousand Islanders Chorus.
The Brockville Concert Band arises from a long tradition of community and military bands in Brockville. Civic bands provided entertainment at public venues such as community picnics and outdoor skating rinks. The Brockville Rifles Reserve Band entertained "on the green" in the 1930s and 40s.
Military band members returning from the Second World War formed the Brockville Civic Band. Re-organized as the Brockville Concert Band in 1974, it inherited a musical tradition (and sheet music) from civic and military bands dating back to the turn of the 20th century. The Brockville Concert Band used to play a series of summer concerts every second Tuesday in Hardy Park in Brockville within view of the Saint Lawrence River. The band also plays for various civic functions and entertains at charitable fundraising events. Since 1995, the band's musical director and conductor has been trumpeter and retired music teacher Lance Besharah.
St. Lawrence College in Brockville is home to the Music Theatre - Performance Program which trains students to enter the professional world of musical theatre. SLC Stage produces three professional-quality musicals each season at the Brockville Arts Centre. The Brockville Arts Centre is a 700-seat theatre venue with a full season of entertainment offerings.
Several festivals occur each year.
Local media
Print
The city's main daily newspaper is The Recorder & Times.
A free monthly magazine called Snapd 1000 Islands is also available around the city.
Radio stations licensed to operate in Brockville
Television
YourTV Brockville (Cogeco)
CKWS-TV Kingston
Sports
Basketball
The Brockville youth basketball teams, the Brockville Blues and the Brockville Blazers, provide basketball coaching and training for boys and girls across the area. The Blues and Blazers have repeatedly placed in the Ontario Basketball Association (OBA) championships. A female basketball player, Stacey Dales (a graduate of Thousand Islands Secondary School), has gone on to play for the University of Oklahoma Sooners, coming in a close second for the NCAA title in her graduating year. She also has the highest Canadian woman's draft pick for the WNBA, where she has played for the Washington Mystics and Chicago Sky. She has worked for ESPN and the NFL Network.
Rowing
Several local clubs, organizations and high schools have achieved success on provincial, national, and international levels, such as the Brockville Rowing Club, one of the oldest and most successful rowing clubs in Canada. The Rowing Club has captured the Royal Canadian Henley Championships several times. The club has also sent crews to London, England where they have won several Henley Women's Regatta titles. This success often comes by competition against clubs from much larger Canadian centers such as Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. Close to 50 Brockville Area Youth are offered an opportunity to participate in a national level rowing program annually. The club has also sent athletes to cities across Europe and Asia to compete at international regattas as part of the Canadian National Team.
Track and field
Thousand Islands Secondary School is home to a strong high school track & field and cross-country running program. The Pirates have captured numerous Canadian championships and have won 5 straight overall provincial (OFSAA) Ontario championships in track & field and cross country running in an association of over 1000 schools since 2004. With over 15 former students on NCAA athletic track & field scholarships in the United States, TISS has been awarded over $1,000,000 in student athletic scholarships. The TISS team travels all over North America including Ohio, Florida, New Hampshire, and British Columbia, consistently winning major international championships. The accomplishments of the school have inspired the community to construct a $1.5 million athletic centre at the school.
Hockey
The Brockville Braves are a Tier I Junior "A" ice hockey team representing Brockville. They are a part of the Central Junior A Hockey League.
Founded in 1963, the Brockville Braves are the second oldest team that has never ceased operation in CJHL history—second only to Pembroke. In the 1979, the teams was the focus of national attention when they were left homeless due to their arena collapsing. This did not stop the Braves though, playing their home games out of Cardinal and Rockland, Ontario, the Braves did not miss a beat.
It took until 1986 for the Brockville Braves to win a CJHL championship. They clinched the Bogart Cup on a late April night, defeating their nemesis Pembroke Lumber Kings 8–7 in the finals. Braves' goalie Jacques Breault was the hero, as with 22 seconds to go in the game, turned away a penalty shot by the league's all-time leading scorers Luc Chabot. Although losing to Orillia, Ontario in the Ontario playdowns, the team was a memorable one. Notable members of this team were all-time Braves leading scorer Larry Mitchell, Breault, Paul Duford, Tim Dubas, Dan Nummikoski, Steve Rachwal, Chad Badawey and Rob White.
Since that championship, the team has experienced more bad times than good. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Braves failed to make the playoffs multiple times.
In 1997, times began to change for the better again. The Braves were given the duty of hosting the Fred Page Cup, the Eastern Canadian Junior "A" championship. This allowed their team to compete in the event and give them the experience they needed for the next season. The Braves regained their league title in 1998, bringing the club around full circle. The team will host the 2010 Fred Page Cup.
Star graduates Bryan Murray (Barry's Bay, Ontario) Mike Daoust (Brockville, Ontario) and Guy Come (Iroquois Falls, Ontario) of the Brockville Braves won the 2001 NCAA National Championship with the Plattsburgh Cardinals vs the RIT Tigers.
In November 2017, at Rotary Park, they dug the grounds and built their new skating rink with bathroom and change rooms.
On January 9, 2020, they named the building after P&G so the name of this skating rink is P&G Pavillion, as P&G Brockville is their biggest sponsor.
Baseball
Brockville Bunnies Youth Baseball Program is also an elite level program that operates out of this small city, with provincial championships and several pro and Olympic graduates. Brockville was home to a minor league baseball team that competed in the Canadian–American League in 1936 and 1937, known as the Brockville Pirates for one season and then as the Brockville Blues.
Golf
There are several golf courses in the Brockville area for a variety of skill levels. Sunnidel Golf is a par three course designed for an easy-going round. The Brockville Highlands is a full-length 18 hole course. The course has a small membership and is open to patrons willing to pay green fees. The Brockville Country Club poses greater difficulty to the average golfer. The membership comprises an older demographic and is semi-private. The course is open to green fees however certain playing restrictions are imposed.
Automobile racing
The Brockville Ontario Speedway (The BOS) is a clay oval track just north of the city on Highway 29 in Forthton. The track races every Saturday night from May to September. Classes that race every week include Rookies, Street Stock, Sportsman, Modified, and Vintage.
Rugby
The Brockville Privateers R.F.C. was formed in 1993, reestablishing a local rugby club in the area. Rugby has been played in Brockville area as far back as 1899. The original Brockville Rugby Football Club eventually became part of Brockville Collegiate Institute (BCI). Brockville Rugby now includes multiple men's and women's teams along with a strong junior age grade program.
Swimming
The Upper Canada Swim Club (The River Otters) runs competitive teams for children and young adults.
The YMCA Brockville runs competitive teams for children and young adults
Education
Brockville has a community college, four high schools, and several elementary schools.
Community colleges
St. Lawrence College (Brockville Campus) has an enrolment of around 800. St. Lawrence College was recently ranked number one in Ontario for graduate employment rate.
High schools
Académie catholique Ange-Gabriel is a French Catholic school (Grades JK-12) and has an enrolment of approximately 282 students.
Brockville Collegiate Institute has an enrolment of approximately 560 and has strong academic, theatre, and sports programs. St. Mary Catholic High School is the English Catholic school and has around 600 students.
The Fulford Academy is a private boarding school for international students grades 7-10.
Thousand Islands Secondary School has an enrolment of approximately 1000 and is both a university and college preparatory school with strong technology facilities. It is also known for its athletics programs including: track and field, women's basketball, men's soccer, and cross country running.
Elementary schools
Public elementary schools in the city include Commonwealth Public School, Westminster Public School, Toniata Public School, and Vanier Public School.
The Catholic English elementary schools are St. Francis Xavier, St. John Bosco and James L. Jordan.
Académie Catholique Ange-Gabriel is a French-language Catholic school serving JK - Grade 12.
Heritage Community Christian School, 20 minutes from downtown Brockville, is a privately funded Christian school offering pre-school through grade 8 in a Christian environment.
Notable people
Brad Abraham - screenwriter of Stonehenge Apocalypse and Robocop: Prime Directives; graduate of Brockville Collegiate Institute
George Chaffey - civil engineer and urban planner; founder of Ontario, California, a sister city of Brockville
William Chaffey - civil engineer and urban planner; brother of George Chaffey
Brian Chapman - AHL All-Star
William Everett Chipman - Wisconsin State Senator
Burke Dales - CFL punter; player with Calgary Stampeders
Stacey Dales - WNBA AllStar and ESPN broadcaster
Joan Erikson - author, educator, craftsperson, and dance ethnographer; wife of Erik Erikson
Todd Gill - NHL player and owner of the CJHL Brockville Braves
Ben Hutton - ice hockey player for the Los Angeles Kings
Walter William LaChance - architect and author in the early 20th century
Randy Ladouceur - NHL player and coach
Hank Lammens - professional hockey player
Cyril Leeder - Ottawa Senators hockey team president
Robert Henry Lindsay - painter
John Matheson - Member of Parliament and judge; moved to Brockville as an adult
Alyn McCauley - player with Toronto Maple Leafs
James Motluk - documentary filmmaker who graduated from Thousand Islands Secondary School in 1981
Portia Perez - women's professional wrestler
Rachel Perry - former MuchMusic VJ and host on VH1
Nathan Phillips - Mayor of Toronto
Shon Seung-wan - singer from South Korean girl group Red Velvet
Randy Sexton - general manager of the Ottawa Senators and St. Lawrence University alumnus
Frances Ford Seymour - mother of Jane Fonda and Peter Fonda, wife of Henry Fonda
Kelly Thornton - theatre director
Sister city
Ontario, California, United States
Notes
References
Robert B. Shaw. History of the Comstock Patent Medicine Business
Holbrook, Stewart (1959). Golden Age of Quackery. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1959.
Leavitt, Thad. W. H., (1879). History of Leeds and Grenville, Ontario, from 1749 to 1879. Recorder Press, 1879. Online at Canada's Local Histories Web Site, "Our Roots/Nos Racines".
Douglas M. Grant, (1979). Discovering Old Brockville, the Historic Core. The Brockville Foundation, 1979. (Out of print).
External links
Cities in Ontario
Ontario populated places on the Saint Lawrence River
Single-tier municipalities in Ontario | en |
doc-en-13956 | This is a list of the mammal species recorded in Colombia. Of the mammals in Colombia, four are critically endangered, eight are endangered, twenty-seven are vulnerable, and six are near threatened. One of the species listed for Colombia is considered to be extinct.
The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature:
Some species were assessed using an earlier set of criteria. Species assessed using this system have the following instead of near threatened and least concern categories:
Subclass: Theria
Infraclass: Metatheria
Order: Didelphimorphia (common opossums)
Didelphimorphia is the order of common opossums of the Western Hemisphere. Opossums probably diverged from the basic South American marsupials in the late Cretaceous or early Paleocene. They are small to medium-sized marsupials, about the size of a large house cat, with a long snout and prehensile tail.
Family: Didelphidae (American opossums)
Subfamily: Caluromyinae
Genus: Caluromys
Derby's woolly opossum, Caluromys derbianus VU
Brown-eared woolly opossum, Caluromys lanatus LR/nt
Subfamily: Didelphinae
Genus: Chironectes
Water opossum, Chironectes minimus LR/nt
Genus: Didelphis
White-eared opossum, Didelphis albiventris LR/lc
Common opossum, Didelphis marsupialis LR/lc
Genus: Gracilinanus
Wood sprite gracile opossum, Gracilinanus dryas VU
Long-tailed gracile mouse opossum, Gracilinanus longicaudus DD
Northern gracile opossum, Gracilinanus marica LR/nt
Columbian gracile mouse opossum, Gracilinanus perijae DD
Genus: Lutreolina
Big lutrine opossum, Lutreolina crassicaudata LR/lc
Genus: Marmosa
Alston's mouse opossum, Marmosa alstoni LR/nt
White-bellied woolly mouse opossum, Marmosa constantiae LR/nt
Woolly mouse opossum, Marmosa demerarae LR/lc
Rufous mouse opossum, Marmosa lepida LR/nt
Linnaeus's mouse opossum, Marmosa murina LR/lc
Bare-tailed woolly mouse opossum, Marmosa regina LR/lc
Robinson's mouse opossum, Marmosa robinsoni LR/lc
Guajira mouse opossum, Marmosa xerophila EN
Genus: Marmosops
Dusky slender opossum, Marmosops fuscatus LR/nt
Handley's slender opossum, Marmosops handleyi CR
Tschudi's slender opossum, Marmosops impavidus LR/nt
Delicate slender opossum, Marmosops parvidens LR/nt
Genus: Metachirus
Brown four-eyed opossum, Metachirus nudicaudatus LR/lc
Genus: Monodelphis
Sepia short-tailed opossum, Monodelphis adusta LR/lc
Genus: Philander
Anderson's four-eyed opossum, Philander andersoni LR/lc
Gray four-eyed opossum, Philander opossum LR/lc
Order: Paucituberculata (shrew opossums)
There are six extant species of shrew opossum. They are small shrew-like marsupials confined to the Andes.
Family: Caenolestidae
Genus: Caenolestes
Northern caenolestid, C. convelatus
Dusky caenolestid, C. fuliginosus
Infraclass: Eutheria
Order: Sirenia (manatees and dugongs)
Sirenia is an order of fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that inhabit rivers, estuaries, coastal marine waters, swamps, and marine wetlands. All four species are endangered.
Family: Trichechidae
Genus: Trichechus
Amazonian manatee, T. inunguis VU
West Indian manatee, T. manatus VU
Order: Cingulata (armadillos)
The armadillos are small mammals with a bony armored shell. They are native to the Americas. There are around 20 extant species.
Family: Dasypodidae (armadillos)
Subfamily: Dasypodinae
Genus: Dasypus
Greater long-nosed armadillo, Dasypus kappleri LC
Nine-banded armadillo, Dasypus novemcinctus LC
Llanos long-nosed armadillo, Dasypus sabanicola LC
Subfamily: Tolypeutinae
Genus: Cabassous
Northern naked-tailed armadillo, Cabassous centralis DD
Southern naked-tailed armadillo, Cabassous unicinctus LC
Genus: Priodontes
Giant armadillo, Priodontes maximus VU
Order: Pilosa (anteaters, sloths and tamanduas)
The order Pilosa is extant only in the Americas and includes the anteaters, sloths, and tamanduas.
Suborder: Folivora
Family: Bradypodidae (three-toed sloths)
Genus: Bradypus
Pale-throated three-toed sloth, Bradypus tridactylus LC
Brown-throated three-toed sloth, Bradypus variegatus LC
Family: Choloepodidae (two-toed sloths)
Genus: Choloepus
Linnaeus's two-toed sloth, Choloepus didactylus LC
Hoffmann's two-toed sloth, Choloepus hoffmanni LC
Suborder: Vermilingua
Family: Cyclopedidae
Genus: Cyclopes
Silky anteater, C. didactylus LC
Central American silky anteater, C. dorsalis
Family: Myrmecophagidae (American anteaters)
Genus: Myrmecophaga
Giant anteater, Myrmecophaga tridactyla NT
Genus: Tamandua
Northern tamandua, Tamandua mexicana LC
Southern tamandua, Tamandua tetradactyla LC
Order: Primates
The order Primates contains humans and their closest relatives: lemurs, lorisoids, monkeys, and apes.
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Parvorder: Platyrrhini (New World monkeys)
Family: Cebidae
Subfamily: Callitrichinae
Genus: Callithrix
Pygmy marmoset, Cebuella pygmaea LC
Genus: Leontocebus
Lesson's saddle-back tamarin, Leontocebus fuscus LC
Black-mantled tamarin, Leontocebus nigricollis LC
Genus: Saguinus
Geoffroy's tamarin, Saguinus geoffroyi LC
Mottle-faced tamarin, Saguinus inustus LC
White-footed tamarin, Saguinus leucopus VU
Cottontop tamarin, Saguinus oedipus EN
Genus: Callimico
Goeldi's marmoset, Callimico goeldii NT
Subfamily: Cebinae
Genus: Cebus
Humboldt's white-fronted capuchin, Cebus albifrons LC
Colombian white-faced capuchin, Cebus capucinus LC
Río Cesar white-fronted capuchin, Cebus cesare DD
Sierra de Perijá white-fronted capuchin, Cebus leucocephalus
Santa Marta white-fronted capuchin, Cebus malitiosus EN
Varied white-fronted capuchin, Cebus versicolor EN
Marañón white-fronted capuchin, Cebus yuracus
Genus Sapajus
Large-headed capuchin, Sapajus macrocephalus LC
Genus: Saimiri
Humboldt's squirrel monkey, Saimiri cassiquiarensis
Family: Aotidae
Genus: Aotus
Gray-bellied night monkey, Aotus lemurinus VU
Nancy Ma's night monkey, Aotus nancymaae LC
Black-headed night monkey, Aotus nigriceps LC
Three-striped night monkey, Aotus trivirgatus LC
Spix's night monkey, Aotus vociferans LC
Family: Pitheciidae
Subfamily: Callicebinae
Genus: Callicebus
White-tailed titi, Callicebus discolor LC
Lucifer titi, Callicebus lucifer LC
Black titi, Callicebus lugens LC
Colombian black-handed titi, Callicebus medemi LC
Ornate titi, Callicebus ornatus VU
Subfamily: Pitheciinae
Genus: Pithecia
Hairy saki, Pithecia hirsuta DD
Miller's saki, Pithecia milleri DD
Genus: Cacajao
Bald uakari, Cacajao calvus VU possibly extirpated
Black-headed uakari, Cacajao melanocephalus LC
Family: Atelidae
Subfamily: Alouattinae
Genus: Alouatta
Mantled howler, Alouatta palliata LC
Venezuelan red howler, Alouatta seniculus LC
Subfamily: Atelinae
Genus: Ateles
White-fronted spider monkey, Ateles belzebuth VU
Black-headed spider monkey, Ateles fusciceps CR
Geoffroy's spider monkey, Ateles geoffroyi LC
Brown spider monkey, Ateles hybridus CR
Genus: Lagothrix
Brown woolly monkey, Lagothrix lagothricha LR/lc
Colombian woolly monkey, Lagothrix lugens VU
Order: Rodentia (rodents)
Rodents make up the largest order of mammals, with over 40% of mammalian species. They have two incisors in the upper and lower jaw which grow continually and must be kept short by gnawing. Most rodents are small though the capybara can weigh up to .
Suborder: Hystricognathi
Family: Erethizontidae (New World porcupines)
Subfamily: Erethizontinae
Genus: Coendou
Bicolor-spined porcupine, Coendou bicolor LR/lc
Brazilian porcupine, Coendou prehensilis LR/lc
Stump-tailed porcupine, Coendou rufescens LR/lc
Brown hairy dwarf porcupine, Coendou vestitus VU
Family: Dinomyidae (pacarana)
Genus: Dinomys
Pacarana, Dinomys branickii EN
Family: Caviidae (guinea pigs)
Subfamily: Caviinae
Genus: Cavia
Brazilian guinea pig, Cavia aperea LR/lc
Subfamily: Hydrochoerinae (capybaras and rock cavies)
Genus: Hydrochoerus
Capybara, Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris LR/lc
Family: Dasyproctidae (agoutis and pacas)
Genus: Dasyprocta
Black agouti, Dasyprocta fuliginosa LR/lc
Central American agouti, Dasyprocta punctata LR/lc
Genus: Myoprocta
Red acouchi, Myoprocta acouchy LR/lc
Family: Cuniculidae
Genus: Cuniculus
Lowland paca, Cuniculus paca LC
Mountain paca, Cuniculus taczanowskii LR/nt
Family: Echimyidae
Subfamily: Dactylomyinae
Genus: Dactylomys
Amazon bamboo rat, Dactylomys dactylinus LR/lc
Genus: Olallamys
White-tailed olalla rat, Olallamys albicauda LR/nt
Greedy olalla rat, Olallamys edax LR/nt
Subfamily: Echimyinae
Genus: Diplomys
Colombian soft-furred spiny rat, Diplomys caniceps LR/nt
Rufous soft-furred spiny-rat, Diplomys labilis LR/lc
Genus: Santamartamys
Red-crested tree-rat, Santamartamys rufodorsalis CR
Genus: Echimys
Speckled spiny tree-rat, Echimys semivillosus LR/lc
Genus: Isothrix
Yellow-crowned brush-tailed rat, Isothrix bistriata LR/nt
Subfamily: Eumysopinae
Genus: Hoplomys
Armored rat, Hoplomys gymnurus LR/lc
Genus: Mesomys
Ferreira's spiny tree-rat, Mesomys hispidus LR/lc
Genus: Proechimys
Short-tailed spiny rat, Proechimys brevicauda LR/lc
Colombian spiny rat, Proechimys canicollis LR/lc
Guyenne spiny rat, Proechimys guyannensis LR/lc
Boyaca spiny rat, Proechimys chrysaeolus LR/lc
Magdalena spiny rat, Proechimys magdalenae LR/lc
Minca spiny rat, Proechimys mincae LR/lc
O'Connell's spiny rat, Proechimys oconnelli LR/lc
Gray-footed spiny rat, Proechimys poliopus LR/lc
Napo spiny rat, Proechimys quadruplicatus LR/lc
Tome's spiny rat, Proechimys semispinosus LR/lc
Simon's spiny rat, Proechimys simonsi LR/lc
Suborder: Sciurognathi
Family: Sciuridae (squirrels)
Subfamily: Sciurinae
Tribe: Sciurini
Genus: Microsciurus
Central American dwarf squirrel, Microsciurus alfari LR/lc
Amazon dwarf squirrel, Microsciurus flaviventer LR/lc
Western dwarf squirrel, Microsciurus mimulus LR/lc
Santander dwarf squirrel, Microsciurus santanderensis LR/lc
Genus: Sciurus
Red-tailed squirrel, Sciurus granatensis LR/lc
Northern Amazon red squirrel, Sciurus igniventris LR/lc
Andean squirrel, Sciurus pucheranii LR/lc
Southern Amazon red squirrel, Sciurus spadiceus LR/lc
Family: Geomyidae
Genus: Orthogeomys
Thaeler's pocket gopher, Orthogeomys thaeleri LR/lc
Family: Heteromyidae
Subfamily: Heteromyinae
Genus: Heteromys
Trinidad spiny pocket mouse, Heteromys anomalus LR/lc
Southern spiny pocket mouse, Heteromys australis LR/lc
Desmarest's spiny pocket mouse, Heteromys desmarestianus LR/lc
Family: Cricetidae
Subfamily: Tylomyinae
Genus: Tylomys
Mira climbing rat, Tylomys mirae LR/lc
Subfamily: Neotominae
Genus: Reithrodontomys
Mexican harvest mouse, Reithrodontomys mexicanus LR/lc
Subfamily: Sigmodontinae
Genus: Aepeomys
Dusky montane mouse, Aepeomys fuscatus LR/lc
Genus: Akodon
Colombian grass mouse, Akodon affinis LR/lc
Bogotá grass mouse, Akodon bogotensis LR/lc
Northern grass mouse, Akodon urichi LR/lc
Genus: Calomys
Hummelinck's vesper mouse, Calomys hummelincki LR/lc
Genus: Chibchanomys
Chibchan water mouse, Chibchanomys trichotis LR/nt
Genus: Chilomys
Colombian forest mouse, Chilomys instans LR/lc
Genus: Holochilus
Amazonian marsh rat, Holochilus sciureus LR/lc
Genus: Ichthyomys
Crab-eating rat, Ichthyomys hydrobates LR/nt
Genus: Melanomys
Dusky rice rat, Melanomys caliginosus LR/lc
Genus: Microryzomys
Highland small rice rat, Microryzomys altissimus LR/lc
Forest small rice rat, Microryzomys minutus LR/lc
Genus: Neacomys
Common bristly mouse, Neacomys spinosus LR/lc
Narrow-footed bristly mouse, Neacomys tenuipes LR/lc
Genus: Nectomys
Scaly-footed water rat, Nectomys squamipes LR/lc
Genus: Neusticomys
Montane fish-eating rat, Neusticomys monticolus LR/lc
Genus: Oecomys
Bicolored arboreal rice rat, Oecomys bicolor LR/lc
Unicolored arboreal rice rat, Oecomys concolor LR/lc
Yellow arboreal rice rat, Oecomys flavicans LR/lc
Savanna arboreal rice rat, Oecomys speciosus LR/lc
Trinidad arboreal rice rat, Oecomys trinitatis LR/lc
Genus: Oligoryzomys
Destructive pygmy rice rat, Oligoryzomys destructor DD
Fulvous pygmy rice rat, Oligoryzomys fulvescens LR/lc
Grayish pygmy rice rat, Oligoryzomys griseolus LR/lc
Genus: Oryzomys
Tomes's rice rat, Oryzomys albigularis LR/lc
Alfaro's rice rat, Oryzomys alfaroi LR/lc
Bolivar rice rat, Oryzomys bolivaris LR/lc
Coues' rice rat, Oryzomys couesi LR/lc
Gorgas's rice rat, Oryzomys gorgasi CR
Colombian rice rat, Oryzomys intectus LR/lc
MacConnell's rice rat, Oryzomys macconnelli LR/lc
Azara's broad-headed rice rat, Oryzomys megacephalus LR/lc
Talamancan rice rat, Oryzomys talamancae LR/lc
Genus: Rhipidomys
Cauca climbing mouse, Rhipidomys caucensis LR/nt
Coues's climbing mouse, Rhipidomys couesi LR/lc
Buff-bellied climbing mouse, Rhipidomys fulviventer LR/lc
Broad-footed climbing mouse, Rhipidomys latimanus LR/lc
Atlantic Forest climbing mouse, Rhipidomys mastacalis LR/lc
Venezuelan climbing mouse, Rhipidomys venezuelae LR/lc
Genus: Sigmodon
Alston's cotton rat, Sigmodon alstoni LR/lc
Southern cotton rat, Sigmodon hirsutus LC
Genus: Sigmodontomys
Alfaro's rice water rat, Sigmodontomys alfari LR/lc
Genus: Thomasomys
Golden Oldfield mouse, Thomasomys aureus LR/lc
Silky Oldfield mouse, Thomasomys bombycinus LR/lc
Ashy-bellied Oldfield mouse, Thomasomys cinereiventer LR/lc
Woodland Oldfield mouse, Thomasomys hylophilus LR/lc
Soft-furred Oldfield mouse, Thomasomys laniger LR/lc
Unicolored Oldfield mouse, Thomasomys monochromos LR/nt
Snow-footed Oldfield mouse, Thomasomys niveipes LR/lc
Genus: Zygodontomys
Short-tailed cane rat, Zygodontomys brevicauda LR/lc
Brown cane mouse, Zygodontomys brunneus LR/lc
Order: Lagomorpha (lagomorphs)
The lagomorphs comprise two families, Leporidae (hares and rabbits), and Ochotonidae (pikas). Though they can resemble rodents, and were classified as a superfamily in that order until the early 20th century, they have since been considered a separate order. They differ from rodents in a number of physical characteristics, such as having four incisors in the upper jaw rather than two.
Family: Leporidae (rabbits, hares)
Genus: Sylvilagus
Andean tapetí, Sylvilagus andinus DD
Bogota tapetí, Sylvilagus apollinaris NE
Common tapetí, Sylvilagus brasiliensis EN
Eastern cottontail, Sylvilagus floridanus LR/lc
Fulvous tapetí, Sylvilagus fulvescens NE
Nicefor's tapetí, Sylvilagus nicefori NE
Colombian tapetí, Sylvilagus salentus NE
Santa Marta tapetí, Sylvilagus sanctaemartae DD
Order: Eulipotyphla (shrews, hedgehogs, moles, and solenodons)
Eulipotyphlans are insectivorous mammals. Shrews and solenodons closely resemble mice, hedgehogs carry spines, while moles are stout-bodied burrowers.
Family: Soricidae (shrews)
Subfamily: Soricinae
Tribe: Blarinini
Genus: Cryptotis
Andean small-eared shrew, Cryptotis avia LR/lc
Scaly-footed small-eared shrew, Cryptotis squamipes LR/lc
Thomas' small-eared shrew, Cryptotis thomasi LR/lc
Order: Chiroptera (bats)
The bats' most distinguishing feature is that their forelimbs are developed as wings, making them the only mammals capable of flight. Bat species account for about 20% of all mammals.
Family: Noctilionidae
Genus: Noctilio
Lesser bulldog bat, Noctilio albiventris LR/lc
Greater bulldog bat, Noctilio leporinus LR/lc
Family: Vespertilionidae
Subfamily: Myotinae
Genus: Myotis
Silver-tipped myotis, Myotis albescens LR/lc
Hairy-legged myotis, Myotis keaysi LR/lc
Curacao myotis, Myotis nesopolus LR/nt
Black myotis, Myotis nigricans LR/lc
Montane myotis, Myotis oxyotus LR/lc
Riparian myotis, Myotis riparius LR/lc
Velvety myotis, Myotis simus LR/lc
Subfamily: Vespertilioninae
Genus: Eptesicus
Little black serotine, Eptesicus andinus LR/lc
Brazilian brown bat, Eptesicus brasiliensis LR/lc
Argentine brown bat, Eptesicus furinalis LR/lc
Big brown bat, Eptesicus fuscus LR/lc
Genus: Histiotus
Small big-eared brown bat, Histiotus montanus LR/lc
Genus: Lasiurus
Desert red bat, Lasiurus blossevillii LR/lc
Tacarcuna bat, Lasiurus castaneus VU
Hoary bat, Lasiurus cinereus LR/lc
Southern yellow bat, Lasiurus ega LR/lc
Big red bat, Lasiurus egregius LR/nt
Genus: Rhogeessa
Tiny yellow bat, Rhogeessa minutilla LR/nt
Family: Molossidae
Genus: Cynomops
Cinnamon dog-faced bat, Cynomops abrasus LR/nt
Greenhall's dog-faced bat, Cynomops greenhalli LR/lc
Southern dog-faced bat, Cynomops planirostris LR/lc
Genus: Eumops
Black bonneted bat, Eumops auripendulus LR/lc
Dwarf bonneted bat, Eumops bonariensis LR/lc
Big bonneted bat, Eumops dabbenei LR/lc
Wagner's bonneted bat, Eumops glaucinus LR/lc
Sanborn's bonneted bat, Eumops hansae LR/lc
Western mastiff bat, Eumops perotis LR/lc
Genus: Molossops
Mato Grosso dog-faced bat, Molossops mattogrossensis LR/nt
Dwarf dog-faced bat, Molossops temminckii LR/lc
Genus: Molossus
Black mastiff bat, Molossus ater LR/lc
Bonda mastiff bat, Molossus bondae LR/lc
Velvety free-tailed bat, Molossus molossus LR/lc
Miller's mastiff bat, Molossus pretiosus LR/lc
Sinaloan mastiff bat, Molossus sinaloae LR/lc
Genus: Nyctinomops
Peale's free-tailed bat, Nyctinomops aurispinosus LR/lc
Broad-eared bat, Nyctinomops laticaudatus LR/lc
Big free-tailed bat, Nyctinomops macrotis LR/lc
Genus: Promops
Big crested mastiff bat, Promops centralis LR/lc
Genus: Tadarida
Mexican free-tailed bat, Tadarida brasiliensis LR/nt
Family: Emballonuridae
Genus: Balantiopteryx
Ecuadorian sac-winged bat, Balantiopteryx infusca EN
Genus: Centronycteris
Shaggy bat, Centronycteris maximiliani LR/lc
Genus: Cormura
Wagner's sac-winged bat, Cormura brevirostris LR/lc
Genus: Cyttarops
Short-eared bat, Cyttarops alecto LR/nt
Genus: Diclidurus
Northern ghost bat, Diclidurus albus LR/lc
Greater ghost bat, Diclidurus ingens VU
Isabelle's ghost bat, Diclidurus isabella LR/nt
Genus: Peropteryx
Greater dog-like bat, Peropteryx kappleri LR/lc
White-winged dog-like bat, Peropteryx leucoptera LR/lc
Lesser doglike bat, Peropteryx macrotis LR/lc
Genus: Rhynchonycteris
Proboscis bat, Rhynchonycteris naso LR/lc
Genus: Saccopteryx
Greater sac-winged bat, Saccopteryx bilineata LR/lc
Frosted sac-winged bat, Saccopteryx canescens LR/lc
Lesser sac-winged bat, Saccopteryx leptura LR/lc
Family: Mormoopidae
Genus: Mormoops
Ghost-faced bat, Mormoops megalophylla LR/lc
Genus: Pteronotus
Naked-backed bat, Pteronotus davyi LR/lc
Big naked-backed bat, Pteronotus gymnonotus LR/lc
Parnell's mustached bat, Pteronotus parnellii LR/lc
Wagner's mustached bat, Pteronotus personatus LR/lc
Family: Phyllostomidae
Subfamily: Phyllostominae
Genus: Chrotopterus
Big-eared woolly bat, Chrotopterus auritus LR/lc
Genus: Glyphonycteris
Davies's big-eared bat, Glyphonycteris daviesi LR/nt
Tricolored big-eared bat, Glyphonycteris sylvestris LR/nt
Genus: Lampronycteris
Yellow-throated big-eared bat, Lampronycteris brachyotis LR/lc
Genus: Lonchorhina
Tomes's sword-nosed bat, Lonchorhina aurita LR/lc
Marinkelle's sword-nosed bat, Lonchorhina marinkellei VU
Orinoco sword-nosed bat, Lonchorhina orinocensis LR/nt
Genus: Lophostoma
Pygmy round-eared bat, Lophostoma brasiliense LR/lc
Carriker's round-eared bat, Lophostoma carrikeri VU
White-throated round-eared bat, Lophostoma silvicolum LR/lc
Genus: Macrophyllum
Long-legged bat, Macrophyllum macrophyllum LR/lc
Genus: Micronycteris
Hairy big-eared bat, Micronycteris hirsuta LR/lc
Little big-eared bat, Micronycteris megalotis LR/lc
White-bellied big-eared bat, Micronycteris minuta LR/lc
Schmidts's big-eared bat, Micronycteris schmidtorum LR/lc
Genus: Mimon
Striped hairy-nosed bat, Mimon crenulatum LR/lc
Genus: Neonycteris
Least big-eared bat, Neonycteris pusilla VU
Genus: Phylloderma
Pale-faced bat, Phylloderma stenops LR/lc
Genus: Phyllostomus
Pale spear-nosed bat, Phyllostomus discolor LR/lc
Lesser spear-nosed bat, Phyllostomus elongatus LR/lc
Greater spear-nosed bat, Phyllostomus hastatus LR/lc
Guianan spear-nosed bat, Phyllostomus latifolius LR/nt
Genus: Tonatia
Stripe-headed round-eared bat, Tonatia saurophila LR/lc
Genus: Trachops
Fringe-lipped bat, Trachops cirrhosus LR/lc
Genus: Trinycteris
Niceforo's big-eared bat, Trinycteris nicefori LR/lc
Genus: Vampyrum
Spectral bat, Vampyrum spectrum LR/nt
Subfamily: Lonchophyllinae
Genus: Lionycteris
Chestnut long-tongued bat, Lionycteris spurrelli LR/lc
Genus: Lonchophylla
Handley's nectar bat, Lonchophylla handleyi VU
Godman's nectar bat, Lonchophylla mordax LR/lc
Orange nectar bat, Lonchophylla robusta LR/lc
Thomas's nectar bat, Lonchophylla thomasi LR/lc
Subfamily: Glossophaginae
Genus: Anoura
Tailed tailless bat, Anoura caudifer LR/lc
Handley's tailless bat, Anoura cultrata LR/lc
Geoffroy's tailless bat, Anoura geoffroyi LR/lc
Broad-toothed tailless bat, Anoura latidens LR/nt
Genus: Choeroniscus
Godman's long-tailed bat, Choeroniscus godmani LR/nt
Intermediate long-tailed bat, Choeroniscus intermedius LR/nt
Minor long-nosed long-tongued bat, Choeroniscus minor LR/lc
Greater long-tailed bat, Choeroniscus periosus VU
Genus: Glossophaga
Commissaris's long-tongued bat, Glossophaga commissarisi LR/lc
Miller's long-tongued bat, Glossophaga longirostris LR/lc
Pallas's long-tongued bat, Glossophaga soricina LR/lc
Genus: Leptonycteris
Southern long-nosed bat, Leptonycteris curasoae VU
Genus: Lichonycteris
Dark long-tongued bat, Lichonycteris obscura LR/lc
Genus: Scleronycteris
Ega long-tongued bat, Scleronycteris ega VU
Subfamily: Carolliinae
Genus: Carollia
Silky short-tailed bat, Carollia brevicauda LR/lc
Chestnut short-tailed bat, Carollia castanea LR/lc
Seba's short-tailed bat, Carollia perspicillata LR/lc
Genus: Rhinophylla
Hairy little fruit bat, Rhinophylla alethina LR/nt
Fischer's little fruit bat, Rhinophylla fischerae LR/nt
Subfamily: Stenodermatinae
Genus: Artibeus
Large fruit-eating bat, Artibeus amplus LR/nt
Andersen's fruit-eating bat, Artibeus anderseni LR/lc
Brown fruit-eating bat, Artibeus concolor LR/nt
Silver fruit-eating bat, Artibeus glaucus LR/lc
Jamaican fruit bat, Artibeus jamaicensis LR/lc
Great fruit-eating bat, Artibeus lituratus LR/lc
Dark fruit-eating bat, Artibeus obscurus LR/nt
Pygmy fruit-eating bat, Artibeus phaeotis LR/lc
Flat-faced fruit-eating bat, Artibeus planirostris LR/lc
Toltec fruit-eating bat, Artibeus toltecus LR/lc
Genus: Centurio
Wrinkle-faced bat, Centurio senex LR/lc
Genus: Chiroderma
Salvin's big-eyed bat, Chiroderma salvini LR/lc
Little big-eyed bat, Chiroderma trinitatum LR/lc
Hairy big-eyed bat, Chiroderma villosum LR/lc
Genus: Ectophylla
Honduran white bat, Ectophylla alba LR/nt
Genus: Enchisthenes
Velvety fruit-eating bat, Enchisthenes hartii LR/lc
Genus: Mesophylla
MacConnell's bat, Mesophylla macconnelli LR/lc
Genus: Sphaeronycteris
Visored bat, Sphaeronycteris toxophyllum LR/lc
Genus: Sturnira
Aratathomas's yellow-shouldered bat, Sturnira aratathomasi LR/nt
Bidentate yellow-shouldered bat, Sturnira bidens LR/nt
Bogota yellow-shouldered bat, Sturnira bogotensis LR/lc
Hairy yellow-shouldered bat, Sturnira erythromos LR/lc
Little yellow-shouldered bat, Sturnira lilium LR/lc
Highland yellow-shouldered bat, Sturnira ludovici LR/lc
Louis's yellow-shouldered bat, Sturnira luisi LR/lc
Greater yellow-shouldered bat, Sturnira magna LR/nt
Talamancan yellow-shouldered bat, Sturnira mordax LR/nt
Tilda's yellow-shouldered bat, Sturnira tildae LR/lc
Genus: Uroderma
Tent-making bat, Uroderma bilobatum LR/lc
Brown tent-making bat, Uroderma magnirostrum LR/lc
Genus: Vampyressa
Bidentate yellow-eared bat, Vampyressa bidens LR/nt
Brock's yellow-eared bat, Vampyressa brocki LR/nt
Melissa's yellow-eared bat, Vampyressa melissa LR/nt
Striped yellow-eared bat, Vampyressa nymphaea LR/lc
Southern little yellow-eared bat, Vampyressa pusilla LR/lc
Genus: Vampyrodes
Great stripe-faced bat, Vampyrodes caraccioli LR/lc
Genus: Platyrrhinus
Eldorado broad-nosed bat, Platyrrhinus aurarius LR/nt
Short-headed broad-nosed bat, Platyrrhinus brachycephalus LR/lc
Choco broad-nosed bat, Platyrrhinus chocoensis VU
Thomas's broad-nosed bat, Platyrrhinus dorsalis LR/lc
Heller's broad-nosed bat, Platyrrhinus helleri LR/lc
Buffy broad-nosed bat, Platyrrhinus infuscus LR/nt
White-lined broad-nosed bat, Platyrrhinus lineatus LR/lc
Shadowy broad-nosed bat, Platyrrhinus umbratus LR/nt
Greater broad-nosed bat, Platyrrhinus vittatus LR/lc
Subfamily: Desmodontinae
Genus: Desmodus
Common vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus LR/lc
Genus: Diaemus
White-winged vampire bat, Diaemus youngi LR/lc
Genus: Diphylla
Hairy-legged vampire bat, Diphylla ecaudata LR/nt
Family: Natalidae
Genus: Chilonatalus
Cuban funnel-eared bat, Chilonatalus micropus LR/lc
Family: Furipteridae
Genus: Furipterus
Thumbless bat, Furipterus horrens LR/lc
Family: Thyropteridae
Genus: Thyroptera
Peters's disk-winged bat, Thyroptera discifera LR/lc
Spix's disk-winged bat, Thyroptera tricolor LR/lc
Order: Cetacea (whales)
The order Cetacea includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. They are the mammals most fully adapted to aquatic life with a spindle-shaped nearly hairless body, protected by a thick layer of blubber, and forelimbs and tail modified to provide propulsion underwater.
Suborder: Mysticeti
Family: Balaenopteridae (baleen whales)
Genus: Balaenoptera
Common minke whale, Balaenoptera acutorostrata
Sei whale, Balaenoptera borealis
Bryde's whale, Balaenoptera brydei
Blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus
Genus: Megaptera
Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Suborder: Odontoceti
Superfamily: Platanistoidea
Family: Delphinidae (marine dolphins)
Genus: Delphinus
Short-beaked common dolphin, Delphinus delphis DD
Genus: Feresa
Pygmy killer whale, Feresa attenuata DD
Genus: Globicephala
Short-finned pilot whale, Globicephala macrorhyncus DD
Genus: Lagenodelphis
Fraser's dolphin, Lagenodelphis hosei DD
Genus: Grampus
Risso's dolphin, Grampus griseus DD
Genus: Orcinus
Killer whale, Orcinus orca DD
Genus: Peponocephala
Melon-headed whale, Peponocephala electra DD
Genus: Pseudorca
False killer whale, Pseudorca crassidens DD
Genus: Sotalia
Guiana dolphin, Sotalia guianensis DD
Tucuxi, Sotalia fluviatilis DD
Amazon river dolphin, Sotalia geoffrensis DD
Genus: Stenella
Pantropical spotted dolphin, Stenella attenuata DD
Clymene dolphin, Stenella clymene DD
Striped dolphin, Stenella coeruleoalba DD
Atlantic spotted dolphin, Stenella frontalis DD
Spinner dolphin, Stenella longirostris DD
Genus: Steno
Rough-toothed dolphin, Steno bredanensis DD
Genus: Tursiops
Common bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus
Family: Physeteridae (sperm whales)
Genus: Physeter
Sperm whale, Physeter catodon DD
Family: Kogiidae (dwarf sperm whales)
Genus: Kogia
Pygmy sperm whale, Kogia breviceps DD
Dwarf sperm whale, Kogia sima DD
Superfamily Ziphioidea
Family: Ziphidae (beaked whales)
Genus: Mesoplodon
Gervais' beaked whale, Mesoplodon europaeus DD
Ginkgo-toothed beaked whale, Mesoplodon ginkgodens DD
Pygmy beaked whale, Mesoplodon peruvianus DD
Genus: Ziphius
Cuvier's beaked whale, Ziphius cavirostris DD
Order: Carnivora (carnivorans)
There are over 260 species of carnivores, the majority of which eat meat as their primary dietary item. They have a characteristic skull shape and dentition.
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae (cats)
Subfamily: Felinae
Genus: Herpailurus
Jaguarundi, H. yagouaroundi
Genus: Leopardus
Pampas cat L. colocola presence uncertain
Ocelot L. pardalis
Oncilla L. tigrinus
Southern tigrina L. guttulus
Margay L. wiedii
Genus: Puma
Cougar, P. concolor
Subfamily: Pantherinae
Genus: Panthera
Jaguar, P. onca
Suborder: Caniformia
Family: Canidae (dogs, foxes)
Genus: Atelocynus
Short-eared dog, Atelocynus microtis NT
Genus: Cerdocyon
Crab-eating fox, Cerdocyon thous LC
Genus: Lycalopex
Culpeo, Lycalopex culpaeus LC
Genus: Speothos
Bush dog, Speothos venaticus VU
Genus: Urocyon
Gray fox, Urocyon cinereoargenteus LC
Family: Ursidae (bears)
Genus: Tremarctos
Spectacled bear, Tremarctos ornatus VU
Family: Procyonidae (raccoons)
Genus: Bassaricyon
Eastern lowland olingo, Bassaricyon alleni
Western lowland olingo, Bassaricyon medius LC
Olinguito, Bassaricyon neblina NT
Genus: Nasua
White-nosed coati, Nasua narica LC
South American coati, Nasua nasua LC
Genus: Nasuella
Mountain coati, Nasuella olivacea NT
Genus: Potos
Kinkajou, Potos flavus LC
Genus: Procyon
Crab-eating raccoon, Procyon cancrivorusLC
Family: Mustelidae (mustelids)
Genus: Eira
Tayra, Eira barbara LC
Genus: Galictis
Greater grison, Galictis vittata LC
Genus: Lontra
Neotropical river otter, Lontra longicaudis NT
Genus: Neogale
Amazon weasel, N. africana LC
Colombian weasel, N. felipei VU
Long-tailed weasel, N. frenata LC
Genus: Pteronura
Giant otter, Pteronura brasiliensis EN
Family: Mephitidae
Genus: Conepatus
Striped hog-nosed skunk, Conepatus semistriatus
Family: Phocidae (earless seals)
Genus: Neomonachus
Caribbean monk seal, Neomonachus tropicalis EX
Family: Otariidae
Genus: Otaria
South American sea lion, Otaria flavescens LC (vagrant)
Genus: Arctocephalus
Galápagos fur seal, Arctocephalus galapagoensis EN
Genus: Zalophus
Galápagos sea lion, Zalophus wollebaeki EN
Order: Perissodactyla (odd-toed ungulates)
The odd-toed ungulates are browsing and grazing mammals. They are usually large to very large, and have relatively simple stomachs and a large middle toe.
Family: Tapiridae (tapirs)
Genus: Tapirus
Baird's tapir, Tapirus bairdii EN
Mountain tapir, Tapirus pinchaque EN
Brazilian tapir, Tapirus terrestris VU
Order: Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates)
The even-toed ungulates are ungulates whose weight is borne about equally by the third and fourth toes, rather than mostly or entirely by the third as in perissodactyls. There are about 220 artiodactyl species, including many that are of great economic importance to humans.
Family: Cervidae (deer)
Subfamily: Capreolinae
Genus: Mazama
Red brocket, Mazama americana DD
Merida brocket, Mazama bricenii VU
Amazonian brown brocket, Mazama nemorivaga LC
Little red brocket, Mazama rufina LR/nt
Central American red brocket, Mazama temama DD
Genus: Odocoileus
White-tailed deer, O. virginianus LC
Genus: Pudu
Pudu, Pudu mephistophiles DD
Family: Hippopotamidae (hippopotamus)
Genus: Hippopotamus
Hippopotamus, Hippopotamus amphibius VU introduced
Family: Tayassuidae (peccaries)
Genus: Dicotyles
Collared peccary, Dicotyles tajacu LC
Genus: Tayassu
White-lipped peccary, Tayassu pecari NT
See also
List of chordate orders
Lists of mammals by region
List of prehistoric mammals
Mammal classification
List of mammals described in the 2000s
References
External links
Colombia
Mammals
Colombia | en |
doc-en-12684 | The University of Rajshahi, also known as Rajshahi University or RU (), is a public co-educational research university in Bangladesh situated near the northern Bangladeshi city of Rajshahi in a campus at Motihar, East of the Rajshahi city center. It is the second largest, in terms of academic activities and also the second oldest, university in Bangladesh. The university's 60 departments are organized into ten faculties. It is considered one of the top research universities in Bangladesh. Researchers of this university have recently contributed a significant amount of effort and played a key role in bringing back medieval Bangladeshi Muslin fiber. It has a formidable alumnus base around Bangladesh and abroad. Because of its beautiful and well-planned verdurous campus, academic atmosphere and traditional inclination towards outdoor sports, it is popularly known as the Cambridge of the East.
History
The first proposal to establish a university came in 1917, when Calcutta University created the Sadler Commission to assess the university system in Bengal. However, the recommendations of the report had no immediate consequences.
The University of Dhaka was established in 1921. Demand for a university in the northern part of East Bengal gained momentum when two universities were set-up quickly in West Pakistan, using funding diverted from East Bengal, without the establishment of any in the east. Students of Rajshahi College were at the forefront of the movement demanding a new university. Finally, Rajshahi was selected as the home for the second university in East Bengal and the Rajshahi University Act of 1953 (East Bengal Act XV of 1953) was passed by the East Pakistan provincial Assembly on 31 March 1953. Itrat Hossain Zuberi, the principal of Rajshahi College was appointed its first vice-chancellor.
Initially, the university was housed in temporary locations, such as the local Circuit House and Boro Kuthi, an 18th-century Dutch establishment. B B Hindu Academy, a local school, housed the library, teachers' lounge and the medical center. The university started out with 20 professors, 161 students (of which 5 were female) and six departments — Bengali, English, History, Law, Philosophy and Economics. In 1964, the offices moved to the permanent campus.
The 1960s was a turbulent period in Bangladesh, when demands for East Pakistani autonomy became stronger. The students and staff of the university started playing an increasing role in politics. On 18 February 1969, Shamsuzzoha, a professor, was killed by the police when he tried to prevent them from shooting student demonstrators. This date is now commemorated as Zoha Day. During the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, the campus was used as a base by the Pakistan Army. A number of professors, students and officers of the university were killed by the Pakistan army.
After independence, a new act regarding the administration of the university came into being — the Rajshahi University Act of 1973. The post-independence years saw the university grow steadily in student enrolment and size of the academic staff. However the 1980s were turbulent for the university, as the students agitated with other institutions of the country against the military rule of Hossain Muhammad Ershad. Since the early 1990s, the university has seen relative calm and lowering of session backlogs, though active student politics remains a contentious issue.
Emblem
The circle of the emblem represents the world. An open book is shown in red and gold: red represents one of the colors of the national flag and gold the value of education. The body of the book is blue, the color of the sky, and at the center is a shapla flower (Nymphaeaceae), the national flower of Bangladesh.
Campus
The university's main campus is in Motihar, on the eastern side of the city of Rajshahi and a mile from the Bangladeshi coast of the river Padma. The campus area is nearly . Access to the walled-off campus is controlled through three security gates. It houses eleven large academic buildings — five for the arts, business studies and social sciences, four for the natural and applied sciences and two for agricultural studies.
Rail Line and University Station
The Dhaka-Rajshahi rail line passes through the campus and it has a dedicated station named the University Station. It is near the Shahid Shohrawardy Hall on the southern border of the campus. There is an internal bazar nearby for the students only, called the station bazar.
Gates
There are four gates of the university, three being upon the Dhaka - Rajshahi Highway. The westernmost gate is the Kazla gate which provides access to the Western part of the campus mainly playgrounds and residential areas. The easternmost gate is the Binodpur gate that provides access to the Eastern Part of the campus and the Main gate in between these two provides access to the main administrative and academic portion of the campus. The fourth gate is on the other side of the campus and provides access to the campus from the other side of the city. The main gate used to create an architectural optical illusion while entering or exiting the campus through it as it seemed to the visitor that the more he tries to go nearer the more the Administrative Building goes far away.
Parks, Lakes and Sanctuaries
There is a central park of the university near the Shaheed Minar Complex. It is a small park providing a very good environment and a place for spending leisure for the students and residents of the campus. Rajshahi University Botanical Garden is also a park inside the campus home to some very rare species of trees and plants. There used to be a mini park-like plantation near the main gate but it was cut down during mid 2020s. There are two big lakes inside the campus. One is behind the Shahid Shamsuzzoha Hall popularly known as the Shorobor and another is behind the female hostels known as a part of the Junge Genome Project. Apart from these, there are nearly fifty ponds around the campus.
There is a large bird sanctuary inside the campus called the Jungle Genome Project. It is an ecological project of the Zoology Department and is has natural plantations and lakes inside it.
Paris Road
Paris road is a street in the campus which is often considered the signature of the Rajshahi University Campus. It starts from the adjoining point of Kazla Gate road, Paschimpara road and Paris road near the Juberi Guest House and runs straight East from this. Then it keeps going past the mango plantations, Kazla pond and VC's residence and reaches the Shamsuzoha Square. Then from the Shamsuzzoha Square, it goes East past the University Bank, Second Administrative Building, University Central Bus Station, Central Mosque, university park and Shahid Minar Complex and Shahid Smiti Sangrahashala Museum and ends at the gate of the Sher e Bangla Hall.
Murals, Sculptures and Monuments
There are a considerable number of murals on the campus. The Shahid Minar Complex holds two murals one on the background wall of the Open Theatre Stage and another on the background wall of the Shahid Minar's platform. A mural near the Golden Jubilee Tower is a masterpiece artifact made of steel depicting struggle of men and women. Besides these the obelisk of Martyred professor Dr. Shamsuzzoha has a mural depicting him and his famous quote. The Bangabandhu hall, Sher-e-Bangla hall and Syed Ameer Ali Hal have murals of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, AK Fazlul Haque and Syed Ameer Ali respectively.
Monuments around the campus are the Shaheed Minar, Mass-Graveyard monument and the Shabash Bangladesh. The sculptures are the martyred intellectual memorial monument near the central library, Sfulingo in the Shahid Samsuzzoha Hall premises, Martyred Professor Habibur Rahman's sculpture on Shahid Habibur Rahman hall's entrance. There are several memorial monuments and murals around the campus.
Facilities
Museums
The university is the site for the two oldest museums in Bangladesh. They are - the Varendra Research Museum, which is the oldest museum in Bangladesh and the Shahid Smriti Sangrahasala, which is the oldest liberation war museum in Bangladesh.
A few miles from the main campus is the Varendra Research Museum,. It is one of the richest repertory of Bengal sculptures in the world. Established in 1910 by Ramaprasad Chanda, the museum became a part of the university in the 1960s when a financial crisis threatened its existence. Under the university, the museum has thrived, adding a folklore gallery to its impressive collection from ancient and medieval Bengal.
Juberi Guest House
Juberi Guest House is one of the earliest structures on the campus. It is actually a complex of guest house, lounge and café. Juberi House is the home of Rajshahi University Club and it is the center of the political activities of the teachers and fellows. There are four buildings providing caravansary facilities for the guests of the university. It provides gymnasium facilities for the teachers and it has a well maintained lone tennis court
Sport and Other facilities for cultural activities
The university is the home to the Rajshahi University Stadium, the only stadium dedicated for a university in entire Bangladesh. This stadium has 30,000 spaces and it is used for intra-university and inter-university sports tournaments. It is named after Sheikh Kamal, the eldest son of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and a famous sports organizer and freedom fighter.
There is a swimming pool with stands for spectators and a gymnasium and indoor stadium situated near the stadium.
Architecture
University of Rajshahi is home to many architectural and artistic landmarks. Most of its academic, cultural, residential and administrative buildings are of modern architectural style. The Shaheed Minar is an important example, complete with a mural designed by Murtaza Bashir. The Senate House is a modern mini-parliament house, has 206 rooms and is fully air-conditioned. It is usually used for meetings of the senate of the university, but it accommodates national and international conferences, seminars and symposia. In front of the Senate House is Shabash Bangladesh, one of the largest war memorial sculptures, designed and constructed by Nitun Kundu. The name comes from a poem by Sukanta Bhattacharya of the same name, the last four lines of which are engraved under the structure.
Golden Jubilee Tower, a 2003 addition to the university's array of sculptures, commemorates its 50th anniversary. It is right beside the main gate. It has also an open theatre and two beautiful murals. Other well-known buildings include the library and the university mosque. The Department of Fine Arts hosts a sizeable collection of contemporary art, while Varendra Museum has a large collection of ancient and medieval art.
Organization and administration
The university is run according to the Rajshahi University Act of 1973. This act, passed in 1973, allows the university considerably more autonomy than most other peer institutions. The president of Bangladesh is the de facto chancellor, but the role is mainly ceremonial. The highest official after the chancellor is the vice-chancellor, selected by the senate of the university every four years. The vice-chancellor, as of June 2017, is M. Abdus Sobhan.
Other important officers include the pro vice-chancellor, the registrar, the controller of examinations and the proctor. The proctor is in direct charge of student activities and is the official with most direct contact with the students. The most important statutory bodies of the university are the senate, the academic council and the syndicate.
Most of Rajshahi University's funding comes from the government. The Bangladesh University Grants Commission is the body responsible for allocating funds to all public universities.
Students are admitted after they pass the Higher Secondary Exam (HSC exam). In earlier days students partook in entrance examinations, a separate one for each department. This has been a contentious issue, as there used to be only one exam for each faculty, after which students would be allocated to departments according to their result and choice of program.
The tuition fees are relatively low; nevertheless, a hike in admission fees, during the 2006–07 session, drew criticism from student bodies. In 2007, the university awarded a total of 340 scholarships, whose annual value is around 1.1 million taka. In addition, there are merit awards given by residential halls, departments and the university itself. Students are eligible for the Prime Minister's Gold Medal award.
All colleges of the northern and southern regions of the country used to be affiliated with University of Rajshahi. However, the administration of colleges across the country was taken over by the National University when it was established in 1992.
List of vice-chancellors
Itrat Husain Zuberi (6 July 1953 – 30 September 1957)
Momtazuddin Ahmed (1 October 1957 – 30 August 1965)
Muhammad Shamsul Huq (31 August 1965 – 4 August 1969)
Syed Sajjad Hussain (5 August 1969 – 18 July 1971)
Muhammad Abdul Bari (19 July 1971 – 8 January 1972)
Khan Sarwar Murshid (1 February 1972 – 3 August 1974)
Mazharul Islam (4 August 1974 – 18 September 1975)
Syed Ali Ahsan (27 September 1975 – 22 June 1977)
Muhammad Abdul Bari (7 July 1977 – 17 February 1981)
Makbular Rahman Sarkar (26 February 1981 – 22 February 1982)
Moslem Huda (22 February 1982 – 20 September 1982)
Abdul Rakib (4 October 1982 – 19 March 1988)
Amanullah Ahmed (20 March 1988 – 22 July 1992)
M. Anisur Rahman (22 July 1992 – 22 August 1994)
M. Yusuf Ali (22 August 1994 – 16 February 1997)
Abdul Khaleque (17 February 1997 – 3 August 1999)
M. Sayeedur Rahman Khan (4 August 1999 – 13 November 2001)
Faisul Islam Farouqui (13 November 2001 – 5 June 2005)
Md. Altaf Hossain (5 June 2005 – 15 May 2008)
Mumnunul Keramat (acting) (16 May 2008 – 28 February 2009)
M Abdus Sobhan (26 February 2009 – 25 February 2013)
Muhammad Mizanuddin (19 March 2013 – 20 March 2017)
M Abdus Sobhan (7 May 2017 – 6 May 2021)
Professor Dr. Golam Shabbir Sattar (29 August 2021 – present )
Faculties and departments
The university's 58 departments are organised into 12 faculties: Arts, Engineering, Fine Arts, Law, Science, Business Studies, Social Sciences, Life Sciences, Earth Sciences, Agriculture, Fisheries, Veterinary & Animal Sciences. The Arts and the Law faculties are the oldest, both established in 1953, closely followed by the Faculty of Science (1956) and the Faculty of Engineering (est. 2009). The university's departments represent the traditional studies in arts, commerce, sciences and engineering through programs such as English,History, Languages and Linguistics, Economics, Business Studies, Mathematics, Applied Mathematics (est.2002), Physics, Computer Science & Engineering, Chemistry, Statistics, Geology & Mining, Geography, Psychology, Zoology, Botany, etc. The university is increasingly emphasising more specialised programs such as Pharmacy, Biochemistry, Information and Communication Engineering (ICE) (est. 2000), Genetics and breeding (est. 1996).
Faculty of Life Sciences
Botany
Zoology
Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology
Microbiology
Clinical Psychology
Psychology
Faculty of Arts
Prominent departments in the faculty of Arts are
Department of Philosophy
Department of History
Department of English
Department of Bengali
Department of Islamic History and Culture
Department of Arabic
Department of Islamic Studies
Department of Music
Department of Theater
Department of Persian Language and Literature
Department of Urdu
Department of Sanskrit
Faculty of Fine Arts
The Faculty of Fine Arts has 3 departments;
Faculty of Law
The Faculty of Law has two departments:
Department of Law
Department of Law and Land Administration
The Department of Law is one of the pioneer institutes for graduate level legal education in Bangladesh as well as in South Asia. It was the first institution in South Asia that offered B.Jur. Honours (Bachelor of Jurisprudence) from the year 1970. Now it offers LLB (Honors), LLM, Evening LLM, MPhil and Ph.D. in the field of Law. It has a great number of alumni and former members of the faculty around the world including former Chief Justice of Bangladesh, former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, current and former ministers and many former and current judges of the apex courts of Bangladesh and many more formidable legal and political minds of the country. Abul Hasnat Muhammad Qamaruzzaman was a student of this department.
The Department of Law and Land Administration was established in the session of 2015–16. It is the pioneer department in Bangladesh in the field of education on Laws relating to land administration, land management and land survey. All core courses of Law are taught here. Graduates of this discipline can apply for all jobs which are for Law graduates, including the positions of Assistant Judge and Judicial Magistrate. They are able to practice as both civil and criminal lawyers and also as Income Tax lawyers. In addition, they are able to apply for jobs in the field of land administration/management. It is currently under consideration that a separate BCS Cadre (Land) may be created and graduates from this discipline will only be able to apply for those jobs. The programs offered by this Department include LLB (Honours), LLM, MPhil and Ph.D.
Initiatives are under process to establish a new department in the field of corporate law under this faculty which is going to be the first institution for graduate level education in this field within Bangladesh.
This faculty is well known for the innovative environment on its premises. A huge library is provided here for the students and researchers. The Bangladesh code was developed and was given a great shape for practical use under the leadership of a former chairman of this department in 2006.
One of the leading debating clubs of the campus belongs to this department. Having a great tradition of mooting, and some nationally popular great legal practitioners as alumni, its Mooting Club RUMCS is well recognized and reputed in Bangladesh.
Faculty of Engineering
The Faculty of Engineering include the following departments
Textile Engineering
Information and Communication Engineering (ICE) (est. 2000)
Computer Science & Engineering
Applied Chemistry & Chemical Engineering
Materials Science and Engineering
Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) (est. 2015)
In the late 1990 and 2000s, programs in computer science & engineering and Information & Communication Engineering were introduced. The newest addition to the Faculty of Engineering in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering in 2015. The university used to have a separate engineering program through the Bangladesh Institute of Technology Rajshahi, which became an independent university: Rajshahi University of Engineering & Technology in 2002. University authorities have decided to merge Applied physics and electronic engineering department with the electrical and electronic engineering department on 5 December 2018.
Faculty of Social Science
The Social Science Faculty has the following departments:
Economics
Political Science
Social Work
Sociology
Mass Communication and Journalism
Information Science & Library Management
Public Administration
Anthropology
Folklore
International Relations
Faculty of Business Studies
Faculty of Business Studies has following departments:
Finance
Accounting & Information Systems
Marketing
Management Studies
Banking & Insurance
Tourism & Hospitality Management
All of these departments are in the Rabindra Building.
Faculty of Science
Faculty of Science has the following departments:
Mathematics
Physics
Chemistry
Statistics
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Pharmacy
Population Science and Human Resource Development (website:http://www.popsru.org)
Applied Mathematics
Physical Education and Sports Sciences
Most of these departments are in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th science buildings.
Faculty of Agriculture
Faculty of Agriculture has the following departments:
Agronomy and Agricultural Extension
Crop Science and Technology was established in 2005. It offers a 4-year B.Sc.Ag.(Hons) degree and 18 months M.S. degree. MPhil and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees are also offered. About 250 students are studying in the department.
All of these departments are in the Agricultural Faculty Building. Only 'practical work' is performed in Narikelbaria Campus. Founded in 2000, the Faculty of Agriculture was formed when a local agricultural college was absorbed into the university.
Faculty of Geosciences
Geography & Environmental Studies
Geology & Mining
Faculty of Veterinary & Animal Sciences
Veterinary & Animal Sciences
Faculty of Fisheries
Fisheries
Institutes
There are six institutes of Rajshahi University.
Institutes of Bangladesh Studies
Institutes of Biological Science
Institute of Business Administration
Institute of Education and Research
Institute of English and Other Languages
Institute of Environmental Science
Affiliating National Professional Academies
Bangladesh Police Academy.
Affiliating Non-Government Engineering Tech Colleges under Rajshahi University
Abul Hossain College of Engineering, Rangpur
Advanced Engineering College, Rajshahi
Ashrai Engineering College, Rajshahi
BCMC college of ENGINEERING and TECHNOLOGY, Jashore
Epsilon Engineering College, Rajshahi
Global Institute of Science and Technology, Rajshahi
Imperial College of Engineering, Khulna
KSFL Engineering College, Dinajpur
Pabna Engineering College, Pabna
Rajshahi Engineering Science & Technology college, Rajshahi
Rangpur Engineering College
South East Engineering College, Khulna
TMSS Engineering College, Thengamara (Rangpur Road), Bougra (Website: http://tec.edu.bd/)
United B.Sc. Engineering College
Affiliating Non-Government Agriculture Colleges under Rajshahi University
Tamaltala Agriculture and Technical College, Natore
International Institute of Applied Science & Technology, Rangpur
Henry Institute of Bioscience and Technology, Sirajganj
Anowara College of Bioscience, Dinajpur
Rajshahi Institute of Biosciences, Rajshahi
Varendra Institute of Biosciences
Udayan College of Bioscience & Technology, Rajshahi(UCBT)
Bhashasoinik Gaziul Haque Institute of Bioscience, Bogura
Student life
Housing
The university has 18 residential halls for students, six for women and eleven for men and one International Dormitory. The halls are named after prominent Bangladeshi historical and cultural figures, some of them from Rajshahi. The largest men's hall is Shahid Habibur Rahman Hall, named after a mathematics professor killed on campus during the 1971 war by the Pakistani Army. The largest women's hall is Monnujan Hall, followed by Begum Rokeya Hall, named after Rokeya Sakhawat Hussain, a leading figure in women's rights activism in Bengal.
The housing system can accommodate more than 10,000 students, which has created a deepening accommodation crisis as the student body has risen to 25,000. Apart from the seat limitations, the amenities of these halls do not always meet decent accommodation standards. This has led to the establishment of many privately owned off-campus "messes". The residential halls provide meals, which are subsidised by the university authorities.
Names of halls
Activities
The physical education department of the university has 27 instructors and is equipped with a 25,000-seat stadium, two gymnasiums, one swimming pool, four football grounds, one hockey ground, four tennis courts, two basketball courts and a squash court.
The Teacher Students Center was designed to be the center of cultural activities of the university. Reception of fresh students, celebration of national holidays, and the annual cultural competition are key cultural events at the campus. The university is home to recitation groups like Shwanan, and drama groups like Anushilon and the Rajshahi University Drama Association. A vibrant fine arts scene thrives around the Department of Fine Arts, and the campus hosts exhibitions each year. The university has branches of all major national cultural groups, including Udichi and Gono Natto Shongstha.
During the three major national days — Language Movement Day (21 February), Independence Day (26 March) and Victory Day (16 December) — the university hosts public meetings, cultural programs and political activities. On these days, students and teachers, going barefoot, congregate around the Shaheed Minar and pay their respect. During the major Muslim religious occasions of Eid, the university is usually deserted as students go home to be with their families. Other religiously important days like Shabe-barat are observed through discussions and religious activities. The major Hindu festival celebrated in the university is Saraswati Puja—Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, is worshiped in a central location as well as individually in many residential halls. The Bengali new year, Pohela Baisakh is also observed with much pomp.
Notable alumni
Category:University of Rajshahi alumni
Incidents and controversies
During the 1980s, the four-year honors course took as long as eight years due to the session backlogs, resulting mainly from conflicts between factions of political groups. Since the early 1990s, student politics has been calmer, with student body elections not being held for more than a decade. The student groups have been demanding elections whereas others feel student politics should be banned.
In late 2004 and early 2005, two professors of Rajshahi University got assassinated within three months: Professor Yunus from the Economics department in December 2004 and Professor Taher from the Geology and Mining department in February 2005. Both murders were suspected to be driven by political motivations. In 2006, the commander of Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh admitted to the Rapid Action Battalion interrogators that his operatives carried out the attack on Yunus, as well as the 2004 attack on writer Humayun Azad, the murder of another writer, bomb blasts, and attacks on cinemas.
Around the same time, a controversy over the hiring of over 500 new employees broke; detractors suggested that they were hired illegally, either in return for money or for political reasons.
In 2005, Muhammad Asadullah Al-Ghalib of the university was arrested for links with the Ahle Hadith Andolon Bangladesh, but was acquitted in 2008.
In August 2007, six detained professors of the university were temporarily suspended for their involvement in organizing protests that violated Emergency Power Rules, though they were discharged later from allegations and returned to the university.
In November 2017, a woman student was abducted from the university campus, sparking protests by students demanding her rescue and improved security on the campus.
In July 2018 protests and counter-violence erupted at various universities over the "quota reform movement," which sought to change the quota system that allocated 56% of Bangladesh government jobs to specific "entitled" classes. The vice-chancellor, Professor M. Abdus Sobhan, dismissed the quota-reform movement as an "antigovernmental movement with a motive to carry out sabotage."
The student and quota-reform movement leader Toriqul Islam, and 15 others, were attacked during their protest march, 2 July 2018, by opposing students. The Daily Star, which filmed the incident, identified 10 of the attackers as leaders and activists of the Bangladesh Chhatra League, a pro-Awami League (Bangladesh's ruling party) student organization. Video footage and photos published in Bangladeshi media showed BCL men with sticks, bamboo poles, a dagger and a hammer beating Toriqul, who suffered a broken leg and severe head injury. Several police officers standing nearby (unaware the incident was being filmed) did not intervene until the attack was finished, then took the victim to hospital without arresting any of the attackers, publicly denying it was anything more than a "scuffle." University authorities declined to investigate, for lack of a filed complaint. Images of the attack, distributed on social media, sparked widespread criticism over police and university administration inaction.
Despite student Toriqul's unresolved major injuries, the university's Rajshahi Medical College Hospital discharged him 5 July 2018, forcing his doctor to arrange for immediate surgery elsewhere.
Gallery
See also
Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET)
Bangladesh University of Textiles (BUTEX)
Islamic University, Bangladesh (IU) Kushtia
Islamic University of Technology (IUT)
List of universities in Bangladesh
University of Dhaka
Notes
References
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External links
Official website
Educational institutions established in 1953
Public universities of Bangladesh
1953 establishments in Pakistan
Organisations based in Rajshahi | en |
doc-en-10801 | The Dam Keeper is a 2014 American animated short film directed by Robert Kondo and Daisuke Tsutsumi. It tells the story of Pig, an introverted youth who lives in a windmill and keeps a dark fog from engulfing his town. Although socially rejected by his peers, he is befriended by the artistic Fox.
Kondo and Tsutsumi began developing the film while working as art directors on Monsters University and produced it through a co-op program at Pixar. This is Tsutsumi's second short film, after 2011's Sketchtravel, and Kondo's first directorial effort. Producers Megan Bartel and Duncan Ramsay were also employees at Pixar. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Short Film.
Plot
Pig lives alone in a windmill on the outskirts of town. The windmill sits atop a massive wall and continually blows away a dark fog that perpetually looms outside the wall. Every day, Pig winds the windmill to keep it turning, just like his father before him.
However, in town and at school, nobody likes Pig. Even though he protects the town, the other animal children make fun of him and bully him.
Soon, a new student, Fox, arrives at the school carrying a sketchbook and quickly becomes rather popular. One day, she mistakingly drops the sketchbook while leaving the classroom, and Pig discovers that Fox draws mocking caricatures of classmates and teachers. Fox shows up the next day upset about losing the sketchbook, but she is quickly relieved to see that Pig has it with him.
That day at school, bullies drag Pig into the restroom and harass him. Fox discovers Pig in the restroom, and consoles him and teaches him to use art as an emotional outlet for his daily hardships. The two become good friends. After school one day, Pig notices Fox surrounded by several other students looking at one of her drawings and laughing. Emboldened, Pig approaches the group. Through the crowd, Pig barely sees a mean-looking caricature of himself, with "Dirty P-" written at the top. Devastated, Pig rips the drawing out of Fox's sketchbook and runs away in tears.
As evening continues, the fog draws near - Pig should be returning to his home to wind the windmill. Instead, sitting in sorrow, he puts on his gas mask and waits as the fog envelops the town while the other animals flee in terror. Eventually, Pig looks down at the drawing and discovers that he is not the only one caricatured—Fox is next to him, and the title is actually "Dirty Pals". Jolted back to his senses, Pig realizes what horrible risk the town is in. He makes his way to the windmill and manages to rid the town of the fog, losing and damaging one of the mill's propellers in the process.
Pig gazes out the window of the windmill as the fog clears and the citizens begin cleaning up. Pig remembers the drawing and begins to leave. Upon opening the door, Fox is waiting for him. Pig acknowledges his misunderstanding, and she extends forgiveness to him. The two then play together inside the windmill.
Cast
Lars Mikkelsen as Narrator
Production
Development
The Dam Keeper was produced as part of a co-op program at Pixar, under which employees are allowed to develop their own films without the use of studio resources. Directors Robert Kondo and Daisuke "Dice" Tsutsumi were both art directors at Pixar. They had worked together on Toy Story 3 and Monsters University. Partially facilitated by having their offices located next to one another's, a friendship quickly formed between the two of them. While Kondo's first job was at Pixar, Tsutsumi had previously been employed at Blue Sky Studios and is married to a niece of famed Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki. Kondo recalls having been "fascinated by [Tsutsumi's] outside experience" and recognized at the time that his co-worker's "vision always seemed to be greater than the box [of] our responsibility." In 2011, Tsutsumi released his first directorial effort - an animated short film called Sketchtravel. He was aided on the film by Kondo, who worked on it as an animator. Kondo has described the film as having "very limited animation...like a children's book come to life."
Shortly after the completion of Sketchtravel, Tsutsumi turned to Kondo with the idea of collaborating on a new short film. This was during the "heat of production" for Monsters University, a time after which, as Kondo explained, most animators normally consider taking time off. Kondo noted, "Dice wanted to take time off, but in that time, he wanted to make a film." The two were tantalized by the potential, recognizing how much Tsutsumi had been able to achieve as a solo-director, and considering how much more they would be able to achieve together. For the following year, they developed story ideas before and after work, sharing treatments with each other through Google Docs. Unable to use their Pixar offices for the task, they wrote in their home studios, cafes - anywhere that "encouraged [their] creativity" and had internet access. They then got together on weekends to discuss story ideas.
Pre-production
Once their duties on Monsters University were complete, Kondo and Tsutsumi took a three-month sabbatical to begin production on their project. They began without any clear intentions - the film would simply be an experiment to see "how far [they] could go". The two co-directors rented a windowless studio right across the street from Pixar. At first, they were unsure of how to approach production. "There was no real formula or no real path as to what was right", Kondo said. "We didn't know - should we be writing a script, should we be drawing moments, should we be talking about character design?" Not until their editor, Bradley Furnish, became involved, did all of the individual elements synthesize into what the directors recognized as a potential film.
The two directors refused to pressure themselves into striving for perfection; they just wanted to get the film done. Recognizing the process as a "learning experience", and choosing to extend this opportunity to the rest of the crew, they hired animators who were predominantly young and had just graduated from school. "Growth was a big part of...who we selected to bring on", Kondo said. "We kept asking, what can you gain by working on this project?" Rounding out the crew were fellow Pixar employees, such as Duncan Ramsay, who worked as a production assistant at the studio. Ramsay's co-workers gave him the chance to come onto The Dam Keeper in an even more distinguished position than production assistant - producer. However, Ramsay feared that balancing a project like this, on the side of his regular Pixar duties, would prove an unmanageable workload. So initially, he turned the offer down. All the same, he found himself gradually being drawn into the project, and once he committed full-scale, he convinced his friend, Megan Bartel, to come onto the film as a producer with him. Bartel characterized Ramsay as "the perfect strategist"; someone who holds an ideal mixture of warmth and intelligence. Ramsay would hold "daily progress check-ins" throughout the film's production and found a "creative outlet" in writing the film's narration. The crew in its entirety consisted of about seventy people, though there was a "core group" of about twenty to twenty-five. Everyone worked on a volunteer basis.
For guidance, Kondo and Tsutsumi turned to Erick Oh, one of their Pixar co-workers, who already held experience as an independent filmmaker. Oh was happy to oblige. As he grew more involved with the film, he moved beyond his mere advisory role to become the film's supervising animator. Although he had never worked in this position before, he found it to be like a "bridge" between animating (which he had done at Pixar) and directing (which he had done on his own films).
Official production began in early 2013. Although Kondo and Tsutsumi had planned to carry out most of the film's production within the three months that they took off from Pixar, this schedule was developed around an early version of the film that only ran for eight minutes. As the film's length expanded, eventually reaching eighteen minutes, the production period stretched into a total of nine months. "We just couldn't foresee the length of the story we wanted to tell in the beginning", Tsutsumi reflected. "[But] if you look at the math, three months of eight minutes to nine months of 18 minutes is not too bad." Commenting on the film's burgeoning run time, Kondo explained that eight minutes seemed insufficient to convey the kind of story that he and Tsutsumi wanted to tell - one in which a character's perception of life significantly changes. However, Kondo hopes that in the future, they will be able to make films with "just as much emotion in a shorter format."
Story development
Primarily interested in the opportunity of collaborating, Kondo and Tsutsumi did not have any specific story in mind when they commenced. They enjoy similar types of films, but did not immediately settle into the writing process - it took them some time to "find a way to do it together", Tsutsumi said. Their first idea centered on an old miner and his dog. This then evolved through four or five different iterations, before manifesting in its final form. Drawing inspiration from The Little Dutch Boy, a folktale about a young boy who saves his town by placing his finger in a dike, Kondo and Tsutsumi devised a character who would hold similar responsibility, except on a day-to-day basis.
Thematically, the duo sought to craft a story that would be true to familiar ordeals - they wanted anyone to be able to relate to the story. The dark fog that encroaches upon the town serves two purposes: it comments on the "contemporary reality" of pollution, while also symbolizing Pig's struggle with internal demons. Kondo explained that both he and Tsutsumi desired to create a world that feels "impermanent", in which things "don't seem like they can last forever." Both directors enjoy films that are "slow-paced, poetic, [and] very quiet." Although they tried to capture this aesthetic in The Dam Keeper, they were also concerned about the film lagging, and so they worked with their editor, Bradley Furnish, to make sure that the film has a balanced pace.
Tsutsumi has named Frédéric Back as his prime influence as an animator. "He [Back] always had something to say. For him, figuring out what was happening in society came first, before his craft", Tsutsumi said. Although the two directors did not seek to make a "social statement" with their film, commentary on world issues flowed naturally into their story. "[W]e tried hard to stay true to who we are", Tsutsumi said. [W]e are very conscious of what is happening today." Kondo has named Don Bluth as one of his influences, and both have named Hayao Miyzakai (Tsutsumi's uncle through marriage), as well as the films of Walt Disney - in particular, Pinocchio, Dumbo, and One Hundred and One Dalmatians.
Many people have asked Kondo if Pig was based on him, and if Fox was based on Tsutsumi. However, each character was actually based on both filmmakers. "I think Pig might be who we are, but Fox is who we want to be", Tsutsumi explained. He described himself and Kondo as both being "somewhat introverted". Although he supposes that they are not quite as introverted as Pig, he feels that many artists are.
A test screening of the first story reel was organized for a group of Kondo and Tsutsumi's friends who had more writing experience than the two former art directors. As described by Kondo, the screening was "a disaster." The two directors recognized for themselves that the story was not working as they had wanted it to. "That was devastating", Tsutsumi said. The story was coming across as overly "heady" and did not connect emotionally. Although Kondo and Tsutsumi had wanted to finalize the story before starting production, they now had to revise it, while concurrently working on other aspects of the film. Otherwise, they would not have stayed on schedule. Looking forward, Kondo has noted that difficulties like this are unavoidable. He has said that he only hopes to be "more nimble" in dealing with them in the future.
One scene was cut from the finished film. It was halfway through animation at the time and was removed since the directors thought that it "distracted from the emotional arc" of the story. In the scene, Pig loses track of the time, crying alone in a classroom after school. As he rushes home to the windmill, the fog nearly rolls into the town.
Animation
As art directors at Pixar, Kondo and Tsutsumi were primarily responsible for creating concept paintings. Carrying little experience with them in the actual process of animating a film, the duo developed a visual style for The Dam Keeper that utilized their painting abilities. After creating the film's animation in TVPaint, a French digital animation program, brush-stroke effects were added to each frame in Photoshop. Although Tsutsumi described this approach as "time-consuming", he felt that it "paid off in the end."
Going into the project, Kondo and Tsutsumi already had similar painting styles. However, they decided to learn even more from each other and then trained their animating team to work within these styles. During their sabbatical from Pixar, the directors took their team outside to paint together and did still lifes with them as well. At first, the animators made little progress. "We went from at least the two of us painting every day and producing things for the film, to none of us", Kondo remarked on the situation. Not a single frame of the film was produced during the first month. The directors later described this moment as "terrifying". They began to worry that the film would never see completion. However, in a sudden turn, the animators began accomplishing more than their directors had ever anticipated of them. "Literally in a day...we went from zero to exceeding output for a week...expectations for what our production could be just exploded", Kondo said. The animators learned certain techniques even faster than Kondo and Tsutsumi had. When given a task, they often returned work of a higher quality than their directors had initially asked for.
About 8,000 frames were created for the film. Even though 3D animation is not used in the finished version of the film, Maya and other 3D software programs were used for previsualization. The directors felt that this "allowed [for] the greatest exploration of scene layout in the shortest amount of time." Tsutsumi has said that many people have mistaken the film's animation for CGI "with a painterly texture over it". He actually considers this misconception to be complimentary, and he credits it to his and Kondo's painting style, which emphasizes light and "how the characters interact with [it]. On Photoshop, the animators used "adjustment layers to paint lighting on characters." This helped frames remain consistent between animators. To further aid in consistency, frames were compared in AfterEffects.
After creating scenes for the film, animators would upload them to the file sharing service Box, tagging the directors to indicate that the scenes "were ready for review." Kondo and Tsutsumi would then leave notes on the animators' work and do a paint-over. Because Box is able to save each version of a file, no one had to "worry about losing anything", Kondo explained. This helped him and Tsutsumi keep track of everything that was going on in the production. Kondo noted that without the ease of "communication, information organization and collaboration" provided by new technology, the film "would have had to have changed in scope, complexity and quality to be able to be done" on schedule." He feels that this would have been impossible to accomplish a decade earlier.
Music
The film's score was composed by Zach Johnston and Matteo Roberts. Johnston had previously collaborated with the directors on Tsutsumi's Sketchtravel, as a composer and co-writer. The four would often converse over Skype. Kondo and Tsutsumi have no musical background, but felt that they were "in great hands" with their composers. They were upfront about their lack of expertise in this area. When making suggestions for the score, they would acknowledge that their ideas might not be worth using. However, Johnston and Roberts both feel that the directors made valuable musical contributions. Johnston remarked that the directors made the score "more elegant and subtle" than it would have been otherwise. Noting the importance of this point, Roberts said that because Pig's pain has become normalized in his life, the score should only reflect "a tinge of sadness" and not be "overly dramatic". Both composers greatly enjoyed their time on the film. They felt a considerable amount of freedom in crafting the score and found that there was no pressure to mimic the sound of other composers. After completing the film, Johnston joked that his and Roberts' careers would be "all down hill from here...unless Dice and Robert ask us to do another one."
The demo score was created and recorded on Apple's GarageBand. Minna Choi then conducted MagicMagic Orchestra in performing the score live. They recorded at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California. The studio room contained a screen that would show corresponding scenes. Many of the instrumentalists found that they could not watch this without being overcome with emotion. As such, they had to avert their eyes. Tsutsumi related a moment when Choi was explaining the film's story to the orchestra, and he found her moved to tears. For his part, Kondo found it "mesmerizing" to watch Choi conduct. "There's something about watching someone who's incredible at their craft", he said. Commenting on Johnston and Roberts' score, Choi called it "tender", "sweet", and "innocent".
Post-production
When Kondo and Tsutsumi completed production on The Dam Keeper, they found themselves restless at Pixar. "Of course they were great to us", Kondo said of his friends at the studio. "They're our family still, but...if we didn't go back to [independent filmmaking] and challenge ourselves...in the end not only would we suffer but Pixar would suffer as well." He and Tsutsumi made the difficult decision of leaving their employment behind. Tsutsumi was a new father at the time. Kondo was soon to be married. Friends and family questioned them. However, the duo had grown deeply enamored with the experience of making films on their own. When they had first set out to direct The Dam Keeper, they had been looking for something that could mirror the early days of Pixar. "Creating something from scratch is what 'creating' means", Tsutsumi explained. "We didn't experience that beginning and, if we stayed at Pixar, we never would." The two of them felt they had learned more in the nine months that it took to produce The Dam Keeper than in all of their previous years as art directors. They did not want this rewarding period of their lives to only last for a short while.
Recognizing that it would only become harder with the passing years to go out on their own, Kondo and Tsutsumi resigned from Pixar in July 2014. From there, they founded their own studio, Tonko House. Although they would eventually move locations to Berkeley, California, at first Tonko House was situated within the same windowless studio that The Dam Keeper was produced in - right across the street from Pixar. Kondo and Tsutsumi invited their former boss and mentor, Ed Catmull, over for a visit. He gave the duo his blessing, saying, "This is the moment you'll remember no matter what it turns into, no matter how big it becomes...that first moment, when you create something from nothing, is the best time."
Tonko House derives its name from the Japanese words for pig (ton) and fox (ko). It was not the first name that Kondo and Tsutsumi considered, but all of their other ideas were already taken. To ensure that they came up with something unused, they settled on using a "nonsensical" word, but one that would still carry an "indirect" connection to their identity and work. Ko is an old-fashioned word and is not commonly used in the modern Japanese language.
Release
The film was produced without clear intentions for its release. "[W]e didn’t make The Dam Keeper to enter festivals, we just wanted to make a film. But once it was done we wanted to share it", Tsutsumi said. The film was rejected by the first few festivals that it was submitted to. In February 2014, it was accepted at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival, where it had its world premiere. The US premiere followed in March, at the 17th New York International Children's Film Festival. In all, over ninety festivals have screened the film. The first public screening was held in December 2014 at a small cinema in Berkeley, California. At this screening, Kondo and Tsutsumi auctioned off original works of art.
With the film's Oscar nomination, it was picked up for theatrical distribution by Magnolia Pictures and Shorts HD. Premiering on January 30, 2015, in a compilation with the other 2014 Oscar-nominated, animated short films, it was screened in 350 theaters across North America, as well as several dozen in Europe and Latin America.
Critical reception
Collin Souter of Rogerebert.com called The Dam Keeper "a beautiful piece of work" and speculated that it may win the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. Justin Chang of Variety compared the film to Stephen King's dark novel Carrie. He complimented its "moody, muted" visual style, which he thought resembled both paint and chalk. Noting that the "ever-shifting images perfectly capture a fragile community that could easily vanish into the ether", he considered the film "emotionally harrowing." In an article for The New York Times, Charles Solomon wrote that the film's design "suggests a canvas in motion." In a separate article for The New York Times, A.O. Scott called the film "complex and rewarding." He praised its commentary on both the environment and emotional struggles, while finding the character designs to be "charming, without being especially cute." Carolyn Giardina of The Hollywood Reporter called the film's story "moving" and its visual design "beautiful." Freelance critic, activist, and published author Richard Propes wrote on his website, The Independent Critic, that the film was one of the best shorts at 2014's Heartland Film Festival. Although he was unsure why it had impacted him so greatly, he declared that the film would long linger with him after seeing it. Acknowledging it as less "designed for mass consumption" than most mainstream American animation, he nonetheless wrote that it should be considered equal in entertainment value. He gave the film an A- and praised its quiet, emotionally involving nature.
According to the New York Times, most professional animators considered The Dam Keeper the best of 2014's Oscar-nominated, animated short films. Disney producer Don Hahn praised the film saying, "There is a sameness to much animation, so when a film like The Dam Keeper comes along, it reminds us that the boundaries of animation have barely been explored." One of How to Train Your Dragon 2'''s writers and directors, Dean DeBlois, said that the animation style of The Dam Keeper resembles development artwork that has been given "life and poetry and movement."
Accolades
The film received an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Short Film at the 87th Academy Awards, but lost to Disney's Feast. Unable to finance an Oscar campaign, Kondo and Tsutsumi formed a grassroots strategy that relied on social media platforms. They had given little consideration to the possibility of an Oscar-nomination while making the film, and Tsutsumi called the revelation "a little bit overwhelming." It wasn't a part of Tonko House's plan", he said. To them, the true significance of the honor is that it shows their place within the animation community.
Other projects
Graphic novels
First Second Books announced a collaboration with Tonko House to publish a trilogy of graphic novels that would expand Pig and Fox's adventures 5 years after the events of the short. In the graphic novels, the poisonous fog recedes for the first time, leading Pig and Fox to explore the beyond with the unlikely help of one of Pig's bullies, Hippo. Along the way, the questions raised from the short on the whereabouts of Pig's parents and the poisonous fog engulfing the other side of the dam to begin with, will be answered.
Robert Kondo, one of the directors and artists of The Dam Keeper, remarked that the continuation is "inspired by a personal anecdote of Tstusumi’s, [saying] that they’re interested in exploring how friendship evolves as [they] mature." They were "eight or ten" when "the kind of friends is different than when [they] grow up and start to learn about the world and who [they] are in the world.” The first graphic novel was scheduled to be published in 2016, but was delayed to September 26, 2017, while the second installment, "The Dam Keeper: World Without Darkness was published on July 10, 2018 and the third and final graphic novel titled "The Dam Keeper: Return from the Shadows" was published on July 2, 2019.
Feature film
There is also a feature film sequel to the short that is in development with Kondo and Tsutsumi returning as directors. Produced by former Blue Sky Studios producer Kane Lee, it is meant to also expand the adventures of Pig and Fox just like the trilogy of graphic novels.
Originally, when the feature film was announced, it was in collaboration with 20th Century Fox Animation during development. However, following The Walt Disney Company's acquisition with 21st Century Fox as of March 20, 2019, the film is currently being developed independently at Tonko House, looking for other movie studios to collaborate with.
Television series
Tonko House produced an animated television series based on the short titled Pig: The Dam Keeper Poems''. It premiered on Hulu in Japan.
References
External links
Official website
2014 films
2014 drama films
2014 animated films
2014 short films
2010s animated short films
American films
American drama films
American animated short films
English-language films
American independent films
2014 independent films
Environmental films
Films set in schools
Animated films about animals
Animated films about foxes
Films about bullying
First Second Books books | en |
doc-en-690 | The Perry Index is a widely used index of "Aesop's Fables" or "Aesopica", the fables credited to Aesop, the storyteller who lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 560 BC. The index was created by Ben Edwin Perry, a professor of classics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Modern scholarship takes the view that Aesop probably did not compose all of the fables attributed to him; indeed, a few are known to have first been used before Aesop lived, while the first record we have of many others is from well over a millennium after his time. Traditionally, Aesop's fables were arranged alphabetically, which is not helpful to the reader. Perry listed them by language (Greek then Latin), chronologically, by source, and then alphabetically; the Spanish scholar Francisco Rodríguez Adrados created a similar system. This system also does not help the casual reader, but is the best for scholarly purposes.
Index
Perry 1–100
Perry 1. Eagle and Fox
Perry 2. Eagle, Jackdaw and Shepherd
Perry 3. Eagle and Beetle
Perry 4. Hawk and Nightingale
Perry 5. The Athenian Debtor
Perry 6. The Goatherd and the Wild Goats
Perry 7. Cat as Physician and the Hens
Perry 8. Aesop at the Shipyard
Perry 9. The Fox and the Goat in the Well
Perry 10. Fox and Lion
Perry 11. The Fisherman Pipes to the Fish
Perry 12. Fox and Leopard
Perry 13. The Fisherman
Perry 14. The Ape boasting to the Fox about his Ancestry
Perry 15. The Fox and the Grapes out of Reach
Perry 16. The Cat and the Cock
Perry 17. The Fox without a Tail
Perry 18. The Fisherman and the Little Fish
Perry 19. The Fox and the Thornbush
Perry 20. Fox and Crocodile
Perry 21. The Fishermen and the Tunny
Perry 22. The Fox and the Woodcutter
Perry 23. Cocks and Partridge
Perry 24. The Fox with the Swollen Belly
Perry 25. The Halcyon
Perry 26. A Fisherman
Perry 27. The Fox looks at the Actor's Mask
Perry 28. The Cheater
Perry 29. The Charcoal Dealer and the Fuller
Perry 30. The Shipwrecked Man (referenced under Hercules and the Wagoner)
Perry 31. The Middle-aged Man and his Two Mistresses
Perry 32. The Murderer
Perry 33. The Braggart
Perry 34. Impossible Promises
Perry 35. The Man and the Satyr
Perry 36. Evil-wit
Perry 37. A Blind Man
Perry 38. The Ploughman and the Wolf
Perry 39. The Wise Swallow
Perry 40. The Astrologer
Perry 41. Fox and Lamb
Perry 42. The Farmer's Bequest to his Sons
Perry 43. Two Frogs
Perry 44. The Frogs ask Zeus for a King
Perry 45. The Oxen and the Squeaking-Axle
Perry 46. The North Wind and the Sun
Perry 47. The Boy with the Stomach-Ache
Perry 48. The Nightingale and the Bat
Perry 49. The Herdsman who lost a Calf
Perry 50. The Weasel and Aphrodite
Perry 51. The Farmer and the Snake
Perry 52. The Farmer and his Dogs
Perry 53. The Farmer's Sons
Perry 54. The Snails in the Fire
Perry 55. The Woman and her Overworked Maidservants
Perry 56. The Witch
Perry 57. The Old Woman and the Thieving Physician
Perry 58. The Overfed Hen (referenced under The Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs)
Perry 59. Weasel and File
Perry 60. The Old Man and Death
Perry 61. Fortune and the Farmer
Perry 62. The Dolphins at War and the Gudgeon (or Crab)
Perry 63. Demades the Orator
Perry 64. The Wrong Remedy for Dog-bite
Perry 65. The Travellers and the Bear
Perry 66. The Youngsters in the Butcher's Shop
Perry 67. The Wayfarers who Found an Axe
Perry 68. The Enemies
Perry 69. Two Frogs were Neighbours
Perry 70. The Oak and the Reed
Perry 71. The Timid and Covetous Man who found a Lion made of Gold
Perry 72. The Beekeeper
Perry 73. The Ape and the Dolphin
Perry 74. The Stag at the Fountain
Perry 75. The One-eyed Stag
Perry 76. The Stag and the Lion in a Cave
Perry 77. The Stag and the Vine
Perry 78. The Passengers at Sea
Perry 79. Cat and Mice
Perry 80. The Flies in the Honey
Perry 81. The Ape and the Fox
Perry 82. Ass, Cock, and Lion
Perry 83. The Ape and the Camel
Perry 84. The Two Beetles
Perry 85. The Pig and the Sheep
Perry 86. The Thrush
Perry 87. The Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs
Perry 88. Hermes and the Statuary
Perry 89. Hermes and Tiresias
Perry 90. Viper and Watersnake
Perry 91. The Ass who would be Playmate to his Master
Perry 92. The Two Dogs
Perry 93. The Viper and the File
Perry 94. The Father and his Two Daughters
Perry 95. The Ill-tempered Wife
Perry 96. Viper and Fox
Perry 97. The Young Goat and the Wolf as Musicians
Perry 98. The Kid on the House-top and the Wolf
Perry 99. A Statue of Hermes on Sale
Perry 100. Zeus, Prometheus, Athena and Momus
Perry 101–200
Perry 101. The Jackdaw in Borrowed Feathers
Perry 102. Hermes and Earth
Perry 103. Hermes and the Artisans
Perry 104. Zeus and Apollo, a Contest in Archery
Perry 105. Man's Years
Perry 106. Zeus and the Tortoise
Perry 107. Zeus and the Fox
Perry 108. Zeus and Man
Perry 109. Zeus and Shame
Perry 110. The Hero
Perry 111. Heracles and Plutus
Perry 112. Ant and Beetle
Perry 113. The Tunny and the Dolphin
Perry 114. The Physician at the Funeral
Perry 115. The Fowler and the Asp
Perry 116. The Crab and the Fox
Perry 117. The Camel who wanted Horns
Perry 118. The Beaver
Perry 119. The Gardener watering his Vegetables
Perry 120. The Gardener and his Dog
Perry 121. The Cithara Player
Perry 122. The Thieves and the Cock
Perry 123. The Jackdaw and the Crows
Perry 124. Fox and Crow
Perry 125. The Crow and the Raven
Perry 126. Jackdaw and Fox
Perry 127. The Crow and the Dog
Perry 128. The Crow and the Snake
Perry 129. The Jackdaw and the Pigeons
Perry 130. The Stomach and the Feet
Perry 131. The Jackdaw fleeing from Captivity
Perry 132. The Dog who would chase a Lion
Perry 133. The Dog with the Meat and his Shadow
Perry 134. The Sleeping Dog and the Wolf
Perry 135. The Famished Dogs
Perry 136. The Dog and the Hare
Perry 137. The Gnat and the Bull
Perry 138. The Hares and the Frogs
Perry 139. The Sea-gull and the Kite
Perry 140. The Lion in Love
Perry 141. The Lion and the Frog
Perry 142. The Aged Lion and the Fox
Perry 143. The Lion and the Bull invited to Dinner
Perry 144. The Lion in the Farmer's Yard
Perry 145. Lion and Dolphin
Perry 146. The Lion startled by a Mouse
Perry 147. Lion and Bear
Perry 148. The Lion and the Hare
Perry 149. The Lion, Ass, and Fox
Perry 150. The Lion and the Mouse
Perry 151. The Lion and the Ass Hunting
Perry 152. The Brigand and the Mulberry Tree
Perry 153. The Wolves and the Sheep
Perry 154. The Wolf and the Horse
Perry 155. The Wolf and the Lamb
Perry 156. The Wolf and the Heron
Perry 157. The Wolf and the Goat
Perry 158. The Wolf and the Old Woman Nurse
Perry 159. Wolf and Sheep (Three True Statements)
Perry 160. The Disabled Wolf and the Sheep
Perry 161. The Fortune-teller
Perry 162. The Baby and the Crow
Perry 163. Zeus and the Bees
Perry 164. The Mendicant Priests
Perry 165. Battle of the Mice and Cats
Perry 166. The Ant (noticed under The Ant and the Grasshopper)
Perry 167. The Fly
Perry 168. The Shipwrecked Man
Perry 169. The Prodigal Young Man and the Swallow
Perry 170. Physician and Sick Man
Perry 171. Bat, Thorn Bush, and Gull
Perry 172. The Bat and the Two Weasels
Perry 173. Hermes and the Woodcutter
Perry 174. Fortune and the Traveller by the Well
Perry 175. The Travellers and the Plane Tree
Perry 176. The Man who warmed a Snake
Perry 177. The Driftwood on the Sea
Perry 178. The Traveller's Offering to Hermes
Perry 179. The Ass and Gardener
Perry 180. The Ass with a Burden of Salt
Perry 181. The Ass and the Mule
Perry 182. The Ass carrying the Image of a God
Perry 183. The Wild Ass and the Tame Ass (noticed under The Dog and the Wolf)
Perry 184. The Ass and the Cicadas
Perry 185. The Donkeys make a Petition to Zeus
Perry 186. The Ass and his Driver
Perry 187. The Wolf as Physician
Perry 188. Ass in Lion's Skin
Perry 189. The Ass and the Frogs
Perry 190. Ass, Crow, and Wolf
Perry 191. The Fox betrays the Ass
Perry 192. The Hen and the Swallow
Perry 193. The Fowler and the Lark
Perry 194. The Fowler and the Stork
Perry 195. The Camel seen for the First Time (noticed under The Lion and the Fox)
Perry 196. The Snake and the Crab
Perry 197. Snake, Weasel and Mice
Perry 198. Zeus and the Downtrodden Snake
Perry 199. The Boy and the Scorpion
Perry 200. The Thief and his Mother
Perry 201–300
Perry 201. The Pigeon and the Picture
Perry 202. The Pigeon and the Crow
Perry 203. The Ape and the Fisherman
Perry 204. The Rich Man and the Tanner
Perry 205. The Hired Mourners
Perry 206. Shepherd and Dog
Perry 207. The Shepherd and the Sea
Perry 208. The Shepherd and his Sheep
Perry 209. The Shepherd and the Young Wolves
Perry 210. The Shepherd who cried "Wolf!" in Jest
Perry 211. The Boy bathing in the River
Perry 212. The Sheep unskillfully Sheared
Perry 213. Pomegranate, Apple Tree, and Bramble
Perry 214. The Mole
Perry 215. The Wasps and the Partridges
Perry 216. The Wasp and the Snake
Perry 217. The Bull and the Wild Goats
Perry 218. The Ape's Twin Offspring
Perry 219. The Peacock and the Jackdaw
Perry 220. Camel and Elephant, Candidates for King
Perry 221. Zeus and the Snake
Perry 222. The Sow and the Bitch
Perry 223. A Dispute concerning Fecundity
Perry 224. The Wild Boar and the Fox
Perry 225. The Miser and his Gold
Perry 226. The Tortoise and the Hare
Perry 227. The Swallow nesting on the Courthouse
Perry 228. The Geese and the Cranes
Perry 229. The Swallow and the Crow
Perry 230. The Turtle takes Lessons from the Eagle
Perry 231. The Athlete and the Flea
Perry 232. The Foxes at the Meander River
Perry 233. The Swan and his Owner (Referenced under The Swan and the Goose)
Perry 234. The Wolf and the Shepherd (Referenced under The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing)
Perry 235. The Ant and the Dove
Perry 236. The Travellers and the Crow
Perry 237. A Donkey Bought on Approval
Perry 238. The Fowler and the Pigeons
Perry 239. The Depositary and the god Horkos (Oath)
Perry 240. Prometheus and Men
Perry 241. Cicada and Fox
Perry 242. The Hyena and the Fox
Perry 243. The Hyenas
Perry 244. The Parrot and the Cat (Partridge and Cat)
Perry 245. The Timid Soldier and the Crows
Perry 246. The Wife and her Drunken Husband
Perry 247. Diogenes on a Journey
Perry 248. Diogenes and the Bald Man
Perry 249. The Dancing Camel
Perry 250. The Nut Tree
Perry 251. The Lark
Perry 252. The Dog, the Rooster, and the Fox
Perry 253. Dog and Shellfish
Perry 254. Dog and Butcher
Perry 255. Mosquito and Lion
Perry 256. Hares and Foxes
Perry 257. Lioness and Fox
Perry 258. The Sick Lion, the Wolf, and Fox
Perry 259. The Lion, Prometheus, and the Elephant
Perry 260. The Wolf admiring his Shadow
Perry 261. The Wolf and the Lamb
Perry 262. The Trees and the Olive
Perry 263. The Ass and the Mule
Perry 264. The Ass and his Fellow Traveller the Dog
Perry 265. The Fowler and the Partridge
Perry 266. The Two Wallets
Perry 267. The Shepherd and the Wolf that he brought up with his Dogs (Referenced under The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing)
Perry 268. The Caterpillar and the Snake (Referenced under The Frog and the Ox)
Perry 269. The Wild Boar, the Horse, and the Hunter
Perry 270. The Wall and the Stake
Perry 271. Winter and Spring
Perry 272. Man and Flea
Perry 273. The Flea and the Ox
Perry 274. Good Things and Evil
Perry 275. The Eagle who had his Wings Cropped
Perry 276. The Eagle Wounded by an Arrow
Perry 277. The Nightingale and the Swallow
Perry 278. The Athenian and the Theban
Perry 279. The Goat and the Ass
Perry 280. Goat and Goatherd
Perry 281. The Fighting Cocks
Perry 282. Little Fish escape the Net
Perry 283. The Fire-Bearing Fox
Perry 284. The Man and the Lion travelling together
Perry 285. The Man who broke a Statue of Hermes
Perry 286. Spider and Lizard
Perry 287. The Arab and his Camel
Perry 288. The Bear and the Fox
Perry 289. The Frog Physician
Perry 290. The Oxen and the Butchers
Perry 291. The Ox-driver and Heracles
Perry 292. Ox and Ass Ploughing
Perry 293. The Weasel Caught
Perry 294. The Crane and the Peacock
Perry 295. The Farmer who lost his Mattock
Perry 296. The Farmer and the Eagle
Perry 297. Farmer and Cranes
Perry 298. Farmer and Starlings
Perry 299. The Farmer and the Tree
Perry 300. The Steer and the Bull
Perry 301–400
Perry 301. The Slave Girl and Aphrodite
Perry 302. The Oak Trees and Zeus - noticed under The Woodcutter and the Trees
Perry 303. The Woodcutters and the Pine
Perry 304. The Fir Tree and the Thistle
Perry 305. The Sick Stag and his Friends
Perry 306. Hermes and a Man bitten by an Ant
Perry 307. Hermes and the Sculptor
Perry 308. The Dog and the Square-hewn Statue of Hermes
Perry 309. Hermes with a Wagon full of Lies among the Arabs
Perry 310. The Eunuch and the Soothsayer
Perry 311. Zeus, the Animals, and Men
Perry 312. Zeus and the Jar full of Good Things
Perry 313. The Judgments of Zeus
Perry 314. The Frogs and the Sun
Perry 315. The Mule
Perry 316. Heracles and Athena
Perry 317. The Unskilled Physician
Perry 318. The Old Race Horse in the Mill
Perry 319. The Horse and his Groom
Perry 320. The Soldier and his Horse
Perry 321. The Camel in the River
Perry 322. The Crab and his Mother (noticed under The Snake and the Crab)
Perry 323. The Crow and Hermes
Perry 324. The Sick Crow and his Mother
Perry 325. The Lark and the Farmer
Perry 326. The Timid Hunter
Perry 327. The Hunter and the Fisherman
Perry 328. The Dog at the Banquet
Perry 329. The Hunting Dog
Perry 330. The Dog and his Master
Perry 331. Dog and Hare
Perry 332. The Dog with a Bell on his Neck
Perry 333. The Rabbit and the Fox
Perry 334. The Lion's Reign
Perry 335. The Lion and the Eagle
Perry 336. Sick Lion, Fox, and Stag, referenced in The Deer without a Heart
Perry 337. Lion, Fox, and Ape
Perry 338. The Lion and the Boar
Perry 339. Lion and Wild Ass, Partners in the Hunt
Perry 340. The Lion and the Bowman
Perry 341. The Mad Lion
Perry 342. The Wolves and the Dogs
Perry 343. The Wolves and the Dogs at War
Perry 344. A Wolf among the Lions
Perry 345. The Wolf and the Fox at a Trap
Perry 346. The Wolf and the Well-fed Dog
Perry 347. Wolf and Lion
Perry 348. The Wolf as Governor and the Ass
Perry 349. The Lamp
Perry 350. Adulterer and Husband
Perry 351. The Calf and the Deer
Perry 352. The Country Mouse and the City Mouse
Perry 353. The Mouse and the Bull
Perry 354. The Mouse and the Blacksmiths
Perry 355. The Wayfarer and Truth
Perry 356. The Sheep and the Dog
Perry 357. The Ass that envied the Horse
Perry 358. The Ass in the Lion's Skin
Perry 359. The Donkey on the Tiles
Perry 360. The Ass eating Thorns
Perry 361. The Fowler, the Partridge and the Cock
Perry 362. The Snake's Tail and the Other Members
Perry 363. The Boy and the Painted Lion
Perry 364. The Ape Mother and Zeus
Perry 365. The Shepherd about to enclose a Wolf in the Fold
Perry 366. The Shepherd who reared a Wolf
Perry 367. War and Insolence
Perry 368. The Hide in the River
Perry 369. The Rose and the Amaranth
Perry 370. The Trumpeter
Perry 371. The Lizard and the Snake (Referenced under The Frog and the Ox)
Perry 372. Three Bulls and a Lion
Perry 373. The Cicada and the Ant
Perry 374. The Goat and the Vine
Perry 375. The Baldheaded Horseman
Perry 376. The Toad puffing herself up to equal an Ox
Perry 377. The Boasting Swallow and the Crow
Perry 378. The Two Pots
Perry 379. The Man enamoured of his own Daughter
Perry 380. The Man who evacuated his own Wits
Perry 381. The Aged Farmer and the Donkeys
Perry 382. The Ancestors of the Delphians
Perry 383. The Two Roads
Perry 384. The Frog and the Mouse
Perry 385. Dreams
Perry 386. The Foolish Girl
Perry 387. The Poor Man catching Insects
Perry 388. The Widow and the Ploughman
Perry 389. The Cat's Birthday Dinner
Perry 390. The Crow and the Pitcher
Perry 391. The Landlord and the Sailors
Perry 392. The Sick Donkey and the Wolf Physician
Perry 393. The Aethiopian
Perry 394. The Fox as Helper to the Lion
Perry 395. The Serpent and the Eagle
Perry 396. The Kites and the Swans
Perry 397. The Fowler and the Cicada
Perry 398. The Crow and the Swan (noticed under Washing the Ethiopian white)
Perry 399. The Swan that was caught instead of a Goose
Perry 400. The Bees and the Shepherd
Perry 401–500
Perry 401. The Foal
Perry 402. The Hunter and the Horseman
Perry 403. The Hunter and the Dog
Perry 404. Hunter and Wolf
Perry 405. Cyclops
Perry 406. Dogs tearing a Lion's Skin
Perry 407. A Dog, chasing a Wolf
Perry 408. A Thirsty Rabbit descended into a Well
Perry 409. The Fox and the Lion in a Cage
Perry 410. The Youth and the Woman
Perry 411. The Onager and the Ass (noticed under The Dog and the Wolf)
Perry 412. The Rivers and the Sea
Perry 413. The Fig and the Olive
Perry 414. The Bull, Lioness, and the Wild Boar
Perry 415. The Dog and the Smiths
Perry 416. A Bear, a Fox, and a Lion hunted together
Perry 417. A Wolf and Lycophron
Perry 418. The Ostrich
Perry 419. The Thief and the Innkeeper
Perry 420. The Two Adulterers
Perry 421. The Sailor and his Son
Perry 422. The Eagle once a Man
Perry 423. Aesop and the Bitch
Perry 424. Aesop to the Corinthians
Perry 425. The Fisherman and the Octopus
Perry 426. Fox and Crane
Perry 427. Fox and Hedgehog
Perry 428. The Sybarite and the Chariot
Perry 429. The Man who tried to count the Waves
Perry 430. The Creation of Man
Perry 431. Man's Loquacity
Perry 432. Apollo, the Muses and the Dryads
Perry 433. Aphrodite and the Merchant
Perry 434. The Wren on the Eagle's Back
Perry 435. The Black Cat
Perry 436. The Priest of Cybele and the Lion
Perry 437. The Owl and the Birds
Perry 438. The Sybarite Woman and the Jug
Perry 439. The Laurel and the Olive
Perry 440. The Runaway Slave
Perry 441. The Feast Day and the Day After
Perry 442. The Origin of Blushes
Perry 443. Heron and Buzzard
Perry 444. Eros among Men
Perry 445. Pleasure and Pain
Perry 446. The Cuckoo and the Little Birds
Perry 447. The Crested Lark, burying her Father
Perry 448. The Musical Dogs
Perry 449. The Dog's House
Perry 450. The Lions and the Hares
Perry 451. The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
Perry 452. The Wolf and the Ass on Trial
Perry 453. The Wolf and the Shepherds
Perry 454. The Mouse and the Oyster
Perry 455. Momus and Aphrodite
Perry 456. The Fool and the Sieve
Perry 457. The Boy on the Wild Horse
Perry 458. The Ass and the Snake called Dipsas
Perry 459. The Peeping of an Ass
Perry 460. The Shadow of an Ass
Perry 461. The Eyes and the Mouth
Perry 462. The Privilege of Grief
Perry 463. The Dancing Apes
Perry 464. The Apes Founding a City
Perry 465. The Shepherd and the Butcher
Perry 466. Plenty and Poverty
Perry 467. The Satyr and Fire
Perry 468. The Moon and her Mother
Perry 469. The Bull deceived by the Lion
Perry 470. The Cicadas
Perry 471. The Lice and the Farmer
Perry 472. The Vainglorious Jackdaw and the Peacock
Perry 473. The Sparrow gives Advice to the Hare
Perry 474. The Wolf and the Fox before Judge Ape
Perry 475. From Cobbler to Physician
Perry 476. What the Ass said to the Old Shepherd
Perry 477. Sheep, Stag, and Wolf
Perry 478. Sheep, Dog, and Wolf
Perry 479. Woman in Childbirth
Perry 480. Dog and her Puppies
Perry 481. The Old Lion, the Boar, the Bull, and the Ass
Perry 482. The Dogs and the Crocodiles
Perry 483. The Dog, the Treasure and the Vulture
Perry 484. The Ass insults the Boar
Perry 485. The Frogs Dread the Battle of the Bulls
Perry 486. The Kite and the Doves
Perry 487. The Bullock, the Lion, and the Robber
Perry 488. The Eagle, the Cat, and the Wild Sow
Perry 489. Caesar to a Flunkey
Perry 490. The Eagle and the Crow
Perry 491. The Two Mules and the Robbers
Perry 492. The Stag and the Oxen
Perry 493. What the Old Woman said to the Wine Jar
Perry 494. The Panther and the Shepherds
Perry 495. Aesop and the Farmer
Perry 496. The Butcher and the Ape
Perry 497. Aesop and the Saucy Fellow
Perry 498. The Fly and the Mule
Perry 499. Brother and Sister
Perry 500. Socrates to his Friends
Perry 501–584
Perry 501. On Believing and Not Believing
Perry 502. The Eunuch's Reply to the Scurrilous Person
Perry 503. The Cockerel and the Pearl
Perry 504. The Bees and the Drones get Judgment from the Wasp
Perry 505. Concerning Relaxation and Tension
Perry 506. The Dog to the Lamb
Perry 507. The Cicada and the Owl
Perry 508. Trees under the Patronage of the Gods
Perry 509. The Peacock complains to Juno about his Voice
Perry 510. Aesop's Reply to an Inquisitive Fellow
Perry 511. The Weasel and the Mice - Noticed under The Cat and the Mice
Perry 512. The Enigmatic Will
Perry 513. The Thief and his Lamp
Perry 514. The Rule of King Lion
Perry 515. Prometheus
Perry 516. The Bearded She-Goats
Perry 517. The Dogs send an Embassy to Jupiter
Perry 518. The Fox and the Dragon
Perry 519. About Simonides
Perry 520. The Mountain in Labour
Perry 521. The Ant and the Fly
Perry 522. How Simonides was saved by the Gods
Perry 523. King Demetrius and the Poet Menander
Perry 524. Two Soldiers and a Robber
Perry 525. The Bald Man and the Fly
Perry 526. The Ass and the Pig's Barley
Perry 527. The Buffoon and the Country Fellow
Perry 528. Two Bald Men
Perry 529. Prince, the Fluteplayer
Perry 530. Time (Opportunity)
Perry 531. The Bull and the Calf
Perry 532. The Old Dog and the Hunter
Perry 533. The Ape and the Fox
Perry 534. Mercury and the Two Women
Perry 535. Prometheus and Guile
Perry 536. On Apollo's Oracle
Perry 537. Aesop and the Writer
Perry 538. Pompey and his Soldier
Perry 539. Juno, Venus, and the Hen
Perry 540. The Bullock and the Old Ox
Perry 541. Aesop and the Victorious Athlete
Perry 542. The Ass and the Lyre
Perry 543. The Widow and the Soldier
Perry 544. The Two Suitors
Perry 545. Aesop and the his Mistress
Perry 546. The Cock carried in a litter by Cats
Perry 547. The Sow giving birth and the Wolf
Perry 548. Aesop and the Runaway Slave
Perry 549. The Race Horse
Perry 550. When the Bear gets Hungry
Perry 551. The Traveller and the Raven
Perry 552. The Snake and the Lizard
Perry 553. The Crow and the Sheep
Perry 554. Socrates and a Worthless Servant
Perry 555. The Harlot and the Young Man
Perry 556. The Butterfly and the Wasp
Perry 557. The Ground-Swallow and the Fox
Perry 558. Two Cocks and a Hawk
Perry 559. The Snail and the Mirror
Perry 560. The Bald Man and the Gardener
Perry 561. The Owl, the Cat, and the Mouse
Perry 562. The Partridge and the Fox (The Rooster and the Fox)
Perry 563. The Lion and the Shepherd
Perry 564. The Gnat and the Bull
Perry 565. The Disdainful Horse
Perry 566. The Bat
Perry 567. The Nightingale and the Hawk
Perry 568. The Envious Fox and the Wolf
Perry 569. The King of the Apes
Perry 570. The Goose and the Stork
Perry 571. The Obliging Horse
Perry 572. The Kid and the Wolf
Perry 573. The Domestic Snake
Perry 574. The Eagle and the Kite
Perry 575. The Wethers and the Butcher
Perry 576. The Fowler and the Birds
Perry 577. The Crow and the other Birds at Dinner
Perry 578. The Horse, the Lion and the Goats
Perry 579. The Sword and the Passer-by
Perry 580. The Covetous Man and the Envious Man
Perry 581. The Boy and the Thief
Perry 582. The Farmer and his Ox
Perry 583. The Pig without a Heart, referenced in The Deer without a Heart
Perry 584. The River-fish and the Sea-fish
Extended Perry
Paulus Diaconus
585. Sick Lion, Fox and Bear. cf. 258
586. Calf and Stork
587. Flea and Gout
Odo of Cheriton
588. Hawk and Doves
589. Bird of Saint Martin
590. Stork and his Beak (Magpie and her Tail)
591. Toad and Beautiful Son
592. Cat as Monk
593. Fox and Wolf in Well
594. Cat, Rat, and Cheese
595. Isengrim as Monk
596. Complaint of Sheep against Wolf
597. Fox Confesses Sins to Rooster
598. Wasp and Spier
599. Eagle and Crow Physician
600. Donkey and Pig
601. Hen, Chicks and Kite
602. Dinner at the Lion's House
603. Goose and Crow
604. Kite Imitates Hawk
605. Fox and Cat
606. Crow and Dove (cf. 567)
607. Wolf's Funeral
608. Dirty Dog
609. Man and Unicorn
610. Fox and Ferryman
611. Fox and Hens
612. Falcon and Kite
613. Belling the Cat
614. Owl and Birds
615. Mouse in Wine Jar and Cat
616. Hare Contends with Wolf
617. Serpent in Man's Bostom
618. Ungrateful Man
619. Mouse in quest of Mate
620. Stork and Serpent
621. Peacock stripped of Feathers
622. Toad and Frog
623. Athenian Philosopher / Goat and Donkey
624. Aged Father and Cruel Son
625. Wolf as Fisherman and Fox
626. Cuckoo and Eagle
627. Nightingale and Bowman
628. Wolf Confessor to Fox and Donkey
629. Rustic Invited to Dinner
630. Rustic Reared in Cow Barn
631. King of Greece and his Brother
632. Julian the Apostate and a Demon
633. Man Condemned to be Hanged
634. Philosopher who spit in King's Beard
635. Judgments of God revealed by Angel
636. Wolf and Sheep Kissing Each Other
637. Tame Asp
638. Ass with Privilege, Fox and Wolf
639. Eagle and Rat
640. Soldier and Serpent / Dragon and Peasant
641. Wolf and Priest
642. Soldier and Religious Man
643. Ape and Merchant
John of Schepey
644. Buzzard and hawk
645. Lion and unicorn
Metrical
646. Capon and hawk
647. Merchant and wife
Neckham
648. Vulture and eagle
Rhymed verse
649. Stag, hedgehog and boar
Robert's Romulus
650. Presumptuous beetle
651. Rustic and his wife
652. Cuckoo and birds
653. Farmer sold his horse
654. Eagle, hawk and crane
655. Wolf fasting for Lent
656. Swallow and sparrows
657. Cattle hauling dung
658. Hare wanted horns
659. Wolf and beetle
Brussels
660. Thief and beetle
661. Wife and Paramour
662. Thief and Satan
663. Dragon's Deposit
664. Hermit Tested Servant
665. Farmer Prayed for Horse
666. Man Praying for Himself
667. Townsman and Tame Daw
668. Three Wishes
669. Fox and Shadow of Moon as Cheese
670. Wolf sees Crow on Sheep
671. Fox and Dove
672. Eagle, Hawk, Doves
673. Horse and grain
674. Horse and Goat in package deal
675. Wolf and Hedgehog
676. Well-Meaning Wolves
677. Painter and Wife
678. Deer instructing Fawn
679. Crow and Young Ones
680. Goat and Wolf
681. Contentious Wife
682. Contrary Wife
683. Whispering Brigands
684. Physician, Rich Man and Daughter
685. Badger among Pigs
686. Wolf in Trap and Hedgehog
687. Wolf and Ferryman
688. Wolf Learning Letters
689. Wolf and Dove Gathering Twigs
690. Man in Boat
691. Old Man and Son
692. Bishop Cat
Extravagantes
693. Unlucky Wolf, Fox and Mule (written on hoof)
694. Little Boar
695. He-Goat and Wolf
696. Wolf and Ass
697. Serpent as Adviser
698. Wolf as Fisherman
699. Wolf's Misfortune
700. Hunter and Ploughman
701. Dog and Wolf
702. Dog in Manger
703. Three Sons Dividing Inheritance
704. Little Fox under Wolf's Tutelage
705. Dog, Wolf and Ram
706. Lion's Son learns about Man
707. Knight and Mendacious Squire
Bern
708. Ape and Bear
709. Dog and Slain Master
710. Dog and Boy in River
711. Ram and Baldheaded Master
712. Wolf and Hungry Fox
713. Adulterous Stork
714. Ram and Wolf
715. Fox and Sick Ape
716. Mouse and Daughter
717. Rooster and Horse Talking about Master
718. Generous Fox and Wolf
719. Dog begging Bone from Master
Promptuarium
720. Scarecrow
Poggio and Abstemius
721. Father, Son, and Donkey
722. Teaching Donkey to Read
723. Rustic Wanting to Cross River
724. Fly on Chariot
725. Fish from Frying Pan into Coals
Notes
Ancient Greek works
Fables
Aesop's Fables
Lists of stories | en |
doc-en-204 | The Clavier-Übung III, sometimes referred to as the German Organ Mass, is a collection of compositions for organ by Johann Sebastian Bach, started in 1735–36 and published in 1739. It is considered Bach's most significant and extensive work for organ, containing some of his most musically complex and technically demanding compositions for that instrument.
In its use of modal forms, motet-style and canons, it looks back to the religious music of masters of the stile antico, such as Frescobaldi, Palestrina, Lotti and Caldara. At the same time, Bach was forward-looking, incorporating and distilling modern baroque musical forms, such as the French-style chorale.
The work has the form of an Organ Mass: between its opening and closing movements—the prelude and "St Anne" fugue in E major, BWV 552—are 21 chorale preludes, BWV 669–689, setting two parts of the Lutheran mass and six catechism chorales, followed by four duets, BWV 802–805. The chorale preludes range from compositions for single keyboard to a six-part fugal prelude with two parts in the pedal.
The purpose of the collection was fourfold: an idealized organ programme, taking as its starting point the organ recitals given by Bach himself in Leipzig; a practical translation of Lutheran doctrine into musical terms for devotional use in the church or the home; a compendium of organ music in all possible styles and idioms, both ancient and modern, and properly internationalised; and as a didactic work presenting examples of all possible forms of contrapuntal composition, going far beyond previous treatises on musical theory.
History and origins
November 25, 1736 saw the consecration of a new organ, built by Gottfried Silbermann, in a central and symbolic position in the Frauenkirche, Dresden. The following week, on the afternoon of December 1, Bach gave a two-hour organ recital there, which received "great applause". Bach was used to playing on church organs in Dresden, where since 1733 his son, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, had been organist at the Sophienkirche. It is considered likely that for the December recital Bach performed for the first time parts of his as yet unpublished Clavier-Übung III, the composition of which, according to Gregory Butler's dating of the engraving, started as early as 1735. This inference has been drawn from the special indication on the title page that it was "prepared for music-lovers and particularly connoisseurs" of music; from contemporary reports of Bach's custom of giving organ recitals for devotees after services; and from the subsequent tradition among music lovers in Dresden of attending Sunday afternoon organ recitals in the Frauenkirche given by Bach's student Gottfried August Homilius, whose programme was usually made up of chorale preludes and a fugue. Bach was later to complain that the temperament on Silbermann organs was not well suited to "today's practice".
Clavier-Übung III is the third of four books of Bach's Clavier-Übung. It was the only portion of music meant for the organ, the other three parts being for harpsichord. The title, meaning "keyboard practice", was a conscious reference to a long tradition of similarly titled treatises: Johann Kuhnau (Leipzig, 1689, 1692), Johann Philipp Krieger (Nuremberg, 1698), Vincent Lübeck (Hamburg, 1728), Georg Andreas Sorge (Nuremberg, 1739) and Johann Sigismund Scholze (Leipzig 1736–1746). Bach started composing after finishing Clavier-Übung II—the Italian Concerto, BWV 971 and the Overture in the French style, BWV 831—in 1735. Bach used two groups of engravers because of delays in preparation: 43 pages by three engravers from the workshop of Johann Gottfried Krügner in Leipzig and 35 pages by Balthasar Schmid in Nuremberg. The final 78-page manuscript was published in Leipzig in Michaelmas (late September) 1739 at the relatively high price of 3 Reichsthaler. Bach's Lutheran theme was in keeping with the times, since already that year there had been three bicentenary Reformation festivals in Leipzig.
In translation, the title page reads "Third Part of Keyboard Practice, consisting of various preludes on the Catechism and other hymns for the organ. Prepared for music-lovers and particularly for connoisseurs of such work, for the recreation of the spirit, by Johann Sebastian Bach, Royal Polish and Electoral Saxon Court Composer, Capellmeister and director of the chorus musicus, Leipzig. Published by the author".
Examination of the original manuscript suggests that the Kyrie-Gloria and larger catechism chorale preludes were the first to be composed, followed by the "St Anne" prelude and fugue and the manualiter chorale preludes in 1738 and finally the four duets in 1739. Apart from BWV 676, all the material was newly composed. The scheme of the work and its publication were probably motivated by Georg Friedrich Kauffmann's Harmonische Seelenlust (1733–1736), Conrad Friedrich Hurlebusch's Compositioni Musicali (1734–1735) and chorale preludes by Hieronymus Florentinus Quehl, Johann Gottfried Walther and Johann Caspar Vogler published between 1734 and 1737, as well as the older Livres d'orgue, the French organ masses of Nicolas de Grigny (1700), Pierre Dumage (1707) and others. Bach's formulation of the title page follows some of these earlier works in describing the particular form of the compositions and appealing to "connoisseurs", his only departure from the title page of Clavier-Übung II.
Although Clavier-Übung III is acknowledged to be not merely a miscellaneous collection of pieces, there has been no agreement on whether it forms a cycle or is just a set of closely related pieces. As with previous organ works of this type by composers such as François Couperin, Johann Caspar Kerll and Dieterich Buxtehude, it was in part a response to musical requirements in church services. Bach's references to Italian, French and German music place Clavier-Übung III directly in the tradition of the Tabulaturbuch, a similar but much earlier collection by Elias Ammerbach, one of Bach's predecessors at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig.
Bach's complex musical style had been criticized by some of his contemporaries. The composer, organist and musicologist Johann Mattheson remarked in "Die kanonische Anatomie" (1722):
Until 1731, apart from his celebrated ridiculing in 1725 of Bach's declamatory writing in Cantata No.21, Mattheson's commentary on Bach had been positive. In 1730, however, he heard by chance that Gottfried Benjamin Hancke had been commenting unfavourably on his own keyboard technique: "Bach will play Mattheson into a sack and out again." From 1731 onwards, his vanity pricked, Mattheson's writing became critical of Bach, whom he referred to as "der künstliche Bach". Over the same period Bach's former pupil Johann Adolf Scheibe had been making stinging criticisms of Bach: in 1737 he wrote that Bach "deprived his pieces of all that was natural by giving them a bombastic and confused character, and eclipsed their beauty by too much art." Scheibe and Mattheson were employing practically the same lines of attack on Bach; and indeed Mattheson involved himself directly in Scheibe's campaign against Bach. Bach did not comment directly at the time: his case was argued with some discreet prompting from Bach by Johann Abraham Birnbaum, professor of rhetoric at the University of Leipzig, a music lover and friend of Bach and Lorenz Christoph Mizler. In March 1738 Scheibe launched a further attack on Bach for his "not inconsiderable errors":
In the advertisement in 1738 for his forthcoming treatise, Der vollkommene Capellmeister (1739), Mattheson included a letter by Scheibe, resulting from his exchanges with Birnbaum, in which Scheibe expressed strong preference for Mattheson's "natural" melody over Bach's "artful" counterpoint.
Through his friend Mizler and his Leipzig printers Krügner and Breitkopf, also printers for Mattheson, like others Bach would have had advance knowledge of the content of Mattheson's treatise. Concerning counterpoint, Mattheson wrote:
Whatever Bach's personal reaction, the contrapuntal writing of Clavier-Übung III provided a musical response to Scheibe's criticisms and Mattheson's call to organists. Mizler's statement, cited above, that the qualities of Clavier-Übung III provided a "powerful refutation of those who have ventured to criticize the music of the Court Composer" was a verbal response to their criticisms. Nevertheless, most commentators agree that the main inspiration for Bach's monumental opus was musical, namely musical works like the Fiori musicali of Girolamo Frescobaldi, for which Bach had a special fondness, having acquired his own personal copy in Weimar in 1714.
Textual and musical plan
{| class="wikitable unsortable"
!BWV
!Title
!Liturgical significance
!Form
!Key
|-
|552/1
|Praeludium
|
|pro organo pleno
|E
|-
|669
|Kyrie, Gott Vater
|Kyrie
|cantus fermus in soprano
|G
|-
|670
|Christe, aller Welt Trost
|Kyrie
|c.f in tenor
|C (or G)
|-
|671
|Kyrie, Gott heiliger Geist
|Kyrie
|c.f. in pedal (pleno)
|G
|-
|672
|Kyrie, Gott Vater
|Kyrie
| manualiter
|E
|-
|673
|Christe, aller Welt Trost
|Kyrie
| manualiter
|E
|-
|674
|Kyrie, Gott heiliger Geist
|Kyrie
| manualiter
|E
|-
|675
|Allein Gott in der Höh'
|Gloria
|trio, manualiter
|F
|-
|676
|Allein Gott in der Höh'
|Gloria
|trio, pedaliter
|G
|-
|677
|Allein Gott in der Höh'
|Gloria
|trio, manualiter
|A
|-
|678
|Dies sind die heil'gen zehn Gebot'
|Ten Commandments
|c.f. in canon
|G
|-
|679
|Dies sind die heil'gen zehn Gebot'
|Ten Commandments
|fugue, manualiter|G
|-
|680
|Wir glauben all an einen Gott
|Creed
|à 4, in organo pleno|D
|-
|681
|Wir glauben all an einen Gott
|Creed
|fugue, manualiter|E
|-
|682
|Vater unser im Himmelreich
|Lord's Prayer
|trio and c.f. in canon
|E
|-
|683
|Vater unser im Himmelreich
|Lord's Prayer
|non-fugal, manualiter|D
|-
|684
|Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam
|Baptism
|à 4, c.f. in pedal
|C
|-
|685
|Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam
|Baptism
|fuga inversa, manualiter|D
|-
|686
|Aus tiefer Noth schrei ich zu dir
|Confession
|à 6, in pleno organo|E
|-
|687
|Aus tiefer Noth schrei ich zu dir
|Confession
|motet, manualiter|F
|-
|688
|Jesus Christus, unser Heiland
|Communion
|trio, c.f. in pedal
|D
|-
|689
|Jesus Christus, unser Heiland
|Communion
|fugue, manualiter|F
|-
|802
|Duetto I
|
|, minor
|E
|-
|803
|Duetto II
|
|, major
|F
|-
|804
|Duetto III
|
|, major
|G
|-
|805
|Duetto IV
|
|, minor
|A
|-
|552/2
|Fuga
|
|a 5 voci per organo pleno|E
|}
The number of chorale preludes in Clavier-Übung III, twenty-one, coincides with the number of movements in French organ masses. The Mass and Catechism settings correspond to the schedule of Sunday worship in Leipzig, the morning mass and afternoon catechism. In contemporary hymn books, the Lutheran Mass comprising the troped German Kyrie and German Gloria fell under the heading of the Holy Trinity. The organist and music theorist Jakob Adlung recorded in 1758 the custom of church organists playing the two Sunday hymns "Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr" and "Wir glauben all an einen Gott"' in different keys: Bach uses three of the six tonalities between E and B mentioned for "Allein Gott". The organ had no role in the catechism examination, a series of questions and answers on the faith, so the presence of these hymns was probably a personal devotional statement of Bach. However, Luther's Shorter Catechism (see illustration) centres on the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, Baptism, Office of the Keys and Confession, and the Eucharist, the exact subjects of Luther's own six catechism chorales. In Bach's part of Germany, these catechism hymns were sung at school assemblies on weekdays, with the Kyrie and Gloria on Sundays. Luther's hymn book contains all six of the chorales. However, it is more likely that Bach used these hymns, some of them Gregorian in origin, as a tribute to the main precepts of Lutheranism during the special bicentenary year of Luther's 1539 sermon in the Thomaskirche, Leipzig. The main texts for Lutherans were the Bible, the hymn book and the catechisms: Bach had already set numerous biblical texts in his cantatas and passions; in 1736 he had helped prepare a hymn book with Georg Christian Schemelli; finally in 1739 he set the catechism hymns (see earlier illustration of title page) as organ chorale preludes.
has suggested the following features that Clavier-Übung III borrowed from Frescobaldi's Fiori musicali, Bach's personal copy of which was signed "J.S. Bach 1714":Intent. The Fiori were written "mainly to assist organists" with compositions "corresponding to mass and vespers".Plan. The first of the three sets of the Fiori consists of a Toccata [prelude] before the mass, 2 Kyries, 5 Christes, followed by a further 6 Kyries; then a Canzone (after the Epistle), a Ricercare (after the Credo), a Toccata Cromatica (for the Elevation) and finally a Canzona [fugue] (after the post-communion).Polyphony. Frescobaldi's short Kyries and Christes are written in four-part stile antico counterpoint. Many of them have a constantly running cantus firmus or pedal point.Structure. The mutations and combination of themes in fugue BWV 552/2 are closely matched by the closing canzona in the first set and the alternative ricercare in the second set of the Fiori. Similarly, the ostinato bass of the fugue BWV 680 is prefigured by a ricercare fugue with a five-note ostinato bass in the Fiori.
According to , Bach had a clear liturgical purpose in his organ compendium, with its cyclic order and plan, clear to the eye if not the ear. Even though the manualiter fugues were written at the time as Book 2 of The Well-Tempered Clavier, only the last fugue BWV 689 has anything in common. Bach's musical plan has a multitude of structures: the organum plenum pieces; the three styles of polyphony, manulaiter and trio sonata in the Mass; the pairs in the Catechism, two with cantus firmus in canon, two with pedal cantus firmus, two for full organ); and the free invention in the duets. The fughetta BWV 681 at the centre of Clavier-Übung III plays a structural role similar to the central pieces in the other three parts of Bach's Clavier-Übung, to mark the beginning of the second half of the collection. It is written using the musical motifs of a French overture, as in the first movement of the fourth of Bach's keyboard Partitas BWV 828 (Clavier-Übung I), the first movement of his Overture in the French style, BWV 831 (Clavier-Übung II), the sixteenth variation of the Goldberg Variations BWV 988 (Clavier-Übung IV), marked "Ouverture. a 1 Clav", and Contrapunctus VII in the original manuscript version of Die Kunst der Fuge as contained in P200.
Although possibly intended for use in services, the technical difficulty of Clavier-Übung III, like that of Bach's later compositions—the Canonic Variations BWV 769, The Musical Offering BWV 1079 and The Art of Fugue BWV 1080—would have made the work too demanding for most Lutheran church organists. Indeed, many of Bach's contemporaries deliberately wrote music to be accessible to a wide range of organists: Sorge composed simple 3-part chorales in his Vorspiele (1750), because chorale preludes such as Bach's were "so difficult and almost unusable by players"; Vogel, Bach's former student from Weimar, wrote his Choräle "principally for those who have to play in country" churches; and another Weimar student, Johann Ludwig Krebs, wrote his Klavierübung II (1737) so that it could be played "by a lady, without much trouble."Clavier-Übung III combines German, Italian and French styles, particularly in the opening Preludium, BWV 552/1, whose three thematic groups seem deliberately chosen to represent France, Italy and Germany respectively (see discussion of BWV 552/1 below). This reflects a trend in late 17th- and early 18th-century Germany for composers and musicians to write and perform in a style that became known as the "mixed taste", a phrased coined by Quantz. In 1730, Bach had written a now-famous letter to the Leipzig town council—his "Short but Most Necessary Draft for a Well-Appointed Church Music"—complaining not only of performing conditions, but also of the pressure to employ performing styles from different countries:
Already in 1695, in the dedication of his Florilegium Primum, Georg Muffat had written, "I dare not employ a single style or method, but rather the most skillful mixture of styles I can manage through my experience in various countries ... As I mix the French manner with the German and Italian, I do not begin a war, but perhaps a prelude to the unity, the dear peace, desired by all the peoples." This tendency was encouraged by contemporary commentators and musicologists, including Bach's critics Mattheson and Scheibe, who, in praising the chamber music of his contemporary Georg Philipp Telemann, wrote that, "it is best if German part writing, Italian galanterie and French passion are combined".
Recalling Bach's early years in the Michaelisschule in Lüneburg between 1700 and 1702, his son Carl Philipp Emanuel records in the Nekrolog, Bach's obituary of 1754:
The court orchestra of Georg Wilhelm, Duke of Braunschweig-Lüneburg was established in 1666 and concentrated on the music of Jean-Baptiste Lully, which became popular in Germany between 1680 and 1710. It is probable that Bach heard the orchestra at the Duke's summer residence at Dannenberg near Lüneburg. In Lüneburg itself, Bach would have also heard the compositions of Georg Böhm, organist at the Johanniskirche, and of Johann Fischer, a visitor in 1701, both of whom were influenced by the French style. Later in the Nekrolog C.P.E. Bach also reports that, "In the art of organ, he took the works of Bruhns, Buxtehude, and several good French organists as models." In 1775, he expanded on this to Bach's biographer Johann Nikolaus Forkel noting that his father had studied not only the works of Buxtehude, Böhm, Nicolaus Bruhns, Fischer, Frescobaldi, Froberger, Kerll, Pachelbel, Reincken and Strunck, but also of "some old and good Frenchmen."
Contemporary documents indicate that these composers would have included Boyvin, Nivers, Raison, d'Anglebert, Corrette, Lebègue, Le Roux, Dieupart, François Couperin, Nicolas de Grigny and Marchand. (The latter, according to an anecdote of Forkel, fled from Dresden in 1717 to avoid competing with Bach in a keyboard "duel".) At the court of Weimar in 1713, Prince Johann Ernst, a keen musician, is reported to have brought back Italian and French music from his travels in Europe. At the same time, or possibly earlier, Bach made meticulous copies of the entire Livre d'Orgue (1699) of de Grigny and the table of ornaments from d'Anglebert's Pièces de clavecin (1689), and his student Vogler made copies of two Livres d'Orgue of Boyvin. In addition, at Weimar, Bach would have had access to the extensive collection of French music of his cousin Johann Gottfried Walther. Much later, in the exchanges between Birnbaum and Scheibe over Bach's compositional style in 1738, while Clavier-Übung III was in preparation, Birnbaum brought up the works of de Grigny and Dumage in connection with ornamentation, probably at the suggestion of Bach. Apart from the elements of "French ouverture" style in the opening prelude BWV 552/1 and the central manualiter chorale prelude BWV 681, commentators agree that the two large-scale five-part chorale preludes—Dies sind die heil'gen zehn Gebot BWV 678 and Vater unser im Himmelreich BWV 682—are partly inspired by the five-part textures of Grigny, with two parts in each manual and the fifth in the pedal.
Commentators have taken Clavier-Übung III to be a summation of Bach's technique in writing for the organ, and at the same time a personal religious statement. As in his other later works, Bach's musical language has an otherworldly quality, whether modal or conventional. Compositions apparently written in major keys, such as the trio sonatas BWV 674 or 677, can nevertheless have an ambiguous key. Bach composed in all known musical forms: fugue, canon, paraphrase, cantus firmus, ritornello, development of motifs and various forms of counterpoint.
There are five polyphonic stile antico compositions (BWV 669–671, 686 and the first section of 552/ii), showing the influence of Palestrina and his followers, Fux, Caldara and Zelenka. Bach, however, even if he employs the long note values of the stile antico, goes beyond the original model, as for example in BWV 671.
describes one aim of Clavier-Übung III as being to provide an idealized programme for an organ recital. Such recitals were described later by Bach's biographer Johann Nikolaus Forkel:
The musical plan of Clavier-Übung III conforms to this pattern of a collection of chorale preludes and chamber-like works framed by a free prelude and fugue for organum plenum.
Numerological significance
has given an analysis of the numerology of Clavier-Übung III. According to Wolff there is a cyclic order. The opening prelude and fugue frame three groups of pieces: the nine chorale preludes based on the kyrie and gloria of the Lutheran mass; the six pairs of chorale preludes on the Lutheran catechism; and the four duets. Each group has its own internal structure. The first group is made up of three groups of three. The first three chorales on the kyrie in the stile antico hark back to the polyphonic masses of Palestrina, with increasingly complex textures. The next group consists of three short versets on the kyrie that have progressive time signatures , , and . In the third group of three trio sonatas on the German gloria, two manualiter settings frame a trio for two manuals and pedal with a regular progression of keys, F major, G major and A major. Each pair of catechism chorales has a setting for two manuals and pedal followed by a smaller scale manualiter fugal chorale. The group of 12 catechism chorales is further broken up into two groups of six grouped around pivotal grand plenum organum settings (Wir glauben and Auf tiefer Noth). The duets are related by the successive key progression, E minor, F major, G major, and A minor. Clavier-Übung III thus combines many different structures: pivotal patterns; similar or contrasting pairs; and progressively increasing symmetry. There is also an overriding numerological symbolism. The nine mass settings (3 × 3) refer to the three of the Trinity in the mass, with specific reference to Father, Son and Holy Ghost in the corresponding texts. The number twelve of the catechism chorales can be seen as a reference to the usual ecclesiastical use of the number 12, the number of disciples. The whole work has 27 pieces (3 × 3 × 3), completing the pattern. However, despite this structure, it is unlikely that the work was ever intended to be performed as a whole: it was intended as a compendium, a resource for organists for church performances, with the duets possibly accompaniments for communion.
comments on the occurrences of the golden ratio in Clavier-Übung III pointed out by various musicologists. The division of bars between the prelude (205) and fugue (117) provides one example. In the fugue itself the three parts have 36, 45 and 36 bars, so the golden ratio appears between lengths of the middle section and outer sections. The midpoint of the middle section is pivotal, with the first appearance there of the first subject against a disguised version of the second. Finally in BWV 682, Vater unser in Himmelreich (the Lord's Prayer), a pivotal point, where the manual and pedal parts are exchanged, occurs at bar 41, which is the sum of the numerical order of letters in JS BACH (using the Baroque convention of identifying I with J and U with V). The later cadence at bar 56 in the 91 bar chorale prelude gives another instance of the golden ratio. 91 itself factorises as 7, signifying prayer, times 13, signifying sin, the two elements—canonic law and the wayward soul—also represented directly in the musical structure.
Prelude and fugue BWV 552
The descriptions below are based on the detailed analysis in .
BWV 552/1 Praeludium
Together with the Toccata in F major BWV 540, this is the longest of Bach's organ preludes. It combines the elements of a French overture (first theme), an Italian concerto (second theme) and a German fugue (third theme), although adapted to the organ. There are the conventional dotted rhythms of an ouverture, but the alternation of themes owes more to the tradition of contrasting passages in organ compositions than the solo-tutti exchanges in a Vivaldi concerto. Originally possibly written in the key of D major, a more common key for a concerto or ouverture, Bach might have transposed it and the fugue into E major because Mattheson had described the key in 1731 as a "beautiful and majestic key" avoided by organists. The piece also has three separate themes (A, B, C), sometimes overlapping, which commentators have interpreted as representing the Father, Son and Holy Ghost in the Trinity. Other references to the Trinity include the three flats in the key signature, like the accompanying fugue.
As the prelude progresses, the reprises of the first theme are shortened, as in a typical Vivaldi concerto; that of the second theme is simply transposed to the dominant; and those of the third theme become more extended and developed. There are no toccata-like passages and the musical writing is quite different from that of the period. For each theme the pedal part has a different character: a baroque basso continuo in the first theme; a quasi-pizzicato bass in the second; and a stile antico bass in the third, with notes alternating between the feet. All three themes share a three semiquaver figure: in the first theme in bar 1, it is a figure typical of a French ouverture; in the second theme in bar 32, it is an echo in the galant Italian style; and in the third theme in bar 71, it is a motif typical of German organ fugues. The three themes reflect national influences: the first French; the second Italian, with its galant writing; and the third German, with many elements drawn from the tradition of North German organ fugues. The markings of forte and piano in the second theme for the echos show that at least two manuals were needed; Williams has suggested that perhaps even three manuals could have been intended, with the first theme played on the first keyboard, the second and third on the second and the echos on the third.First theme: God, the FatherThe first theme has the dotted rhythms, marked with slurs, of a French ouverture. It is written for five parts with complex suspended harmonies.
The first reprise (A2) of the theme in the minor key contains typically French harmonic progressions:Second theme: God, the SonThis theme, representing God, the Son, the "kind Lord", has two bar phrases of staccato three-part chords in the galant style, with echo responses marked piano.
This is followed by a more ornate syncopated version which is not further developed during the prelude:Third theme: the Holy GhostThis theme is a double fugue based on semiquavers, representing "the Holy Ghost, descending, flickering like tongues of fire." The semiquavers are not marked with slurs, according to North German conventions. In the final development (C3) the theme passes into E minor, presaging the close of the movement, but also harking back to the previous minor episode and anticipating similar effects in later movements of Clavier-Übung III, such as the first duet BWV 802. The older style two- or three-part writing forms a contrast to the harmonically more complex and modern writing of the first theme.
The semiquaver subject of the fugue is adapted for the pedal in the traditional way using alternating foot technique:
BWV 552/2 Fuga
The fugue in E major BWV 552/2 that ends Clavier-Übung III has become known in English-speaking countries as the "St. Anne" because of the first subject's resemblance to a hymn tune of the same name by William Croft, a tune that was not likely known to Bach. A fugue in three sections of 36 bars, 45 bars and 36 bars, with each section a separate fugue on a different subject, it has been called a triple fugue. However, the second subject is not stated precisely within the third section, but only strongly suggested in bars 93, 99, 102-04, and 113-14.The number threeThe number three is pervasive in both the Prelude and the Fugue, and has been understood by many to represent the Trinity. The description of Albert Schweitzer follows the 19th-century tradition of associating the three sections with the three different parts of the Trinity. The number three, however, occurs many other times: in the number of flats of the key signature; in the number of fugal sections; and in the number of bars in each section, each a multiple of three (3 × 12, 3 x 15), as well as in the month (September = 09 or 3 x 3) and year (39 or 3 x 13) of publication. Each of the three subjects seems to grow from the previous ones. Indeed, musicologist Hermann Keller has suggested that the second subject is "contained" in the first. Although perhaps hidden in the score, this is more apparent to the listener, both in their shape and in the resemblance of the quaver second subject to crotchet figures in the countersubject to the first subject. Similarly, the semiquaver figures in the third subject can be traced back to the second subject and the countersubject of the first section.Form of the fugueThe form of the fugue conforms to that of a 17th-century tripartite ricercar or canzona, such as those of Froberger and Frescobaldi: firstly in the way that themes become progressively faster in successive sections; and secondly in the way one theme transforms into the next. Bach can also be seen as continuing a Leipzig tradition for contrapuntal compositions in sections going back to the keyboard ricercars and fantasias of Nicolaus Adam Strungk and Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow. The tempo transitions between different sections are natural: the minims of the first and second sections correspond to the dotted crotchets of the third.Source of the subjectsMany commentators have remarked on similarities between the first subject and fugal themes by other composers. As an example of stile antico, it is more probably a generic theme, typical of the fuga grave subjects of the time: a "quiet " time signature, rising fourths and a narrow melodic range. As points out, the similarity to the subject of a fugue by Conrad Friedrich Hurlebusch, which Bach himself published in 1734, might have been a deliberate attempt by Bach to blind his public with science. Roger Wibberly has shown that the foundation of all three fugue subjects, as well as of certain passages in the Prelude, may be found in the first four phrases of the chorale "O Herzensangst, O Bangigkeit". The first two sections of BWV 552/2 share many affinities with the fugue in E major BWV 876/2 in The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, written during the same period. Unlike true triple fugues, like the F minor BWV 883 from the same book or some of the contrapuncti in The Art of the Fugue, Bach's intent with BWV 552/2 may not have been to combine all three subjects, although this would theoretically have been possible. Rather, as the work progresses, the first subject is heard singing out through the others: sometimes hidden; sometimes, as in the second section, quietly in the alto and tenor voices; and finally, in the last section, high in the treble and, as the climactic close approaches, quasi-ostinato in the pedal, thundering out beneath the two sets of upper voices. In the second section it is played against quavers; and in parts of the last, against running semiquaver passagework. As the fugue progresses, this creates what Williams has called the cumulative effect of a "mass choir". In later sections, to adapt to triple time, the first subject becomes rhythmically syncopated, resulting in what the music scholar Roger Bullivant has called "a degree of rhythmic complexity probably unparalleled in fugue of any period."First sectionThe first section is a quiet five-part fugue in the stile antico. The countersubject is in crotchets.
There are two stretto passages, the first in thirds (below) and the second in sixths.Second sectionThe second section is a four-part double fugue on a single manual. The second subject is in running quavers and starts on the second beat of bar 37.
The first subject reappears gradually, first hinted at in the inner parts (bars 44-46)
then in the treble of bar 54
before rising up from the lower register as a fully fledged countersubject (bars 59-61).Third sectionThe third section is a five-part double fugue for full organ. The preceding bar in the second section is played as three beats of one minim (a hemiola) and thus provides the new pulse. The third subject is lively and dancelike, resembling a gigue, again starting on the second beat of the bar. The characteristic motif of 4 semiquavers in the third beat has already been heard in the countersubject of the first section and in the second subject. The running semiquaver passagework is an accelerated continuation of the quaver passagework of the second section; occasionally it incorporates motifs from the second section.
At bar 88, the third subject merges into the first subject in the soprano line, although not fully apparent to the ear. Bach with great originality does not change the rhythm of the first subject, so that it becomes syncopated across bars. The subject is then passed to an inner part where it at last establishes its natural pairing with the third subject: two entries of the third exactly match a single entry of the first.
Apart from a final statement of the third subject in the pedal and lower manual register in thirds, there are four quasi-ostinato pedal statements of the first subject, recalling the stile antico pedal part of the first section. Above the pedal the third subject and its semiquaver countersubject are developed with increasing expansiveness and continuity. The penultimate entry of the first subject is a canon between the soaring treble part and the pedal, with descending semiquaver scales in the inner parts. There is a climactic point at bar 114—the second bar below—with the final resounding entry of the first subject in the pedal. It brings the work to its brilliant conclusion, with a unique combination of the backward looking stile antico in the pedal and the forward looking stile moderno in the upper parts. As Williams comments, this is "the grandest ending to any fugue in music."
Chorale preludes BWV 669–689
The descriptions of the chorale preludes are based on the detailed analysis in .
To listen to a MIDI recording, please click on the link.
Chorale preludes BWV 669–677 (Lutheran mass)
In 1526, Martin Luther published his Deutsche Messe, describing how the mass could be conducted using congregational hymns in the German vernacular, intended in particular for use in small towns and villages where Latin was not spoken. Over the next thirty years numerous vernacular hymnbooks were published all over Germany, often in consultation with Luther, Justus Jonas, Philipp Melanchthon and other figures of the German Reformation. The 1537 Naumburg hymnbook, drawn up by Nikolaus Medler, contains the opening Kyrie, Gott Vater in Ewigkeit, one of several Lutheran adaptations of the troped Kyrie summum bonum: Kyrie fons bonitatus. The first Deutsche Messe in 1525 was held at Advent so did not contain the Gloria, explaining its absence in Luther's text the following year. Although there was a German version of the Gloria in the Naumburg hymnal, the 1523 hymn "Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr" of Nikolaus Decius, also adapted from plainchant, eventually became adopted almost universally throughout Germany: it first appeared in print with these words in the 1545 Magdeburg hymnal Kirchengesenge Deudsch of the reformist Johann Spangenberg. A century later, Lutheran liturgical texts and hymnody were in wide circulation. In Leipzig, Bach had at his disposal the Neu Leipziger gesangbuch (1682) of Gottfried Vopelius. Luther was a firm advocate of the use of the arts, particularly music, in worship. He sang in the choir of the Georgenkirche in Eisenach, where Bach's uncle Johann Christoph Bach was later organist, his father Johann Ambrosius Bach one of the main musicians and where Bach himself would sing, a pupil at the same Latin school as Luther between 1693 and 1695., Chapter 3, Music and Lutherism by Robin Leaver
Pedaliter settings of Kyrie BWV 669–671
The Kyrie was usually sung in Leipzig on Sundays after the opening organ prelude. Bach's three monumental pedaliter settings of the Kyrie correspond to the three verses. They are in strict counterpoint in the stile antico of Frescobaldi's Fiori Musicali. All three have portions of the same melody as their cantus firmus – in the soprano voice for "God the Father", in the middle tenor voice () for "God the Son" and in the pedal bass for "God the Holy Ghost". Although having features in common with Bach's vocal settings of the Kyrie, for example in his Missa in F major, BWV 233, the highly original musical style is tailored to organ technique, varying with each of the three chorale preludes. Nevertheless, as in other high-church settings of plainsong, Bach's writing remains "grounded in the unchangeable rules of harmony", as described in Fux's treatise on counterpoint, Gradus ad Parnassum." The solidity of his writing might have been a musical means of reflecting 'firmness in faith'. As observes, "Common to all three movements is a certain seamless motion that rarely leads to full cadences or sequential repetition, both of which would be more diatonic than suits the desired transcendental style."
Below is the text of the three verses of Luther's version of the Kyrie with the English translation of Charles Sanford Terry:
Kyrie, Gott Vater in Ewigkeit,
groß ist dein Barmherzigkeit,
aller Ding ein Schöpfer und Regierer.
eleison!
Christe, aller Welt Trost
uns Sünder allein du hast erlöst;
Jesu, Gottes Sohn,
unser Mittler bist in dem höchsten Thron;
zu dir schreien wir aus Herzens Begier,
eleison!
Kyrie, Gott heiliger Geist,
tröst', stärk' uns im Glauben
allermeist daß wir am letzten End'
fröhlich abscheiden aus diesem Elend,
eleison!
O Lord the Father for evermore!
We Thy wondrous grace adore;
We confess Thy power, all worlds upholding.
Have mercy, Lord.
O Christ, our Hope alone,
Who with Thy blood didst for us atone;
O Jesu! Son of God!
Our Redeemer! our Advocate on high!
Lord, to Thee alone in our need we cry,
Have mercy, Lord.
Holy Lord, God the Holy Ghost!
Who of life and light the fountain art,
With faith sustain our heart,
That at the last we hence in peace depart.
Have mercy, Lord.BWV 669 Kyrie, Gott Vater (Kyrie, O God, Eternal Father)
BWV 669 is a chorale motet for two manuals and pedal in time. The four lines of the cantus firmus in the phrygian mode of G are played in the top soprano part on one manual in semibreve beats. The single fugal theme of the other three parts, two in the second manual and one in the pedal, is in minim beats and based on the first two lines of the cantus firmus. The writing is in alla breve strict counterpoint, occasionally departing from the modal key to B and E major. Even when playing beneath the cantus firmus, the contrapuntal writing is quite elaborate. The many stile antico features include inversions, suspensions, strettos, use of dactyls and the canone sine pausa at the close, where the subject is developed without break in parallel thirds. Like the cantus firmus, the parts move in steps, creating an effortless smoothness in the chorale prelude.BWV 670 Christe, aller Welt Trost (Christ, Comfort of all the world)
BWV 670 is a chorale motet for two manuals and pedal in time. The four lines of the cantus firmus in the phrygian mode of G are played in the tenor part (en taille) on one manual in semibreve beats. As in BWV 669, the single fugal theme of the other three parts, two in the second manual and one in the pedal, is in minim beats and based on the first two lines of the cantus firmus. The writing is again mostly modal, in alla breve strict counterpoint with similar stile antico features and a resulting smoothness. In this case, however, there are fewer inversions, the cantus firmus phrases are longer and freer, and the other parts more widely spaced, with canone sine pausa passages in sixths.BWV 671 Kyrie, Gott heiliger Geist (Kyrie, O God the Holy Ghost)
BWV 671 is a chorale motet for organum plenum and pedal. The bass cantus firmus is in semibreves in the pedal with four parts above in the keyboard: tenor, alto and, exceptionally, two soprano parts, creating a unique texture. The subject of the four-part fugue in the manuals is derived from the first two lines of the cantus firmus and is answered by its inversion, typical of the stile antico. The quaver motifs in ascending and descending sequences, starting with dactyl figures and becoming increasingly continuous, swirling and scalelike, are a departure from the previous chorale preludes. Among the stile antico features are movement in steps and syncopation. Any tendency for the modal key to become diatonic is counteracted by the chromaticism of the final section where the flowing quavers come to a sudden end. Over the final line of the cantus firmus, the crotchet figures drop successively by semitones with dramatic and unexpected dissonances, recalling a similar but less extended passage at the end of the five-part chorale prelude O lux beata of Matthias Weckmann. As suggests, the twelve descending chromatic steps seem like supplications, repeated cries of eleison—"have mercy".
Manualiter settings of Kyrie BWV 672–674
The three manualiter chorale preludes BWV 672–674 are short fugal compositions within the tradition of the chorale fughetta, a form derived from the chorale motet in common use in Central Germany. Johann Christoph Bach, Bach's uncle and organist at Eisenach, produced 44 such fughettas. The brevity of the fughettas is thought to have been dictated by space limitations: they were added to the manuscript at a very late stage in 1739 to fill space between already engraved pedaliter settings. Despite their length and conciseness, the fughettas are all highly unconventional, original and smoothly flowing, sometimes with an other-worldly sweetness. As freely composed chorale preludes, the fugue subjects and motifs are based loosely on the beginning of each line of the cantus firmus, which otherwise does not figure directly. The motifs themselves are developed independently with the subtlety and inventiveness typical of Bach's later contrapuntal writing. has suggested that the set might have been inspired by the cycle of five manualiter settings of "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" in Harmonische Seelenlust, published by his contemporary Georg Friedrich Kauffmann in 1733: BWV 673 and 674 employ similar rhythms and motifs to two of Kauffmann's chorale preludes.
The Kyries seem to have been conceived as a set, in conformity with the symbolism of the Trinity. This is reflected in the contrasting time signatures of , and . They are also linked harmonically: all start in a major key and move to a minor key before the final cadence; the top part of each fughetta ends on a different note of the E major triad; and there is a matching between closing and beginning notes of successive pieces. What has called the "new, transcendental quality" of these chorale fughettas is due in part to the modal writing. The cantus firmus in the phrygian mode of E is ill-suited to the standard methods of counterpoint, since entries of the subject in the dominant are precluded by the mode. This compositional problem, exacerbated by the choice of notes on which the pieces start and finish, was solved by Bach by having other keys as the dominating keys in each fughetta. This was a departure from established conventions for counterpoint in the phrygian mode, dating back to the mid-16th century ricercar from the time of Palestrina. As Bach's pupil Johann Kirnberger later remarked in 1771, "the great man departs from the rule in order to sustain good part-writing."BWV 672 Kyrie, Gott Vater (Kyrie, O God, Eternal Father)
BWV 672 is a fughetta for four voices, 32 bars long. Although the movement starts in G major, the predominant tonal centre is A minor. The subject in dotted minims (G–A–B) and the quaver countersubject are derived from the first line of the cantus firmus, which also provides material for several cadences and a later descending quaver figure (bar 8 below). Some of the sequential writing resembles that of the B major fugue BWV 890/2 in the second book of The Well-Tempered Clavier. Smoothness and mellifluousness result from what has called the "liquefying effect" of the simple time signature of ; from the use of parallel thirds in the doubling of subject and countersubject; from the clear tonalities of the four-part writing, progressing from G major to A minor, D minor, A minor and at the close E major; and from the softening effect of the occasional chromaticism, no longer dramatic as in the conclusion of the previous chorale prelude BWV 671.BWV 673 Christe, aller Welt Trost (Christ, Comfort of all the world)
BWV 673 is a fughetta for four voices, 30 bars long, in compound time. It has been described by as "a movement of immense subtlety". The subject, three and a half bars long, is derived from the first line of the cantus firmus. The semiquaver scale motif in bar 4 is also related and is much developed throughout the piece. The countersubject, which is taken from the subject itself, uses the same syncopated leaping motif as the earlier Jesus Christus unser Heiland BWV 626 from the Orgelbüchlein, similar to gigue-like figures used earlier by Buxtehude in his chorale prelude Auf meinen lieben Gott BuxWV 179; it has been interpreted as symbolising the triumph of the risen Christ over death. In contrast to the preceding fughetta, the writing in BWV 673 has a playful lilting quality, but again it is modal, unconventional, inventive and non-formulaic, even if governed throughout by aspects of the cantus firmus. The fughetta starts in the key of C major, modulating to D minor, then moving to A minor before the final cadence. Fluidity comes from the many passages with parallel thirds and sixths. Original features of the contrapuntal writing include the variety of entries of the subject (all notes of the scale except G), which occur in stretto and in canon.BWV 674 Kyrie, Gott heiliger Geist (Kyrie, O God the Holy Ghost)
BWV 674 is a fughetta for four voices, 34 bars long, in compound time. The writing is again smooth, inventive and concise, moulded by the cantus firmus in E phrygian. The quaver motif in the third bar recurs throughout the movement, often in thirds and sixths, and is developed more than the quaver theme in the first bar. The constant quaver texture might be a reference to the last eleison in the plainchant. The movement starts in G major passing to A minor, then briefly C major, before moving back to A minor before the final cadence to an E major triad. As explains, "The so-called modality lies in a kind of diatonic ambiguity exemplified in the cadence, suggested by the key signature, and borne out in the kinds of lines and imitation."
Allein Gott in der Höh' BWV 675–677
Bach's three settings of the German Gloria/Trinity hymn Allein Gott in der Höh' again make allusion to the Trinity: in the succession of keys—F, G and A—possibly echoed in the opening notes of the first setting BWV 675; in the time signatures; and in the number of bars allocated to various sections of movements. The three chorale preludes give three completely different treatments: the first a manualiter trio with the cantus firmus in the alto; the second a pedaliter trio sonata with hints of the cantus firmus in the pedal, similar in style to Bach's six trio sonatas for organ BWV 525–530; and the last a three-part manualiter fughetta with themes derived from the first two lines of the melody. Earlier commentators considered some of the settings to be "not quite worthy" of their place in Clavier-Übung III, particularly the "much-maligned" BWV 675, which Hermann Keller considered could have been written during Bach's period in Weimar. More recent commentators have confirmed that all three pieces conform to the general principles Bach adopted for the collection, in particular their unconventionality and the "strangeness" of the counterpoint. and have pointed out the possible influence of Bach's contemporaries on his musical language. Bach was familiar with the eight versions of Allein Gott by his cousin Johann Gottfried Walther as well as the Harmonische Seelenlust of Georg Friedrich Kauffmann, posthumously printed by Bach's Leipzig printer Krügner. In BWV 675 and 677 there are similarities with some of Kauffmann's galant innovations: triplets against duplets in the former; and explicit articulation by detached quavers in the latter. The overall style of BWV 675 has been compared to Kauffmann's setting of Nun ruhen alle Wälder; that of BWV 676 to the fifth of Walther's own settings of Allein Gott; and BWV 677 has many details in common with Kauffmann's fughetta on Wir glauben all an einen Gott.
Below is the text of the four verses of Luther's version of the Gloria with the English translation of Charles Sanford Terry:
Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Ehr'
und Dank für seine Gnade,
darum daß nun und nimmermehr
uns rühren kann kein Schade.
ein Wohlgefall'n Gott an uns hat,
nun ist groß' Fried' ohn' Unterlaß,
all' Fehd' hat nun ein Ende.
Wir loben, preis'n, anbeten dich
für deine Ehr'; wir danken,
daß du, Gott Vater ewiglich
regierst ohn' alles Wanken.
ganz ungemeß'n ist deine Macht,
fort g'schieht, was dein Will' hat bedacht;
wohl uns des feinen Herren!
O Jesu Christ, Sohn eingebor'n
deines himmlischen Vaters,
versöhner der'r, die war'n verlor'n,
du Stiller unsers Haders,
Lamm Gottes, heil'ger Herr und Gott,
nimm an die Bitt' von unsrer Not,
erbarm' dich unser aller!
O Heil'ger Geist, du höchstes Gut,
du allerheilsamst' Tröster,
vor's Teufels G'walt fortan behüt',
die Jesus Christ erlöset
durch große Mart'r und bittern Tod,
abwend all unsern Jamm'r und Not!
darauf wir uns verlaßen.
To God on high all glory be,
And thanks, that He's so gracious,
That hence to all eternity
No evil shall oppress us:
His word declares good-will to men,
On earth is peace restored again
Through Jesus Christ our Saviour.
We humbly Thee adore, and praise,
And laud for Thy great glory:
Father, Thy kingdom lasts always,
Not frail, nor transitory:
Thy power is endless as Thy praise,
Thou speak'st, the universe obeys:
In such a Lord we're happy.
O Jesus Christ, enthroned on high,
The Father's Son beloved
By Whom lost sinners are brought nigh,
And guilt and curse removed;
Thou Lamb once slain, our God and Lord,
To needy prayers Thine ear afford,
And on us all have mercy.
O Comforter, God Holy Ghost,
Thou source of consolation,
From Satan's power Thou wilt, we trust,
Protect Christ's congregation,
His everlasting truth assert,
All evil graciously avert,
Lead us to life eternal.BWV 675 Allein Gott in der Höh' (All glory be to God on high)
BWV 675, 66 bars long, is a two-part invention for the upper and lower voices with the cantus firmus in the alto part. The two outer parts are intricate and rhythmically complex with wide leaps, contrasting with the cantus firmus which moves smoothly by steps in minims and crotchets. The time signature has been taken to be one of the references in this movement to the Trinity. Like the two preceding chorale preludes, there is no explicit manualiter marking, only an ambiguous "a 3": performers are left with the choice of playing on a single keyboard or on two keyboards with a 4′ pedal, the only difficulty arising from the triplets in bar 28. The movement is in bar form (AAB) with bar lengths of sections divisible by 3: the 18 bar stollen has 9 bars with and without the cantus firmus and the 30 bar abgesang has 12 bars with the cantus firmus and 18 without it. The invention theme provides a fore-imitation of the cantus firmus, subsuming the same notes and bar lengths as each corresponding phase. The additional motifs in the theme are ingeniously developed throughout the piece: the three rising starting notes; the three falling triplets in bar 2; the leaping octaves at the beginning of bar 3; and the quaver figure in bar 4. These are playfully combined in ever-changing ways with the two motifs from the counter subject—the triplet figure at the end of bar 5 and the semiquaver scale at the beginning of bar 6—and their inversions. At the end of each stollen and the abgesang, the complexity of the outer parts lessens, with simple triplet descending scale passages in the soprano and quavers in the bass. The harmonisation is similar to that in Bach's Leipzig cantatas, with the keys shifting between major and minor.BWV 676 Allein Gott in der Höh' (All glory be to God on high)
BWV 676 is a trio sonata for two keyboards and pedal, 126 bars long. The melody of the hymn is omnipresent in the cantus firmus, the paraphrase in the subject of the upper parts and in the harmony. The compositional style and detail—charming and galant—are similar to those of the trio sonatas for organ BWV 525–530. The chorale prelude is easy on the ear, belying its technical difficulty. It departs from the trio sonatas in having a ritornello form dictated by the lines of the cantus firmus, which in this case uses an earlier variant with the last line identical to the second. This feature and the length of the lines themselves account for the unusual length of BWV 676.
The musical form of BWV 676 can be analysed as follows:
bars 1–33: exposition, with left hand following right and the first two lines of the cantus firmus in the left hand in bars 12 and 28.
bars 33–66: repeat of exposition, with right hand and left hand interchanged
bars 66–78: episode with syncopated sonata-like figures
bars 78–92: third and fourth lines of cantus firmus in canon between the pedal and each of the two hands, with a countertheme derived from trio subject in the other hand
bars 92–99: episode similar to passage in first exposition
bars 100–139: last line of cantus firmus in the left hand, then the right hand, the pedal and finally the right hand, before the final pedal point, over which the trio theme returns in the right hand against scale-like figures in the left hand, creating a somewhat inconclusive ending:BWV 677 Allein Gott in der Höh' (All glory be to God on high)
BWV 677 is a double fughetta, 20 bars long. In the first five bars the first subject, based on the first line of the cantus firmus, and countersubject
are heard in stretto, with a response in bars 5 to 7. The originality of the complex musical texture is created by pervasive but unobtrusive references to the cantus firmus and the smooth semiquaver motif from the first half of bar 3, which recurs throughout the piece and contrasts with the detached quavers of the first subject.
The contrasting second subject, based on the second line of the cantus firmus, starts in the alto part on the last quaver of bar 7:
The two subjects and the semiquaver motif are combined from bar 16 to the close. Examples of musical iconography include the minor triad in the opening
subject and the descending scales in the first half of bar 16—references to the Trinity and the heavenly host.
Chorale preludes BWV 678–689 (Luther's catechism chorales)
Careful examination of the original manuscript has shown that the large scale chorale preludes with pedal, including those on the six catechism hymns, were the first to be engraved. The smaller manualiter settings of the catechism hymns and the four duets were added later in the remaining spaces, with the first five catechism hymns set as three-part fughettas and the last as a longer four-part fugue. It is possible that Bach, in order to increase the accessibility of the collection, conceived these additions as pieces that could be played on domestic keyboard instruments. Even for a single keyboard, however, they present difficulties: in the preface to his own collection of chorale preludes published in 1750, the organist and composer Georg Andreas Sorge wrote that, "the preludes on the catechism chorales of Herr Capellmeister Bach in Leipzig are examples of this kind of keyboard piece that deserve the great renown that they enjoy," adding that "works such as these are so difficult as to be all but unusable to young beginners and others who lack the considerable proficiency they require."
The Ten Commandments BWV 678, 679BWV 678 Dies sind die heil'gen zehn Gebot (These are the holy Ten Commandments)
Below is the text of the first verse of Luther's hymn with the English translation by Charles Sanford Terry:
The prelude is in the mixolydian mode of G, ending on a plagal cadence in G minor. The ritornello is in the upper parts and bass on the upper manual and pedal, with the cantus firmus in canon at the octave on the lower manual. There are ritornello episodes and five entries of the Cantus firmus, yielding the number of commandments. The distribution of parts, two parts in each keyboard and one in the pedal is similar to that of the de Grigny Livre d'Orgue, although Bach makes much greater technical demands on the right hand part.
Commentators have seen the canon as representing order, with the pun on canon as "law". As also expressed in Luther's verses, the two voices of the canon have been seen as symbolising the new law of Christ and the old law of Moses, which it echoes. The pastoral quality in the organ writing for the upper voices at the opening has been interpreted as representing the serenity before the Fall of Man; it is followed by the disorder of sinful waywardness; and finally order is restored in the closing bars with the calm of salvation.
The upper part and pedal engage in an elaborate and highly developed fantasia based on motifs introduced in the ritornello at the beginning of the chorale prelude. These motifs recur either in their original form or inverted. There are six motifs in the upper part:
the three crotchets at beginning of bar 1 above
the dotted minim in the second part of bar 1 above
the six note quaver figure in the two halves of bar 3 above
the phrase of three semiquavers and two pairs of "sighing" quavers in bar 5 above
the semiquaver passagework in the second half of bar 5 above
the semiquaver passage work in the second half of the second bar below (first heard in bar 13)
and five in the bass:
the three crotchets at the beginning of bar 4 above
the two crotchets dropping by an octave at the beginning of bar 5 above
the phrase in the second part of bar 5 above
the three note scale in the second, third and fourth crotchets of bar 6 above
the last three crotchets in bar 7 above.
The writing for the two upper voices is similar to that for obligato instruments in a cantata: their musical material is independent of the chorale, The opening pedal G on the other hand can be heard as a foretaste of the repeated Gs in the cantus firmus. In between the cantus firmus is sung in canon at the octave on the second manual. The fifth and final entry of the cantus firmus is in the distant key of B major (G minor): it expresses the purity of the Kyrie eleison at the end of the first verse, which brings the prelude to a harmonious close:BWV 679 Dies sind die heil'gen zehn Gebot (These are the holy Ten Commandments)
The lively gigue-like fughetta has several similarities to the larger chorale prelude: it is in the mixolydian mode of G; it starts with a pedal point of repeated Gs; the number ten occurs as the number of entries of the subject (four of them inverted); and the piece ends on a plagal cadence. The motifs in the second half of the second bar and the countersubject are extensively developed. The liveliness of the fughetta has been taken to reflect Luther's exhortation in the Small Catechism to do "cheerfully what He has commanded." Equally well, Psalm 119 speaks of "delighting ... in His statutes" and rejoicing in the Law.
The Creed BWV 680, 681 BWV 680 Wir glauben all' an einen Gott (We all believe in one God)
Below is the text of the first verse of Luther's hymn with the English translation by Charles Sanford Terry:
The chorale prelude in four parts is a fugue in the Dorian mode of D, with the subject based on the first line of Luther's hymn. The prominent counter-subject is first heard in the pedal bass. According to Peter Williams, the chorale prelude is written in the stilo antico Italian style reminiscent of Girolamo Frescobaldi and Giovanni Battista Bassani. Italian elements are apparent in the trio-sonata structure, which combines the upper fugal parts with the ostinato figured bass; and in the ingenious use of the full range of Italianate semiquaver motifs. The five notes in the original hymn for the opening melisma on Wir are expanded in the first two bars and the remaining notes are used for the countersubject. There is exceptionally no cantus firmus, probably because of the exceptional length of the hymn. Features of the remainder of the hymn, however, suffuse the writing, in particular the scale-like passages and the melodic leaps. The fugue counter-subject is adapted to the pedal as a vigorous striding bass with alternate footwork; its quasi-ostinato character has been consistently interpreted as representing a "firm faith in God": a striding bass line was often used by Bach for Credo movements, for example in the Credo and Confiteor of the Mass in B Minor. After each occurrence of the ostinato counter-subject in the pedal, there is a semiquaver bridging passage (bars 8-9, 19-20, 31-32, 44-45, 64-66) in which the music modulates into a different key while the three upper parts play in invertible counterpoint: in this way the three different melodic lines can be freely interchanged between the three voices. These highly original transitional passages punctuate the work and give a coherence to the whole movement. Although the added G makes it difficult to recognize the chorale melody, it can be heard more clearly later on, singing out in the tenor part. In the final manualiter episode (bars 76-83) the ostinato pedal figures are taken up briefly by the tenor part before the movement draws to a close over a final extended restatement of the fugue counter-subject in the pedal.
The American musicologist David Yearsley has described the chorale prelude as follows: "This energetic, syncopated counterpoint is elaborated above a recurring two-bar theme in the pedal that acts like a ritornello whose continual reappearances are separated by lengthy rests. The ostinato remains constant through the various key-changes that present it in both major and minor mode [...] The shape of the pedal line suggests an archetypal narrative of ascent and descent in perfect symmetry [...] The figure forcefully projects the movements of the feet into the church; heard on full organ (In Organo pleno, according to Bach’s own performance direction) with a registration of all due Gravitas, the feet move with real purpose [...] Wir glauben all' is truly a walker’s piece at the organ."BWV 681 Wir glauben all' an einen Gott (We all believe in one God)
The manualiter fughetta in E minor is both the shortest movement in Clavier-Übung III and the exact midpoint of the collection. The subject paraphrases the first line of the chorale; the two-bar passage later in the movement leading to two dramatic diminished seventh chords is constructed over the second chorale line. Although not strictly a French ouverture, the movement does incorporate elements of that style, in particular the dotted rhythms. Here Bach follows his custom of beginning the second half of a major collection with a French-style movement (as in the other three Clavier-Übung volumes, in both volumes of Das Wohltemperierte Clavier, in the early manuscript version of Die Kunst der Fuge and in the group of five numbered canons in the Musikalisches Opfer). It also complements the preceding chorale prelude by following an Italian style with a contrasting French one. Although still evidently written for organ, in style it most resembles the Gigue for harpsichord from the first French Suite in D minor BWV 812.
The Lord's Prayer BWV 682, 683BWV 682 Vater unser im Himmelreich (Our Father who art in heaven)
Below is the text of the first verse of Luther's hymn with the English translation by Charles Sanford Terry:
Vater unser im Himmelreich,
der du uns alle heissest gleich
Brüder sein und dich rufen an
und willst das Beten vor uns ha'n,
gib, dass nicht bet allein der Mund,
hilf, dass es geh' aus Herzensgrund.
Our Father in the heaven Who art,
Who tellest all of us in heart
Brothers to be, and on Thee call,
And wilt have prayer from us all,
Grant that the mouth not only pray,
From deepest heart oh help its way.
Vater unser im Himmelreich BWV 682 in E minor has long been considered the most complex of Bach's chorale preludes, difficult at the levels of both understanding and performance. Through a ritornello trio sonata in the modern French galante style, the German chorale of the first verse is heard in canon at the octave, almost subliminally, played in each hand together with the obligato instrumental solo. Bach had already mastered such a compound form in the choral fantasia opening his cantata Jesu, der du meine Seele, BWV 78. The canon could be a reference to the Law, the adherence to which Luther saw as one of the purposes of prayer.
The galante style in the upper parts is reflected in their lombardic rhythms and detached semiquaver triplets, sometimes played against semiquavers, typical of French flute music of the time. Below, the pedal plays a restless continuo, with constantly changing motifs. On the technical side, the suggestion of the German musicologist Hermann Keller that BWV 682 required four manuals and two players has not been accepted. As Bach emphasised to his students, however, articulation was all-important: dotted figures and triplets had to be distinguished and should only come together when the "music is extremely fast."
The theme in the upper parts is an elaborate coloratura version of the hymn, like the instrumental solos in the slow movements of trio sonatas or concertos. Its wandering, sighing nature has been taken to represent the unsaved soul in search of God's protection. It has three key elements which are developed extensively in the prelude: the lombardic rhythms in bar 3; the chromatic descending phrase between bars 5 and 6; and the detached semiquaver triplets in bar 10. Bach already used lombardic rhythms in the early 1730s, in particular in some early versions of the Domine Deus of the Mass in B minor from his cantata Gloria in excelsis Deo, BWV 191. The mounting lombardic figures have been interpreted as representing "hope" and "trust" and the anguished chromaticism as "patience" and "suffering". At the climax of the work in bar 41, the chromaticism reaches its most extreme in the upper parts as the lombardic rhythms pass to the pedal:
The otherworldly way in which the solo parts weave around the solo lines of the chorale, almost hiding them, has suggested to some commentators "groanings which cannot be uttered"—the mystical nature of prayer. After its first statement the ritornello recurs six times but not as a strict repeat, instead the order in which the different motifs are heard constantly changes.BWV 683 Vater unser im Himmelreich (Our Father who art in heaven)
The manualiter chorale prelude BWV 683 in the Dorian mode of D is similar in form to Bach's earlier composition BWV 636 on the same subject from the Orgelbüchlein; the lack of a pedal part allows more freedom and integration of parts in the latter work. The cantus firmus is played without interruption in the uppermost part, accompanied by three-part counterpoint in the lower parts. The accompaniment uses two motifs: the five descending semiquavers in the first bar, derived from the fourth line of the chorale "und willst das beten von uns han" (and wishes us to pray); and the three quaver figure in the alto part in the second half of bar 5. The first motif is also inverted. The quiet and sweetly harmonious nature of the music is evocative of prayer and contemplation. Its intimate scale and orthodox style provide a complete contrast to the previous "larger" setting in BWV 682. At the beginning of each line of the chorale, the musical texture is pared down, with more voices added towards the end of the line: the long very first note of the chorale is unaccompanied. The prelude comes to a subdued conclusion in the lower registers of the keyboard.
Baptism BWV 684, 685BWV 684 Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam (Christ our Lord to the Jordan came)
Below is the text of the first and last verses of Luther's hymn "" with the English translation by Charles Sanford Terry:
Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam
nach seines Vaters Willen,
von Sanct Johann die Taufe nahm,
sein Werk und Amt zu 'rfüllen,
Da wollt er stiften uns ein Bad,
zu waschen uns von Sünden,
ersaüfen auch den bittern Tod
durch sein selbst Blut und Wunden;
es galt ein neues Leben.
Das Aug allein das Wasser sieht,
wie Menschen Wasser gießen;
der Glaub im Geist die Kraft versteht
des Blutes Jesu Christi;
und ist vor ihm ein rote Flut,
von Christi Blut gefärbet,
die allen Schaden heilen tut,
von Adam her geerbet,
auch von uns selbst begangen.
To Jordan when our Lord had gone,
His Father's pleasure willing,
He took His baptism of St John,
His work and task fulfilling;
Therein He would appoint a bath
To wash us from defilement,
And also drown that cruel Death
In His blood of assoilment:
'Twas no less than a new life.
The eye but water doth behold,
As from man's hand it floweth;
But inward faith the power untold
Of Jesus Christ's blood knoweth.
Faith sees therein a red flood roll,
With Christ's blood dyed and blended,
Which hurts of all kinds maketh whole,
From Adam here descended,
And by ourselves brought on us.
The chorale prelude Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam BWV 684 has a trio sonata like ritornello in C minor in the three parts of the manuals with the cantus firmus in the tenor register of the pedal in the Dorian mode of C. Bach specifically stipulates two keyboards to give different sonorities to the imitative upper parts and the bass part. The undulating semiquavers in the bass, usually interpreted as representing the flowing waters of the Jordan, imitate a violine continuo, according to the model of Kauffmann's Harmonische Seelenlust. The musical content of the ritornello contains explicit allusions to the melody of the chorale, sometimes hidden in the semiquaver passage work and motifs.BWV 685 Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam (Christ our Lord to the Jordan came)
The manualiter chorale prelude BWV 685, despite being only 27 bars long and technically speaking a three-part fughetta, is a complex composition with dense fugal writing. The subject and countersubject are both derived from the first line of the cantus firmus. The compact style, imitative contrapuntal writing and sometimes capricious touches, such as repetition and the ambiguity in the number of parts, are features that BWV 685 shares with the shorter chorale preludes in Kauffmann's Harmonische Seelenlust. The contrary motion between the parts in bar 9 harks back to the compositions of Samuel Scheidt. has given a precise analysis of the fughetta:
bars 1–4: subject in soprano, countersubject in alto
bars 5–7: subject inverted in bass, countersubject inverted in soprano, with a free alto part
bars 8–10: episode derived from countersubject
bars 11–14: subject in alto, countersubject in bass, with episode continuing against alto part
bars 15–17: subject inverted in soprano, countersubject inverted in bass, with derived alto part
bars 18–20: episode derived from countersubject
bars 21–23: subject in bass, countersubject in soprano, with derived alto part
bars 24–27: subject inverted in alto, countersubject inverted in soprano, with derived bass part
There have been many attempts to interpret the musical iconography of BWV 685. Albert Schweitzer suggested that the subject and countersubject gave the visual impression of waves. Hermann Keller suggested that the three entries of the subject and countersubject, and the three inversions, represent the three immersions at baptism. Others have seen allusions to the Trinity in the three voices. The subject and countersubject have been seen as representing Luther's baptismal themes of Old Adam and New Man. Whatever the intended symbolism, Bach's most probable compositional aim was to produce a shorter chorale prelude contrasting musically with the preceding longer setting.
Confession BWV 686, 687BWV 686 Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir (Out of the depths I cry to Thee)
Below is the text of the first and last verses of Luther's hymn with the English translation by Charles Sanford Terry:
Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir,
Herr Gott, erhör mein Rufen.
Dein gnädig Ohren kehr zu mir
und meiner Bitt sei öffne;
denn so du willst das sehen an,
was Sünd und Unrecht ist getan,
wer kann, Herr, vor dir bleiben?
Darum auf Gott will hoffen ich,
auf mein Verdienst nicht bauen;
auf ihn mein Herz soll lassen sich
und seiner Güte trauen,
die mir zusagt sein wertes Wort;
das ist mein Trost und treuer Hort,
das will ich allzeit harren.
Out of the depths I cry to Thee,
Lord, hear me, I implore Thee!
Bend down Thy gracious ear to me,
Let my prayer come before Thee!
If Thou rememberest each misdeed,
If each should have its rightful meed,
Who may abide Thy presence?
And thus my hope is in the Lord,
And not in mine own merit;
I rest upon His faithful word
To them of contrite spirit;
That He is merciful and just—
Here is my comfort and my trust,
His help I wait with patience.
The chorale prelude Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir BWV 686 is a monumental chorale motet in the phrygian mode of C. The climax of Clavier-Übung III, it is composed in the strict polyphonic stile antico of Palestrina using florid counterpoint. This is Bach's unique six-part composition for organ, if the Ricercar a 6 from the Musical Offering BWV 1079 is discounted. German organ writing for double pedal () can be traced back to Arnolt Schlick and Ludwig Senfl in the 16th century; to Samuel Scheidt in two settings from his Tabulatura Nova in the early 17th century; and in the baroque period to Buxtehude, Reincken, Bruhns, Tunder, Weckmann and Lübeck. In France, among the composers to have written double pedal parts were François Couperin, in his organ mass des paroisses, and Louis Marchand.
The first verse of Luther's hymn had already been set by Bach in the cantata Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir, BWV 38 (1724). The fact that the setting in BWV 686 flows more easily, has more countersubjects, has more novel features and has typically organ figurations in the final section has suggested that in this case the whole of Luther's text was taken into account and that it is a purer version of the stile antico. Following the huge scale of the opening, Bach highly inventively incorporates motifs from the cantus firmus into the countersubjects of the seven sections (counting the repeat), resulting in a constantly changing musical texture. The widest range in pitch between upper and lower parts occurs exactly halfway through at bar 27. At the end of each line the cantus firmus is taken up in the left (lower) pedal, which, without break, then plays the countersubject while above the right (upper) pedal concludes the section by playing the cantus firmus in the tenor register in augmentation (i.e., with doubled note lengths). The proliferation of dactyl "joy" motifs (a crotchet followed by two quavers) in the last section of the prelude reflects the optimism in the last verse.
has given the following analysis of the seven sections:
first and third line: fugal section, with stretti in tenor and soprano manual voices at b.3 and in bass and soprano manual parts in b.9; countersubject with syncopation and crotchet figures
second and fourth line: the rising three-note phrase or caput at the start of the melody occurs in minims or crotchets in all parts, all of which move stepwise (up or down to the nearest note); previous crotchet countersubject inverted
fifth line: all parts except the manual bass have the melody; the syncopated countersubject involves either jumps, four-quaver figures or anapaests (two quavers followed by a crotchet)
sixth line: melody only in alto and tenor manual and tenor and bass pedal parts; jumps in the countersubject break up the musical texture
seventh line: melody in all parts in slightly modified form and with some inversion; animated dactyl and quaver figures in countersubject, adding more lively modern elements to the severe stile anticoBWV 687 Aus tiefer Noth schrei' ich zu dir (Out of the depths I cry to Thee)
This smaller manualiter setting of Aus tiefer Noth schrei' ich zu dir is a four-part chorale motet in the key of F minor, with the augmented cantus firmus in the phrygian mode of E in the uppermost soprano part. The strict contrapuntal writing is denser than that of BWV 686, although it adheres less to the stile antico and has a more uniform texture. Commentators have suggested that the continual responses to the fugue subjects by their inversion signify confession followed by forgiveness. has pointed out the following musical features in the seven sections of BWV 687:
in each section, the fugue subject in quavers is derived from elements of the corresponding cantus firmus; it is answered by inversions of the subject in stretto
in each section, there are five bars with alto, tenor and bass in counterpoint, followed by eight bars of the soprano cantus firmus in minims and ending with a one bar cadence
as each cantus firmus episode progresses, the accompanying lower parts move in a more animated way
Communion BWV 688, 689BWV 688 Jesus Christus, unser Heiland (Jesus Christ our Saviour)
Below is the full text of Luther's hymn with the English translation by Charles Sanford Terry:
The chorale prelude Jesus Christus, unser Heiland BWV 688 is a trio sonata with the upper voices in quavers and semiquavers the manuals and the cantus firmus in minims in the pedal in the Dorian mode of G, like a Gregorian chant. The eccentric angularity of the keyboard subject with its great widening or narrowing leaps is derived from the melody. It has prompted much speculation as to its iconographic significance. "Unwavering faith" has been taken to be the underlying theme by many commentators, including Spitta and Schweitzer, who compared the unsteady theme to the vision of a sailor seeking a firm foothold on a stormy deck (). Others have interpreted the leaping theme as representing Man's parting from and return to God; or as the "great agony" () of the sixth verse; or as the anger of God appeased by the suffering of Christ (the theme followed by its inversion); or as a reference to the treading of the winepress in the passage
from Isaiah 63:2–3, signifying victory over the Cross. It has similarly been suggested that the semiquaver passages are a reference to the flowing wine-blood of the communion. Visually, the quaver theme might contain a cross motif and might form an elongated Christogram on the Greek letters iota and chi in certain sections of the score.
Whatever the religious significance, the musical development from the motifs is ingenious and subtle, constantly varying. The material in the semiquaver codetta (bar 6) of the fugue subject and of the countersubject (bars 7–9) is used and developed extensively throughout BWV 688, sometimes in inverted form. The theme itself is transformed in all sorts of ways, including inversion, reflection, reversal and syncopation, the variety increased by how the two upper voices combine together. Once started, the semiquaver figures form a moto perpetuo. At some points, they contain hidden versions of the quaver fugue subject; but as the work progresses, they gradually simplify to scale passages. Even the ending is unconventional, with a simulated ritardando in the last bars with the pedal silent. The chorale prelude is thus composed from a few organic motifs heard already in the first few bars. The unprecedented novelty and musical originality of such a self-generated composition might have been Bach's main intention.BWV 689 Jesus Christus, unser Heiland (Jesus Christ our Saviour)
The last manualiter four-part chorale prelude, Jesus Christus, unser Heiland BWV 689 in C minor, is marked "Fuga super Jesus Christus, unser Heyland" in the 1739 print. In contrast to the previous fughettas in the previous five manualiter settings of the catechism hymns, it is a long and complex fugue of great originality, a tour de force in the use of stretti. The fugue subject is derived from the first line of the chorale. In order to facilitate the stretti which underlie the whole conception of BWV 689, Bach chose to transform the modal melody by sharpening the fourth note from a B to a B, a modification already found in 17th-century hymnbooks. This change also allowed Bach to introduce dissonances, imbuing the work with what the French organist and musicologist Norbert Dufourcq called "tormented chromaticism". The quaver countersubject and its inversions are used and developed throughout the fugue. It resembles some of Bach's other keyboard fugues, in particular the antepenultimate fugue in B minor BWV 891/2 of the second book of The Well-Tempered Clavier, composed at roughly the same time.
The inversion of the countersubject in bar 5, omitting the first note, plays a significant role later in the fugue (bar 30):
The stretti occur at intervals of varying length; in addition to the fugue subject, there are also imitations and stretti both for the semiquaver figure in the subject (and its inversions) and the figure above derived from the countersubject. has given the following summary of the stretti for the fugue subject:
bars 1–2: between tenor and alto, one and a half bars later
bars 7–8: between soprano and bass, one and a half bars later
bar 10: between alto and soprano, 1 crotchet later
bar 16: between alto and tenor, a minim later
bars 23–24: between bass and tenor, a bar later
bars 36–37: between alto and soprano, 5 crotchets later
bars 37–38: between soprano and tenor, one and a half bars later
bar 57: subject simultaneously in crotchets in alto and augmented in minims in tenor
The last entry of the fugue subject in the tenor voice gives the impression of the return of a conventional cantus firmus; the coda over the tenor's sustained F is built on the motifs of the countersubject. The different types of stretti result in a large variety of harmonisations of the theme and musical textures throughout the chorale prelude.
has given a detailed analysis of BWV 689 from the perspective of Bach's keyboard fugues:
Section 1 (bars 1–18). The fugue starts in a measured way, as if under a burden, the four entries effectively spaced out over regular units of bars. The tenor is followed in stretto 6 beats later by the alto and then similarly the soprano by the bass. Before the bass subject ends on the first beat of bar 11, a second set of fugal entries begins, this time more anguished, more dissonant, due to the irregularity of the stretti. The alto entry at the beginning of bar 10 is followed a beat later by the soprano; and the tenor entry at the beginning of bar 16 is followed two beats later by the bass. The quaver countersubject and its inversion are heard throughout, as an unobtrusive accompaniment, yet to reveal their true character.
Section 2 (bars 19–35). The C minor cadence in the middle of bar 19 would normally signify a new subject in a fugue. In this case, a leap upwards of a fourth in the soprano part, taken from the fugue subject, and then imitated in the tenor and bass parts, signals a renewed vitality and heralds the transformation of the countersubject into material derived from the fourth line of the chorale melody, comprising its highest notes and therefore easily recognizable. The new second 8-quaver subject is heard first in the soprano voice in the second half of bar 20 and the first half of bar 21: it is answered twice by its inversion in the bass in sequence. Then in bars 23–27, the soprano plays the second subject twice in sequence followed by the inverted form in the alto. Below the bass and tenor play the first subject with a stretto of one bar: for the only time in the fugue, however, these entries of the first subject are not prominent, but play a background role. After the second subject is heard a third time in the soprano, the music seems to draw to a close in the middle of a bar over a 2.5-bar-long pedal C in the bass. However, as the tenor takes up the second subject, the music surges up in semiquaver motifs in the soprano and alto parts to reach a climax at bar 30, when, in a moment of high pathos, the second subject is heard high in the soprano. But then in the succeeding bar, the music transforms into a peaceful and harmonious mood of consolation, with the major tonality heard for the first time. In a long and beautiful passage, the now-tranquil second subject descends in successive bars through the alto and bass parts, passing into the tenor part to reach the second main cadence of the fugue, after which it is heard no more until the last section.
Section 3 (bars 36–56). At the cadence the fugue moves back into B minor. The musical texture becomes restless and eccentric; chromaticism returns and the rhythms, enlivened by semiquavers, become unsettling for the listener. The alto resumes the fugue subject followed by a stretto entry of the soprano in its higher register five beats later. The bass then takes up a dance-like accompaniment in time, just before a stretto entry from the tenor. The bass continues for 6 bars of time (i.e. normal bars) introducing a short new motif involving a downwards drop of a fifth, linked to the fugue subject and already hinted at in the first section. The soprano plays the new motif in canon with the bass, until the bass resumes the subject, starting on the second beat of the bar, and the rhythm stabilises. The upper parts play a combination of the countersubject and the new motif and continue with them as an episode after the fugue subject ends. A further subject entry in the bass is followed by another episode based on the new motif as all the parts descend with chromaticisms to a cadence.
Section 4 (bars 57–67). In the final section Bach is at his most inventive, creating what Kerman calls "sublime clockwork". The tenor part plays the fugue subject in augmentation like a cantus firmus in minims until the final pedal point F held for five bars. At the same time Bach adds one statement of the fugue subject in crotchets in the alto part, as a sort of "simultaneous stretto". Over this in the soprano he superimposes the second subject in quavers, that has not been heard since the end of the second section. There is a resumption of the clarity and harmoniousness last heard there as the alto and bass parts join the soprano polyphonically in the countersubject, continuing to the close over the pedal point.
Four duets BWV 802–805
The descriptions of the duets are based on the detailed analysis in and .
To listen to a MIDI recording, please click on the link.
The four duetti BWV 802–805, in the successive tonalities of E minor, F major, G major and A minor, were included at a fairly late stage in 1739 in the engraved plates for Clavier-Übung III. Their purpose has remained a source of debate. Like the beginning prelude and fugue BWV 552 they are not explicitly mentioned on the title page and there is no explicit indication that they were intended for organ. However, as several commentators have noted, at a time when Bach was busy composing counterpoint for the second book of The Well-Tempered Clavier and the Goldberg Variations
(Clavier-Übung IV) using a very wide harpsichord range, Bach wrote the duets to lie comfortably in the range C to c″″′ in Helmholtz pitch notation (C2 to C6 in scientific pitch notation), so within the relatively narrow compass of almost every organ of the time. The pieces can nevertheless be played on any single keyboard, such as a harpsichord or fortepiano.
The use of the term duetto itself is closest to that given in the first volume of the Critica Musica (1722) of Johann Mattheson: a piece for two voices involving more than just "imitation at the unison and the octave". It was Mattheson's view that "a composer's true masterpiece" could rather be found in "an artful, fugued duet, more than a many-voiced alla breve or counterpoint". In choosing the form of the compositions, which go considerably beyond his Two part inventions BWV 772–786, Bach might have been making a musical contribution to the contemporary debates on the theory of counterpoint, already propounded in the tracts of Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg and of Johann Fux, whose Gradus ad Parnassum had been translated by Bach's friend Mizler. has suggested that it may have been a direct response to the ongoing argument on musical style between Birnbaum and Scheibe: Bach combines the simple and harmonious styles advocated by his critics Mattheson and Scheibe with a more modern chromatic and often dissonant style, which they regarded as "unnatural" and "artificial". Despite many proposed explanations—for example as accompaniments to communion, with the two parts possibly signifying the two sacramental elements of bread and wine—it has never been determined whether Bach attached any religious significance to the four duets; instead it has been considered more likely that Bach sought to illustrate the possibilities of two-part counterpoint as fully as possible, both as a historical account and "for the greater glory of God".
Duetto I BWV 802
The first duet in E minor is a double fugue, 73 bars long, in which all the musical material is invertible, i.e. can be exchanged between the two parts. The first subject is six bars long broken up into one bar segments. It is made up of one bar of demisemiquaver scales leading into four bars where the theme becomes angular, chromatic and syncopated. In the sixth bar a demisemiquaver motif is introduced that is developed later in the duet in a highly original way; it also serves as a means of modulation after which the parts interchange their roles. The contrasting second subject in quavers with octave leaps is a descent by a chromatic fourth. The harmonies between the two chromatic parts are similar to those in the A minor prelude BWV 889/1 from the second book of The Well-Tempered Clavier, presumed to have been composed at roughly the same time.
BWV 802 has been analysed as follows:
bars 1–28: exposition for 6 bars in E minor followed by 6 bars with parts interchanged in B minor, four transitional bars of the demisemiquaver motif in imitation, followed by a repeat of the exposition for 12 bars, all in E minor
bars 29–56: inverted exposition for 6 bars with parts in G major followed by 6 bars with parts interchanged in D major, four transitional bars of the demisemiquaver motif in imitation, followed by a repeat of the inverted exposition for 12 bars, all in B minor
bars 57–60: a transitional passage made up of demisemiquaver scales for 2 bars in D minor, then inverted for 2 bars in A minor
bars 61–73: repeat of exposition for 5 bars then with parts interchanged for 5 bars, followed by a final interchange and inversion of parts for the 3 bar coda, all in E minor
Duetto II BWV 803
The second duet in F major BWV 803 is a fugue written in the form of a da capo aria, in the form ABA. The first section has 37 bars and the second 75 bars, so that with repeats there are 149 bars. There is a sharp contrast between the two sections, which has suggested might have been Bach's musical response to the acrimonious debate on style being conducted between Scheibe and Birnbaum at the time of composition.
Section A is a conventional fugue in the spirit of the Inventions and Sinfonias, melodious, harmonious and undemanding on the listener—the "natural" cantabile approach to composition advocated by both Mattheson and Scheibe.
Section B is written in quite a different way. It is severe and chromatic, mostly in minor keys, with dissonances, strettos, syncopation and canonic writing—all features frowned upon as "artificial" and "unnatural" by Bach's critics. Section B is divided symmetrically into segments of 31, 13 and 31 bars. The first subject of section A is heard again in canon in the minor key.
The character of the first subject undergoes a complete transformation, from bright and effortless simplicity to dark and strained complexity: the strettos in the first subject produce unusual augmented triads; and a new chromatic countersubject emerges in the central 13-bar segment (which begins in bar 69, the fifth bar below).
The musical structure of Section A is as follows:
bars 1–4: (first) subject in right hand, F major
bars 5–8: subject in left hand, semiquaver countersubject in right hand, C major
bars 9–16: episode on material from countersubject
bars 17–20: subject in right hand, countersubject in left hand, C major
bars 21–28: episode on material from countersubject
bars 29–32: subject in left hand, F major
bars 33–37: coda
The musical structure of Section B is as follows:
bars 38–45: second subject (in two 4 bar segments) in canon at the fifth, led by right hand
bars 46–52: first subject in canon at the fifth, led by the right hand, D minor
bars 53–60: second subject in canon at the fifth, led by left hand
bars 61–68: first subject in canon at the fifth, led by left hand, A minor
bars 69–81: first subject in left hand with chromatic countersubject in right hand (5 bars), inverted first subject in right hand with inverted chromatic countersubject in rleft hand (5 bars), semiquaver passagework (3 bars)
bars 82–89: second subject, in canon at the fifth, led by left hand
bars 90–96: first subject in canon at the fifth, led by left hand, F minor
bars 97–104: second subject in canon at the fifth, led by right hand
bars 105–112: first subject in canon at the fifth, led by right hand, C minor
Duetto III BWV 804
The third duet BWV 804 in G major, 39 bars long, is the simplest of the four duetti. Light and dance-like, it is the closest in form to Bach's Two Part Inventions, of which it most closely resembles the last, No.15 BWV 786. The bass accompaniment in detached quavers of the subject does not appear in the upper part and is not developed.
With very little modulation or chromaticism, the novelty of BWV 804 lies in the development of the semiquaver passagework.
Apart from a contrasting middle section in E minor, the tonality throughout is resolutely that of G major. The use of broken chords recalls the writing in the first movements of the sixth trio sonata for organ BWV 530 and the third Brandenburg Concerto BWV 1048.
BWV 804 has the following musical structure:
bars 1–4: subject in G major in right hand followed by response in D major in left hand
bars 5–6: transition
bars 7–10: subject in G major in left hand followed by response in D major in right hand
bars 11–15: transition to E minor
bars 16–19: subject in E minor in right hand followed by response in B minor in left hand
bars 20–23: transition
bars 24–25: subject in C major in right hand
bars 26–27: transition
bars 28–31: subject in G major right hand with canon at octave in left hand
bars 32–33: transition
bars 34–37: subject in right hand with stretto at octave in left hand after a quaver
bars 38–39: subject in G major in right hand
Duetto IV BWV 805
BWV 805 is a fugue in strict counterpoint in the key of A minor, 108 bars long. The 8 bar subject starts in minims with a second harmonic half in slow quavers. Bach introduced further "modern" elements in the semitone drops in the subject and later motifs (bars 4 and 18). Although all entries of the subject are either in A minor (tonic) or E minor (dominant), Bach adds chromaticism by flattening notes in the subject and sharpening notes during modulating passages. Despite being a rigorous composition with carefully devised invertible counterpoint, i.e. with parts that can be interchanged, in parts its style is similar to that of the bourée from the Overture in the French style, BWV 831 from Clavier-Übung II. There are three episodes which move between different keys and combine three new pairs of motifs, either 2 bars, 4 bars or 8 bars long, in highly original and constantly changing ways. The first episode starts in bar 18 below with the first pair of new motifs, the upper one characterised by an octave drop:
At the end of the first episode, the second harmonious pair of motifs is introduced:
The third pair of motifs, which allows significant modulation, appears for the first time in the second half of the second episode and is derived from the second half of the subject and countersubject:
The musical structure of BWV 805 has been analysed as follows:
bars 1–8: subject in left hand, A minor
bars 9 -17: subject in right hand, countersubject in left hand, E minor
bars 18–32: first episode—first motif (b. 18–25), second motif (b. 26–32)
bars 33–40: subject in right hand, countersubject in left hand, A minor
bars 41–48: subject in left hand, countersubject in right hand, E minor
bars 49–69: second episode—first motif inverted (b. 49–56), second motif inverted (b. 57–63), third motif (b. 64–69)
bars 70–77: subject in right hand, countersubject in left hand, E minor
bars 78–95: third episode—first motif inverted (b. 78–81), first motif (b. 82–85), third motif inverted (86–92), followed by link
bars 96–103: subject in left hand, countersubject in right hand, A minor
bars 104–108: coda with neapolitan sixths in bar 105
Reception and influence
Eighteenth century
In 1737, two years before the publication of Clavier-Übung III, Johann Adolf Scheibe had made the above notoriously unfavourable comparison between Bach and another composer of the time, now identified as Georg Frideric Handel. His comments represented a change in contemporary musical aesthetics: he advocated the simpler and more expressive galant style, which after Bach's death in 1750 would be further developed during the classical period, in preference to fugal or contrapuntal writing, which by then was considered old-fashioned and out-moded, too scholarly and conservative. Although Bach did not actively participate in the ensuing debate on musical styles, he did incorporate elements of this modern style in his later compositions, in particular in Clavier-Übung III. Bach's musical contributions, however, could only be properly assessed at the beginning of the 19th century, when his works became more widely available: up until then much of his musical output—in particular his vocal works—was relatively little known outside Leipzig.
From 1760 onwards a small group of ardent supporters became active in Berlin, keen to preserve his reputation and promulgate his oeuvre. The group centred around his son Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, who in 1738 at the age of 24 had been appointed court harpsichordist at Potsdam to Frederick the Great, then crown prince before his accession to the throne in 1740. C.P.E. Bach remained in Berlin until 1768, when he was appointed Kapellmeister in Hamburg in succession to Georg Philipp Telemann. (His brother Wilhelm Friedemann Bach moved to Berlin in 1774, although not to general acclaim, despite his accomplishments as an organist.) Other prominent members of the group included Bach's former pupils Johann Friedrich Agricola, court composer, first director of the Royal Opera House in Berlin and collaborator with Emanuel on Bach's obituary (the Nekrolog, 1754), and more significantly Johann Philipp Kirnberger.
Kirnberger became Kapellmeister to the court in 1758 and music teacher of Frederick's niece, Anna Amalia. Not only did Kirnberger build up a large collection of Bach's manuscripts in the Amalien-Bibliothek, but with Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg he promoted Bach's compositions through theoretical texts, concentrating in particular on counterpoint with a detailed analysis of Bach's methods. The first of the two volumes of Marpurg's Treatise on fugue (, 1753–1754) cites the opening segment of the six-part fugal chorale prelude Aus tiefer Noth BWV 686 as one of its examples. Kirnberger produced his own extensive tract on composition Die Kunst des reinen Satzes in der Musik (The true principles for the practice of harmony), twenty years later, between 1771 and 1779. In his treatise Marpurg had adopted some of the musical theories on the fundamental bass of Jean-Philippe Rameau from his Treatise on Harmony (1722) in explaining Bach's fugal compositions, an approach which Kirnberger rejected in his tract:
This led to an acrimonious dispute in which both claimed to speak with Bach's authority. When Marpurg made the tactical error of suggesting that, "His famous son in Hamburg ought to know something about this, too," Kirnberger responded in the introduction to the second volume of his tract:
Through Bach's pupils and family, copies of his keyboard works were disseminated and studied throughout Germany; the diplomat Baron van Swieten, Austrian envoy to the Prussian court from 1770 to 1777 and afterwards patron of Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven, was responsible for relaying copies from Berlin to Vienna. The reception of the works was mixed, partly because of their technical difficulty: composers like Mozart, Beethoven and Rust embraced these compositions, particularly The Well-Tempered Clavier; but, as Johann Adam Hiller reported in 1768, many amateur musicians found them too hard ("").
Twenty-one prints of the original 1739 edition of Clavier-Übung III survive today. Because of its high price, this edition did not sell well: even 25 years later in 1764, C.P.E. Bach was still trying to dispose of copies. Because of changes in popular tastes after Bach's death, the publisher Johann Gottlob Immanuel Breitkopf, son of Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf, did not consider it economically viable to prepare new printed editions of Bach's works; instead he retained a master copy of Clavier-Übung III in his large library of original scores from which handwritten copies () could be ordered from 1763 onwards. A similar service was provided by the musical publishers Johann Christoph Westphal in Hamburg and Johann Carl Friedrich Rellstab in Berlin.
Before 1800, there are very few reports of performances of Bach's works in England or of manuscript copies of his work. In 1770, Charles Burney, the musicologist and friend of Samuel Johnson and James Boswell, had made a tour of France and Italy. On his return in 1771 he published a report on his tour in The Present State of Music in France and Italy. Later that year in a letter to Christoph Daniel Ebeling, the music critic engaged in translating this work into German, Burney made one of his first references to Bach:
It was, however, only in the following year, during his tour of Germany and the Low Countries, that Burney received a copy of the first book of The Well-Tempered Clavier from C. P. E. Bach in Hamburg; according to his own reports, he was only to become familiar with its contents over thirty years later. He reported on his German tour in The Present State of Music in Germany, the Netherlands and United Provinces in 1773. The book contains the first English account of Bach's work and reflects the views commonly held at the time in England. Burney compared the learned style of Bach unfavourably with that of his son, whom he had visited:
Burney summarised the musical contributions of J.S. Bach as follows:
As it is known that at the time Burney knew hardly any of Bach's compositions, it appears that his opinions of Bach came second-hand: the first sentence was almost certainly lifted directly from the French translation of Marpurg's Treatise on fugue, to which he had referred earlier in the book for biographical details; and in 1771 he had acquired Scheibe's writings through Ebeling. In Germany Burney's book was not well received, infuriating even his friend Ebeling: in a passage that he changed in later editions, he had repeated without attribution comments from a letter of Louis Devisme, British plenipotentiary in Munich, that, "if innate genius exists, Germany is certainly not the seat of it; though it must be allowed, to be that of perseverance and application." Once aware of the offence this might cause to Germans, Burney had marked with pencil the offending passages in the copy of his daughter Fanny Burney, when in 1786 she became lady-in-waiting to Queen Charlotte, wife of George III. Later that year, to Fanny's horror, the Queen requested that Fanny show her copy to her daughter Princess Elizabeth. The book was viewed by both the King and Queen, who accepted Fanny's hastily invented explanations of the markings; she similarly managed to excuse herself when Princess Elizabeth later read all the marked passages assuming them to be Fanny's favourites.
Burney was aware of George III's preference for Handel when in 1785 he wrote in his account of the 1784 Handel Commemoration that "in his full, masterly and excellent organ-fugues, upon the most natural and pleasing subjects, he has surpassed Frescobaldi, and even Sebastian Bach, and others of his countrymen, the most renowned for abilities in this difficult and elaborate species of composition." His account was translated into German by Hiller. Writing anonymously in the Allgemeine Deutsche Bibliothek in 1788, C.P.E. Bach angrily responded that "there is nothing to be seen but partiality, and of any close acquaintance with the principal works of J.S. Bach for organ we find in Dr. Burney's writings no trace." Undeterred by such comments in 1789, a year after C.P.E. Bach's death, Burney echoed Scheibe's earlier comparison of Bach and Handel when he wrote in his General History of Music:
Burney reflected the English predilection for opera when he added:
Johann Nikolaus Forkel, from 1778 the director of music in the University of Göttingen, was another promoter and collector of Bach's music. An active correspondent with both of Bach's sons in Berlin, he published the first detailed biography of Bach in 1802, Bach: On Johann Sebastian Bach's Life, Art and Works: For Patriotic Admirers of True Musical Art, including an appreciation of Bach's keyboard and organ music and ending with the injunction, "This man, the greatest orator-poet that ever addressed the world in the language of music, was a German! Let Germany be proud of him!
Yes, proud of him, but worthy of him too!" In 1779, Forkel published a review of Burney's General History of Music in which he criticized Burney for dismissing German composers as "dwarves or musical ogres" because "they did not skip and dance before his eyes in a dainty manner"; instead he suggested it was more appropriate to view them as "giants".
Among his criticisms of Bach in the 1730s, Scheibe had written, "We know of composers who see it as an honour to be able to compose incomprehensible and unnatural music. They pile up musical figures. They make unusual embellishments. ... Are these not truly musical Goths!" Until the 1780s, the use of the word "gothic" in music was pejorative. In his entry for "harmony" in the influential Dictionnaire de Musique (1768), Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a fierce critic of Rameau, described counterpoint as a "gothic and barbaric invention", the antithesis of the melodic galante style. In 1772, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe gave a fundamentally different view of "gothic" art that would achieve widespread acceptance during the classical-romantic movement. In his celebrated essay on the cathedral in Strasbourg, where he was a student, Goethe was one of the first writers to connect gothic art with the sublime:
In 1782, Johann Friedrich Reichardt, since 1775 the successor to Agricola as Capellmeister in the court of Frederic the Great, quoted this passage from Goethe in the Musicalisches Kunstmagazin to describe his personal reactions to the instrumental fugues of Bach and Handel. He prefaced his eulogy with a description of Bach as the greatest counterpuntalist ("harmonist") of his age:
The unfavourable comparison to Handel was removed in a later reprinting in 1796, following adverse anonymous remarks in the Allgemeine Deutsche Bibliothek. Reichardt's comparison between Bach's music and the Gothic cathedral would often be repeated by composers and music critics. His student, the writer, composer and music critic E.T.A. Hoffmann, saw in Bach's music "the bold and wonderful, romantic cathedral with all its fantastic embellishments, which, artistically swept up into a whole, proudly and magnificently rise in the air." Hoffmann wrote of the sublime in Bach's music—the "infinite spiritual realm" in Bach's "mystical rules of counterpoint".
Another musician in C.P.E. Bach's circle was his friend Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch, son of the violinist and composer Johann Friedrich Fasch, who, on the death of Kuhnau in 1722, had turned down the post, later awarded to Bach, of kantor at the Thomaskirche, where he himself had been trained. From 1756 Carl Fasch shared the role of harpsichord accompanist to Frederick the Great at Potsdam with C.P.E. Bach. He briefly succeeded Agricola as director of the Royal Opera in 1774 for two years. In 1786. the year of Frederick the Great's death, Hiller organised a monumental performance in Italian of Handel's Messiah in a Berlin cathedral, recreating the scale of the 1784 London Handel Commemoration described in Burney's detailed account of 1785. Three years later in 1789, Fasch started an informal group in Berlin, formed from singing students and music lovers, that met for rehearsals in private homes. In 1791, with the introduction of a "presence book", it became officially known as the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin and two years later was granted its own rehearsal room in the Royal Academy of Arts in Berlin. As a composer, Fasch had learnt the old methods of counterpoint from Kirnberger and, like the Academy of Ancient Music in London, his initial purpose in founding the Sing-Akademie was to revive interest in neglected and rarely performed sacred vocal music, particularly that of J.S. Bach, Graun and Handel. The society subsequently built up an extensive library of baroque music of all types, including instrumental music.
Despite Burney's antipathy towards Bach prior to 1800, there was an "awakening" of interest in the music of Bach in England, spurred on by the presence of émigré musicians from Germany and Austria, trained in the musical tradition of Bach. From 1782 Queen Charlotte, a dedicated keyboard player, had as music teacher the German-born organist Charles Frederick Horn; and in the same year Augustus Frederic Christopher Kollmann was summoned by George III from the Electorate of Hanover to act as organist and schoolmaster at the Royal German Chapel at St James's Palace. It is probable that they were instrumental in acquiring for her in 1788 a bound volume from Westphal of Hamburg containing Clavier-Übung III in addition to both books of The Well-Tempered Clavier. Other German musicians moving in royal circles included Johann Christian Bach, Carl Friedrich Abel, Johann Christian Fischer, Frederick de Nicolay, Wilhelm Cramer and Johann Samuel Schroeter.
More significant for the 19th-century English Bach revival was the presence of a younger generation of German-speaking musicians in London, well versed in the theoretical writings of Kirnberger and Marpurg on counterpoint but not dependent on royal patronage; these included John Casper Heck (c. 1740–1791), Charles Frederick Baumgarten (1738–1824) and Joseph Diettenhofer (c. 1743 – c. 1799). Heck in particular promoted fugues in his treatise "The Art of Playing the Harpsichord" (1770), describing them later as "a particular stile of music peculiar to the Organ than the Harpsichord"; in his biographical entry for Bach in the 1780s in the Musical Library and Universal Magazine, he gave examples of counterpoint from Bach's late period (Canonic Variations, The Art of Fugue). Diettenhofer prepared A Selection of Ten Miscellaneous Fugues, including his own completion of the unfinished Contrapunctus XIV BWV 1080/19 from The Art of Fugue; prior to their publication in 1802 these were "tried at the Savoy Church, Strand before several Organists and eminent Musicians ... who were highly gratified and recommended their Publication." The enthusiasm of these German musicians was shared by the organist Benjamin Cooke and his student the organist and composer John Wall Calcott. Cooke knew them through the Royal Society of Musicians and had himself published a version of The Art of Fugue. Calcott corresponded with Kollmann about the musical theories of the Bach school. In 1798, he was one of the founding members of the Concentores Society, a club with a limited membership of twelve professional musicians, dedicated to composition in counterpoint and the stile antico.
Nineteenth and early twentieth century
Germany
A new printed "movable type" edition of Clavier-Übung III, omitting the duets BWV 802–805, was produced by Ambrosius Kühnel in 1804 for the Bureau de Musique in Leipzig, his joint publishing venture with Franz Anton Hoffmeister that later became the music publishing firm of C.F. Peters. Previously in 1802 Hoffmeister and Kühnel and had published a collection of Bach's keyboard music, including the Inventions and Sinfonias and both books of The Well-Tempered Clavier, with Johann Nikolaus Forkel acting as advisor. (The first prelude and fugue BWV 870 from The Well-Tempered Clavier II was published for the first time in 1799 by Kollmann in London. The whole of Book II was published in 1801 in Bonn by Simrock, followed by Book I; slightly later Nägeli came out with a third edition in Zürich.) Hoffmeister and Kühnel did not take up Forkel's suggestion of including in their fifteenth volume the four duets BWV 802–805, which were only published by Peters much later in 1840. Nine of the chorale preludes BWV 675–683 were printed in the four volume Breitkopf and Härtel collection of chorale preludes prepared between 1800 and 1806 by Johann Gottfried Schicht. Forkel and Kollmann corresponded during this period: they shared the same enthusiasm for Bach and the publication of his works. When Forkel's biography of Bach appeared in Germany in 1802, his publishers Hoffmeister and Kühnel wished to have control over translations into English and French. No complete authorized English translation was produced at the time. In 1812, Kollmann used parts of the biography in a long article on Bach in the Quarterly Musical Register; and an unauthorized anonymous English translation was published by Boosey & Company in 1820.
In Berlin, on the death of Fasch in 1800, his assistant Carl Friedrich Zelter took over as the director of the Sing-Akademie. The son of a mason, he himself had been brought up as a master mason, but had cultivated his musical interests in secret, eventually taking composition classes with Fasch.
He had been linked to the Sing-Akademie for years and had acquired a reputation as one of the foremost experts on Bach in Berlin. In 1799, he started a correspondence with Goethe on the aesthetics of music, particularly the music of Bach, which was to last until both friends died in 1832. Although Goethe had a late training in music, he considered it an essential element in his life, arranging concerts at his home and attending them elsewhere. In 1819, Goethe described how the organist from Berka, Heinrich Friedrich Schütz, trained by Bach's student Kittel, would serenade him for hours with the music of the masters, from Bach to Beethoven, so that Goethe could acquaint himself with music from a historical perspective. In 1827, he wrote:
Commenting in the same year on Bach's writing for the organ, Zelter wrote to Goethe:
Zelter insisted on the pedals as the key to Bach's organ writing: "One might say of old Bach, that the pedals were the ground-element of the development of his unfathomable intellect, and that without feet, he could never have attained his intellectual height."
Zelter was instrumental in building up the Sing-Akademie, broadening their repertoire to instrumental music and encouraging the growing library, another important repository for Bach manuscripts. Zelter had been responsible for Mendelssohn's father Abraham Mendelssohn becoming a member of the Sing-Akademie in 1796. As a consequence, one of the major new forces behind the library became Sara Levy, the great-aunt of Felix Mendelssohn, who had assembled one of the most-important private collections of 18th-century music in Europe. An accomplished harpsichordist, Sara Levy's teacher had been Wilhelm Friedemann Bach and she had been a patroness of C.P.E. Bach, circumstances which gave her family close contacts with Bach and resulted in his music enjoying a privileged status in the Mendelssohn household. Felix's mother Lea, who had studied under Kirnberger, gave him his first music lessons. In 1819, Zelter was appointed as the composition teacher of Felix and his sister Fanny; he taught counterpoint and music theory according to the methods of Kirnberger. Felix's piano teacher was Ludwig Berger, a pupil of Muzio Clementi, and his organ teacher was August Wilhelm Bach (unrelated to J.S. Bach), who had himself studied musical theory under Zelter. A.W. Bach was organist of the Marienkirche, Berlin, which had an organ built in 1723 by Joachim Wagner. Mendelssohn's organ lessons were conducted on the Wagner organ, with Fanny present; they commenced in 1820 and lasted for less than two years. It is probable that he learnt some of J. S. Bach's organ works, which had remained in the repertoire of many Berlin organists; his choice would have been limited, because at that stage his pedal technique was still rudimentary.
In autumn 1821 the twelve-year-old Mendelssohn accompanied Zelter on a trip to Weimar, stopping on the way in Leipzig where they were shown the cantor's room in the choir school of the Thomaskirche by Bach's successor Schicht. They stayed two weeks in Weimar with Goethe, to whom Mendelssohn played extensively on the piano each day. All Mendelssohn's music lessons stopped by summer 1822 when his family left for Switzerland. In the 1820s, Mendelssohn visited Goethe four more times in Weimar, the last time being in 1830, a year after his resounding success in reviving Bach's St Matthew Passion in Berlin, with the collaboration of Zelter and members of the Sing-Akademie. On this last trip, again by way of Leipzig, he stayed two weeks in Weimar and had daily meetings with Goethe, by then in his eighties. He later gave an account to Zelter of a visit to the church of St Peter and St Paul where Bach's cousin Johann Gottfried Walther had been organist and where his two eldest sons had been baptized:
In 1835, Mendelssohn was appointed director of the Gewandhaus Orchester in Leipzig, a post he held until his death in 1847 at the age of 38. He soon met other Bach enthusiasts including Robert Schumann, one year his junior, who had moved to Leipzig in 1830. Having been taught piano by J.G. Kuntsch, organist at the Marienkirche in Zwickau, Schumann seems to have started developing a deeper interest in Bach's organ music in 1832. In his diary he recorded sightreading the six organ fugues BWV 543–548 for four hands with Clara Wieck, the twelve-year-old daughter of his Leipzig piano teacher Friedrich Wieck and his future wife. Schumann later acknowledged Bach as the composer who had influenced him most. In addition to collecting his works, Schumann started with Friedrich Wieck a new fortnightly music magazine, the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, in which he promoted the music of Bach as well as that of contemporary composers, such as Chopin and Liszt. One of the main contributors was his friend Carl Becker, organist at the Peterskirche and in 1837 the Nikolaikirche. Schumann remained as editor-in-chief until 1843, the year in which Mendelssohn became the founding director of the Leipzig Conservatory. Schumann was appointed professor for piano and composition at the conservatory; other appointments included Moritz Hauptmann (harmony and counterpoint), Ferdinand David (violin) and Becker (organ and music theory).
One of Mendelssohn's regrets since 1822 was that he had not had sufficient opportunity to develop his pedal technique to his satisfaction, despite having given public organ recitals. Mendelssohn explained later how difficult gaining access to organs had already been back in Berlin: "If only people knew how I had to plead and pay and cajole the organists in Berlin, just to be allowed to play the organ for one hour—and how ten times during such an hour I had to stop for this or that reason, then they would certainly speak differently." Elsewhere, on his travels, he had only sporadic opportunities to practice, but not often on pedalboards matching the standard of those in northern Germany, especially in England. The English organist Edward Holmes commented in 1835 that Mendelssohn's recitals in St Paul's Cathedral "gave a taste of his quality which in extemperaneous performance is certainly of the highest kind ... he has not we believe kept up that constant mechanical exercise of the instrument which is necessary to execute elaborate written works." In 1837, despite having performed the St Anne prelude and fugue in England to great acclaim, on his return to Germany Mendelssohn still felt dissatisfied, writing that, "This time I have resolved to practice the organ her in earnest; after all, if everyone takes me for an organist, I am determined, after the fact, to become one." It was only in the summer of 1839 that an opportunity arose when he spent six weeks on holiday in Frankfurt. There he had daily access to the pedal piano of his wife Cécile's cousin Friedrich Schlemmer and, probably through him, access to the organ in the Katharinenkirche built in 1779–1780 by Franz and Philipp Stumm.
August 1840 saw the fruits of Mendelssohn's labour: his first organ recital in the Thomaskirche. The proceeds from the concert were to go towards a statue of Bach in the vicinity of the Thomaskirche. Most of the repertoire in the concert had been played by Mendelssohn elsewhere, but nevertheless as he wrote to his mother, "I practised so much the previous eight days that I could barely stand on my own two feet and walked along the street in nothing but organ passages." The concert was wholly devoted to Bach's music, except for an improvised "free fantasy" at the end. In the audience was the elderly Friedrich Rochlitz, founding editor of the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung, a journal that had promoted the music of Bach: Rochlitz is reported to have declared afterwards, "I shall depart now in peace, for never shall I hear anything finer or more sublime." The recital started with the St Anne prelude and fugue BWV 552. The only chorale prelude was Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele BWV 654 from the Great Eighteen Chorale Preludes, a favourite of both Mendelssohn and Schumann. Until that time very few of these or the shorter chorale preludes from the Orgelbüchlein had been published. Mendelssohn prepared an edition of both sets that was published in 1844 by Breitkopf and Härtel in Leipzig and by Coventry and Hollier in London. At about the same time the publishing house of Peters in Leipzig produced an edition of Bach's complete organ works in nine volumes edited by Friedrich Konrad Griepenkerl and Ferdinand Roitzsch. The E flat prelude and fugue BWV 552 appears in Volume III (1845), the chorale preludes BWV 669–682, 684–689 in Volume VI and VII (1847) and BWV 683 in Volume V (1846) with chorale preludes from the Orgelbüchlein.
In 1845, while Robert was recovering from a nervous breakdown and a few months prior to the completion of his piano concerto, the Schumanns rented a pedalboard to place under their upright piano. As Clara recorded at the time, "On April 24th we got on hire a pedal-board to attach below the pianoforte, and we had great pleasure from it. Our chief object was to practice organ playing. But Robert soon found a higher interest in this instrument and composed some sketches and studies for it which are sure to find high favour as something quite new." The pedalflügel base on which the piano was placed had 29 keys connected to 29 separate hammers and strings encased at the rear of the piano. The pedal board was manufactured by the same Leipzig firm of Louis Schöne that had provided the grand pedal piano in 1843 for the use of students at the Leipzig Conservatory. Before composing any of his own fugues and canons for organ and pedal piano, Schumann had made a careful study of Bach's organ works, of which he had an extensive collection. Clara Schumann's Bach book, an anthology of organ works by Bach, now in the archives of the Riemenschneider Bach Institute, contains the whole of Clavier-Übung III, with detailed analytic markings by Robert Schumann. On the centenary of Bach's death in 1850, Schumann, Becker, Hauptmann and Otto Jahn founded the Bach Gesellschaft, an institution dedicated to publishing, without any editorial additions, the complete works of Bach through the publishers Breitkopf and Härtel. The project was completed in 1900. The third volume, devoted to keyboard works, contained the Inventions and Sinfonias and the four parts of the Clavier-Übung. It was published in 1853, with Becker as editor.
At the end of September 1853, having been recommended by the violinist and composer Joseph Joachim, the twenty-year-old Johannes Brahms appeared on the doorstep of the Schumann's home in Düsseldorf, staying with them until early November. Like Schumann, perhaps even more so, Brahms was deeply influenced by Bach's music. Shortly after his arrival he gave a performance on the piano of Bach's organ toccata in F BWV 540/1 in the house of Joseph Euler, a friend of Schumann. Three months after Brahms' visit, Schumann's mental state deteriorated: after a suicide attempt, Schumann committed himself to the sanitorium in Endenich near Bonn, where, after several visits from Brahms, he died in 1856. From its inception, Brahms subscribed to the Bach-Gesellschaft, of which he became an editor in 1881. An organist himself and a scholar of early and baroque music, he carefully annotated and analysed his copies of the organ works; he made a separate study of Bach's use of parallel fifths and octaves in his organ counterpoint. Brahms' Bach collection is now preserved in the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna, of which he became musical director and conductor in 1872. In 1875, he conducted a performance in the Musikverein of an orchestral arrangement by Bernhard Scholz of the prelude in E flat BWV 552/1. In 1896, a year before he died, Brahms composed his own set of eleven chorale preludes for organ, Op.122. Like Schumann, who turned to Bach counterpoint as a form of therapy in 1845 during his recovery from mental illness, Brahms also viewed Bach's music as salutory during his final illness. As Brahms' friend and biographer Max Kalbeck reported:
Max Reger was a composer whose dedication to Bach has been described as a "monomaniacal identification" by the musicologist Johannes Lorenzen: in letters he frequently referred to "Allvater Bach". During his life, Reger arranged or edited 428 of Bach's compositions, including arrangements of 38 organ works for piano solo, piano duet or two pianos, starting in 1895. At the same time he produced a large number of his own organ works. Already in 1894, the organist and musicologist Heinrich Reimann, reacting to modernist trends in German music, had encouraged a return to the style of Bach, stating that, "Beyond this style there is no salvation ... Bach becomes for that reason the criterion of our art of writing for the organ." In 1894–1895 Reger composed his first suite for organ in E minor which was published in 1896 as his Op.16 with a dedication "To the Memory of Johann Sebastian Bach". The original intention was a sonata in three movements: an introduction and triple fugue; an adagio on the chorale Es ist das Heil uns kommen her; and a passacaglia. In the final version, Reger inserted an intermezzo (a scherzo and trio) as the third movement and expanded the adagio to contain a central section on the Lutheran hymns Aus tiefer Not and O Haupt voll Blut und Bunden. In 1896, Reger sent a copy of the suite to Brahms, his only contact. In the letter he asked permission to dedicate a future work to Brahms, to which he received the reply, "Permission for that is certainly not necessary, however! I had to smile, since you approach me about this matter and at the same time enclose a work whose all-too-bold dedication terrifies me!" The overall form of the suite follows the scheme of the eighth organ sonata Op.132 (1882) of Joseph Rheinberger and the symphonies of Brahms. The final passacaglia was a conscious reference to Bach's organ passacaglia in C minor BWV 582/1, but has clear affinities with the last movements of both Rheinberger's sonata and Brahms' fourth symphony. The second movement is an adagio in ternary form, with the beginning of the central section directly inspired by the setting of Aus tiefer Not in the pedaliter chorale prelude BWV 686 of Clavier-Übung III, paying homage to Bach as a composer of instrumental counterpoint. It has a similarly dense texture of six parts, two of them in the pedal. The outer sections are directly inspired by the musical form of the chorale prelude O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß BWV 622 from the Orgelbüchlein. The suite was first performed in the Trinity Church, Berlin in 1897 by the organist Karl Straube, a student of Reimann. According to a later account by one of Straube's students, Reimann had described the work as "so difficult as to be almost unplayable," which had "provoked Straube's virtuosic ambition, so that he set about mastering the work, which placed him before utterly new technical problems, with unflagging energy." Straube gave two further performances in 1898, in the cathedral at Wesel, where he had recently been appointed organist, and prior to that in Frankfurt, where he met Reger for the first time. In 1902, Straube was appointed organist at the Thomaskirche and in the following year cantor; he became the main proponent and performer of Reger's organ works.
England
Apart from prevailing musical tastes and the difficulty in acquiring manuscript copies, a fundamental difference between the design of English and German organs made Bach's organ output less accessible to English organists, namely the absence of pedalboards. Handel's principal works for organ, his organ concertos Op. 4 and Op. 7, with the possible exception of op.7 No.1, all appear to have been written for a single manual chamber organ. Until the 1830s, most church organs in England did not have separate pedal pipes and before that the few organs that had pedalboards were all pull-downs, i.e. pedals that operated pipes connected to the manual stops.
Pedalboards rarely contained more than 13 keys (an octave) or exceptionally 17 keys (an octave and a half). Pull-down pedalboards became more common from 1790 onwards. The pedaliter chorale preludes in Clavier-Übung III require a 30-key pedalboard, going from CC to f. It is for this reason that the Bach awakening in England started with clavier compositions being played on the organ or organ compositions being adapted either for piano duet or for two (or sometimes three) players at an organ. The newfound interest in Bach's organ music, as well as the desire to reproduce the grand and thunderous choral effects of the 1784 Handel Commemoration, eventually influenced organ builders in England. By the 1840s, after a series of experiments with pedals and pedal pipes starting around 1800 (in the spirit of the industrial revolution), newly constructed and existing organs started to be fitted with dedicated diapason pipes for the pedals, according to the well-established German model. The organ in St Paul's Cathedral commissioned in 1694 from Father Smith and completed in 1697, with a case by Christopher Wren, had exceptionally already been fitted with a 25-key pedalboard (two octaves C-c') of pull-down German pedals in the first half of the 18th century, probably as early as 1720, on the recommendation of Handel. By the 1790s, these had been linked to separate pedal pipes, described with detailed illustrations in Rees's Cyclopædia (1819). The four-manual "monster" organ in Birmingham Town Hall, constructed in 1834 by William Hill, had three sets of pedal pipes connected to the pedalboard, which could also be operated independently by a two-octave keyboard to the left of the manual keyboards. Hill's experiment of installing gigantic 32-foot pedal pipes, some currently still present, was only partially successful, as their scale did not permit them to sound properly.
The organist, composer and music teacher Samuel Wesley (1766–1837) played a significant role in awakening interest in Bach's music in England, mostly in the period 1808–1811. After a lull in his own career, in the first half of 1806 he made a hand copy of Nägeli's Zürich edition of The Well-Tempered Clavier. In early 1808 Wesley visited Charles Burney in his rooms in Chelsea where he played for him from the copy of Book I of the '48' that Burney had received from C.P.E. Bach in 1772. As Wesley later recorded, Burney "was very delighted ... and expressed his Wonder how much abstruse Harmony & such perfect & enchanting Melody could have been so marvelously united!" Wesley subsequently consulted Burney, now a convert to the music of Bach, on his project to publish his own corrected transcription, stating, "I believe I can fairly securely affirm that mine is now the most correct copy in England." This project was eventually undertaken in with Charles Frederick Horn, published in four installments between 1810 and 1813. In June 1808 after a concert the Hanover Square Rooms during which Weseley performed some excerpts from the '48', he commented that, "this admirable Musick might be played into Fashion; you see I have only risked one modest Experiment, & it has electrified the Town just in the way that we wanted." Further concerts took place there and in the Surrey Chapel with Benjamin Jacob, a fellow organist with whom Wesley corresponded copiously an effusively about Bach. The musicologist and organist William Crotch, another advocate of Bach, lectured on Bach in 1809 in the Hanover Square Rooms prior to publishing his edition of the E major fugue BWV 878/2 from The Well-Tempered Clavier II. In the introduction, after commenting that Bach fugues were "very difficult of execution, profoundly learned and highly ingenious", he described their "prevailing style" as "the sublime". By 1810, Wesley had stated his intention to perform the E flat fugue BWV 552/2 from Clavier-Übung III in St. Paul's Cathedral. In 1812, in the Hanover Square Rooms he performed an arrangement of the E flat prelude for organ duet and orchestra with the arranger Vincent Novello, founder of the music publishing firm Novello & Co, that would later bring out an English edition of Bach's complete organ works. In 1827, the E flat fugue had been arranged for organ or piano duet by Jacob and was even performed by three players two years later on the organ in St. James, Bermondsey, where the pedal could be played on a supplementary keyboard. It had also been used for auditions for organists: Wesley's son Samuel Sebastian Wesley himself played it in 1827, when seeking employment (unsuccessfully). The chorale preludes from Clavier-Übung III were also performed during this period: in his letters to Benjamin, Wesley mentions in particular Wir glauben BWV 680, which had become known as the "giant fugue", because of the striding figure in the pedal part. By 1837, pedal technique on the organ had developed sufficiently in England that the composer and organist Elizabeth Stirling (1819–1895) could give concerts in St Katherine's, Regent's Park and St. Sepulchre's, Holborn containing several of the pedaliter chorale preludes (BWV 676, 678, 682, 684) as well as the St Anne Prelude BWV 552/1. (These were the first public recitals in England by a female organist; in 1838 she performed BWV 669–670 and the St Anne fugue BWV 552/2 at St Sepulchre's.) In the same year Wesley and his daughter were invited to the organ loft of Christ Church, Newgate for a Bach recital by Felix Mendelssohn. As Mendelssohn recorded in his diary,
A week later, Mendelssohn played the St Anne prelude and fugue BWV 552 on the organ in Birmingham Town Hall. Prior to the concert, he confided in a letter to his mother:
Wesley died the following month. Mendelssohn made a total of 10 visits to Britain, the first in 1829, the last in 1847. His first visit, when he stayed with his friend the pianist and composer Ignaz Moscheles, had been a resounding success and Mendelssohn had been embraced by all strata of British musical society. On his fourth trip to Britain in 1833 he was accompanied by his father and heard the seventeen-year-old pianist-composer William Sterndale Bennett performing his first piano concerto. A musical prodigy like Mendelssohn, at the age of 10 Sterndale Bennett had entered the Royal Academy of Music, where he had been taught by Crotch. He was also an accomplished organist, familiar with the works of Bach. (After brief appointments as organist, he subsequently practised on the organ in Hanover Square Rooms, later surprising his son with his mastery of the harder pedal passages on a pedal-piano.) Mendelssohn immediately invited him to Germany. Reportedly when Sterndale Bennett asked to go as his student, Mendelssohn replied, "No, no, you must come to be my friend." Sterndale Bennett eventually visited Leipzig for 6 months from October 1836 to June 1837. There he made friends with Schumann, who became his soul mate and drinking partner. Sterndale Bennett made only two further trips to Germany during the lifetimes of Mendelssohn and Schumann, in 1838–1839 and 1842, although he retained their friendship and helped arrange Mendelssohn's visits to Britain. He became a firm proponent of Bach, organising concerts of his chamber music in London. He was one of the founders in 1849 of the original Bach Society in London, devoted to the performance and collection of Bach's works, principally choral. In 1854, he staged the first performance in England of the St. Matthew Passion in the Hanover Square Rooms.
Already in 1829, Mendelssohn had become friends with Thomas Attwood, who had studied with Mozart and since 1796 had been organist of St Paul's Cathedral. Through Attwood Mendelssohn gained access to the organ at St Paul's, which was suitable for Bach, despite the unusual alignment of the pedalboard. In 1837, however, during a recital at St Paul's, just before playing to Wesley, the air supply to the organ had suddenly been interrupted; in a later account, that he had to retell annoyingly often, Mendelssohn related that George Cooper, the sub-organist,
Cooper's son, also called George, became the next sub-organist at St Paul's. He promoted the organ music of Bach and in 1845 produced the first English edition of the chorale prelude Wir glauben BWV 680 from Clavier-Übung III, published by Hollier & Addison, which he dubbed the "Giant Fugue" because of its striding pedal part. In the second half of the 19th century, this became the best-known of all the pedaliter chorale preludes from
Clavier-Übung III and was republished separately several times by Novello in organ anthologies at an intermediate level.
Mendelssohn's eighth visit occurred in 1842 after the accession of Queen Victoria to the throne. Her husband Prince Albert was a keen organist and, under his influence, the music of Bach started to be performed at royal concerts. On the second of his two invitations to Buckingham Palace, Mendelssohn improvised on Albert's organ and accompanied the queen in two songs by Fanny and himself. Between these two visits, he once more performed the St Anne prelude and fugue, this time before an audience of 3,000 in Exeter Hall in a concert organized by the Sacred Harmonic Society. In London there were few church organs with German pedal boards going down to CC: those which did included St. Paul's Cathedral, Christ Church, Newgate and St. Peter's, Cornhill, where Mendelssohn frequently performed solo recitals. During his last visit in 1847, he once more entertained Victoria and Albert in Buckingham Palace in May before playing a few days later the prelude and fugue on the name of "BACH" BWV 898 on the barely functional organ in Hanover Square Rooms during one of the Ancient Concerts organized by Prince Albert, with William Gladstone in the audience.
In the late 1840s and early 1850s, organ building in England became more stable and less experimental, taking stock of traditions in Germany and innovations in France, particularly from the new generation of organ builders such as Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. One of the main names in organ building in England in the second half of the 19th century was Henry Willis. The manner in which the organ for St. George's Hall, Liverpool was planned and constructed marks the transition from what Nicholas Thistlethwaite calls the "insular movement" of the 1840s to the adoption of the established German system. Planning formally started on the organ in 1845: the main advisor to Liverpool Corporation was Samuel Sebastian Wesley, son of Samuel Wesley and an accomplished organist, particularly of Bach. He worked in consultation with a panel of university professors of music, who often disagreed with his eccentric suggestions. When Wesley tried to argue about the range of manual keyboards, justifying himself by the possibility of playing octaves with the left hand, he was reminded by the professors that the use of octaves was more common among pianists than first-rate organists and moreover that when he had been organist at Leeds Parish Church, "the dust on the half-dozen lowest keys on the GG manuals remained undisturbed for months." Willis was commissioned to build the organ only in 1851, after he had impressed the committee with the organ for Winchester Cathedral he had on display at The Crystal Palace during the Great Exhibition. The completed organ had four manual keyboards and a thirty key pedalboard, with 17 sets of pedal pipes and a range from CC to f. The instrument had unequal temperament and, as Wesley had stipulated, the air supply came from two large underground bellows powered by an eight horse-power steam engine. Among the innovations introduced by Willis were the cylindrical pedal-valve, the pneumatic lever and the combination action, the latter two features being adopted widely by English organ builders in the second half of the 19th century. The organ was inaugurated in 1855 by William Thomas Best, who later that year was appointed resident organist, attracting crowds of thousands to hear his playing. In 1867, he had the organ retuned to equal temperament. He remained in his post until 1894, giving performances elsewhere in England, including at the Crystal Palace, St James's Hall and the Royal Albert Hall. The St Anne prelude and fugue BWV 552 was used by Best to start off the series of Popular Monday Concerts at St James's Hall in 1859; and later in 1871 to inaugurate the newly built Willis organ in the Royal Albert Hall, in the presence of Queen Victoria.
France
In France, the Bach revival was slower to take root. Before the late 1840s, after the upheaval caused by the French revolution, Bach was rarely performed in public concerts in France and it was preferred that church organists play operatic arias or popular airs instead of counterpoint. One exception was a public performance in the Paris Conservatoire in December 1833, repeated two years later in the Salons Pape, of the opening allegro of Bach's concerto for three harpsichords BWV 1063, played on pianos by Chopin, Liszt and Hiller. Berlioz later described their choice as "stupid and ridiculous", unworthy of their talents. Charles Gounod, having won the Prix de Rome in 1839, spent three years in the Villa Medici in Rome, where he developed a passionate interest in the polyphonic music of Palestrina. He also met Mendelssohn's sister Fanny, herself an accomplished concert pianist and by then married to the artist Wilhelm Hensel: Gounod described her as "an outstanding musician and a woman of superior intelligence, small, slender, but gifted with an energy which showed in her deep-set eyes and in her burning look." In response Fanny noted in her diary that Gounod was "passionately fond of music in a way I have rarely seen before." She introduced Gounod to the music of Bach, playing from memory fugues, concertos and sonatas for him on the piano. At the end of his stay in 1842, the twenty-five-year-old Gounod had become a confirmed Bach devotee. In 1843, after a seven-month stay in Vienna, with a letter of introduction from Fanny, Gounod spent 4 days with her brother in Leipzig. Mendelssohn played Bach for him on the organ of the Thomaskirche and conducted a performance of his Scottish Symphony by the Gewandhaus orchestra, specially convened in his honour. Back in Paris, Gounod took up an appointment as organist and music director in the Église des Missions Étrangères on the rue de Bac, on condition that he would be allowed to have autonomy over the music: Bach and Palestrina figured strongly in his repertoire. When churchgoers initially objected to this daily diet of counterpoint, Gounod was confronted by the Abbé, who eventually yielded to Gounod's conditions, although not without commenting "What a terrible man you are!"
In the late 1840s and 1850s a new school of organist-composers emerged in France, all trained in the organ works of Bach. These included Franck, Saint-Saëns, Fauré and Widor. In the aftermath of the French revolution, there had already been a revival of interest in France in choral music of the baroque and earlier periods, particularly of Palestrina, Bach and Handel: Alexandre-Étienne Choron founded the Institution royale de musique classique et religieuse in 1817. After the July Revolution and Choron's death in 1834, direction of the institute, renamed the "Conservatoire royal de musique classique de France", was taken over by Louis Niedermeyer and took his name as the . Along with the Conservatoire de Paris, it became one of the main training grounds for French organists. The Belgian composer and musicologist François-Joseph Fétis, a contemporary and colleague of Choron in Paris, shared his interest in early and baroque music. Fétis exerted a similar influence in Brussels, where he was appointed director of the Royal Conservatory of Brussels in 1832, a position he held until his death in 1871.
At the same time, French organ builders most notably Aristide Cavaillé-Coll were starting to produce new series of organs, which with their pedalboards, were designed both for the music of Bach as well as modern symphonic compositions. The change in traditions can be traced back to the inauguration in 1844 of the organ for St Eustache, built by Doublaine and Callinet. The German organ virtuoso Adolf Friedrich Hesse was invited with five Parisians to demonstrate the new instrument. As part of his recital Hesse played Bach's Toccata in F major, BWV 540/1, allowing the Parisian audience to hear pedal technique far beyond what was known in France at that time. While impressed by his pedal playing, French commentators at the time gave Hesse mixed praise, one remarking that, while he might be the "king of the pedal ... he thinks of nothing but power and noise, his playing astonishes, but does not speak to the soul. He always seems to be the minister of an angry God who wants to punish." Another commentator, however, who had heard Hesse playing Bach on the organ at an industrial exhibition beforehand, noted that "if the organ of the Doublaine-Callinet firm is perfect from bottom to top, Monsieur Hesse is a complete organist from head to feet." The new organ had a short life: it was destroyed by fire from a falling candle in December 1844.
Two Belgian organist-composers, Franck and Jacques-Nicolas Lemmens, participated in the inauguration in 1854 of the new organ at St Eustache. Lemmens had studied with Hesse and Fétis; already in the early 1850s he had started giving public concerts in Paris, featuring Bach's organ music and using the brilliant foot technique he had learnt in Germany. At the same time Lemmens had published 18 installments of an organ manual for the use of "organistes du culte catholique", giving a complete introduction to the Bach tradition of organ playing, henceforth adopted in France.
In 1855, the piano firm Érard introduced a new instrument, the pedal piano (), a grand piano fitted with a full German-style pedalboard. The French composer, organist and virtuoso pianist Charles Valentin Alkan and Lemmens gave concerts on it, including performances of Bach's toccatas, fugues and chorale preludes for organ. In 1858, Franck, a friend of Alkan, acquired a pédalier for his private use. Alkan, a devotee of Bach and one of the first subscribers to the Bach Gesellschaft, composed extensively for the pédalier, including in 1866 a set of twelve studies for pedalboard alone. In the 1870s, Alkan, by that time a recluse, returned to give a series of public Petits Concerts each year in the Salle Érard using their pédalier: Alkan's repertoire included the St Anne prelude as well as several chorale preludes.
There were further indications of changes in taste in France: Saint-Saëns, organist at the Madeleine from 1857 to 1877, refused to perform operatic arias as part of the liturgy, on one occasion replying to such a request, "Monsieur l'Abbé, when I hear from the pulpit the language of the Opéra Comique, I will play light music. Not before!" Saint-Saëns was nevertheless reluctant to use Bach's music in services. He regarded the preludes, fugues, toccatas and variations as virtuosic pieces for concert performance; and the chorale preludes as too Protestant in spirit for inclusion in a Catholic mass. The St Anne prelude and fugue was often used by Saint-Saëns for inaugurating Cavaillé-Coll organs; in Paris; he played for the inaugurations at St Sulpice (1862), Notre Dame (1868), Trinité (1869), the chapel in Versailles (1873) and the Trocadéro (1878).
The last two decades of the 19th century saw a revival of interest in Bach's organ music in France. There were public concerts on the new Cavaillé-Colle organ in the concert hall or Salle des Fêtes of the old Palais du Trocadéro, built for the third Paris exhibition in 1878. Organized by the organist Alexandre Guilmant, a pupil of Lemmens, in conjunction with Eugène Gigout, these started as six free concerts during the exhibition. Attracting huge crowds—the concert hall could seat 5,000 with sometimes an extra 2,000 standing—the concerts continued until the turn of the century. Guilmant programmed primarily the organ music of the two composers whom he referred to as "musical giants", Bach and Handel, still mostly unknown to these mass audiences, as well as the works of older masters such as Buxtehude and Frescobaldi. The St Anne prelude and fugue featured in the concerts, Saint-Saëns playing it in one of the first in 1879 and Guilmant again in 1899, in a special concert to mark the twentieth anniversary of the series. The concerts represented a new fin de siècle cult of Bach in France. It was not without its detractors: the music critic Camille Bellaigue (1858–1930) described Bach in 1888 as a "first-rate bore":
The chorale preludes of Bach were late to enter the French organ repertoire. César Franck, although only known to have performed one work by Bach in public, often set chorale preludes (BWV 622 and BWV 656) as examination pieces at the Conservatoire de Paris in the 1870s and 1880s. It was Charles-Marie Widor, Franck's successor on his death in 1890, who introduced the chorale preludes as a fundamental part of organ teaching there, where Bach's other organ works already provided the foundation stone.
Widor believed that the music of Bach represented
Unlike Saint-Saëns and his own teacher Lemmens, Widor had no objection to playing Bach organ music because of its Lutheran associations: "What speaks through his works is pure religious emotion; and this is one and the same in all men, in spite of the national and religious partitions in which we are born and bred." His student, the blind composer and organist, Louis Vierne later recalled:
On Widor's recommendation, Guilmant succeeded him as professor of organ in the conservatory in 1896. In 1899, he installed a three manual Cavaillé-Coll organ in his home in Meudon, where he gave lessons to a wide range of pupils, including a whole generation of organists from the United States. Among his French students were Nadia Boulanger, Marcel Dupré and Georges Jacob. Dupré started lessons with Guilmant at the age of eleven, later becoming his successor at the conservatoire. In two celebrated series of concerts at the conservatoire in 1920 and at the Palais du Trocadéro the following year, Dupré performed the complete organ works of Bach from memory in 10 concerts: the ninth concert was devoted entirely to the chorale preludes from Clavier-Übung III. Dupré also taught in Meudon, having acquired Guilmant's Cavaillé-Coll organ in 1926. The funeral service for Guilmant at his home in 1911, prior to his burial in Paris, included a performance by Jacob of Aus tiefer Noth BWV 686.
Historic transcriptionsPianoBenjamin Jacob (1778–1829), arrangement of prelude and fugue BWV 552 for piano duet
Ivan Karlovitsch Tscherlitzky (1799–1865), arrangement of prelude and fugue BWV 552 and chorale preludes BWV 669–689 for piano solo
Adolf Bernhard Marx (1795–1866), arrangement of chorale preludes BWV 679 and 683 for piano solo
Franz Xavier Gleichauf (1801–1856), arrangement of prelude and fugue BWV 552 for piano duet
Otto Singer (1833–1894), arrangement of prelude and fugue BWV 552 for two pianos
Ludwig Stark (1831–1884), arrangement of prelude and fugue BWV 552 for piano solo
Ernst Pauer (1826–1905), arrangement of prelude and fugue BWV 552 for piano duet
Max Reger (1873–1916), arrangement of prelude and fugue BWV 552 for piano duet and piano soloScore of Reger's arrangement for piano duet of "St Anne" prelude and fugue, University of Rochester
Ferruccio Busoni "freely arranged for concert use on the piano" the prelude and fugue BWV 552 in 1890
August Stradal (1860–1930), arrangement of prelude and fugue BWV 552 for piano solo
William G. Whittaker (1876–1944), arrangements of chorale preludes BWV 672–675, 677, 679, 681, 683, 685, 687, 689 for piano solo
Christopher Le Fleming (1908–1985), arrangement of prelude and fugue BWV 552 for two pianos
György Kurtág, Aus tiefer Noth schrei' ich zu dir BWV 687, transcribed for piano 4 hands from Játékok ("Games")OrchestraVincent Novello arranged the prelude of BWV 552 for orchestra and organ duet: it was first performed with Samuel Wesley and Novello at the organ in the Hanover Square Rooms in 1812.
Leopold Stokowski, conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Wir glauben all' an einen Gott BWV 680 and Aus tiefer Noth schrei' ich zu dir BWV 686 were among the 14 organ works of Bach orchestrated by Stokowski. Wir glauben was first performed on March 15, 1924 and recorded on May 1, 1929.
Ralph Vaughan Williams, arrangement of Wir glauben all' an einen Gott BWV 680 for string orchestra, 1925 (there is also a simplified version by Arnold Foster)
Arnold Schoenberg recomposed the prelude and fugue BWV 552 for orchestra in 1928; Its first performance was conducted by Anton Webern in 1929.
Henri Verbrugghen (1873–1934), arranged the prelude and fugue BWV 552 for orchestra.
Philip James (1890–1975), arrangement of Wir glauben all' an einen Gott BWV 680 for orchestra, 1929.
Fabien Sevitzky (1891–1967), arrangement of Wir glauben all' an einen Gott BWV 680 for orchestra, 1937.
Alan Bush (1900–1995), arrangement of Kyrie, Gott, heiliger Geist BWV 671 and the fugue on Jesus Christus, unser Heiland BWV 689 for string orchestra, first performed in the Cambridge Arts Theatre in November 1941.
Alfred Akon (1905–1977), arrangement of Wir glauben all' an einen Gott BWV 680 for string orchestra, 1942.
Herman Boessenroth (1884–1968), arrangement of Wir glauben all' an einen Gott BWV 680 for full orchestra, 1942.
Frederick Stock, conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, arranged the prelude and fugue BWV 552 for orchestra, recording it with them on December 22, 1944.Chamber ensembles'Abraham Mendelssohn (1776–1835), arrangement of Vater unser im Himmelreich BWV 682 for flute, violin, viola, cello and organ
Ferdinand David (1810–1873), arrangement of Duetti BWV 802–805 for violin and viola.
Recordings
Marie-Claire Alain, Complete works for organ of Bach, Erato, discs 6 and 7.
André Isoir, Complete works for organ of Bach, Calliope, discs 13 and 14.
Ton Koopman, Bach organ works, Volume 5, Das Alte Werk, Teldec, 2 CDs.
Bernard Foccroulle, Complete organ works of Bach, Ricercar/Allegro, discs 11 and 12.
Matteo Messori, Dritter Theil der Clavier-Übung, Brilliant Classics, 2 SuperAudioCDs or CDs.
Helmut Walcha, Complete organ works of Bach, Documents, Membran Musics, discs 8 and 9.
See also
List of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach printed during his lifetime
Notes
References
</ref>
(September issue)
, Chapter 13, "Der volkommene Capellmeister as a stimulus to J.S. Bach's late fugal writing", by Gregory Butler
A detailed analysis in French of BWV 552 and BWV 802–805.
, Chapter 4, "Bach, Regeneration and Historicist Modernism"
Chapter 10, Fugue on "Jesus Christus unser Heiland, BWV 689
, Chapter 9, "The Marpurg-Kirnberger Disputes"
, Description of Schoenberg's recomposition of BWV 552 for orchestra.
(reprinted in 1978 by the American Musicological Society)
, Chapter 6, "The orchestral transcriptions of Bach's organ works"
, Chapter 6, "Bach, Mendelsohn and the English organ, 1810–1845"
External links
Transcriptions of Bach compositions for piano, piano duet and two pianos
Chorale preludes and four duets from Clavier-Übung III on Mutopia
Free downloads of the complete Clavier-Übung III recorded by James Kibbie on historic German baroque organs: either search for individual works or download the whole collection
A Joy Forever- Opus 41 at Goshen College, disc 2 by Bradley Lehman, contains free recordings of the Duets
Midi recordings of prelude and fugue BWV 552 by Gary Bricault
Midi recordings of Clavier-Übung III for organ/harpsichord
Midi recording of prelude and fugue BWV 552 on the organ of the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe-Kerk (Church of Our Lady), Dordrecht
liner notes for recording by Masaaki Suzuki
Trinitarian and Catechistic Connotations of the Clavier-Übung III
Preludes by Johann Sebastian Bach
Chorale preludes by Johann Sebastian Bach
Fugues by Johann Sebastian Bach
Compositions for organ
1739 compositions | en |
doc-en-12209 | Metrology is the scientific study of measurement. It establishes a common understanding of units, crucial in linking human activities. Modern metrology has its roots in the French Revolution's political motivation to standardise units in France, when a length standard taken from a natural source was proposed. This led to the creation of the decimal-based metric system in 1795, establishing a set of standards for other types of measurements. Several other countries adopted the metric system between 1795 and 1875; to ensure conformity between the countries, the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM) was established by the Metre Convention. This has evolved into the International System of Units (SI) as a result of a resolution at the 11th General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) in 1960.
Metrology is divided into three basic overlapping activities:
The definition of units of measurement
The realisation of these units of measurement in practice
Traceability—linking measurements made in practice to the reference standards
These overlapping activities are used in varying degrees by the three basic sub-fields of metrology:
Scientific or fundamental metrology, concerned with the establishment of units of measurement
Applied, technical or industrial metrology—the application of measurement to manufacturing and other processes in society
Legal metrology, covering the regulation and statutory requirements for measuring instruments and methods of measurement
In each country, a national measurement system (NMS) exists as a network of laboratories, calibration facilities and accreditation bodies which implement and maintain its metrology infrastructure. The NMS affects how measurements are made in a country and their recognition by the international community, which has a wide-ranging impact in its society (including economics, energy, environment, health, manufacturing, industry and consumer confidence). The effects of metrology on trade and economy are some of the easiest-observed societal impacts. To facilitate fair trade, there must be an agreed-upon system of measurement.
History
The ability to measure alone is insufficient; standardisation is crucial for measurements to be meaningful. The first record of a permanent standard was in 2900 BC, when the royal Egyptian cubit was carved from black granite. The cubit was decreed to be the length of the Pharaoh's forearm plus the width of his hand, and replica standards were given to builders. The success of a standardised length for the building of the pyramids is indicated by the lengths of their bases differing by no more than 0.05 percent.
Other civilizations produced generally accepted measurement standards, with Roman and Greek architecture based on distinct systems of measurement. The collapse of the empires and the Dark Ages that followed lost much measurement knowledge and standardisation. Although local systems of measurement were common, comparability was difficult since many local systems were incompatible. England established the Assize of Measures to create standards for length measurements in 1196, and the 1215 Magna Carta included a section for the measurement of wine and beer.
Modern metrology has its roots in the French Revolution. With a political motivation to harmonise units throughout France, a length standard based on a natural source was proposed. In March 1791, the metre was defined. This led to the creation of the decimal-based metric system in 1795, establishing standards for other types of measurements. Several other countries adopted the metric system between 1795 and 1875; to ensure international conformity, the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (, or BIPM) was established by the Metre Convention. Although the BIPM's original mission was to create international standards for units of measurement and relate them to national standards to ensure conformity, its scope has broadened to include electrical and photometric units and ionizing radiation measurement standards. The metric system was modernised in 1960 with the creation of the International System of Units (SI) as a result of a resolution at the 11th General Conference on Weights and Measures (, or CGPM).
Subfields
Metrology is defined by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) as "the science of measurement, embracing both experimental and theoretical determinations at any level of uncertainty in any field of science and technology". It establishes a common understanding of units, crucial to human activity. Metrology is a wide reaching field, but can be summarized through three basic activities: the definition of internationally accepted units of measurement, the realisation of these units of measurement in practice, and the application of chains of traceability (linking measurements to reference standards). These concepts apply in different degrees to metrology's three main fields: scientific metrology; applied, technical or industrial metrology, and legal metrology.
Scientific metrology
Scientific metrology is concerned with the establishment of units of measurement, the development of new measurement methods, the realisation of measurement standards, and the transfer of traceability from these standards to users in a society. This type of metrology is considered the top level of metrology which strives for the highest degree of accuracy. BIPM maintains a database of the metrological calibration and measurement capabilities of institutes around the world. These institutes, whose activities are peer-reviewed, provide the fundamental reference points for metrological traceability. In the area of measurement, BIPM has identified nine metrology areas, which are acoustics, electricity and magnetism, length, mass and related quantities, photometry and radiometry, ionizing radiation, time and frequency, thermometry, and chemistry.
As of May 2019 no physical objects define the base units. The motivation in the change of the base units is to make the entire system derivable from physical constants, which required the removal of the prototype kilogram as it is the last artefact the unit definitions depend on. Scientific metrology plays an important role in this redefinition of the units as precise measurements of the physical constants is required to have accurate definitions of the base units. To redefine the value of a kilogram without an artefact the value of the Planck constant must be known to twenty parts per billion. Scientific metrology, through the development of the Kibble balance and the Avogadro project, has produced a value of Planck constant with low enough uncertainty to allow for a redefinition of the kilogram.
Applied, technical or industrial metrology
Applied, technical or industrial metrology is concerned with the application of measurement to manufacturing and other processes and their use in society, ensuring the suitability of measurement instruments, their calibration and quality control. Producing good measurements is important in industry as it has an impact on the value and quality of the end product, and a 10–15% impact on production costs. Although the emphasis in this area of metrology is on the measurements themselves, traceability of the measuring-device calibration is necessary to ensure confidence in the measurement. Recognition of the metrological competence in industry can be achieved through mutual recognition agreements, accreditation, or peer review. Industrial metrology is important to a country's economic and industrial development, and the condition of a country's industrial-metrology program can indicate its economic status.
Legal metrology
Legal metrology "concerns activities which result from statutory requirements and concern measurement, units of measurement, measuring instruments and methods of measurement and which are performed by competent bodies". Such statutory requirements may arise from the need for protection of health, public safety, the environment, enabling taxation, protection of consumers and fair trade. The International Organization for Legal Metrology (OIML) was established to assist in harmonising regulations across national boundaries to ensure that legal requirements do not inhibit trade. This harmonisation ensures that certification of measuring devices in one country is compatible with another country's certification process, allowing the trade of the measuring devices and the products that rely on them. WELMEC was established in 1990 to promote cooperation in the field of legal metrology in the European Union and among European Free Trade Association (EFTA) member states. In the United States legal metrology is under the authority of the Office of Weights and Measures of National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), enforced by the individual states.
Concepts
Definition of units
The International System of Units (SI) defines seven base units: length, mass, time, electric current, thermodynamic temperature, amount of substance, and luminous intensity. By convention, each of these units are considered to be mutually independent and can be constructed directly from their defining constants. All other SI units are constructed as products of powers of the seven base units.
Since the base units are the reference points for all measurements taken in SI units, if the reference value changed all prior measurements would be incorrect. Before 2019, if a piece of the international prototype of the kilogram had been snapped off, it would have still been defined as a kilogram; all previous measured values of a kilogram would be heavier. The importance of reproducible SI units has led the BIPM to complete the task of defining all SI base units in terms of physical constants.
By defining SI base units with respect to physical constants, and not artefacts or specific substances, they are realisable with a higher level of precision and reproducibility. As of the redefinition of the SI units on 20 May 2019 the kilogram, ampere, kelvin, and mole are defined by setting exact numerical values for the Planck constant (), the elementary electric charge (), the Boltzmann constant (), and the Avogadro constant (), respectively. The second, metre, and candela have previously been defined by physical constants (the caesium standard (ΔνCs), the speed of light (), and the luminous efficacy of visible light radiation (Kcd)), subject to correction to their present definitions. The new definitions aim to improve the SI without changing the size of any units, thus ensuring continuity with existing measurements.
Realisation of units
The realisation of a unit of measure is its conversion into reality. Three possible methods of realisation are defined by the international vocabulary of metrology (VIM): a physical realisation of the unit from its definition, a highly-reproducible measurement as a reproduction of the definition (such as the quantum Hall effect for the ohm), and the use of a material object as the measurement standard.
Standards
A standard (or etalon) is an object, system, or experiment with a defined relationship to a unit of measurement of a physical quantity. Standards are the fundamental reference for a system of weights and measures by realising, preserving, or reproducing a unit against which measuring devices can be compared. There are three levels of standards in the hierarchy of metrology: primary, secondary, and working standards. Primary standards (the highest quality) do not reference any other standards. Secondary standards are calibrated with reference to a primary standard. Working standards, used to calibrate (or check) measuring instruments or other material measures, are calibrated with respect to secondary standards. The hierarchy preserves the quality of the higher standards. An example of a standard would be gauge blocks for length. A gauge block is a block of metal or ceramic with two opposing faces ground precisely flat and parallel, a precise distance apart. The length of the path of light in vacuum during a time interval of 1/299,792,458 of a second is embodied in an artefact standard such as a gauge block; this gauge block is then a primary standard which can be used to calibrate secondary standards through mechanical comparators.
Traceability and calibration
Metrological traceability is defined as the "property of a measurement result whereby the result can be related to a reference through a documented unbroken chain of calibrations, each contributing to the measurement uncertainty". It permits the comparison of measurements, whether the result is compared to the previous result in the same laboratory, a measurement result a year ago, or to the result of a measurement performed anywhere else in the world. The chain of traceability allows any measurement to be referenced to higher levels of measurements back to the original definition of the unit.
Traceability is most often obtained by calibration, establishing the relationship between an indication on a measuring instrument (or secondary standard) and the value of the standard. A calibration is an operation that establishes a relation between a measurement standard with a known measurement uncertainty and the device that is being evaluated. The process will determine the measurement value and uncertainty of the device that is being calibrated and create a traceability link to the measurement standard. The four primary reasons for calibrations are to provide traceability, to ensure that the instrument (or standard) is consistent with other measurements, to determine accuracy, and to establish reliability. Traceability works as a pyramid, at the top level there is the international standards, at the next level national metrology institutes calibrate the primary standards through realisation of the units creating the traceability link from the primary standard and the unit definition. Through subsequent calibrations between national metrology institutes, calibration laboratories, and industry and testing laboratories the realisation of the unit definition is propagated down through the pyramid. The traceability chain works upwards from the bottom of the pyramid, where measurements done by industry and testing laboratories can be directly related to the unit definition at the top through the traceability chain created by calibration.
Uncertainty
Measurement uncertainty is a value associated with a measurement which expresses the spread of possible values associated with the measurand—a quantitative expression of the doubt existing in the measurement. There are two components to the uncertainty of a measurement: the width of the uncertainty interval and the confidence level. The uncertainty interval is a range of values that the measurement value expected to fall within, while the confidence level is how likely the true value is to fall within the uncertainty interval. Uncertainty is generally expressed as follows:
Coverage factor: k = 2
Where y is the measurement value and U is the uncertainty value and k is the coverage factor indicates the confidence interval. The upper and lower limit of the uncertainty interval can be determined by adding and subtracting the uncertainty value from the measurement value. The coverage factor of k = 2 generally indicates a 95% confidence that the measured value will fall inside the uncertainty interval. Other values of k can be used to indicate a greater or lower confidence on the interval, for example k = 1 and k = 3 generally indicate 66% and 99.7% confidence respectively. The uncertainty value is determined through a combination of statistical analysis of the calibration and uncertainty contribution from other errors in measurement process, which can be evaluated from sources such as the instrument history, manufacturer's specifications, or published information.
International infrastructure
Several international organizations maintain and standardise metrology.
Metre Convention
The Metre Convention created three main international organizations to facilitate standardisation of weights and measures. The first, the General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM), provided a forum for representatives of member states. The second, the International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM), was an advisory committee of metrologists of high standing. The third, the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM), provided secretarial and laboratory facilities for the CGPM and CIPM.
General Conference on Weights and Measures
The General Conference on Weights and Measures (, or CGPM) is the convention's principal decision-making body, consisting of delegates from member states and non-voting observers from associate states. The conference usually meets every four to six years to receive and discuss a CIPM report and endorse new developments in the SI as advised by the CIPM. The last meeting was held on 13–16 November 2018. On the last day of this conference there was vote on the redefinition of four base units, which the International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM) had proposed earlier that year. The new definitions came into force on 20 May 2019.
International Committee for Weights and Measures
The International Committee for Weights and Measures (, or CIPM) is made up of eighteen (originally fourteen) individuals from a member state of high scientific standing, nominated by the CGPM to advise the CGPM on administrative and technical matters. It is responsible for ten consultative committees (CCs), each of which investigates a different aspect of metrology; one CC discusses the measurement of temperature, another the measurement of mass, and so forth. The CIPM meets annually in Sèvres to discuss reports from the CCs, to submit an annual report to the governments of member states concerning the administration and finances of the BIPM and to advise the CGPM on technical matters as needed. Each member of the CIPM is from a different member state, with France (in recognition of its role in establishing the convention) always having one seat.
International Bureau of Weights and Measures
The International Bureau of Weights and Measures (, or BIPM) is an organisation based in Sèvres, France which has custody of the international prototype of the kilogram, provides metrology services for the CGPM and CIPM, houses the secretariat for the organisations and hosts their meetings. Over the years, prototypes of the metre and of the kilogram have been returned to BIPM headquarters for recalibration. The BIPM director is an ex officio member of the CIPM and a member of all consultative committees.
International Organization of Legal Metrology
The International Organization of Legal Metrology (, or OIML), is an intergovernmental organization created in 1955 to promote the global harmonisation of the legal metrology procedures facilitating international trade. This harmonisation of technical requirements, test procedures and test-report formats ensure confidence in measurements for trade and reduces the costs of discrepancies and measurement duplication. The OIML publishes a number of international reports in four categories:
Recommendations: Model regulations to establish metrological characteristics and conformity of measuring instruments
Informative documents: To harmonise legal metrology
Guidelines for the application of legal metrology
Basic publications: Definitions of the operating rules of the OIML structure and system
Although the OIML has no legal authority to impose its recommendations and guidelines on its member countries, it provides a standardised legal framework for those countries to assist the development of appropriate, harmonised legislation for certification and calibration. OIML provides a mutual acceptance arrangement (MAA) for measuring instruments that are subject to legal metrological control, which upon approval allows the evaluation and test reports of the instrument to be accepted in all participating countries. Issuing participants in the agreement issue MAA Type Evaluation Reports of MAA Certificates upon demonstration of compliance with ISO/IEC 17065 and a peer evaluation system to determine competency. This ensures that certification of measuring devices in one country is compatible with the certification process in other participating countries, allowing the trade of the measuring devices and the products that rely on them.
International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation
The International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) is an international organisation for accreditation agencies involved in the certification of conformity-assessment bodies. It standardises accreditation practices and procedures, recognising competent calibration facilities and assisting countries developing their own accreditation bodies. ILAC originally began as a conference in 1977 to develop international cooperation for accredited testing and calibration results to facilitate trade. In 2000, 36 members signed the ILAC mutual recognition agreement (MRA), allowing members work to be automatically accepted by other signatories, and in 2012 was expanded to include accreditation of inspection bodies. Through this standardisation, work done in laboratories accredited by signatories is automatically recognised internationally through the MRA. Other work done by ILAC includes promotion of laboratory and inspection body accreditation, and supporting the development of accreditation systems in developing economies.
Joint Committee for Guides in Metrology
The Joint Committee for Guides in Metrology (JCGM) is a committee which created and maintains two metrology guides: Guide to the expression of uncertainty in measurement (GUM) and International vocabulary of metrology – basic and general concepts and associated terms (VIM). The JCGM is a collaboration of eight partner organisations:
International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM)
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC)
International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC)
International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP)
International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML)
International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC)
The JCGM has two working groups: JCGM-WG1 and JCGM-WG2. JCGM-WG1 is responsible for the GUM, and JCGM-WG2 for the VIM. Each member organization appoints one representative and up to two experts to attend each meeting, and may appoint up to three experts for each working group.
National infrastructure
A national measurement system (NMS) is a network of laboratories, calibration facilities and accreditation bodies which implement and maintain a country's measurement infrastructure. The NMS sets measurement standards, ensuring the accuracy, consistency, comparability, and reliability of measurements made in the country. The measurements of member countries of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (CIPM MRA), an agreement of national metrology institutes, are recognized by other member countries. As of March 2018, there are 102 signatories of the CIPM MRA, consisting of 58 member states, 40 associate states, and 4 international organizations.
Metrology institutes
A national metrology institute's (NMI) role in a country's measurement system is to conduct scientific metrology, realise base units, and maintain primary national standards. An NMI provides traceability to international standards for a country, anchoring its national calibration hierarchy. For a national measurement system to be recognized internationally by the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement, an NMI must participate in international comparisons of its measurement capabilities. BIPM maintains a comparison database and a list of calibration and measurement capabilities (CMCs) of the countries participating in the CIPM MRA. Not all countries have a centralised metrology institute; some have a lead NMI and several decentralised institutes specialising in specific national standards. Some examples of NMI's are the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the United States, the National Research Council (NRC) in Canada, the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS), and the National Physical Laboratory of India (NPL-India).
Calibration laboratories
Calibration laboratories are generally responsible for calibrations of industrial instrumentation. Calibration laboratories are accredited and provide calibration services to industry firms, which provides a traceability link back to the national metrology institute. Since the calibration laboratories are accredited, they give companies a traceability link to national metrology standards.
Accreditation bodies
An organisation is accredited when an authoritative body determines, by assessing the organisation's personnel and management systems, that it is competent to provide its services. For international recognition, a country's accreditation body must comply with international requirements and is generally the product of international and regional cooperation. A laboratory is evaluated according to international standards such as ISO/IEC 17025 general requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories. To ensure objective and technically-credible accreditation, the bodies are independent of other national measurement system institutions. The National Association of Testing Authorities in Australia, the United Kingdom Accreditation Service, and National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories in India, are examples of accreditation bodies.
Impacts
Metrology has wide-ranging impacts on a number of sectors, including economics, energy, the environment, health, manufacturing, industry, and consumer confidence. The effects of metrology on trade and the economy are two of its most-apparent societal impacts. To facilitate fair and accurate trade between countries, there must be an agreed-upon system of measurement. Accurate measurement and regulation of water, fuel, food, and electricity are critical for consumer protection and promote the flow of goods and services between trading partners. A common measurement system and quality standards benefit consumer and producer; production at a common standard reduces cost and consumer risk, ensuring that the product meets consumer needs. Transaction costs are reduced through an increased economy of scale. Several studies have indicated that increased standardisation in measurement has a positive impact on GDP. In the United Kingdom, an estimated 28.4 percent of GDP growth from 1921 to 2013 was the result of standardisation; in Canada between 1981 and 2004 an estimated nine percent of GDP growth was standardisation-related, and in Germany the annual economic benefit of standardisation is an estimated 0.72% of GDP.
Legal metrology has reduced accidental deaths and injuries with measuring devices, such as radar guns and breathalyzers, by improving their efficiency and reliability. Measuring the human body is challenging, with poor repeatability and reproducibility, and advances in metrology help develop new techniques to improve health care and reduce costs. Environmental policy is based on research data, and accurate measurements are important for assessing climate change and environmental regulation. Aside from regulation, metrology is essential in supporting innovation, the ability to measure provides a technical infrastructure and tools that can then be used to pursue further innovation. By providing a technical platform which new ideas can be built upon, easily demonstrated, and shared, measurement standards allow new ideas to be explored and expanded upon.
See also
Accuracy and precision
Data analysis
Dimensional metrology
Forensic metrology
Geometric dimensioning and tolerancing
Historical metrology
Instrumentation
International vocabulary of metrology
Length measurement
Measurement (academic journal)
Metrication
Metrologia (academic journal)
NCSL International
Test method
Time metrology
World Metrology Day
Notes
References
External links
Measurement Uncertainties in Science and Technology, Springer 2005
Presentation about Product Quality planning that includes a typical industry "Dimensional Control Plan"
Training in Metrology in Chemistry (TrainMiC)
Measurement Science in Chemistry | en |
doc-en-9786 | This is a list of aviation-related events from 2006:
Events
The national airline of Ecuador, Ecuatoriana de Aviación, goes out of business. It had flown from 1957 to 1993 and again since 1996.
January
1 January – The Government of Latvia reforms the Latvia Civil Aviation Administration to form the Civil Aviation Agency, which becomes Latvia's national civil aviation authority. It also creates the Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation Bureau of the Republic of Latvia, which later will become the country's Transport Accident and Incident Investigation Bureau.
5 January – Independence Air ceases operations after declaring bankruptcy.
6 January – Stunt pilot Eric Anthony Beard is killed when the Airpac Airlines Piper PA-34 Seneca crashes in a wooded area in approach to Burlington, Washington.
13 January – American Central Intelligence Agency RQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicles fire several AGM-114 Hellfire missiles at a compound in Damadola, Pakistan, in an attempt to kill senior al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. He is not present, and the airstrike instead kills at least 18 people, none of them al-Qaeda members.
19 January
A Slovak Air Force Antonov An-24V carrying Slovak peacekeepers home from Kosovo strays off course, begins its descent toward Košice International Airport in Košice, Slovakia, too early, and crashes in northern Hungary near Hejce and Telkibánya, killing 42 of the 43 people on board and injuring the lone survivor.
Jet Airways announces its purchase of Air Sahara, creating the largest domestic airline in India.
February
1 February
The Transportation Safety Bureau replaces the Civil Aviation Safety Bureau of Hungary as the agency responsible for the investigation of aviation accidents in Hungary.
UAL Corporation, United Airlines parent company, emerges from bankruptcy for the first time since 9 December 2002, the longest such filing in history.
8–11 February – The American adventurer Steve Fossett breaks the record for the absolute longest-distance flight without landing by taking off from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on 8 February, circumnavigating the world eastbound, and, after passing over Florida, continuing across the Atlantic Ocean for a second time to land in Bournemouth, England, after a flight of 76 hours 43 minutes, covering 42,469.46 km (26,373.54 miles).
16 February – Kobe Airport, a controversial offshore airport in Kobe, Japan, opens for airline service.
March
10 March – Northwest Airlines purchases the United States Department of Transportation operating certificate of bankrupt Independence Air, which had ceased operations in January. Northwest plans to use the certificate for a new subcontractor regional airline, which will begin flight operations in May 2007 as Compass Airlines.
13 March – American television personality Peter Tomarken and his wife are killed when the engine of the Beechcraft Bonanza A36 Tomarken is piloting fails due to improper maintenance just after takeoff from Santa Monica Airport in Santa Monica, California, and the plane crashes 200 yards (183 meters) offshore in Santa Monica Bay as Tomarken attempts to return to the airport for an emergency landing.
14 March – The Cypriot airline Helios Airways is renamed Ajet.
16 March – New Kitakyushu Airport, a controversial offshore airport in Kitakyūshū in northeastern Kyūshū, Japan, opens for airline service. The Japanese discount airline Star Flyer makes the first flight to the new airport, arriving from Haneda, Japan.
25 March – The revolutionary scramjet engine Hyshot III, designed to fly at seven times the speed of sound is tested successfully at Woomera, Australia.
29 March
The Royal Navys Fleet Air Arm withdraws the Sea Harrier from service.
Aeroméxico announces the inauguration of direct flights to Japan from Mexico City via Tijuana, Mexico. Aeroméxico becomes only the third Latin American airline in history to offer service to Asia.
April
1 April – Swiss International Air Lines joins the Star Alliance.
10 April – South African Airways joins the Star Alliance.
19 April – Noted American test pilot and aircraft designer Scott Crossfield is killed when he flies his Cessna 210 into a severe thunderstorm and it breaks up in mid-air and crashes in mountainous terrain near Ellijay, Georgia.
24 April – Aeroflot joins the Skyteam airline alliance, making it the first Russian airline to join any airline alliance.
May
EgyptAir Express is founded as a subsidiary of EgyptAir to offer domestic service in Egypt and on regional routes using Embraer E-170 jets. It will begin fight operations in June.
1 May – The airline Song ceases operations and turns its fleet over to its owner, Delta Air Lines.
3 May – Armavia Flight 967, an Airbus A320-211, is advised to halt its final descent into Sochi International Airport in Sochi, Russia, and begins a go-around, during which it crashes into the Black Sea, killing all 113 people on board.
6 May – The United States Air Force retires the last Lockheed Martin C-141 Starlifter in its inventory, an aircraft named Hanoi Taxi. Hanoi Taxi lands for the last time and is received in a formal retirement ceremony at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Riverside, Ohio.
18 May – The worlds biggest passenger jet, the Airbus A380, lands at Heathrow Airport for the first time, making its debut in the United Kingdom.
23 May
During a mock dogfight between a Greek and a Turkish fighter over the southeastern Aegean Sea, the two aircraft collide, killing the Greek pilot.
Boeing delivers the last two Boeing 717 airliners produced; the customers receiving them are AirTran Airways and Midwest Airlines. Boeing had manufactured 156 Boeing 717s before ceasing production in April 2006 due to slow sales. The Boeing 717 is the last commercial airplane produced at Boeing's facility in Long Beach, California.
June
1 June – EgyptAir Express, a subsidiary of EgyptAir offering domestic service in Egypt and on regional routes using Embraer E-170 jets, begins flight operations.
3 June – A Chinese KJ-200 airborne warning and control system aircraft crashes in Anhui province in the People's Republic of China. All 40 people on board die.
7 June – A United States Air Force F-16C Fighting Falcon drops two 500-pound (227-kg) guided bombs on a safehouse 8 km (5 miles) north of Baqubah, Iraq, killing the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and five other people.
8 June – Australians Heather Swan and Glenn Singleman set a world record for the highest wingsuit flying BASE jump, jumping off Meru Peak in India at an altitude of 6,640 meters (21,785 feet).
23 June – The Royal Air Force retires its last English Electric Canberra from service. Canberras had been in service for 55 years.
July
7 July – An Antonov An-12B operated by Mango Airlines of the Democratic Republic of the Congo suffers an engine failure after departure from Goma for a domestic flight to Kisangani. While attempting to return to Goma, it crashes into a hill and burns 10 km (6.2 miles) northwest of Sake, killing all six people aboard.
8 July – Scientists at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, conduct the first confirmed flight of a manned ornithopter operating under its own power.
9 July – S7 Airlines Flight 778, an Airbus A310-300, crashes on landing at Irkutsk International Airport in Irkutsk, Russia, killing 124 of the 203 people on board and injuring all 79 survivors.
10 July
The Korea Aviation Accident Investigation Board merges with the Railway Accident Investigation Board to form the Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board, which becomes the government agency responsible for aviation accident investigations in South Korea.
All 45 people aboard Pakistan International Airlines Flight 688, a Fokker F27 Friendship, die in a crash on takeoff in Multan, Pakistan. Following the crash, Pakistan International withdraws all of its Fokker aircraft from service and replaces them with ATR aircraft.
12 July – The 2006 Lebanon War begins when Hezbollah attacks against northern Israel prompt an Israeli response that includes air strikes against Hezbollah and transportation targets in Lebanon.
13 July – The Israeli Air Force bombs Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport in Lebanon, forcing it to close and international flights bound for Beirut to divert to Cyprus; Israel claims that Hezbollah has used the airport to smuggle arms and declares an air blockade of Lebanon. Israeli aircraft also bomb the main highway between Beirut and Damascus, Syria, as well as Hezbollah long-range missile launch sites and stockpiles, destroying 59 missile launchers in 34 minutes.
14 July – Israeli aircraft bomb the offices of the Secretary General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah.
15 July – The Israeli Air Force destroys Hezbollahs headquarters in Haret Hreik, Lebanon, and several offices and residences of senior Hezbollah officials, and Israeli attack helicopters pound targets in central Beirut.
19 July – Israeli warplanes carry out airstrikes against over 200 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, including buildings and command posts, vehicles, and rocket launchers.
20 July – Israel carries out 150 airstrikes on Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah structures, bases, headquarters, ammunition warehouses, vehicles, and rockets.
21 July – Israel continues its airstrikes on Lebanon while massing troops on the border. Two Israeli helicopters collide in mid-air over northern Israel, leaving one Israeli soldier dead and three injured.
21–26 July – The 17th FAI World Precision Flying Championship is held in Troyes, France. Individual winners are 1. Krzysztof Wieczorek (Poland) in a 3Xtrim, 2. Janusz Darocha (Poland) in a Cessna 152, 3. Krzysztof Skrętowicz (Poland) in a 3Xtrim. Team winners are 1. Poland, 2. Czech Republic, 3. France.
22 July – Israeli aircraft conduct over 90 airstrikes against targets in Lebanon, hitting Hezbollah headquarters and buildings, media facilities, rocket launching sites, and major roads.
24 July – An Israeli Apache attack helicopter on its way to support ground forces in Lebanon crashes in northern Israel, killing its two-man crew. Hezbollah claims to have shot it down, while Israel says that the helicopter may have been hit by friendly fire.
25 July – The Israeli Air Force conducts 100 airstrikes on southern Lebanon and Beirut.
26 July
Israeli warplanes and artillery attack and destroy a United Nations observer post in Lebanon, killing all four United Nations observers inside. Israel claims that it had been trying to hit Hezbollah fighters in the vicinity, and did not target United Nations personnel deliberately.
An Israeli airstrike scores a direct hit on Hezbollahs missile command center in Tyre, Lebanon.
26–31 July – The 15th FAI World Rally Flying Championship takes place in Troyes, France. Individual winners are Wacław Wieczorek/Michał Wieczorek (Poland), Jiří Filip/Michal Filip (Czech Republic), and Petr Opat/Tomas Rajdl (Czech Republic). Team winners are 1. Czech Republic, 2. Poland, and 3. France.
27 July – Israeli warplanes carry out 120 airstrikes in Lebanon, hitting suspected Hezbollah hideouts in hills and mountainous areas of the Bekaa Valley and targets in Beirut.
29 July – Israeli Air Force airstrikes in Lebanon hit targets in Beirut, destroy Hezbollah long-range rocket launchers which had been used to attack Afula, destroy two bridges on the Orontes River and a road on the Lebanon-Syria border, and destroy a house in the Old City of Bint Jbeil, killing three Hezbollah fighters including commanders Khalid Bazzi and Sayiid Abu Tam. One Israeli airstrike wounds two Indian peacekeepers in Lebanon.
30 July – An Israeli airstrike hits an apartment building in Qana, Lebanon, killing 28 civilians, more than half of them children. The airstrike is widely condemned.
31 July – Israel announces a 48-hour halt to airstrikes depending on "operational developments" in Lebanon. However, Israeli airstrikes hit targets in southern Lebanon later in the day after Hezbollah attacks an Israeli tank, wounding three Israeli soldiers.
August
2 August – Ferried by helicopter, commandos of the Israeli Air Forces Shaldag Unit storm a Hezbollah stronghold in Baalbek, Lebanon, from the border with Israel in Operation Sharp and Smooth. They kill 19 Hezbollah combatants and seize military equipment.
3 August – Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah warns Israel against further strikes against targets in Beirut and promises retaliation against Tel Aviv if such strikes continue. He also says that Hezbollah will stop its rocket campaign against Israel if Israel ceases aerial and artillery strikes against Lebanese towns and villages.
4 August – Israel aircraft attack the southern outskirts of Beirut, and an Israeli airstike against a building in the area of al-Qaa in Lebanons Bekaa Valley kills 33 farm workers. IDF aircraft also strike a number of Hezbollah targets throughout Lebanon and hit the office of Hamas in Beirut. Thirty of the airstrikes are meant to disrupt the firing of Hezbollah rockets into Israel.
5 August – The Israeli Air Force attacks over 80 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
6 August – The Israeli Air Force carries out airstrikes in Lebanon that kill at least 12 civilians, one Lebanese Army soldier, and a Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command militant.
7 August
The Israeli Air Force attacks over 150 targets in Lebanon. During the strikes, Israeli aircraft bomb the Shiyyah suburb in Beirut, destroying three apartment buildings and killing at least 50 people.
The Israeli Air Force shoots down a Hezbollah unmanned aerial vehicle.
9 August – The Metropolitan Police Service arrests approximately 24 people in and around London for conspiring to detonate liquid explosives aboard at least 10 airliners travelling from the United Kingdom to the United States and Canada.
10 August – British authorities announce that a plot to simultaneously detonate bombs smuggled in hand luggage aboard ten airliners bound for the United States over the Atlantic Ocean has been foiled. Tightened security measures in the United Kingdom and United States and flight cancellations which happen afterwards cause severe chaos at several London airports.
11 August – Hezbollah shoots down an Israeli CH-53 Yas'ur helicopter with an anti-tank missile, killing five aircrew members. Hezbollah claims it attacked the helicopter with a Waad missile.
13 August
The Israeli Air Force shoots down two Hezbollah unmanned aerial vehicles, one of which was carrying at least of explosives.
Air Algérie Flight 2208, a Lockheed L-100-30 Hercules cargo aircraft, suffers an autopilot malfunction that puts it into a very steep and rapid descent over northern Italy. It crashes, killing its entire crew of three.
14 August
The Israeli Air Force claims to have killed the head of Hezbollah's special forces, identified as Sajed Dewayer, in an airstrike. Hezbollah denies the claim. \
A ceasefire brings the 2006 Lebanon War to a close. During the 34-day war, the Israeli Air Force has flown more than 12,000 sorties, and 165 Israelis and more than 1,000 Lebanese have died.
18 August – Lebanese police sources report that Israeli Air Force planes had fired missiles at Baalbek, Lebanon. Lebanese officials later contradict the claim.
19 August – Airlifted by helicopters with two Humvees to a location near Baalbek, Lebanon, Israeli Sayeret Matkal commandos led by Lieutenant Colonel Emmanuel Moreno launch a raid in Lebanons Bekaa Valley to disrupt arms shipments to Hezbollah, attacking a Hezbollah base in the village of Bodei being used for weapons smuggling. Strikes by Israeli Air Force jets and attack helicopters prevent Hezbollah reinforcements from reaching the battle or encircling the commandos, who are eventually extracted after a gunfight with Hezbollah forces in which Moreno dies.
22 August – Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise Flight 612, a Tupolev Tu-154M carrying 160 passengers and 10 crew on a domestic flight from Anapa to Saint Petersburg, Russia, descends sharply from and crashes in eastern Ukraine, killing everyone on board. It would be the deadliest aviation disaster of 2006.
25 August – The first Block 20 RQ-4 Global Hawk is rolled out at Northrop Grummans Plant 42 manufacturing facility in Palmdale, California.
27 August
Comair Flight 5191, a Bombardier CRJ100 ER carrying 47 passengers and three crew members, attempts to take off from Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky, using the wrong runway. The runway is too short, and the aircraft runs off the end of the runway and crashes without becoming airborne. The first officer survives in critical condition; the other 49 people on board die.
The Boeing 737-900ER/9GP is unveiled. Its first operator is Lion Air.
30 August – Steve Fossett and Einar Enevoldson pilot the Windward Performance Perlan sailplane to a new glider absolute world altitude record of 50,727 feet (15,445 meters) over the Patagonia region of Argentina. The record will stand until September 2017.
September
One of five existing Aerocar flying cars is put up for sale for US$3.5 million
1 September – Iran Air Tours Flight 945, a Tupolev Tu-154M, crashes while attempting to land in Mashad, Iran, killing 28 of the 148 people on board.
2 September – The Royal Air Force Hawker Siddeley Nimrod XV230 catches fire in the air during a reconnaissance flight due to a fuel leak that occurs during aerial refueling and crashes in the Panjwaye District of Afghanistan, killing all 14 people on board. It is the United Kingdoms single deadliest military loss since the Falklands War of 1982.
3 September – South Ossetian forces fire at a Georgian Mil Mi-8 (NATO reporting name "Hip") helicopter carrying Georgian Minister of Defense Irakli Okruashvili and the deputy chief of staff of the Georgian armed forces as it flies over the separatist-held territory of South Ossetia. The helicopter is slightly damaged but lands safely in Georgian government-controlled territory.
6 September – Lynx Aviation begins operation as a feeder airline for Frontier Airlines.
7 September – Israel lifts the air blockade of Lebanon it had imposed on 13 July.
8 September – BWIA West Indies Airways announces that it will shut down at the end of the year.
10 September – Swedish aerobatic champion Gabor Varga is killed instantly during the Aero GP race when his Yakovlev Yak-55 collides in mid-air over Marsamxett Harbour off Valletta, Malta, with an Extra EA-200 flown by Irish pilot Eddie Groggins. Groggins survives with minor injuries.
11 September – A Russian Ground Forces Mil Mi-8 helicopter crashes near Vladikavkaz, Russia, killing all 12 people on board, including Lieutenant-General Pavel Yaroslavtsev, deputy chief for army logistics, Lieutenant-General Viktor Guliaev, deputy chief of army medical units, and Major-General Vladimir Sorokin. The Ossetian rebel group Kataib al-Khoul claims to have shot the helicopter down.
15 September – Mexican actor Pablo Santos is killed when he attempts an emergency landing at Toluca International Airport in Toluca, Mexico, after the Piper Malibu he is piloting runs low on fuel and crashes over a mile (1.6 km) short of the runway. One of his passengers is fatally injured and dies the following day, but his other five passengers survive.
19 September – A United States Air Force B-52H Stratofortress makes the first flight of a U.S. Air Force aircraft powered partially by a coal-based fuel, flying over Edwards Air Force Base, California, using a fuel made of a blend of conventional JP-8 jet fuel and Fischer–Tropsch fuel made from coal in two of its engines and JP-8 in its other six engines. The flight begins the final phase of U.S. Air Force test flights to achieve the certification of its B-52 fleet to operate on coal-based fuels.
22 September – Fighter Squadron 213 (VF-213) retires the last Grumman F-14 Tomcat fighter, an F-14D, from United States Navy service. During a U.S. Navy career of over 33 years, the F-14 has served as a long-range fleet air defense fighter, attack aircraft, and reconnaissance aircraft, and scored five air-to-air kills, shooting down four Libyan Air Force fighters and an Iraqi helicopter. The U.S. Navys retirement of the Tomcat means that the F-14 remains in service only with the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force.
29 September – Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907, a Boeing 737-8EH, collides in mid-air with an Embraer Legacy 600 business jet and crashes in Mato Grosso, Brazil. The Embraer Legacy, with seven on board, lands safely with no reported injuries. All 154 people on board the Boeing 737 perish.
October
1 October – The Spanish low-cost airline Clickair begins operations, with a fleet of three Airbus A320 airliners flying five routes from the airline's Barcelona hub.
3 October
Hakan Ekinci hijacks Turkish Airlines Flight 1476, a Boeing 737-400, over Greece, demanding to be flown to Rome, Italy, to speak to Pope Benedict XVI. Greek and Italian F-16 Fighting Falcons escort the plane to a landing in Brindisi, Italy, where Ekinci is arrested. No one is injured in the incident.
An Israeli Air Force fighter penetrates the defense perimeter of the French Navy frigate Courbet in the Mediterranean Sea off Lebanon without answering radio calls, triggering a diplomatic incident.
10 October – Atlantic Airways Flight 670, a BAe 146, slides off the runway at Stord, Norway, killing four of the 16 people on board.
11 October – New York Yankees baseball pitcher Cory Lidle's Cirrus SR20 aircraft stalls during a tight turn and crashes into the 20th story of a 50-story Manhattan residential building in New York City, killing Lidle and his flight instructor.
24 October – Six Israeli Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons fly over a German Navy vessel patrolling in the Mediterranean Sea off Israels coast just south of the Lebanese border as part of a United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) effort to enforce an arms embargo against Hezbollah. The German Defense Ministry says that the planes launched infrared decoy flares and that one of them had fired two shots into the air. The Israeli military says that a German helicopter took off from the vessel without having coordinated its flight with Israel, and denies that its planes fired any shots at the vessel or launched flares over it.
25 October – Oasis Hong Kong Airlines begins service with a departure for London Gatwick Airport scheduled. Due to problems with rights to fly over Russia, the initial flight is delayed to 26 October.
26 October – The left wing of a Swedish Coast Guard CASA C-212 Aviocar detaches in flight due to metal fatigue while the plane is making a low-level pass over the Skanör-Falsterbo Coast Guard Station in Sweden. The C-212 crashes in the Falsterbo Canal, killing all four people on board. The crash prompts the Swedish Coast Guard to ground its two surviving C-212s, which it sells to Uruguay.
28 October – Continental Airlines Flight 1883, a Boeing 757-224 with 154 people on board, mistakenly lands on a taxiway instead of a runway at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, United States. It rolls to a stop without incident.
29 October – ADC Airlines Flight 53, a Boeing 737-2B7, crashes just after takeoff from Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, Nigeria, killing 96 of the 105 people on board and injuring all nine survivors. One person on the ground also dies.
30 October – An airstrike kills 70 to 80 people in Chenagai, Pakistan. Eyewitnesses claim that American unmanned aerial vehicles conducted the strikes, with three Pakistani Army helicopter gunships arriving later to fire rockets into neighboring hillsides. The United States denies involvement and Pakistan claims that it conducted the airstrike, but Pakistan later denies involvement, saying it was an American strike and that Pakistan had only claimed involvement to cover for the United States.
31 October – The Cypriot airline Ajet, formerly known as Helios Airways, ceases operations.
November
1 November – The airline Emirates cancels its order for 10 Airbus A340-600HGW aircraft.
3 November – Qantas announces an order for eight more Airbus A380s and an order for four Airbus A330-200s.
7 November
The Royal Australian Air Forces first C-17 Globemaster III makes its maiden flight.
FedEx announces the first cancellation of an order for the Airbus A380. Instead, it orders 15 Boeing 777 Freighters.
14 November – EasyJet announces an order for 52 Airbus A319s.
20 November – Six Muslim imams are removed from USAirways Flight 300 at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in Hennepin County, Minnesota, after crew members and other passengers aboard the plane become alarmed by what they claim is suspicious behavior by the imams. After the imams seek damages, USAirways will settle with them out of court in 2009.
26 November – United Airlines Flight 814, a Boeing 737, returns safely to Denver International Airport in Denver, Colorado, after striking a coyote on takeoff.
December
1 December
Hong Kong-based CR Airways changes its name to Hong Kong Airlines.
Air Berlin orders 60 Boeing 737s, with their delivery scheduled for November 2007.
The United States Air Force inactivates the Sixteenth Air Force, simultaneously reconstituting it as the 16th Air Expeditionary Task Force.
5 December – Lufthansa becomes the first airline to order the Boeing 747-8. It orders 20 of the planes, with options for an additional 20.
8 December – A National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) F/A-18 Hornet modified with Active Aeroelastic Wing (AAW) Technology is designated the X-53.
10 December – A Bell 412SP medevac helicopter crashes in mountainous terrain near Hesperia, California, killing all three people – the pilot and two medical crew members – on board. A fire resulting from the crash burns two acres (8,100 square meters) of the mountainside.
19 December – A United States Air Force B-52H Stratofortress makes the first flight of a U.S. Air Force aircraft powered entirely by a coal-based fuel, flying over Edwards Air Force Base, California, using a fuel made by Syntroleum of a blend of conventional JP-8 jet fuel and Fischer–Tropsch fuel made from coal in all eight of its engines.
27 December – A Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin crashes approximately 24 miles from the shoreline of Morecambe Bay, Lancashire, England, while transporting gas platform crews. Six of the seven people aboard die, with the seventh missing and never recovered.
29 December – FlyersRights.org is founded as an American not-for-profit organization that supports legislation protecting the rights of airline passengers, improving visibility in the reporting of flight delays by commercial airlines, and increasing the distance between rows of airline seats.
30 December – A U.S. Air Force Boeing VC-25A transports the body of former U.S. President Gerald R. Ford from Palm Springs International Airport in Palm Springs, California, to Washington, D.C., for memorial services.
31 December – BWIA West Indies Airways shuts down after 66 years of operations. It is replaced by a new entity, Caribbean Airlines, the next day.
First flights
January
7 January - Spectrum S-33 Independence
31 January – Lockheed Martin P-791
April
7 April – First free-flight of Boeing X-37
June
8 June – Bell 417
19 June – Lockheed C-5M Super Galaxy
23 June – Cessna NGP
August
9 August – BAE Skylynx II UAV
15 August – EA-18 Growler First production aircraft
September
5 September – Boeing 737-900ER.
12 September – Boeing 747 Large Cargo Freighter.
October
13 October – Cessna 162 Skycatcher concept aircraft N158CS
23 October – Production CH-47F Chinook
December
15 December – Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II
Entered service
February – Boeing 777-200LR Worldliner with PIA
Retirements
22 September – Grumman F-14 Tomcat from United States Navy service by Fighter Squadron (VF-213)
References
Aviation by year | en |
doc-en-15017 | Norma () is a tragedia lirica or opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini with libretto by Felice Romani after the play Norma, ou L'infanticide (Norma, or The Infanticide) by Alexandre Soumet. It was first produced at La Scala in Milan on 26 December 1831.
The opera is regarded as a leading example of the bel canto genre, and the soprano prayer "Casta diva" in act 1 is a famous piece. Probably the most important Norma of the first half of the 20th century was Rosa Ponselle who triumphed in the role both in New York and in London. Notable exponents of the title role in the post-war period have been Maria Callas, Leyla Gencer, Joan Sutherland, Montserrat Caballé.
Composition history
Crivelli and Company were managing both La Scala and La Fenice in Venice, and as a result, in April–May 1830 Bellini was able to negotiate a contract with them for two operas, one at each theatre. The opera for December 1831 at La Scala became Norma, while the one for the 1832 Carnival season at La Fenice became Beatrice di Tenda.
With Bellini's La sonnambula successfully staged in March 1831 and Giuditta Pasta having demonstrated her extensive vocal and dramatic ranges in creating the role of Amina, the Swiss village maiden, she had been engaged by La Scala for her debut during the following season. Bellini and Romani then began to consider the subject of the coming autumn's opera. By the summer, they had decided to base it on Alexandre Soumet's play which was being performed in Paris at around that time and which Pasta would have seen.
For the forthcoming autumn/winter season, La Scala had engaged Giulia Grisi (the sister of Giuditta Grisi) and the well-known tenor Domenico Donzelli, who had made a name for himself with Rossini roles, especially that of Otello. They would fill the roles of Adalgisa and Pollione. Donzelli provided Bellini with precise details of his vocal capabilities which were confirmed by a report which the Neapolitan composer Saverio Mercadante also provided. By the end of August it appears that Romani had completed a considerable amount of the libretto, enough at least to allow Bellini to begin work, which he certainly did in the first weeks of September as the verses were supplied. He reported in a letter to Pasta on 1 September:
I hope that you will find this subject to your liking. Romani believes it to be very effective, and precisely because of the all-inclusive character for you, which is that of Norma. He will manipulate the situations so that they will not resemble other subjects at all, and he will retouch, even change, the characters to produce more effect, if need be.
Norma was completed by about the end of November. While, for Romani, it became "the most beautiful rose in the garland" of all his work with Bellini, it was not achieved without some struggles. Bellini, now at the height of his powers, was very demanding of his librettist and required many re-writes before he was satisfied enough to set it to music.
Performance history
Premiere performances
After rehearsals began on 5 December, Pasta balked at singing the "Casta diva" in act 1, now one of the most famous arias of the nineteenth century. She felt that it was "ill adapted to her vocal abilities", but Bellini was able to persuade her to keep trying for a week, after which she adapted to it and confessed her earlier error. At the opening night, the opera was received with what Weinstock describes as "chill indifference". To his friend Francesco Florimo, on the night of the premiere, Bellini wrote "Fiasco! Fiasco! Solemn fiasco!" and proceeded to tell him of the indifference of the audience and how it affected him.
In addition, in a letter to his uncle on 28 December, Bellini tried to explain the reasons for the reactions. As other commentators have also noted, some problems were innate to the structure and content of the opera, while others were external to it. Bellini discusses the tiredness of the singers (after rehearsing the entire second act on the day of the premiere) as well as noting how certain numbers failed to please—and failed to please the composer as well! But then he explains that most of the second act was very effective. It appears from the letter that the second evening's performance was more successful and Weinstock reports it was from this performance forward that it "was recognised as a successful and important opera" with 208 performances given at La Scala alone by the end of the 19th century.
Among the external reasons, Bellini cited the adverse reaction caused by "hostile factions in the audience" consisting of both the owner of a journal (and his claque) and also of "a very rich woman", who is identified by Weinstock as Contessa Giulia Samoyloff, the mistress of the composer Giovanni Pacini. On Bellini's part, there had long been a feeling of rivalry with Pacini ever since the failure of his own Zaira in Parma and his return to Milan in June 1829. With no firm contract for a new opera for Bellini, Pacini's success with his Il Talismano at La Scala—where it received 16 performances—fueled this rivalry, at least in Bellini's head. It was only when he staged a triumphant revival of his own with Il pirata with the original cast that he felt vindicated. Pirata received 24 consecutive performances between 16 July and 23 August 1829, thus outnumbering those for Pacini's opera. However, Bellini also noted that on the second performance evening of Norma, the theatre was full.
In all, Norma was given 34 performances in its first season at La Scala, and reports from elsewhere, especially those from Bergamo, when it was staged in late 1832, suggested that it was becoming more and more popular. Between 1831 and 1850 Weinstock provides details of the dozens of performances given in numerous cities outside of Italy, and then he gives details of those beyond.
Bellini left Milan for Naples, and then Sicily, on 5 January 1832 and, for the first time since 1827, 1832 became a year in which he did not write an opera. Norma quickly "[conquered] the whole of Europe in the space of a few years".
Later revivals
Richard Wagner conducted Norma at Riga in 1837. Following the common nineteenth-century practice of adding interpolated arias, he wrote an aria for the bass and men's chorus for this production. However, that aria has not entered the general repertoire. Wagner wrote at the time that Norma was "indisputably Bellini's most successful composition". "In this opera, Bellini has undoubtedly risen to the greatest heights of his talent. In these days of romantic extravaganzas and the hyper-excitement of the so-called musical attractions he presents a phenomenon which can hardly be overrated. The action, free from all theatrical coups and dazzling effects, reminds one instinctively of a Greek tragedy. Perhaps the views expressed by Schiller in his 'Bride of Messina' to the effect that he had hopes for the full revival of the tragedy of the ancients upon our stage, in the form of the opera, will receive new justification in this Norma! Let anyone name me a spiritual painting of its kind, more fully carried out, than that of this wild Gaelic prophetess...Every emotional moment stands out plastically; nothing has been vaguely swept together..."
Wagner also praised Romani's libretto:
Here, where the poem rises to the tragic height of the ancient Greeks, this kind of form, which Bellini has certainly ennobled, serves only to increase the solemn and imposing character of the whole; all the phases of passion, which are rendered in so peculiarly clear a light by his art of song, are thereby made to rest upon a majestic soil and ground, above which they do not vaguely flutter about, but resolve themselves into a grand and manifest picture, which involuntarily calls to mind the creations of Gluck and Spontini.
The opera was given its British premiere in London on 20 June 1833 and its US premiere at the St. Charles Theatre in New Orleans on 1 April 1836. In the late 1840s and during the Risorgimento era, some of the music was used in demonstrations of nationalistic fervour, one such example being the 1848 celebration of the liberation of Sicily from the rule of the Bourbons held in the cathedral in Palermo. There, the "Guerra, guerra" (War, war!) chorus from act 2 was sung. Norma received its first performance at the Metropolitan Opera in New York on 27 February 1890 with Lilli Lehmann singing the title role in German.
Modern times
The Metropolitan Opera revived Norma in 1927 (the first performance of the opera there since 1892) with Rosa Ponselle in the title role.
During the later 20th century, with the bel canto revival, the most prolific Norma was the Greek-American soprano Maria Callas, who gave 89 stage performances (several of which exist on live recordings as well as two on studio versions made in 1954 and 1960). Callas's first appearances in the role began at the Teatro Comunale di Firenze in November/December 1948 followed by the second at the Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires in June 1949, both of which were conducted by Tullio Serafin. The following year, she appeared in the role at La Fenice in Venice in January 1950, this time under Antonino Votto, and in Mexico in May 1950 conducted by Guido Picco. In London in 1952, Callas sang Norma at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in November (where the role of Clotilde was sung by Joan Sutherland); she made her American debut singing the role at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in November 1954 under Nicola Rescigno; and then she appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in New York under Fausto Cleva in October/November 1956. In 1960, she performed Norma in the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus in Greece with the collaboration of the Greek National Opera.
Singers in the title role
The title role—"one of the most taxing and wide-ranging parts in the entire repertory"—is one of the most difficult in the soprano repertoire. It calls for great vocal control of range, flexibility, and dynamics as well as containing a wide range of emotions: conflict of personal and public life, romantic life, maternal love, friendship, jealousy, murderous intent, and resignation. The German soprano Lilli Lehmann once remarked that the singing of all three Brünnhilde roles of Wagner's opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen in one evening would be less stressful than the singing of one Norma. She also commented "When you sing Wagner, you are so carried away by the dramatic emotion, the action, and the scene that you do not have to think how to sing the words. That comes of itself. But in Bellini, you must always have a care for beauty of tone and correct emission." According to the Met Opera Archives, Lehmann said this to Herald Tribune critic Henry Krehbiel.
Throughout the 20th century, many singers have tackled the role of Norma. In the early 1920s, it was Rosa Raisa, Claudia Muzio, and Rosa Ponselle who were each admired. Maria Callas emerged as a major force in the role in the post-World War II period. She made two studio recordings of the opera for EMI/HMV, and several broadcasts of her live performances have been preserved from the early 1950s through her final performances of the role in Paris in 1964.
In the 1960s, two very different performers sang the role: the Australian Dame Joan Sutherland and the Turkish Leyla Gencer. Following Sutherland's 1964 debut as Norma, Luciano Pavarotti called her "the greatest female voice of all time."
The Dutch coloratura Cristina Deutekom tackled the role in 1970. Throughout the decade, four other bel canto specialists debuted their Normas: Radmila Bakočević, Montserrat Caballé, Beverly Sills, and Renata Scotto. Also singing Norma during this period were Grace Bumbry and Shirley Verrett, the American divas who began as mezzo-sopranos and eventually started singing soprano repertoire.
During the 1980s and 1990s, the role of Norma was performed by such diverse singers as Katia Ricciarelli, Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Marisa Galvany, Dame Gwyneth Jones, and Jane Eaglen. Other Normas include Hasmik Papian, Fiorenza Cedolins, Galina Gorchakova, Maria Guleghina, Nelly Miricioiu, June Anderson, Edita Gruberová and Carmela Remigio (who performs more frequently the role of Adalgisa).
In 2008, Daniela Dessì performed as Norma at Teatro Comunale di Bologna. In 2010 (in Dortmund) and 2013 (at the Salzburg Festival) the role was taken by mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli: this version was also recorded with coloratura soprano Sumi Jo as Adalgisa. In 2011, Sondra Radvanovsky also added the role to her repertory, one to which she returned in the autumn 2014 at the San Francisco Opera and in the autumn of 2017 at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. On 13 April 2013, the Italian bel canto soprano, Mariella Devia, after a career of 40 years and one day after turning 65, successfully made her debut as Norma at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna.Angela Meade has played the role often, including in 2013 and 2017 at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
Roles
Summary
The action takes place in Gaul under the Roman occupation, and is centered on the love triangle between Pollione, the Roman proconsul of Gaul, Norma, his former companion, and the young Adalgisa. The background is the uprising of the Gallic people against the Roman occupiers, led by the Druid Oroveso.
Norma, the high priestess of the Druid temple, who had two children by Pollione, the Roman proconsul of Gaul, breaking her Druid chastity vows, discovers that her lover is now in love with her friend, the young Druid priestess Adalgisa. Norma tries to convince Pollione to give up Adalgisa and return to her, but he refuses. Norma publicly confesses her fault and is sentenced to death by fire. Pollione is convicted for pursuing Adalgisa in the temple and goes to the stake with Norma.
Synopsis
Place: Gaul
Time: c. 100-50 BC (Roman occupation)
Act 1
Sinfonia
Scene 1: The grove of the druids
Oroveso leads the druids in a procession in the forest to pray for victory against the invading Romans: (Oroveso and druids: "Ite sul colle, o Druidi" / "Go up on the hill, O druids"). The druids pray that Norma will come and have the courage to broker peace with the Romans: (Druids and Oroveso: "Dell'aura tua profetica" / "With thy prophetic aura, imbue her, O terrible God".) All leave to go to the temple.
Pollione and Flavio enter. Although Norma has secretly broken her vows in order to love him and has borne him two children, Pollione tells Flavio that he no longer loves Norma, having fallen in love with the priestess Adalgisa. But he expresses some remorse, describing his dream in which Adalgisa was beside him at the altar of Venus and a huge storm arose: (Pollione, aria: "Meco all'altar di Venere" / "With me at the altar in Rome was Adalgisa dressed in white, veiled all in white.") The storm presaged disaster for both Norma and himself: "Thus does Norma punish her faithless lover," he declares. They hear the trumpets sounding to announce Norma's arrival. Flavio urges his friend to leave, but Pollione stands firm, proclaiming that he will confront Norma and the druids with a superior power and overthrow their altars: (Cabaletta: "Me protegge, me difende" / "I am protected and defended")
As Norma leads the druids and priestesses, the crowd proclaims: "Norma viene" / "Norma is coming" and, as Oroveso awaits her, they describe her dress and manner. All kneel as she approaches. "The time is not ripe for our revenge", she declares, stating that Rome will perish one day by being worn down. Then, with the mistletoe in hand, she approaches the altar with a plea to the moon (the "Chaste Goddess"): (cavatina: "Casta diva" / "Chaste goddess"). She pleads that the goddess shed upon earth the peace that she has created in heaven. She calls for all to complete the rites and then clear the uninitiated from the grove. To herself, she declares that she cannot hurt Pollione, but desires that things return to where they used to be: (Cabaletta: "Ah! bello a me ritorna" / "Return to me, O beautiful one"). The assembled crowd accepts her cautious approach, and all leave the grove.
Later that night: The Temple of Irminsul in the grove
Adalgisa prays at the temple, remembering with some sorrow how she became involved with Pollione. He enters, telling her that she prays to a cruel god and is not trying to invoke the god of love. As she appears to reject him, he declares (Aria: "Va crudele" /"Go, O cruel one") but he is convinced that he cannot leave her. He is distraught, and she doesn't show she is equally torn, until the moment he declares that he must return to Rome the following day. He begs Adalgisa to go with him: (Duet: Pollione, then Adalgisa, then together: "Vieni in Roma" / "Come to Rome"). She resists him, but finally agrees that they will leave together the following day.
Scene 2: Norma's dwelling
Norma appears to be upset and orders her maid, Clotilde, to take the two children away from her, expressing very ambivalent feelings about them. She tells Clotilde that Pollione has been recalled to Rome, but does not know if he will take her or how he feels about leaving his children. As Adalgisa approaches, the children are taken away.
Adalgisa tells Norma she has fallen in love with a Roman, whom she does not name. As she describes how she fell in love while waiting at the temple and seeing "his handsome face" appear, Norma recalls (as an aside) her own feelings for Pollione ("my passions, too, burned like this"), and more and more, their experiences of falling in love run parallel: (Norma and Adalgisa, duet: "Sola, furtiva al tempio" / "Often I would wait for him"). Adalgisa pleads for help and forgiveness, and Norma pledges that she will do that and will also free her from her vows as a priestess: (Norma: "Ah! sì, fa core, abbracciami" / "Yes, take heart, embrace me". Adalgisa: "Ripeti, o ciel, ripetimi" / "Say that again, heavens, say again")
Norma asks Adalgisa to describe the man whom she loves. Responding, she tells her that he is a Roman, and, at that moment, turns to indicate that it is Pollione who is just then entering the room. As Norma furiously turns to confront Pollione, Adalgisa is confused: Norma: "Oh! non tremare, o perfido" / "O faithless man, do not tremble".
Forcing the priestess to realise that she is the victim of a huge deception, Norma addresses Adalgisa. (Trio: each sings in succession, beginning with Norma: "Oh! di qual sei tu vittima" / "Oh, you are the victim"; then Adalgisa: "Oh! qual traspare orribile" / "What horror has been revealed"; then the two women together, followed by Pollione alone: "Norma! de' tuoi rimproveri" / "Norma, do not reproach me now", continuing with "Please give this wretched girl some respite"; after which all three repeat their words, singing at first individually, then together.)
There are angry exchanges among the three: Norma declaring Pollione to be a traitor, he trying to persuade Adalgisa to leave with him, and Adalgisa angrily telling him to go away. When he declares that it is his fate to leave Norma, she encourages the young priestess to go with him, but Adalgisa declares that she would rather die. Norma then demands that her lover go, leaving behind his children — and his honor. (Finale: brief duet, Adalgisa and Pollione: he declares his love, and she her desire for Norma not to be a source of guilt to her. Trio: Norma continues to rage at Pollione, Adalgisa repeats her desire to make him return to Norma, and Pollione curses the day when he met Norma.) Then the sound of the druids calling Norma to the temple is heard. They report that the angry god, Irminsul, has spoken. Pollione storms out.
Act 2
Orchestral introduction
Scene 1: Norma's dwelling
Norma looks at both of her sons, who are asleep. She considers killing them. Advancing towards them with knife upraised, she hesitates. (Recitative: "Dormono entrambi ... non vedran la mano che li percuote" / "They are both asleep ... they shall not see the hand which strikes them.") But she cannot bring herself to do it: (Aria: "Teneri, teneri figli" / "My dear, dear sons") The children wake up and she calls for Clotilde, demanding that Adalgisa be brought to her.
The young priestess enters, concerned at how pale Norma looks. Norma makes her swear to do everything she asks and, upon her agreement, tells her that she is entrusting the two children to her care and states that they should be taken to the Roman camp to their father Pollione, a man who she hopes will make a better lover for Adalgisa than he was for her. Adalgisa is aghast. Norma: "I beg you for his children's sake." (Duet, first Norma: "Deh! con te, con te li prendi" / "Please, take them with you") Adalgisa tells her that she will never leave Gaul and only agreed to the request in order to do what was good for Norma. (Duet, Adalgisa: "Vado al campo"/"I'll go to the camp") In the duet, Adalgisa agrees to go to the Roman camp and tell Pollione of Norma's grief; her hope is to persuade him to return to Norma. She then renounces Pollione: (Duet: "Mira, o Norma" / "Look, o Norma") They sing together, each expressing her own thoughts and feelings until Norma realizes that Adalgisa will give up Pollione and remain with her: (Cabaletta; Duet, Norma and Adalgisa: "Si fino all'ore estreme" / "Until the last hour")
Scene 2: The grove
The druid warriors gather and prepare themselves to attack the Romans. Oroveso enters with news from the gods: the time has not arrived to strike. Somewhat frustrated, the soldiers accept the decision.
Scene 3: The temple of Irminsul
Norma enters. (Aria: "Ei tornerà" / "He will come back") Then Clotilde arrives with news that Adalgisa has failed to persuade Pollione to return. Although Norma questions whether she should have trusted her, she then learns from her servant that Adalgisa is returning and wishes to take her vows at the altar and that the Roman has sworn to abduct her from the temple. In anger, Norma strikes a gong-like shield as a summons to war. Trumpets sound and Oroveso and the druids all rush in, demanding to know what is happening. They hear Norma's answer and the soldiers take up the refrain: "Guerra, guerra!" / "War, war!", while Norma proclaims "Blood, blood! Revenge!"
In order for Norma to complete the rites to authorise going to war, Oroveso demands to know who will be the sacrificial victim. At that moment, Clotilde rushes in to announce that a Roman has desecrated the temple, but that he has been apprehended. It is Pollione who is led in, and Norma is urged to take the sacrificial knife to stab him but, approaching him, she is unable to perform the deed. The assembled crowd demands to know why, but she dismisses them, stating that she needs to question her victim.
The crowd departs: (Duet, Norma and Pollione: "In mia man alfin tu sei" / "At last you are in my hands"). Norma demands that he forever shun Adalgisa; only then will she release him and never see him again. He refuses, and she vents her anger by telling him that she will then kill her children. "Strike me instead", he demands, "so that only I alone will die", but she quickly asserts that not only will all the Romans die, but so will Adalgisa, who has broken her vows as a priestess. This prompts him to plead for her life. (Cabaletta: Norma and Pollione: "Già mi pasco ne' tuoi sguardi" / "Already I take pleasure in the looks you give me".) When Pollione demands the knife, she calls the priests to assemble. Norma announces that it would be better to sacrifice a priestess who has broken her vows, and orders the pyre to be lit. Oroveso demands to know who is to be sacrificed while Pollione begs that she stays silent. Norma then wonders if she is not in fact the guilty one, then reveals that it is she who is to be the victim: a high priestess who has broken her vows, has become involved with the enemy, and has borne his children. (Aria, Norma to Pollione: "Qual cor tradisti" / "The heart you betrayed"; Duet: Norma and Pollione; ensemble, Norma, Oroveso, Pollione, druids, priests: each expresses his/her sorrow, anger, pleas to Norma, with Oroveso learning for the first time that Norma is a mother.)
In the concerted finale, Norma pleads with Oroveso to spare her children, reminding her father that they are of his own blood. ("Deh! non volerli vittime" / "Please don't make them victims"). After he promises to take care of them, she prepares to leap into the flames, and the re-enamoured Pollione joins her, declaring "your pyre is mine as well. There, a holier and everlasting love will begin".
Music
It was Giuseppe Verdi who—late in his life—made some perceptive comments in a letter of May 1898 to , who had recently published a book on Bellini. In the letter, Verdi states:
Bellini is poor, it is true, in harmony and instrumentation; but rich in feeling and in an individual melancholy of his own! Even in the least well-known of his operas, in La straniera, in Il pirata, there are long, long, long melodies such as no-one before him had produced. And what truth and power of declamation, as for example in the duet between Pollione and Norma! [See act 2, scene 3 above. Norma: "In mia man alfin tu sei" / "At last you are in my hands"] And what elation of thought in the first phrase of the introduction [to the duet] ... no-one ever has created another more beautiful and heavenly.
Commenting on the overall quality of the music in Norma, David Kimbell states that "Bellini's most astonishing achievement in Norma is, amid all the more obvious excitements of musical Romanticism, to have asserted his belief that the true magic of opera depended on a kind of incantation in which dramatic poetry and song are perfectly fused." Additionally, Kimbell provides examples of how the composer's art is revealed in this opera, but also noting that the ability to achieve a "fusion of music and dramatic meaning is to be found elsewhere in Bellini's work".
Schopenhauer's praise
Schopenhauer claimed that tragedy causes the spectator to lose the will to live. "The horrors on the stage hold up to him the bitterness and worthlessness of life, and so the vanity of all its efforts and endeavors. The effect of this impression must be that he becomes aware, although only in an obscure feeling, that it is better to tear his heart away from life, to turn his willing away from it, not to love the world and life." He praised Norma for its artistic excellence in producing this effect. "…[T]he genuinely tragic effect of the catastrophe, the hero's resignation and spiritual exaltation produced by it, seldom appear so purely motivated and distinctly expressed as in the opera Norma, where it comes in the duet "Qual cor tradisti, qual cor perdesti" [What a heart you betrayed, what a heart you lost]. Here the conversion of the will is clearly indicated by the quietness suddenly introduced into the music. Quite apart from its excellent music, and from the diction that can only be that of a libretto, and considered only according to its motives and to its interior economy, this piece is in general a tragedy of extreme perfection, a true model of the tragic disposition of the motives, of the tragic progress of the action, and of tragic development, together with the effect of these on the frame of mind of the heroes, which surmounts the world. This effect then passes on to the spectator."
Ibsen parody
Norma, or A Politician's Love (Norwegian: Norma eller En Politikers Kjærlighed) is an eight-page drama written as an opera parody by Henrik Ibsen. It is influenced by Bellini's Norma, which Ibsen saw in 1851, but the characters are contemporary politicians. The play was first printed anonymously in the satirical magazine Andhrimner in 1851. The first book edition came in 1909, and the first performance of the play was at a student theatre in Trondheim 1994.
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Writer Marion Zimmer Bradley acknowledged that the plot of her 1993 historical novel/fantasy book The Forest House was based on that of Norma – relocated from Gaul to Britain, but sharing the basic plot outline of a love affair between a druidic priestess and a Roman officer. Bradley further stated that, in homage to Bellini, the hymns in chapter five and twenty-two of her book are adapted from the libretto of the opera's act 1, scene 1, and those in chapter thirty from act 2, scene 2.
Recordings
See also
555 Norma, an asteroid named after the opera
References
Notes
Cited sources
Further reading
Casa Ricordi (pub.), "Vincenzo Bellini": Outline of his life (in English) and list of critical editions of his works published by Ricordi on ricordi.it. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
Galatopoulos, Stelios (2002), Bellini: Life, Times, Music: 1801–1835. London, Sanctuary Publishing.
Lippmann, Friedrich; McGuire, Simon (1998), "Bellini, Vincenzo", in Stanley Sadie, (ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, vol. 1, pp. 389–397. London: Macmillan.
Osborne, Charles (1994), The Bel Canto Operas of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini, Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press.
Orrey, Leslie (1973), Bellini (The Master Musicians Series), London: J. M. Dent.
Rosselli, John (1996), The Life of Bellini, New York: Cambridge University Press.
Thiellay, Jean; Thiellay, Jean-Philippe, Bellini, Paris: Actes Sud, 2013,
Willier, Stephen Ace, Vincenzo Bellini: A Guide to Research. Routledge, 2002.
External links
Libretto (in Italian) on opera.stanford.edu
Libretto & details, incl. pages from original score (www.librettidopera.it)
Norma at the Opera Company of Philadelphia
Norma at the Detroit Opera House
Further Norma discography
online opera guide on Norma'
1831 operas
Fiction set in Roman Gaul
Infanticide
Italian-language operas
Opera world premieres at La Scala
Operas based on plays
Operas by Vincenzo Bellini
Operas set in France
Operas
Libretti by Felice Romani | en |
doc-en-1201 | The following events occurred in November 1912:
Friday, November 1, 1912
General Mario García Menocal, the nominee of Cuba's Conservative Party, was elected President of Cuba, defeating Vice-president Alfredo Zayas.<ref name=Britannica>The Britannica Year-Book 1913: A Survey of the World's Progress Since the Completion in 1910 of the Encyclopædia Britannica (Encyclopædia Britannica, 1913) pp. xxxix - xli</ref>
The Bulgarian Army occupied Demotika, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace.
Pope Pius X sent a letter to Portuguese Roman Catholic clergy condemning Portugal's Law of Separation of the State and the Church (Lei da Separação do Estado das Igrejas) and censured those clergy who had accepted stipends under the law.
The Germany to Russia Gordon Bennett Cup hot air balloon race, from Stuttgart to Moscow, was won by the French team of Maurice Bienaimé and René Rumpelmayer.
In Warsaw, then part of the Russian Empire Lieutenant Dahm of the Imperial German Army was sentenced to five years hard labor for espionage.
A federal grand jury in Omaha, Nebraska, indicted five railroads for illegal rebate policies in violation of the Elkins Act.
The last of the cattle from the XIT Ranch, once one of the largest in the Texas Panhandle at 150,000 head, were sold off at auction.
Born: Gunther Plaut, German-Canadian rabbi and author, eighth president of the Canadian Jewish Congress, contributor to the Canadian Jewish News, recipient of the Order of Canada, in Münster, Germany (d. 2012)
Died: Homer Lea, American writer, advisor to Sun Yat-sen during the 1911 Revolution (b. 1876)
Saturday, November 2, 1912
The Ottoman Army retreated to Çatalca, Turkey, ending the Battle of Lule Burgas at a cost of 22,000 killed or wounded for the Ottoman Empire.
King Peter of Serbia entered Uskub (now Skopje) after it was captured from the Ottoman Empire during the First Balkan War.
Former Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II was taken to Constantinople from Salonika.
Royal Navy battleships and destroyers were ordered to Turkish waters.
Adolfo Díaz, who had been named President of Nicaragua by the National Assembly in October 1911, was elected by popular vote, without opposition.
Three days before the presidential election, candidate Woodrow Wilson sustained a head injury when his limousine struck a hole in the street and threw him against the car's ceiling. The accident took place in Hightstown, New Jersey, at the intersection of Main Street and Monmouth Street, and although the impact was hard enough that his glasses were broken, no stitches were required to close the wound.
Ottoman Army troops rallied at Tcherkesskeui in the Marmara Region.
An explosion on the battleship USS Vermont near Norfolk, Virginia, killed two men and seriously injured another four people.
The first airplane flights in Japan by Imperial Japanese Navy personnel were made by two officers at Yokosuka Naval Air Technical Arsenal using Farman and Curtiss seaplanes.
Sunday, November 3, 1912
At Urga, Mongolia, the Russian Empire concluded a treaty with the country. The Russian Minister to China, Ivan Korostovets negotiated a pact with Mongolia's Foreign Minister, Mijiddorjin Khanddorj. In return for Russia's recognition of "Outer Mongolia" as an autonomous state to be protected from China, the Mongolian government would give Russia "most favored nation" status for trade and mining and timber rights.
The Turkish government appealed to the Great Powers (France, Germany, and the United Kingdom) to intervene in the Balkan Wars, a claim which was rejected the next day by France.
The Greek Army captured Preveza, Epirus.
Louth beat Antrim 1–7 to 1–2 in the final for the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in front of a crowd of 13,000 spectators at Jones Road in Dublin.
Born:
Alfredo Stroessner, Paraguayan state leader, 42nd President of Paraguay, in Encarnación, Paraguay (d. 2006)
Marie-Claude Vaillant-Couturier, French partisan fighter, member of the French Resistance during World War II, recipient of the Legion of Honour, in Paris (d. 1996)
Monday, November 4, 1912
The British House of Commons rejected, by a vote of 265–162, a proposed amendment to the Home Rule Bill that would have set up proportional representation for an Irish legislature.
The Greek Army captured Yenidje, Central Macedonia.
French Astronomer Alphonse Borrelly discovered a new comet while observing at Marseille.
The keel was laid for USS Nevada at Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts.
A rail line of in length opened between Zeerust and Ottoshoop in Transvaal, South Africa.
Born: Vadim Salmanov, Soviet composer, known for his collaborations with conductor Yevgeny Mravinsky, in Saint Petersburg (d. 1978)
Tuesday, November 5, 1912
Woodrow Wilson was elected President of the United States, with former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt and incumbent U.S. President William Howard Taft finishing in second and third place, respectively."WILSON WINS— He Gets 409 Electoral Votes; Roosevelt, 107, and Taft, 15", New York Times, November 6, 1912, p. 1 Several state elections were also held with the following results:
Democrat Park Trammell was elected to state governor of Florida.
Democrat Edward Fitzsimmons Dunne defeated Republican incumbent Charles S. Deneen for governorship of Illinois.
Democrat Woodbridge Nathan Ferris was elected governor of Michigan.
Republican Adolph Olson Eberhart was elected governor of Minnesota.
Democrat Elliot Woolfolk Major defeated Republican candidate John C. McKinley for state governor of Missouri.
Democrat incumbent Coleman Livingston Blease was re-elected state governor of South Carolina.
Republican Frank M. Byrne defeated Democrat Edwin S. Johnson for state governor of South Dakota.
Republican Henry D. Hatfield was elected governor of West Virginia.
Arizona, Kansas, Michigan and Oregon became the latest states to approve women's suffrage in state and local elections, but Wisconsin's men rejected the right of women to vote.
In the Battle of Monastir, Serbian forces under the command of General Radomir Putnik army inflicted heavy casualties on Turkish forces, with the Turks losing more than half of their battle force, having 25,000 killed and wounded, and 2,000 taken prisoner."Fall of Monastir Reported", New York Times, November 7, 1912
The Greek Army captured Prilep, Macedonia.
Wheeler County, Georgia, was created from the western section of Montgomery County by approval of voters for an amendment to the state constitution. On November 14, the town of Alamo would become the county seat.
Wednesday, November 6, 1912
Turkish Grand Vizier Kâmil Pasha summoned the Council of Ministers and Generals for a meeting at Istanbul to decide whether to continue the war with the Balkan League or seek peace. The Council elected to continue the war.
Ottoman forces defeated Greek forces near what is now Amyntaio, Greece.
Born:
George Cakobau, Fijian state leader, second Governor-General of Fiji (d. 1989)
Vashti McCollum, American activist, advocated for separation of church and state as plaintiff in McCollum v. Board of Education, which struck down religious instruction in American public schools, in Lyons, New York (d. 2006)
Thursday, November 7, 1912
Jack Johnson, the reigning world heavyweight boxing champion and controversial African-American athlete, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Chicago for violation of the Mann Act. Belle Schreiber, a white prostitute, testified that Johnson had arranged for her railroad trip from Chicago to Pittsburgh for immoral purposes. Johnson was convicted six months later, and fled to France. He eventually served a one-year sentence in 1920 at the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas.
The largest French battleship, France, was launched from the shipyard at Saint-Nazaire, France.
The silent film drama The Honor of the Family was released by the Rex Motion Picture Company. The film was supposedly the film debut of Lon Chaney, but could not be confirmed as the film and production and casting notes have been lost.
The Manx English play The Charm by Christopher R. Shimmin was first performed by The Peel Players on the Isle of Wight.
Ernest Riebe's cartoon Mr. Block made its debut in The Industrial Worker.
Born: Henry Evans, New Zealand geologist, known for discovering major bauxite in Weipa, Australia, in Greymouth, New Zealand (d. 1990)
Friday, November 8, 1912
The Greek Army reached the Aegean Sea port city of Salonika (in Turkish, Selanik) hours ahead of the Bulgarian Army, and, at 8:00 pm local time, arranged terms of surrender of the city by Ottoman Empire forces without firing a shot. Although Salonika was prepared for an attack from the sea, it had no fortification to defend against an assault from the surrounding land. Both Bulgaria and Greece had historical claims to the port city, which had been Thessalonica in ancient Greece, and Solun in the Bulgarian Empire in medieval times; "the Bulgarians were outraged at having been deprived of their prize", which would have given Bulgaria a port on the Aegean and access to the Mediterranean Sea, and the loss of Salonika would lead to the Second Balkan War, with Bulgaria fighting Greece and Serbia.
Born: June Havoc, Canadian-American film and television actress, known for film roles including Gentleman's Agreement, daughter to Rose Thompson Hovick and sister to Gypsy Rose Lee, as Ellen Evangeline Hovick, in Vancouver (d. 2010)
Saturday, November 9, 1912
A rail line of in length opened between Newington and Tzaneen in Transvaal, South Africa.
Led by Jim Thorpe, the Carlisle Indians defeated the Army Cadets, 27–6, in a college football game at West Point, New York. Future U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, playing for Army, tackled Thorpe and forced a fumble. Later in the game, Eisenhower injured his right knee while attempting to bring down Thorpe again.
Died: Mahuta Tāwhiao, 58, New Zealand indigenous noble, third King of the Māori people (b. 1855)
Sunday, November 10, 1912
The Far Eastern Party, consisting of Douglas Mawson, Xavier Mertz, Belgrave Edward Sutton Ninnis, and 17 husky dogs, set off from their camp to begin a disastrous surveying trip of the unexplored George V Land in Antarctica as part of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition. Ninnis and most of the team's supplies would disappear into a crevasse on December 14, and Mertz would die of malnutrition in January, but an emaciated Mawson would survive to return to camp by February 8, and live until 1958.
The final major storm of the season began to form in the Caribbean Sea south of Hispaniola.
Born:
Jean-Hilaire Aubame, Gabonese politician, cabinet minister to the Léon M'ba administration, in Libreville, Gabon (d. 1989)
Birdie Tebbetts, American baseball player, catcher for the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians from 1936 to 1952, manager for the Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Braves and the Cleveland Indians in Burlington, Vermont (d. 1999)
Died:
Ramón Corral, Mexician state leader, 6th Vice president of Mexico (b. 1854)
Louis Cyr, 49, Canadian strongman, credited by the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness as the strongest man who ever lived (b. 1863)
Julius Wayland, 58, American newspaper publisher and activist, founder of Appeal to Reason which promoted socialism (suicide) (b. 1854)
Monday, November 11, 1912
Eighteen people were killed and 90 injured in a railroad crash at Yazoo City, Mississippi."Nineteen Are Dead in Railway Wreck near New Orleans", Milwaukee Sentinel, November 11, 1912, p. 1
Chile and Peru resumed diplomatic relations that had been severed in 1910.
The tropical storm that started in the Caribbean Sea was officially recorded as it moved past Cacique, Colón in Panama.
British physicist Lawrence Bragg presented his derivation of Bragg's law for the angles for coherent and incoherent scattering from a crystal to the Cambridge Philosophical Society.
Japanese Government Railways extended the Echigo Line in the Niigata Prefecture, Japan, with stations Hisumi, Arahama, Kariwa, Nishiyama, and Ishiji serving the line.
Born:
Larry LaPrise, American songwriter, best known for the popular song "The Hokey Pokey", in Detroit (d. 1996)
Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr., American painter, father of boxing champion Muhammad Ali, in Louisville, Kentucky (d. 1990)
Died: Ridgley C. Powers, 75, American politician, 29th Governor of Mississippi (b. 1836)
Tuesday, November 12, 1912
José Canalejas, the Prime Minister of Spain, was assassinated in Madrid by anarchist Manuel Pardiñas, who then shot himself. Canalejas had stopped in front of a bookstore when Pardiñas fired three shots at close range from a Browning pistol.
The fate of Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his fellow Antarctic explorers on the British Terra Nova Expedition was confirmed when their bodies were found by a search party led by Edward L. Atkinson. A bamboo pole was spotted in the snow by party member C. S. Wright. The frozen bodies of Scott, "Birdie" Bowers and Edward Wilson were found in a tent buried beneath the snow, along with their journals, undeveloped film and supplies. The news would not reach the rest of the world until February 11, 1913.
A months long strike among miners in Waihi, New Zealand turned violent when police and non-union miners attempted to raid the miners' union wall. Union worker Fred Evans exchanged gunfire with the police, wounding a police officer and another non-union miner before a constable subdued him with a blow to the head. Evans never recovered from the blow and died the following day from the head injury. Evans became one of the workers who died in industrial actions in New Zealand.
Two American cruisers, USS Montana and USS Tennessee, were sent to the Mediterranean Sea to protect American citizens during the Balkan Wars.
The first news story about the Piltdown Man was published in Manchester Guardian, which reported the discovery by Charles Dawson in southern England of the earliest known ancestor of man under the headline, "The Earliest Man? A Skull Millions of Years Old- One of the Most Important of Our Time". The discovery would be exposed as a hoax in 1953.
Lieutenant Yōzō Kaneko performed a public demonstration of naval flight for the Imperial Japanese Navy fleet review at Yokohama, Japan, piloting a Farman seaplane while accompanied by Lieutenant Sankichi Kōno who flew a Curtiss seaplane.
Wednesday, November 13, 1912
China's Foreign Minister Liang Men Ting resigned in protest over the government's handling of Mongolia's treaty with Russia.
Fifteen people were killed and 20 injured in a railway accident at Irvington, Indiana, a suburb of Indianapolis. Train No. 36 of the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railway was speeding from Cincinnati to Chicago when it collided with a freight train.
The tropical storm strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane as it moved east of Nicaragua.
Film actor and producer Helen Gardner released Cleopatra, her first film through her company The Helen Gardner Picture Players in Tappan, New York. The film was adapted from a play by Victorien Sardou and featured Gardner in the title role, the first feature-length film to feature the Egyptian monarch.
The musical The Red Petticoat by Rida Johnson Young and Jerome Kern opened at the Daly's 30th St. Theatre in New York City and ran for only 61 performances.
A statue commemorating Chief Seattle was formally unveiled by his great-great-granddaughter Myrtle Loughery in Tilikum Place, Seattle.Sherwood, Donald. Tilikum Place. Sherwood Park History Files. Seattle Parks and Recreation. Retrieved 2012-05-06.
Born: Claude Pompidou, French philanthropist, co-founder of Centre Pompidou, wife of French President Georges Pompidou, as Claude Jacqueline Cahour in Château-Gontier, France (d. 2007)
Thursday, November 14, 1912
Álvaro Figueroa Torres, the Count of Romanones, was appointed as the new Prime Minister of Spain.
The Pennsylvania Railroad’s premier Chicago to New York train was christened the Broadway Limited (named for the railroad’s four-track main line, not the New York City Theater District).
The city of Eldoret was created by European settlers in British East Africa, and named after the Maasai language word for a stony river.
Born:
Barbara Hutton, American socialite, heiress to the Woolworth fortune, sometimes dubbed the "Poor Little Rich Girl", in New York City (d. 1979)
Tung-Yen Lin, Chinese-American engineer, developer of prestressed concrete, in Fuzhou, China (d. 2003)
Friday, November 15, 1912
Turkish Grand Vizier Kâmil Pasha proposed to King Ferdinand of Bulgaria to negotiate a ceasefire and peace between the two nations, while Greece, Serbia and Montenegro continued to advance on all fronts.
Vincent Astor reached his 21st birthday and inherited the fortune of his father, John Astor, who had died exactly seven months earlier in the sinking of the Titanic. The $150,000,000 bequest under Astor's will would be the equivalent of 3.4 billion dollars in 2012.
The Genesee Valley Canal Railroad merged with another rail line to form the Pennsylvania and Rochester Railroad in New York.
Born:
Albert Baez, Mexican-American physicist, contributor to the development of the X-ray microscope, father of singers Joan Baez and Mimi Fariña, in Puebla, Mexico (d. 2007)
Jacob DeShazer, American air force pilot, member of the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo, recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, in West Stayton, Oregon (d. 2008)
Saturday, November 16, 1912
The Napoleonic Code was amended in France to provide for recognition of paternity of illegitimate children.
The Bober River dam was inaugurated by Kaiser Wilhelm near the village of Mauer in Silesia (now the dam over the Bóbr River at Pilchowice in Poland).
Sunday, November 17, 1912
Turkey halted an invasion by Bulgaria at the First Battle of Çatalca, less than 20 miles from the capital at Istanbul. Because of the heavy casualties sustained by the invaders, the Bulgarian General Staff abandoned its plans during the First Balkan War to capture Istanbul (Constantinople) or Adrianople.
Kilkenny successfully defended their All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship title against Cork, defeating them 2–1 to 1–3 in the final before a crowd of 18,000 spectators at Jones Road in Dublin.
Franz Kafka began writing his famous novella The Metamorphosis, in German under the title "Die Verwandlung".
Composer Igor Stravinsky completed the writing of the musical score for the well-known ballet The Rite of Spring (Le Sacre du Printemps).
Born: Charles "Bebe" Rebozo, American business leader, founder of the Key Biscayne Bank & Trust, best friend and confidant of U.S. President Richard Nixon, in Tampa, Florida (d. 1998); Jack Lescoulie, American broadcaster, host of NBC's Today, in Sacramento, California (d. 1987)
Died: Richard Norman Shaw, 81, Scottish architect, best known for his planning design for Bedford Park, London (b. 1831)
Monday, November 18, 1912
A volunteer Greek force under command of Spyros Spyromilios overthrew local Ottoman authorities in the Himara coast along the Ionian Sea (now part of southern Albania).
Personnel from various foreign navies landed at Istanbul to protect their citizens residing in Turkey.
The hurricane in the Caribbean strengthened to Category 3 with wind speeds recorded at 115 mph (185 km/h) when it hit the western coast of Jamaica. The heavy winds combined with heavy rain caused extensive flooding, destroying some 5,000 buildings and causing a 25% loss of banana tree crops. Montego Bay was hit particularly hard, with 42 killed and another 300 left homeless.
Hong Kong Governor Francis Henry May directed the British colony's two streetcar companies and the Star Ferry company to stop accepting Chinese coins for payment of its fares, and to accept only Hong Kong coins. Since there were relatively few Hong Kong coins in circulation, many passengers were unable to pay their fares and the response was a public boycott of mass transportation. Ultimately, Governor May would succeed in ridding the colony of foreign coinage and currency.
Cotton County, Oklahoma, was created from the southern portion of Comanche County.
Born:
Vic Hey, Australian rugby player, five-eighth for the Western Suburbs Magpies, Leeds Rhinos, Dewsbury Rams and Australia national rugby league team from 1929 to 1949, in Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia (d. 1995)
Hilda Nickson, British romance writer, author of over 60 romance novels and vice-president of the Romantic Novelists' Association, wife to writer Arthur Nickson, in Maltby, England (d. 1977)
Died: Richard Edward O'Connor, Australian judge, third Justice of the High Court of Australia (b. 1851)
Tuesday, November 19, 1912
An earthquake killed more than 70 people in and around Acambay, Mexico. Most died in the collapse of a church, where the victims were women attending mass, and the male priests.
The Balkan League telegraphed to the Ottoman Empire their terms for a peace treaty.
A vastly superior Serbian force of over 100,000 men overwhelmed an Ottoman force of 38,000 men at Bitola, Macedonia.
Eighteen people were killed in a railway accident at Gull Lake, Ontario.
Born: George Emil Palade, Romanian-American microbiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for developing the electron microscope, in Iași, Romania (d. 2008)
Wednesday, November 20, 1912
A ceasefire on the Chatalja line between Bulgaria and Turkey took effect while peace terms were discussed.
The hurricane that struck Jamaica two days earlier weakened to a minor storm south of Cuba before dissipating two days later north on Honduras. In total, the storm killed 105 people throughout the Caribbean and causing $1.5 million (1912 USD) in property damage, with most of the damage and casualties in Jamaica.
Lieutenant Charles Becker and three other persons were found guilty of the murder of Herman Rosenthal.
Pietro Bertolini was appointed as the first Minister of the Colonies for Italy, due to the recent acquisition of Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, and the Dodecanese Islands.
The History of Medicine Society held its first meeting, under the chairmanship of Sir William Osler, in London with 160 people in attendance.
Born: Otto von Habsburg, Austrian noble, last Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary (d. 2011); Ram Gopal, Indian dancer, promoter of Indian classical dance in the west, in Bangalore, India (d. 2003)
Thursday, November 21, 1912
The Turkish government rejected the Balkan League's terms for peace as unacceptable, and war resumed on all fronts.
In what one historian would later describe as "the greatest victory in the history of the Bulgarian navy," four torpedo boats attacked the Ottoman Empire cruiser Hamidiye on the Black Sea "and scored at least one hit", causing some casualties and some damage to the bow.
The Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Hiei was launched. On November 13, 1942, in the Battle of Guadalcanal, it would become the first Japanese battleship to face American ships in war, and the first ever to be sunk.
Born:
Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz, Saudi theologian, second Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, in Riyadh (d. 1999)
Eleanor Powell, American film actress and dancer, known for tap dance routines for musical films including Broadway Melody of 1938 and Born to Dance, in Springfield, Massachusetts (d. 1982)
Friday, November 22, 1912
The Entente Cordiale, military alliance between the United Kingdom and France, was strengthened by an exchange of notes between French Ambassador Paul Cambon and the British Foreign Secretary, Sir Edward Grey, providing for joint action in the event of war.
The Nigerian Protectorate Order was signed by King George at Windsor Castle, unifying the Northern Nigeria Protectorate and the colony of Southern Nigeria, effective January 1, 1914. Sir Frederick Lugard became Governor of both entities prior to the merger and would become the first Governor-General of Nigeria.
Native chiefs were arrested by British colonial authorities in Sierra Leone to halt the cannibalistic "Human Leopard" practice.
John Flammang Schrank, who had shot and wounded former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt on October 14, was found to be insane by a board of five physicians in Milwaukee, who wrote that Schrank was "suffering from insane delusions, grandiose in character and of a systematized variety... we are of the opinion he is unable to converse intelligently with counsel on the conduct of his defense."
Sports club Deportivo Cali was established in Cali, Colombia, where it eventually developed its successful association football program for Categoría Primera A.
Born: Doris Duke, American socialite and philanthropist, daughter to James Buchanan Duke, known for her foundations including the Newport Restoration Foundation and Duke University AIDS research foundation, in New York City (d. 1993)
Died: Otto Lessing, German sculptor, best known for his interior designs and architectural sculptures for the Reichstag building, Berlin Cathedral, and Reichsgericht in Berlin (b. 1846)
Saturday, November 23, 1912
The freighter Rouse Simmons, carrying a cargo of Christmas trees, sank in a violent ice storm on Lake Michigan, taking all 13 of its crew with it. Its wreckage would be discovered in 1971.
Eugene V. Debs, who had recently run for President of the United States on the Socialist Party ticket, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Fort Scott, Kansas, on charges of obstruction of justice. Charged also were Fred D. Warren, editor of the Girard, Kansas, newspaper The Appeal to Reason, and Warren's lawyer, J. I. Sheppard. All three were accused of having paid $200 to a federal witness, to induce him to avoid testifying in their trial for misuse of the postal system.
Revolutionary syndicalist organizations in Italy leave the Confederazione Generale del Lavoro trade union and form the Unione Sindacale Italiana.
At New Haven, Connecticut, unbeaten and untied Harvard University (8-0-0) visited unbeaten Yale University (7-0-1) for what would prove to be the championship of the 1912 college football season. Wisconsin and Penn State would also finish the season with perfect records.
South Africa beat Scotland 16–0 in a rugby union test match in Inverleith, Scotland during their European tour.
The drama The Eldest Son by John Galsworthy opened at the Kingsway Theatre in London and ran for 47 performances.
Born:
Tyree Glenn, American jazz musician, trombone player for Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong, in Corsicana, Texas (d. 1974)
George O'Hanlon, American actor, best known as the voice of George Jetson in the television animated series The Jetsons, in New York City (d. 1989)
Virginia Prince, American activist, founder of the Society for the Second Self which advocated transgender rights, in Los Angeles (d. 2009)
Died: Charles Bourseul, 83, Belgian engineer, developed the concepts that lead to the invention of the telephone (b. 1829)
Sunday, November 24, 1912
Forty-four people were killed and 60 injured in a mass panic at a movie theater in Bilbao, Spain.
Twenty-four miners were killed at Alais, France. The death toll would have been higher had the blast not occurred between shifts.
Te Rata was crowned as the new King of the Māori people in New Zealand.
Born: Teddy Wilson, American jazz musician, pianist for Louis Armstrong, Lena Horne, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald, in Austin, Texas (d. 1986)
Monday, November 25, 1912
William Merlaud-Ponty, the colonial Governor-General of French West Africa, ruled that the drafting of Africans into forced labor (prestations) would be allowed in order to build the colony's infrastructure.
An explosion at a starch factory in Waukegan, Illinois, killed 8 people and injured 27, while four other employees of the Corn Products Company were missing.
Three delegates each from Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire met at the Turkish town of Bahçeköy, near Çatalca, Turkey to discuss peace. Nazim Pasha, the commander of the Turkish forces, shook hands with his counterpart, General Savoff of Bulgaria.
A cyclone destroyed Tacloban, the capital of the Leyte island in the Philippines, and killed 310 people on the islands of Samar, Leyte and North Fanay.
The first trade union ever founded in China was created by the nation's goldsmiths.
Born: Francis Durbridge, English writer, best known for his Paul Temple detective series, in Kingston upon Hull, England (d. 1998)
Died: Isidor Rayner, 62, American politician, U.S. Senator of Maryland between 1887 and 1912 (b. 1850)
Tuesday, November 26, 1912
Eleven men, of the Imperial Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet, were executed at Sevastopol after being convicted of mutiny.
Amoako Atta III, King of the Akyem Abuakwa state in Ghana, was removed from office by British colonial authorities.
In Salem, Massachusetts, leaders of the Lawrence textile strike were acquitted of charges of murder resulting from the strike. Joseph Caruso had been indicted for the killing of Anna LoPizzo, who died during a strike-related riot, and Joseph J. Ettor and Arturo Giovannitti had been charged as accessories for conspiracy to incite the January 12 riot.
Born: Eric Sevareid, American journalist, member of the Murrow Boys and anchor for CBS Evening News, in Velva, North Dakota (d. 1992)
Died:
John T. Brush, 67, American sports executive, owner of the Indianapolis Hoosiers (b. 1845)
Robert Knight, 86, American industrialist, co-founder of Fruit of the Loom (b. 1826)
Princess Marie, 67, Belgian noble, Countess of Flanders and mother of King Albert I of Belgium (b. 1845)
Wednesday, November 27, 1912
France and Spain signed a treaty dividing Morocco into two separate protectorates, with a 350 square mile zone around Tangier being an "international zone". Spain's holdings would be administered from Tétouan and consist of 20,000 square km in the north and 23,000 in the south.
Bulgarian forces defeated Ottoman troops near that is now Peplos, Evros, Greece.
Sir Edward Henry, the Police Commissioner for London, was wounded by a man who shot him three times as the chief was returning from Scotland Yard to his residence in Kensington. The attacker, identified as a Mr. Bowes, had been denied a license to operate a taxicab and was angered that Chief Henry would not reconsider the ruling.
Thursday, November 28, 1912
The Albanian Declaration of Independence was made by 83 delegates to the All-Albanian Congress at the Ottoman Empire city of Vlorë, bringing an end to more than 400 years of Turkish rule. Between 1393 and 1501, Ottoman forces had incorporated the Albanian homeland into the Empire. Ismail Qemali, an Albanian who had served as an Ottoman colonial governor for Tripolitania, was proclaimed the leader of the new nation.
General Yaver Pasha and 9,000 Turkish troops surrendered to the Bulgarian Army at Dedeagach. Bulgaria would later lose the territory to Greece in World War I, and the city would be renamed Alexandroupoli.
General Mehmet Esat Bülkat and his force of 10,000 Ottoman troops defeated a Greek force of 3,800 at Driskos in the Ottoman-held territory of what is now northern Greece.
Ad Wolgast lost his World Lightweight Championship to Willie Ritchie following a 16th round foul at Colma, California. Ritchie held onto the title until 1914.
St. Anthony of Padua Church was dedicated in New Bedford, Massachusetts.
Born:
Morris Louis, American painter, member of the Washington Color School movement, in Baltimore (d. 1962)
Alan Gewirth, American philosopher, promoter of moral rationalism in the United States, author of Reason and Morality, in Union City, New Jersey (d. 2004)
Died: Walter Benona Sharp, 41, American industrialist, co-founder of the Sharp-Hughes Tool Company (b. 1870)
Friday, November 29, 1912
In College Park, Maryland, most of Maryland Agricultural College was destroyed by fire, with all of the dormitories and administration buildings, and most of the classrooms of being devastated. The college would rebuild, become a coeducational institution with the admission of women students, be renamed the University of Maryland in 1920, and grow to become one of the leading public universities in the United States.
Greek poet Lorentzos Mavilis, 52, who had volunteered for the Greek Army to fight in the First Balkan War, was killed in battle at Driskos. Reportedly, his last words were, "I expected many honors from this war, but not the added honor that I offer my life for my Greece."
Born: John Templeton, American-British business leader and philanthropist, founder of the Templeton Growth Fund and Templeton College at the University of Oxford, in Winchester, Tennessee (d. 2008)
Saturday, November 30, 1912
Eladio Victoria resigned as President of the Dominican Republic and was replaced by the Archbishop of Santo Domingo, Monsignor Adolfo Alejandro Nouel, who pledged to organize free elections under the supervision of the United States. As a result, most hostilities in the country's civil war effectively ended.
A.E.B. Danquah was installed by British authorities in Ghana as King Ofori Atta I to rule the Akyem Abuakwa state. As the first literate monarch in Ghana, he would reign until 1943.
The Waihi miners' strike ended in New Zealand.
The Hamilton Alerts defeated the Toronto Argonauts 11–4 to win the 4th Grey Cup, the only time the club won the Canadian football championship.
South Africa shut out Ireland 38–0 in a rugby union test match in Dublin during their European tour.
Born:
Hugo del Carril, Argentine actor, film director and singer, known for films including Dark River, in Buenos Aires (d. 1989)
Nihat Erim, Turkish state leader, 13th Prime Minister of Turkey, in Kandıra, Turkey (d. 1980, assassinated)
Gordon Parks, American photographer and film director, covered the civil rights movement for Life magazine, and films including Shaft and The Learning Tree'', in Fort Scott, Kansas (d. 2006)
Died:
Robert Collyer, 88, British-American clergy, first minister of the First Unitarian Church of Chicago, early supporter of women's suffrage (b. 1823)
Dharmavaram Ramakrishnamacharyulu, 60, Indian playwright, author of more than 30 original plays in the Telugu language (b. 1853)
References
1912
1912-11
1912-11
1912
1912-07
1912-07 | en |
doc-en-7474 | The Roman Catholic Church suffered persecution in Nazi Germany. The Nazis claimed jurisdiction over all collective and social activity and the party leadership hoped to de-Christianize Germany in the long term. Clergy were watched closely, and frequently denounced, arrested and sent to Nazi concentration camps. Welfare institutions were interfered with or transferred to state control. Catholic schools, press, trade unions, political parties and youth leagues were eradicated. Anti-Catholic propaganda and "morality" trials were staged. Monasteries and convents were targeted for expropriation. Prominent Catholic lay leaders were murdered, and thousands of Catholic activists were arrested.
In all, an estimated one third of German priests faced some form of reprisal in Nazi Germany and 400 German priests were sent to the dedicated Priest Barracks of Dachau Concentration Camp. Persecution of the Church in Germany was at its most severe in the annexed Polish regions. Here the Nazis set about systematically dismantling the Church and most priests were murdered, deported or forced to flee. Of the 2,720 clergy imprisoned at Dachau from Germany and occupied territories, 2,579 (or 94.88%) were Catholic.
Background
The Nazis' long term plan was to de-Christianize Germany after final victory in the war. Their ideology could not accept an autonomous establishment, whose legitimacy did not spring from the government, and they desired the subordination of the church to the state. Catholics were suspected of insufficient patriotism, disloyalty to the Fatherland, or serving the interests of "sinister alien forces". Aggressive anti-Church radicals like Joseph Goebbels and Martin Bormann saw the conflict with the Churches as a priority concern, and anti-church sentiments were strong among grassroots party activists. In the short term, Hitler was prepared to restrain his anti-clericalism, seeing danger in strengthening the Church by persecution.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Catholic leaders made a number of attacks on Nazi ideology and the main Christian opposition to Nazism had come from the Catholic Church. German bishops energetically denounced its "false doctrines". They warned Catholics against Nazi racism and some dioceses banned membership in the Nazi Party, while the Catholic press criticized the Nazi movement. In his history of the German Resistance, Hamerow wrote:
Persecution in Germany
Following the war, the American Office of Strategic Services collected evidence for the Nuremberg Trials on the nature and extent of the Nazi persecution of the churches. Different steps it noted included the campaign for the suppression of denominational and youth organisations, the campaign against denominational schools, and the defamation campaign against the clergy. In a report entitled The Nazi Master Plan: The Persecution of the Christian Churches, the OSS said:
Hitler moved quickly to eliminate Political Catholicism. The Nazis arrested thousands of members of the German Centre Party. The Catholic Bavarian People's Party government had been overthrown by a Nazi coup on 9 March 1933. Two thousand functionaries of the Party were rounded up by police in late June, and it, along with the national Centre Party, was dissolved in early July. The dissolution left modern Germany without a Catholic Party for the first time. Vice Chancellor Franz von Papen meanwhile negotiated a Reich Concordat with the Vatican, which prohibited clergy from participating in politics. Ian Kershaw wrote that the Vatican was anxious to reach agreement with the new government, despite "continuing molestation of Catholic clergy, and other outrages committed by Nazi radicals against the Church and its organisations". Hitler, nevertheless, had a "blatant disregard" for the Concordat, wrote Paul O'Shea, and its signing was to him merely a first step in the "gradual suppression of the Catholic Church in Germany". Anton Gill wrote that "with his usual irresistible, bullying technique, Hitler then proceeded to take a mile where he had been given an inch" and closed all Catholic institutions whose functions weren't strictly religious:
Almost immediately, the Nazis promulgated their sterilization law - the Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring - an offensive policy in the eyes of the Catholic Church. Days later, moves began to dissolve the Catholic Youth League. Political Catholicism was also among the targets of Hitler's 1934 Long Knives purge: those executed included the head of Catholic Action, Erich Klausener; Papen's speech writer and advisor Edgar Jung (also a Catholic Action worker); and the national director of the Catholic Youth Sports Association, Adalbert Probst. Former Centre Party Chancellor Heinrich Brüning narrowly escaped execution.
William Shirer wrote that the German people were not greatly aroused by the persecution of the churches by the Nazi Government. The great majority were not moved to face imprisonment for the sake of freedom of worship, being too impressed by Hitler's early successes. Few, he said, paused to reflect that the Nazi regime intended to destroy Christianity and substitute the old paganism of the early tribal Germanic gods and the new paganism of the Nazi extremists. Anti-Nazi sentiment grew in Catholic circles as the Nazi government increased its repressive measures. Hoffmann writes that, from the beginning:
Himmler and the SS
Under Himmler's deputy, Reinhard Heydrich, the Security Police and SD were responsible for suppressing enemies of the Nazi state, including "political churches" - such as Lutheran and Catholic clergy who opposed the Hitler regime. Such dissidents were arrested and sent to concentration camps. According to Himmler biographer Peter Longerich, Himmler was vehemently opposed to Christian sexual morality and the "principle of Christian mercy", both of which he saw as a dangerous obstacle to his planned battle with "subhumans". In 1937 he wrote:
Himmler saw the main task of his Schutzstaffel (SS) organisation to be that of "acting as the vanguard in overcoming Christianity and restoring a 'Germanic' way of living" in order to prepare for the coming conflict between "humans and subhumans": Longerich wrote that, while the Nazi movement as a whole launched itself against Jews and Communists, "by linking de-Christianisation with re-Germanization, Himmler had provided the SS with a goal and purpose all of its own." He set about making his SS the focus of a "cult of the Teutons".
Targeting of clergy
Clergy, nuns and lay leaders were targeted following the Nazi takeover, often on trumped up charges of currency smuggling or "immorality". Priests were watched closely and frequently denounced, arrested and sent to concentration camps. From 1940, a dedicated Clergy Barracks had been established at Dachau concentration camp. Intimidation of clergy was widespread. Cardinal Michael von Faulhaber was shot at. Cardinal Theodor Innitzer had his Vienna residence ransacked in October 1938 and Bishop Johannes Baptista Sproll of Rottenburg was jostled and his home vandalised. In 1937, the New York Times reported that Christmas would see "several thousand Catholic clergymen in prison." Propaganda satirized the clergy, including Anderl Kern's play The Last Peasant.
In the 1936 campaign against the monasteries and convents, the authorities charged 276 members of religious orders with the offence of homosexuality. 1935-6 was the height of the "immorality" trials against priests, monks, lay-brothers and nuns. In the United States, protests were organised in response to the trials, including a June 1936, petition signed by 48 clergymen, including rabbis and Protestant pastors: "We lodge a solemn protest against the almost unique brutality of the attacks launched by the German government charging Catholic clergy ... in the hope that the ultimate suppression of all Jewish and Christian beliefs by the totalitarian state can be effected." Winston Churchill wrote disapprovingly in the British press of the regime's treatment of "the Jews, Protestants and Catholics of Germany".
The regime had to consider the possibility of nationwide protests if prominent clerics were arrested. While hundreds of ordinary clergy were sent to concentration camps, just one German Catholic bishop was briefly imprisoned in a concentration camp, and just one other expelled from his diocese. This reflected also the cautious approach adopted by the hierarchy, who felt secure only in commenting on matters which transgressed on the ecclesiastical sphere.
Documents used in evidence at the Nuremberg Trials show that the Nazis were cautious with regard to the murder of church leaders, and conscious of not wanting to create martyrs. Nevertheless, Catholic leaders frequently faced violence or the threat of violence, particularly at the hands of the SA, the SS or Hitler Youth. A number of cases were cited by the OSS, including three demonstrations against Bishop Sproll of Rottenburg in 1938, one against Archbishop Caspar Klein of Paderborn, two attacks against Bishop Franz Rudolf Bornewasser of Trier, and various against Cardinal Faulhaber.
From 1940, the Gestapo launched an intense persecution of the monasteries. The Provincial of the Dominican Province of Teutonia, Laurentius Siemer, a spiritual leader of the German Resistance was influential in the Committee for Matters Relating to the Orders, which formed in response to Nazi attacks against Catholic monasteries and aimed to encourage the bishops to intercede on behalf of the Orders and oppose the Nazi state more emphatically. Figures like Galen and Preysing attempted to protect German priests from arrest. In Galen's famous 1941 anti-euthanasia sermons, he denounced the confiscations of church properties. He attacked the Gestapo for converting church properties to their own purposes - including use as cinemas and brothels. He protested the mistreatment of Catholics in Germany: the arrests and imprisonment without legal process, the suppression of the monasteries and the expulsion of religious orders.
Jesuit historian Vincent A. Lapomarda writes that Hitler campaigned against the Jesuits, closing their schools and confiscating or destroying their property, imprisoning or exiling thousands, and killing 259 of them - including 152 who died in Nazi concentration camps. The superior of the Order in Germany, Fr Anton Rosch, was imprisoned, brutalised and scheduled for execution when rescued by Soviet troops at the end of the war.
Suppression of the Catholic press
The flourishing Catholic press of Germany faced censorship. Finally in March 1941 Goebbels banned all Church media, on the pretext of a "paper shortage". In 1933, the Nazis established a Reich Chamber of Authorship and Reich Press Chamber under the Reich Cultural Chamber of the Ministry for Propaganda. Dissident writers were terrorised. The June–July 1934 Night of the Long Knives purge was the culmination of this campaign. Fritz Gerlich, the editor of Munich's Catholic weekly, Der Gerade Weg, was killed in the purge for his strident criticism of the Nazi movement. Writer and theologian Dietrich von Hildebrand was forced to flee Germany. The poet Ernst Wiechert protested the government's attitudes to the arts, calling them "spiritual murder". He was arrested and taken to Dachau Concentration Camp.
Hundreds of arrests and closure of Catholic presses followed the issuing of Pope Pius XI's Mit brennender Sorge anti-Nazi encyclical. Nikolaus Gross, a Christian Trade Unionist, and director of the West German Workers' Newspaper Westdeutschen Arbeiterzeitung, was declared a martyr and beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2001. Declared an enemy of the state in 1938, his newspaper was shut down. He was arrested in the July Plot round up, and executed on 23 January 1945.
Suppression of Catholic education
When in 1933, the Nazi school superintendent of Munster issued a decree that religious instruction be combined with discussion of the "demoralising power" of the "people of Israel", Bishop Clemens von Galen of Münster refused, writing that such interference was a breach of the Concordat and that he feared children would be confused as to their "obligation to act with charity to all men" and as to the historical mission of the people of Israel. Often Galen directly protested to Hitler over violations of the Concordat. When in 1936, Nazis removed crucifixes in school, protest by Galen led to public demonstration. Hitler sometimes allowed pressure to be placed on German parents to remove children from religious classes to be given ideological instruction in its place, while in elite Nazi schools, Christian prayers were replaced with Teutonic rituals and sun-worship.
Church kindergartens were closed, crucifixes were removed from schools and Catholic welfare programs were restricted on the basis they assisted the "racially unfit". Parents were coerced into removing their children from Catholic schools. In Bavaria, teaching positions formerly allotted to nuns were awarded to secular teachers and denominational schools transformed into "Community schools". When in 1937 the authorities in Upper Bavaria attempted to replace Catholic schools with "common schools", Cardinal Faulhaber offered fierce resistance. By 1939 all Catholic denominational schools had been disbanded or converted to public facilities.
Suppression of Catholic Trade Unions
The Catholic trade unions formed the left wing of the Catholic community in Germany. The Nazis moved quickly to suppress both the "Free" unions (Socialist) and the "Christian unions" (allied with the Catholic Church). In 1933 all unions were liquidated. Catholic union leaders arrested by the regime included Blessed Nikolaus Gross and Jakob Kaiser.
Interference in welfare organisations
From 1941, expropriation of Church properties surged. The Nazi authorities claimed that the properties were needed for wartime necessities such as hospitals, or accommodation for refugees or children, but in fact used them for their own purposes. Despite Nazi efforts to transfer hospitals to state control, large numbers of handicapped people were still under the care of the Churches when the Nazi commenced their infamous euthanasia program.
While the Nazi Final Solution liquidation of the Jews took place primarily on German-occupied Polish territory, the murder of invalids took place on German soil and involved interference in Catholic (and Protestant) welfare institutions. Awareness of the murderous programme therefore became widespread, and the Church leaders who opposed it (such as the Bishop of Münster, Clemens August von Galen) were therefore able to rouse widespread public opposition.
On 6, 13 and 20 July 1941, Bishop von Galen spoke against the state seizure of properties and the expulsions of nuns, monks, and religious and criticised the euthanasia programme. In an attempt to cow Galen, the police raided his sister's convent, and detained her in the cellar. She escaped the confinement and Galen, who had also received news of the imminent removal of further patients, launched his most audacious challenge on the regime in a 3 August sermon. He declared the murders to be illegal and said that he had formally accused those responsible for murders in his diocese in a letter to the public prosecutor. Galen said that it was the duty of Christians to resist the taking of human life, even if it meant losing their own lives. The regional Nazi leader and Hitler's deputy Martin Bormann called for Galen to be hanged, but Hitler and Goebbels urged a delay in retribution till war's end.
The intervention led to, in the words of Evans, "the strongest, most explicit and most widespread protest movement against any policy since the beginning of the Third Reich." Nurses and staff (particularly in Catholics institutions) increasingly sought to obstruct implementation of the policy. Under pressure from growing protests, Hitler halted the main euthanasia program on 24 August 1941, though less systematic murder of the handicapped continued.
"War on the Church"
By late 1935, Bishop Clemens August von Galen of Münster was urging a joint pastoral letter protesting an "underground war" against the church. By early 1937, the church hierarchy in Germany, which had initially attempted to co-operate, had become highly disillusioned. In March, Pope Pius XI issued the Mit brennender Sorge encyclical - accusing the Nazi Government of violations of the 1933 Concordat, and further that it was sowing the "tares of suspicion, discord, hatred, calumny, of secret and open fundamental hostility to Christ and His Church". The Nazis responded with an intensification of the Church Struggle, beginning around April. Goebbels noted heightened verbal attacks on the clergy from Hitler in his diary and wrote that Hitler had approved the start of "immorality trials" against clergy and anti-Church propaganda campaign. Goebbels' orchestrated attack included a staged "morality trial" of 37 Franciscans.
At the outbreak of World War Two, Goebbels' Ministry of Propaganda applied intense pressure on the Churches to voice support for the war, and the Gestapo banned Church meetings for a few weeks. In the first few months of the war, the German Churches complied. No denunciations of the invasion of Poland, nor the Blitzkrieg were issued. The Catholic bishops asked their followers to support the war effort: "We appeal to the faithful to join in ardent prayer that God's providence may lead this war to blessed success for Fatherland and people." Despite this, the anti-church radical Reinhard Heydrich determined that support from church leaders could not be expected because of the nature of their doctrines and internationalism, and wanted to cripple the political activities of clergy. He devised measures to restrict the operation of the Churches under cover of war time exigencies, such as reducing resources available to Church presses on the basis of rationing, and prohibiting pilgrimages and large church gatherings on the basis of transportation difficulties. Churches were closed for being "too far from bomb shelters". Bells were melted down. Presses were closed.
With the expansion of the war in the East from 1941, there came also an expansion of the regime's attack on the churches. Monasteries and convents were targeted and expropriation of Church properties surged. The Nazi authorities claimed that the properties were needed for wartime necessities such as hospitals, or accommodation for refugees or children, but in fact used them for their own purposes. "Hostility to the state" was another common cause give for the confiscations, and the action of a single member of a monastery could result in seizure of the whole. The Jesuits were especially targeted. The Papal Nuncio Cesare Orsenigo and Cardinal Bertram complained constantly to the authorities but were told to expect more requisitions owing to war-time needs. The Nazi authorities decreed the dissolution of all monasteries and abbeys in the German Reich, many of them effectively being occupied and secularized by the Allgemeine SS under Himmler. However, on July 30, 1941 the Aktion Klostersturm (Operation Monastery) was put to an end by a decree of Hitler, who feared the increasing protests by the Catholic part of German population might result in passive rebellions and thereby harm the Nazi war effort at the eastern front. Over 300 monasteries and other institutions were expropriated by the SS.
On 22 March 1942, the German Bishops issued a pastoral letter on "The Struggle against Christianity and the Church". The letter launched a defence of human rights and the rule of law and accused the Reich Government of "unjust oppression and hated struggle against Christianity and the Church", despite the loyalty of German Catholics to the Fatherland, and brave service of Catholics soldiers:
The letter outlined serial breaches of the 1933 Concordat, reiterated complaints of the suffocation of Catholic schooling, presses and hospitals and said that the "Catholic faith has been restricted to such a degree that it has disappeared almost entirely from public life" and even worship within churches in Germany "is frequently restricted or oppressed", while in the conquered territories (and even in the Old Reich), churches had been "closed by force and even used for profane purposes". The freedom of speech of clergymen had been suppressed and priests were being "watched constantly" and punished for fulfilling "priestly duties" and incarcerated in Concentration camps without legal process. Religious orders had been expelled from schools, and their properties seized, while seminaries had been confiscated "to deprive the Catholic priesthood of successors".
The bishops denounced the Nazi euthanasia program and declared their support for human rights and personal freedom under God and "just laws" of all people:
Priests of Dachau
The regime incarcerated clergy who had opposed the Nazi regime in the Dachau Concentration Camp. In 1935, Wilhelm Braun, a Catholic theologian from Munich, became the first churchman imprisoned at Dachau. From December 1940, Berlin ordered the transfer of clerical prisoners held at other camps, and Dachau became the centre for imprisonment of clergymen. Of a total of 2,720 clerics recorded as imprisoned at Dachau some 2,579 (or 94.88%) were Roman Catholics. 1,034 Catholic priests died there. The remaining 1,545 priests were liberated by the allies on April 29, 1945.
Among the Catholic clergy who died at Dachau were many of the 108 Polish Martyrs of World War II. The Blessed Gerhard Hirschfelder died of hunger and illness in 1942. The Blessed Titus Brandsma, a Dutch Carmelite, died of a lethal injection in 1942. Blessed Alojs Andritzki, a German priest, was given a lethal injection in 1943. Blessed Engelmar Unzeitig, a Czech priest died of typhoid in 1945. Blessed Giuseppe Girotti died at the camp in April 1945.
Amid the Nazi persecution of the Tirolian Catholics, the Blessed Otto Neururer, a parish priest was sent to Dachau for "slander to the detriment of German marriage", after he advised a girl against marrying the friend of a senior Nazi. He was cruelly executed at Buchenwald in 1940 for conducting a baptism there. He was the first priest killed in the concentration camps.
The Blessed Bernhard Lichtenberg died en route to Dachau in 1943. In December 1944, the Blessed Karl Leisner, a deacon from Munster who was dying of tuberculosis received his ordination at Dachau. His fellow prisoner Gabriel Piguet, the Bishop of Clermont-Ferrand presided at the secret ceremony. Leisner died soon after the liberation of the camp.
See main article for detailed information.
Annexed regions
Austria
Austria, annexed by Germany in early 1938, was overwhelmingly Catholic. At the direction of Cardinal Innitzer, the churches of Vienna pealed their bells and flew swastikas for Hitler's arrival in the city on 14 March. However, wrote Mark Mazower, such gestures of accommodation were "not enough to assuage the Austrian Nazi radicals, foremost among them the young Gauleiter Globocnik".
Globocnik launched a crusade against the Church, and the Nazis confiscated property, closed Catholic organisations and sent many priests to Dachau. The martyred Austrian priests Jakob Gapp and Otto Neururer were beatified in 1996. Neururer was tortured and hanged at Buchenwald and Jakob Gapp was guillotined in Berlin. Anger at the treatment of the Church in Austria grew quickly and October 1938, wrote Mazower, saw the "very first act of overt mass resistance to the new regime", when a rally of thousands left Mass in Vienna chanting "Christ is our Fuehrer", before being dispersed by police.
A Nazi mob ransacked Cardinal Innitzer's residence, after he had denounced Nazi persecution of the Church. L'Osservatore Romano reported on 15 October that Hitler Youth and the SA had gathered at St. Stephen's Cathedralduring a service for Catholic Youth and started "counter-shouts and whistlings: 'Down with Innitzer! Our faith is Germany'". The following day, the mob stoned the Cardinal's residence, broke in and ransacked it—bashing a secretary unconscious, and storming another house of the cathedral curia and throwing its curate out the window. The American National Catholic Welfare Conference wrote that Pope Pius, "again protested against the violence of the Nazis, in language recalling Nero and Judas the Betrayer, comparing Hitler with Julian the Apostate."
Czech lands
Following its October 1938 annexation, Nazi policy in the Sudetenland saw ethnic Czech priests expelled, or deprived of income and forced to do labour, while their properties were seized. Religious orders were suppressed, private schools closed and religious instruction forbidden in schools. Shortly before World War II, Czechoslovakia ceased to exist, swallowed by Nazi expansion. Its territory was divided into the mainly Czech Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, and the newly declared Slovak Republic, while a considerable part of Czechoslovakia was directly joined to the Third Reich. 122 Czechoslovak Catholic priests were sent to Dachau Concentration Camp. 76 did not survive the ordeal.
Poland
Nazi policy towards the Church was at its most severe in the territories it annexed to Greater Germany, where they set about systematically dismantling the Church - arresting its leaders, exiling its clergymen, closing its churches, monasteries and convents. Many clergymen were murdered. Altogether some 1700 Polish priests ended up at Dachau: half of them did not survive their imprisonment." Kerhsaw wrote that, in Hitler's scheme for the Germanization of Eastern Europe, there would be no place for the Christian Churches".
Slovenia
The Nazi persecution of the Church in annexed Slovenia was akin to that which occurred in Poland. Within six weeks of the Nazi occupation, only 100 of the 831 priests in the Diocese of Maribor and part of the Diocese of Ljubljana remained free. Clergy were persecuted and sent to concentration camps, religious Orders had their properties seized, some youth were sterilized. The first priest to die was Aloysius Zuzek.
Long term plans
Documents used in evidence at the Nuremberg Trials concluded that the Nazis planned to de-Christianise Germany. A report entitled "The Nazi Master Plan; The Persecution of Christian Churches" prepared by the Office of Strategic Services (forerunner to the American CIA) says: "Important leaders of the National Socialist party would have liked... complete extirpation of Christianity and the substitution of a purely racial religion." The report stated that the best evidence for the existence of an anti-Church plan was to be found in the systematic nature of the persecution of Germany's churches.
In January 1934, Hitler had appointed Alfred Rosenberg as the cultural and educational leader of the Reich. Rosenberg was a neo-pagan and notoriously anti-Catholic. In 1934, the Sanctum Officium in Rome recommended that Rosenberg's book be put on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum (forbidden books list of the Catholic Church) for scorning and rejecting "all dogmas of the Catholic Church, indeed the very fundamentals of the Christian religion". During the War, Rosenberg outlined the future envisioned by the Hitler government for religion in Germany, with a thirty-point program for the future of the German churches. Among its articles: the National Reich Church of Germany was to claim exclusive control over all churches; publication of the Bible was to cease; crucifixes, Bibles and saints were to be removed from altars; and Mein Kampf was to be placed on altars as "to the German nation and therefore to God the most sacred book"; and the Christian Cross was to be removed from all churches and replaced with the swastika.
See also
Catholic Church and Nazi Germany
Pope Pius XII
Catholic resistance to Nazi Germany
Religion in Nazi Germany
References
The Holocaust | en |
doc-en-1110 | Jean-Baptiste Alexandre Baron de Strolz (sometimes written Stroltz), 6 August 1771 Belfort, France – 27 October 1841 Paris, was a French general during the Napoleonic wars and subsequently an important political figure. He was chief of staff to André Masséna during the Italian campaign; governor of the Basilicata province; aide-de-camp to Joseph Bonaparte King of Naples and King of Spain; Baron of the First French Empire; Member of Parliament and Pair de France. Strolz is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, on Column 22.
Early life and family
Jean-Baptiste Alexandre Strolz was born at 5, Rue de l'Etuve in Belfort, a city in the Franche-Comté, a then German-speaking region of the Kingdom of France.
He was the second son of Maria Clara, née Schmitt and Peter Leo(pold) (also known as Pierre Léon) architect and the Royal Inspector of Bridges and Streets in the Franche-Comté. His older brother was Petrus Franciscus Emilius/Pierre Francois Emile. Jean-Baptiste was baptised on the same day as his older brother, Pierre Francois Emile. Strolz's family was from the minor Austrian nobility. Jean-Baptiste's paternal grandfather had left his native Austria as a young man to avoid the ecclesiastical career his parents had assigned him. Strolz received his early education from a parish priest, following which he was sent to boarding school at Masevaux Abbey and to the Gymnase de Strasbourg. His family had a close friendship with that of Jean Baptiste Kléber and after the early death of Kléber's father, with his stepfather Jean-Martin Burger: an entrepreneur and master carpenter-builder who often worked with Pierre Léon. On 12 January 1791, Pierre Leon and Kléber were both called as expert witnesses for a remodelling project in the secularized Masevaux Abbey. Strolz's parents had Jean-Baptiste trained for a career as a lawyer, but he gave up his studies when called home by his parents during the French Revolution. He found temporary employment as sous-archiviste in the civil service in the district of Belfort.
As a consequence of the French Revolution, insurgent activity began in the neighbouring Prince-Bishopric of Basel. The reigning Prince-Bishop Franz Joseph Sigismund von Roggenbach asked for and received a contingent of Austrian troops to deal with the situation while his auxiliary bishop Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Gobel secretly supported the revolutionaries. The revolutionary government in Paris saw this deployment as a possible threat for the Belfort region and mobilized the 5th French (Strasbourg) Division along the border. Bored with civilian life, Strolz seized the moment and in March 1790 volunteered for service with Général Pierre Joseph de Ferrier du Chatelet, general officer commanding all regular and volunteer troops in the Belfort region and a friend of his parents. The general put him to work as an supernumerary aide de camp, an important role in a time when all communications in the field had to be delivered by couriers. Discharged in 1791 after the crisis had passed, the beginning of the French Revolutionary Wars gave Strolz the opportunity to re-enlist. Refused at first, Strolz was only accepted after family friend Jean-Baptiste Kléber, inspector of public buildings in Belfort before having just secured for himself a lieutenant-colonelcy, insisted on Strolz being accepted as a volunteer. After his parents agreed to pay for a horse, Strolz was permitted to enlist on 8 April 1793.
Service in the Revolutionary Wars
War of the First Coalition
As a cavalryman of the French Revolutionary Army during the War of the First Coalition campaigns of 1793 and 1794, Strolz served with the 1st Régiment de Chasseurs à Cheval, who at that time were garrisoned in Metz. He fought in the Armée de la Moselle and took part in the expedition into Germany, being present at the taking of Trier and at the Battle of Arlon. In 1794, his regiment was part of General Laboissière's cavalry brigade in the Saint-Cyr Division of the French Army of the Rhine. With the Armée du Nord, he fought at the first Battle of Fleurus. Strolz's reputation for bravery led to his appointment to the Armée de Sambre-et-Meuse (1794–96). After being promoted to brevet lieutenant, family friend General Kléber appointed Strolz his aide de camp in September 1794. On 26 December 1795, Strolz was given a regular commission as a lieutenant in the 16th Régiment de Chasseurs à Cheval and having been described by Kléber as a "patriotic, capable and courageous citizen", was recommended for further promotion. The articulate Strolz also performed the duties of a private secretary for his general and later edited most of Kléber's memoirs of the Vendee Campaign. The 80,000-strong Army of Sambre and Meuse at that time held the west bank of the Rhine as far south as the Nahe and then southwest to Sankt Wendel. In early 1796, Jean Baptiste Kléber, former lieutenant of the Imperial German Army, took command of the army's left (northern) flank. Knowing his opposite numbers and what to expect, he invested considerable time in training his low quality levée en masse recruits. By May 1796, Kléber had built up 22,000 troops in a bridgehead on the eastern bank of the Rhine with an entrenched camp at Düsseldorf. The plan was for Jourdan's main force to besiege Mainz and then cross the Rhine into Franconia while Kléber was to push south from Düsseldorf to induce the Austrians to withdraw all of their forces from the Rhine's west bank to face the French onslaught and thereby make Jourdan's task easier.
On 30 May 1796, two days before the official end of the armistice, Kléber ordered the crossing of the Rhine near Düsseldorf. When the crossing was carried out under intense enemy fire, Strolz was at Kleber's side in the first barge. In execution of the plan, Kléber made the first move, advancing south from Düsseldorf against the Württemberg wing of the Imperial Army of the Lower Rhine. On 1 June 1796, a division of Kléber's troops led by François Joseph Lefebvre seized a bridge over the Sieg from Michael von Kienmayer's Austrians at Siegburg. Even though momentum was initially on the French side, the Army of Sambre and Meuse was defeated by Archduke Charles at the Battle of Wetzlar on 15 June 1796 and Jourdan lost no time in recrossing to the safety of the west shore of the Rhine at Neuwied. Kléber, with Strolz alongside, had to cover the retreat. Following up, the Austrians clashed with Kléber's divisions at Uckerath, inflicting 3,000 casualties on the French for a loss of only 600. Nevertheless, Kléber managed to withdraw in an orderly fashion into the Düsseldorf defences.
Kléber was a man with a short fuse, his tendency for outbursts of temper was legendary. Following a vicious dressing down from Kléber over something Strolz said on a social occasion, Strolz, who was a proud man, resigned from Kléber's service despite having known Kléber since childhood and refused to eat at the General's table when invited. In that era, to reject such an invitation was close to impossible for a subordinate and could have been career-ending. Kléber later said that good aides de camp were hard to come by and made amends by "apologizing as a Christian" to Strolz, calling his actions character building. Strolz shared the duties of aide de camp to Kléber with François-Étienne de Damas and Frédéric Auguste de Beurmann. Named "les inséparables" (The Inseparables), all three would end their careers as generals. When Kléber, despite his successes, fell into disgrace with the Directoire and was relieved of his command (and almost, too, his head), the reliable Strolz was transferred to the Armée de Batavie and, on 23 January 1798, appointed aide de camp to General Jacques Maurice Hatry. Strolz was promoted to captain with the 16th Régiment de Chasseurs à Cheval in June 1798. It was Strolz who clarified later that it was a denunciation by Lazare Hoche that had led to Kléber's removal from command, Strolz had seen a compromising letter in Hoche's papers.
Austria signed the Treaty of Campo Formio in October, ceding Belgium to France and recognising French control of the Rhineland and much of Italy. The ancient Republic of Venice was partitioned between Austria and France. This ended the War of the First Coalition, although Great Britain and France remained at war.
War of the Second Coalition
After Kléber was reactivated for the Egyptian campaign by Napoleon Bonaparte, he wrote Strolz a letter, offering him a position on his staff and later repeated the offer in person. Strolz, however, refused, stating that “fighting the immediate enemies of France carries more glory than fighting on the banks of the Nile”. Strolz was transferred to the staff of Jean Victor Marie Moreau, general commanding the French Army of the Rhine on 16 December 1799 and was promoted to major (chef d’escadron ) on 21 January 1799. The transfer was made permanent when, on 22 November 1800, Strolz was officially confirmed as Moreau's aide de camp.
After the victory at the Battle of Hohenlinden, where the French army under Jean Victor Marie Moreau won a decisive victory over the Austrians and Bavarians led by Archduke John of Austria, Strolz received a citation at army level for having crossed enemy lines three times during the battle to deliver dispatches to General Antoine Richepanse, actions that Moreau rated as decisive for winning the battle. Hohenlinden is 33 km east of Munich in modern Germany.
Archduke John ordered his demoralized army to a retreat. Moreau pursued cautiously until 8 December. Then, in 15 days, his forces advanced 300 km and captured 20,000 Austrians. General de Division Claude Lecourbe's right wing brushed aside General Graf Johann Sigismund Riesch’s defences at Rosenheim on 9 December and broke through to Salzburg, where on 14 December, the archduke held off Lecourbe in a successful rearguard action. This success was only temporary, in a series of swift French actions at Neumarkt am Wallersee, Frankenmarkt, Schwanenstadt, Vöcklabruck, Lambach and Kremsmünster during the following week, the retreating Austrian army lost cohesion. Richepanse greatly distinguished himself in the pursuit. On 17 December, when Archduke Charles relieved his brother John, the Austrian army was practically a rabble. With French forces 80 km from Vienna, Charles requested an armistice, which Moreau, who had sent Strolz on numerous occasions to Charles' headquarters as an envoy to deliver dispatches and negotiate local ceasefires, granted on 25 December.
After being forced into a disastrous retreat, the allies were compelled to request an armistice that effectively ended the War of the Second Coalition. In February 1801, the Austrians signed the Treaty of Lunéville, accepting French control up to the Rhine and French puppet republics in Italy and the Netherlands. The subsequent Treaty of Amiens between France and Britain began the longest break in the wars of the Napoleonic period. When peace was declared, Strolz asked for, and received on 24 August 1801, a transfer as major (chef d’escadron) to the 16th Régiment de Chasseurs à Cheval, the regiment he was nominally a part of since 1798. On 29 October 1803 (6 Brumaire XII), Strolz was advanced to the newly created rank of "major de cavallerie" (the equivalent of a lieutenant colonelship) with the 19th Régiment de Chasseurs à Cheval and he was made a Chevalier de la Légion d' Honneur on 25 March 1804 (5 Germinal an XI) with the register number 13446.
War of the Third Coalition - Service in the Armée d'Italie
On 26 May 1805, Napoleon I was crowned at the Duomo di Milano, Milan with the Iron Crown of Lombardy and from then on until his abdication was styled as "Emperor of the French and King of Italy" ().
Among the troops who accompanied Napoleon were Strolz's 19th Régiment de Chasseurs à Cheval who had entered Italy in March. Having been present at the coronation, Strolz was awarded the Order of the Iron Crown on 6 June 1805 and was selected for service in the staff of General, later Field Marshal, André Massena as deputy chief of staff. He served as chief of staff at the Battle of Verona and the Battle of Caldiero where his brilliant conduct resulted in a battlefield promotion to full colonel on 29 October 1805. When news of an Allied landing in Naples reached Massena in November 1805, it was Strolz who was tasked to bring detailed reports to Napoleon. Strolz selected twenty of the best dragoons and made it through territory partly held by the Allies to Napoleon's headquarters in Germany. Arriving just in time to deliver the news and recover, Strolz fought in the Battle of Austerlitz on 2 December 1805 where he received thirteen lance wounds in a charge but survived. After recovery, Strolz returned to Italy with the four remaining dragoons of the twenty who had left Italy with him. Crossing enemy-held territory again, Strolz's small column was taken prisoner by Austrian troops but managed to escape to their own lines at night.
Service with Joseph Bonaparte in the Kingdom of Naples
Having returned from Germany with a renewed reputation for endurance, robustness and luck, in December 1805, Strolz was appointed adjutant general in the French Army in Italy by Joseph Bonaparte, King of Naples. Officially transferred to the personal staff of Joseph on 25 July 1806, Strolz was described as calm, diligent, proud, laborious and of absolute loyalty, Strolz was immediately tasked with organising and commanding the Regiment des Chevaux Légers of the Royal Guards, a regiment whose uniform was that of the Imperial Guard. An uprising of insurgents loyal to deposed King Ferdinand resulted in Strolz's appointment as Governor of the Basilicate Province. The successful end to this campaign saw him promoted to brigadier general in the Army of the Kingdom of Naples on 30 October 1807. During a pilgrimage to Rome Strolz was made a Knight of the Papal Order of the Golden Spur and Comte palatin de l'eglise de Saint-Jean du Latran on 2 February 1807.
Strolz was put in command of an infantry brigade for a planned Sicily campaign under David-Maurice-Joseph Mathieu de La Redorte, but British domination of the Mediterranean made it impossible for the French to transport troops to Sicily in order to gain control of the island. Joseph's kingdom remained confined to the mainland kingdom of Naples alone while Ferdinand continued to reside in and rule the Kingdom of Sicily.
After accession to the throne of Naples, Joseph, in the modernising spirit of the French Revolution, implemented a programme of far reaching reforms to the organisation and structure of the ancient feudal Kingdom of Naples. Joseph gave the country its first constitution; decreed the abolition of Feudalism on 2 August 1806 and ordered the rescission of all the rights and privileges of the nobility. All of these measures proved popular.
On 20 May 1808, Strolz was named grand ecuyer and aide de camp of King Joseph of Naples and advanced to commander of the ordine delle due Sicilie.
Strolz's cousin, also named Jean Baptiste, but called Jean-Jacques in the family to avoid confusion, a career artillery officer and godson of Strolz's mother, followed him first to Naples and on 9 November 1807 was appointed as colonel and commanding officer of the Artillery of the Royal Guards of Naples (Chef de Battaillon Commandant l' Artillerie de la Garde du Roi de Naples) and later, 20 December 1809, was sent to Spain where he was made colonel commandant of the Artillery of the Guards of the King of Spain.
Service with Joseph Bonaparte in Spain
In November 1807, a combined French-Spanish Force occupied Portugal. Napoleon had close to 100,000 troops stationed in Spain.
On 19 March 1808, a popular revolt at the winter palace, Aranjuez forced King Charles IV of Spain to abdicate in favour of his son Ferdinand VII.
The deposed king turned to Napoleon for help and, on March 23, Joachim Murat's troops occupied Madrid. Summoned before Napoleon in Bayonne in April 1808, both Bourbon kings were made to abdicate the crown and the dynasty of Spain was declared deposed. The crown of Spain was transferred to the Emperor of France.
Napoleon then ordered Murat, still garrisoned in Madrid, to request the Council General of Castile, the Council of Government, and the Council of the Municipality of Madrid to decide on a future king. The members of those legislative bodies, all good Catholics and all at that time very much in Murat's hands, eagerly expressed their wish to choose the excommunicated Freemason Joseph Bonaparte as their new king and sent a delegation of distinguished men to convey this wish to the Emperor.
On 6 June 1808, Napoleon made use of this rather convenient (for the ambitious Murat) choice and proclaimed his brother King of Spain. This was without the latter's knowledge: Joseph, together with a detachment of guards commanded by Strolz, was still on his way to Bayonne to where he had been summoned by Napoleon.
Napoleon met Joseph on the road and on the last leg to Bayonne softened him up sufficiently that Joseph agreed to meet the Spanish delegation. On Napoleon's insistence, Joseph accepted the throne of Spain and reluctantly gave up Naples to none other than Joachim Murat, husband of his sister Caroline Bonaparte. Murat, after the Dos de Mayo uprising in Madrid, had understood how unpleasant the situation would be in Spain for a French ruler and having hastily departed the country citing bad health, had arrived at Bayonne in time to get a kingdom for himself and his equally ambitious wife.
On 15 July 1808, Strolz left the service of the Kingdom of Naples and joined the Army of the Kingdom of Spain. He was again appointed as aide de camp to Joseph Bonaparte (now styled King José I of Spain). Interestingly, Joseph Bonaparte, member in good standing of a Masonic lodge and originally a trained lawyer brought with him a large number of officers with republican leanings, officers who were not at all happy with the transformation of the Consulate for Life into a hereditary Empire. Amongst them was Strolz. On 12 July 1808, Strolz entered Madrid with his king.
Joseph's arrival sparked a Spanish revolt against French rule and the beginning of the Peninsular War. A little more than two weeks later (29 July 1808), Strolz had to cover Joseph's retreat from Madrid due to another popular uprising. With most of the French army, Joseph temporarily retreated to northern Spain. Feeling himself in an untenable position, Joseph proposed his own abdication from the Spanish throne, hoping that Napoleon would sanction his return to the much-preferred Neapolitan Throne. Napoleon dismissed Joseph's misgivings out of hand and to back up the raw and ill-trained levies he had initially allocated to Spain, the Emperor sent heavy French reinforcements to assist Joseph in maintaining his position as king. Despite the recapture of Madrid and nominal control by Joseph's government over many cities and provinces, the king and his supporters never established complete control over the country. Even though Joseph abolished the Spanish Inquisition on 4 December 1808 and introduced a constitution modelled after the one he had given Naples, the Spanish population rejected their foreign and godless king. The fire of rebellion kept burning: there was a constant loss of men and material from the actions of pro-Bourbon guerrillas.
Made premier equerry of the royal household of Spain (primer escudero del rey), gazetted 5 December 1809, Strolz gained a reputation for leading the Caballerizas reales efficiently, with absolute punctuality and a complete intolerance for intrigues and nepotism. The nature of the Peninsular War meant that Strolz's posting was no cushy, headquarters duty. He served with Joseph in all the campaigns in Spain and distinguished himself as commanding officer of a brigade of chasseurs à cheval at the battles of Alcabou and Almonacid. On 8 November 1808, Strolz was cited by Napoleon for bravery at the Battle of Espinosa de los Monteros
The French campaign turned sour, when, as part of the overall plan to rid the Spanish peninsula of Napoleonic influence, General Wellesley's 20,000 British troops advanced into Spain to join 33,000 Spanish troops under General Cuesta on 27/28 July 1809. Marching up the Tagus valley to Talavera de la Reina, c. 120 km southwest of Madrid, they encountered 46,000 French, nominally led by the French King of Spain, Joseph Bonaparte, but with his military adviser Field Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan effectively exercising command over Field Marshal Claude Victor's I Corps and Major-General Horace Sebastiani's IV Corps. On 28 July 1808, Strolz commanded a cavalry brigade in Christophe Antoine Merlin's Light Cavalry Division. The division was only formed on 25 July 1808 on the king's orders by merging most of IV Corps' cavalry assets with I Corps' cavalry, this to reinforce I Corps at the head of the army column. After the defeat of the main French attack, General Sir George Anson's cavalry brigade, part of the Duke of Alburquerque's 1st and 2nd Cavalry Divisions was ordered to drive French further back and encircle and capture as many French troops as possible. When a combined Portuguese-English Horse cavalry charge attempted a flank attack it was General Strolz's brigade of light horse, led by him personally, that waited until the attackers had passed and then charged them in flank and rear.
Strolz's men on that day were the 10th Regiment de Chasseurs à Cheval led by Colonel Jacques-Gervais de Subervie and the 26th Regiment de Chasseurs à Cheval led by Colonel Jacques-Laurent-Louis-Augustin Baron Vial. Together with Colonel François Léon Ormancey's Brigade consisting of the Polish Vistula Lancers Regiment (Regiment de Lanciers Polonais de la Vistule) and the Westphalian Light Cavalry Regiment (Regiment de Chevaux-Légers de Westphalie) they succeeded in encircling the British 23rd Light Dragoons, thus being responsible for one of the few French successes during the battle of Talavera.
The 23rd Light Dragoons lost 102 killed and wounded on that day with another 105 captured. Only a handful riders cut their way out and the remains of the regiment had to be sent back to England to be refitted. The successful action contributed to the French disengagement from the enemy and kept the British from pursuing the main force. King Joseph and Marshal Jourdan were harshly criticized by Napoleon for not having employed their reserves and therefore making a victory impossible.
On 30 August 1809, King Joseph wrote to Napoleon:
(...) General Strolz, my aide-de-camp had the good fortune to command the brigade which captured the 23d regiment of English cavalry. I pray your majesty to create him officer of the Legion of honour, he is already a legionary; this is a reward which he will value more highly than any other that could be given him. He is the same officer whom your Majesty entrusted to reconnoitre on arriving at Vittoria and who, on giving account to your Majesty at Burgos deserved that you should say of him to me: "There is an officer of the right sort". He has proved himself such at the battle of Alcabou, at Talavera and at Almonacid. Sire, Your most devoted servant and affectionate brother. Joseph.
Strolz did not receive the decoration for which Joseph Bonaparte had recommended him until 1814, but was made a Baron of the French Empire by letters patent of 15 June 1810, advanced to Grand Gross of the Ordre Royal d’Espagne (18 June 1810) and received a gift of 2 Million Spanish Reals. As Marechal de Camp et Premier Ecuyer du Roi, on 15 February 1811, he was promoted to Lieutenant Général in the Army of the Kingdom of Spain. Strolz was, on the very same day, advanced to one of only two Grand Cordons de l'Ordre Royal d'Espagne awarded by King Joseph.
Strolz was often responsible for delivering personal letters between Joseph and his wife; in one of them (Madrid 19 October 1811) Joseph asked her not just about her health but instructed her to withdraw one million Francs promised to him by Napoleon and to make sure that she herself received sufficient allowances to be able to live according to her new status as queen. In the letter, Joseph tasked Strolz to deliver the money safely.
In July 1812, after the Battle of Salamanca, the royal household had to evacuate Madrid, which Wellington's army entered on 12 August 1812, and set up residence at Valencia.
On 26 December 1812, the day of the first martyr of Christianity, chosen for obvious reasons, King José I made Strolz Comte de Talavera de la Reyna. With Joseph's kingdom on the brink of collapse, the King's gift was essentially a gesture of appreciation for a loyal officer and faithful friend. In fact, Strolz declined the fief that was offered him together with the honour. He, like his acquaintance Joseph Léopold Sigisbert Hugo, never sought to have the title recognised in France.
Return to France, service with Joseph Bonaparte until Napoleon's first abdication
In 1812, having suffered huge losses in Russia, Napoleon withdrew some 20,000 troops from the ongoing Peninsular War to reinforce his position in Central Europe, which left his Iberian forces weakened and vulnerable to Anglo–Spanish–Portuguese attacks. On 17 March 1813, King Joseph Bonaparte of Spain, with Strolz at his side, began his withdrawal from Spain, a clear sign of Joseph having lost control of the country. Wellington led a 123,000-strong army across northern Spain, taking Burgos in late May, and decisively defeating Jourdan at the Battle of Vitoria on 21 June 1813. Marshal Soult failed to turn the tide in his large-scale Battle of the Pyrenees (25 July to 2 August). King Joseph abdicated from the throne of Spain and returned to France; the remains of Napoleon's Peninsular Army retreated from Spain.
Strolz remained at Joseph's side as his aide-de-camp and on 1 July 1813, was theoretically reverted to his last French rank i.e. colonel, but was permitted to wear the uniform of a brigadier general. In autumn 1813, Napoleon, expecting to win the war, refused the Frankfurt proposals of the Allies that would have kept him on the throne of France as Emperor. During the last months of 1813 and early months of 1814 Wellington led the Peninsular army into south-west France and fought a number of battles against Marshals Soult and Suchet.
On 10 January 1814, Napoleon permitted his brother to continue using the title "King Joseph" together with the rank and privileges of a prince of France and accorded the rank and title of queen to Joseph's wife. Departing Paris to fight it out with the Allies, Napoleon left his brother to govern the capital, with the title Regent and Lieutenant General of the Empire, Commandant en Chef de la Garde Nationale. This meant that Joseph, with Strolz at his side as aide de camp, was in nominal command of the French army at the Battle of Paris. On 21 January 1814, Strolz was promoted to major general in the Imperial French Army with date of rank 1 July 1813.
In early February 1814, Napoleon fought his Six Days' Campaign, in which he won multiple battles against numerically superior enemy forces marching on Paris. Joseph, more a man of letters than a man of the sword was pessimistic nonetheless. With the prospects looking bleak, on 13 February 1814, Joseph sent Strolz on a reconnaissance mission along the Loing and Moret canals to gain information for a decision as to whether to send troops to Fontainebleau. Strolz was to rendez-vous with General Pajol who was tasked with holding the bridges of Nemours and Moret in order to block the Allies' march to Paris Strolz returned with bad news, the French line of defence was broken at Bray, the city of Sens was lost and therefore the river Yonne was indefensible, the garrisoning of the forts of Fontainebleau was therefore deemed necessary.
Interestingly, it was only on 21 February 1814 (backdated to 1 July 1813) that Strolz was officially re-appointed aide de camp of Joseph Bonaparte in France, being named brigadier general at that date. Joseph evidently considered Paris as good as lost and sent Strolz to deliver orders to Field Marshals Marmont and Mortier that they should retreat to the Loire with authorisation to parley with the Allies, namely the Russian Tsar and the Prince Schwarzenberg. For issuing these orders, many Bonapartists blamed Joseph for the Fall of Paris and thereby of the Empire. On March 30, 1814, during the Battle of Paris, with Napoleon in retreat and the fall of Paris imminent, Strolz hand delivered Joseph Bonaparte's last orders to Marechal Marmont on the Heights of Belleville. At approximately 1700hrs, Marmont sent Strolz back with a message stating that the heights could not be held for more than thirty more minutes and soon after Marmont capitulated to the Allies. When recalling that day, Strolz later had nothing but contempt and harsh words for "Princes who did nothing but use their rights to profit from the humiliation of France". After Strolz's return to Joseph's headquarters, the king and his staff and ministers left Paris and fled to St Cloud in accordance with Napoleon's orders in order to secure the protection of Empress Marie Louise and the King of Rome. With the enemy in pursuit they crossed a bridge over the Seine, had it destroyed behind them, and escaped. On 20 April 1814 Strolz was present at the abdication of Emperor Napoleon in Fontainebleau; Joseph fled to Switzerland and bought Prangins Castle near Lake Geneva where he moved his wife and family to.
Life after the First Restoration of King Louis XVIII.
On 3 May 1814, King Louis XVIII entered Paris, displaying himself to his subjects in a procession through the city and taking up residence in the Tuileries Palace the same day. He was called to the throne by Napoleon's senate on condition that he would accept a constitution that entailed recognition of the Republic and the Empire, a bicameral parliament elected every year, and the tri-colour flag of the aforementioned regimes. When confirmed, however, Louis XVIII immediately opposed the senate's constitution and accused the senate of complicity in the crimes of Bonaparte. The Great Powers occupying Paris demanded that Louis XVIII implement a constitution. Louis responded with the Charter of 1814, which disbanded the Senate but included many progressive provisions: freedom of religion; a legislature composed of the Chamber of Deputies, comparable to the House of Commons and the Chamber of Peers as upper house of the legislature, akin to the UK House of Lords. The move was hugely unpopular and men like Strolz, who had chosen to remain in France when Joseph Bonaparte fled the country, were immediately sidelined.
Louis XVIII signed the Treaty of Paris on 30 May 1814. The treaty gave France her 1792 borders, which extended east of the Rhine. France had to pay no war indemnity and the occupying armies of the Sixth Coalition withdrew immediately from French soil. Strolz was put on the retirement list with the rank of lieutenant general on 10 July 1814. Not exactly a supporter of the Bourbon Kings, Strolz was nevertheless made a Chevalier de Saint Louis on 1 November 1814 during a general attempt of Louis XVIII to reconcile his regime with the elite of Napoleon's Empire and on 9 November 1814, Strolz received the decoration of Officier de la Légion d'Honneur that was granted but never formally awarded by Bonaparte.
Hundred Days
After Napoleon's return from exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815, his brother - although surprised - joined him from Switzerland by way of Fort l'Ecluse. Joseph sent for Strolz who had been caught on the other side of France by the changed circumstances in Alsace. Unable to join Joseph immediately, he nonetheless declared his allegiance with the Bonapartes and was appointed governor of Strasbourg on 26 March 1815. On 21 April 1815, Strolz was re-confirmed by Napoleon as lieutenant general in the Imperial French Army. After lobbying for a more active role for himself, on 7 June 1815 Strolz was appointed officer commanding the 9th Cavalry Division. His division, together with the 10th Cavalry Division under General of Division Louis Pierre Aimé Chastel, and two horse artillery batteries, was part of General Rémi Joseph Isidore Exelmans II Cavalry Corps (2e Corps de cavalerie) of Napoleon's Armée du Nord. Strolz's Division was formed from the 1st Cavalry Brigade under Maréchal de Camp (General de Brigade) Baron André Burthe (consisting of the 5th Dragoon Regiment under Colonel Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Canavas de Saint-Armand and the 13th Dragoon Regiment under Colonel Jean-Baptiste Saviot) and the 2nd Cavalry Brigade commanded by Général de Brigade Baron Henri-Catherine-Baltazard Vincent (consisting of the 15th Dragoon Regiment under Colonel Claude-Louis Chaillot, the 20th Dragoon Regiment under Colonel Armand-Francois-Bon-Claude de Briqueville and as division artillery the 4th Company First Horse Artillery led by Capitaine Godet, which was equipped with seventy 4x6lb guns and 2x5.5in howitzers).
Battle of Ligny
On the afternoon of 15 June 1815, Strolz's cavalry vigorously pursued the Prussian rear guard. His dragoons defeated the 6th Uhlan Regiment and chased an infantry battalion out of the woods near Gilly, Belgium. On 16 June, Exelman's II, Cavalry Corps held the right flank in Napoleon's last victory. Discovering the presence of 20,000 Prussians at Gembloux, Exelman's cavalry commanders Jean Baptiste Alexandre Strolz and Louis Pierre Aimé Chastel were unable to interfere with their retreat on 17 June, having only 3,000 cavalry under their command.
Waterloo
During the battle of Waterloo, Strolz' 9th Cavalry Division fought at Wavre holding the extreme left flank on the west bank of the Dyle River while Chastel watched the far right flank on the east bank. There was a clash at Namur on the 20 June 1815 in which the 20th Dragoon Regiment of the II Cavalry Corps was engaged.
Rocquencourt and Le Chesnay
On 1 July 1815, Napoleon's Grande Armée fought its last battle in Rocquencourt and Le Chesnay, when Strolz's 2nd Cavalry Division, three battalions of the 44th Line Infantry Regiment, and a half battalion of the Sèvres National Guard hunted down Oberstleutnant Eston von Sohr's Prussian cavalry brigade, wrecking the 3rd Brandenburg and 5th Pommeranian Hussar Regiments. , Strolz was mentioned in the dispatches by General Excelmans for bravery and Leadership in the Battles of Velisy and Roquencourt
Life after the Second Restoration of Louis XVIII.
After the second restoration of King Louis XVIII, Strolz, due to his closeness to the Bonapartes, was put on the retirement list at half pay on 25 July 1815 and was incarcerated as a Bonapartist during the White Terror. Strolz swore an oath of allegiance to the Bourbon King on 1 December 1816 and thereby qualified for further service while stating that "submission to the King is a necessary evil" when consulted by officers looking for future employment in the Bourbon King's army. From this time on, his name was written in most official documents in the more French-speaker friendly fashion, as "Stroltz". His transfer to the General Staff on 26 January 1820 meant a semi-reactivation. On 8 November 1820, Strolz was appointed as Commandant Supérieur du Département du Finistère et de la Place de Brest. The appointment was recommended by Lieutenant General, later Marshal Jacques Lauriston, who had been called to serve as Ministre de la Maison du Roi while holding command in Brest and had nominated Strolz as his successor. Never fully trusted by the Bourbon Restauration Establishment for his Bonapartist leanings, Strolz was put on the retirement list again in January 1821.
On 21 February 1821, Strolz was received by King Louis XVIII in a private audience. Strolz settled down on a small estate in Mont-Richard, near Nancy, Alsace and bred horses. His gardens were well known and he had a reputation for the care with which he tended to swans on his ponds and storks on his grounds. It was there that Strolz was visited in May 1822 by Hercule de Serre who had been appointed Ambassador of France to the Kingdom of Naples in January of the same year and who was to be present at the Congress of Verona to negotiate among other issues, the French intervention in Spain that led to the general's reactivation.
Given his hands-on experience in Spain during the Peninsular Wars, Strolz was restored to the army for the Spanish War of 1823 and assigned to the staff of the Corps of Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angoulême, son of future King Charles X. Strolz was present at the conquest of Madrid and the Battle of Trocadéro. Evidently, he returned to France in good grace, because even though he didn't receive a command, he was rated as "à la suite", remained on the full pay list, was advanced to Commandeur de la Légion d' Honneur on 23 May 1825, and was invited to the King's Table on occasion of Charles X and the Dauphin's visit to Nancy on 15 September 1828
Life after the July Revolution 1830
After the July Revolution of 1830, the new king Louis-Philippe who ruled in an unpretentious fashion, avoiding the pomp and lavish spending of his predecessors, needed reliable men. He restored Strolz - whom he knew from two visits to Mont-Richard - to active duty on 1 September 1830 as Lieutenant General of Cavalry and Inspector General of the French Gendarmerie. The choice was supported by Field-Marshal Étienne Maurice Gérard, one of Strolz's old friends. Hugely popular in Belfort, Strolz was nominated as candidate for the parliamentary elections of 1831 and was elected Member of Parliament (Deputé) on 5 July 1831 as member of the 5th Collège du Haut-Rhin (Belfort). Strolz received 80 votes out of a total of 156 votes cast (from a pool of 171 registered voters) against 68 for his competitor, Frédéric Japy.
In his much applauded maiden speech, Strolz professed his support for a representative government and for a strictly constitutional monarchy. Strolz served as a Member of Parliament, i.e. député of the Haut-Rhin region from 1831 to 1837 while remaining on active duty.
Strolz surprised the public both by speaking against the draft on several occasions, calling it an unnecessary measure in peace time, and also by taking decidedly pro-republican positions. Between 1832 and 1835 Strolz was a Member of the Parliamentary Commission for Military Pensions. He had a keen interest in historic and social topics and was selected a Corresponding Member of the Historic Institute of France, Second Class, for History of Languages and Literature (Membre Correspondant de la 2e Classe - Histoire des Langues et des Littératures of the Institut Historique of France) and on 15 January 1833 was named a Member of the Royal French Society of Universal Statistics (Socièté Francaise de Statistique Universelle-Le Roi Protecteur). In 1834, Strolz was among the first subscribers to the early social study “Christian Economic Politics or Research about the Nature and the Causes of Poverty in France and Europe” (Economie Politique Chrétienne ou Recherches sur la Nature et les Causes du Pauperisme en France et en Europe). Blessed with a well-known sense for practical solutions and a disdain for decorum Strolz was re-elected on 21 June 1834 with 116 of 186 votes (from a pool of 213 registered voters) against his competitor M. Roman who received 65 votes. Promoted to Grand Officier of the Légion d'Honneur on 18 August 1834, Strolz did not seek reelection in 1837, but chose to retire instead. Much less pretentious and vain than many of his much flashier contemporaries he never made a show of his past deeds, resulting in his being forgotten on the widely published first list of names of generals for the Arc de Triomphe. Strolz put his foot down and on 5 August 1836 requested in writing, with supporting documents, that his name be put on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. His request was granted and an apology for the oversight was issued by the committee responsible. His name can be found on column 22.
On 11 January 1837, King Louis Philippe accepted Strolz's retirement, which had been handed in on 29 December 1836. On 31 May 1839 Strolz sent a letter to the 48th Assemblée générale de l'Institut Historique to inform the president, M. le comte Le Peletier d'Aunay, that he was too sick to give an opinion on the Annuaire historique militaire of M. le capitaine Sicard. On 15 August 1839, Strolz was put on the Reserves List of the General Staff for the last time and that same year he was created a Peer of France (Pair de France) for his services to king and nation.
Marriage and children
On 28 April 1818, Strolz married Rose Eléonore Virginie Louise Boinet (born on 29 November 1797, Pirmasens, Bavaria – died 4 April 1848, Paris); daughter of Messire Jean-Baptiste Sulpice Seigneur légitime de Boinet et de Brisais, commissaire des guerres en non-activité, Chevalier de l'Ordre Impérial de Léopold d'Autriche et du Mérite Militaire de Hesse and Maria-Louysa née de Keller. One of Strolz' best men was his brother Pierre François Emile de Strolz Ingénieur Royal des Ponts-et-Chaussées who lived in Altkirch/Alsace at that time.
The couple had four children who reached adulthood, two sons and two daughters. Both sons became officers, his second son later chose a career in diplomacy.
Death
Strolz died on 27 October 1841, aged 70, in his apartment at 14, Rue du Cherche-Midi, Paris. He was survived by his wife and children. Due to the very hot autumn that year, Strolz's funeral took place only two days after his death, on Friday 29 October 1841. Journalists noted that due to the very short notice, only personnel on the retirement list such as Colonel Baron Narcisee-Périclès Rigaux (son of Général Antoine Rigaux) were present and that neither the General Staff nor the Chamber of Deputies nor the 1st Division, which had Paris in their area of responsibility, had sent a delegation or wreaths to the funeral of the man who was called the Nestor of the Generals of the French Army.
Joseph Bonaparte, when informed of the death of his former Aide de Camp, sent Strolz' widow a letter of condolences, calling him "un homme de fer et de feu, le plus fidèle parmi les fidèles" (a man of iron and fire, the most faithful among the faithful). Bonaparte arranged a wreath to be placed on the grave and made gifts for the education of the sons and the dowries of the daughters.
Strolz is buried on the Montparnasse Cemetery, in Paris (14ème), his grave is at Division 15, avenue de l’Ouest, 2ème ligne.
Distinctions
Strolz is one of 660 Officers who had their names engraved on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. His name can be found on column 22.
In Belfort (90000), his native city, a street is named after him, the "Rue du Général Strolz".
On the house 5, Rue de l'Etuve in Belfort, a plaque of the Souvenir Français commemorates Strolz' place of birth.
Chevalier de la Légion d' Honneur (5 germinal an XI) (25 March 1804) (registration number 13446).
Knight of the Order of the Iron Crown Kingdom of Italy (6 June 1805).
Knight of the Papal Order of the Golden Spur and Comte palatin de l'eglise de Saint-Jean du Latran (2 February 1807).
Commandeur de l'Ordre des Deux Siciles (19 May 1808).
Grand-Croix de l'Ordre Royal d’Espagne (18 June 1810).
Grand-Cordon de l'Ordre Royal d'Espagne (15 February 1811).
Chevalier de Saint Louis (1 November 1814).
Officier de la Légion d'honneur (9 November 1814).
Commandeur de la Légion d' Honneur (23 May 1825).
Grand Officier de la Légion d'Honneur (18 April 1834).
Dates of rank and promotions, activities
March 1790 Volunteer Aide-de-Camp (engagé volontaire) to Général de Ferrier du Chatelet, general officer commanding all regular and volunteer troops in the Belfort region.
08 April 1793, chasseur à cheval (1st Régiment de Chasseurs á Cheval).
22 September 1794, brevet lieutenant and aide de camp to General Kléber.
26 December 1795, commissioned as a lieutenant in the 16th Régiment de Chasseurs à Cheval, described by Kléber as a patriotic, capable and courageous citizen, recommended for further promotion.
24 May 1797 (5 Prairal V), rated as an excellent horseman, courageous man and very intelligent officer and aide de camp by General Francois-Joseph Lefebre (1755-1820)).
02 January 1798, aide de camp to General Hatry.
23 June 1798, captain, 16th Régiment de Chasseurs à Cheval.
21 January 1799, major (Chef d’Escadron) (16th Régiment de Chasseurs à Cheval).
29 October 1803, (6 Brumaire XII), major (=lieutenant colonel) (19th Régiment de Chasseurs à Cheval)
Deputy Chief of Staff of Napoleon's Italian Army (Sous-chef de l'état major general de l'Armée d'Italy).
29 October 1805, battlefield promotion to full colonel at Verona.
02 December 1805, takes part in the Battle of Austerlitz, receives thirteen lance wounds in a charge, survives.
December 1805, appointed adjutant general by Joseph Bonaparte
25 July 1806, appointed to the personal staff of Joseph Bonaparte, now King Joseph of Naples, tasked with organising and commanding the Regiment des Chevaux Légers of the Royal Guards.
1807, appointed Governor of the Basilicate Province, tasked with fighting insurgents loyal to disposed King Ferdinand.
30 October 1807, promoted to brigadier general in the Army of the Royaume des Deux Siciles.
20 May 1808, grand squire and aide de camp of King Joseph of Naples.
July 1808, transferred to the service of Joseph Bonaparte's Kingdom of Spain.
12 July 1808, enters Madrid with King Joseph, has to cover the king's retreat from the city on 29 July 1808.
08 November 1808, cited for bravery in the Battle of Espinosa de los Monteros by Napoleon.
22–28 July 1809, battle of Talavera de La Reyna, CO of a cavalry brigade, cited for bravery.
09 August 1809, battle of Almonacid.
11 September 1809, receives a gift of two million Reals from King Joseph.
15 June 1810, baron of the French Empire (Letters patent of 15 June 1810).
15 February 1811, lieutenant général in the Army of the Kingdom of Spain as marechal de camp et premier ecuyer du Roi.
06 September 1812, named together with Comte Melito and Generals Merlin and Lucotte as the men who in July 1812 favoured the support of the Armée de Portugal.
26 December 1812, created Comte de Talavera de la Reyna by King Joseph.
01 July 1813, returned to France with King Joseph, reverted to last French rank i.e. brigadier general, Spanish titles never recognized.
21 Janvier 1814, confirmed as major general in the Imperial French Army with date of rank 1 July 1813.
13 February 1814, reconnaissance mission for Joseph Bonaparte along the Loing and Moret canals to rendezvous with General Pajol and gain information for a decision to send troops to Fontainebleau.
13 February 1814, returns with bad news, line broken at Bray, Sens lost, defence of Fontainebleau necessary.
21 February 1814, officially re-appointed aide de camp of Joseph Bonaparte in France and named brigadier general, back-dated to 1 July 1813.
21 February 1814, Strolz appoints Capitain Jean Thomas Rocquancourt as his aide de camp.
30 March 1814, hand delivers Joseph Bonaparte's last Orders to Marechal Marmont on the Hauteurs de Belleville during the Battle of Paris.
20 April 1814, present at the abdication of Emperor Napoleon in Fontainebleau.
10 July 1814, put on the retirement list with the rank of lieutenant general.
26 March 1815, appointed Governor of Strasbourg by Napoleon.
21 April 1815, confirmed by Napoleon as lieutenant general in the Imperial French Army.
07 June 1815, appointed officer commanding 9th Cavalry Division.
01 July 1815, cited by General Excelmans for bravery and Leadership in the Battles of Velisy and Roquencourt.
25 July 1815, put on the retirement list at half pay.
1815, incarcerated as a Bonapartist during the White Terror.
26 January 1820, transferred to the General Staff.
08 November 1820, commandant supérieur du département du Finistère et de la place de Brest with Rocquancourt as his aide de camp.
31 January 1821, put on the Retirement List.
1823, restored to the active list for the Spanish War of 1823, assigned to the staff of the corps of Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angoulême, son of future King Charles X, present at the conquest of Madrid and the Battle of Trocadéro.
15 September 1828, invited to the King's Table on the occasion of the visit of Charles X and the Dauphin to Nancy.
01 September 1830, reactivated as lieutenant general of cavalry
05 July 1832, Inspector general of the French gendarmerie of the 3e, 6e, and 16e divisions militaires Metz, Strasbourg, Lille.
1831–37, Member of Parliament (Député) for the Haut-Rhin region.
1832–1835, Member of the Parliamentary Commission for Military Pensions.
1833, Institut Historique, Membre Correspondant de la 2e Classe - Histoire des langues et des littératures.
1834, First Subscriber of Economie Politique Chrétienne ou Recherches sur la Nature et les Causes du Pauperisme en France et en Europe.
05 August 1836, Strolz requests that his name is put on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
11 January 1837, King Louis Philippe accepts Strolz's retirement handed in on 29 December 1836.
15 August 1839, put on the Reserves List of the General Staff, made Pair de France for his services to king and nation.
References
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Bulletin des Lois du Royaume de France IX Série, Tome 14* Chuquet, Arthur: Ordres et Apostilles de Napoleon 1799–1815, Tome IV, Paris 1912
Choffat, Thierry, Thiébaud, Jean-Marie, Tissot-Robbe, Gérard: Les Comtois de Napoléon: cent destins au service de l'Empire, Editions Cabedita, 2006,
Connelly, Owen: Napoleon's Satellite Kingdoms, Free Press, 1969
Desormeaux, Baguenier H.: Kléber en Vendee, Documents, publies pour la Société d' Histoire Contemporaire, Picard, Paris 1907, p. 24
Dobson, W. (Ed.): The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte, Late Emperor of the French, from his Birth to his Departure to the Island of Saint Helena, Philadelphia, 1815, p. 168,
Fastes de la Légion d'Honneur, Biographie de tous les Décorés, Tome Quatrième, Paris 1844
Fauvelet de Bourrienne, Louis : Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, Band 1–4, Silverthorne 2009
Fourier, Charles: La Phalange: journal de la Science Sociale Découverte et Constituée, 3e Serie, Tome IV, Paris Septembre-Décembre 1841
Franklin, John, Embleton, Gerry A.: Waterloo (2), Ligny, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2015,
Fromageot, Paul: La Rue du Cherche-Midi et ses habitants depuis ses origins jusqu'a nos jours, Firmin-Didot, Paris 1915, p. 253
Gazeta del Gobierno 1809 y Suplemento a la Gazeta del Gobierno del Martes 5 de Diciembrie de 1809
Grandmaison Geoffroy de: L' Espagne et Napoléon 1809–1811, Paris 1925,
Haythornthwaite, Philipp J.: Waterloo Armies, Men, Organization, Tactics, Bemsley Pen and Sword Military, 2007, p. 138,
Hugo, Abel: Souvenirs et mémoires sur Joseph Bonaparte, in: Revue des Deux Mondes, Période Initiale, 2e série, tome 1, 1833, pp. 300–2, ASIN: B00JSA21AU
Iung, Th.: Bonaparte et son Temps, 4e Edition, Tome 4, Paris 1889
Jourdan, Jean Baptiste: Mémoires militaires du maréchal Jourdan (guerre d'Espagne), récrits par lui-même / publiés d'après le manuscrit original par M. le vicomte de Grouchy. Paris, Flammarion, [1899] xii,
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Le Clere: L'Ami de la Religion et du Roi Paris 1820* Michel, P.: Biographie Historique des Hommes Marquants de l'Ancienne Provence de Lorraine, (pp. 490–91)
Le Général Baron Jean-Baptiste-Alexandre Strolz in: Bulletin de la Société belfortaine d'émulation, Belfort 1912
Leuilliot, Paul: L'Alsace au début du XIXe siecle: Essais d'Histoire Politique, Economique et Religieuse, 1815–1830, Tome 1, Sevpen 1959
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Liste des Mandats à l'Assemblée nationale ou à la Chambre des députés
Reiss René : Clarke: Maréchal et Pair de France, Coprur, 1999
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Notes
1771 births
1841 deaths
People from Belfort
Barons of the First French Empire
Politicians from Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Orléanists
Members of the 2nd Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy
Members of the 3rd Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy
Members of the Chamber of Peers of the July Monarchy
French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars
Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur
Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery
Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe | en |
doc-en-14992 | Conservatism is an aesthetic, cultural, social, and political philosophy, which seeks to promote and to preserve traditional social institutions. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the status quo of the culture and civilization in which it appears. In Western culture, conservatives seek to preserve a range of institutions such as organized religion, parliamentary government, and property rights. Adherents of conservatism often oppose progressivism and seek a return to traditional values.
The first established use of the term in a political context originated in 1818 with François-René de Chateaubriand during the period of Bourbon Restoration that sought to roll back the policies of the French Revolution. Historically associated with right-wing politics, the term has since been used to describe a wide range of views. There is no single set of policies regarded as conservative because the meaning of conservatism depends on what is considered traditional in a given place and time. Conservative thought has varied considerably as it has adapted itself to existing traditions and national cultures. For example, some conservatives advocate for greater government intervention in the economy while others advocate for a more laissez faire free market economic system. Thus conservatives from different parts of the world—each upholding their respective traditions—may disagree on a wide range of issues. Edmund Burke, an 18th-century politician who opposed the French Revolution but supported the American Revolution, is credited as one of the main theorists of conservatism in the 1790s.
Themes
Some political scientists such as Samuel P. Huntington, see conservatism as situational. Under this definition, conservatives are seen as defending the established institutions of their time. According to Quintin Hogg, the chairman of the British Conservative Party in 1959: "Conservatism is not so much a philosophy as an attitude, a constant force, performing a timeless function in the development of a free society, and corresponding to a deep and permanent requirement of human nature itself". Despite the lack of a universal definition, certain themes can be recognised as common across conservative thought.
Tradition
According to Michael Oakeshott, "To be conservative ... is to prefer the familiar to the unknown, to prefer the tried to the untried, fact to mystery, the actual to the possible, the limited to the unbounded, the near to the distant, the sufficient to the superabundant, the convenient to the perfect, present laughter to utopian bliss." Such traditionalism may be a reflection of trust in time-tested methods of social organisation, giving 'votes to the dead'. Traditions may also be steeped in a sense of identity.
Hierarchy
In contrast to the tradition-based definition of conservatism, some political theorists such as Corey Robin define conservatism primarily in terms of a general defence of social and economic inequality. In that way right-wing politics supports the view that certain social orders and hierarchies are inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, or tradition. From this perspective, conservatism is less an attempt to uphold old institutions and more "a meditation on—and theoretical rendition of—the felt experience of having power, seeing it threatened, and trying to win it back". Conversely, some conservatives may argue that they are seeking less to protect their own power than they are seeking to protect "inalienable rights" and promote norms and rules that they believe should stand timeless and eternal, applying to each citizen.
Realism
Conservatism has been called a "philosophy of human imperfection" by Noël O'Sullivan, reflecting among its adherents a negative view of human nature and pessimism of the potential to improve it through 'utopian' schemes. The "intellectual godfather of the realist right", Thomas Hobbes, argued that the state of nature for humans was "poor, nasty, brutish, and short", requiring centralised authority.
Forms
Liberal conservatism
Liberal conservatism incorporates the classical liberal view of minimal government intervention in the economy. Individuals should be free to participate in the market and generate wealth without government interference. However, individuals cannot be thoroughly depended on to act responsibly in other spheres of life, therefore liberal conservatives believe that a strong state is necessary to ensure law and order and social institutions are needed to nurture a sense of duty and responsibility to the nation. Liberal conservatism is a variant of conservatism that is strongly influenced by liberal stances.
As these latter two terms have had different meanings over time and across countries, liberal conservatism also has a wide variety of meanings. Historically, the term often referred to the combination of economic liberalism, which champions laissez-faire markets, with the classical conservatism concern for established tradition, respect for authority and religious values. It contrasted itself with classical liberalism, which supported freedom for the individual in both the economic and social spheres.
Over time, the general conservative ideology in many countries adopted fiscally conservative arguments and the term liberal conservatism was replaced with conservatism. This is also the case in countries where liberal economic ideas have been the tradition such as the United States and are thus considered conservative. In other countries where liberal conservative movements have entered the political mainstream, such as Italy and Spain, the terms liberal and conservative may be synonymous. The liberal conservative tradition in the United States combines the economic individualism of the classical liberals with a Burkean form of conservatism (which has also become part of the American conservative tradition, such as in the writings of Russell Kirk).
A secondary meaning for the term liberal conservatism that has developed in Europe is a combination of more modern conservative (less traditionalist) views with those of social liberalism. This has developed as an opposition to the more collectivist views of socialism. Often this involves stressing conservative views of free market economics and belief in individual responsibility, with communitarian views on defence of civil rights, environmentalism and support for a limited welfare state. In continental Europe, this is sometimes also translated into English as social conservatism.
Libertarian conservatism
Libertarian conservatism describes certain political ideologies most prominently within the United States which combine libertarian economic issues with aspects of conservatism. Its four main branches are constitutionalism, paleolibertarianism, small government conservatism and Christian libertarianism. They generally differ from paleoconservatives, in that they favor more personal and economic freedom.
Agorists such as Samuel Edward Konkin III labeled libertarian conservatism right-libertarianism.
In contrast to paleoconservatives, libertarian conservatives support strict laissez-faire policies such as free trade, opposition to any national bank and opposition to business regulations. They are vehemently opposed to environmental regulations, corporate welfare, subsidies and other areas of economic intervention.
Many conservatives, especially in the United States, believe that the government should not play a major role in regulating business and managing the economy. They typically oppose efforts to charge high tax rates and to redistribute income to assist the poor. Such efforts, they argue, only serve to exacerbate the scourge of unemployment and poverty by lessening the ability for businesses to hire employees due to higher tax impositions.
Fiscal conservatism
Fiscal conservatism is the economic philosophy of prudence in government spending and debt. In his Reflections on the Revolution in France, Edmund Burke argued that a government does not have the right to run up large debts and then throw the burden on the taxpayer: [I]t is to the property of the citizen, and not to the demands of the creditor of the state, that the first and original faith of civil society is pledged. The claim of the citizen is prior in time, paramount in title, superior in equity. The fortunes of individuals, whether possessed by acquisition or by descent or in virtue of a participation in the goods of some community, were no part of the creditor's security, expressed or implied...[T]he public, whether represented by a monarch or by a senate, can pledge nothing but the public estate; and it can have no public estate except in what it derives from a just and proportioned imposition upon the citizens at large.
National conservatism
National conservatism is a political term used primarily in Europe to describe a variant of conservatism which concentrates more on national interests than standard conservatism as well as upholding cultural and ethnic identity, while not being outspokenly nationalist or supporting a far-right approach. In Europe, national conservatives are usually eurosceptics.
National conservatism is heavily oriented towards the traditional family and social stability as well as in favour of limiting immigration. As such, national conservatives can be distinguished from economic conservatives, for whom free market economic policies, deregulation and fiscal conservatism are the main priorities. Some commentators have identified a growing gap between national and economic conservatism: "[M]ost parties of the Right [today] are run by economic conservatives who, in varying degrees, have marginalized social, cultural, and national conservatives". National conservatism is also related to traditionalist conservatism.
Traditionalist conservatism
Traditionalist conservatism is a political philosophy emphasizing the need for the principles of natural law and transcendent moral order, tradition, hierarchy and organic unity, agrarianism, classicism and high culture as well as the intersecting spheres of loyalty. Some traditionalists have embraced the labels "reactionary" and "counterrevolutionary", defying the stigma that has attached to these terms since the Enlightenment. Having a hierarchical view of society, many traditionalist conservatives, including a few Americans (notable examples including Ralph Adams Cram, Solange Hertz, William S. Lind, & Charles A. Coulombe), defend the monarchical political structure as the most natural and beneficial social arrangement.
Cultural conservatism
Cultural conservatives support the preservation of the heritage of one nation, or of a shared culture that is not defined by national boundaries. The shared culture may be as divergent as Western culture or Chinese culture. In the United States, the term "cultural conservative" may imply a conservative position in the culture war. Cultural conservatives hold fast to traditional ways of thinking even in the face of monumental change. They believe strongly in traditional values and traditional politics and often have an urgent sense of nationalism.
Social conservatism
Social conservatism is distinct from cultural conservatism, although there are some overlaps. Social conservatives may believe that society is built upon a fragile network of relationships which need to be upheld through duty, traditional values and established institutions; and that the government has a role in encouraging or enforcing traditional values or behaviours. A social conservative wants to preserve traditional morality and social mores, often by opposing what they consider radical policies or social engineering. Social change is generally regarded as suspect.
Social conservatives today generally favour the anti-abortion position in the abortion controversy and oppose human embryonic stem cell research (particularly if publicly funded); oppose both eugenics and human enhancement (transhumanism) while supporting bioconservatism; support a traditional definition of marriage as being one man and one woman; view the nuclear family model as society's foundational unit; oppose expansion of civil marriage and child adoption to couples in same-sex relationships; promote public morality and traditional family values; oppose atheism, especially militant atheism, secularism and the separation of church and state; support the prohibition of drugs, prostitution and euthanasia; and support the censorship of pornography and what they consider to be obscenity or indecency.
Religious conservatism
Religious conservatism principally applies the teachings of particular religions to politics: sometimes by merely proclaiming the value of those teachings; at other times, by having those teachings influence laws.
In most democracies, political conservatism seeks to uphold traditional family structures and social values. Religious conservatives typically oppose abortion, LGBT behavior (or, in certain cases, identity), drug use, and sexual activity outside of marriage. In some cases, conservative values are grounded in religious beliefs, and conservatives seek to increase the role of religion in public life.
Paternalistic conservatism
Paternalistic conservatism is a strand in conservatism which reflects the belief that societies exist and develop organically and that members within them have obligations towards each other. There is particular emphasis on the paternalistic obligation of those who are privileged and wealthy to the poorer parts of society. Since it is consistent with principles such as organicism, hierarchy and duty, it can be seen as an outgrowth of traditional conservatism. Paternal conservatives support neither the individual nor the state in principle, but are instead prepared to support either or recommend a balance between the two depending on what is most practical. Paternalistic conservatives historically favor a more aristocratic view (as opposed to the more monarchist traditionalist conservatism) and are ideologically related to High Tories.
In more contemporary times, its proponents stress the importance of a social safety net to deal with poverty, support for limited redistribution of wealth along with government regulation of markets in the interests of both consumers and producers. Paternalistic conservatism first arose as a distinct ideology in the United Kingdom under Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli's "One Nation" Toryism. There have been a variety of one nation conservative governments. In the United Kingdom, the Prime Ministers Disraeli, Stanley Baldwin, Neville Chamberlain, Winston Churchill, Harold Macmillan and Boris Johnson were or are one nation conservatives.
In Germany, during the 19th-century German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck adopted policies of state-organized compulsory insurance for workers against sickness, accident, incapacity and old age. Chancellor Leo von Caprivi promoted a conservative agenda called the "New Course".
Progressive conservatism
In the United States, Theodore Roosevelt has been the main figure identified with progressive conservatism as a political tradition. Roosevelt stated that he had "always believed that wise progressivism and wise conservatism go hand in hand". The Republican administration of President William Howard Taft was a progressive conservative and he described himself as "a believer in progressive conservatism" and President Dwight D. Eisenhower declared himself an advocate of "progressive conservatism".
In Canada, a variety of conservative governments have been part of the Red tory tradition, with Canada's former major conservative party being named the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1942 to 2003. In Canada, the Prime Ministers Arthur Meighen, R. B. Bennett, John Diefenbaker, Joe Clark, Brian Mulroney, and Kim Campbell led Red tory federal governments.
Authoritarian conservatism
Authoritarian conservatism or reactionary conservatism refers to autocratic regimes that center their ideology around conservative nationalism, rather than ethnic nationalism, though certain racial components such as antisemitism may exist. Authoritarian conservative movements show strong devotion towards religion, tradition and culture while also expressing fervent nationalism akin to other far-right nationalist movements. Examples of authoritarian conservative leaders include António de Oliveira Salazar and Engelbert Dollfuss. Authoritarian conservative movements were prominent in the same era as fascism, with which it sometimes clashed. Although both ideologies shared core values such as nationalism and had common enemies such as communism and materialism, there was nonetheless a contrast between the traditionalist nature of authoritarian conservatism and the revolutionary, palingenetic and populist nature of fascism—thus it was common for authoritarian conservative regimes to suppress rising fascist and National Socialist movements. The hostility between the two ideologies is highlighted by the struggle for power for the National Socialists in Austria, which was marked by the assassination of Engelbert Dollfuss.
Sociologist Seymour Martin Lipset has examined the class basis of right-wing extremist politics in the 1920–1960 era. He reports:
Conservative or rightist extremist movements have arisen at different periods in modern history, ranging from the Horthyites in Hungary, the Christian Social Party of Dollfuss in Austria, Der Stahlhelm and other nationalists in pre-Hitler Germany, and Salazar in Portugal, to the pre-1966 Gaullist movements and the monarchists in contemporary France and Italy. The right extremists are conservative, not revolutionary. They seek to change political institutions in order to preserve or restore cultural and economic ones, while extremists of the centre and left seek to use political means for cultural and social revolution. The ideal of the right extremist is not a totalitarian ruler, but a monarch, or a traditionalist who acts like one. Many such movements in Spain, Austria, Hungary, Germany, and Italy-have been explicitly monarchist... The supporters of these movements differ from those of the centrists, tending to be wealthier, and more religious, which is more important in terms of a potential for mass support.
History
History of conservative thought
In Great Britain, the Tory movement during the Restoration period (1660–1688) was a precursor to conservatism. Toryism supported a hierarchical society with a monarch who ruled by divine right. However, Tories differ from conservatives in that they opposed the idea that sovereignty derived from the people and rejected the authority of parliament and freedom of religion. Robert Filmer's Patriarcha: or the Natural Power of Kings (published posthumously in 1680, but written before the English Civil War of 1642–1651) became accepted as the statement of their doctrine. However, the Glorious Revolution of 1688 destroyed this principle to some degree by establishing a constitutional government in England, leading to the hegemony of the Tory-opposed Whig ideology. Faced with defeat, the Tories reformed their movement. They adopted more conservative positions, such as holding that sovereignty was vested in the three estates of Crown, Lords, and Commons rather than solely in the Crown. Richard Hooker (1554–1600), Marquess of Halifax (1633–1695) and David Hume (1711-1776) were proto-conservatives of the period. Halifax promoted pragmatism in government whilst Hume argued against political rationalism and utopianism. Edmund Burke (1729–1797) has been widely regarded as the philosophical founder of modern conservatism. Burke served as the private secretary to the Marquis of Rockingham and as official pamphleteer to the Rockingham branch of the Whig party. Together with the Tories, they were the conservatives in the late 18th century United Kingdom. Burke's views were a mixture of conservatism and republicanism. He supported the American Revolution of 1775–1783 but abhorred the violence of the French Revolution (1789–1799). He accepted the conservative ideals of private property and the economics of Adam Smith (1723–1790), but thought that economics should remain subordinate to the conservative social ethic, that capitalism should be subordinate to the medieval social tradition and that the business class should be subordinate to aristocracy. He insisted on standards of honor derived from the medieval aristocratic tradition and saw the aristocracy as the nation's natural leaders. That meant limits on the powers of the Crown, since he found the institutions of Parliament to be better informed than commissions appointed by the executive. He favored an established church, but allowed for a degree of religious toleration. Burke ultimately justified the social order on the basis of tradition: tradition represented the wisdom of the species and he valued community and social harmony over social reforms.Another form of conservatism developed in France in parallel to conservatism in Britain. It was influenced by Counter-Enlightenment works by men such as Joseph de Maistre (1753-1821) and Louis de Bonald (1754-1840). Many continental conservatives do not support separation of church and state, with most supporting state recognition of and cooperation with the Catholic Church, such as had existed in France before the Revolution. Conservatives were also early to embrace nationalism, which was previously associated with liberalism and the Revolution in France. Another early French conservative, François-René de Chateaubriand (1768-1848), espoused a romantic opposition to modernity, contrasting its emptiness with the 'full heart' of traditional faith and loyalty. Elsewhere on the continent, German thinkers Justus Möser (1720-1794) and Friedrich von Gentz (1764-1832) criticized the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen that came of the Revolution. Opposition was also expressed by August Wilhelm Rehberg (1757-1836), Adam Müller (1779-1829) and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1771-1830), the latter inspiring both left and right-wing followers.
Both Burke and Maistre were critical of pure democracy in general, though their reasons differed. Maistre was pessimistic about humans being able to follow rules, while Burke was skeptical about humans' innate ability to make rules. For Maistre, rules had a divine origin, while Burke believed they arose from custom. The lack of custom for Burke, and the lack of divine guidance for Maistre, meant that people would act in terrible ways. Both also believed that liberty of the wrong kindled to bewilderment and political breakdown. Their ideas would together flow into a stream of anti-rationalist conservatism, but would still stay separate. Whereas Burke was more open to argumentation and disagreement, Maistre wanted authority and obedience, leading to a more illiberal strain of thought.
History of conservative parties and movements
Conservative political parties vary widely from country to country in the goals they wish to achieve. Both conservative and liberal parties tend to favor private ownership of property, in opposition to communist, socialist and green parties, which favor communal ownership or laws requiring social responsibility on the part of property owners. Where conservatives and liberals differ is primarily on social issues. Conservatives tend to reject behaviour that does not conform to some social norm. Modern conservative parties often define themselves by their opposition to liberal or labour parties. The United States usage of the term "conservative" is unique to that country.
In Italy, which was united by liberals and radicals (Risorgimento), liberals, not conservatives, emerged as the party of the right. In the Netherlands, conservatives merged into a new Christian democratic party in 1980. In Austria, Germany, Portugal and Spain, conservatism was transformed into and incorporated into fascism or the far-right. In 1940, all Japanese parties were merged into a single fascist party. Following the war, Japanese conservatives briefly returned to politics, but were largely purged from public office.
Conservative elites have long dominated Latin American nations. Mostly, this has been achieved through control of and support for civil institutions, the church and the armed forces, rather than through party politics. Typically, the church was exempt from taxes and its employees immune from civil prosecution. Where national conservative parties were weak or non-existent, conservatives were more likely to rely on military dictatorship as a preferred form of government. However, in some nations where the elites were able to mobilize popular support for conservative parties, longer periods of political stability were achieved. Chile, Colombia and Venezuela are examples of nations that developed strong conservative parties. Argentina, Brazil, El Salvador and Peru are examples of nations where this did not occur. The Conservative Party of Venezuela disappeared following the Federal Wars of 1858–1863. Chile's conservative party, the National Party, disbanded in 1973 following a military coup and did not re-emerge as a political force following the subsequent return to democracy. Louis Hartz explained conservatism in Quebec and Latin America as a result of their settlement as feudal societies. The American conservative writer Russell Kirk provided the opinion that conservatism had been brought to the United States and interpreted the American Revolution as a "conservative revolution".
Historic conservatism in different countries
Although political conservatism developed in most countries, most countries did not have conservative parties. Many conservatives parties disappeared as the reasons for their existence disappeared. Below are listed the historic conservative parties that survive today.
Belgium
Having its roots in the conservative Catholic Party, the Christian People's Party retained a conservative edge through the twentieth century, supporting the king in the Royal Question, supporting nuclear family as the cornerstone of society, defending Christian education, and opposing euthanasia. The Christian People's Party dominated politics in post-war Belgium. In 1999, the party's support collapsed, and it became the country's fifth-largest party. Currently, the N-VA (nieuw-vlaamse alliantie/New Flemish Alliance) is the largest party in Belgium.
Canada
Canada's conservatives had their roots in the Tory loyalists who left America after the American Revolution. They developed in the socio-economic and political cleavages that existed during the first three decades of the 19th century and had the support of the business, professional and established Church (Anglican) elites in Ontario and to a lesser extent in Quebec. Holding a monopoly over administrative and judicial offices, they were called the "Family Compact" in Ontario and the "Chateau Clique" in Quebec. John A. Macdonald's successful leadership of the movement to confederate the provinces and his subsequent tenure as prime minister for most of the late 19th century rested on his ability to bring together the English-speaking Protestant oligarchy and the ultramontane Catholic hierarchy of Quebec and to keep them united in a conservative coalition.
The conservatives combined pro-market liberalism and Toryism. They generally supported an activist government and state intervention in the marketplace and their policies were marked by noblesse oblige, a paternalistic responsibility of the elites for the less well-off. From 1942, the party was known as the Progressive Conservatives until 2003, when the national party merged with the Canadian Alliance to form the Conservative Party of Canada.
The conservative and autonomist Union Nationale, led by Maurice Duplessis, governed the province of Quebec in periods from 1936 to 1960 and in a close alliance with the Catholic Church, small rural elites, farmers and business elites. This period, known by liberals as the Great Darkness, ended with the Quiet Revolution and the party went into terminal decline. By the end of the 1960s, the political debate in Quebec centered around the question of independence, opposing the social democratic and sovereignist Parti Québécois and the centrist and federalist Quebec Liberal Party, therefore marginalizing the conservative movement. Most French Canadian conservatives rallied either the Quebec Liberal Party or the Parti Québécois, while some of them still tried to offer an autonomist third-way with what was left of the Union Nationale or the more populists Ralliement créditiste du Québec and Parti national populaire, but by the 1981 provincial election politically organized conservatism had been obliterated in Quebec. It slowly started to revive at the 1994 provincial election with the Action démocratique du Québec, who served as Official opposition in the National Assembly from 2007 to 2008, before its merger with François Legault's Coalition Avenir Québec in 2012, that took power in 2018.
The modern Conservative Party of Canada has rebranded conservatism and under the leadership of Stephen Harper, the Conservative Party added more conservative policies.
Colombia
The Colombian Conservative Party, founded in 1849, traces its origins to opponents of General Francisco de Paula Santander's 1833–1837 administration. While the term "liberal" had been used to describe all political forces in Colombia, the conservatives began describing themselves as "conservative liberals" and their opponents as "red liberals". From the 1860s until the present, the party has supported strong central government; supported the Catholic Church, especially its role as protector of the sanctity of the family; and opposed separation of church and state. Its policies include the legal equality of all men, the citizen's right to own property and opposition to dictatorship. It has usually been Colombia's second largest party, with the Colombian Liberal Party being the largest.
Denmark
Founded in 1915, the Conservative People's Party of Denmark was the successor of Højre (literally "Right"). The conservative party led the government coalition from 1982 to 1993. The party was a junior partner in coalition with the Liberals from 2001 to 2011. The party is preceded by 11 years by the Young Conservatives (KU), today the youth movement of the party. The party suffered a major defeat in the parliamentary elections of September 2011 in which the party lost more than half of its seat and also lost governmental power. A liberal cultural policy dominated during the post-war period. However, by the 1990s, disagreements regarding immigrants from entirely different cultures ignited a conservative backlash. In 2015 Nye Borgerlige (The New Right) was founded promoting themselves as “true conservatives” criticizing the Conservative People's Party for leaving its original values behind.
Finland
The conservative party in Finland is the National Coalition Party (in Finnish Kansallinen Kokoomus, Kok). The party was founded in 1918 when several monarchist parties united. Although in the past the party was right-wing, today it is a moderate liberal conservative party. While the party advocates economic liberalism, it is committed to the social market economy.
France
Conservatism in France focused on the rejection of the secularism of the French Revolution, support for the role of the Catholic Church and the restoration of the monarchy. The monarchist cause was on the verge of victory in the 1870s, but then collapsed because the proposed king refused to fly the tri-colored flag. Religious tensions heightened in the 1890–1910 era, but moderated after the spirit of unity in fighting the First World War. An extreme form of conservatism characterized the Vichy regime of 1940–1944 with heightened antisemitism, opposition to individualism, emphasis on family life and national direction of the economy.
Following the Second World War, conservatives in France supported Gaullist groups and have been nationalistic and emphasized tradition, order and the regeneration of France. Gaullists held divergent views on social issues. The number of conservative groups, their lack of stability and their tendency to be identified with local issues defy simple categorization. Conservatism has been the major political force in France since the Second World War. Unusually, post-war French conservatism was formed around the personality of a leader, Charles de Gaulle; and did not draw on traditional French conservatism, but on the Bonapartism tradition. Gaullism in France continues under The Republicans (formerly Union for a Popular Movement), which was previously led by Nicolas Sarkozy, a conservative figure in France. The word "conservative" itself is a term of abuse to many people in France.
Greece
The main inter-war conservative party was called the People's Party (PP), which supported constitutional monarchy and opposed the republican Liberal Party. Both it and the Liberal party were suppressed by the authoritarian, arch-conservative and royalist 4th of August Regime of Ioannis Metaxas in 1936–1941. The PP was able to re-group after the Second World War as part of a United Nationalist Front which achieved power campaigning on a simple anticommunist, ultranationalist platform during the Greek Civil War (1946–1949). However, the vote received by the PP declined during the so-called "Centrist Interlude" in 1950–1952. In 1952, Marshal Alexandros Papagos created the Greek Rally as an umbrella for the right-wing forces. The Greek Rally came to power in 1952 and remained the leading party in Greece until 1963—after Papagos' death in 1955 reformed as the National Radical Union under Konstantinos Karamanlis. Right-wing governments backed by the palace and the army overthrew the Centre Union government in 1965 and governed the country until the establishment of the far-right Greek junta (1967–1974). After the regime's collapse in August 1974, Karamanlis returned from exile to lead the government and founded the New Democracy party. The new conservative party had four objectives: to confront Turkish expansionism in Cyprus, to reestablish and solidify democratic rule, to give the country a strong government and to make a powerful moderate party a force in Greek politics.
The Independent Greeks, a newly formed political party in Greece, has also supported conservatism, particularly national and religious conservatism. The Founding Declaration of the Independent Greeks strongly emphasises in the preservation of the Greek state and its sovereignty, the Greek people and the Greek Orthodox Church.
Iceland
Founded in 1924 as the Conservative Party, Iceland's Independence Party adopted its current name in 1929 after the merger with the Liberal Party. From the beginning, they have been the largest vote-winning party, averaging around 40%. They combined liberalism and conservatism, supported nationalization of infrastructure and opposed class conflict. While mostly in opposition during the 1930s, they embraced economic liberalism, but accepted the welfare state after the war and participated in governments supportive of state intervention and protectionism. Unlike other Scandanivian conservative (and liberal) parties, it has always had a large working-class following. After the financial crisis in 2008, the party has sunk to a lower support level around 20–25%.
Luxembourg
Luxembourg's major conservative party, the Christian Social People's Party (CSV or PCS), was formed as the Party of the Right in 1914 and adopted its present name in 1945. It was consistently the largest political party in Luxembourg, and dominated politics throughout the 20th century.
Norway
The Conservative Party of Norway (Norwegian: Høyre, literally "right") was formed by the old upper class of state officials and wealthy merchants to fight the populist democracy of the Liberal Party, but lost power in 1884, when parliamentarian government was first practised. It formed its first government under parliamentarism in 1889 and continued to alternate in power with the Liberals until the 1930s, when Labour became the dominant political party. It has elements both of paternalism, stressing the responsibilities of the state, and of economic liberalism. It first returned to power in the 1960s. During Kåre Willoch's premiership in the 1980s, much emphasis was laid on liberalizing the credit and housing market, and abolishing the NRK TV and radio monopoly, while supporting law and order in criminal justice and traditional norms in education
Sweden
Sweden's conservative party, the Moderate Party, was formed in 1904, two years after the founding of the Liberal Party. The party emphasizes tax reductions, deregulation of private enterprise and privatization of schools, hospitals, and kindergartens.
Switzerland
There are a number of conservative parties in Switzerland's parliament, the Federal Assembly. These include the largest, the Swiss People's Party (SVP), the Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP) and the Conservative Democratic Party of Switzerland (BDP), which is a splinter of the SVP created in the aftermath to the election of Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf as Federal Council. The right-wing parties have a majority in the Federal Assembly.
The Swiss People's Party (SVP or UDC) was formed from the 1971 merger of the Party of Farmers, Traders and Citizens, formed in 1917 and the smaller Swiss Democratic Party, formed in 1942. The SVP emphasized agricultural policy and was strong among farmers in German-speaking Protestant areas. As Switzerland considered closer relations with the European Union in the 1990s, the SVP adopted a more militant protectionist and isolationist stance. This stance has allowed it to expand into German-speaking Catholic mountainous areas. The Anti-Defamation League, a non-Swiss lobby group based in the United States has accused them of manipulating issues such as immigration, Swiss neutrality and welfare benefits, awakening antisemitism and racism. The Council of Europe has called the SVP "extreme right", although some scholars dispute this classification. For instance, Hans-Georg Betz describes it as "populist radical right". The SVP is the largest party since 2003.
Ukraine
Authoritarian Ukrainian State headed by Pavlo Skoropadskyi represented the conservative movement. The 1918 Hetman government, which appealed to the tradition of the 17th–18th century Cossack Hetman state, represented the conservative strand in Ukraine's struggle for independence. It had the support of the proprietary classes and of conservative and moderate political groups. Vyacheslav Lypynsky was an main ideologue of Ukrainian conservatism.
United Kingdom
According to historian James Sack, English conservatives celebrate Edmund Burke who was Irish, as their intellectual father. Burke was affiliated with the Whig Party which eventually became the Liberal Party, but the modern Conservative Party is generally thought to derive from the Tory party and the MPs of the modern conservative party are still frequently referred to as Tories.
Shortly after Burke's death in 1797, conservatism revived as a mainstream political force as the Whigs suffered a series of internal divisions. This new generation of conservatives derived their politics not from Burke, but from his predecessor, the Viscount Bolingbroke (1678–1751), who was a Jacobite and traditional Tory, lacking Burke's sympathies for Whiggish policies such as Catholic emancipation and American independence (famously attacked by Samuel Johnson in "Taxation No Tyranny"). In the first half of the 19th century, many newspapers, magazines, and journals promoted loyalist or right-wing attitudes in religion, politics and international affairs. Burke was seldom mentioned, but William Pitt the Younger (1759–1806) became a conspicuous hero. The most prominent journals included The Quarterly Review, founded in 1809 as a counterweight to the Whigs' Edinburgh Review and the even more conservative Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine. Sack finds that the Quarterly Review promoted a balanced Canningite toryism as it was neutral on Catholic emancipation and only mildly critical of Nonconformist Dissent; it opposed slavery and supported the current poor laws; and it was "aggressively imperialist". The high-church clergy of the Church of England read the Orthodox Churchman's Magazine which was equally hostile to Jewish, Catholic, Jacobin, Methodist and Unitarian spokesmen. Anchoring the ultra Tories, Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine stood firmly against Catholic emancipation and favoured slavery, cheap money, mercantilism, the Navigation Acts and the Holy Alliance.
Conservatism evolved after 1820, embracing free trade in 1846 and a commitment to democracy, especially under Disraeli. The effect was to significantly strengthen conservatism as a grassroots political force. Conservatism no longer was the philosophical defense of the landed aristocracy, but had been refreshed into redefining its commitment to the ideals of order, both secular and religious, expanding imperialism, strengthened monarchy and a more generous vision of the welfare state as opposed to the punitive vision of the Whigs and liberals. As early as 1835, Disraeli attacked the Whigs and utilitarians as slavishly devoted to an industrial oligarchy, while he described his fellow Tories as the only "really democratic party of England" and devoted to the interests of the whole people. Nevertheless, inside the party there was a tension between the growing numbers of wealthy businessmen on the one side and the aristocracy and rural gentry on the other. The aristocracy gained strength as businessmen discovered they could use their wealth to buy a peerage and a country estate.
Although conservatives opposed attempts to allow greater representation of the middle class in parliament, they conceded that electoral reform could not be reversed and promised to support further reforms so long as they did not erode the institutions of church and state. These new principles were presented in the Tamworth Manifesto of 1834, which historians regard as the basic statement of the beliefs of the new Conservative Party.
Some conservatives lamented the passing of a pastoral world where the ethos of noblesse oblige had promoted respect from the lower classes. They saw the Anglican Church and the aristocracy as balances against commercial wealth. They worked toward legislation for improved working conditions and urban housing. This viewpoint would later be called Tory democracy. However, since Burke, there has always been tension between traditional aristocratic conservatism and the wealthy business class.
In 1834, Tory Prime Minister Robert Peel issued the Tamworth Manifesto in which he pledged to endorse moderate political reform. This marked the beginning of the transformation of British conservatism from High Tory reactionism towards a more modern form based on "conservation". The party became known as the Conservative Party as a result, a name it has retained to this day. However, Peel would also be the root of a split in the party between the traditional Tories (led by the Earl of Derby and Benjamin Disraeli) and the "Peelites" (led first by Peel himself, then by the Earl of Aberdeen). The split occurred in 1846 over the issue of free trade, which Peel supported, versus protectionism, supported by Derby. The majority of the party sided with Derby whilst about a third split away, eventually merging with the Whigs and the radicals to form the Liberal Party. Despite the split, the mainstream Conservative Party accepted the doctrine of free trade in 1852.
In the second half of the 19th century, the Liberal Party faced political schisms, especially over Irish Home Rule. Leader William Gladstone (himself a former Peelite) sought to give Ireland a degree of autonomy, a move that elements in both the left and right-wings of his party opposed. These split off to become the Liberal Unionists (led by Joseph Chamberlain), forming a coalition with the Conservatives before merging with them in 1912. The Liberal Unionist influence dragged the Conservative Party towards the left as Conservative governments passing a number of progressive reforms at the turn of the 20th century. By the late 19th century, the traditional business supporters of the Liberal Party had joined the Conservatives, making them the party of business and commerce.
After a period of Liberal dominance before the First World War, the Conservatives gradually became more influential in government, regaining full control of the cabinet in 1922. In the inter-war period, conservatism was the major ideology in Britain as the Liberal Party vied with the Labour Party for control of the left. After the Second World War, the first Labour government (1945–1951) under Clement Attlee embarked on a program of nationalization of industry and the promotion of social welfare. The Conservatives generally accepted those policies until the 1980s.
In the 1980s, the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher, guided by neoliberal economics, reversed many of Labour's programmes. The Conservative Party also adopt soft eurosceptic politics, and oppose Federal Europe. Other conservative political parties, such as the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP, founded in 1993), Northern Ireland's Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP, founded in 1971), began to appear, although they have yet to make any significant impact at Westminster (, the DUP comprises the largest political party in the ruling coalition in the Northern Ireland Assembly), and from 2017 to 2019 the DUP provided support for the Conservative minority government.
Modern conservatism in different countries
Many sources refer to any political parties on the right of the political spectrum as conservative despite having no connection with historical conservatism. In most cases, these parties do not use the term conservative in their name or self-identify as conservative. Below is a partial list of such political parties.
Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia adheres to the principles of social conservatism and liberal conservatism. It is liberal in the sense of economics. Other conservative parties are the National Party of Australia, a sister party of the Liberals, Family First Party, Democratic Labor Party, Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, Australian Conservatives, and the Katter's Australian Party.
The second largest party in the country is the Australian Labor Party and its dominant faction is Labor Right, a socially conservative element. Australia undertook significant economic reform under the Labor Party in the mid-1980s. Consequently, issues like protectionism, welfare reform, privatization and deregulation are no longer debated in the political space as they are in Europe or North America. Moser and Catley explain: "In America, 'liberal' means left-of-center, and it is a pejorative term when used by conservatives in adversarial political debate. In Australia, of course, the conservatives are in the Liberal Party". Jupp points out that, "[the] decline in English influences on Australian reformism and radicalism, and appropriation of the symbols of Empire by conservatives continued under the Liberal Party leadership of Sir Robert Menzies, which lasted until 1966".
Brazil
Conservatism in Brazil originates from the cultural and historical tradition of Brazil, whose cultural roots are Luso-Iberian and Roman Catholic. Brazilian conservatism from the 20th century on includes names such as Gerardo Melo Mourão and Otto Maria Carpeaux in literature; Oliveira Lima and Oliveira Torres in historiography; Sobral Pinto and Miguel Reale in law; Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira and Father Paulo Ricardo in the Catholic Church; Roberto Campos and Mario Henrique Simonsen in economics; Carlos Lacerda in the political arena; and Olavo de Carvalho in philosophy.
Brazil Union, Progressistas, Republicans, Liberal Party, Brazilian Labour Renewal Party, Patriota, Brazilian Labour Party, Social Christian Party and Brasil 35 are the conservative parties in Brazil.
Germany
Conservatism developed alongside nationalism in Germany, culminating in Germany's victory over France in the Franco-Prussian War, the creation of the unified German Empire in 1871 and the simultaneous rise of Otto von Bismarck on the European political stage. Bismarck's "balance of power" model maintained peace in Europe for decades at the end of the 19th century. His "revolutionary conservatism" was a conservative state-building strategy designed to make ordinary Germans—not just the Junker elite—more loyal to state and emperor, he created the modern welfare state in Germany in the 1880s. According to Kees van Kersbergen and Barbara Vis, his strategy was:
Bismarck also enacted universal male suffrage in the new German Empire in 1871. He became a great hero to German conservatives, who erected many monuments to his memory after he left office in 1890.
With the rise of Nazism in 1933, agrarian movements faded and was supplanted by a more command-based economy and forced social integration. Though Adolf Hitler succeeded in garnering the support of many German industrialists, prominent traditionalists openly and secretly opposed his policies of euthanasia, genocide and attacks on organized religion, including Claus von Stauffenberg, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Henning von Tresckow, Bishop Clemens August Graf von Galen and the monarchist Carl Friedrich Goerdeler.
More recently, the work of conservative Christian Democratic Union leader and Chancellor Helmut Kohl helped bring about German reunification, along with the closer European integration in the form of the Maastricht Treaty.
Today, German conservatism is often associated with politicians such as Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose tenure has been marked by attempts to save the common European currency (Euro) from demise. The German conservatives are divided under Merkel due to the refugee crisis in Germany and many conservatives in the CDU/CSU oppose the refugee and migrant policies developed under Merkel.
India
In India, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Narendra Modi, represent conservative politics. The BJP is the largest right-wing conservative party in the world. It promotes cultural nationalism, Hindu Nationalism, an aggressive foreign policy against Pakistan and a conservative social and fiscal policy.
Italy
By 1945 the extreme right fascist movement of Benito Mussolini was discredited.
After World War II, in Italy the conservative parties were dominated by the centrist Christian Democracy (DC) party. With its landslide victory over the left in 1948, the Center (including progressive and conservative factions) was in power and was, says Denis Mack Smith, "moderately conservative, reasonably tolerant of everything which did not touch religion or property, but above all Catholic and sometimes clerical." It dominated politics until the DC party's dissolution in 1994.
In 1994, the media tycoon and entrepreneur Silvio Berlusconi founded the liberal conservative party Forza Italia (FI). Berlusconi won three elections in 1994, 2001 and 2008, governing the country for almost ten years as Prime Minister. Forza Italia formed a coalition with right-wing regional party Lega Nord while in government. Besides FI, now the conservative ideas are mainly expressed by the New Centre-Right party led by Angelino Alfano, Berlusconi formed a new party, which is a rebirth of Forza Italia, thus founding a new conservative movement. Alfano served as Minister of Foreign Affairs. After the 2018 election, Lega Nord and the Five Star Movement formed a right-wing populist government, which later failed.
Russia
Under Vladimir Putin, the dominant leader since 1999, Russia has promoted explicitly conservative policies in social, cultural and political matters, both at home and abroad. Putin has attacked globalism and economic liberalism. Russian conservatism is unique in some respects as it supports Economic intervention with a mixed economy, with a strong nationalist sentiment and social conservatism with its views being largely populist. Russian conservatism as a result opposes libertarian ideals such as the aforementioned concept of economic liberalism found in other conservative movements around the world. Putin has as a result promoted new think tanks that bring together like-minded intellectuals and writers. For example, the Izborsky Club, founded in 2012 by Aleksandr Prokhanov, stresses Russian nationalism, the restoration of Russia's historical greatness and systematic opposition to liberal ideas and policies. Vladislav Surkov, a senior government official, has been one of the key ideologists during Putin's presidency.
In cultural and social affairs, Putin has collaborated closely with the Russian Orthodox Church. Mark Woods provides specific examples of how the Church under Patriarch Kirill of Moscow has backed the expansion of Russian power into Crimea and eastern Ukraine. More broadly, The New York Times reports in September 2016 how that Church's policy prescriptions support the Kremlin's appeal to social conservatives:
South Korea
South Korea's major conservative party, the People Power Party (South Korea), has changed its form throughout its history. First it was the Democratic-Liberal Party(민주자유당, Minju Ja-yudang) and its first head was Roh Tae-woo who was the first President of the Sixth Republic of South Korea. Democratic-Liberal Party was founded by the merging of Roh Tae-woo's Democratic Justice Party, Kim Young Sam's Reunification Democratic Party and Kim Jong-pil's New Democratic Republican Party. And again through election its second leader, Kim Young-sam, became the fourteenth President of Korea. When the conservative party was beaten by the opposition party in the general election, it changed its form again to follow the party members' demand for reforms. It became the New Korean Party, but it changed again one year later since the President Kim Young-sam was blamed by the citizen for the International Monetary Fund. It changed its name to Grand National Party (GNP). Since the late Kim Dae-jung assumed the presidency in 1998, GNP had been the opposition party until Lee Myung-bak won the presidential election of 2007.
Singapore
Singapore's only conservative party is the People's Action Party (PAP). It is currently in government and has been in government since independence in 1965. It has promoted conservative values in the form of Asian democracy and values or 'shared values'. The main party on the left of the political spectrum in Singapore is the Workers' Party (WP).
United States
The meaning of "conservatism" in the United States has little in common with the way the word is used elsewhere. As Ribuffo (2011) notes, "what Americans now call conservatism much of the world calls liberalism or neoliberalism". American conservatism is a broad system of political beliefs in the United States that is characterized by respect for American traditions, support for Judeo-Christian values, economic liberalism, anti-communism and a defense of Western culture. Liberty within the bounds of conformity to conservatism is a core value, with a particular emphasis on strengthening the free market, limiting the size and scope of government and opposition to high taxes and government or labor union encroachment on the entrepreneur.
In early American politics, it was the Democratic party practicing 'conservatism' in its attempts to maintain the social and economic institution of slavery. Democratic president Andrew Johnson, as one commonly known example, was considered a Conservative. "The Democrats were often called conservative and embraced that label. Many of them were conservative in the sense that they wanted things to be like they were in the past, especially as far as race was concerned." In 1892, Democrat Grover Cleveland won the election on a conservative platform, that argued for maintaining the gold standard, reducing tariffs, and supporting a laisse faire approach to government intervention. Since the 1950s, conservatism in the United States has been chiefly associated with the Republican Party. However, during the era of segregation, many Southern Democrats were conservatives and they played a key role in the conservative coalition that largely controlled domestic policy in Congress from 1937 to 1963. The conservative Democrats continued to have influence in the US politics until 1994's Republican Revolution, when the American South shifted from solid Democrat to solid Republican, while maintaining its conservative values.
The major conservative party in the United States today is the Republican Party, also known as the GOP (Grand Old Party). Modern American conservatives consider individual liberty, as long as it conforms to conservative values, small government, deregulation of the government, economic liberalism, and free trade, as the fundamental trait of democracy, which contrasts with modern American liberals, who generally place a greater value on social equality and social justice. Other major priorities within American conservatism include support for the traditional family, law and order, the right to bear arms, Christian values, anti-communism and a defense of "Western civilization from the challenges of modernist culture and totalitarian governments". Economic conservatives and libertarians favor small government, low taxes, limited regulation and free enterprise. Some social conservatives see traditional social values threatened by secularism, so they support school prayer and oppose abortion and homosexuality. Neoconservatives want to expand American ideals throughout the world and show a strong support for Israel. Paleoconservatives, in opposition to multiculturalism, press for restrictions on immigration. Most US conservatives prefer Republicans over Democrats and most factions favor a strong foreign policy and a strong military. The conservative movement of the 1950s attempted to bring together these divergent strands, stressing the need for unity to prevent the spread of "godless communism", which Reagan later labeled an "evil empire". During the Reagan administration, conservatives also supported the so-called "Reagan Doctrine" under which the US as part of a Cold War strategy provided military and other support to guerrilla insurgencies that were fighting governments identified as socialist or communist. The Reagan administration also adopted neoliberalism and Reaganomics (pejoratively referred to as trickle-down economics), resulting in the 1980s economic growth and trillion-dollar deficits.
Other modern conservative positions include opposition to big government and opposition to environmentalism. On average, American conservatives desire tougher foreign policies than liberals do. Economic liberalism, deregulation and social conservatism are major principles of the Republican Party.
The Tea Party movement, founded in 2009, had proven a large outlet for populist American conservative ideas. Their stated goals included rigorous adherence to the US constitution, lower taxes, and opposition to a growing role for the federal government in health care. Electorally, it was considered a key force in Republicans reclaiming control of the US House of Representatives in 2010.
Psychology
Following the Second World War, psychologists conducted research into the different motives and tendencies that account for ideological differences between left and right. The early studies focused on conservatives, beginning with Theodor W. Adorno's The Authoritarian Personality (1950) based on the F-scale personality test. This book has been heavily criticized on theoretical and methodological grounds, but some of its findings have been confirmed by further empirical research.
In 1973, British psychologist Glenn Wilson published an influential book providing evidence that a general factor underlying conservative beliefs is "fear of uncertainty." A meta-analysis of research literature by Jost, Glaser, Kruglanski, and Sulloway in 2003 found that many factors, such as intolerance of ambiguity and need for cognitive closure, contribute to the degree of one's political conservatism and its manifestations in decision-making. A study by Kathleen Maclay stated these traits "might be associated with such generally valued characteristics as personal commitment and unwavering loyalty". The research also suggested that while most people are resistant to change, liberals are more tolerant of it.
According to psychologist Bob Altemeyer, individuals who are politically conservative tend to rank high in right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) on his RWA scale. This finding was echoed by Adorno. A study done on Israeli and Palestinian students in Israel found that RWA scores of right-wing party supporters were significantly higher than those of left-wing party supporters. However, a 2005 study by H. Michael Crowson and colleagues suggested a moderate gap between RWA and other conservative positions, stating that their "results indicated that conservatism is not synonymous with RWA".
Psychologist Felicia Pratto and her colleagues have found evidence to support the idea that a high social dominance orientation (SDO) is strongly correlated with conservative political views and opposition to social engineering to promote equality, though Pratto's findings have been highly controversial as Pratto and her colleagues found that high SDO scores were highly correlated with measures of prejudice. However, David J. Schneider argued for a more complex relationships between the three factors, writing that "correlations between prejudice and political conservative are reduced virtually to zero when controls for SDO are instituted, suggesting that the conservatism–prejudice link is caused by SDO". Conservative political theorist Kenneth Minogue criticized Pratto's work, saying: "It is characteristic of the conservative temperament to value established identities, to praise habit and to respect prejudice, not because it is irrational, but because such things anchor the darting impulses of human beings in solidities of custom which we do not often begin to value until we are already losing them. Radicalism often generates youth movements, while conservatism is a condition found among the mature, who have discovered what it is in life they most value".
A 1996 study on the relationship between racism and conservatism found that the correlation was stronger among more educated individuals, though "anti-Black affect had essentially no relationship with political conservatism at any level of educational or intellectual sophistication". They also found that the correlation between racism and conservatism could be entirely accounted for by their mutual relationship with social dominance orientation.
In his 2008 book, Gross National Happiness, Arthur C. Brooks presents the finding that conservatives are roughly twice as happy as liberals. A 2008 study demonstrates that conservatives tend to be happier than liberals because of their tendency to justify the current state of affairs and because they're less bothered by inequalities in society. In fact, as income inequality increases, this difference in relative happiness increases because conservatives, more so than liberals, possess an ideological buffer against the negative hedonic effects of economic inequality. A 2012 study disputed this.
A 2009 study found that conservatism and cognitive ability are negatively correlated. It found that conservatism has a negative correlation with SAT, Vocabulary, and Analogy test scores, measures of education (such as gross enrollment in primary, secondary, and tertiary levels), and performance on math and reading assignments from the PISA. It also found that conservatism correlates with components of the Failed States Index and "several other measures of economic and political development of nations." Nonetheless, in a Brazilian sample, the highest IQs were found among centre-rightists and centrists, even after correcting for gender, age, education and income.
Personality psychology research has shown that conservatism is positively correlated to conscientiousness and negatively correlated with openness to new experiences. Because conscientiousness is positively related to job performance, a 2021 study found that conservative service workers earn higher ratings, evaluations, and tips than liberal ones.
See also
Conservatism in Australia
Conservatism in Canada
Conservatism in Hong Kong
Conservatism in India
Conservatism in New Zealand
Conservatism in North America
Conservatism in Pakistan
Conservatism in Russia
Conservatism in South Korea
Conservatism in Taiwan
Conservatism in the United Kingdom
Conservatism in the United States
Black conservatism
Fiscal conservatism
Liberal conservatism
Libertarian conservatism
National conservatism
Social conservatism
Traditionalist conservatism
References
Bibliography
Hainsworth, Paul. The extreme right in Western Europe, Abingdon, OXON: Routledge, 2008 .
Osterling, Jorge P. Democracy in Colombia: Clientelist Politics and Guerrilla Warfare. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 1989 .
Winthrop, Norman and Lovell, David W. "Varieties of Conservative Theory". In Winthrop, Norman. Liberal Democratic Theory and Its Critics. Beckenham, Kent: Croom Helm Ltd., 1983 .
Further reading
Blee, Kathleen M. and Sandra McGee Deutsch, eds. Women of the Right: Comparisons and Interplay Across Borders (Penn State University Press; 2012) 312 pages; scholarly essays giving a global perspective on women in right-wing politics.
Blinkhorn, Martin. Fascists and Conservatives: The Radical Right and the Establishment in Twentieth-Century Europe. 1990.
Crowson, N. J. Facing Fascism: The Conservative Party and the European Dictators, 1935–1940. 1997.
Crunden, Robert Morse. The Superfluous Men: Critics of American Culture, 1900–1945. 1999.
Dalrymple, Theodore. Our Culture, What's Left of It: The Mandarins and the Masses. 2005.
Fryer, Russell G. Recent Conservative Political Thought: American Perspectives. 1979.
Gottfried, Paul E. The Conservative Movement. 1993.
Nugent, Neill. The British Right: Conservative and Right Wing Politics in Britain. 1977.
Sunić, Tomislav. Against Democracy and Equality: The European New Right. 2011.
Honderich, Ted. Conservatism. 1990.
Kirk, Russell. The Conservative Mind. 2001.
Bacchetta, Paola. Right-Wing Women: From Conservatives to Extremists Around the World. 2002.
Nisbet, Robert. Conservatism: Dream and Reality. 2001.
O'Sullivan, Noel. Conservatism. 1976.
Scruton, Roger. The Meaning of Conservatism. 1980.
Woodwards, E.L. Three Studies In European Conservatism. Mettenich: Guizot: The Catholic Church In The Nineteenth Century (1923) online
Primary sources
Schneider, Gregory L. ed. Conservatism in America Since 1930: A Reader. 2003.
Witonski, Peter, ed. The Wisdom of Conservatism. (4 vol. Arlington House; 1971). 2396 pages; worldwide sources.
Notes
External links
Conservatism an article by Encyclopædia Britannica.
Conservatism. Kieron O'Hara. Reaktion Books. 2011 (reviewed in The Montreal Review).
Social theories | en |
doc-en-2123 | There are fewer than 250 living individuals of the critically endangered kākāpō, a large, flightless parrot native to New Zealand. Every known living kākāpō, except some young chicks, has been given a name by officials of the Kākāpō Recovery Programme. Many of the older birds were given English-language names, but more recent chicks have been given Māori names. Some kākāpō, such as Richard Henry and Moorhouse, are named after people who have provided assistance to the preservation efforts. A kākāpō interactive family tree is available.
Recent population changes
After a good breeding year in 2002, the population remained at 86 until 2004, when three two-year-old female kākāpō died from infections by the soil bacterium Erysipelas. Four chicks survived from the 2005 breeding season. The male Gunner died of aflatoxicosis during the New Zealand winter of 2005, bringing the population back to 86. In April 2008, the population grew to 93 with the hatching of seven chicks, then fell to 92 due to the death of adult Bill. One of the seven 2008 chicks died soon after hatching, bringing the total down to 91, and on 28 October 2008, male Lee died, bringing the population down to 90. Male Rangi was rediscovered in February 2009 after spending 21 years living on Codfish Island. The 2009 breeding season resulted in 33 chicks (20 male and 13 female), bringing the population up to 124.
A number of older birds died during 2010, followed by the significant loss of the only remaining Fiordland kākāpō, Richard Henry, announced during January 2011. His Fiordland genes survive through his three progeny. The breeding season in 2011 produced 11 chicks (eight females, three male), which all survived, bringing the population to 131. However, the deaths of several birds followed and with no breeding season in 2012, the population dropped to 124. As of May 2014, with the hatching of six eggs (the first hatchings since 2011) the total population had increased to 130 living individuals.
Forty-seven chicks hatched in the 2016 nesting season, making it a "record breeding season". As of July 2016, 34 of them had survived.
A record 71 chicks were born and raised to juvenile range in the 2018/2019 breeding season. Department of Conservation, Kākāpō operations manager Deidre Vercoe was quoted saying '“The kākāpō population has grown 70% in the last 5 years and we’re starting to reach carrying capacity on the two main breeding islands: Anchor and Whenua Hou. We need to find new suitable habitats for the growing population, which is a great problem to have.”
As of today, the New Zealand Dept of Conservation site shows a population of . All known kakapo reside on four predator free islands Whenua Hou, Pukenui, Hauturu, and Te Kakahu.
Founder kākāpō in 1995 (51)
Names marked ‡ are of birds missing, presumed dead
Names marked † are of birds deceased
The kakapo founder birds are all of the kakapo individuals that were alive in 1995; Beginning of the Kākāpō Recovery Programme.
Female
Alice – first captured: 1981;
Bella – first captured: 1982
Cyndy – first captured: 1987
Flossie – first captured: by 1982
Fuchsia – first captured: 1991; †
Jane – first captured 1989 †
Jean – first captured: 1981
Lisa – first captured: by August 1982
Maggie – first captured: March 1980 †
Margaret-Maree – first captured: 1986
Nora – first captured: 1980
Ruth – first captured: 1991
Sandra - †
Sarah –†
Solstice – first captured: 21 June 1997;
Sue – first captured: 1983
Suzanne – first captured 1989
Wendy – first captured:1982
Zephyr – hatched: 1981
Males
Arab – first captured in 1980 †
Barnard – first captured: 1982; †
Basil – first captured 1989
Ben – †
Bill – first captured: 1982 †
Blades – first captured 1982
Bonus – Found in April 1984.
Boss – first captured 1989
Dobbie – hatched: 1991; †
Felix – first captured: 1989; †
Gerry – †
Gumboots – first captured: 1988, †
Gunner –†
Jimmy – †
Joe – First captured: 1982
Ken – first captured: 1988 †
Lee – †
Lionel – first captured: 1981 †
Luke – found in April 1982.
Merv – found in January 1989.
Nog – first captured: 1989
Ox – first captured: 1982
Piripi – caught in January 1990 †
Ralph – first captured: 1987
Rangi – first captured: 1987
Richard Henry – first captured: 1975 † (Only known surviving Fiordland Kakapo to breed)
Rob – †
Sass – †
Smoko – first captured: 1991†
Stumpy – hatched: 1991
Waynebo †
Whiskas – first captured: 1989 †
Living kākāpō ()
Females (91)
Adelaide – hatched: 2016; mother: Kuia, father: Kumi.
Ᾱio – hatched: 2019; mother: Mila, father: Horton.
Ako – hatched: 2019; mother: Esperance, father: Komaru.
Alice – first captured: 1981; mother of Snark '81, Manu '97; Al, Pearl '02, Huarangi, Vori, Whetū ‘19.
Alison – hatched: 2019; mother: Queenie, father: Tutoko.
Aparima – hatched: 2002; mother: Wendy, father: Waynebo; mother of JEM '08, Bunker, Chicory, Sage, Horopito ‘19.
Aranga – hatched: 1999; mother: Lisa, father: Ox; mother of Jack '09, Waikawa '11, Percy, Clout '16.
Āria – hatched: 2019; mother: Awarua, father: Komaru.
Atareta – hatched: 2011; mother: Lisa, father: Blades; mother of Manaaki, Atatu, Whaea Jane ‘19.
Atatū – hatched 2019; mother: Atareta, father: Te Kingi.
Aumaria – hatched: 2016; mother: Stella, father: Blake.
Awarua – hatched: 2009; mother: Kuihi, father: Barnard; mother of Motupōhue, Āria, Matariki '19.
Bella – first captured: 1982; mother of Tiaka, Hillary, Roha '09, Verity ‘19.
Boomer – hatched: 1999; mother: Zephyr, father: Felix; mother of Deans, Hau, Marangai ‘19.
Cyndy – first captured: 1987; mother of Horton '02; Weheruatanga-o-te-po, Elwin, Jester '08; Ngatapa, Queenie '09.
Dusky – hatched: 2016; mother: Tiwhiri, father: Horton.
Elsie – hatched: 2019; mother: Waikawa, father: Horton.
Esperance – hatched: 2002; mother: Flossie, father: Bill; mother of Huhana '09, Ako, Matakana, Toiroa ‘19.
Eva – hatched: 2019; mother: Suzanne, father: Gulliver.
Evohe – hatched: 2009; mother: Zephyr, father: Felix; mother of Pōtonga, Kōhengi ‘19.
Flossie – first captured: by 1982; mother of Heather '81; Kuia, Gulliver, Sinbad '98; Rakiura, Esperance '02; Yasmine, Pura '05; Wiremu, Scratch '09; Hakatere, Waa '11.
Galaxy – hatched: 2019; Mother: Ihi, father Guapo.
Gale – hatched: 2019; Mother: Nora, father Tutoko.
Gertrude – hatched: 2016; mother: Kuia, father: Blake.
Hakatere – hatched: 2011; mother: Flossie, father: Barnard.
Hananui – hatched: 2002; mother: Lisa, father: Blades; mother of Wharetutu, Wolf '09.
Hanariki – hatched: 2019; mother: Pura, father: Te Atapo.
Hau – hatched: 2019; mother: Boomer, father: Tamahou.
Hauturu – hatched: 1999; mother: Lisa, father: Ox.
Heather – hatched: 1981; mother: Flossie, father: Ben; mother of Palmersan, Robbie '02; Guapo, Awhero '09; Mahli, Tohu '14.
Hera – hatched: 2016; mother Suzanne, father Arab.
Hinemoa – hatched: 2009; mother: Sue, father: Basil; mother of Ranger, Whakakini ‘19.
Hine Taumai – hatched: 2002; mother: Wendy, father: Waynebo; mother of Te Here, Tuterangi, Titapu '16.
Huarangi – hatched: 2019, mother: Alice, father: Boss.
Huhū – Hatched: 2019; mother: Huhana, father: Guapo.
Jean – first captured: 1981; mother of Blake, Kuihi, Te Kingi '02.
JEM – hatched: 2008; mother: Aparima, father: Bill.
Jemma – hatched: 2009; mother: Pearl, father: Stumpy (by artificial insemination); mother of Lind ‘19.
Kōhengi – hatched: 2019, mother: Evohe, father: Te Kingi.
Konini – hatched: 2002; mother: Fuchsia, father: Waynebo; mother of Hugh '16.
Kuia – hatched: 1998; mother: Flossie, father: Richard Henry; mother of Gertrude, Marian, Adelaide, Henry '16, Acheron, Mackenzie, Quill '19.
Kuihi – hatched: 2002; mother: Jean, father: Sass; mother of Awarua, Waihopai, Hokonui '09, Oraka '16, Koru, Māhutonga ‘19.
Kura – hatched: 2016; mother: Tumeke, father Boss.
Lisa – first captured: by August 1982; mother of Ellie, Hauturu, Aranga '99; Hananui '02; Tiwhiri, Hurihrui, Purity '09; Atareta '11; Ruapuke '14 (Presumed lost on Little Barrier Island for 13 years; rediscovered on a nest in 1999.) (Encounter with Stephen Fry and Mark Carwardine described in Last Chance to See.) (Likely also the mother of Merty and Joe).
Madison – hatched: 2019; mother: Waikawa, father Horton.
Mahli – hatched: 2014; mother: Heather, father: Dobbie.
Makorea – hatched: 2016; mother: Waikawa, father Kumi.
Mati-Mā – hatched: 2019; mother: Rakiura, father: Komaru.
Marama – hatched: 2002; mother: Margaret-Maree, father: Nog; Mother of Hikoi, Porowhita, Tūtānekai ‘19.
Margaret-Maree – first captured: 1986; mother of Marama, Mila, Moana '02; Kumi '05; Millie, Moss '09 (Likely the mother of Sarah and Wendy).
Marian – hatched: 2016; mother: Kuia, father: Kumi.
Mukeke – hatched: 2016; mother: Waa, father: Blake.
Nora – first captured: 1980; mother of Zephyr, Adler '81; Matangi, Kotiu '16, Gale, Kōraki, Rahotu ‘19.
Ninihi – hatched: 2016; mother: Stella, father: Blake.
Pearl – hatched: 2002; mother: Alice, father: Waynebo; mother of Juanma, Jemma '09; Punga, Attenborough, Faulkner '16 Tuarua ‘19.
Phoenix – hatched: 2019; mother: Waikawa, father: Horton.
Pounamu – hatched: 2005; mother: Sara, father: Waynebo.
Punga – hatched: 2016; mother: Pearl, father: Felix.
Pura – hatched: 2005; mother: Flossie, father: Bill; mother of: Bravo, Hanariki, Uri '19.
Queenie – hatched: 2009; mother: Cyndy, father: Ox; mother of Alison, Scotty ‘19.
Ra – hatched: 2009; mother: Solstice, father: Smoko (by artificial insemination); mother of: Xena '19.
Rakiura – hatched: 2002; mother: Flossie, father: Bill; mother of Toititi '08; Tamahou, Tiaho, Te Atapo '09; Taonga, Tia, Tutoko '11; Taeatanga, Te Awa '14, Mati-Mā, Tautahi ’19.
Rātā – hatched: 2019; mother: Ruth, father: Juanma.
Rere – hatched: 2019; mother: Roha, father: Takitimu.
Rimu – hatched: 2016; mother: Wendy; father Boss.
Roha – hatched: 2009; mother: Bella, father: Blades; mother of Kewa, Rere ‘19.
Ruth – first captured: 1991; mother of Doc '02, Tukaha '16, Rātā ‘19. (She is blind in one eye).
Solstice – first captured: 21 June 1997; mother of Ra '09; Ihi, Komaru, Stella '11 (Last bird captured from Stewart Island / Rakiura).
Stella – hatched: 2011; mother: Solstice, father: Waynebo; mother of Ninihi, Kokoto, Aumaria '16; Kenneth, Manawanui, Orion '19.
Sue – first captured: 1983; mother of Takatimu '02; Rooster '08; George, Hinemoa '09; Elliot, Ruggedy '16.
Suzanne – first captured 1989; mother of Ian '11, Egilsay, Hera '16, Milford, Fergus, Eva ‘19.
Tuarua – hatched: 2019, mother: Pearl, father: Boss.
Tia – hatched: 2011; mother: Rakiura, father: Barnard.
Tiaka – hatched: 2009; mother: Bella, father: Blades.
Titapu – hatched: 2016; mother: Hine Taumai, father: Takitimu.
Tiwhiri – hatched: 2009; mother: Lisa, father: Basil; mother of Dusky '16, Tōmua, Tūmanako ‘19.
Toiora – hatched: 2019; mother: Esperance, father: Komaru.
Toitiiti – hatched: 2008; mother: Rakiura, father: Ox.
Tohu – hatched: 2014; mother: Heather, father: Dobbie.
Tukaha – hatched: 2016; mother: Ruth, father: Blades.
Tumeke – hatched: 2002; mother: Wendy, father: Waynebo; mother of Kura, Kanawera, Tau Kuhurangi '16, Big Nick, Meri, Tutū ‘19.
Verity – hatched: 2019; mother: Bella, father: Juanma.
Vori – hatched: 2019; mother: Alice, father: Boss.
Waa – hatched: 2011; mother: Flossie, father: Barnard; mother of Mukeke '16, Ōtepoti ‘19.
Waikawa – hatched: 2011; mother: Aranga, father: Blades; mother of Makorea '16, Elsie, Kohitatea, Kotahitanga, Madison, Phoenix ’19.
Weheruatanga o te po – hatched: 2008; mother: Cyndy, father: Ox.
Wendy – first captured:1982; mother of Dobbie '91; Aparima, Hine Taumai, Tumeke '02; Jamieson, Rimu '16.
Whaea Jane – hatched: 2019; mother: Atareta, father: Te Kingi.
Whetū – hatched: 2019; mother: Alice, father: Boss.
Yasmine – hatched: 2005; mother: Flossie, father: Bill.
Zephyr – hatched: 1981; mother: Nora, father: Rangi; mother of Hoki '92; Sirocco, Tiwai '97; Trevor, Boomer '99; Maestro, Evohe '09.
Males (111)
Acheron – hatched: 2019; mother: Kuia, father: Tamahou.
Ariki – hatched: 2002; mother: Sara, father: Waynebo.
Attenborough – hatched: 2016; mother: Pearl, father Felix.
Awhero – hatched: 2009; mother: Heather, father: Blades.
Basil – first captured 1989; father of Doc, Takitimu '02; Rooster '08; Hinemoa, George, Tiwhiri, Purity, Hurihuri '09 Bunker, Chicory, Sage, Horopito ‘19.
Big Nick – hatched: 2019; mother: Tumeke, Father: Boss.
Blades – first captured 1982; father of Hananui '02; JEM '08; Awhero, Tiaka, Hillary, Roha, Jack, Guapo '09; Atareta, Waikawa '11; Ruapuke, Taeatanga, Te Awa, Moorhouse '14; Kotiu, Matangi, Ruggedy, Elliot, Tukaha, Oraka '16.
Bluster-Murphy – hatched: 2009; mother: Fuchsia, father: Smoko.
Bonus – Found in April 1984.
Boss – first captured 1989, father of Kura, Kanawera, Tau Kuhurangi, Jamieson, Rimu '16, Big Nick, Tuarua, Meri, Huarangi, Vori, Whetū ‘19.
Bravo – hatched: 2019; mother: Pura, father: Te Atapo.
Bunker – hatched: 2019; mother: Aparima, father: Basil.
Chicory – hatched: 2019; mother: Aparima, father: Basil.
Clout – hatched: 2016; mother: Aranga, father Smoko.
Deans – hatched: 2019; mother: Boomer, father: Tamahou.
Doc – hatched: 2002; mother: Ruth, father: Basil.
Egilsay – hatched: 2016; mother Suzanne, father Arab; originally named Elsie until genetic testing confirmed he was male.
Elwin – hatched: 2008; mother: Cyndy, father: Ox.
Elliot – hatched: 2016; mother: Sue, father: Blades.
Faulkner – hatched: 2016; mother: Pearl, father: Felix.
Fergus – hatched: 2019; mother: Suzanne, father: Gulliver.
George – hatched: 2009; mother: Sue, father: Basil.
Guapo – hatched: 2009; mother: Heather, father: Blades; father of Galaxy, Hondy, Huhu ‘19.
Gulliver – hatched: 1998; mother: Flossie; father: Richard Henry; father of Milford, Fergus, Eva ‘19.
Henry – hatched: 2016; mother: Kuia, father: Kumi (first Grandson of Richard Henry).
Hīkoi – hatched: 2019; mother Marama, father: Takitimu.
Hillary – hatched: 2009; mother: Bella, father: Blades.
Hokonui – hatched: 2009; mother: Kuihi, father: Barnard; father of: Xena '19.
Hondy – hatched: 2019; mother Ihi, father: Guapo.
Horopito – hatched: 2019; mother: Aparima, father: Basil.
Horton – hatched: 2002; mother: Cyndy, father: Bill; father of Dusky '16, Ᾱio, Elsie, Kohitatea, Kotahitanga, Lind, Madison, Major, Phoenix, Ranger, Whakakini ‘19.
Hugh – hatched: 2016; mother: Konini, father: Blake.
Hurihuri – hatched: 2009; mother: Lisa, father: Basil.
Ian – hatched: 2011; mother: Suzanne, father: Luke.
Jack – hatched: 2009; mother: Aranga, father: Blades.
Jamieson – hatched: 2016; mother: Wendy, father: Boss.
Jester – hatched: 2008; mother: Cyndy, father: Ox.
Joe – First captured: 1982, he is infertile.
Juanma – hatched: 2009; mother: Pearl, father: Stumpy (by artificial insemination); father of Verity, Rātā ‘19.
Kanawera – hatched: 2016; mother: Tumeke, father Boss.
Kenneth – hatched: 2019; mother Stella, father: Te Kingi.
Kewa – hatched: 2019; mother: Roha, father: Takitimu.
Kohitātea – hatched: 2019; mother Waikawa, father: Horton.
Koto – hatched: 2016; mother: Stella, father: Blake.
Komaru – hatched: 2011; mother: Solstice, father: Waynebo; father of Ako, Āria, Māhutonga, Mati-Mā, Matariki, Matakana, Motupōhue, Tautahi, Toiora '19.
Kōraki – hatched: 2019; mother: Nora, father: Tutoko.
Kotahitanga – hatched: 2019; mother: Waikawa, father: Horton.
Kumi – hatched: 2005; mother: Margaret-Maree, father: Sass; father of Henry, Marian, Adelaide, Makorea '16.
Lind – hatched: 2019; mother Jemma, father: Horton.
Luke – found in April 1982; father of Ian '11.
Mackenzie – hatched: 2019; mother: Kuia, father: Tamahou.
Maestro – hatched: 2009; mother: Zephyr, father: Felix.
Māhutonga – hatched: 2019; mother: Kuihi, father: Komaru.
Major – hatched: 2019; mother: Mila, father: Horton.
Manaaki – hatched: 2019; mother: Atareta, father: Te Kingi.
Manawanui – hatched: 2019; mother: Stella, father: Te Kingi.
Manu – hatched: 1997; mother: Alice, father: Felix; father of Paddy '09.
Marangai – hatched: 2019; mother: Boomer, father: Tamahou.
Matangi – hatched: 2016; mother Nora, father Blades.
Meri – hatched: 2019; mother: Tumeke, father: Boss.
Merv – found in January 1989.
Milford – hatched: 2019, mother: Suzanne, father: Gulliver.
Moorhouse – hatched: 2014; mother: Huhana, father: Blades.
Morehu – hatched: 1999; mother: Sandra, father: Felix.
Motupōhue – hatched: 2019; mother: Awarua, father: Komaru.
Moss – hatched: 2009; mother: Magaret-Maree, father: Merty.
Ngatapa – hatched: 2009; mother: Cyndy, father: Ox.
Nog – first captured: 1989; father of Mila, Monoa, Marama '02.
Ōtepoti – hatched: 2019; mother: Waa, father: Takitimu.
Oraka – hatched: 2016; father Blades; mother: Kuihi.
Orion – hatched: 2019; mother: Stella, father: Te Kingi.
Ox – first captured: 1982; father of Aranga, Ellie, Hauturu '99; Toititi, Elwin, Wheruatanga-o-te-po, Jester '08; Ngatapa, Queenie '09.
Paddy – hatched: 2009; mother: Sara, father: Manu.
Palmersan – hatched: 2002; mother: Heather, father: Sass.
Percy – hatched: 2016; mother: Aranga, Father: Smoko.
Porowhita – hatched: 2019; mother: Marama, Father: Takitimu.
Quill – hatched 2019; mother: Kuia, father: Tamahou.
Rahotu – hatched 2019; mother: Nora, father: Sinbad (by Artificial Insemination).
Ralph – first captured: 1987 (Encounter with Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine described in Last Chance to See), (Likely the father of Merty).
Ranger – hatched: 2019; mother: Hinemoa, father: Horton.
Rangi – first captured: 1987; father of Zephyr '81 (Rediscovered February 2009, after hiding for 21 years on Codfish Island) (likely also the father of Sarah and Wendy).
Robbie – hatched: 2002; mother: Heather, father: Sass.
Ruapuke – hatched: 2014; mother: Lisa, father: Blades (Formerly known as Lisa One; egg was crushed and repaired during incubation period.).
Ruggedy – hatched: 2016; mother Sue, father Blades.
Sage – hatched: 2019; mother: Aparima, father: Basil.
Scotty – hatched: 2019; mother: Queenie, father: Tutoko.
Scratch – hatched: 2009; mother: Flossie, father: Whiskas.
Sinbad – hatched: 1998; mother: Flossie, father: Richard Henry; father of: Rahotu (by artificial insemination) '19. He is semi-imprinted, and likes to seek out human company. Andrew Digby via Twitter, 10 October 2018.
Sirocco – hatched: 1997; mother: Zephyr, father: Felix (Unlikely to be used to breed. Encounter with Stephen Fry and Mark Carwardine described in Last Chance to See).
Stumpy – hatched: 1991; mother: John-girl, father: Pegasus; father of Jemma (by artificial insemination), Juanma (by artificial insemination) '09.
Tautahi – hatched: 2019; mother: Rakiura, father: Komaru.
Taeatanga – hatched: 2014; mother: Rakiura.
Takitimu – hatched: 2002; mother: Sue, father: Basil; father of Te Here, Tuterangi, Titapu ‘16; Tōmua, Tūmanako, Ōtepoti, Kewa, Rere, Hikoi, Porowhita, Tūtānekai ‘19.
Tamahou – hatched: 2009; mother: Rakiura, father: Whiskas; father of Acheron, Deans, Hau, Mackenzie, Marangai, Quill ‘19.
Tau Kuhurangi – hatched: 2016; mother: Tumeke, father Boss
Te Atapo – hatched: 2009; mother: Rakiura, father: Whiskas; father of Bravo, Hanariki, Tutū, Uri ‘19.
Te Awa – hatched: 2014; mother: Rakiura.
Te Here – hatched: 2016; mother: Hine Taumai, father: Takitimu.
Te Kingi – hatched: 2002; mother: Jean, father: Sass; father of Atatū, Kenneth, Kohengi, Manaaki, Manawanui, Orion, Pōtonga, Whaea Jane ‘19.
Tiwai – hatched: 1997; mother: Zephyr, father: Felix.
Tōmua – hatched: 2019; mother: Tiwhiri, father: Takitimu.
Trevor – hatched: 1999; mother: Zephyr, father: Felix.
Tūmanako – hatched: 2019; mother: Tiwhiri, father Takitimu.
Tūtānekai – hatched: 2019, mother: Marama, father: Takitimu.
Tuterangi – hatched: 2016; mother: Hine Taumai, father: Takitimu.
Tutoko – hatched: 2011; mother: Rakiura, father: Barnard; father of Gale, Kōraki, Koru, Scotty, Alison '19.
Waihopai – hatched: 2009; mother: Kuihi, father: Barnard.
Whakakini – hatched: 2019; mother: Hinemoa, Father: Horton.
Wiremu – hatched: 2009; mother: Flossie, father: Whiskas.
Wolf – hatched: 2009; mother: Hananui, father: Merty.
2022 Breeding season juveniles (not named yet and not included in the official kakapo count until they reach 150 days)
Pearl-A1-2022 – hatched: Feb 2022; Mother: Pearl
Pearl-A2-2022 – hatched: Feb 2022; Mother: Pearl
Waikawa-A1-2022 - hatched: Feb 2022; Mother: Waikawa
Fundraising
To raise money for research, the New Zealand government's Department of Conservation operates a kākāpō adoption scheme. Adoptions are not exclusive; multiple people can adopt the same bird. Adoption is symbolic – kākāpō are a taonga (treasured) species, so no one can 'own' one. Adoption supports funding for kākāpō health management, supplementary food and annual transmitter changes.
Recently deceased
Names marked ‡ are of birds missing, presumed dead
Females
Mike‡ – Found in April 1982 on Stewart Island / Rakiura by Gary Aburn and the dog Mandy, transferred to Little Barrier Island a month later, the transmitter failed in 1982 and has been missing since then. (Possibly seen in 2015, there was a search in May 2018, but they haven't found anything yet).
John-Girl – mother of Stumpy '91; died: September 1991
Aroha – hatched: 2002; mother: Sue; died: July 2004
Aurora – hatched: 2002; mother: Zephyr; died: July 2004
Vollie – hatched: 2002; mother: Ruth; died: July 2004
Mokopuna – hatched 2008; mother: Rakiura, father: Ox; died: 2008
Sarah – mother of Ariki '02; Pounamu '05; Paddy '09; died: May 2010
Purity – hatched: 2009; mother: Lisa, father: Basil; died: September 2011
Monoa – hatched: 2002; mother: Margaret-Maree, father: Nog; died: September 2011
Sandra – mother of Morehu '99; died January 2012
Fuchsia – first captured: 1991; mother of Konini '02; Bluster-Murphy '09; died: March 2013
Taonga – hatched: 2011; mother: Rakiura, father: Barnard; died: April 2014
Maggie – first captured: March 1980; died: May 2014, in a landslide (the second female captured on Stewart Island)
Ellie – hatched: 1999; mother: Lisa, father: Ox; died: July 2015
Wharetutu – hatched: 2009; mother: Hananui, father: Merty[16], died 2016
Jane – first captured 1989, found dead on Anchor Island, 18 August 2018
Hoki – hatched: 1992; mother: Zephyr, father: Felix (the first hand raised bird; subject of a book by her caretaker), died. 21 April 2019 from aspergillosis.
Huhana – hatched: 2009; mother: Esperance, father: Whiskas; mother of Moorhouse '14, Huhu ‘19 (Youngest breeding female ever with 5 years)[18], died 23 May 2019 from aspergillosis.
Mila – hatched: 2002; mother: Margaret-Maree, father: Nog; mother of Ᾱio, Major ‘19; found dead on Anchor Island, 21 May 2020.
Matariki – hatched 2019; mother: Awarua, father: Komaru. Found dead on Whenua Hou on 27 November 2020.
Matakana – hatched: 2019; mother: Esperance, father Komaru. Found dead on Whenua Hou in February 2021.
Tutū – hatched: 2019; mother: Tumeke, father: Te Atapo. Found dead 2021.
Millie – hatched: 2009; mother: Margaret-Maree, father: Merty. Found dead on Te Kakahu (Chalky Island) on 21 April 2021.
Ihi – hatched: 2011; mother: Solstice, father: Waynebo; mother of: Galaxy, Hondy '19. Found dead on Whenua Hou in June 2021.
Xena – hatched 2019; mother: Ra, father: Hokonui. Found dead on Whenua Hou in June 2021.
Males
Adler‡ – missing on Stewart island since 1981 (presumed killed by cats): hatched 1981; mother Nora, father Rangi
Tawbert‡ – missing in the Transit Valley since 1987, one of three Fiordland males known to have survived until then. May still be alive as booming was heard in the Transit in 2012.
Biscuit ‡ – missing presumed dead, one of three Fiordland males known to have survived until 1987. (Discovered on the Tutoko high bench in Fiordland in 1984).
Snark‡ – missing on Little Barrier Island since 1990: hatched 1981; mother Alice, father Buster
Gunter‡ – missing on Codfish Island / Whenua Hou since 1987. (Found on Stewart Island / Rakiura in October 1981).
Pierre‡ – missing on Codfish Island / Whenua Hou since 1988
Tramp‡ – missing on Codfish Island / Whenua Hou since 1988
Al‡ – missing on Codfish Island / Whenua Hou since 2010: hatched: 2002; mother: Alice, father: Waynebo
Gerry – died: 1991
Pegasus – father of Stumpy '91; died: 1993
Rob – died: February 1994
Ken – first captured: 1988; died: July 1998 (transmitter harness injury)
Gunner – died: winter 2005
Bill – first captured: 1982; father of Dobbie '91; Esperance, Horton, Rakiura '02; Pura, Yasmine '05; JEM '08; died: March 2008
Lee – died: 28 October 2008
Sass – father of Robbie, Palmersan, Te Kingi, Blake, Kuihi '02; Kumi '05; died: February 2010
Richard Henry – first captured: 1975; father of Gulliver, Kuia, Sinbad '98; found dead: 24 December 2010 (The last bird from the South Island, he was captured by Don Merton, John Cheyne, and Mandy dog in 1975 in Fiordland National Park/Gulliver Valley/Esperance River, named after Richard Treacy Henry)
Whiskas – first captured: 1989; father of Tamahou, Tiaho, Te Atapo, Wiremu, Huhana, Scratch '09; died: January 2011
Waynebo – father of Ariki, Konini, Pearl, Al, Tumeke, Hine Taumai, Aparima '02; Pounamu '05; Ihi, Komaru, Stella '11; died: January 2012
Rooster – hatched: 2008; mother: Sue, father: Basil; died: March 2012
Barnard – first captured: 1982; father of Awarua, Waihopai, Hokonui '09; Hakatere, Taonga, Tia, Tutoko, Waa '11; died: April 2012
Ben – father of Heather '81; died: April 2014
Lionel – first captured: 1981 (likely was a juvenile at the time); died: June 2014
Smoko – first captured: 1991; father of Bluster, Ra (by artificial insemination) '09; Clout, Percy '16; died: February 2016
Tiaho – hatched: 2009; mother: Rakiura, father: Whiskas: died March 2016 from fight.
Blake – hatched: 2002; mother: Jean, father: Sass; father of Hugh, Mukeke, Ninihi, Kokoto, Aumaria, Gertrude '16 Died: December 2017 from heat stress.
Jimmy – Died: December 2017 from complications following an anesthetic procedure.
Kotiu – hatched: 2016; mother Nora, father Blades – Died: February 2018
Dobbie – hatched: 1991; mother: Wendy, father: Bill; father of Mahli, Tohu '14 – Died: 12 March 2018
Piripi – caught in January 1990. Died ca. 3 January 2019 of injuries consistent with fighting, possibly inflicted by Ngātapa.
Arab – first captured by Gary ‘Arab’ Aburn in 1980; father of Egilsay, Hera '16, Died 2 May 2019 from complications relating to an eye injury.
Gumboots – first captured: 1988, died 3 May 2019 after getting his leg trapped in a forked branch on Whenua Hou and not being able to free himself.
Merty – Hatched: unknown; mother: Lisa, father: Ralph; father of Wolf, Moss, Millie, Wharetutu ‘09. Declared dead. 21 May 2019, not seen for 5 years
Felix – first captured: 1989; father of Hoki, Tiwai, Sirocco, Manu '97; Boomer, Morehu, Trevor '99; Maestro, Evohe '09, Attenborough, Punga, Faulkner '16. Died September 2019 on Little Barrier Island
Koru – hatched: 2019; mother: Kuihi, father: Tutoko; found dead on Whenua Hou 5 August 2020.
Pōtonga – hatched: 2019; mother: Evohe, father: Te Kingi. Found dead on Anchor Island in February 2021.
Uri – hatched: 2019; mother: Pura, father: Te Atapo. Found dead on Whenua Hou in March 2021.
Birds with Fiordland genetics
All kakapo with Fiordland genetics descend from Richard Henry.
Names marked † are of birds deceased
Richard Henry - male captured 1975; Father or grandfather to all kakapo with Fiordland genetics.† Found deceased 24 December 2010
Gulliver - male hatched 1998; mother: Flossie; father: Richard Henry.
Sinbad - male hatched 1998; mother: Flossie; father: Richard Henry.
Kuia - female hatched 1998; mother: Flossie; father: Richard Henry.
Gertrude - female hatched 2016; mother: Kuia, father: Blake.
Marian - female hatched 2016; mother: Kuia, father: Kumi.
Adelaide - female hatched 2016; mother: mother: Kuia, father: Kumi.
Henry - male hatched 2016; mother: mother: Kuia, father: Kumi.
Milford - male hatched 2019; mother: Suzanne, father: Gulliver.
Fergus - male hatched 2019; mother: Suzanne, father: Gulliver.
Eva - female hatched 2019; mother: Suzanne, father: Gulliver.
Acheron - male hatched 2019; mother: Kuia, father: Tamahou.
Mackenzie - male hatched 2019; mother: Kuia, father: Tamahou.
Quill - male hatched 2019; mother: Kuia, father: Tamahou.
Rahotu - male hatched 2019; mother: Nora, father: Sinbad (by artificial insemination).
References
Further reading
Ballance, Alison. (2018). Kakapo. Rescued from the brink of extinction. Nelson: Potton & Burton. 276 pages. . https://www.pottonandburton.co.nz/store/kakapo-2018 Appendix 1: "Kakapo names" (pp 242–265) is an alphabetical list of all known 233 adult kākāpō, with brief info on each bird (alive or dead).
External links
Kākāpō Recovery Programme
Lists of birds
Critically endangered animals
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Strigopidae | en |
doc-en-8484 | Kriegsspiel is a genre of wargaming developed by the Prussian army in the 19th century to teach battlefield tactics to officers. The word Kriegsspiel literally means "wargame" in German, but in the context of the English language it refers specifically to the wargames developed by the Prussian army in the 19th century. Kriegsspiel was the first wargaming system to have been adopted by a military organization as a serious tool for training and research. It is characterized by high realism, an emphasis on the experience of decision-making rather than on competition, and the use of an umpire to keep the rules flexible. After Prussia's impressive victory over France in the Franco-Prussian War, other countries swiftly began designing Kriegsspiel-like wargames for their own armies.
Most forms of Kriegsspiel involve at least two teams of players and one umpire gathered around a map. The map represents a battlefield. Each team is given command of an imaginary army, which is represented on the map using little painted blocks. Each block represents some kind of troop formation, such as an artillery battery or a cavalry squadron. The players command their troops by writing their orders on paper and giving them to the umpire. The umpire will then read these orders and move the blocks across the map according to how he judges the imaginary troops would interpret and execute their orders. The outcomes of combat are determined by mathematical calculations.
History
Precursors
By definition, a "wargame" is a strategy game that attempts to realistically represent warfare. The earliest wargames were invented in the German states around the turn of the 19th century. They were derivatives of chess, but the pieces represented real military units (cavalry, infantry, artillery, etc.) and the squares were color-coded to represent different types of terrain. These early wargames were not taken seriously by the military because they were not realistic enough. The pieces were constrained to move across a grid in chess-like fashion: only a single piece could occupy a square (even if that square represented, say, a square mile), and the pieces had to move square by square. This, of course, did not represent how real troops maneuvered in the field. The grid system also forced the terrain to take unnatural forms, such as rivers flowing in straight lines and right angles.
Reisswitz Sr.'s prototype (1812)
In response to these criticisms, a Prussian nobleman and wargaming enthusiast named George Leopold von Reisswitz set out to develop a more realistic wargame wherein the units could move about in a free-form manner over more natural terrain.
Reisswitz first experimented with a table covered in a layer of damp sand. He sculpted the sand into a three-dimensional model battlefield, with hills and valleys. He used little wooden blocks to represent troop formations. The Prussian princes heard about Reisswitz's project and asked for a demonstration. He showed it to them in 1811, and they enthusiastically recommended the game to their father, King Wilhelm III.
Reisswitz did not want to present the king a table of damp sand, so he set about constructing a more impressive apparatus. In 1812, Reisswitz presented to the king a wooden table-cabinet. The cabinet's drawers stored all the materials to play the game. The cabinet came with a folding board which, when unfolded and placed on top of the cabinet, provided a gaming surface about six feet by six feet in size. Instead of sculpted sand, the battlefield was made out of porcelain tiles, upon which terrain features were depicted in painted bas-relief. The tiles were modular and could be arranged on the table surface to create a custom battlefield (the scale was 1:2373). Troop formations were represented by little porcelain blocks. The blocks could be moved across the battlefield in a free-form manner; dividers and rulers were used to regulate movement.
The royal family was delighted by Reisswitz's game, and frequently played it. However, it was not adopted by army instructors nor sold commercially. The apparatus that Reisswitz made for the king was too expensive for mass-production. But more importantly, his system was not complete and required some improvisation on the part of the players. For instance, the rules for resolving the effects of gunfire and hand-to-hand combat were not fully worked out. Reisswitz may have been too distracted by the upheavals of the Napoleonic Wars to perfect his game. By 1816, Reisswitz seemed to have lost interest in wargaming altogether. The development of the wargame was continued by his son, Georg Heinrich Rudolf Johann von Reisswitz.
Reisswitz Jr. perfects Kriegsspiel (1824)
Georg Heinrich Rudolf Johann von Reisswitz was a junior officer in the Prussian army. He took over the development of his father's wargame after his father lost interest in it. He developed the game with the help of a circle of junior officers in Berlin. The prince eventually heard of Reisswitz Jr.'s project and, having fond memories of playing Reisswitz Sr.'s wargame, joined the son's gaming circle.
In the earlier wargames of Hellwig and Venturini, units were like chess pieces in that when attacked, they were simply killed and removed from play, even if the pieces represented groups of soldiers. By contrast, units in Reisswitz's game could suffer partial losses yet still remain on the battlefield. A unit might withstand several rounds' worth of enemy attacks before finally collapsing. Reisswitz's game was thus the first to incorporate unit hitpoints. It also modeled variable damage: The casualties inflicted by an attacker on his enemy were determined using dice.
Reisswitz Jr.'s game was designed to be played on accurate, large-scale (1:8,000) topographical maps. The Prussian army had recently begun using such maps, which were the product of new advances in cartography and printing. These maps may have not been available to Reisswitz Sr. and previous wargame designers, but they were available by the 1820s and Reisswitz Jr. took advantage of them. Using topographical maps allowed for more natural terrain and the play of battles in real locations.
Reisswitz Jr.'s great innovation, however, was the introduction of an umpire. The players did not directly control the troop blocks on the game map. Rather, they wrote down their orders for their troops and gave them to the umpire. The umpire would then move the blocks across the game map according to how he judged the imaginary troops would interpret and carry out the players' orders. When the troops engaged the enemy on the map, it was umpire who rolled the dice, computed the effects, and removed slain units from the map. The game also could simulate the fog of war, where the umpire would place on the map blocks only for the troops which were in visual range of both sides. The umpire kept a mental track of where the hidden troops were located, and only deployed blocks for them when they came into view of the enemy. The umpire also arbitrated situations which the rules did not explicitly cover, which plugged any gaps in Reisswitz Jr.'s system. Naturally, this required the umpire to be an impartial and experienced officer.
In early 1824, the prince invited Reisswitz Jr. to present his wargame to the king and his senior generals at Berlin Castle. They were impressed and officially endorsed his game as a training tool for the officer corps. The Chief of the General Staff, General von Müffling declared: "this is no ordinary sort of game, this is schooling for war. I must and will recommend it most warmly to the army." The king ordered that every regiment receive a Kriegsspiel set. Reisswitz established a workshop by which he could mass-produce and distribute it. He sold the game's material in a box-set priced at 30 thalers. This was thus the first wargame to be widely adopted by a military as a serious tool for training and research.
Kriegsspiel after Reisswitz Jr.'s death
In 1826, Reisswitz was transferred away from Berlin to the provincial city of Torgau. This was interpreted as a banishment: allegedly, he had made offensive remarks about his superiors. He committed suicide in 1827. This disgrace was detrimental to the progression of his wargame for obvious reasons. It wasn't until 1860 that the game was widely played in the military. Until then, it survived thanks to the efforts of a small number of wargaming clubs. The earliest of these clubs was the Berlin Wargame Association. Another prominent club was the Magdeburg Club, managed by General von Moltke. These clubs continued to develop Reisswitz's game, but they avoided mentioning his name in their publications. In 1828, the Berlin Wargame Association published a limited expansion to Reisswitz's system. In 1846, they released a fresh wargaming manual which received a second edition in 1855. These updates sought to make Kriegsspiel more realistic, but they also made the rules more complicated.
Wilhelm von Tschischwitz published a Kriegsspiel manual in 1862 that incorporated new technological advances such as railroads, telegraph, and breech-loading cannons; and which used conventional gaming dice. It also greatly simplified the rules, making the wargame even simpler than Reisswitz's original version. Tschischwitz's rules went through three editions between 1862 and 1869. In 1869, Colonel Thilo von Trotha published his own wargaming treatise which went through three editions and had more complicated rules.
The Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 broke a long period of peace for the German states, which made many officers feel a pressing need to better familiarize themselves with the conduct of war. This led to a surge in interest in Kriegsspiel among Prussian officers.
The free Kriegsspiel movement
Lieutenant Wilhelm Jacob Meckel published a treatise in 1873 and another in 1875 in which he expressed four complaints about the overcomplicated rules of Kriegsspiel: 1) the rules constrain the umpire, preventing him from applying his expertise; 2) the rules are too rigid to realistically model all possible outcomes in a battle, because the real world is complex and ever-changing; 3) the computations for casualties slow down the game and have a minor impact on a player's decisions anyway; 4) few officers are willing to make the effort to learn the rules. The fourth issue was the most serious, as the Prussian military struggled to meet the growing demand for umpires. Meckel proposed dispensing with some of the rules and giving the umpire more discretion to arbitrate events as he saw fit. The only things he kept were the dice and the losses tables for assessing casualties.
In 1876, General Julius von Verdy du Vernois proposed dispensing with all the rules and tools completely and allowing the umpire to arbitrate the game entirely as he saw fit. This form of Kriegsspiel came to be known as free Kriegsspiel (counterpart to Reisswitz's rigid Kriegsspiel) and was well-received by the officer corps because it was easier to learn and allowed umpires to apply their own expertise. Verdy's insight was that all that was truly essential for Kriegsspiel was the umpire and concealed information, with an emphasis on the fog of war and delayed messaging.
The spread of wargaming beyond Germany
Kriegsspiel attracted little attention outside of Prussia before 1870. Reisswitz Jr. travelled to Russia where he demonstrated Kriegsspiel to the Russian court, but he failed to win them over. In 1825, the French general Auguste de Marmont witnessed a Kriegsspiel match in Berlin and commissioned a translation of Reisswitz's manual which was submitted to the French army in March 1829. A Dutch translation appeared in 1836.
In 1870, Prussia defeated France in the Franco-Prussian War. Many credited the Prussian army's superior performance to its wargaming tradition. The Prussian army did not have any significant advantage in weaponry, numbers, or troop quality, but it was the only army in the world that practiced wargaming. This led to great worldwide interest in Kriegsspiel. The first Kriegsspiel manual in English, Rules for the Conduct of the War-Game by E. Baring, based on the system of Wilhelm von Tschischwitz, was published in 1872 for the British army and received a royal endorsement. In the United States, Charles Adiel Lewis Totten published Strategos, the American War Game in 1880, and William R. Livermore published The American Kriegsspiel in 1882. In 1873, a group of students and teachers at Oxford University founded the University Kriegspiel [sic] Club, which was the world's first recreational wargaming club.
Kriegsspiel in the present day
Kriegsspiel has undergone a minor revival in the English-speaking world thanks to translations of the original rulebooks by a British wargaming enthusiast named Bill Leeson. At least three major, non-military, enthusiast groups play Kriegsspiel around the world. The game is also played for fun by other small groups and individuals, but because of the effort involved, such events are uncommon. The senior of the three major groups is The Kriegsspiel Society located in the town of Little Gaddesden, UK. The group plays face-to-face games several times per year. They also have a website, the Kriegsspiel News Forum which is rich in resources. The second group is the Southern California Kriegsspiel Society, based in Los Angeles. They meet at the Strategicon conventions in Los Angeles for face-to-face games. The third group is the International Kriegsspiel Society, established in 2021 by Marshall Neal as an outgrowth of the Southern California Kriegsspiel Society. The group uses Discord and Tabletop Simulator to coordinate and play games. As of late 2021, the group has about 400+ members, and hosts multiple games on a weekly basis.
The International Kriegsspiel Society has modified the original rules of Kriegsspiel to allow for shorter games that can be played with larger numbers of players. Because Kriegsspiel requires a lot of effort from players and adjudication from umpires, the game is almost unplayable in its original form unless a large number of trained umpires or a small number of players participate. Small games with a single umpire and a few players are possible, but larger games can run slowly as the workload for umpires increases. Therefore, the original rules are modified to preserve the critical components of Kriegsspiel, specifically, the games are umpired, double-blind, use simultaneous movement, emphasize fog of war, and feature delayed communications and execution of orders. The aim is to preserve realism while streamlining minutiae that can slow the game without adding value to the experience. The society also hosts games that play by post, meaning players submit orders online by message (email or Discord chat) and the turns are processed by an umpire on a regular basis.
In August of 2021, the International Kriegsspiel Society ran what is likely the largest online, civilian Kriegsspiel in history, with 48 participants. Six master umpires worked with 12 assistants to manage the game.
Reisswitz rules (1824)
This summary is based on an English translation of a wargaming manual written by Georg Heinrich Rudolf Johann von Reisswitz in 1824.
Reisswitz's wargame was an instructional tool designed to teach battlefield tactics to Prussian officers. It therefore aimed for maximum realism. The participants were expected to be well-versed in how battles were waged in the early 19th century. This was particularly true for the umpire, who had to arbitrate situations which the rules did not cover using his own expertise.
Kriegsspiel is an open-ended game with no fixed victory conditions. The objectives of the respective teams are determined by the umpire and typically resemble the goals that an army might pursue in a real battlefield situation, such as expelling the enemy from a certain defensive position or inflicting a certain number of casualties.
The game is played between two teams and one umpire. Either team can have any number of players, but Reisswitz recommended 4 to 6 players each and that they be equal in size. The players in a team will divide command of the troops between them and establish a hierarchy. Only the umpire needs to be fully familiar with the rules, as he manipulates the pieces on the map and computes the outcomes of combat, whereas the players describe what they want their troops to do as if they were issuing orders to real troops in the field.
Materials
The materials required include:
Rectangular pieces that represented various kinds of troop formations
Rulers and dividers
Dice
A topographical map (recommended scale is 1:8000)
A rulebook
Note paper
Supplemental sheets of paper to track casualties and other information
The map represents the battlefield. Troops on the battlefield are represented on the map by little rectangular pieces. In Reisswitz's time, these piece were made of lead, but modern reconstructions typically use plastic or wood. Each piece is painted with markings that denoted what kind of unit it represented (cavalry, infantry, etc.) and the team it belonged to. The dimensions of each piece matched the dimensions of the actual troop formation it represented, to the same scale as the map. Thus, each piece occupied an area on the map proportional to the space the actual troop formation would occupy in the field.
Order of play
The umpire establishes the scenario of the game. He decides what the tactical objectives of the respective teams are, what troops they are provided with and how those troops are initially deployed on the battlefield. The umpire will then assign each team the appropriate troop pieces for their units. If there are multiple players in a team, the teammates will divide control of their troops and establish a hierarchy of command in a way that should resemble Prussian military doctrine, subject to the umpire's approval.
Players do not speak to each other. Instead, they communicate with their teammates and the umpire through written messages. This is so that the enemy team cannot hear their plans. This is also so that the umpire can delay or block messages if he feels the circumstances on the battlefield warrant it. In the early 19th century, officers in the field communicated over long distances through messengers (there was no radio in those days). Messengers needed time to reach the recipient, and could be delayed or intercepted by the enemy. The umpire can simulate this problem by holding on to a player's message for a round or two before giving it to the recipient, never giving it, or even give it to the enemy.
Likewise, the players command their imaginary troops through written orders, which they submit to the umpire. The players are not allowed to manipulate the pieces on the map themselves — that is for the umpire to do. The umpire will move the pieces across the map according to how he judges the imaginary troops would interpret and execute the players' orders.
The umpire places pieces on the map only for troops which he judges are visible to both sides. If a unit disappears from the enemy army's line of sight, the umpire will remove the piece from the map and keep it aside. Naturally, this means the participants must keep a mental track of the positions of troops whose pieces are not on the map.
The players themselves may be represented on the battlefield with pieces that represent officers and their bodyguards. The positions of the officers on the battlefield affects how the players can communicate with each other and the troops. Officers can be slain in battle like any other soldier, and if that happens the player ceases to participate in the game.
The course of the game is divided into rounds. A round represents two minutes of time. Thus, in a round the troops can perform as many actions as they realistically could in two minutes of time, and Reisswitz's manual provides some guidelines. There is, for instance, a table which lists movement rates for the various troop types under different conditions, e.g. in a round, a cavalry squadron can move 400 paces over open ground, 250 paces through light forest, and 100 paces up inclines.
Combat
The umpire uses dice to determine how much damage that attacking units inflict upon the enemy. The dice designed by Reisswitz are of unique design, with each face displaying a multitude of numbers and symbols that denoted different damage scores, measured in points, for different situations. There are five dice:
Die I is used to determine ranged damage inflicted by line infantry and skirmishers fighting in the open, hand-to-hand combat results when both sides are even, and whether a howitzer attack sets a village on fire.
Die II is used to determine ranged damage by skirmishers firing from cover, and hand-to-hand combat results when the odds are 3:2.
Die III is used to determine damage inflicted by artillery under good conditions.
Die IV is to determine hand-to-hand combat results when the odds are 3:1.
Die V is used to determine damage inflicted by artillery under bad conditions, and hand-to-hand combat results when the odds are 4:1.
Each unit has a point value which represents how many points of damage the unit in question can absorb before "dying". In modern gaming parlance, this "point value" is analogous to "hitpoints". The number of hitpoints a unit has is determined by the type of unit, the number of men in it, and their formation. For instance, a cavalry squadron with 90 riders has 60 hitpoints, and a line infantry half-battalion with 450 men has 90 hitpoints. Individual cavalry riders are "tougher" than infantrymen (1.5 hitpoints per rider vs 0.2 hitpoints per infantryman) because they moved faster and in looser formations, which meant a barrage of fire inflicted fewer casualties on them.
In most cases, a piece is simply removed from the map when it has lost all its hitpoints. An exception to this is line infantry. Line infantry had a special function in early 19th century warfare. On the battlefield, infantry stood close together in long lines facing the enemy. A key tactical purpose of a line of infantry was to obstruct the advance of enemy troops. When the line suffered casualties, this resulted in the formation of gaps through which enemy troops could slip through. If the defender didn't have reserve infantrymen with which to plug the gaps, this was a disaster, as then the enemy could move through the gaps to isolate and flank his troops. To represent this phenomenon on the game map, the game provides "exchange pieces" for infantry half-battalion pieces. An exchange piece resembles a regular half-battalion piece but is marked with the fraction or , which signifies that the half-battalion in question has lost either one sixth or two sixths of its men. The exchange pieces are commensurately smaller in length. So if a half-battalion piece in a line of such pieces is replaced with an exchange piece, this will create a gap in the line. Furthermore, a half-battalion piece is removed from the map when it loses half of its hitpoints, because a half-battalion that had lost half of its men was considered ineffective in combat (and typically the men just fled the battlefield).
To track hitpoint loss, Reisswitz's original manual provided sheet of paper called the "losses table". The losses table is divided into columns for line infantry, tirailleurs, jagers, cavalry, and artillery. Each column has a series of numbered dots. At the start of the game, the umpire shall stick one pin for each piece on the map in the first dot of the appropriate column. For instance, if the Red Army begins with three infantry pieces and two cavalry pieces, the umpire will stick three pins in the first dot in the infantry column and two pins in the first dot in the cavalry column. Generally, the dot a pin is stuck in represents how many damage points the corresponding unit has accumulated. When a unit takes damage, the umpire will move the corresponding pin down its column to the appropriate dot. If a pin reaches the bottom of the column, then the corresponding piece is removed from the map, or in the case of line infantry, replaced with an exchange piece. For instance: if a cavalry squadron suffers 10 points of damage, the umpire will move the corresponding pin ten dots down the cavalry column. If the pin reaches the 60th dot in the column, the cavalry unit has suffered a fatal level of casualties, and the umpire will then remove the corresponding piece from the map.
Tschischwitz rules (1862)
Tschischwitz's version of Kriegsspiel was very much like Reisswitz's version, but it incorporated new advances in technologies and tactics. For instance, by 1862 the Prussian army had transitioned from muskets to breech-loading rifles and hence troops could inflict casualties at up to 900 paces instead of a mere 400. Whereas Reisswitz used a unique set of dice, Tschischwitz used conventional gaming dice; his manual provided tables with which to translate dice rolls into combat outcomes.
Tschischwitz's game did not use line infantry exchange blocks. By 1862, Prussian battle doctrine had moved away from line infantry tactics to an emphasis on wider deployments. To represent this, the 1862 game represents infantry companies individually with their own blocks, so exchange blocks for battalions are no longer required. Rules for deploying skirmishers were also updated to reflect the newer tactics.
Whereas Reisswitz's manual prescribed just one map around which all the participants were gathered, Tschischwitz's manual proposed the option of having multiple maps: one for the umpire which displayed the positions of all troops, and one for each team with displayed only those troops which the respective team could see; and the teams would be placed in separate rooms with their respective maps so that they could not see the other team's map nor the umpire's map.
Verdy du Vernois' flexible approach (1876)
In his 1876 book, Contribution to Wargaming, Verdy du Vernois illustrated his concept of free Kriegsspiel with a long transcript of a game. A noted difference between classic Kriegsspiel and Verdy's approach is that the players had conversations with the umpire instead of communicating with written messages. Verdy's insight was that the only elements that were essential to Kriegsspiel were the umpire and hidden information.
See also
Military simulation
Footnotes
Bibliography
(Scribd backup)
(translation by Bill Leeson, 1989)
External links
Kriegsspiel News Web site dedicated to the original game of Kriegsspiel
International Kriegsspiel Society (formerly the Southern California Kriegsspiel Society) Online community dedicated to hosting Kriegsspiel games in person and online using various systems including traditional and modified.
Modern publishers of Kriegsspiel rules
Wargames
Military education and training in Germany
Prussian Army
Games and sports introduced in the 19th century | en |
doc-en-16828 | The tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) is a migratory bird of the family Hirundinidae. Found in the Americas, the tree swallow was first described in 1807 by French ornithologist Louis Vieillot as Hirundo bicolor. It has since been moved to its current genus, Tachycineta, within which its phylogenetic placement is debated. The tree swallow has glossy blue-green , with the exception of the blackish wings and tail, and white . The bill is black, the eyes dark brown, and the legs and feet pale brown. The female is generally duller than the male, and the first-year female has mostly brown upperparts, with some blue feathers. Juveniles have brown upperparts, and a grey-brown-washed breast. The tree swallow breeds in the US and Canada. It winters along southern US coasts south, along the Gulf Coast, to Panama and the northwestern coast of South America, and in the West Indies.
The tree swallow nests either in isolated pairs or loose groups, in both natural and artificial cavities. Breeding can start as soon as early May, although this date is occurring earlier because of climate change, and it can end as late as July. This bird is generally socially monogamous (although about 8% of males are polygynous), with high levels of extra-pair paternity. This can benefit the male, but since the female controls copulation, the lack of resolution on how this behaviour benefits females makes the high level of extra-pair paternity puzzling. The female incubates the clutch of two to eight (but usually four to seven) pure white eggs for around 14 to 15 days. The chicks hatch slightly asynchronously, allowing the female to prioritize which chicks to feed in times of food shortage. They generally fledge about 18 to 22 days after hatching. The tree swallow is sometimes considered a model organism, due to the large amount of research done on it.
An aerial , the tree swallow forages both alone and in groups, eating mostly insects, in addition to molluscs, spiders, and fruit. The nestlings, like the adult, primarily eat insects, fed to it by both sexes. This swallow is vulnerable to parasites, but, when on nestlings, these do little damage. The effect of disease can become stronger as a tree swallow gets older, as some parts of the immune system decline with age. Acquired T cell-mediated immunity, for example, decreases with age, whereas both innate and acquired humoral immunity do not. Because of its large range and stable population, the tree swallow is considered to be least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. In the US, it is protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, and in Canada by the Migratory Birds Convention Act. This swallow is negatively affected by human activities, such as the clearing of forests; acidified lakes can force a breeding tree swallow to go long distances to find calcium-rich food items to feed to its chicks.
Taxonomy and etymology
The tree swallow was described as Hirundo bicolor by Louis Pierre Vieillot in his Histoire naturelle des oiseaux de l'Amérique Septentrionale, published in 1807. It was then placed in its current genus Tachycineta when Jean Cabanis established it in 1850. In 1878, Elliott Coues suggested that the tree swallow, at the very least, be put in its own subgenus, Iridoprocne, on the basis of its plumage, along with the white-winged swallow, Chilean swallow, white-rumped swallow, and mangrove swallow. By 1882, he had upgraded this to a full genus. Some authors continued to use this classification, with the addition of Tumbes swallow; however, genetic evidence supports the existence of a single genus, Tachycineta. The tree swallow is also called the white-bellied swallow for its white underparts.
The generally accepted genus name is from Ancient Greek takhykinetos, "moving quickly", and the specific bicolor is Latin and means "two-coloured". The other genus name, Iridoprocne, comes from the Greek iris, meaning rainbow, and Procne, a figure who supposedly turned into a swallow.
How exactly the tree swallow is related to other members of Tachycineta is unresolved. In studies based on mitochondrial DNA, it was placed basal (meaning it was the first offshoot in the species tree) within the North American-Caribbean clade consisting of the violet-green swallow, golden swallow, and Bahama swallow. Although mitochondrial DNA is advocated as a better indicator of evolutionary changes because it evolves quickly, analyses based on it can suffer because it is only inherited from the mother, making it worse than nuclear DNA from multiple loci at representing the phylogeny of a whole group. A study based on such nuclear DNA placed the tree swallow in the most basal position within Tachycineta as a whole (as a sister group to the rest of the genus).
Description
The tree swallow has a length between about and a weight of approximately . Wingspan ranges from 11.8 to 13.8 in (30-35 cm). The male has mostly glossy blue-green , the wings and tail being blackish. The and the cheek patch are white, although the coverts are grey-brown. The bill is black, the eyes dark brown, and the legs and feet pale brown. The female is duller in colour than the male, and sometimes has a brown forehead. The second-year female also has brown upperparts, with a variable number of blue feathers; some third-year females also retain a portion of this subadult plumage. According to a 1987 study, this likely allows a younger female to explore nest sites, as the resident male is usually less aggressive to a subadult female. A 2013 study found that the resident female was less aggressive towards second-year female models when they were presented separately from older models. Why the female eventually replaces its subadult plumage is unknown; it may allow males to assess female quality, as pairs mate assortatively based on plumage brightness. The juvenile tree swallow can be distinguished by its brown upperparts and grey-brown-washed breast.
Voice
The tree swallow's song consists of three parts: the chirp, the whine, and the gurgle. These sections may be repeated or omitted, and all can stand alone. The first, as the chirp call (sometimes divided into the contact call and solicitation call), is made by the female during copulation and in both sexes to stimulate the nestlings to beg or (in some populations) when their mate leaves or enters the next cavity. The whine, generally consisting of a downward shift in frequency followed by an upward shift, may be given alone as the anxiety call, occasionally made in response to certain predators. The gurgle, as when it appears at the end of the song, is usually uttered twice. It is likely involved in pair bonding. The chatter call is used to advertise nest sites (the reason it is also known as the "nest-site advertising call") and is also given to intruding conspecifics. A short high-pitched submission call is sometimes uttered after an aggressive encounter with another tree swallow. While being physically restrained or in pain, a distress call may be given. The male often utters a ticking (or rasping) aggression call during copulation, and both sexes use it at the end of mobbing dives. The alarm call is given in reaction to predators and other intruders, and can serve to induce older nestlings to crouch and stop begging when a predator is near.
Communication between parents and offspring can be disrupted by human-generated noise. A 2014 study, for example, found that broods for whom white noise was played were less likely to crouch or stop begging in response to alarm calls. Parents did not alter their calls to compensate, likely increasing predation risk. Noise can also disrupt whether parents respond to begging, but this may be balanced out by the louder calls nestlings give when exposed to it. Increased begging effort, however, may be ineffective or costly for louder levels of noise.
Distribution and habitat
The tree swallow breeds in North America. Its range extends to north-central Alaska and up to the tree line in Canada. It is found as far south as Tennessee in the eastern part of its range, California and New Mexico in the west, and Kansas in the centre. It occasionally breeds further south in the US, and vagrants are sometimes found in the Arctic Circle, the northern Pacific, Greenland, and Europe. The wintering range is from California and southwestern Arizona in the west and southeastern Virginia in the east south along the Gulf Coast to the West Indies, Panama, and the northwestern South American coast. While migrating, this swallow often uses stop-over sites, spending an average of 57 days at these areas during autumn. To get to its wintering range, it often uses one of three flyways: the Western flyway, west of the Rocky Mountains; the Central flyway, between the Rocky Mountains and the Great Lakes, stretching south into Eastern Mexico; and the Eastern flyway, from the Great Lakes east. When a swallow returns to nest, it usually does not change breeding sites.
The breeding habitat of this bird is primarily in open and wooded areas, especially those near water. It roosts every night during the non-breeding season, preferring to rest in cane or reed beds over water, but it is also found over land and on trees and wires. Roosting sites are generally apart.
Behaviour
Because of the large amount of research on the tree swallow and how it willingly breeds in nest boxes, biologist Jason Jones recommended that it be considered a model organism. Although it is aggressive during the breeding season, this swallow is sociable outside of it, forming flocks sometimes numbering thousands of birds.
Breeding
The tree swallow nests in structures with pre-existing holes, both natural and artificial. These were once found only in forested regions, but the building of nest boxes has allowed this bird to expand into open habitats. This swallow usually nests in the area it bred the year before; only about 14% of females and 4% of males disperse to breed at a new site per year. Most do not go far, usually breeding at sites less than away from their original grounds. Dispersal is influenced by breeding success; of the adult females that fail to fledge a chick, about 28% disperse, compared to 5% of successful breeders. Natal dispersal (when a bird does not return to the site it was born at to breed) is common in the tree swallow and occurs more frequently than breeding dispersal. It nests both in loose groups and isolated pairs. When nesting in loose groups, nests are usually spaced at least apart, and those that are closer in distance are usually further apart in terms of laying date. In natural cavities, the tree swallow nests about apart from its neighbor. The nest hole in these situations is, on average, above ground level, although about 45% of them are less than above the ground. Higher cavities are likely favoured because they reduce predation, while lower nest holes may be chosen to avoid competition. Entrance widths are often between , whereas entrance heights are more variable: a 1989 study found openings ranging from . Cavity volume is generally below . After finding a suitable place to nest, the male perches near it and calls frequently. A lack of sites can cause fights between birds, sometimes resulting in deaths. This swallow usually defends an area around the nest with a radius of about , as well as extra nests inside of that , by blocking the entrance to the nest and chasing intruders. The nest cup itself is made from grass, moss, pine needles, and aquatic plants collected mostly by the female, and is lined with feathers gathered primarily by the male in fights. The feathers may function to insulate the nest, decreasing incubation time and likely preventing hypothermia in chicks. In addition to faster growth for chicks, eggs cool slower in nests with feathers than those without. However, a study published in 2018 did not find a significant correlation between the number of feathers in nests that were artificially warmed versus those that were not. Additionally, it found that nests in St. Denis, Saskatchewan used significantly less feathers than those in Annapolis Valley, despite the former being further north. However, temperatures in Nova Scotia (where Annapolis Valley is) are generally lower than those in Saskatchewan, possibly explaining the unexpected result.
During courtship, a male tree swallow attacks an unknown female. This can be stimulated through wing-fluttering flight by the female, which may be an invitation to court. The male may then take a vertical posture, with a raised and slightly spread tail and wings flicked and slightly drooped. This prompts the female to try to land on the male's back, but he flies to prevent this; this is repeated. After courting the female, the male flies to his chosen nest site, which the female inspects. During copulation, the male hovers over the female, and then mounts her, giving ticking calls. He then makes with the female while holding her neck feathers in his bill and standing on her slightly outstretched wings. Copulation occurs multiple times.
Eggs are laid from early May to mid-June (although this is happening earlier due to climate change) and chicks fledge between mid-June and July. Latitude is positively correlated with laying date, while female age and wing length (longer wings allow more efficient foraging) are negatively correlated. The tree swallow is likely an income breeder, as it breeds based on food abundance and temperatures during the laying season. This species is generally socially monogamous, but up to 8% of breeding males are polygynous. Polygyny is influenced by territory: males having territories with nest boxes at least apart are more likely to be polygynous. It is suggested that this polygyny depends on the conditions during the laying season: better conditions, such as an abundance of food, allow females in polygyny who do not receive help foraging to lay more eggs.
The tree swallow has high rates of extra-pair paternity, 38% to 69% of nestlings being a product of extra-pair paternity, and 50% to 87% of broods containing at least one nestling that was the result of an extra-pair copulation. One factor that might contribute to this is that females have control over copulation, making paternity guards ineffective. This may be mitigated by more frequent copulations just before egg laying, according to a 2009 study which found that within-pair copulation attempts peaked three to one days before the first egg was laid and that more successful attempts during this period increased the share of within-pair young males had. This latter finding contradicts those of a 1993 and a 1994 study. Extra-pair paternity does not change the level of parental care the male contributes in the tree swallow. A significant number of extra-pair fathers may be floaters (those present at breeding grounds that presumably do not breed). A 2001 study found that out of 35 extra-pair nestlings, 25 were sired by local residents, three by residents of nearby sites, and seven by male floaters. In the tree swallow, floating thus helps males in good condition produce more chicks, while allowing males in bad condition to be successful by investing in parental care. There is also a significant population of female floaters; a 1985 study estimated that around 23% to 27% of females were floaters, of which about 47% to 79% were subadults.
Why females engage in extra-pair copulation and how they choose extra-pair mates is controversial. One theory, called the genetic compatibility hypothesis, states that increased offspring fitness results from increased heterozygosity, and thus that female tree swallows would prefer to mate with males that are less genetically similar to them. Females may also choose sperm after copulation to ensure a compatible mate. In support of this theory, a 2007 study found that extra-pair offspring were more heterozygous than within-pair offspring. However, a 2005 paper discovered a slight negative correlation between a pair's genetic similarity and the proportion of extra-pair young in their nest. The good genes theory says that females choose extra-pair males based on the quality of their genes. This would explain why some tree swallows do not have any extra-pair young, whereas others do. However, most studies have not found phenotypic differences between extra-pair and within-pair males (although a 2007 study did find that older males with brighter plumage were more likely to mate outside of the pair bond). Additionally, according to a 2017 thesis, extra-pair offspring are no more likely to join their natal population than within-pair offspring. Another theory suggests that extra-pair paternity is context dependent, with extra-pair young outperforming within-pair young in certain situations, and underperforming in other environments. A 2017 dissertation, for example, found that extra-pair young were larger, heavier, and longer-winged than within-pair young when both were exposed to predator mounts, while within-pair young were heavier than extra-pair young when they were shown non-predator mounts. This thesis also found that within-pair young outperformed extra-pair young in terms of life-time fitness when they were raised in less-variable environments, suggesting that extra-pair offspring have less developmental plasticity than within-pair offspring. A 2018 study weakly supported this context dependent hypothesis, finding that extra-pair offspring were more likely to fledge than within-pair offspring in experimentally enlarged broods; however, neither telomere length (a correlate of survival and reproductive success) nor size 12 days after hatching were significantly different among these young, and no significant differences between the two types were found in non-enlarged broods.
Studies attempting to prove the adaptability of extra-pair paternity for females have been criticized for the lack of positive effect that increased offspring fitness would have when compared with the potential cost of decreased fitness for the female, such as increased predation from searching for mates. Thus, theories based on the non-adaptivity of extra-pair paternity for females have been postulated. These theories are based on genetic constraint, where an allele resulting in a maladaptive behaviour is maintained because it also contributes to a beneficial phenotype. The theory of intersexual antagonistic pleiotropy says that strong selection for extra-pair paternity in males (as seen in this bird) overrides the weak selection against extra-pair paternity in females. The hypothesis of intrasexual antagonistic pleiotropy, meanwhile, argues that extra-pair paternity is present because the genes regulating it have pleiotropic effects on aspects of female fitness, like within-pair copulation rate.
The tree swallow lays a clutch of two to eight, although usually four to seven, pure white, and translucent at laying, eggs that measure about . These eggs are incubated by the female, usually after the second-to-last egg is laid, for 11 to 20 days, although most hatch after 14 to 15 days. About 88% of nests produce at least one nestling, but this can be lowered by poor weather and a younger breeding female. The eggs generally hatch in the order they were laid. They also hatch slightly asynchronously, with an average of 28 hours between when the first and final nestling emerges. This can result in a weight hierarchy where earlier-hatched chicks weigh more (especially early in the nestling period) than those hatched later, allowing the female to prioritize which chick to give food to during food shortages. This likely has its greatest effect early in the nestling period, as by 12 days after hatching, there are generally no significant weight differences. Infanticide of the chicks and eggs sometimes occurs when a male is replaced by another male. Infanticide usually does not occur when the clutch is not complete, as replacement males then have a chance to fertilize at least one egg. When the male arrives during incubation, it sometimes commits infanticide, but other times adopts the eggs, as there is a chance that some eggs were sired from the replacement male. If the replacement male arrives after the chicks hatch, infanticide is usually committed, though the female will sometimes prevent this.
Nests produced by females of better condition often have sex ratios skewed towards high quality males. A 2000 study hypothesized this to be because males have more variable reproductive success, and therefore that a high quality male produces more offspring than a female of similar quality.
The growth and survival of nestling tree swallows is influenced by their environment. In both younger and older nestlings (those between two and four days old and between nine and eleven days, respectively) growth is positively influenced by a higher maximum temperature, particularly in the former. A later hatching date negatively impacts growth, especially for younger nestlings. Older chicks grow somewhat faster when insects are abundant. Growth in younger nestlings increases with age, while in old nestlings, it decreases as they get older. Young tree swallows are able to thermoregulate at least 75% as effectively as the adult at an average age of 9.5 days when out of the nest, and from four to eight days old when in the nest (depending on the size of the brood). The nestlings fledge after about 18 to 22 days, with about 80% fledging success. Like hatching success, this is negatively affected by unfavourable weather and a younger female. Chicks may be preyed on by snakes and raccoons. This predation can be exacerbated by begging calls.
Feeding
The tree swallow forages up to above the ground singly or in groups. Its flight is a mix of flapping and gliding. During the breeding season, this is mostly within of the nest site. When it is foraging for nestlings, though, it usually goes up to from the nest, mostly staying in sight of it, and forages at a height up to . As well as being caught in flight, insects are sometimes taken from the ground, water, vegetation, and vertical surfaces.
The tree swallow eats mostly insects, with some molluscs, spiders, and fruit. In North America, flies make up about 40% of the diet, supplemented with beetles and ants. Otherwise, the diet is about 90% flies. The insects taken are a mix of aquatic and terrestrial organisms; the former is an important source of omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids. This is because, although the tree swallow can convert the precursor α-Linolenic acid into high unsaturated fatty acids like docosahexaenoic acid, it cannot do so in the quantities needed. The seed and berry food is mainly from the genus Myrica, which is mainly taken in all four of the Northern Hemisphere seasons except summer. Crustaceans were also found to be important in the wintering diet in a study on Long Island, New York.
Both sexes feed the nestlings (although the male feeds the chicks less than the females) resulting in about 10 to 20 feedings per hour. The parents often use the chirp call to stimulate nestlings to beg. This is used more frequently with younger chicks, as they beg less than older chicks when the parent arrives with food but does not call. The likelihood of begging in the absence of parents also increases with age. The hatching order affects how much a chick is fed; last-hatched nestlings (in cases where hatching is asynchronous) are likely fed less than those hatched earlier. Nestlings closer to the entrance of the nest are also more likely to be fed, as are those who beg first and more frequently. The overall rate at which a brood is fed also increases with more begging. The diet itself is composed mostly of insects, those in the orders Diptera, Hemiptera, and Odonata making up most of the diet. These insects are mostly up to in size, but sometimes are up to in length. In nests near lakes acidified by humans, calcium supplements, primarily fish bones, crayfish exoskeletons, clam shells, and the shells of bird eggs, are harder to find. This forces the adult tree swallow to travel further than usual—sometimes up to away from the nest—to get these calcium supplements.
Survival
The tree swallow has an average lifespan of 2.7 years and a maximum of 12 years. About 79% of individuals do not survive their first year, and those that do face an annual mortality rate of 40% to 60%. Most deaths are likely the result of cold weather, which reduces insect availability, leading to starvation. Lifespan is associated with telomere length: a 2005 study that used return rates (to the breeding site of the previous year) as a proxy for survival found that those with the longest telomeres at one year of age had a predicted lifespan of 3.5 years, compared to the 1.2 years for those with the shortest telomeres. Whether short telomeres cause a reduction in fitness or are simply an indicator of it is unknown. Regardless, a 2016 thesis found that measures of condition were positively correlated with telomere length. Males also generally had longer telomeres than females, as did smaller-winged birds. Individuals with shorter telomeres may compensate for potential losses in fitness by increasing reproductive effort, whereas those with longer telomeres may decrease their investment, as evidenced by the smaller proportion of chicks females with longer telomeres fledged. Telomere length is highly heritable, and is especially dependent on that of the mother.
Predation
The tree swallow is susceptible to a wide range of predators. Eggs, nestlings, and adults in the nest fall victim to black rat snakes, American crows, American kestrels, common grackles, northern flickers, chipmunks, deermice, domestic cats, weasels, American black bears, and raccoons, While flying or perched, predators to the tree swallow include American kestrels, black-billed magpies, barred owls, great horned owls, merlins, peregrine falcons, and sharp-shinned hawks. Whilst evasive flight is the usual response to predators in free-flying swallows, mobbing behavior is common around the nest, and is directed not just towards predators, but also towards nest site competitors, who might be scared off by it. This behaviour involves the swallow swarming and diving towards (but not actually striking) the intruder from around above the ground, usually giving soft ticking calls near the end and coming within about of the predator. It seems to alter the intensity of its attacks based on which predator approaches; a 1992 study found that ferrets elicited a more vigorous defence than black rat snakes, and a 2019 thesis similarly discovered that black rat snake models were dived at the least and eastern chipmunk models the most. It is suggested that the snake prompted a weaker response because defence behaviours may be less effective and more dangerous to perform against it.
Parasites
The tree swallow is vulnerable to various parasites, such as the blood parasite Trypanosoma. It is also susceptible to the flea Ceratophyllus idius and the feather mites Pteronyssoides tyrrelli, Trouessartia, and (likely) Hemialges. It is also probably afflicted by lice of the genera Brueelia and Myrsidea. There is a correlation between the number of fleas on a bird and the number of young it is caring for. This relationship is speculated to be a cause of an improved microclimate for fleas due to a larger clutch. Nestlings also suffer from parasites, like blow-flies of the genus Protocalliphora, which results in a loss of blood by nestlings. These parasites, though, are found in a majority of nests and do not seem to have a large effect on nestlings. A study published in 1992 found that the effects of blow-fly parasitism explained only about 5.5% of the variation in nestling mass.
Immunology
In the breeding female tree swallow, humoral immunocompetence (HIC) is inversely correlated with laying date. This means that, on average, a bird that lays its eggs earlier has a stronger antibiotic response to an antigen than a bird that lays later. A tree swallow that is handicapped by wing-clipping generally has a lower HIC. These relationships could be interpreted as supporting the conclusion that a female that lays earlier acquires a higher HIC, but the authors of the study that found the correlations believed this unlikely, due to the colder temperatures near the start of the breeding season. Instead, they thought that HIC could be a measure of quality, and that a higher quality female is able to lay earlier. The authors also postulated that it is an indicator of workload, as shown by the lower HIC of handicapped birds.
Higher quality female tree swallows (as measured by laying date) are able to maintain their reproductive effort while diverting resources to fight an immune challenge. Lower quality swallows are less able to do so; a 2005 study in Ithaca, New York, found that late-laying females with an artificially enlarged brood, although able to maintain offspring quality, had lower responses to an immune challenge than those that were of higher quality or did not have an enlarged brood. Whether a female chooses to prioritize offspring quality or immunocompetence is likely related to survival probabilities; a 2005 study discovered that females with an enlarged brood in Alaska, where survival rates are lower, had weaker immune responses, but kept reproductive effort steady, whereas those in Tennessee, with higher survival rates, had a stronger response but lower quality offspring.
In the tree swallow, some components of the immune system deteriorate with age. Acquired T cell-mediated immunity, for example, declines with age in the female tree swallow. But, the age of a female does not affect both the acquired and innate humoral immunity; the lack of deterioration in the former contrasts with studies on barn swallows and female collared flycatchers. Because of this immunosenescence (a decrease in immune function with age), older females infected with a disease generally visit their nest less, resulting in their nestlings growing slower. They are also likely to lose weight because of an infection.
Status
The tree swallow is considered to be least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This is due to the bird's large range of about , and its stable population, estimated to be about 20,000,000 individuals. It is protected in the US by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, and in Canada by the Migratory Birds Convention Act. In some parts of the US, the range of this swallow has extended south, likely due to changes in land use, the reintroduction of beavers, and nest boxes installed for bluebirds. The tree swallow is negatively impacted by the clearing of forests and the reduction of marshes, the latter reducing the habitat available for wintering. This swallow has to compete for nest sites with the common starling, house sparrow (both introduced to North America), bluebirds, and the house wren (which also destroys nests without occupying them). Acidification of lakes can force this swallow to go relatively long distances to find calcium-rich items, and can result in chicks eating plastic. Other chemicals, like pesticides and other pollutants, can become highly concentrated in eggs, and PCBs are associated with the abandonment of a pair's clutch. Contamination from oil sands mine sites can negatively affect tree swallows by increasing the presence of toxins, as measured by the activity of ethoxyresorufin-o-deethylase (a detoxification enzyme) in nestlings. This normally has little influence on nestling and fledging, though extreme weather can reveal the effects: a 2006 study found that nestlings from wetlands most polluted by oil sands processing material were more than 10 times more likely to die than those from a control site during periods of synchronized cold temperatures and heavy rainfall, compared to the lack of difference in mortality between the groups when the weather was less extreme. A 2019 paper, however, found that increased precipitation caused a similar decline in hatching and nestling success for nestlings both near and far from oil sands sites. In another study, birds exposed to mercury fledged, on average, one less chick than those not, an effect amplified by warm weather. In addition, cold weather events can rapidly reduce the availability of aerial insect prey, and in some populations with advancing reproduction may result in reduced offspring survival.
References
Notes
Citations
External links
tree swallow
tree swallow
Birds of North America
tree swallow
tree swallow | en |
doc-en-1632 | Sir John Frederick Neville Cardus, CBE (2 April 188828 February 1975) was an English writer and critic. From an impoverished home background, and mainly self-educated, he became The Manchester Guardians cricket correspondent in 1919 and its chief music critic in 1927, holding the two posts simultaneously until 1940. His contributions to these two distinct fields in the years before the Second World War established his reputation as one of the foremost critics of his generation.
Cardus's approach to cricket writing was innovative, turning what had previously been largely a factual form into vivid description and criticism; he is considered by contemporaries to have influenced every subsequent cricket writer. Although he achieved his largest readership for his cricket reports and books, he considered music criticism as his principal vocation. Without any formal musical training, he was initially influenced by the older generation of critics, in particular Samuel Langford and Ernest Newman, but developed his own individual style of criticism—subjective, romantic and personal, in contrast to the objective analysis practised by Newman. Cardus's opinions and judgments were often forthright and unsparing, which sometimes caused friction with leading performers. Nevertheless, his personal charm and gregarious manner enabled him to form lasting friendships in the cricketing and musical worlds, with among others Newman, Sir Thomas Beecham and Sir Donald Bradman.
Cardus spent the Second World War years in Australia, where he wrote for The Sydney Morning Herald and gave regular radio talks. He also wrote books on music, and completed his autobiography. After his return to England he resumed his connection with The Manchester Guardian as its London music critic. He continued to write on cricket, and produced books on both his specialisms. Cardus's work was publicly recognised by his appointment as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1964 and the award of a knighthood in 1967, while the music and cricket worlds acknowledged him with numerous honours. In his last years, he became a guru and inspirational figure to aspiring young writers.
Early life
Family background and early childhood
Neville Cardus was born on 2 April 1888 in Rusholme, Manchester. Throughout his childhood and young adulthood he was known as "Fred". There has been confusion over his birth date. The birthdate of 2 April 1888 is as given on his baptism record; and it is 2 April when he celebrated his birthday, albeit believing that he was born in 1889: Cardus himself hosted a dinner party on 2 April 1959 believing this to be his 70th birthday. His birth certificate shows a birthdate of 3 April 1888, but this has been argued to be incorrect, since the date of registration of 15 May 1888 was such that using the birth date of 2 April would have breached the requirement to register a birth in no more than 42 days. Some sources give the birthdate as 2 April 1889, Neville's mother was Ada Cardus, one of six daughters of Robert and Ann Cardus of 4 Summer Place, Rusholme. On 14 July 1888, when the baby was three months old, Ada married Neville's father, John Frederick Newsham, a blacksmith. Cardus's autobiographical works refer to his father as a violinist in an orchestra, but there is no other evidence for this. Four days after the wedding, Cardus's father left by boat for America, with the intention that Ada followed. However, Ada changed her mind and went to live with Eliahoo Joseph, a Turkish merchant and possibly a pimp, with Ada a prostitute. John Frederick Newsham returned to England and divorced Ada in 1899. It was said that within a few years Ada and Neville had returned to her parents' home in Summer Place.
Robert Cardus was a retired policeman; Neville referred to him as receiving a small pension, although a search of police archives found no trace of this. The family took in neighbours' washing, and the household income was further supplemented by his daughters' earnings from part-time prostitution. In his autobiographical writings, Cardus refers to his home environment at Summer Place as "sordid ... unlettered and unbeautiful", yet enlivened by laughter: "Humour kept breezing in". Commentators have suggested that Cardus tended to overstate the deprived aspects of his childhood; his biographer Christopher Brookes asserts that "Cardus was the product neither of a slum, nor a cultural desert". Robert Cardus, though uneducated, was not illiterate, and was instrumental in awakening his grandson's literary interests. Theatres, libraries and other cultural facilities were easily accessible from the Cardus home.
Neville described his formal schooling as limited to five years at the local board school, where the curriculum was basic and the methods of tuition harsh: "[T]he boy who showed the faintest sign of freedom of the will was caned". There is, however, doubt as to whether his schooling lasted only five years and whether he attended a board school or a Church of England school. The experience did not curb Neville's intellectual curiosity; at a very young age he was expanding his cultural horizons, through the worlds of reading and of music hall and pantomime. When he was 10 years old he discovered the novels of Dickens; years later he wrote that there were two classes of person, "those who have it in them from birth onwards to appreciate Dickens and those who haven't. The second group should be avoided as soon as detected". His earliest creative writing took the form of a handwritten magazine, The Boy's World, full of articles and stories he had written. He circulated it among his schoolmates, until it was discovered and torn up by an irate teacher.
Manchester, 1901–12
After Robert Cardus's death in 1900 the family moved several times, eventually breaking up altogether. Cardus left school in 1901 and took a variety of short-term, unskilled jobs before finding more secure employment as a clerk with Flemings' marine insurance agency. He lived for a time with his Aunt Beatrice with whom, according to Brookes, he had at an early age "embarked on a lifelong love affair ... In his eyes she could do no wrong". A flamboyant character, Beatrice brought colour into Cardus's life; she encouraged him to read worthwhile books and her memory, Brookes asserts, "remained a potent inspirational force" throughout his later life as a writer. She also bought him his first cricket bat.
These years were a period of intense self-education. Cardus became an habitué of the local libraries, and extended his reading from Dickens to include many of the masters of literature: Fielding, Thackeray, Conrad and—with more reservation—Hardy and Henry James. In due course he added philosophy and metaphysics to his curriculum; this began with his discovery of George Henry Lewes, which led him on to the works of Kant, Hume, Berkeley and, eventually, Schopenhauer. He supplemented these studies by attending free lectures at Manchester University, and met regularly with a group of like-minded autodidacts at Alexandra Park or, in the winter, at the Lyons café in Albert Square, to discuss and debate for whole afternoons. At first Cardus's schedule of self-improvement was random; eventually he compiled what he called a "cultural scheme" whereby he devoted a set weekly number of hours to different subjects.
Cardus's interest in music began with the popular tunes sung by his mother and her sisters in the family home. He remembered hearing for the first time the melody of the "Vilja" song from Franz Lehár's operetta The Merry Widow, which "curled its way into my heart to stay there for a lifetime". In April 1907 he was "swept ... into the seven seas of music" by a performance of Edward German's operetta Tom Jones. "I am unable to explain", Cardus wrote many years later, "why it should have been left to Edward German—of all composers—to release the flood". He began going to the Hallé Orchestra's concerts at the Free Trade Hall where, on 3 December 1908, he was present at the premiere of Elgar's first symphony, under Hans Richter. He regularly attended the fortnightly concerts at the Royal Manchester College of Music, where students' performances were assessed by the principal, Adolph Brodsky. As part of his scheme of study, Cardus briefly took singing lessons, his only formal instruction in music. In 1916 Cardus published his first musical article, "Bantock and Style in Music", in Musical Opinion.
Alongside his intellectual pursuits Cardus played and followed cricket. As a small boy he had begun to visit Old Trafford Cricket Ground to watch Lancashire matches: "The first cricketer I saw was A.C. MacLaren ... I can still see the swing of MacLaren's bat, the great follow-through finishing high and held there with the body poised". In 1902 he saw the Test match against Australia in which Victor Trumper scored a century before lunch and thereby won a permanent place among Cardus's heroes. Cardus first played cricket on rough waste land close to his home in Rusholme; as he matured he developed as an effective medium-paced off break bowler, and for several seasons from 1908 onwards he played as a weekend professional in Manchester league cricket. "I am not ashamed to confess that I seldom hesitated, as soon as a batsman came to the crease, to let him have a quick one bang in the penis; after which a quick, simple straight one would invariably remove him from the scene".
Shrewsbury
In the spring of 1912, in search of a change from his unrewarding clerical job, Cardus applied for the post of assistant cricket coach at Shrewsbury School, citing his bowling averages in Manchester club cricket. He reasoned that, by living frugally during the Shrewsbury summers, he would be able to finance his winter studies of music and literature. His application was successful, and in May 1912 he began his duties. He worked initially under Walter Attewell, a former Nottinghamshire professional, and later under the Yorkshire and England cricketer Ted Wainwright. Cardus established good working relations with both of these, but identified most closely with Cyril Alington, the school's headmaster: "Because of Alington I call myself ... an old Salopian". Alington first detected Cardus's intellectual potential when he found him reading a copy of Gilbert Murray's translation of Euripides's drama Medea. In August 1914, in addition to his cricketing duties he became Alington's secretary, after the previous incumbent joined the army at the outbreak of war; Cardus was rejected for military service because of his poor eyesight.
Cardus did not find his duties at Shrewsbury onerous. He made frequent trips to Manchester, for Hallé concerts or to watch Thomas Beecham conduct at the Manchester Opera House. He found time for other work; thus, in the winter of 1913–14, he was the music critic for the northern edition of The Daily Citizen. This short-lived newspaper was an official organ of the early Labour Party; mainly out of admiration for Bernard Shaw Cardus had joined the Independent Labour Party, but quickly lost interest in socialism: "Their creed or system was obviously not to be a means to an end but an end in itself". According to Brookes, the influence of Shrewsbury School affected Cardus to the extent that "[t]he playing fields of an English public school were for him a more natural setting than the iconoclastic frenzy of the Lyons café where socialism vied with Richard Strauss for pride of place in the race to modernity". The Daily Citizen paid poorly, and Cardus's association with it ended in April 1914.
Cardus spent his winters in Manchester, studying hard in anticipation of any opportunity for an opening as a music critic, eking out his summer savings by taking temporary clerical work. Around 1916 he met Edith King, an art teacher and amateur actress who became a regular attender at the Lyons café meetings. In the summers, when Cardus returned to Shrewsbury, she kept him informed of musical and cultural events in Manchester. The Shrewsbury years, which Brookes describes as a "magical interlude", ended suddenly when, at the end of the 1916 summer, Alington was appointed headmaster of Eton. Initially it seemed likely that Cardus would join him there as his secretary, but Cardus's military exemption was under review; the uncertainty of his position ended the possibility of a post at Eton. He left Shrewsbury in September 1916 with little money, and no immediate prospects of regular work.
Manchester Guardian, 1917–1940
First years
In the winter of 1916–17 Cardus continued his private studies while working intermittently; among various jobs, he collected insurance premiums for a burial society. Early in January 1917 he wrote to C. P. Scott, The Manchester Guardians editor, asking for any available post at the paper, as "the means whereby to continue my education". To bolster his chances he enclosed specimens of his writing. The result was, first, a temporary unpaid position as Scott's secretary, but in mid-March Scott offered a job on the paper's reporting staff. The writer J. B. Priestley later asserted that Cardus, who did not know shorthand, was engaged not as a reporter, but as a "writer". In Cardus's own account of these years he appears to have been fully engaged in reporters' duties, his lack of shorthand being dismissed by the chief reporter, Haslam Mills, who paraphrased Shakespeare: "Some men are born to shorthand, others achieve shorthand, while others have shorthand thrust upon them". Mills advised Cardus to concentrate on style: "We can be decorative at times; we can even be amusing. Here, possibly, you will find scope".
Within a year Cardus had been moved from the reporters' room to take charge of the paper's "Miscellany" column. He also resumed the duties of part-time secretary to Scott, who was at this time over 70, and had edited The Manchester Guardian since 1872. Despite his years, he struck Cardus as "of inexhaustible energy and aliveness". Scott was a demanding employer, who gave his young writers free rein, but expected in return long hours and total dedication. Driven hard, sometimes to the point of exhaustion, Cardus nevertheless relished these years, and never complained to Scott of weariness. Early in 1919 his role changed again, when he was made junior drama critic under the direction of C.E. Montague, the paper's principal theatre critic who had returned from war service with no great desire to continue in the role. Cardus's principal ambitions still lay in the direction of music criticism, though he recognised that this door was closed while Samuel Langford, music critic since 1906, remained in post. In preparation for any opportunity that might arise in that direction, Cardus maintained a daily two-hour study of music or music literature.
Cricket correspondent
In the spring of 1919, while recovering from a serious pulmonary condition, Cardus took up a suggestion from his news editor, William Percival Crozier, that he should watch some cricket at Old Trafford and, if he felt able, write reports on a few matches. He had earlier written four articles on cricket for the newspaper. On 19 May 1919 Cardus went to the first day of Lancashire's match with Derbyshire. His first published cricket report, on the following day, showed little sign of his later characteristic style: "I simply had no intention of writing on cricket for any length of time; this was a spare-time affair ... and I fitted myself into the idioms and procedures of the sporting writers of 1919". Scott nonetheless saw a potential, and from the beginning of 1920 Cardus became the paper's regular cricket correspondent, under the by-line "Cricketer", a position he held for 20 years.
Cardus's emergence as cricket correspondent was concurrent with another appointment, that of deputy and successor designate to Langford as music critic. In January 1920 Cardus reported on two recitals by the Russian tenor Vladimir Rosing, and apparently impressed Scott with the quality of his notice, although the accuracy of Cardus's summary of events has been questioned. With the succession to Langford assured, and a significant increase in salary, Cardus was happy to devote his summers exclusively to cricket. He remained circumspect about his commitment to the sport: "Never have I regarded my cricket as more than a means to an end; that end being always music". Nevertheless, he developed a style of cricket reporting that quickly lifted him to the forefront of contemporary sports writers. He did this, according to his fellow cricket writer Gerald Howat, by using imagery and metaphor to create "a mythology of characters and scenes". John Arlott described Cardus as "the creat[or] of modern cricket writing".
The new sense of financial and professional security was probably instrumental in the decision of Cardus and Edith King to marry, on 17 June 1921. The marriage, which lasted until Edith's death 47 years later, was unconventional; the couple led individual lives and rarely lived together, while remaining devoted friends. Cardus described his wife as "a great spirit and character, born for sisterhood not marriage."
From this time onward, Cardus used the forename "Neville" in place of "Fred", and adopted the initials "N.C." for his music reviews, to distinguish this persona from "Cricketer". In August 1921 Cardus gained what he termed "the only scoop of my career", when he reported the unexpected victory by 28 runs of MacLaren's scratch side over the previously unbeaten Australian touring team. The match, at The Saffrons ground at Eastbourne, had attracted little interest from other cricket correspondents, being treated as a foregone conclusion.
The focus of much of Cardus's cricket writing was the Lancashire side of the inter-war years, and in particular their twice-yearly battles with rivals Yorkshire. His eye was as much on the players and their personalities as on the game, on "the match within the match", with the actual scores treated as secondary. Cardus justified this: "Do I add up the notes of a Mozart "Vivace" to evaluate the music?" To meet Cardus's requirements, the players were sometimes "enlarged", notably Emmott Robinson, the veteran Yorkshire all-rounder of the 1920s who through Cardus's pen became "the apotheosis of Yorkshire cricket and Yorkshire character". In the 1930s, Cardus's style became less effusive, as his older heroes were replaced by players with, in his view, less romantic appeal. Bradman was an exception; after his exploits in the England versus Australia Test series of 1930 Cardus described the Australian as "an incredible exponent who in himself sums up all the skill and experience that have gone before him ... he has kindled grand bonfires of batsmanship for us".
Selections from Cardus's Manchester Guardian cricket writings were published in a series of books between 1922 and 1937. Because of financial constraints the paper did not send "Cricketer" to Australia to cover the "Bodyline" tour of 1932–33. Cardus was generally approving of Jardine's controversial bodyline tactics, writing on 5 March 1933: "[H]ad [Jardine] been a weak man, all the energy of Larwood [England's premier bowler] might have proved as vain a thing as it did in 1930". In 1936–37, Cardus accompanied the MCC team to Australia; otherwise he continued to write on English domestic cricket until the 1939 season was summarily truncated. On 1 September, the day that Germany invaded Poland, Cardus observed the removal of the bust of W. G. Grace from the Lord's pavilion; he was informed by a bystander: "That means war". It has been argued that this should be regarded as a good story rather than literal truth: there was no match at Lord's that day, and Cardus was on holiday in Derbyshire.
Music critic
Following Langford's death in May 1927, Cardus became The Manchester Guardians chief music critic. For several years he had worked closely with Langford, whose influence on the younger man was equalled only by that of Ernest Newman, Langford's predecessor as the paper's music critic: "Langford taught me to feel and translate, while Newman taught me to observe and analyse". Cardus's fellow-critic Hugo Cole has described his approach as personal rather than academic, based on his own reactions to the music he was hearing, and with a complete independence of judgement. Cardus was, Cole says, "the last distinguished music critic never to have received formal musical training ... he was a writer first, and a music critic second".
Cardus's lack of deference sometimes led to friction, as with Hamilton Harty, chief conductor of the Hallé Orchestra from 1920. In his reviews of the Hallé concerts until Harty's departure in 1933, Cardus frequently criticised the conductor's choices and interpretations. On one occasion he observed that Harty's rendering of the adagio in Beethoven's Ninth had broken the world record for slowness, and quoted minutes and seconds. Responding to Harty's outraged protests, Cardus threatened to bring an alarm clock to the next performance, "less for critical purposes than for those of personal convenience". When Harty left, he was not replaced as chief conductor; the Hallé employed distinguished visiting conductors such as Beecham, Malcolm Sargent, Pierre Monteux, Adrian Boult and Ernest Ansermet. Cardus considered that a lack of central direction was adversely affecting the orchestra, and his biting criticisms of some performances led to temporarily strained relations.
Cardus often expressed views contrary to popular and critical opinion. He dismissed Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring as "a sophisticated exploitation of primitive rum-ti-tum". When Harty introduced Gershwin's symphonic poem An American in Paris into a Hallé concert, Cardus proposed "a 150 per cent [import] tariff against this sort of American dry-goods". He professed to think that Sullivan's "preoccupation with comic opera, to the neglect of oratorio and symphony" was a "deplorable" loss to English music, although he also wrote that without Gilbert, nothing of Sullivan's music would have survived. Cardus championed Delius against the consensus of his fellow-critics: "His music looks back on days intensely lived through; it knows the pathos of mortal things doomed to fade and vanish". At the 1929 Delius Festival in London, Cardus briefly met the composer, who thought he looked too young to be The Manchester Guardians music critic, and counselled him: "Don't read yourself daft. Trust to y'r emotions". Also against the grain of critical opinion, Cardus commended the then unfashionable music of Richard Strauss and Anton Bruckner.
In 1931 Cardus visited the Salzburg Festival, where he met Beecham and began a friendship which lasted until Sir Thomas's death in 1961—despite numerous disagreements. One of Cardus's notices in 1937 so incensed Beecham that he announced he would not conduct any concert at which Cardus was present. Cardus later numbered Beecham, with Elgar and Delius, as "one of the three most original spirits known in English music since Purcell". The annual Salzburg Festival became a highlight of Cardus's musical calendar; in 1936 he saw Toscanini conduct a performance there of Wagner's Die Meistersinger that, he said, "will remain in the mind for a lifetime ... Toscanini held us like children listening to a tale told in the chimney corner, lighted by the glow of olden times". Cardus's final prewar Salzburg visit was in 1938, just after the German-Austrian Anschluss which led to the withdrawal in protest of many of the Festival's leading figures.
Despite financial incentives from London newspapers, Cardus remained loyal to The Manchester Guardian. On the outbreak of war in September 1939 the Free Trade Hall closed, requisitioned for military purposes. The Hallé Society left Manchester to tour with Sargent around the north-west of England. With no music in Manchester and all first-class cricket suspended, Cardus was unemployed, "imprisoned in Manchester, useless to anybody". Thus, when he received an offer from Sir Keith Murdoch to join The Herald of Melbourne in Australia, he accepted immediately.
Australia
Cardus had been known to Australian readers since the 1920s, when The Argus in Melbourne reported his view that Australians made cricket "a war game ... with an intensity of purpose too deadly for a mere game." His books on cricket were widely reviewed in the Australian press in the 1920s and 30s; one critic commented in 1929, "Mr. Cardus mingles fancy with fact. The latter is preferable." Another Australian writer, quoting him extensively in 1932, observed, "Mr. Cardus is a gifted writer and a most impartial critic." By 1936 he was known to a considerable section of the Australian public as a cricket writer, although he was hardly known there in his musical capacity.
The 1936–37 MCC tour of Australia under G.O. Allen was the occasion of Cardus's first visit to the country. During the tour he made, or consolidated, friendships with players and colleagues including C. B. Fry and Donald Bradman. Fry, a former England cricket captain, was a boyhood hero of Cardus, and was covering the Tests for the London Evening Standard. In Bradman, Cardus found a sophistication and sensitivity that other writers had failed to detect. When interviewed on his arrival in Australia, Cardus speculated how he would cope for the six months of the tour without music; he was touched when the following day music students in Perth gave him a private recital of music by Chopin and Hugo Wolf. During this tour Cardus wrote for The Herald in Melbourne, and broadcast about cricket on Australian radio.
Cardus made a private visit to Australia from mid-January to mid-March 1938. When he joined The Herald in 1940, his initial brief was to cover a series of concerts conducted by Beecham for the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC). Daily contact between the two men during Beecham's time in Australia between June and October 1940 helped to consolidate their friendship. At the end of his tour Beecham tried to persuade Cardus to join him in sailing to America, asking, "Do you propose to stay in this barbarous country all your life?" Cardus insisted on remaining in Australia, but moved from Melbourne to Sydney. Concluding that he could not satisfactorily review concerts for an evening newspaper, he joined the staff of The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH).
At first Cardus failed to adjust his expectations to the prevailing standard of music-making in Australia, which was not at that
time comparable to the best on offer in Europe or America. He was accused of being "just one more sneering Pommy bastard come to hand down higher wisdom to the ignorant colonials." His biographer Christopher Brookes suggests that Cardus was applying critical standards "more appropriate to Salzburg than to Sydney". Over the next two years Cardus and the public slowly came to terms with each other, and by 1942 he was both popular and respected among Australians.
For ABC Cardus presented a weekly hour-long programme, "The Enjoyment of Music", which enlarged the audience for classical music across the country. His topics included concert works, such as the late Beethoven string quartets and Mahler's Ninth Symphony, operas including The Marriage of Figaro and Der Rosenkavalier, and performers such as Wilhelm Furtwängler and Arturo Toscanini. He also gave a weekly, fifteen-minute talk on music, illustrated by records, for the children's Argonauts Club programme and regularly wrote for ABC Weekly.
Cardus rented a small flat in the Kings Cross district of Sydney, where he wrote his Ten Composers (1945) and Autobiography (1947). He said later that he found the discipline of writing for seven hours a day difficult at first, but that the process had turned him from a journalist into something more substantial. After his wife announced her intention of sailing from England in 1941 to join him, Cardus declined to move to a larger flat to accommodate them both, and rented a separate establishment for her a mile away. They dined together once a week, but otherwise continued to lead largely separate lives.
By the end of the war Cardus's thoughts were turning to England. Refusing an offer of a highly paid permanent contract to cover both music and cricket for the SMH he considered his options; with some reluctance he agreed to cover the MCC's 1946–47 tour of Australia for the SMH and also for The Times and The Manchester Guardian. The novelist Charles Morgan wrote of Cardus's reports, "the best [I have] read these 40 years. Who shall dare to say now that George Meredith is forgotten?"
Later career
Years of uncertainty
In April 1947 Cardus returned to England. He had not as yet decided to leave Australia permanently, but "felt in need of spiritual refreshment". He found a war-weary England in which much had changed; familiar landmarks had disappeared, and old friends and acquaintances had died. The Free Trade Hall was a burnt-out shell, and the Queen's Hall in London completely destroyed; however, Cardus was struck by the apparent good health of the English music scene. He also found an undamaged Lord's, and enjoyed a season of magnificent cricket, marked by the batting exploits of the Middlesex pair, Denis Compton and Bill Edrich. Cardus was back in Sydney by the end of the year, but early in 1948, having accepted an offer from The Sunday Times to cover that year's Test series against Australia, he left for England again.
Another factor that brought Cardus to England in 1948 was the prospect of succeeding Newman, whose retirement as chief music critic of The Sunday Times was assumed to be imminent. However, Newman had no intention of retiring, and made it clear that he would resent any successor-designate looking over his shoulder. Feeling slighted, Cardus resigned from the paper and accepted an offer from the London Evening Standard to be its music critic. This new appointment was short-lived; Cardus's lengthy and discursive concert reviews were incompatible with this paper's style, and were ruthlessly cut by subeditors. At the end of 1948 he was back in Australia, proclaiming his intention to settle there permanently. This determination, too, was brief; the lure of London life proved irresistible. Because of the commercial success of his Autobiography, published in 1947, and the immediate commissioning of a second autobiographical work, Cardus was not under immediate financial pressure. He left Australia again in the spring of 1949, and although he spent the English winter of 1950–51 in Australia, writing about the 1950–51 England v. Australia Test series for the Sydney Morning Herald, London was thereafter his permanent home. Here he worked as a freelance writer, in which role he resumed his association with The Manchester Guardian. In December 1951 he was appointed the paper's London music critic, on a permanent salaried basis.
London critic
In 1949 Cardus set up his London home at the National Liberal Club, while Edith took a flat in Bickenhall Mansions, just off Baker Street. The pair lived harmoniously apart, though in frequent contact, until Edith's death. Cardus found London's musical life invigorating, with five major orchestras and a host of distinguished conductors and solo artists performing regularly. Toscanini paid his final visit to England in 1952, with two concerts at the Royal Festival Hall. Outside London, Cardus was a regular visitor to the Edinburgh Festival and to Glyndebourne, and was in Manchester for the reopening of the Free Trade Hall and the "homecoming" of the Hallé Orchestra in November 1951. The inaugural concert concluded with Kathleen Ferrier singing "Land of Hope and Glory". Cardus had first heard Ferrier at the Edinburgh Festival in 1947; he became a devoted admirer to the extent that, eventually, questions were raised about his critical blindness to her technical weaknesses. He wrote of her singing that it was, "like the woman herself ... imbued with a quiet but reliant sense and a feeling for the fun and goodness of life". He was devastated by her death from cancer in October 1953; the following year he edited and contributed to a memorial volume of tributes.
For The Manchester Guardian, Cardus wrote around 30 music articles a year. These included "survey" pieces, which often reflected his personal enthusiasms; a regular subject was the music of Gustav Mahler, who in the early 1950s was by no means a popular composer with British audiences. Cardus sought to change that, with a series of articles between 1952 and 1957 under titles such as "Mahler's Growing Influence", "Misunderstanding Mahler", and "The Mahler Problem". He wrote the first volume of a detailed analysis entitled Gustav Mahler: His Mind and his Music; the book, dealing with Mahler's first five symphonies, was published in 1965, but was poorly received by critics. Volume II was never written.
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s Cardus wrote cricket articles; these included an annual reflection for Wisden Cricketers' Almanack and occasional columns for The Manchester Guardian, for whom he covered the 1953 Test Matches against Australia. In the English winter of 1954–55 Cardus made his final visit to Australia, to report on the Test series for The Sydney Morning Herald; he undertook to write "impressions" rather than day-to-day reports on play. He found time to enjoy Sydney's theatrical and music scene, but was disappointed in what he perceived as a decline in the city's musical standards.
In the decades after the war many of Cardus's earlier heroes and acquaintances died. On Fry's death in 1956 Cardus wrote of him as "A great Englishman, measured by any standards of occupation, art and civilisation". In 1959, still in harness, Newman died at the age of 90; Cardus considered him the most outstanding of all music critics, and thought he should have been appointed a Companion of Honour (CH), or even to the Order of Merit. Beecham died on 8 March 1961. Cardus had for some years noted a decline in his old friend's powers, though he had written in 1954, on the occasion of Beecham's 75th birthday, of the debt the music world owed to the conductor: "He led us out of the Teutonic captivity. He showed us other and more sensitive worlds". After Beecham's death, Cardus organised the publication of a celebratory memoir, as he had done with Kathleen Ferrier. To an extent the departed idols were replaced with new heroes: in music, Herbert von Karajan, Otto Klemperer, Clifford Curzon and Claudio Arrau; in cricket, Keith Miller and Garfield Sobers. Cardus maintained a keen antagonism towards much of contemporary music; discussing Pierre Boulez's Pli selon pli after a performance in 1965, he said he "could not relate the varied succession of aural phenomena to music as my musical intelligence and senses recognise music".
In 1964 Cardus was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). In a letter to his friend Marjorie Robinson he described the investiture at Buckingham Palace, remarking that the Queen "might have been any nice shy young lady in D.H. Evans or Kendal Milnes". Just over two years later Cardus was awarded a knighthood, the first music critic to receive such an honour, although in all likelihood it was awarded as much for his cricket writing. Years previously Beecham had advised: "In the unlikely event of you being offered a knighthood, Neville, take it. It makes tables at the Savoy so much easier to come by".
Final years
Edith Cardus died on 26 March 1968. Despite their separate day-to-day lives, she had been an influential presence for nearly all Cardus's adult life; they had communicated by telephone almost daily, and he felt her loss keenly. After her death he left the National Liberal Club and moved into her flat, which remained his base for the rest of his life. In the ensuing months he worried about his deteriorating relationship with The Guardian; the paper had been renamed in 1959 following reorganisation, and its editorial offices had moved to London in 1964. Cardus felt that much of the old ethos had departed, and that his once-sacrosanct copy was now at the mercy of subeditors. He was particularly incensed by the treatment meted out to his 1969 Edinburgh Festival reports, and referred to the subeditors' room as "the Abattoir" in one of many letters complaining of editorial butchery.
As well as his work for The Guardian Cardus wrote occasionally for The Sunday Times, a particular pleasure to him in view of his failure to achieve Newman's post. In 1970 he published Full Score, the last of his autobiographical works and, in Daniels's view, the least substantial of all the Cardus books. In his eighties, Cardus assumed the role of guru to young aspiring writers, before whom he would hold court in favourite locations: the Garrick Club, the National Liberal Club, or Lord's. According to Daniels, Cardus "thrived in the role of patron, encourager, [and] accoucheur". Howat describes his appearance in these years as not having changed much from his younger days: "... the lean, ascetic figure of moderate height, with sharp features, sleek hair, and strong glasses".
Cardus died on 28 February 1975 at the Nuffield Clinic, London, a few days after collapsing at home. His cremation service was private. On 4 April more than 200 people attended a memorial service at St Paul's, Covent Garden. These included representatives from Cardus's worlds of cricket, journalism and music. Flora Robson and Wendy Hiller gave readings, and Clifford Curzon, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, played the second movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23. The eulogy was given by the cricket writer and historian Alan Gibson, who took as his text verses from Blake's Auguries of Innocence:
Reputation, honours and influence
Cardus's contribution to cricket writing has been acknowledged by various commentators on the game. John Arlott wrote: "Before him, cricket was reported ... with him it was for the first time appreciated, felt, and imaginatively described." Howat commented: "He would have his imitators and parodists, and no serious cricket writer would remain unaffected by him". His influence on his successors was more specifically acknowledged by Gibson:
"All cricket writers of the last half century have been influenced by Cardus, whether they admit it or not, whether they have wished to be or not, whether they have tried to copy him or tried to avoid copying him. He was not a model, any more than Macaulay, say, was a model for the aspiring historian. But just as Macaulay changed the course of the writing of history, Cardus changed the course of the writing of cricket. He showed what could be done. He dignified and illuminated the craft".
As a music critic, Cardus's romantic, instinctive approach was the opposite of Newman's objective school of musical criticism. Initially in awe of Newman's reputation, Cardus soon discovered his own independent, more subjective voice. A fellow critic wrote that Newman "probed into Music's vitals, put her head under deep X-ray and analysed cell-tissue. Cardus laid his head against her bosom and listened to the beating of her heart." Despite their different approaches, the two writers held each other in considerable regard; at times, Newman's own prose showed the influence of Cardus's style. Among leading musicians who have paid tribute to Cardus, Yehudi Menuhin wrote that he "reminds us that there is an understanding of the heart as well as of the mind ... in Neville Cardus, the artist has an ally". Colin Davis highlighted "the quality and verve of Cardus's writing", which had made him a household name.
Beside his CBE and knighthood, Cardus received numerous honours from the musical and cricketing worlds, at home and overseas. In 1963 he was awarded the City of Bayreuth's Wagner Medal; he was given honorary membership of the Royal Manchester College of Music in 1968, and of the Royal Academy of Music in 1972. The Hallé Orchestra honoured him with two special concerts in April 1966 to mark his long association with the orchestra. In 1970 he received the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class. Among the honours he most valued was the presidency, for two years, of Lancashire County Cricket Club, which he accepted in 1971.
Cardus was not an "establishment" figure. His friends encountered initial resistance when they sought his election to the MCC, although he was eventually accepted in 1958. He was denied the civic honour of the Freedom of the City of Manchester, and although he made light of this omission he was hurt by it. Long after his death, the city named a pathway close to the rebuilt Summer Place "Neville Cardus Walk". Aside from formal institutional recognition, Cardus was highly regarded by prominent individual cricketers and musicians, as indicated by the "tribute book" he received at his 70th birthday celebration lunch. The book included contributions from Wilfred Rhodes, Jack Hobbs and Len Hutton, and also from Klemperer, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Bruno Walter. He managed to maintain close friendships with both Beecham and Sir John Barbirolli, though the two conductors cordially disliked one another.
In the conventional sense, Cardus was not a religious man; Dennis Silk, a one-time MCC president, suggests that Cardus's religion was "friendship". In Autobiography Cardus says he found his Kingdom of Heaven in the arts, "the only religion that is real and, once found, omnipresent"—though his rationalism was shaken, he confesses, when he came to understand the late string quartets of Beethoven. He ends his autobiography by declaring: "If I know that my Redeemer liveth it is not on the church's testimony, but because of what Handel affirms".
Within the relaxed framework of his marriage, Cardus enjoyed relationships with many women. These included Hilda "Barbe" Ede, with whom he shared a passionate affair in the 1930s before her sudden death in 1937; Cardus referred to her as "Milady", and devoted a chapter of Full Score to her. After his return from Australia his closest women friends were Margaret Hughes and Else Mayer-Lismann, to whom he referred respectively as his "cricket wife" and his "music wife". Hughes, who was more than 30 years younger than Cardus, became his literary executor after his death, and edited several collections of his cricketing and musical writings.
Books by Cardus
The list includes all original works together with collections, anthologies and books edited or jointly edited by Cardus. Posthumous publications are included. Publication year relates to the original edition; many of the books have been reissued, often by different publishers.
Autobiographical works
A condensed edition of Autobiography and Second Innings
Music books
(Chapters on Schubert, Wagner, Brahms, Mahler, Richard Strauss, César Franck, Debussy, Elgar, Delius and Sibelius)
(A memorial volume, edited by Cardus, with additional contributions by Winifred Ferrier, Sir John Barbirolli, Benjamin Britten, Roy Henderson, Gerald Moore and Bruno Walter)
(A revised version of Ten Composers, with an additional chapter on Bruckner)
Cricket books
General anthology
Notes and references
Notes
Citations
Sources
External links
Cardus on Douglas Jardine, from The Manchester Guardian, 20 June 1958
1888 births
1975 deaths
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Cricket historians and writers
English male journalists
Classical music critics
English music critics
English writers about music
English sportswriters
Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music
Knights Bachelor
People from Rusholme
Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class
The Guardian journalists
The Herald (Melbourne) people | en |
doc-en-5822 | Adrian Kelvin Borland (6 December 1957 – 26 April 1999) was an English singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer, best known as the frontman of post-punk band The Sound.
Following a substantial musical career spanning numerous groups, as well as a solo career, he succumbed to symptoms of what is known as schizoaffective disorder, and committed suicide by jumping in front of a train on 26 April 1999.
Early career
Borland was born in Hampstead, London, the son of Bob Borland, a physicist at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington, London, and his wife Win, an English teacher.
At primary school the young Borland was already friends with future Sound bassist (and Second Layer collaborator)
Graham "Green" Bailey, and would meet Stephen Budd, closely involved with his band The Sound in their early years, in his early teens. Budd would later recall, "We met when we were both 14. He was the only other kid I knew with an electric guitar. Even at 14 you could see he was a genius". Borland played guitar left-handed.
Borland's first band, the Wimbledon-based punk rock trio The Outsiders, was formed with Borland at its nucleus, manning vocals and guitar. Bob Lawrence was on bass, and Adrian 'Jan' Janes manned the drums. Their debut LP, Calling on Youth, was self-released on their Raw Edge label, and became the first UK self-released punk album. and won them their first unfavourable reviews: "apple-cheeked Ade has a complexion that would turn a Devon milkmaid green with envy", reported the NME.
A single released that November, One to Infinity, was labelled as "tuneless, gormless, gutless" (again by the NME), but was praised elsewhere. It was followed by a second album, Close Up in 1978. This received better reviews from the press. During his time with The Outsiders he played on stage with Iggy Pop.
It was after this album that important changes took place that would decide the band's future: Lawrence left to be replaced by Borland's old friend Graham 'Green' Bailey, and Adrian Janes' departure to go to college allowed Geoffrey Cummant-Wood (the band's manager) to suggest 28-year-old Mike Dudley in his stead. The Outsiders trio then became The Sound, a quartet, with the arrival of Bi Marshall (real name Benita Biltoo), an acquaintance of Bailey's and the band from around 1977. The new sound was augmented by her use of the clarinet (later saxophone) and synthesizer.
The Sound: 1979–1988
Borland became the kernel of The Sound, being the songwriter, main vocalist and guitarist, penning tracks for the early Propaganda sessions and the Jeopardy recordings (their debut album release, originally recorded by Budd for his Tortch label which had put out the band’s first release, the Physical World EP. The album was subsequently released on Warner's Korova label and Budd became The Sound’s early manager). From this point on Borland became critically acclaimed, if never a household name.
The Sound's second album, From the Lions Mouth, was even more enthusiastically received, selling over 100,000 units worldwide. Borland's personal productivity was enhanced even more with two collaborations that year, one with Jello Biafra in The Witch Trials, and another with Sound bassist Graham Bailey in Second Layer, which spawned the electronic album World of Rubber. The Sound were caught on a downcurve, however, the following year with the release of All Fall Down (1982), an experimental and bitter album that represented the band's refusal to make more commercial music to satisfy their label (Korova, a Warner Bros. subsidiary). Korova responded by dropping them, while the music press rapidly disowned them; a Sounds review called the album "virtually worthless".
The Sound never recovered from this setback, although they did release a mini album, Shock of Daylight, a live album In The Hothouse and two further albums Heads and Hearts and Thunder Up over the next five years. These were all released on small independent labels, and never reversed the band's diminishing profile.
Although it is unclear as to when Borland was diagnosed with his condition, from 1985 onward the symptoms of his depression became more and more apparent. His problems would manifest themselves in many of the songs on The Sound's final album, Thunder Up, as well as in the schizophrenic layout of the piece; while the initial tracks deal with confronting issues (for example "Acceleration Group", "Barria Alta"), the second half proceeds at an entirely different tangent, becoming either tortuous ("Shot Up And Shut Down"), frenetic ("I Give You Pain") or mournful ("You've Got A Way"). The touring for Thunder Up culminated in disaster for the band when Borland left halfway through a set at Zoetermeer, Netherlands. It would be the last Sound gig. Dudley described the break-up in 2004:
The band continued without Dudley into 1988, but soon collapsed. The Big Takeover lamented that it was "Like an old friend losing a long fight with a disease". Borland would later blame himself for the break-up of The Sound.
After The Sound: 1988–1999
Early solo career
While his former bandmates discontinued their musical careers, Borland moved to the Netherlands in 1988 to found yet another band, after initially going there on holiday and to meet his manager (Rob Acda). Adrian Borland and The Citizens was formed there, taking advantage of the popularity of The Sound on the continent, and the relative inexpense of venues in the Low Countries. Musically, this was a period of unprecedented collaboration for Borland; for instance, he worked (albeit under the pseudonym "Joachim Pimento") with the Honolulu Mountain Daffodils right up until their final release Psychic Hit List Victim in 1991.
In 1989, Adrian Borland and The Citizens released Alexandria, a huge departure musically from Thunder Up and featuring four backing vocalists, bass, cello, clarinet, drums and kettle drums, piano, saxophone, harmonica, tambourine, viola, violin and guitar. Some continuity was provided by former Sound bandmate Colvin 'Max' Mayers collaborating by reprising his role of keyboardist, while Nick Robbins again engineered and co-produced the album with Borland. The album featured much calmer, lighter tracks than those on Thunder Up, such as "Light The Sky" and "Rogue Beauty". As always, some tracks deal with Borland's own precarious emotional state, such as "No Ethereal" and "Deep Deep Blue". In an interview with Melody Maker the same year, Borland said of the title:
The album, however, suffered from poor sales, selling an estimated 10,000 copies on the continent and a mere 1,000 in England. Borland attributed this to poor distribution. Although Borland expressed an interest in re-forming his old band, The Sound never re-formed: bassist Graham Bailey moved to the United States in the early 1990s; keyboardist Max died on Boxing Day 1993 from an AIDs-related illness; and an undisclosed antagonism had caused an irreparable rift between Borland and drummer Mike Dudley. Speaking of a possible reformation in 1992, Borland said:
1992 saw the release of Brittle Heaven, which would later lend its name to the Adrian Borland website. With a menagerie of 14 songs with little difference in style to those of his previous release, the real difference now lay in the composition of the Citizens, which was by now almost exclusively Dutch. Don Victor now co-produced with Borland. The album benefits from lavish investment in production, although this puts it in a similar position to The Sound's Heads and Hearts album in that it is much more polished than Borland's other solo material. Critical reception ranged from the noncommittal to welcoming; AllMusic described it as 'one hour of finely woven tapestry, of gorgeous music', albeit 'Not quite as good as 1989's Alexandria''', handing it three stars out of five, while David Cavanagh gave it four, praising the atmosphere of 'a strange, dizzy optimism' pervading the album. As one critic argued: '[Borland's] reflective writing remains as good as ever', and The Big Takeover went further, proclaiming it 'inspired'.
With some critical endorsement Borland continued to work on new material throughout the year. At some point in 1992 he travelled to Amsterdam to record a session with Victor Heeremans, re-recorded and released many years later as the posthumous The Amsterdam Tapes album. Recorded in a crossover point in his career, it represents a shift in both musical and mental directions: while tracks like "Ordinary Angel" show some continuity with the tone of Brittle Heaven, the forcefulness of tracks such as "Fast Blue World", "Darkest Heart" and "Via Satellite" clearly preclude Borland's later, harder style as seen on 5:00AM and Harmony and Destruction. On the other hand, the acoustic-based fragility of tracks such as "Happen" and "White Room" represents a more immediate turn to lighter, less ambitious music -the latter would be re-recorded to feature on the 1994 album Beautiful Ammunition.
Around this time also Borland began working on music production; he produced albums by Felt, Into Paradise and Waiting Sound.
Mid-1990s
In 1994, Borland returned to the UK to record his third album, Beautiful Ammunition, at the Acton Survival Studios on Resolve Records. Whether because of meager investment or because of his desire to explore a more acoustic sound, the new album displayed a simpler format, largely devoid of any discernible concept: "Beautiful Ammunition" is very simply put together, only acoustic guitar, synthesiser and a few drum machines. Everything is very basic, which I like", Borland said later. One notable change from Brittle Heaven is presence of dark, introspective songs, particularly "Lonely Late Nighter" and "White Room", emphasised somewhat by the empty, lonely musical framework. This is not to say, however, that more confident tracks are banished from the album: "Reunited States of Love" and "Someone Will Love You Today" are perfect examples of this, and yet still exemplify in their tentativeness a decisive split from Brittle Heaven-era songs. Critical reception was as muted as always, and mixed where evident; Big Takeover complained that it was 'too light and airy', but vaguely appraised the work as 'finely honed and pleasant'.
The following year, 1995, was to be an important year for Borland; not only was the album Cinematic written and released, but his work with Carlo van Putten, Claudia Uman, Florian Brattman and David Maria Gramse in The White Rose Transmission came to fruition, with the side-project's self-titled debut appearing that year. They would continue to perform intermittently throughout the 1990s, Borland being a major contributor.Cinematic was a stablemate of Beautiful Ammunition in that it was also created in the Survival Studios and under the Resolve label, yet demonstrated a further evolution in Borland's musical career. Despite being in a similar situation as regards funding, Cinematic benefited from much better, integrated production as well as punchy tracks such as "Bright White Light". With the psychological opener "Dreamfuel" a dream-like atmosphere pervaded the album, establishing itself in indolent, moody tracks like "Cinematic" and "When Can I Be Me?". It was, overall, a more coherent attempt than its predecessor, but – predictably – did not win over the public. Critical reception, however, was even more welcoming. With an AllMusic.com ranking of 4 stars the album was lauded:
Simon Heavisides stated: 'Isn't it great when your old favourites don't let you down?...[it] leaves you with the feeling at the end that you want to hear the whole damn thing over again." Mitch Myers wrote in 1997: 'Everybody is a star, but Borland's cinematic life is well worth watching.' Glenn McDonald, however, offered up a less enthusiastic summation: 'The music had an impressive sweep to it, but the production seemed to me to emphasise the mechanical repetitiveness of the arrangements'. The album also lent its name to Cinematic Overview the following year, a compilation album of Borland's work stretching all the way back to the mid seventies.
Also in 1996, the newly formed Renascent Records label reissued Sound records Heads and Hearts (with Shock of Daylight) and In The Hothouse, complete with new packaging, and liner notes by Borland himself.
Later years
Borland's last release during his lifetime was the album 5:00AM. A switch to Earth Records and a slight change of crew – Tim Smith of Cardiacs now co-produced with Borland – were the only ostensible differences between the new work and Cinematic. However, the money invested in the album allowed for much better production, a direct result of which was the recording and inclusion of "Baby Moon", a song which Borland had held onto since 1993 but did not want to waste 'on a lo-fi production'. The songs are generally punchier and more radio-friendly, such as opener "Stray Bullets", "City Speed" and "Redemption's Knees", but containing powerful, dark, indolent tracks which, at this point, Borland had made his solo trademark: "Vampiric" is arguably the best example of this in all of his discography. The album is also representative of earlier work in that it does not fail to neglect his mental state, dealing with it in an optimistic, confrontational fashion in "Over The Under": 'Under this roof, under the sky/I want to live, at least I'm going to try/But I'm over the under now'. That song would prove to be Borland's last single release. The critical reception was, perhaps, the best of any in his lifetime. Glenn McDonald produced the following glowing review:
Borland himself was excited by 5:00AM, and was keen to draw lines between it and his most successful period: '"5:00 A.M" takes up, where "Thunder Up" –
which was the last Sound album – left off...It's still the same person, who writes the songs, only a little bit less in love with himself and more worldview
orientated.".
Before attending to what would become his last solo recordings, Borland wrote twelve of the fourteen tracks on The White Rose Transmission's second release, 700 Miles of Desert, recording them with the band between November 1998 and January 1999 and producing the album himself. Borland was proud of the work, and said so in his last public writing, dated 18 March 1999:
Death
By 1999, Borland had lived with severe depression for about 14 years. He had still been denied commercial success or widespread popularity outside of continental Europe, and he had tried to kill himself at least three times, the third (according to his mother Win Borland) when he jumped in front of a car. He had also developed a drinking problem.
His plans for that year were staggering. Not content with merely anticipating the release of 700 Miles of Desert he expressed the intention to record a sixth solo album with Heads and Hearts producer Wally Brill, a tour of Europe that June to promote the WRT album, a further tour later in the year to promote the new solo release, and 'a 12 song acoustic record with Wally Brill using percussion, trumpet, violin, viola and atmospheric electric guitar' for 2000. Meanwhile the remastering of several The Sound recordings, created at the very start of their career in 1979, was underway by Wally Brill. The finished product, Propaganda, was released by Renascent and featured linernotes by Borland, like all previous releases. It would be officially released on 26 April – the very day Borland would die by suicide. Of the plans drawn up by Borland over the winter, only his solo album was undertaken. It was recorded at The Premises, London over a number of months, although Borland himself recorded guide vocals and guitar in the space of about a fortnight. After this point his disposition changed. In a letter he wrote to his parents shortly before his death he expressed fear at being sectioned in Springfield mental hospital. 'He was returning home distraught and anxious...he had ignored the medical advice to pace himself', his mother, Win Borland, wrote. At evidence given at Westminster Coroner's Court it was revealed that he had visited an ex-girlfriend in the days before his death and that his condition had worsened thereafter. The Wimbledon Guardian reported:
The night of the 25th, Borland slipped away to Wimbledon Station. In the early hours of the 26th, horrified commuters watched as Borland died by throwing himself under a train. He was 41 years of age, and was interred at the Merton & Sutton Joint Cemetery, London. In an account given by drummer Mike Dudley his funeral was attended by his parents, Bob Lawrence and Adrian Janes of The Outsiders, original Sound keyboardist Bi Marshall, early Sound manager Stephen Budd and Wally Brill, co-producer of Heads and Hearts and Harmony and Destruction, among a multitude of others.
Legacy
Although 700 Miles of Desert was released to minimal critical acclaim, Borland's work has enjoyed an appreciative critical reception and a lasting fan base, with sites such as brittleheaven.com and renascent.co.uk providing an online outlet for information and sales. In 2000, a book of anecdotes and memories written by his friends, colleagues and mother was published in English and Dutch, named Book of Happy Memories (after the Brittle Heaven song "Box of Happy Memories"), compiled by Willemien Spook and Jean-Paul van Mierlo. 2001 saw in a tribute album, titled In Passing – A Tribute To Adrian Borland and The Sound, as well as Renascent reissues of Sound albums Jeopardy!, From The Lion's Mouth and All Fall Down . 2002 saw the release of Harmony & Destruction, the remnants of his sixth solo album painstakingly salvaged by Pat Rowles (No Corridor) and audio engineer Pete Barraclough (The Lucy Show, Archive) from the recordings made by Wally Brill at the Premises and four-track demos recorded by Rowels. The BBC recordings of Sound sessions from the 1980s were released with linernotes by Mike Dudley in 2004. 2006 saw The Amsterdam Tapes, a demo album from 1992 that was rejected by his label also remastered and rerecorded by his friends; a band of them grouped together later that year under the moniker 'The Sound of Adrian Borland' to promote it. That same year five live albums, collectively known as The Dutch Radio Recordings, were released by Renascent. These garnered overwhelmingly positive reviews. His collaborative project with Graham Bailey as Second Layer was also resurrected in 2009 by Cherry Red Records; who re-released a remastered version of the 1981 album World of Rubber in the same year.
Mark Burgess' song "Adrian Be" is dedicated to him.
A book of Borland's lyrics, called Adrian Borland & The Sound - Meaning of a Distant Victory, was published in 2016 by Giuseppe Basile and Marcello Nitti.
In 2016, an English-language Dutch documentary about Borland, directed by Marc Waltman, premiered at the IDFA festival in The Netherlands.
Musical style
Influences
Borland's initial influences can be traced through his work with The Outsiders into punk bands of the 70s, such as the Sex Pistols. However, it is clear that he had a broader appreciation for other forms of rock parallel to this; his admiration for The Stooges and Iggy Pop was reaffirmed on several occasions Other influences included The Velvet Underground, Lou Reed, Jim Morrison and Joy Division and David Bowie. In terms of admiration for contemporaries, mid-show interview in 1984, he cited New Order, Soft Cell and Eurythmics. His favourite bands from the eighties were The Waterboys and Talk Talk. He also lauded Ride in the early 1990s.
Popular themes
Borland's earliest lyrics with The Sound showed a tendency toward introspection, even before their music was really influenced by Joy Division. The song "Words Fail Me", was the earliest clear example of this. Many songs simply portray general themes of urban squalor, and political lyrics such as "Cost of Living", "Music Business" and the track "Missiles", which would reach infamy when included on their debut release, Jeopardy!. The songs on Jeopardy! would largely reflect inward tensions rather than political ones: a curious compromise is reached on "Unwritten Law", an attack on religious dogma surrounding suicide: 'A hand is a hand/A knife is a knife/Blood is blood/And life is life'. From The Lion's Mouth would also contain another reference to religion with "Judgement". Political songs would be largely absent from most further releases; only "Golden Soldiers" ("And I will drink to those who sacrifice and die for me/So I could be so golden") and "Shot Up And Shot Down" ("Most of England is sleeping in the sun/But not everyone") suggest political topics. In his solo work there are more stark examples, such as "Beneath The Big Wheel" and "The Other Side of The World" on Alexandria and the quasi-religious song "Station of The Cross" on Beautiful Ammunition. As Borland's condition got worse in the latter half on the 1990s, political themes were dropped as introspective ones once more took precedence.
While Borland denied that music helped him (he claimed it "doesn't make any difference" in an interview in 1992 ), after his death his mother wrote that they were at least a cathartic form of therapy and "helped him to come to terms with his problems". Thus it is that we can frequently infer from the body of work he left what his state of mind may have been at various stages of his life. The Jeopardy! opener "I Can't Escape Myself" would project Borland's dissatisfaction with himself, and serves as an early example of his more depressive lyrics. "Fatal Flaw", from the generally more confident album From The Lion's Mouth explores mental weakness, a theme repeated more frequently on All Fall Down in the schizophrenic "Party of The Mind" and "As Feeling Dies"; on Heads and Hearts the crazed "Whirlpool" and "Burning Part of Me"; on Thunder Up the whole second half of the album. In his solo career songs such as "Deep Deep Blue", "Lonely Late Nighter" and "Stranger in the Soul" parallel Borland's suffering with his condition – by "Harmony & Destruction" it is merely easier to pick out upbeat songs from the multitude of depressed ones.
"Night Versus Day", a song that had also been part of the Propaganda sessions, is an example of Borland's fascination with dichotomy and the themes of light and dark, which were usually used as a metaphor for the polarising effects of his condition. "New Dark Age" and "Winter" both link the night with fear or slowness. The most obvious Sound song with this idea is "You've Got A Way", the closing track on Thunder Up:
"You've got a way/To shoot my night right through with the light of day". It is noteworthy that Borland's first solo single was "Light The Sky", the lyrics of which ae echoed in "Shadow of Your Grace": "You lit up my life and work/It was falling into place". The dichotomy is reversed on the 5:00am track "Vampiric": "Before the dawn draws its first breath/Before the Sun destroys what's left/Of us". The album title should also be noted for being the time that dawn usually rises around the equinox. The theme of night and day is brought in as a central concept on the album Harmony & Destruction: the bright opener is "Solar", for instance, while "Startime" and "Heart Goes Down Like The Sun" are dark-named songs about depression. It may be significant that in "Last Train Out of Shatterville", which may be an act of suicide ideation, describes a train pulling out "in the cold morning light", and describes a previous suicide attempt as happening "last dawn as you slipped from curb to bonnet". The final track "Living on the Edge of God" contains the lyric "Strip me down, expose the man/Not a pretty sight in the morning light".
Discography
Solo albums
Alexandria (1989) PIAS
Brittle Heaven (1992) PIAS
Beautiful Ammunition (1994) Resolve
Cinematic (1995) Resolve
5:00 AM (1997) Earth
The Last Days of the Rain Machine (2000) Red Sun (posthumous)
Harmony & Destruction (2002) Red Sun (posthumous)
The Amsterdam Tapes (2006) Pop One (posthumous)
Beautiful Ammunition (with 3 earlier unreleased songs and inclusive the song Beautiful Ammunition (2017) Stichting Opposite Direction/Sounds Haarlem likes Vinyl'
Lovefield (with 10 earlier unreleased songs (2019) Stichting Opposite Direction/Sounds Haarlem likes Vinyl'
Cinematic (with 4 earlier unreleased songs (2020) Stichting Opposite Direction/Sounds Haarlem likes Vinyl'
Compilation albums
Vital Years (1993) Gift of Life
Cinematic Overview (1995, promotional-only) Setanta
BBC Recordings (2004) Renascent
The Dutch Radio Recordings, vol 1–5 (2006) Renascent
Singles and EPs
Light the Sky (1989) PIAS
Beneath the Big Wheel (1989) PIAS
All the Words (1992) PIAS
Over the Under (1997) Earth
The Outsiders
Calling on Youth (1977) Raw Edge
One to Infinity 7" EP (1977) Raw Edge
Close Up (1978) Raw Edge
with The Sound
Physical World E.P. 7" EP (1979) Tortch
Jeopardy! (1980) Korova (reissued 2001, Renascent)
"Heyday" Single (1980) Korova
Live Instinct Maxi (1981) WEA Records BV
From the Lions Mouth (1981) Korova (reissued 2001, Renascent)
"Sense of Purpose" Single (1981) Korova
"Hot House" Single (1982) Korova
All Fall Down (1982) WEA Records (reissued 2001, Renascent)
"Party of the Mind" Single (1982) WEA Records BV
"Mining dor Heart" Flexi (1983) Vinyl Magazine
"Counting the Days" Single (1984) Statik
"Golden Soldiers" Single (1984) Victoria
Shock of Daylight EP (1984) Statik
Heads and Hearts (1985) Statik (reissued 1996 with Shock of Daylight, Renascent)
"Temperature Drop" Single (1985) Statik
"Under You" Single (1985) Statik
In the Hothouse (1985) Statik (reissued 1996, Renascent)
Counting the Days (1986) Statik
Thunder Up (1987) PIAS
"Hand of Love" Single (1987) PIAS
"Iron Years" Single (1987) PIAS
Propaganda (1999) Renascent (recorded 1979)
The BBC Recordings (2004)
Physical World EP reissue (2020) Reminder
with The Witch Trials
The Witch Trials (1981)
with Second Layer
Flesh as Property EP (1979) Tortch
State of Emergency EP (1980) Tortch
World of Rubber (1981) Cherry Red (reissued 2009, Pop One)
Second Layer (1987) LD Records
with Honolulu Mountain Daffodils
Guitars of the Oceanic Undergrowth (1987)
Tequila Dementia (1988)
Aloha Sayonara (1991)
Psychic Hit-List Victims (1991) (EP)
"Also sprächt Scott Thurston" (1988) (single)
with White Rose Transmission
White Rose Transmission (1995) Strange Music
700 Miles of Desert'' (1999) Fuego
References
External links
Renascent Sound site
1957 births
1999 suicides
British post-punk musicians
English punk rock guitarists
English male guitarists
English male singers
English new wave musicians
English songwriters
English record producers
Musicians from London
Suicides by train
Suicides in London
20th-century English singers
20th-century British guitarists
People with schizoaffective disorder
20th-century British male singers
1999 deaths
20th-century British businesspeople
British male songwriters | en |
doc-en-8925 | The 1908 Pittsburgh Panthers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Pittsburgh as an independent during the 1908 college football season.
Schedule
Season recap
In July 1908, the Western University of Pennsylvania officially became the University of Pittsburgh.
Hence, the cheers and songs emanating from the students at sporting contests had to be changed for the 1908 football season. In April, John A. Moorehead was hired to lead the football team for a second season. He hired ex-quarterback Karl Swenson as assistant coach. At the 1907 season ending banquet Quince Banbury was chosen captain by his teammates.
The drama in this offseason centered on a request by Washington & Jefferson University's Athletic Committee for the Western University of Pennsylvania to sign an agreement to adopt a one-year residency rule for their athletes. They stated that they would only make this request of the Western University of Pennsylvania. The WUP Athletic Committee declined and severed ties with all Washington & Jefferson athletic teams. Late in November the Red and Black changed their mind and begged for a post season football game with the University of Pittsburgh. The details were worked out between Alexander Silverman, the Graduate Manager of Athletics at Pitt and E. M. Murphy, the Graduate Manager of Athletics at Washington & Jefferson. The University of Pittsburgh Athletic Committee agreed to mend relations with the Red and Black and the eleventh game was added to the schedule. The main plus to come out of the pettiness and then total reversal shown by Washington & Jefferson's Athletic Department was a rivalry played for the next twenty-one straight years. In its second season under head coach John A. Moorehead, the team compiled an 8–3 record and outscored opponents by a total of 140 to 36. At the conclusion of the season Mr. Moorehead resigned as coach and went into business with his father.
Coaching staff
Roster
Game summaries
Mount Union
On October 3 Pitt opened the 1908 football season at Exposition Park against the Mount Union College Purple of Alliance, Ohio. Twelve hundred fans turned out to cheer on the new edition of University of Pittsburgh football.
The Pittsburg Press noted: "The system of numbering the local and visiting players will be adopted again this year and in this way the spectators will be able to follow the game well by referring to their programs. The numbers are sewed on the back of each player's jersey and can be distinguished from any part of the field." Both teams were healthy and anxious to play.
Mount Union started strong. They recovered a Pitt fumble on the Pitt fifteen yard line. They were able to move the ball five yards closer and Purple Raider fullback O'Brien was successful on a field goal. Pitt protested that the ball should have been theirs on downs. The referee agreed with Pitt and their offense went to work. An onside kick moved the ball across midfield. On second down Quince Banbury raced forty yards around left end for the first score. Jack Lindsay was successful on the goal after. Minutes later Banbury recovered an onside kick and scored his second touchdown. Lindsay missed the point after. The Pitt offense regained possession and Banbury ran forty-eight yards for his third touchdown of the half. Lindsay's kick was blocked. The Mount Union offense moved the ball to the Pitt five yard line and O'Brien connected on a field goal. That one counted and the halftime score was 16-4.
Quince Banbury and Joe Campbell scored second half touchdowns to make the final score 26-4. Coach Moorehead made wholesale substitutions and the Pitt offense had the ball on Mount Union's three yard line as time expired. Mount Union finished the season with a 5-4-1 record.
The Pitt starting lineup for the game against Mount Union was Maurice Goldsmith (left end), George Bailey (left tackle), Samuel Elliott (left guard), John Turner (center), John Shuman (right guard), Tex Richards (right tackle), Jack Lindsay (right end), Fritz Barrett (quarterback), Quince Banbury (left halfback), John Mackrell (right halfback), and Rosser (fullback). Substitutions made during the game were: Joe Campbell replaced William Rosser at fullback; Harry Ent replaced John Mackrell at right halfback; Marion Sayre replaced John Turner at center; James Stevenson replaced Samuel Elliott at left guard; Edgar Chatham replaced Quince Banbury at left halfback; and Homer Roe replaced Maurice Goldsmith at left end. The game consisted of one twenty minute half and one fifteen minute half.
Bethany
On a rainy October 10 the Bethany Bisons visited Exposition Park to take on Pitt. The Bisons fumbled on their first possession and Pitt recovered. The Pitt offense advanced the ball to the six yard line but lost the ball on downs. Bethany punted and Pitt returned the ball to the Bison eighteen yard line. Five plays later Quince Banbury plunged into the end zone for the first touchdown of the game. Center John Turner kicked the goal after. The Pitt offense was again efficient on their next possession and scored easily to make the score 12-0 at the break.
Coach Moorehead made numerous substitutions at halftime. Pitt end Homer Roe caught the second half kickoff on his twenty yard line and raced untouched ninety yards into the end zone. Turner was unsuccessful on the goal kick. The Bethany offense was then able to move into Pitt territory but missed a field goal. The Pitt offense asserted their dominance for the remainder of the game as John Mackrell scored two touchdowns to make the final score 27-0. Bethany would finish the season with a 4-3-1 record.
The Pitt starting lineup for the game against Bethany was Maurice Goldsmith (left end), George Bailey (left tackle), Samuel Elliott (left guard), John Turner (center), John Shuman (right guard), Tex Richards (right tackle), Jack Lindsay (right end), Fritz Barrett (quarterback), Quince Banbury (left halfback), Harry Ent (right halfback), and Joe Campbell (fullback). Substitutions made during the game were: Charles Quailey replaced Quince Banbury at left halfback; John Mackrell replaced Harry Ent at right halfback; Homer Roe replaced John Lindsay at right end; Marion Sayre replaced John Turner at center; James Stevenson replaced Samuel Elliott at left guard; William Rosser replaced Joe Campbell at fullback; Norman Budd replaced Fritz Barrett at quarterback; Edgar Chatham replaced Charles Quailey at left halfback; Henry Blair replaced Tex Richards at right tackle; Tynan replaced Maurice Goldsmith at left end; Richard Hoblitzell replaced George Bailey at left tackle; Eggers replaced Homer Roe; Pete Glick replaced Norman Budd at quarterback; and Elwood DeLozier replaced Glick at quarterback. The game was played in 15-minute halves.
Marietta
On October 17 the Pioneers of Marietta College gave the Pitt eleven another scare as they held the home team to a 7-0 score. The Pitt lineup was missing center John Turner (ankle injury), Captain Quince Banbury (torn ligament in leg), and tackle Frank Van Doren (shoulder separation). They were lucky to come away with a victory. End Jack Lindsay was nursing sore ribs but was able to play. The Marietta offense preferred to have the ball in Pitt's hands so they punted often. Pitt scored on their third possession. A Charles Quailey pass to Homer Roe was good for a twenty-seven yard gain to the thirteen yard line of Marietta. Marietta then intercepted an onside kick. Marietta punted right back to Pitt. Charles Quailey onside kicked to George Bailey at Marietta's seven yard line. Joe Campbell plunged over from the one foot line. The goal kick after was unsuccessful. Two possessions later Pitt quarterback Barrett punted to Pioneer quarterback Horne. Horne fumbled the ball into the end zone and recovered but was tackled in the end zone for a safety. During Pittsburgh's next possession, Barrett was tackled and knocked out of the game. Norman Budd replaced him for the rest of the game. The halftime score was 7-0.
The second half produced no scoring. Coach Moorehead made multiple substitutions. Left end Starr of Marietta was ejected for slugging and Pitt had possession on the Marietta eleven yard line. William Rosser advanced nine yards to the two yard line. Pitt fumbled on the next play and Reiter of Marietta scampered to the twenty-five before he was tackled. The Pioneers offense could not sustain a drive. Both defenses were the stars of the game. Marietta finished the season with a 6-2 record.
The Pitt starting lineup for the Marietta game was Homer Roe (left end), George Bailey (left tackle), Samuel Elliott (left guard), Marion Sayre (center), John Shuman (right guard), Tex Richards (right tackle), Jack Lindsay (right end), Fritz Barrett (quarterback), Charles Quailey (left halfback), Harry Ent (right halfback), and Joe Campbell (fullback). Substitutions made during the game were: Maurice Goldsmith replaced John Lindsay at right end; Norman Budd replaced Fritz Barrett at quarterback; Frank Van Doren replaced George Bailey at left tackle; John Mackrell replaced Harry Ent at right halfback; Arthur Yielding replaced Samuel Elliott at left guard; and Edgar Chatham replaced Charles Quailey at left halfback. The game was played in 20-minute halves.
Bucknell
On October 24 the University of Pittsburgh football team played their first "hard" opponent of the season in front of three thousand fans at Exposition Park. The Bucknell Bisons from Lewisburg, PA. were considered a step above the three previous opponents. Pitt was healthier with Frank Van Doren at tackle, Fritz Barrett at quarterback and Quince Banbury at halfback. Coach Moorehead replaced Joe Campbell at fullback with "Tex" Richards.
On Pitt's first offensive down of the game Banbury raced forty-five yards for a touchdown but Pitt was called for holding and the ball brought back. On Pitt's next possession they fumbled on Bucknell's twenty yard line. They proceeded to fumble on their next four possessions. The Bucknell offense was ineffective and either punted or fumbled right back. Late in the half Bucknell punted and Pitt had the ball in Bucknell territory. An onside kick gained twenty-eight yards and then "Tex" Richards carried the pigskin into the end zone for the first touchdown. Homer Roe missed the goal after. Coach Moorehead was not pleased with the first half effort.
Pitt scored on their first possession of the second half. Banbury gained fifty-five yards on two carries and Ent plunged over the goal line from the two for the second touchdown. Sam Elliott missed the point after. Pitt 10 - Bucknell 0. After a missed field goal by Roe, Captain Banbury scampered thirty yards for a touchdown and Elliott made the point after for a 16-0 lead. Bucknell's McAllister kicked off to "Tex" Richards on the five yard line and he proceeded to traverse the one hundred and five yards unimpeded to score the final touchdown of the day. The Pittsburgh Sunday Post described the run as "one of the most sensational touchdown ever seen on the Exposition field. He dodged man after man and, like a veritable steam engine, plowed through the opposition". Elliott was again successful on the goal kick after making the final tally 22-0. Bucknell finished the season with a 2-5-2 record.
The Pitt starting lineup for the game against Bucknell was Homer Roe (left end), George Bailey (left tackle), Samuel Elliott (left guard), Marion Sayre (center), John Shuman (right guard), Frank Van Doren (right tackle), Jack Lindsay (right end), Fritz Barrett (quarterback), Quince Banbury (left halfback), William Rosser (right halfback), and Tex Richards (fullback). Substitutions made during the game were: Harry Ent replaced William Rosser at right halfback; Norman Budd replaced Fritz Barrett at quarterback; Maurice Goldsmith replaced Jack Lindsay at left end; and Charles Quailey replaced Quince Banbury at left halfback. The game was played in 25-minute halves.
at St. Louis
The University of Pittsburgh football team traveled west to St. Louis for their only road game of the 1908 season. A Pitt contingent of fifty plus boarded the Pennsylvania Railroad car on Thursday evening October 29 and arrived in St. Louis on Friday morning. Twenty-five hundred fans assembled at Sportsman's Park on Saturday to see the undefeated Billikens led by coach Eddie Cochems, "father of the forward pass", take on the undefeated University of Pittsburgh squad. The crowd size was less than expected because it cost $1.00 for admission. Pitt was healthy except for Jack Turner at center. Frank Acker, the starting quarterback of St. Louis, was injured and replaced by Cornet in the starting lineup.
The game was a defensive struggle with two sensational offensive plays by the Pitt team determining the outcome. Late in the first half Pitt got possession of the ball on the St. Louis forty-three yard line. On first down Tex Richards broke free of the line of scrimmage and raced into the end zone for the game's first score. Sam Elliott was successful on the point after and Pitt led 6-0 at halftime. On the first possession of the second half St. Louis was backed up on their eight yard line attempting to punt. The center snap went over punter Schumacher's head and into the end zone where he recovered for a safety and two more points for Pitt. Two possessions later Pitt had the ball on their own forty-six yard line. Fritz Barrett connected on a forward pass to Homer Roe for a sixty-four yard touchdown. The point after was not successful. The final score was 13-0. This was the Billikens first home loss in three years.
The Pittsburgh Daily Post spoke with coach Cochems: "I congratulate the Pittsburgh team as well as Coach Moorehead on the game they played. Their style of play was splendid and in executing the forward pass they are the superior of any team I have seen yet, not even excepting the Indians and Penn. They proved a little too speedy for us, although our team played good football."
The Billikins finished the season with a 6-2-2 record.
The Pitt starting lineup for the game against St. Louis U. was Homer Roe (left end), Frank Van Doren (left tackle), Samuel Elliott (left guard), Arthur Yielding (center), John Shuman (right guard), George Bailey (right tackle), Jack Lindsay (right end), Fritz Barrett (quarterback), Harry Ent (left halfback), Quince Banbury (right halfback), and Tex Richards (fullback). At some point during the game James Stevenson replaced Samuel Elliott at left guard. The game was played in 25-minute halves.
Carnegie Tech
The third chapter of the city series with Carnegie Tech took place on election day, Tuesday November 3, at Exposition Park. In spite of the western trip and only one day of practice, the Pitt team dominated the Tartans. The Pittsburg Press noted: "Shortly after the game started the Pittsburgh authorities were tipped off to the fact that three spies from the Carlisle Indian School and one from the University of West Virginia were on the field, Coach Moorehead at once ordered his men to cut out all trick plays, and resort only to straight football."
Captain Banbury (halfback), Jack Turner (center) and John Shuman (tackle) were all out of the lineup due to injuries, but the Pitt offense scored sixteen points in the first half. Halfback Charles Quailey scored on Pitt's opening possession, but he later had to leave the game due to a concussion. After a Pitt touchdown by Homer Roe was called back due to a penalty, Tex Richards added two more touchdowns and Roe was good on one point after.
Tech played better defense in the second half but Richards was able to add another touchdown and Roe was good on the goal kick after to make the final score 22-0. The Pitt offense gained four hundred and fifty-four yards. Tech gained six yards in the first half and one yard in the second. Penalty-wise Pitt was assessed 100 yards for infractions and Tech only 20 yards. Carnegie Tech finished the season with a 3-7 record.
The Pitt starting lineup for the game against Carnegie Tech was Homer Roe (left end), Frank Van Doren (left tackle), Samuel Elliott (left guard), Arthur Yielding (center), James Stevenson (right guard), George Bailey (right tackle), Jack Lindsay (right end), Fritz Barrett (quarterback), Harry Ent (left halfback), Charles Quailey (right halfback), and Tex Richards (fullback). Substitutions made during the game were: Tex Richards replaced Charles Quailey at right halfback; Joe Campbell replaced Tex Richards at fullback; William Rosser replaced Harry Ent at left halfback; and John Makrell replaced William Rosser at left halfback. The game was played in 25-minute halves.
West Virginia
On November 7 the tenth edition of the Backyard Brawl was staged at Exposition Park in front of four thousand noisy rooters. John Shuman was back in the lineup at guard for Pitt, but halfback Banbury, center Turner and halfback Quailey were not available for action. West Virginia was healthy.
Pitt kicked off and the Mountaineers' halfback Young ran the ball out to the seventeen yard line. On first down Young fumbled. Pitt end Jack Lindsay picked up the loose ball and raced into the end zone for a touchdown thirty seconds into the game. Sam Elliott missed the point after. For the remainder of the first half it was a defensive struggle. Fritz Barrett missed two field goal attempts and Pitt advanced the ball to the West Virginia four yard line and could not score.
Late in the game Pitt fumbled and the Mountaineers recovered on Pitt's twenty-three yard line. WVa backs Nebinger and Diffendal carried the ball to the nine. On second down Pitt end Homer Roe intercepted quarterback Pearcy's throw on the seven and raced one hundred and three yards for a touchdown. Roe was successful on the goal after and Pitt led 11-0. On the next kickoff Tex Richards outdid his teammate and ran one hundred and seven yards for another score but the referee called tripping and placed the ball back on the Pitt eleven yard line. Pitt had the ball on their forty-two yard line as time was called. West Virginia finished the season with a 5-3 record.
The Pitt starting lineup for the game against West Virginia was Homer Roe (left end), Frank Van Doren (left tackle), Samuel Elliott (left guard), Arthur Yielding (center), John Shuman (right guard), George Bailey (right tackle), Jack Lindsay (right end), Fritz Barrett (quarterback), Harry Ent (left halfback), Tex Richards (right halfback), and Joe Campbell (fullback). At some point during the game James Stevenson replaced Samuel Elliott at left guard. The game consisted of one twenty-five minute half and one twenty minute half.
Carlisle
On November 14 the marquee game of the season against the Carlisle Indians got snowed upon. Three inches of snow covered the field of play. Small American flags were used as yardage markers to assist the players and officials. Seven thousand fans ignored the cold and came to cheer for their team. The strong Carlisle team sported a 6-1-1 record. Their only loss was to Harvard the previous week. Coach Moorehead had Turner at center and Banbury at halfback in the starting lineup.
The first half was a defensive struggle with no scoring. Carlisle was deep in Pitt territory at the seventeen yard line when quarterback Kelly tried a forward pass. Pitt end Jack Lindsay intercepted and raced sixty-five yards to the Carlisle twenty-eight. Pitt would get no closer and Carlisle's Jim Thorpe punted out of danger.
On Carlisle's first possession of the second half they were able to penetrate the Pitt defense. Jim Thorpe's onside kick was recovered by Carlisle center Barrel on the Pitt eighteen yard line. Four plays later Carlisle end Little Old Man plunged into the end zone for the game's only touchdown. Jim Thorpe tacked on the point after and the score read 6-0 in favor of Carlisle. The Pitt offense thought they had a chance to tie the score when Ent recovered Barrett's onside kick on the two yard line. Referee Whiting ruled the ball had gone out of bounds and gave possession to the Indians. The other two officials disagreed to no avail. The Pittsburgh Daily Post"s headline read "Defeat of Pitt Team Charged to Referee" and Coach Moorehead's quote was "I am proud of our boys. The score should have been even, however, but the referee ruled otherwise." Carlisle finished the season with a 10-2-1 record.
The Pitt starting lineup for the game against Carlisle was Homer Roe (left end), Frank Van Doren (left tackle), Samuel Elliott (left guard), John Turner (center), John Shuman (right guard), Joe Campbell (right tackle), Jack Lindsay (right end), Fritz Barrett (quarterback), Quince Banbury (left halfback), Harry Ent (right halfback), and Tex Richards (fullback). At some point during the game Maurice Goldsmith replaced Homer Roe at left end and Arthur Yielding replaced John Turner at center. The game was played in 35-minute halves.
Gettysburg
On November 22 ex-assistant Pitt coach Frank "Doc" Rugh brought his Gettysburg football team to foggy Exposition Park to square off against the Pitt eleven. The fifteen hundred faithful rooters could barely see the action. Since State College had scouts at the game, Pitt played basic football. Center Jack Turner and halfback Tex Richards were not able to play.
On Pitt's second possession their offense advanced the ball to the Gettysburg twenty yard line. Joe Campbell's fifty yard scamper was the highlight of the drive, but Pitt could not capitalize and turned the ball over on downs. Pitt's defense held and they regained possession at midfield. Fritz Barrett threw an interception and Pitt was back on defense. They regained possession at their own fifty-three yard line. Three plays later the offense had the ball on the Gettysburg fourteen yard line. Captain Banbury took the ball to the five and Joe Campbell scored on the next play. Sam Elliott converted the point after and Pitt led 6-0. Pitt had the ball on the Gettysburg twelve yard line as time ran out in the first half.
Gettysburg's offense managed to penetrate the Pitt defense in the second half. Two end runs and a successful onside kick moved the ball to the Pitt ten yard line. Gettysburg's luck ran out as Fritz Barrett recovered an onside kick. On first down Captain Quince Banbury raced fifty yards and the remainder of the game was played between the forty yard markers. Gettysburg finished the season with a 6-2 record.
The Pitt starting lineup for the game against the Gettysburg was Homer Roe (left end), Frank Van Doren (left tackle), Samuel Elliott (left guard), Arthur Yielding (center), John Shuman (right guard), George Bailey (right tackle), Jack Lindsay (right end), Fritz Barrett (quarterback), Quince Banbury (left halfback), Harry Ent (right halfback), and Joe Campbell (fullback). At some point during the game John Mackrell replaced Harry Ent at right halfback and then William Rosser replaced John Mackrell. The game consisted of one twenty-five minute half and one twenty minute half.
Penn State
"The A. G. Spalding and Bros. offered a trophy to the winner of the annual Thanksgiving Day game between Pitt and Penn State. The condition was that the winner should have possession of it each year, and at the end of five years, the team having won the majority of the games, should have permanent possession."
On Thanksgiving Day Mother Nature blessed Pittsburgh with summer-like weather. Nine thousand fans took advantage and came to Exposition Park to witness the annual Pitt versus State College football game. The good news for Pitt fans was that they did not give up a touchdown. The bad news was that they still lost the game 12-6. Pitt had three problem areas the entire 1908 season. They fumbled too often; Critical players were injured; Their kicking game was suspect at best. In this game Pitt was not able to overcome these shortcomings and pull out the victory.
Halfback/kicker Vorhis was the star for State College as he was good on three field goals. The Pitt defense was awesome as they kept the Staties out of the end zone. The first half ended 4-0. Coach Moorehead made three lineup changes. Joe Campbell moved from tackle to halfback replacing the injured Tex Richards. George Bailey replaced Campbell at tackle and Norman Budd replaced Fritz Barrett at quarterback. The offense functioned better but Vorhis kicked two more field goals to extend the lead to 12-0. Finally, Pitt drove the ball seventy-two yards with Joe Campbell going the final two yards for the score. Sam Elliott kicked the point after. The remainder of the game Pitt tried to tie but could not sustain another drive. Penn State finished the season with a 5-5 record.
The Pitt starting lineup for the game against Penn State was Homer Roe (left end), Frank Van Doren (left tackle), Samuel Elliott (left guard), John Turner (center), John Shuman (right guard), Joe Campbell (right tackle), Jack Lindsay (right end), Fritz Barrett (quarterback), Quince Banbury (left halfback), Harry Ent (right halfback), and Tex Richards (fullback). Substitutions made during the game were: Norman Budd replaced Fritz Barrett at quarterback; George Bailey replaced Joe Campbell at right tackle; Joe Campbell replaced Tex Richards at fullback; James Stevenson replaced John Shuman at right guard; William Rosser replaced Harry Ent at right halfback; Arthur Yielding replaced James Stevenson at right guard; Maurice Goldsmith replaced Homer Roe at left end; and Charles Quailey replaced Quince Banbury at left halfback. The game was played in 35-minute halves.
Washington & Jefferson
After completing their ten game slate, Pitt was not enamored of a post season game. This game belonged to the Red and Black. The Pittsburgh Daily Post noted: "The Wash.-Jeff. triumph was clean-cut and beyond the shadow of an excuse on the part of the vanquished gold and blue. Pittsburgh's offering presented a pitiable spectacle, and at no stage of the contest did the local eleven show any of its previous skill. They were outclassed all the way."
The Red and Black defense held the Pitt offense to five first downs. The Pitt defense did not play poorly, but their offensive fumbling put the defense in constant jeopardy. The Red and Black touchdown came in the first half after Pitt lost possession on a fumbled punt. A fake field goal gained eight yards to the Pitt seven and on second down Marshall plunged into the end zone from the four. Duffey was successful on the point after. The Red and Black spent the second half in Pitt territory and Duffey was successful on two field goals to make the final tally 14-0. The Red and Black finished the season with a 10-2-1 record.
The Pitt starting lineup for the game against Washington & Jefferson was Homer Roe (left end), Frank Van Doren (left tackle), Samuel Elliott (left guard), John Turner (center), John Shuman (right guard), George Bailey (right tackle), Jack Lindsay (right end), Fritz Barrett (quarterback), Quince Banbury (left halfback), Tex Richards (right halfback), and Joe Campbell (fullback). Substitutions made during the game were: William Rosser replaced Tex Richards at right halfback; and Norman Budd replaced Fritz Barrett at quarterback. The game was played in 35-minute halves.
Scoring summary
References
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Panthers football seasons
Pittsburgh Panthers football | en |
doc-en-14867 | Muspilli is an Old High German poem known in incomplete form (103 lines) from a ninth-century Bavarian manuscript. Its subject is the fate of the soul immediately after death and at the Last Judgment. Many aspects of the interpretation of the poem, including its title, remain controversial among scholars.
Manuscript
The text is extant in a single ninth-century manuscript, Clm 14098 of the Bavarian State Library, Munich.
The bulk of the manuscript contains a Latin theological text presented between 821 and 827 by Adalram, bishop of Salzburg, to the young Louis the German (). Into this orderly written manuscript, the text of the Muspilli was untidily entered, with numerous scribal errors, using blank pages, lower margins and even the dedication page.
Though in Carolingian minuscules, the handwriting is not that of a trained scribe. The language is essentially Bavarian dialect of the middle or late 9th century. The poem's beginning and ending are missing: they were probably written on the manuscript's outer leaves, which have since been lost. Legibility has always been a problem with this text, and some early editors used reagents which have left permanent stains.
There are many conjectural readings, some of them crucial to modern interpretation of the work.
Metrical form
Most of the poem is in alliterative verse of very uneven quality.
Some lines contain rhymes, using a poetic form pioneered in the ninth century by Otfrid of Weissenburg ().
This formal unevenness has often led scholars to regard the surviving text as a composite made up of older material and younger accretions – an impression reinforced by the poem's thematic and stylistic diversity. But it is also possible that a single poet deliberately chose to vary the verse forms in this way.
Synopsis
(Lines 1–17) Directly after death, armies of angels and devils will fight for a person's soul, and they will transport it immediately, either to the joys of an eternal dwelling in Heaven, or to the fire, darkness and torments of Hell.
(18–30) Everyone must therefore do God's will in this world. Divine help can no longer be obtained, once a person lies suffering in Hell.
(31–36) When the Mighty King issues His summons (daz mahal kipannit), all humans must attend and account for their actions on earth.
(37–47) The poet has heard dia uueroltrehtuuîson (possibly: 'men wise in the laws of the world') saying that Elias (the Old Testament prophet Elijah) will fight with and defeat the Antichrist. Elias will be acting with God's help as a champion of those seeking righteousness, to secure for them a place in Heaven. The Antichrist will be supported by Satan. He will pull him down. He will therefore be denied a victory in the encounter.
(48–62) But (many?) men of God (gotmann-) believe that in that battle Elias will be wounded (or killed?). (When?) Elias's blood drips onto the earth, (then?) mountains will burst into flame, trees will no longer stand, waters will dry up, the moon will fall, the sky will smoulder, middle-earth (mittilagart) will burn.
With the Day of Punishment or Penance (stuatago)
at hand, no man is able to help a kinsman before the muspilli. Amidst this destruction, what is left of the borderlands where humans once fought alongside their kinsfolk?
Damned souls have no further chance of remorse and will be taken off to Hell.
(63–72) A man should judge fairly on earth, because then he need not worry when standing before the Heavenly Judge. When a man disrupts the law by taking bribes, he is being secretly watched by the Devil, who will recall his misdeeds at the Final Judgment.
(73–99a) When the Heavenly Horn is sounded, the Judge, accompanied by an unconquerable host of angels, sets out for the place marked out for judgment. Angels will wake the dead and guide them to the judicial assembly (ding). All human beings will rise from the earth, free themselves from the bondage of the grave-mounds (lossan sih ar dero leuuo vazzon) and receive back their bodies, so that they may speak fully to their case. All will be judged according to their deeds. Hands, heads and all the limbs, even the little finger, will testify to the crimes they have committed. Everything will be made known to the Heavenly King, unless a sinner has already done penance with alms and fasting.
(100–103) The Cross is then brought forward, and Christ displays the wounds which He suffered because of His love for humankind.
Etymology
In 1832 the first editor, Johann Andreas Schmeller, proposed as the poem's provisional title what seemed to be a key word in line 57: dar nimac denne mak andremo helfan uora demo muspille ('there no kinsman is able to help another before the muspilli).
This is the only known occurrence of this word in Old High German.
Its immediate context is the destruction of the world by fire, but it is unclear whether the word denotes a person or some other entity. Distinctively, Kolb took uora as a local preposition ('in front of'), with muspilli signifying the Last Judgment itself, or perhaps its location or its presiding Judge.
Related forms are found in two other Germanic languages. The Old Saxon Christian poem Heliand (early or mid 9th century) presents (and perhaps personifies) mudspelli (mutspelli) as a destructive force, coming as a thief in the night, and associated with the end of the world.
In Old Norse, Muspellr occurs as a proper name, apparently that of the progenitor or leader of a band of fighters ('Muspellr's sons'), who are led by fiery Surtr against the gods at Ragnarök (a series of events heralding the death of major deities, including Odin, Thor, Týr, Freyr and Loki). The oldest known occurrences are in the Poetic Edda: Völuspá (51 Muspells lýþir) and Lokasenna (42 Muspells synir) (originals 10th century, manuscripts from about 1270).
More elaborate detail on Ragnarök is supplied in the Prose Edda (attributed to Snorri Sturluson, compiled round 1220, manuscripts from about 1300), and here the section known as Gylfaginning (chapters 4, 13, and 51) has references to Muspell(i), Muspells megir, Muspells synir and Muspells heimr.
Muspilli is usually analysed as a two-part compound, with well over 20 different etymologies proposed, depending on whether the word is seen as a survival from old Germanic, pagan times, or as a newly coined Christian term originating within the German-speaking area. Only a few examples can be mentioned here.
As possible meanings, Bostock, King and McLintock favoured 'pronouncement about (the fate of) the world' or 'destruction (or destroyer) of the earth'. Like Sperber
and Krogmann,
Finger argued that the word originated in Old Saxon as a synonym for Christ, 'He who slays with the word of His mouth' (as in 2 Thessalonians 2, 8 and Apocalypse 19, 15). Finger also contended that the word was imported into Norway (not Iceland) under Christian influence, and that the Old Norse texts (though themselves touched by Christianity) show no deeper understanding of its meaning. Jeske also regarded the word as a Christian coinage, deriving its first syllable from Latin mundus 'world' and -spill- (more conventionally) from a Germanic root meaning 'destruction'.
Scholarly consensus on the word's origin and meaning is unsettled. There is, however, agreement that as a title, it fails to match the poem's principal theme: the fate of souls after death.
Critical reception
Von Steinmeyer (1892) described the Muspilli as
"this most exasperating piece of Old High German literature",
a verdict frequently echoed in 20th century research. On many issues, agreement is still lacking. Its reception by scholars is significant in its own right, and as a study in evolving critical paradigms. Already by 1900, this (literally) marginal work had come to be monumentalised alongside other medieval texts against a background of German nation-building, but also in keeping with the powerful, European-wide interest in national antiquities and their philological investigation.
Genetic approaches: sources and parallels
Early researchers were keen to trace the work's theological and mythological sources, to reconstruct its antecedents and genesis, and to identify its oldest, pre-Christian elements. Apart from the Bible, no single work has come to light which could have functioned as a unique source for our poem. For Neckel Muspilli was patently a Christian poem, but with vestiges still of pagan culture.
Seeking analogues, Neckel was struck, for example, by similarities between the role of Elias in our poem and the Norse god Freyr, killed by Surtr, who is linked with Muspellr and his sons.
Apocalyptic speculation was a common Hebrew-Christian heritage, and interesting parallels exist in some early Jewish pseudepigrapha.
For the work's Christian elements, many correspondences have been cited from the Early Church Fathers (Greek and Latin), apocryphal writings, Sibylline Oracles, including in Book VIII the "Sibylline Acrostic" (3rd century?),
and works by or attributed to Ephrem the Syrian,
Bede, Adso of Montier-en-Der and others. Baesecke posited a firm relationship with the Old English Christ III. In Finger's view, the Muspilli poet probably knew and used the Old English poem.
Many of the correspondences proposed are too slight to carry conviction. Conceding that the 'hunt for parallels' was passing into discredit, Schneider was nonetheless insistent that, until all potential Christian sources had been exhausted, we should not assume that anything still left unexplained must be of pagan Germanic origin or the poet's own invention. Schneider himself saw the poem as solidly Christian, apart from the mysterious word muspille.
Multiple or single authorship?
Commentators have long been troubled by breaks in the poem's thematic sequence, especially between lines 36 and 37, where the Mighty King's summons to Final Judgment is followed by an episode in which Elias fights with the Antichrist. Guided by spelling, style and metre, Baesecke claimed that lines 37–62 (labelled by him as 'Muspilli II') had been adapted from an old poem on the destruction of the world and inserted into the main body of the work ('Muspilli I', which had another old poem as its source).
Baesecke later (1948–50) linked 'Muspilli II' genetically in a highly conjectural stemma with Christ III, Heliand and other poems. Schneider rejected Baesecke's radical dissections, but still considered the work a composite, with its pristine poetic integrity repeatedly disrupted (in lines 18 ff, 63 ff, and 97 ff) by the 'mediocre' moralising of a 'garrulous preacher'.
In contrast, Gustav Ehrismann (1918) respected the work's integrity: he saw no need to assume interpolations, nor any pagan Germanic features apart from possible echoes in the word muspille.
Von Steinmeyer also regarded the existing text as a unity. Though he found the transition from line 36 to 37 'hard and abrupt', he attributed it to the author's own limitations, which in his view also included poor vocabulary, monotonous phraseology, and incompetent alliterative technique.
Verdicts such as these left critics hovering somewhere between two extremes: a technically faltering composition by a single author, or a conglomerate of chronologically separate redactions of varying quality and diverse function.
The second of these approaches culminated in Minis’ 1966 monograph.
Minis stripped away the sermonising passages, discarded lines containing rhymes and inferior alliteration, and assumed that small portions of text had been lost at the beginning and in the middle of the poem. These procedures left him with an 'Urtext' of 15 strophes, varying in length from 5 to 7 lines and forming a symmetrical pattern rich in number symbolism. The result of this drastic surgery was certainly a more unified work of art, alliterative in form and narrative or epic in content. But reviewers (e.g. Steinhoff, Seiffert) soon pointed out serious flaws in Minis's reasoning. Though it remains possible that the documented text was inept expansion of a well-formed, shorter original, later scholars have favoured a far more conservative treatment.
Identifying the work's intended purpose
Increasingly, the aim has been to approach the Muspilli as a complicated work that is functionally adequate, regardless of its ostensible stylistic flaws, and to interpret it in its 9th century Christian context, whilst also sharply questioning or rejecting its allegedly pagan elements. Kolb felt that to demand an unbroken narrative sequence is to misunderstand the work's pastoral function as an admonitory sermon. Publishing in 1977 views which he had formulated some 20 years earlier, Wolfgang Mohr saw older poetic material here being re-worked with interpolations, as a warning to all, but especially the rich and powerful. Haug analysed the surviving text using a new method. Characterising it as a 'montage' and a 'somewhat fortuitous' constellation, he focused on its discontinuities, its 'open form', viewing it as an expression of the fragmented order of its time, and as an invective, aimed at correcting some aspects of that fragmentation.
In a landmark dissertation of the same year, Finger saw no further need to search for survivals from pagan mythology, since even the most problematic portions of the Muspilli contain nothing that is alien to patristic thought. Equally illuminating was Finger's placement of the work against a differentiated legal background (see below).
Categorising the Muspilli as a sermon or homily, Murdoch saw in it these same two 'basic strains': theological and juridical. In recent decades the theological content has again been studied by Carola Gottzmann
and Martin Kuhnert.
There has also been renewed attention to sources,
textual issues,
and the word muspilli.
Looking back from 2009, Pakis reported on two 'peculiar trends'. Recent German literary histories either ignore the Muspilli altogether, or they 'reinstate the old bias towards mythological interpretations'. Pakis's personal plea is for a new recognition of the Muspilli in all its complexity, as 'a locus of polyvocality and interpretive tensions'
Interpretation
Theological basis
As an exemplar of Christian eschatology, much of the Muspilli is theologically conventional, and remarkable mainly for its vivid presentation of Christian themes in a vernacular language at such an early date. With biblical support and backed by established dogma, the poet evidently saw no difficulty in juxtaposing the particular judgment (lines 1–30, with souls consigned immediately (sar) to Heaven or Hell) and the general judgment on the Last Day (31–36 and 50 ff). Most of the poem's Christian features are an amalgam of elements from the Bible. Key passages in the Gospels (particularly Matthew 24, 29 ff; 25, 31 ff; and Luke 21, 5 ff) predict calamities and signs, including a darkening of sun and moon, the stars falling from the heavens and a loud trumpet, followed by Christ's Second Coming and the Last Judgment. The Second Epistle of Peter, chapter 3, foretells the 'Day of the Lord' and its all-consuming fire. Many significant signs are described in and in non-canonical works such as the Apocalypse of Thomas, in a tradition later formalised as the Fifteen Signs before Doomsday.
Elias and the Antichrist
A further biblical source was the canonical Book of Revelation with its visions of monsters, battles, fire and blood. The Muspilli shows greater freedom in its handling of these elements. Chapter 11, 3ff. of the Apocalypse tells how two witnesses (Greek martyres, Latin testes), empowered by God, will be killed by a beast, but then revived by the Spirit of Life and taken up into Heaven. These witnesses were traditionally identified with Enoch (Genesis 5, 24) and Elijah (received into Heaven in 2 Kings 2, 11). The Antichrist is most closely identifiable with one or other of the beasts described in Apocalypse 13, though the term itself is used elsewhere (1 John 2, 18) to denote apostates, false Christs, whose coming will signal the 'last days'. The Muspilli makes no mention of Enoch, and so the Antichrist faces Elias in single combat. Both are presented as strong champions in a dispute of great importance(line 40). Comparisons have sometimes been made with the Old High German Hildebrandslied, which depicts in a secular setting a fatal encounter between two champions, father and son. But in the Muspilli the contest between Elias and the Antichrist is presented in much plainer terms. Opinions are divided as to whether our poet suppressed the role of Enoch in order to present the duel as a judicially significant ordeal by combat.
Two opposing views?
Lines 37–49 are often understood as reflecting two opposing contemporary views. In this reading, the uueroltrehtuuîson ('men wise in worldly law'?) expect Elias to prevail in this judicial contest, since he has God's support. And unlike the beast of the biblical Apocalypse, which temporarily kills God's two witnesses, the Antichrist (with Satan at his side) will be brought down and denied victory. compared this outcome with a Christianised Coptic version of the Apocalypse of Elijah, in which Elijah and Enoch kill a figure posing as Christ ('the Shameless One', 'the Son of Lawlessness') in a second contest, following the Last Judgment. Different again is a reference in Tertullian's De anima (early 3rd century), where Enoch and Elijah are martyred by the Antichrist, who is then 'destroyed by their blood' However, our poet continues, (many?) gotmann- ('men of God', 'theologians'?) believe that Elias will be wounded (or slain?) (the verb aruuartit is ambiguous). In Kolb's interpretation, it is Elias's defeat which makes the final conflagration inevitable. preferred the reading 'wounded' and saw nothing contrary to apocalyptic tradition in this encounter, though references to Enoch and Elijah as victors are very unusual. Perhaps the poet was deliberately using ambiguity to accommodate a range of opinions. But the obscure three-part compound uueroltrehtuuîson has also been glossed as 'people of the right faith' or 'learned men' – in which case no polar opposition between them and the 'men of God' is implied here.
Elias's blood
Another troublesome issue was eventually resolved. The traditional reading of lines 48–51 was that Elias's blood, dripping down onto the earth, would directly set it aflame. For decades, scholars could only point to geographically and chronologically distant parallels in Russian texts and folklore; this evidence was re-examined by Kolb.
As the manuscript is defective at this point, Bostock, King, & McLintock suggested a syntactic break between lines 50 and 51, which 'would remove the non-biblical notion that the fire is immediately consequent upon, or even caused by, the shedding of Elias' blood.' That causal connection was also dismissed by Kolb and Finger, but affirmed by Mohr & Haug. Good support for a firm linkage came at last in 1980 from Groos and Hill, who reported on a close Christian analogue, hitherto unknown, from an 8th century Spanish formulary, predicting that on Judgment Day an all-consuming flame will rise up from the blood of Enoch and Elijah.
Legal aspects
Describing Judgment Day, the poet used terms and concepts drawn from secular law. Some examples are highlighted in the Synopsis, above. Most strikingly, the King of Heaven issues His summons (kipannit daz mahal), using a technical expression rooted in Germanic law, but relevant also to contemporary politics. Comparisons have also been made with the roles of co-jurors and champions as laid down in the Lex Baiuwariorum, an 8th century collection of laws:
Et si maior pecunia furata fuerit, ... et negare voluerit, cum XII sacramentalibus iuret de leuda sua, vel duo campiones propter hoc pugnent
According to Kolb, the poet aimed to prevent listeners from approaching God's Judgment with expectations derived from secular law, informing them that the King of Heaven's summons cannot be ignored, that the Heavenly Judge is incorruptible, and that bribery is itself a sin which must be revealed on Judgment Day. In Kolb's view, the difference between earthly and Heavenly justice was most explicitly stated in line 57:
your kinsfolk may give you legal support as oath-helpers in this world, but they are powerless to help you before the muspilli.
Rejecting this interpretation, Finger saw no legal implications whatever in this line: Bavarian legal sources offer no proof of regular oath-taking by kinsmen, and in the passage quoted above, leuda (a Frankish form) means 'tribe' or 'people' (not precisely 'kin').
Lines 63–72 are directly critical of the judiciary, specifically the taking of bribes.
Corrupt judges were frequently censured, and there was much pressure for judicial reform. The Muspilli emerges from Finger's study as strongly partisan polemic, critical of popular law as practised in county courts (Grafsgerichte), and supportive of Carolingian legal reforms, to the extent of using concepts and terms typical of Frankish royal court procedures in its depiction of the Last Judgment. Finger concluded that the author was probably a cleric in Louis the German's entourage.
Murdoch placed the emphasis differently. Though the Muspilli seems to be 'directed toward the noblemen who would be entrusted with the business of law', the work's legal significance should not be exaggerated. A corrupt judiciary was not the author's main target, despite his pointed criticism. His true concerns lay elsewhere, in warning all mortals of the 'absolute necessity of right behavior on earth'.
The lost ending
The poem is starkly dualistic, dominated by antagonisms: God and Satan, angels and devils, Heaven and Hell, Elias and the Antichrist. Our text breaks off in narrative mode, on a seemingly conciliatory note: Preceded by the Cross, Christ displays at this Second Coming His stigmata, the bodily wounds which He suffered for love of humankind. For Minis, renaming his reconstructed 'original' as 'The Way to Eternal Salvation', this climactic vision was closure enough. Through Christ's sacrifice, Divine justice gives penitents hope for mercy. But in many accounts the sight of the Cross and of Christ's wounds also had a negative effect, as a terrible reminder to sinners of their ingratitude. In any case, the outcome of the Final Judgment has yet to be depicted. The 'tension between the roles of Christ as Judge and as Saviour has surely reached its climax, but not yet its dénouement and resolution'. We should not assume that in the lost ending the poet moderated his awesome narrative, nor that the moralising commentator withheld an uncompromisingly didactic conclusion.
Muspilli in literature, music and film
Muspilli was used for the title of a 1900 novel.
Muspilli is here invoked as a destructive fire, along with motifs from Germanic mythology such as Loki and the Midgard serpent.
Since the 1970s, the Muspilli has been set to music as a sacred work. Its apocalyptic theme and mythological associations have also won it something of a following in modern popular culture.
Musical compositions include
Muspilli (1978) for baritone and instrumental accompaniment, by the German composer Wilfried Hiller (born 1941).
Muspilli (1994) for mixed choir and organ, by Dietmar Bonnen (born 1958).
Muspilli (2002), oratorio for solo voices, instruments, choir, orchestra and tape, by Leopold Hurt, commissioned by the Regensburg Philharmonic Orchestra.
Muspilli Spezial. 9 Versionen des Weltuntergangs.
Fragments for the End of Time – Endzeitfragmente, performed by Sequentia: Ensemble for Medieval Music, directed by Benjamin Bagby. Together with other apocalyptic fragments, this work uses most of the extant text of Muspilli, translated into English by Benjamin Bagby (Schola Cantorum Basiliensis) based on Koch's edition. A recording was made on CD in 2007 in the Klosterkirche Walberberg (with Bagby as vocalist & harper and Norbert Rodenkirchen as flautist); it was released in 2008 by Raumklang (RK 2803) in co-production with WDR Köln.
Mathias Monrad Møller's Fünf Muspilli-räume (2009) is an experimental work for 5 voices, by a young composer from Schleswig-Holstein.
Muspilli has featured variously in popular culture
1977: Early in his 7 hour film, Hitler: a film from Germany, Hans-Jürgen Syberberg's narrator quotes from the text, punctuating a lengthy lead in to an early recording of Hitler holding forth. After the words "Muspilli. World's end, in the ancient way", a brief passage is quoted in Old High German, followed by a loose translation.
Kulturverein Muspilli Tanztheater & Musik in Merano, South Tirol, active since 1992.
'Muspilli', a track in the album by the German folk-rock band Nachtgeschrei.
Muspilli II, translated and dramatized by Tokarski is described as 'a sort of Christian yet heathen-toned Dark Age storymyth embedded into the body of the Old High German alliterative lay 'The Muspilli'.'
Notes
References
Critical editions
Schmeller, Johann Andreas (ed.) (1832). Muspilli. Bruchstück einer alliterierenden Dichtung vom Ende der Welt. Munich: Jaquet
Müllenhoff, Karl & Wilhelm Scherer (eds.) (1892/1964). Denkmäler deutscher Poesie und Prosa aus dem VIII–XII Jahrhundert. 3rd edition (revised by Elias Steinmeyer). Berlin: Weidmann, 1892. 4th edition. Berlin, Zürich: Weidmann, 1964. Vol. I, pp. 7–15; vol. II, pp. 30–41
Steinmeyer, Elias von (ed.) (1916). Die kleineren althochdeutschen Sprachdenkmäler. Berlin: Weidmann, 1916. 2nd edition. Berlin, Zürich: Weidmann, 1963. pp. 66–81
Braune, Wilhelm (1994). Althochdeutsches Lesebuch. 17th edition revised by Ernst A. Ebbinghaus. Tübingen: Niemeyer. . Section XXX, pp. 86–89
Bibliography
Baesecke, Georg (1948–1950). 'Muspilli II', Zeitschrift für deutsches Altertum 82, 199–239
Bergmann, Rolf (1971). 'Zum Problem der Sprache des Muspilli ', Frühmittelalterliche Studien 5, 304–315
Bostock, J. Knight (1976). A Handbook on Old High German Literature. 2nd edition revised by K. C. King and D. R. McLintock. Oxford: Clarendon Press. . pp. 135–154
Finger, Heinz (1977). Untersuchungen zum "Muspilli". (Göppinger Arbeiten zur Germanistik, 244.) Göppingen: Kümmerle.
Geuenich, Dieter (2008). 'Bemerkungen zum althochdeutschen "Muspilli"', in Siegfried Schmidt (ed.). Rheinisch, Kölnisch, Katholisch. Beiträge zur Kirchen- und Landesgeschichte sowie zur Geschichte des Buch- und Bibliothekswesens der Rheinlande. Festschrift für Heinz Finger zum 60. Geburtstag. Cologne: Erzbischöfliche Diözesan- und Dombibliothek. . pp. 443–450
Groos, Arthur & Thomas D. Hill (1980). 'The blood of Elias and the Fire of Doom. A New Analogue for Muspilli, vss. 52ff.', Neuphilologische Mitteilungen 81, 439–442
Hellgardt, Ernst (2013). 'Muspilli', in Rolf Bergmann (ed.). Althochdeutsche und altsächsische Literatur. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter. . pp. 288–292
Jeske, Hans (2006). 'Zur Etymologie des Wortes muspilli ', Zeitschrift für deutsches Altertum 135, 425–434
Kolb, Herbert (1962). ' dia weroltrehtwîson ', Zeitschrift für deutsche Wortforschung 18, Neue Folge 3, 88–95
Kolb, Herbert (1964). ' Vora demo muspille. Versuch einer Interpretation', Zeitschrift für deutsche Philologie 83, 2–33
Minis, Cola (1966). Handschrift, Form und Sprache des Muspilli. (Philologische Studien und Quellen, 35.) Berlin: Erich Schmidt
Mohr, Wolfgang & Walter Haug (1977). Zweimal 'Muspilli'. Tübingen: Niemeyer. (with text and translation into modern German)
Murdoch, Brian O. (1983). Old High German Literature. Boston: Twayne. . pp. 68–72
Pakis, Valentine A. (2009). 'The literary status of Muspilli in the history of scholarship: two peculiar trends', Amsterdamer Beiträge zur älteren Germanistik 65, 41–60
Schneider, Hermann (1936). 'Muspilli', Zeitschrift für deutsches Altertum 73, 1–32
Schützeichel, Rudolf (1988). 'Zum Muspilli', in Peter K. Stein et al. (eds.). Festschrift für Ingo Reiffenstein zum 60. Geburtstag. (Göppinger Arbeiten zur Germanistik, 478.) Göppingen, Kümmerle. . pp. 15–30
Seiffert, Leslie (1969). Review of Minis (1966), Modern Language Review 64, 206–208
Staiti, Chiara (2002). 'Muspilli', in Johannes Hoops (ed.). Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde. 2nd edition. Edited by Heinrich Beck et al. Vol. 20. Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter. . pp. 433–438
Steinhoff, Hans-Hugo (1968). Review of Minis (1966), Zeitschrift für deutsches Altertum 97, 5–12
Steinhoff, Hans-Hugo (1987). 'Muspilli', in Kurt Ruh et al. (eds.). Die deutsche Literatur des Mittelalters. Verfasserlexikon. 2nd edition. Vol. 6. Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter. . cols. 821–828
External links
Christian apocalyptic writings
Germanic mythology
Germanic Christianity
Norse mythology
Epic poems in German
Old High German literature
Medieval German poems | en |
doc-en-1831 | Black Mask (Roman Sionis) is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Doug Moench and Tom Mandrake, the character debuted in Batman #386 (August 1985). He is commonly depicted as a brutal and ruthless crime lord in Gotham City who has a fixation with masks and derives sadistic pleasure from the act of torture. Black Mask is one of the most enduring enemies of the superhero Batman and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery.
The character has been substantially adapted from the comics into various forms of media, including the cartoon show The Batman, the animated film Batman: Under the Red Hood, and the Batman: Arkham video game series. Black Mask made his live-action debut in the 2020 DC Extended Universe film Birds of Prey, portrayed by Ewan McGregor. Black Mask appears in the second season of the Arrowverse series Batwoman portrayed by Peter Outerbridge.
Fictional character biography
Origin story
Black Mask's origin story was established in his first appearance. Roman Sionis was born to wealthy and utterly self-absorbed parents, who cared more about their social status in Gotham City than their own son. Moments after Roman's birth, the doctor carelessly dropped him on his head, and his parents covered up the entire incident so that their high society friends would not find out. Years later, he was attacked by a rabid raccoon at the Sionis family country estate, and his parents forbade him to mention the incident to anyone. Despite their dislike for fellow socialites Thomas and Martha Wayne, Roman's parents continued to associate with them to maintain their social standing, and forced Roman to befriend their son, Bruce. His parents' hypocrisy had a deep impact on Roman, and he grew to resent them and the "masks" that they wore in public.
After graduating from high school, Roman was given a high-ranking position in his father's company, Janus Cosmetics. There, he met and fell in love with working class model Circe, though his parents did not approve of the relationship and forced him to break it off. Enraged, Roman burned down his family mansion, killing both of his parents and inheriting their fortune and business. Roman lacked his father's business acumen and eventually ruined Janus Cosmetics by funding a failed line of face-paint make-up. Desperate, Roman had the staff chemists create a product that was rushed to the market without proper testing, disfiguring several hundred women. Circe, now Roman's fiancée, then broke up with him in front of his entire staff.
Bruce Wayne, now the head of Wayne Enterprises, offered to bail Janus Cosmetics out on the condition that Roman gave up control and allowed Wayne to appoint his own Board of Directors. Humiliated and furious, Roman broke into the cemetery where his parents were buried. Before he could unlock the Sionis crypt, a lightning bolt struck him, blasting the door open and hurling Roman head-first into a nearby stone. Roman took the incident as an omen of his "rebirth" and entered the crypt, smashing his father's ebony casket with the stone and using its shattered pieces to carve a ebony mask, resembling a scowling face, starting a new life as the crimelord Black Mask.
Criminal career
Within a month, Black Mask had assembled a group of dozens of criminals called the False Face Society, using the Sionis crypt as their base of operations. Each member of the False Face Society wore a distinctive mask, and the gang's crime spree spread rapidly throughout Gotham, eventually attracting the attentions of the police and Bruce Wayne, now operating as the vigilante Batman. To settle old scores, Black Mask murdered three Wayne Foundation executives and kidnapped Circe, forcing her to don a mask laced with Janus Cosmetics' toxic makeup, sparing her life but permanently disfiguring her face. Black Mask then threatened Circe into rejoining him, giving her a "mannequin" mask intentionally designed to mock her former life.
Batman eventually managed to deduce Black Mask's identity, and correctly predicted that Bruce Wayne would be Sionis' next target. To set a trap for Black Mask, Bruce held a masquerade ball at Wayne Manor, and Sionis infiltrated the ball and lured Bruce to the mansion's conservatory to kill him. Bruce disarmed Sionis, forcing the latter to retreat to his hideout with Robin (Jason Todd) secretly following him. While Batman and Robin fought his underlings at the graveyard, Black Mask escaped through a false bottom installed in his father's coffin and headed to his family estate. Black Mask then entered his old bedroom and set fire to the old toys inside, intending to burn the mansion to the ground to symbolically kill his old identity as Sionis. Before Black Mask could escape, Batman flung a Batarang-attached cable around the crime lord's knees, causing him to fall face-first on the burning floor just as the bedroom's rafters began to collapse. The rafters pinned Black Mask's face into the pile of burning toys, and although Batman and Robin were able to tow him out of the fire, Sionis' mask had been burned onto his face. Black Mask was subsequently sent to Arkham Asylum, where he remained behind bars until the international terrorist Ra's al Ghul freed all of its inmates. Black Mask was not amongst the criminals who followed the Joker in searching for the one behind the breakout and thus never took part in the "war" against Batman's allies and loved ones. As this tale was the last "canonical" one to take place on Earth-One, it can be assumed that Black Mask remained at large.
Following Crisis on Infinite Earths, Jeremiah Arkham frees all of Arkham Asylum's inmates, including Black Mask, to attack Batman during the events of "The Last Arkham". Sionis then returns to crime after an unspecified breakout, evidently retaining most of his Pre-Crisis history. He soon begins the False Face Society anew, rising through the ranks of Gotham City's underworld while furthering his vendetta against Bruce Wayne. To stop the False Face Society, Batman poses as a new recruit to their ranks, christened "Skullface" by Black Mask himself. Black Mask later kidnaps Lucius Fox, who had a hand in Bruce Wayne's bailout of Janus Cosmetics. Although Batman is eventually able to save Fox, Black Mask manages to evade capture. Black Mask remains at large throughout the events of "Knightfall" and "Zero Hour", and resurfaces shortly thereafter to kill rival mobster "Dirty Dan" Doyle in an ambush shootout.
Black Mask is later approached by the Black Spider, who wishes to join the False Face Society. Black Mask demands the young man to "make his bones" first by crashing a masquerade ball being held at Wayne Manor. Batman later learns that the Black Spider is a double agent working for mobster "Turk" Ottoman, and tracks him down to an abandoned theater where he prevents him from shooting Black Mask, who subsequently escapes during the chaos. Black Mask reappears as a crimelord in "The Cult" storyline, having given up his vendetta against Bruce Wayne. He controls a large portion of Gotham's criminal underworld until the city is destroyed by an earthquake in the "No Man's Land" story arc.
Black Mask later becomes the leader of a cult, whose trademark is ritual scarring, foregoing his mask and disfiguring his face to resemble a blackened human skull until Batman and the Huntress dissolve it by defeating and imprisoning Black Mask in Blackgate Penitentiary, though the crime lord escapes before the city is made a part of the country again.
In Catwoman vol. 3 #16, Black Mask begins a drug trafficking ring and decides to move his organization into Gotham's East End. Catwoman soon begins interfering with Black Mask's plans, stealing money from him and giving it to the poor. Black Mask retaliates by forcing Sylvia Sinclair to reveal Catwoman's secret identity to him. After destroying Catwoman's youth center, Black Mask kidnaps her sister and brother-in-law, the latter of whom he tortures to death with power tools, before forcing the former to eat pieces of her husband's corpse, including his eyeballs. Catwoman arrives to find her brother-in-law dead, her sister insane, and her friend Holly Robinson on the verge of being tortured. Enraged, Catwoman engages Black Mask at his penthouse, where the crime lord falls from the top of the building.
In Act Two of War Games, the Spoiler seeks Orpheus out, hoping to get Batman control of all of Gotham's crime lords. However, Black Mask murders Orpheus by slitting his throat, and proceeds to torture the Spoiler to obtain information about the rest of her plan. Black Mask then assumes Orpheus' identity using face putty and padding, fooling even Batman and Onyx. As Orpheus, he goes on a mission to kill any member or associate of the Batman Family. As Black Mask returns to continue torturing the Spoiler for entertainment, he finds that she has escaped and subsequently tracks her down. Although she escapes his clutches once again, the Spoiler supposedly dies due to the injuries inflicted on her and the willful negligence of Leslie Thompkins.
Black Mask later infiltrates Oracle's Clocktower in an attempt to expose her to the mob, and Batman attacks him in a blind rage. Fearful that Black Mask will kill Batman, Oracle activates a self-destruct device in the tower to get Batman to save her. Black Mask then becomes the overlord of Gotham's underworld, gathering enough financial resources to purchase an Amazo android and a large supply of kryptonite. Allied with reporter Arturo Rodriguez, Black Mask begins a campaign to discredit Batman; while Rodriguez slams Batman in the press, Black Mask commits a series of murders disguised as the Dark Knight. The real Batman eventually exposes Rodriguez and captures Black Mask, but the crimelord kills the escorting officer transporting him to jail and escapes again.
Later, a series of attacks by the Red Hood (revealed later as being Batman's presumed deceased protégé Jason Todd) causes Black Mask to lose power and money to this new rival. The assassin Deathstroke later approaches Black Mask, offering him a place within the Society. Eager to strengthen his increasingly tenuous grip on the underworld, the crimelord accepts. However, the Red Hood is even able to elude the Society's members; eventually he completely dismantles Black Mask's control over the city's organized crime. Black Mask then continues to threaten the most important people in Catwoman's life, prompting her to retaliate by shooting Black Mask's jaw with her gun, killing him. After the shooting, Selina Kyle passes the mantle of Catwoman to her friend Holly, who is soon arrested for Sionis' murder. During the Gotham Underground storyline, dozens of would-be crime bosses attempt to fill in the vacancy created by Black Mask's death.
In Blackest Night, Black Mask is resurrected as a Black Lantern, and attempts to show Catwoman why "shooting him in the head was a bad idea". In an attempt to scare Catwoman, Black Mask goes after her sister once more. He demonstrates the ability to fly and reorganize the structures of buildings. Poison Ivy manages to stop Black Mask by trapping him inside a mutated pitcher plant, its digestive juices dissolving his body as fast as his ring could regenerate it.
The New 52
In The New 52 reboot (launched in 2011), Roman Sionis is re-established as Black Mask, and his history with the False Face Society remains somewhat intact. This version of the character has split personality disorder, with Roman Sionis being one personality and Black Mask being the other, and the technology in his mask grants him the ability to control "the weak minded". Roman Sionis is first seen in Arkham Asylum's infirmary being treated by Dr. Jeremiah Arkham during the Night of the Owls; Sionis attempted a hunger strike to try to regain his mask. When the Talons attack the Asylum, Dr. Arkham gives Sionis his mask back to telepathically influence the inmates into attacking the Talons and keep anyone from following Arkham to his safe room. Black Mask then attempts to use his abilities on Batman, but fails and is forced to escape the asylum. Black Mask later resurfaces to re-assemble the False Face Society, coming into conflict with the Mad Hatter while doing so (who considers Black Mask an enemy due to their similar mind control abilities). Batman intervenes and puts an end to their battle, and Sionis is sent back to Arkham Asylum. During the Forever Evil storyline, Black Mask appears as a member of the Secret Society of Super Villains when the Crime Syndicate arrive from their Earth. Black Mask and his False Face Society crash the Rogues's battle against Mr. Freeze and Clayface to claim the bounty on the Rogues.
DC Rebirth
In the DC Rebirth reboot, Roman Sionis remains one of Gotham's most powerful crimelords. This version of the character dons a black metallic mask, and is allied with the Penguin and the Great White Shark in an alliance known as "the Blacks and Whites". Together, they hire the KGBeast to kill Batman. In the Watchmen sequel Doomsday Clock, Black Mask is among the villains that attend an underground meeting held by the Riddler to talk about the Superman Theory. In Teen Titans Rebirth, Damian Wayne keeps Black Mask locked up in his secret prison after learning about his involvement in the destruction of the Arab restaurant Tarbooshes.
Powers and abilities
Black Mask is a criminal mastermind and tactical analyst with vast wealth and resources at his disposal, making him one of the most powerful crime bosses in Gotham City's criminal underbelly. He utilizes his various connections to eliminate opposition and consolidates power using fear and intimidation; he is renowned for his brutally sadistic physical and psychological torture techniques, which he uses either to extract information or simply to torment his enemies for entertainment. Black Mask is an expert marksman with firearms, particularly with his signature twin automatic pistols, although he is proficient with melee weapons such as swords as well. He is a skilled hand-to-hand combatant and has displayed impressive levels of stamina and endurance; his high tolerance for pain has allowed him to hold his own against accomplished fighters, such as Batman and Catwoman. Black Mask is also an accomplished businessman, impersonator, actor, and escape artist.
Per the events of The New 52, Roman Sionis' ebony black mask possesses hypnosis-like mind controlling abilities that extend through the material of the masks that his henchmen wear, rendering them directly under his control. Black Mask has also killed his victims by applying toxin-filled masks to their faces, poisoning them and leaving their faces hideously shriveled and blackened. His mask also allows him to assume the form of other people, from Ted Kord to Superman, though without assuming their powers.<ref>Suicide Squad vol. 6 #9 (2020)</ref>
Other characters named Black Mask
Jeremiah Arkham
In the Battle for the Cowl storyline, a second criminal using the Black Mask alias emerges. His identity is eventually revealed to be Dr. Jeremiah Arkham, who took up Roman Sionis' mantle after suffering a psychotic breakdown from exposure to a variety of mind-altering chemicals from various Batman villains.
Richard Sionis
In DC's line-wide revision of its superhero comics, DC Rebirth, a story presents Black Mask's father Richard Sionis as the precursor to the Black Mask alias, where he was just called "the Mask" and was the founder of the False Face Society. When Richard was in the hospital and dying of old age, Roman sneaked into the hospital disguised as a nurse and poisoned his father in order to gain complete control over the False Face Society, he leaves his father's signature mask on his corpse. This story retconned the information where Charles Sionis was his father.
Other versions
Batman: Crimson Mist
In the Elseworlds storyline Batman: Crimson Mist, Black Mask arrogantly dismisses Two-Face's warnings about the now-vampiric Batman, believing himself untouchable until Batman attacks the False Face Society in their warehouse base while in the form of a monstrous bat. The vampiric Dark Knight tears through Black Mask's minions, even tearing a man's head off with his mouth, and is later shown leaving the Society's severed heads outside Blackgate Penitentiary.
Batman: Gotham Adventures
Black Mask appears in Batman: Gotham Adventures, the accompanying comic book series to The New Batman Adventures animated series, set within the DC Animated Universe.
The Batman Adventures
During The Batman Adventures comic book series, Roman Sionis is depicted as a businessman who turned his company into a corporate juggernaut, until Wayne Enterprises results in the loss of his industry. An associate of Red Hood approaches Roman, convincing him to become the Black Mask and lead the False Face Society, though he is ultimately apprehended by Batman.
The Batman Strikes!
In The Batman Strikes! comics, Black Mask extorts Bruce Wayne into making a deal with him, and attempts to take complete control of Gotham's criminal underworld by ridding it of its other villains.
Batman: Arkham Unhinged
Black Mask appears in issues #35–37 (storyline "Evidence Notice") of Batman: Arkham Unhinged, the prequel tie-in comic book to the video game Batman: Arkham City.Batman: Arkham Unhinged #36 (July 2012)
Injustice: Gods Among Us
In Injustice: Gods Among Us, Black Mask is seen fighting against the Justice League during Harley Quinn's riot, and later appears in Year Five, where he gathers with six other criminals. When Damian Wayne intervenes in their meeting, the villains knock him into unconsciousness until Dick Grayson saves him.
In other media
Television
Black Mask appears in The Batman animated series, voiced by James Remar. A powerful crime lord with a vast organization of henchmen (such as his lieutenant "Number One"), this version has a skull-like face, just like his counterpart in "No Man's Land" and he has no fingerprints or distinguishing features, making it impossible to identify him. In "The Breakout", Black Mask threatens to activate a powerful shockwave generator in Gotham City, but is ultimately apprehended by Batgirl and Robin while Batman disarms his device. In "Rumors", Black Mask is seen as one of the many villains captured by the new vigilante Rumor. In "The Batman/Superman Story (Part One)", Lex Luthor hires Black Mask, Clayface, Bane, and Mr. Freeze to kill Superman only for Batman and Robin to show up and defeat them. In "What Goes Up...", Black Mask hires the Shadow Thief to break him out of Arkham Asylum and steal an Nth element meteor to lift Gotham's gem depository from the ground, though his heist is foiled by Batman, Robin, and Hawkman.
Black Mask appears with the False Facers in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, voiced by John DiMaggio. His appearance resembles a combination of his original appearance and his modern one. This version wears a mask where the lips move, but not the teeth. He is also more bulky and physically imposing, contrasting his canon version's normally average and slim physique. In "The Plague of the Prototypes!", Black Mask reprograms Batman's Bat-Robots to steal powerful explosives in an attempt to destroy half of Gotham, only to be defeated by the Dark Knight. In "Shadow of the Bat!", Black Mask is bitten by the vampire Batman whilst robbing a bank, though the ending suggests that the episode was merely a dream.
Richard Sionis appears on the FOX TV drama Gotham, portrayed by Todd Stashwick with this appearance predating his comic book introduction. In the first season episode "The Mask", Sionis is the head of a major finance organization, which is also host to a secret and brutal organized fighting ring. Sionis pits employees against each other in fights for the death in order to secure more lucrative positions in the company, all while being broadcast to some of the city's elite. When Detective James Gordon is caught investigating the fight ring, Sionis himself, sporting a black mask, attempts to kill Gordon but is knocked out and arrested. He was shown to be incarcerated at Arkham Asylum in season 2 episode "Rise of the Villains: Damned If You Do..." until he is among the inmates sprung out by Tabitha Galavan. When Richard declined Theo Galavan's offer to work for him, he was whip-strangled and repeatedly stabbed to death by Tabitha to serve as a warning to the other inmates.
Roman Sionis/Black Mask appears on the second season of The CW's Batwoman, portrayed by Peter Outerbridge. This version wears a skull mask instead of having a skull-like face and is shown to have a connection with Safiyah Sohail. He is the leader of the False Face Society and the CEO of Janus Cosmetics who blames the Crows and Batwoman for the death of his daughter Circe Sionis the day when Alice caused a mass-breakout at Arkham Asylum where Circe was incarcerated. After Kate's plane crash, Black Mask gets a hold of her partially-burned body. After hearing that Angelique Martin wants to leave, he kidnaps her. Black Mask orders a member of the False Face Society to kill Jordan Moore after she witnessed them killing police commissioner Forbes. After the member fails to kill her, Black Mask kills him. When Batwoman gets captured by the False Face Society, Black Mask tells her that the previous Batwoman killed Circe. He hires Enigma to work on Kate Kane, brainwashing her to believe that she is Circe Sionis who survived the Arkham escape. Due to the Snakebite drug's creator Ocean "going missing" and Angelique locked up in Edgewater Correctional, this stalls Black Mask's production of the Snakebite drug. After Angelique is freed from Edgewater Correction, Black Mask sends some of his men to intercept her witness protection transport, kill the Crows transporting her, and then make off with Angelique. Enigma finishes working on Kate, essentially programming her to believe that she is a disfigured Circe Sionis while his men reclaim Ocean's services. After "Circe" brings Alice to him after she helped free Angelique and Ocean, Black Mask notes his knowledge of Alice leading the now-defunct Wonderland Gang and decides not to kill her. He orders "Circe" to take her down to the basement so that she can give them the identity of the new Batwoman. Alice later noticed her knowledge of Black Mask being Roman and her encounter with the real Circe. In addition, she persuades Black Mask to allow her to make a new face for "Circe". Once that was done, Black Mask has Alice removed from his property advising her to keep quiet about what transpired, unaware that she has realised Circe's true identity. Alice informs the rest of 'Team Batwoman' about Kate's survival, but their initial attempt to deprogram Circe fails, resulting in Circe stealing various items from the Batcave. Sionis reveals to Alice that he intends to stage a mass crime wave in Gotham as Black Mask and then end it by appearing as Sionis and killing one of his underlings in the Black Mask, but Alice dismisses this plan by attacking Sionis with the Joker's acid flower spray, disfiguring his face before slamming his mask on top of it. At the same time, the Bat-Family are able to restore "Circe's" memories of her true life as Kate Kane. Vesper Fairchild later reported that Black Mask and Alice were remanded to Arkham Asylum. Ryan briefly saw him stating the words "Janus" over and over in his cell.
Films
Elements of Black Mask's origin, such as his cosmetic industry background and accidentally creating a deadly facial cream, were incorporated into the 2004 film adaptation of Catwoman for Sharon Stone's character.
Black Mask appears in the animated feature film Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010), voiced by Wade Williams. This version is depicted as the first crime lord ever to take complete control of Gotham City. As a massive turf war escalates when the mysterious Red Hood attempts to overthrow Black Mask, the crime lord is eventually pressured into breaking the Joker out of Arkham Asylum to hire him to kill the Red Hood. In the epilogue, Batman apprehends the Joker and the Red Hood disappears while Black Mask awaits trial for his alleged involvement in the Joker's escape.
Black Mask also appears in Batman: Death in the Family. While he plays similar roles as in Under the Red Hood, he dies three different, gruesome deaths (all taking place at his office, which is blown up by Red Hood's bazooka) depending on the different choices viewers make about Jason Todd's fate. In Todd's story as Hush (the "Robin Cheats Death" option), Black Mask is killed after Hush shoots his rocket launcher to his office, exploding it while Black Mask gets burned, and falls to his explosive death after hitting a gas truck underneath. In Todd's story as Red Robin (the "Kill the Joker" + "Jason Escapes" options), he attempts to escape similarly to Under the Red Hood, only to be killed by the emergency door caused by Red Robin's rocket launcher. In Todd's story as Red Hood (the "Catch the Joker" option), he is vertically bisected by the shattered glass caused by Red Hood's emitter projectile.
Black Mask appears in the DC Animated Movie Universe film Batman: Bad Blood, voiced by Steve Blum. This version wears a skull mask instead of his traditional one. He is confronted by Batman and Robin during an arms deal and his mask is burnt onto his face in the ensuing battle, after which he is taken into police custody.
Roman Sionis / Black Mask is featured in the DC Extended Universe, portrayed by Ewan McGregor.
The character is first referenced in Justice League (2017). A billboard of his corporation Janus Cosmetics is visible in Gotham City's skyline.
Black Mask makes his live-action debut in Birds of Prey (2020). Roman Beauvais Sionis is a narcissistic, skull-masked crime lord who masquerades as the charismatic owner of the "Black Mask Club", a popular nightclub among Gotham's criminal element. Cut off from the family fortune after running their business into the ground, Roman seeks to become the most powerful kingpin in the city to outdo his father. He has the Bertinelli crime family murdered (although one family member, Helena, survived the massacre) to obtain a diamond embedded with the account numbers to their fortune. When Cassandra Cain steals the diamond from him, Sionis places a bounty on her head. At the Amusement Mile, Harley Quinn, Black Canary, Huntress, and Renee Montoya defend Cassandra from Sionis' henchman Victor Zsasz, who has donned his trademark black mask and rallied his False Face Society. Black Mask shoots Montoya and kidnaps Cassandra with Quinn in pursuit. Cassandra hides a grenade in Black Mask's pocket and Quinn knocks him off the pier, causing him to explode before hitting the water below.
Video games
Lego DC series
LEGO pieces to build Black Mask in the character creation feature can be unlocked in Lego Batman: The Videogame after obtaining all of the mini-kits in the villain chapters. He is also featured as an unlockable character in the "Villain Hunt" minigame in the Nintendo DS version.
Black Mask appears in the Nintendo 3DS version of Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes.
Batman: Arkham
Roman Sionis/Black Mask is featured in the Batman: Arkham video game franchise, voiced by Nolan North (in Arkham City) and by Brian Bloom (in subsequent appearances). This version of the character is known for using body doubles in situations that may endanger his own life.
Roman Sionis' eponymous mask appears in Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009) as an answer to one of the Riddler's challenges. His mask is found hanging in a frame in Dr. Penelope Young's office, and scanning the object will unlock Black Mask's profile. Like in several other adaptations, Roman's mask is a skull from the start.
Black Mask briefly appears in Batman: Arkham City (2011). During the opening, Bruce Wayne sees Black Mask being subdued at the gates of Arkham City by Professor Hugo Strange's TYGER guards. A crudely-covered hole in the Industrial District's containment wall can be found along with several wanted posters for Black Mask; scanning the area reveals that he had used explosives to create the aforementioned hole and escape from Arkham City before being recaptured. Black Mask is also featured in several exclusive challenge maps.
Black Mask appears in the prequel Batman: Arkham Origins (2013). Prior to the game's events, Roman Sionis is kidnapped by the Joker who subsequently poses as Black Mask on Christmas Eve and uses his vast wealth to hire eight assassins to kill the vigilante Batman. Batman frees Roman at his own Steel Mill and questions him regarding the Joker's whereabouts only to be attacked by Copperhead, allowing Sionis to escape. Black Mask later appears in a "Most Wanted" mission, during which he rebuilds his empire by stashing several drug canisters throughout Gotham City. Batman ultimately destroys all of the canisters and defeats Sionis and his henchmen at the church. Black Mask is also featured in his own challenge pack, which contains two additional challenge maps for Batman and Deathstroke, as well as the companion game Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, where he takes control of Blackgate Penitentiary's Industrial Building during a prison riot. If Batman defeats him last, then the ending will show him getting apprehended by two guards; while he takes one hostage, the other one tries to shoot him but hits a pipeline instead, triggering an explosion that burns Black Mask's mask into his skin as he flees the prison in pain.
Black Mask appears in the Red Hood DLC of Batman: Arkham Knight (2015). In the DLC, Red Hood attempts to track down Black Mask, interrupting an arms deal between his and the Penguin's men. At Black Mask's weapons storage unit, Red Hood interrogates one of his men, who reveals his boss' location in Downtown Gotham. Red Hood fights his way through Black Mask's men and eventually gets to the crime boss himself, who is left at Red Hood's mercy. Black Mask tries to bargain for his life, saying he will leave Gotham forever and go wherever Red Hood tells him to. The vigilante ironically tells Black Mask to go to Hell before throwing him out a window to his apparent death.
Other games
Black Mask appears as a boss in Batman: Dark Tomorrow, voiced by Tom McKeon.
Black Mask appears in DC Universe Online.
Black Mask is among many other DC characters included in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.Merchandise
DC Collectibles has released a 7-inch Black Mask action figure in a Batman: Arkham Origins four-pack (along with Batman, the Joker, and Deathstroke), based on his appearance in the video game. This figure was sculpted by Gentle Giant Studios and includes two automatic pistols.
TriForce has released a Batman: Arkham Origins Black Mask Arsenal Full Scale Replica consisting of the character's mask and knuckleduster, crafted and cast in polystone. The replica measures 18 inches in height and weighs in at 15 pounds, and is limited to 500 pieces worldwide.
A Funko Pop! vinyl figure of Roman Sionis in a white suit was released in 2020 based on his appearance in the Birds of Prey'' film.
See also
List of Batman family enemies
References
External links
Black Mask at DC Comics' official website
DC Comics supervillains
Characters created by Doug Moench
Comics characters introduced in 1985
DC Comics film characters
DC Comics male supervillains
DC Comics television characters
Fictional business executives
Fictional crime bosses
Fictional cult leaders
Fictional escapologists
Fictional gangsters
Action film villains
Male film villains
Fictional characters with disfigurements
Fictional kidnappers
Fictional marksmen and snipers
Fictional mass murderers
Fictional matricides
Fictional patricides
Fictional serial killers
Fictional torturers
Suicide Squad members
Video game bosses | en |
doc-en-7958 | Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil Éireann and largest in terms of Irish members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of 25,000 in 2021. Leo Varadkar succeeded Enda Kenny as party leader on 2 June 2017 and as Taoiseach on 14 June; Kenny had been leader since 2002, and Taoiseach since 2011.
Fine Gael was founded on 8 September 1933 following the merger of its parent party Cumann na nGaedheal, the National Centre Party and the Army Comrades Association. Its origins lie in the struggle for Irish independence and the pro-Treaty side in the Irish Civil War, with Michael Collins being linked to the party. In its early years, the party was commonly known as Fine Gael – The United Ireland Party, abbreviated UIP, and its official title in its constitution remains Fine Gael (United Ireland).
Fine Gael is generally considered to be more of a proponent of market liberalism than its traditional rival, Fianna Fáil. Fine Gael describes itself as a "party of the progressive centre" which it defines as acting "in a way that is right for Ireland, regardless of dogma or ideology". It lists its core values as "equality of opportunity, free enterprise and reward, security, integrity and hope." In international politics, the party is highly supportive of the European Union, along with generally supporting strengthened relations with the United Kingdom and opposition to physical force Irish republicanism. The party's autonomous youth wing, Young Fine Gael (YFG), was formed in 1977.
Having governed in coalition with the Labour Party between 2011 and 2016, and in a minority government along with Independent TDs from 2016 to 2020, Fine Gael currently forms part of a historic coalition government with its traditional rival, Fianna Fáil, and the Green Party, with Leo Varadkar serving as Tánaiste.
History
Foundation
Fine Gael was created in 1933 following the merger of 3 political organisations; Cumann na nGaedhael led by W. T. Cosgrave, the National Centre Party led by Frank MacDermot and James Dillon, and the National Guard (better known as the Blueshirts), led by Eoin O'Duffy. Cumann na nGaedhael, born out of the pro-Anglo-Irish Treaty side in the Irish Civil War, has been the party of government from the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922 until the 1932 general election, where it was forced out by the newly emergent Fianna Fáil. The National Centre Party was a newly created party that had done well at the '32 election representing the interests of Irish farmers. The National Guard were not a political party, but a militant group made up of former pro-treaty soldiers first known as the Army Comrades Association. Following the disruption of Cumann na nGaedhael meetings by members of the Irish Republican Army, the ACA had begun providing security at their events. This led to the leadership of the ACA being taken over by a number of CnaG TDs including Thomas F. O'Higgins. In early 1933 Eoin O'Duffy took over the ACA, renamed them the National Guard and began instilling on the organisation elements of European Fascism. However, by August 1933 the Fianna Fáil government had banned the National Guard fearing a planned parade in Dublin could be an attempt to emulate the March on Rome.
It was following this, in September 1933, that the three groups combined forces and merged to form Fine Gael. The National Guard (referred informally by this point as "the Blueshirts") were to serve as the young wing of the new party as "The League of Youth". In order to not appear as a simple continuation of Cumann na nGaedhael, Eoin O'Duffy was made leader of the new party. However, following poor results at the 1934 Irish local elections and increasingly rabid rhetoric, O'Duffy resigned from the leadership after the party attempted to control what he could say in public and was replaced by WT Cosgrave, with James Dillon made deputy leader. O'Duffy attempted to regain control of the Blueshirts, but was rebuffed by the majority of the members who choose to stay with Fine Gael. Under the stewardship of Cosgrave and Dillon, the party returned to the more traditional conservatism espoused by Cumann na nGaedhael, with the moribund League of Youth disbanded by 1936.
Finding success with coalitions with Labour
Fine Gael remained out of government and at a low ebb for a prolonged period until the aftermath of the 1948 general election, which saw the party form a grand coalition with several other parties in order to oust Fianna Fáil and place Fine Gael member John A. Costello as Taoiseach. The coalition was short-lived but revived again between 1954 and 1957. However, following this stint Fine Gael were once again sent into the political wilderness. The party went through a period of soul-searching during the 1960s, in which a new generation of Fine Gael politicians led by Declan Costello sought to revitalise Fine Gael with new ideas. In what has later been hailed as a landmark moment in Fine Gael history, Costello proposed moving the party to the left in a social democratic direction with a document entitled "Towards a Just Society". The document was adopted as the basis for the party's manifesto for the 1965 Irish general election, however when the party failed to make headway at the polls the momentum behind the Just Society document wilted and faded.
It was not until leader Liam Cosgrave secured an election pact with the Labour Party that Fine Gael returned to power in 1973. This period also saw Fine Gael becoming increasingly liberal in ethos, particularly under the leadership of Garret FitzGerald who took the reins of the party in 1977; It was during this time that Fine Gael campaigned in a number of referendums: the party supported Irish entry into the European Economic Community, supported dropping the voting age from 21 to 18, and supported a proposal to remove the "special position" of the Roman Catholic Church from the constitution. It was successful in all three of these campaigns. The party also began a liberal approach to the introduction of contraceptives (Birth control) to Ireland, although an attempt by the Fine Gael/Labour coalition to legalise contraceptives in 1974 stumbled after six members of Fine Gael, most prominently then Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave, voted against their own bill.
The arrangement between Fine Gael and Labour proved pleasing to both parties and their election pacts remained throughout the rest of the 1970s and into the 1980s, seeing the pair enter government a number of times together. In 1985, Fine Gael/Labour voted to vastly liberalise access to contraceptives. That same year Fitzgerlad signed the Anglo-Irish Agreement with Margaret Thatcher, paving the way to devolved government in Northern Ireland. In 1986 the party campaigned for a Yes in that year's referendum on legalising divorce, but the No side won by a margin of 0.5%.
Decline and rebuilding
The 1980s had proven fruitful electorally for Fine Gael, but the 1990s and early 2000s saw this momentum decline quickly. One of the first signs of this was the party's poor result in the 1990 Irish presidential election, in which their candidate Austin Currie only secured 17% of the initial vote. Although the party was able to form the government between 1994 and 1997 thanks to coalition partners the Labour Party and the Democratic Left, as well as legalise divorce in 1995 after a successful referendum, the party's share of TDs fell from 54 in 1997 to only 31 in the 2002 general election, its second-worst result ever at that point. It was at this point Enda Kenny took over leadership of the party and began the process of rebuilding it. At the 2007 general election Kenny was able to bring Fine Gael back to its 1997 levels with 51 TDs.
Recovery
The collapse of the Celtic Tiger resulted in the post-2008 Irish economic downturn, which threw Ireland not only into economic turmoil but also political upheaval. The 2011 Irish general election saw the governing Fianna Fáil collapse at the polls, while Fine Gael and the Labour Party returned with their best results ever. For the first time in its history, Fine Gael became the largest party in Dáil Eireann. Once more Fine Gael and Labour paired up to form a government, their tenure marked by the difficulty of trying to guide Ireland towards economic recovery. In 2013, a number of Fine Gael parliamentary party members, including Lucinda Creighton, were expelled from the party for defing the party whip on pro-life grounds to oppose the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill. These members subsequently formed a political party called Renua.
Recent history
In 2015, the Fine Gael/Labour government held a referendum on the legislation of gay marriage in Ireland. The government campaigned for a yes vote and were successful. Following the 2016 general election, Fine Gael retained control of the government as a minority government, made possible by a confidence and supply agreement with Fianna Fáíl, who agreed to abstain in confidence votes. Enda Kenny resigned as party leader in 2017, and following a leadership contest, Leo Varadkar became his successor as well as Taoiseach. In doing so, Varadkar became one of the first openly LGBT heads of government in the world. In 2018 the Fine Gael government held a referendum on the Eighth Amendment, the provision in the Irish constitution which forbid abortion. The party campaigned to repeal the amendment and were successful.
After the 2020 general election, for the first time in history, Fine Gael entered into a coalition government with its traditional rival Fianna Fáil, as well as the Green Party, with Leo Varadkar serving as Tánaiste.
Ideology and policies
As a political party of the centre-right, Fine Gael has been described as liberal-conservative, Christian-democratic, liberal, conservative, and pro-European, with an ideological base combining elements of cultural conservatism and economic liberalism. In the 1930s, the party embraced corporatism in order to prevent the growth of communist influence in the country, by giving vocational interests (such as labour) a greater part in government decision making.
Although Fine Gael was historically a Catholic party, it became the de facto home for Irish Protestants. Its membership base had a higher proportion of Protestants than that of Fianna Fáil or Labour. The party promoted a strong Catholic image and depicted itself as a defender of Catholicism against Atheistic Communism, of which it accused the two aforementioned parties of being sympathetic to.
Social policies
Fine Gael adopted the "Just Society" policy statement in the 1960s, based on principles of social justice and equality. It was created by the emerging social democratic wing of the party, led by Declan Costello. The ideas expressed in the policy statement had a significant influence on the party in the years to come.
While Fine Gael was traditionally socially conservative for most of the twentieth century due to the conservative Christian ethos of Irish society during this time, its members are variously influenced by social liberalism, social democracy and Christian democracy on issues of social policy. Under Garret FitzGerald, the party's more socially liberal, or pluralist, wing gained prominence. Proposals to allow divorce were put to referendum by two Fine Gael–led governments, in 1986 under FitzGerald, and in 1995 under John Bruton, passing very narrowly on this second attempt. Its modern supporters have shown a preference for postmaterialist values.
LGBT+ issues
Fine Gael supported civil unions for same-sex couples from 2003, voting for the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Bill 2010, and the party approved a motion at its 2012 Ardfheis to prioritise the consideration of same-sex marriage in the upcoming constitutional convention. In 2013 party leader and Taoiseach Enda Kenny declared his support for same-sex marriage. The Fine Gael-led government held a referendum on the subject on 22 May 2015. The referendum passed, with the electorate voting to extend full marriage rights to same-sex couples, with 62.1% in favour and 37.9% opposed.
In 2015, months before the marriage equality referendum, Leo Varadkar became the first Irish government minister to come out as gay. In May 2019, former Rose of Tralee Maria Walsh, was elected as a Fine Gael MEP for the Midlands-Northwest constituency in the 2019 European Parliament election, running alongside Mairéad McGuinness MEP. Walsh was Fine Gael's first openly lesbian candidate.
Fine Gael has an LGBT+ section, Fine Gael LGBT, and in 2017, Leo Varadkar became the first Taoiseach to march in Dublin's Pride Parade.
Abortion
In 1983, having initially supported the proposal, Fine Gael came out in opposition to the Eighth Amendment to the Irish Constitution that was being submitted in a referendum in 1983, which sought to introduce a constitutional prohibition on abortion. Under then leader and Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald it campaigned for a 'No' vote, arguing, on the advice of the Attorney General Peter Sutherland, that the wording, which had been drafted under the previous government, when analysed was ambiguous and open to many interpretations. This referendum resulted in the Eighth Amendment to the Irish constitution, giving the unborn child a qualified equal right to life to that of the mother. Its stance conflicted with that of the Pro-Life Amendment Campaign (PLAC) and Catholic bishops, and Fianna Fáil, the largest party in the State at the time, but then in opposition.
The party also campaigned against the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the Constitution in 2002, which proposed to remove suicide as a grounds for granting a termination of a pregnancy. Suicide had been ruled as a ground, under the 8th amendment, in the X Case judgement of the Irish Supreme Court. The amendment was rejected by Irish voters.
In 2013 it proposed, and supported, the enactment of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013, which implemented in statute law the X case ruling of the Irish Supreme Court, granting access to a termination of a pregnancy where there is a real and substantial risk to the life, not the health, of the mother, including a threat of suicide. Five TDs & two Senators, including Minister of State Lucinda Creighton, lost the Fine Gael party whip for voting against the legislation. Creighton later left Fine Gael to found Renua. The Act was criticised by various pro-life groups and Catholic bishops, but supported by a majority of the electorate in opinion polls, with many indicating they wished to see a more liberal law on abortion.
Enda Kenny's Fine Gael–led minority government took office after the 2016 election with a programme which promised a randomly selected Citizens' Assembly to report on possible changes to the Eighth Amendment, which would be considered by an Oireachtas committee, to whose report the government would respond officially in debates in both houses of the Oireachtas. Fine Gael Oireachtas members were promised a free vote on the issue. Leo Varadkar succeeded Enda Kenny as Taoiseach on 14 June 2017 and promised to hold a referendum on abortion in 2018. Several Fine Gael TDs, notably Health Minister Simon Harris and Kate O'Connell, were prominent supporters of the pro-choice side before and during the referendum. While the party was divided, the majority of Fine Gael TDs and Senators, as well as most members, were in favour of repealing the Eighth Amendment. A referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment was held on 25 May 2018 and was passed by 66.4% of voters.
Drug policies
The party have traditionally held a strong stance against the decriminalisation of drugs. In 2007, Fine Gael's leader at the time Enda Kenny called for drug and alcohol testing to be performed in schools, saying cocaine usage was "rampant" in schools in some areas.
At the party's Ard Fheis in 2014, a proposed motion to support the legalisation of cannabis was voted down by the membership.
In 2016, the Fine Gael health minister James Reilly said that they would not be changing their policy on the legalisation of cannabis, due to "serious concerns about the health impacts" of cannabis.
Law and order party
Although Ireland's political spectrum was traditionally divided along Civil War lines, rather than the traditional European left–right spectrum, Fine Gael is described generally as a centre-right party, with a focus on law and order, enterprise and reward, and "fiscal rectitude". As the descendant of the pro-Treaty factions in the Irish Civil War, Fine Gael takes inspiration from Michael Collins and claims his legacy. He remains a symbol for the party, and the anniversary of his death is commemorated each year in August.
Economic policies
Fine Gael has, since its inception, portrayed itself as a party of fiscal rectitude and minimal government interference in economics, advocating pro-enterprise policies. In that they followed the line of the previous pro-Treaty government that believed in minimal state intervention, low taxes and social expenditures. Newly elected politicians for the party in the Dáil have strongly advocated liberal economic policies. Lucinda Creighton (who has since left the party) and Leo Varadkar in particular have been seen as strong advocates of a neoliberal approach to Ireland's economic woes and unemployment problems. Varadkar in particular has been a strong proponent of small, indigenous business, advocating that smaller firms should benefit from the government's recapitalisation program. Its former finance spokesman Richard Bruton's proposals have been seen as approaching problems from a pro-enterprise point of view. Its fairer budget website in 2011 suggested that its solutions are "tough but fair". Other solutions conform generally to conservative governments' policies throughout Europe, focusing on cutting numbers in the public sector, while maintaining investment in infrastructure.
Fine Gael's proposals have sometimes been criticised mostly by smaller political groupings in Ireland, and by some of the trade unions, who have raised the idea that the party's solutions are more conscious of business interests than the interests of the worker. The SIPTU trade union has stated its opposition to the Taoiseach Enda Kenny's assertion, in response to Ireland's economic crisis, that the national wage agreement should be suspended. Kenny's comments had support however and the party attributes its significant rise in polls in 2008 to this.
Fine Gael's Simon Coveney launched what the party termed a radical re-organisation of the Irish semi-state company sector. Styled the New Economy and Recovery Authority (or NewERA), Coveney said that it is an economic stimulus plan that will "reshape the Irish economy for the challenges of the 21st century". Requiring an €18.2 billion investment in Energy, Communications and Water infrastructure over a four-year period, it was promoted as a way to enhance energy security and digital reputation of Ireland. A very broad ranging document, it proposed the combined management of a portfolio of semi-state assets, and the sale of all other, non-essential services. The release of equity through the sale of the various state resources, including electricity generation services belonging to the ESB, Bord na Móna and Bord Gáis, in combination with use of money in the National Pensions Reserve Fund, was Fine Gael's proposed funding source for its national stimulus package.
The plan was seen at being the basis of a Fine Gael program for government. Seen as being the longer term contribution to Fine Gael's economic plan, it has been publicised in combination with a more short term policy proposal from Leo Varadkar. This document, termed "Hope for a Lost Generation", promises to bring 30,000 young Irish people off the Live Register in a year by combining a National Internship Program, a Second Chance Education Scheme, an Apprenticeship Guarantee and Community Work Program, as well as instituting a German style, Workshare program.
Constitutional reform policies
The debate which has been monitored by the Irish Times in its Renewing the Republic opinion pieces, has largely centred on the make up of the Oireachtas, the Irish parliament. Fine Gael's Phil Hogan TD, a former European Commissioner, has published the party's proposals for political and constitutional reform. In a policy document entitled New Politics, Hogan suggested creating a country with "a smaller, more dynamic and more responsive political system," reducing the size of the Dáil by 20, changing the way the Dáil works, and in a controversial move, abolishing the Irish senate, Seanad Éireann.
Aiming to carry out the parties proposals through a series of constitutional referendums, the proposals were echoed by then Labour leader Eamon Gilmore, when he proposed his own constitutional "crusade" at his 2010 party conference, shortly after.
Health policies
The Irish health system, being administered centrally by the Health Service Executive, is seen to be poor by comparison to other countries in Europe, ranking outside expected levels at 25th according to the Euro Health Consumer Index 2006.
Fine Gael has long wanted Ireland to break with the system of private health insurance, public medical cards and what it calls the two tiers of the health system and has launched a campaign to see the system reformed. Speaking in favour of the campaign, Fine Gael then health spokesman James Reilly stated "Over the last 10 years the health service has become a shambles. We regularly have over 350 people on trolleys in A&E, waiting lists that go on for months, outpatient waiting lists that go on for years and cancelled operations across the country..."
Fine Gael launched its FairCare campaign and website in April 2009, which stated that the health service would be reformed away from a costly ineffective endeavour, into a publicly regulated system where compulsory universal health insurance would replace the existing provisions.
This strategy was criticised by Fianna Fáil's then-Minister for Children, Barry Andrews. The spokesperson for family law and children, Alan Shatter TD, robustly defended its proposals as the only means of reducing public expenditure, and providing a service in Ireland more akin to the Canadian, German, Dutch and Austrian health systems.
Fine Gael's current healthcare policy revolves around the implementation of Sláintecare, a cross-party plan for the reform of the Irish health system. Sláintecare is focused on introducing "a universal single-tiered health service, which guarantees access based on need, not income… through Universal Health Insurance".
Pro-Europeanism
Fine Gael is among the most pro-European integration parties in Ireland, having supported the European Constitution, the Lisbon Treaty, and advocating participation in European common defence. Under Enda Kenny, the party questioned Irish neutrality, with Kenny claiming that "the truth is, Ireland is not neutral. We are merely unaligned." The party's youth wing, Young Fine Gael, passed a motion in 2016 calling on the government to apply for membership of NATO.
Since Brexit, Fine Gael has taken a strong pro-European stance, stating that Ireland's place is "at the heart of Europe". In government, the party has launched the "Global Ireland" plan to develop alliances with other small countries across Europe and the world.
European affiliations
Fine Gael is a founding member of the European People's Party (EPP), the largest European political party comprising liberal conservative and Christian democratic national-level parties from across Europe. Fine Gael's MEPs sit with the EPP Group in the European Parliament, and Fine Gael parliamentarians also sit with the EPP Groups in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and Committee of the Regions. Young Fine Gael is a member of the Youth of the European People's Party (YEPP).
It is inferred from the party's relationship with its European counterparts via membership of the European People's Party that Fine Gael belongs on the centre-right. The party conforms generally with European political parties that identify themselves as being Christian democratic.
Planning and payment tribunals
The Moriarty Tribunal has sat since 1997 and has investigated the granting of a mobile phone license to Esat Telecom by Michael Lowry when he was Fine Gael Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications in the Rainbow Coalition of the mid-1990s. Lowry resigned from the Cabinet after it was revealed at the Moriarty Tribunal that businessman Ben Dunne had paid for an IR£395,000 extension to Lowry's County Tipperary home. Lowry, now an independent TD, supported the Fianna Fáil–Green Party government in Dáil Éireann until March 2011.
It was also revealed in December 1996 that Fine Gael had received some £180,000 from Ben Dunne in the period 1987 to 1993. This was composed of £100,000 in 1993, £50,000 in 1992 and £30,000 in 1989. In addition, Michael Noonan received £3,000 in 1992 towards his election campaign, Ivan Yates received £5,000, Michael Lowry received £5,000 and Sean Barrett received £1,000 in the earlier 1987 election. John Bruton said he had received £1,000 from Dunne in 1982 towards his election campaign, and Dunne had also given £15,000 to the Labour Party during the 1990 Presidential election campaign.
Following revelations at the Moriarty Tribunal on 16 February 1999, in relation to Charles Haughey and his relationship with AIB, former Taoiseach Garret Fitzgerald confirmed that AIB and Ansbacher wrote off debts of almost £200,000 that he owed in 1993, when he was in financial difficulties because of the collapse of the aircraft leasing company, GPA, in which he was a shareholder. The write-off occurred after Fitzgerald left politics. Fitzgerald also said he believed his then Fine Gael colleague, Peter Sutherland, who was chairman of AIB at the time, was unaware of the situation.
Leadership
The current leader of the Fine Gael party is Leo Varadkar, who, as well as being Ireland's youngest ever Taoiseach is the country's first openly gay leader. The position of deputy leader has been held since 2017 by Simon Coveney TD, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Party leader
The following are the terms of office as party leader and as Taoiseach (bolded) if applicable:
Deputy leader
Seanad leader
Electoral results
Dáil Éireann
European Parliament
Recent Electoral performance
At the 2009 Local elections held on 5 June 2009, Fine Gael won 556 seats, surpassing Fianna Fáil which won 407 seats, and making Fine Gael the largest party of local government nationally. They gained 88 seats from their 2004 result.
At 2009 European Parliament election held on the same day as the Local elections, which saw a reduction in the number seats from 13 to 12 for Ireland, the party won four seats, retaining the largest number of seats of an Irish party in the European Parliament. This was a loss of one seat from its 2004 result.
At the 2011 general election, Fine Gael gained 25 seats bringing them to a total of 76. The party ran candidates in all 43 constituencies and had candidates elected in every constituency except Dublin North-West. Fine Gael won 19 seats in Seanad Éireann following the 2011 election, a gain of four from the previous election in 2007.
While Fine Gael was responsible for the initial nomination of the uncontested, first President of Ireland, Douglas Hyde, a Fine Gael candidate has never won an election to the office of president. The most recent Fine Gael presidential candidate, Gay Mitchell, finished fourth in the 2011 presidential election, with 6.4% of the vote. In 2004, Fine Gael supported the re-election of President Mary McAleese. Similarly, it supported the re-election of Michael D. Higgins in the 2018 presidential election.
In the 2016 general election the outgoing government consisting of Fine Gael and its partner the Labour Party was defeated. The previous government had the largest majority in the history of the state with a combined 113 seats out of the 166-seat Dáil Éireann. The aftermath of the general election resulted in months of negotiations for an agreement of government. A deal was reached with the main opposition and traditional rival Fianna Fáil to facilitate a minority Fine Gael-led government. Fine Gael governed Ireland alone with eight Independent members of the Dáil until 2020, when the party emerged as the third party following the general election. After governing for several months in a caretaker capacity, Fine Gael agreed to serve in a historic coalition government along with its traditional rival, Fianna Fáil, and the Green Party, with Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin serving as Taoiseach and Leo Varadkar serving as Tánaiste. Under the agreed Programme for Government, the role of Taoiseach will rotate to Leo Varadkar in 2022.
Front bench
Young Fine Gael
Young Fine Gael (YFG) is the autonomous youth movement of Fine Gael. It was founded in 1976 by the then leader Garret FitzGerald. It caters for young people under 35 with an interest in Fine Gael and politics, in cities, towns and third level colleges throughout Ireland. YFG is led by its national executive consisting of ten members elected on a regional basis, and on a national panel.
See also
List of political parties in the Republic of Ireland
Notes
References
Bibliography
Nealon's Guide to the 29th Dáil and Seanad (Gill and Macmillan, 2002) ()
Stephen Collins, "The Cosgrave Legacy" (Blackwater, 1996) ()
Garret FitzGerald, "Garret FitzGerald: An Autobiography" (Gill and Macmillan, 1991) ()
Jack Jones, In Your Opinion: Political and Social Trends in Ireland through the Eyes of the Electorate (Townhouse, 2001) ()
Maurice Manning, James Dillon: A Biography (Wolfhound, 1999–2000) ()
Stephen O'Byrnes, Hiding Behind a Face: Fine Gael under FitzGerald (Gill and Macmillan: 1986) ()
Raymond Smith, Garret: The Enigma (Aherlow, 1985) (no ISBN)
External links
Young Fine Gael
Christian democratic parties in Europe
Conservative parties in Ireland
Member parties of the European People's Party
Parties represented in the European Parliament
Political parties established in 1933
Political parties in the Republic of Ireland
1933 establishments in Ireland
Pro-European political parties in Ireland | en |
doc-en-7739 | Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. She is 17th in the line of succession to the British throne and has been Princess Royal since 1987.
Born at Clarence House, Anne was educated at Benenden School and began undertaking royal duties upon adulthood. She became a respected equestrian, winning one gold medal in 1971 and two silver medals in 1975 at the European Eventing Championships. In 1976, she became the first member of the British royal family to have competed in the Olympic Games.
The Princess Royal performs official duties and engagements on behalf of her mother. She holds patronage in over 300 organisations, including WISE, Riders for Health, and Carers Trust. Her charity work revolves around sport, sciences, people with disabilities, and health in developing countries. She has been associated with Save the Children for over fifty years and has visited a number of their projects; her work resulted in her nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990.
Anne married Captain Mark Phillips in 1973; they separated in 1989 and divorced in 1992. The couple have two children, Zara and Peter Phillips, and five grandchildren. Within months of her divorce, Anne married Commander (now Vice Admiral) Sir Timothy Laurence, whom she had met while he served as her mother's equerry between 1986 and 1989.
In 1988, Princess Anne became a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Early life and education
Anne was born during the reign of her maternal grandfather, King George VI, at Clarence House on 15 August 1950 at 11:50 am, the second child and only daughter of Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. A 21-gun salute in Hyde Park signalled the birth. Anne was christened in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace on 21 October 1950, by Archbishop of York, Cyril Garbett. At the time of her birth, she was third in the line of succession to the British throne, behind her mother – at that time Princess Elizabeth – and older brother, Charles. She rose to second after her mother's accession; she is currently 17th in line.
A governess, Catherine Peebles, was appointed to look after Anne and was responsible for her early education at Buckingham Palace; Peebles also served as early governess for Anne's older brother, Charles. After the death of George VI in February 1952, Anne's mother ascended the throne as Queen Elizabeth II. Given her young age at the time, Anne did not attend the coronation in June 1953.
A Girl Guides company, the 1st Buckingham Palace Company to include the Holy Trinity Brompton Brownie pack, was re-formed in May 1959, specifically so that, as her mother and aunt had done as children, Anne could socialise with girls her own age. The company was active until 1963, when Anne went to boarding school. Anne enrolled at Benenden School in 1963. In 1968, she left school with six GCE O-Levels and two A-Levels. She began to undertake royal engagements in 1969, at the age of 18.
In 1970, she briefly had a relationship with Andrew Parker Bowles, who later married Camilla Shand. Shand much later married Anne's brother, Prince Charles, as his second wife. Anne was also briefly linked to Olympic equestrian Richard Meade.
Equestrianism
In spring 1971, Princess Anne finished fourth at the Rushall Horse Trials. At the age of 21, Anne won the individual title at the European Eventing Championship and was voted the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1971. She also rode winners in horse racing, competing in the Grand Military Steeplechase in Sandown Park Racecourse and Diamond Stakes at Royal Ascot.
For more than five years, she also competed with the British eventing team, with her home-bred horse, Doublet suffering an injury during the 1972 Badminton Horse Trials, and winning a silver medal in both individual and team disciplines in the 1975 European Eventing Championship. The following year, Anne participated in the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal as a member of the British team, riding the Queen's horse, Goodwill, in Eventing. Anne suffered a concussion halfway through the course but remounted and finished the event; she has stated she cannot remember making the rest of the jumps. The British team had to pull out of the competition after two horses were injured. She finished sixth at the Badminton Horse Trials in 1979. In 1985, she rode in a charity horse race at the Epsom Derby, finishing fourth.
Anne assumed the Presidency of the Fédération Équestre Internationale from 1986 until 1994. On 5 February 1987, she became the first member of the royal family to appear as a contestant on a television quiz-show when she competed on the BBC panel game A Question of Sport.
Marriages and children
Marriage to Mark Phillips
Anne met Mark Phillips, a lieutenant in the 1st Queen's Dragoon Guards, in 1968 at a party for horse lovers. Their engagement was announced on 29 May 1973. On 14 November 1973, the couple married at Westminster Abbey in a televised ceremony, with an estimated audience of 100 million. They subsequently took up residence at Gatcombe Park. As was customary for untitled men marrying into the royal family, Phillips was offered an earldom, which he declined; consequently their children were born without titles. Anne and her husband had two children: Peter (born 1977) and Zara Phillips (born 1981). Anne and Phillips have five grandchildren. On 31 August 1989, Anne and Phillips announced their intention to separate; the couple had been rarely seen in public together and both were romantically linked with other people. They shared custody of their children, and initially announced that "there were no plans for divorce." However, on 13 April 1992 the Palace announced that Anne had filed for divorce, which was finalised ten days later.
Marriage to Sir Timothy Laurence
Anne met Timothy Laurence, a commander in the Royal Navy, while he was serving on the Royal Yacht Britannia. Their relationship developed in early 1989, three years after he was appointed as an equerry to the Queen. In 1989, the existence of private letters from Laurence to the Princess was revealed by The Sun newspaper. The couple married at Crathie Kirk near Balmoral Castle in Scotland, on 12 December 1992. Approximately 30 guests were invited for the private marriage service. Unlike the Church of England at the time, the Church of Scotland considered marriage to be an ordinance of religion rather than a sacrament and permitted the remarriage of divorced persons under certain circumstances. Anne became the first royal divorcée to remarry since Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, granddaughter of Queen Victoria.
For the wedding ceremony, Anne wore a white jacket over a "demure, cropped-to-the-knee dress" and a spray of white flowers in her hair. Her engagement ring was made of "a cabochon sapphire flanked by three small diamonds on each side". Following the marriage service, the couple and guests headed to Craigowan Lodge for a private reception. Laurence received no peerage, and the couple leased a flat in Dolphin Square, London. They reside between an apartment at St James's Palace and Gatcombe Park.
Kidnapping attempt
On 20 March 1974, Princess Anne and Mark Phillips were returning to Buckingham Palace from a charity event when a Ford Escort forced their Princess IV car to stop on the Mall. The driver of the Escort, Ian Ball, jumped out and began firing a pistol. Inspector James Beaton, Anne's personal police officer, responded by exiting the car to shield her and to attempt to disarm Ball. But Beaton's firearm, a Walther PPK, jammed, and he was shot by Ball, as was Anne's chauffeur, Alex Callender, when he tried to disarm Ball. Brian McConnell, a nearby tabloid journalist, also intervened, and was shot in the chest. Ball approached Anne's car and told her that he intended to kidnap her and hold her for ransom, the sum given by varying sources as £2 million or £3 million, which he claimed he intended to give to the National Health Service. Ball told Anne to get out of the car, to which she replied, "Not bloody likely!" She reportedly briefly considered hitting Ball.
Eventually, she exited the other side of the limousine, as had her lady-in-waiting, Rowena Brassey. A passing pedestrian, a former boxer named Ron Russell, punched Ball in the back of the head and led Anne away from the scene. At that point, Police Constable Michael Hills happened upon the scene; he too was shot by Ball, but he had already called for police backup. Detective Constable Peter Edmonds answered, gave chase, and finally arrested Ball.
Beaton, Hills, Callender, and McConnell were hospitalised, and recovered from their wounds. For his defence of Princess Anne, Beaton was awarded the George Cross by the Queen, who was visiting Indonesia when the incident occurred; Hills and Russell were awarded the George Medal, and Callender, McConnell, and Edmonds were awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal. It was widely reported that the Queen paid off Russell's mortgage, but this is not true: Russell said in 2020 that a police officer suggested it might happen, so he stopped paying his mortgage in anticipation and nearly had his house repossessed after four months. Anne visited Beaton in hospital and thanked him for his assistance. In 1984, she spoke about the event on Parkinson, saying she was 'scrupulously polite' to Ball as she thought it would be 'silly to be too rude at that stage'.
Ball pleaded guilty to attempted murder and kidnapping. , he was still detained under the Mental Health Act at Broadmoor Hospital.
The attempted kidnapping of Princess Anne is the focus of the Granada Television-produced docudrama To Kidnap a Princess (2006) and inspired story lines in Tom Clancy's novel Patriot Games.
Activities
Anne undertakes a number of duties and engagements on behalf of her mother, in support of her role as sovereign of the Commonwealth realms. Kevin S. MacLeod, the Canadian Secretary to the Queen, said of Anne in 2014: "Her credo is, 'Keep me busy. I'm here to work. I'm here to do good things. I'm here to meet as many people as possible'." It was revealed in December 2017 that the Princess Royal had undertaken the most official engagements that year out of all the royal family, her mother included. Among her royal visits, the Princess has toured Norway, Jamaica, Germany, Austria, New Zealand, and Australia.
Her first public engagement was at the opening of an educational and training centre in Shropshire in 1969. Anne travels abroad on behalf of the United Kingdom up to three times a year. She began to undertake overseas visits upon leaving secondary school, and accompanied her parents on a state visit to Austria in the same year.
Her first tour of Australia was with her parents in 1970, since which she has returned on numerous occasions to undertake official engagements as a colonel-in-chief of an Australian regiment, or to attend memorials and services, such as the National Memorial Service for victims of the Black Saturday bushfires in Melbourne, Australia, on 22 February 2009. In 1990 she was the first member of the royal family to make an official visit to the Soviet Union when she went there as a guest of President Mikhail Gorbachev and his government.
Anne is involved with over 200 charities and organisations in an official capacity. She works extensively for Save the Children, serving as president from 1970 to 2017, and has been patron for over 50 years. Anne has visited the organisation's projects in Bangladesh, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Mozambique, Ethiopia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. As a result of her work, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 by Kenneth Kaunda, President of Zambia. She initiated The Princess Royal Trust for Carers in 1991. Anne is the patron of Transaid, a charity founded by Save the Children and the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport which aims to provide safe and sustainable transport in developing countries. She is also the Royal Patron of WISE, an organisation that encourages young women to pursue careers in science, engineering and construction. Her extensive work for St. John Ambulance as Commandant-in-Chief of St. John Ambulance Cadets has helped to develop many young people, as she annually attends the Grand Prior Award Reception. She is Patron of St. Andrew's First Aid. She is a British representative in the International Olympic Committee as an administrator, and was a member of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games. She also serves as President of the British Olympic Association. She was President of BAFTA from 1973 to 2001. In 1985 she became president of the Riding for the Disabled Association after serving as their patron for fourteen years. In 1986 she was appointed Master of the Worshipful Company of Carmen. She maintains a relationship with student sport and is the Patron of British Universities and Colleges Sport. She has been Patron of the Royal National Children's Foundation since 2002 and the industrial heritage museum, Aerospace Bristol, since 2016.
Following the retirement of the Queen Mother in 1981, Anne was elected by graduates of the University of London as the Chancellor and has been in the position since 1981. Throughout May 1996, Anne served as Her Majesty's High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and held the post again in 2017. In 2007, she was appointed by the Queen as Grand Master of the Royal Victorian Order, a position her grandmother had also held. She is a Royal Fellow of the Royal Society and the Academy of Medical Sciences. Royal Fellows are members of the Monarchy who are recommended and elected by the Society's Council. The Royal Society has only four Royal Fellows, including the Princess Royal herself, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Kent, and the Duke of Cambridge. She is the Academy of Medical Sciences' first Royal Fellow.
She was elected Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh effective 31 March 2011, succeeding her father, who stepped down from the role in 2010. Likewise, she accepted in 2011 the roles of President of City and Guilds of London Institute, Master of the Corporation of Trinity House and President of the Royal Society of Arts, also in succession to her father. She is also Patron of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists, Edinburgh University's Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Royal Holloway, University of London, International Students House, London, Acid Survivors Trust International, Townswomen's Guilds and Citizens Advice.
She represented Great Britain in the International Olympic Committee at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia. In August 2016, she returned to the country to visit the Russian city of Arkhangelsk for the 75th anniversary of Operation Dervish, which was one of the first Arctic convoys of World War II. In September 2016, the Princess suffered from chest infection and was required to cancel official engagements. In late October 2016, she visited the Malaysian state of Sarawak for a two-day study tour. In 2017, she became Prime Warden of the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers and a Governor of Gresham's School.
Public image and style
Anne has been called the royal family's "trustiest anchor" and a "beacon of good, old-fashioned public service", having carried out over 20,000 engagements since her 18th birthday. In her early adulthood, she was cited as a "royal renegade" for choosing to forego titles for her children despite being the "spare to the heir". The media often called the young Anne "aloof" and "haughty", giving her the nickname "her royal rudeness". She spurred controversy for telling photographers to "naff off" at the Badminton Horse Trials in 1982. Vanity Fair wrote that Anne "has a reputation for having inherited her father's famously sharp tongue and waspish wit". Of her early public role, she has said: "It's not just about, Can I get a tick in the box for doing this? No, it's about serving…It took me probably 10 years before I really felt confident enough to contribute to Save the Children's public debates because you needed to understand how it works on the ground and that needed a very wide coverage. So my early trips were really important."
Anne remains one of Britain's most popular royals. Telegraph Editor Camilla Tominey called her a "national treasure", writing that she is "hailed as one of the great English eccentrics", whose work ethic contributes to her regard. Tominey wrote that Anne's public role is a "contradiction of both protocol taskmaster and occasional rule-breaker". Reportedly, Anne "insists on doing her own make-up and hair" and drives herself to engagements, having pleaded guilty to two separate speeding fines on account of being late. She does not shake hands with the public during walkabouts, saying, "the theory was that you couldn't shake hands with everybody, so don't start." Members of the public have seen her "mending fences at Gatcombe" and "queuing up for the Portaloos" at her daughter's horse competitions. Her reputation is also coupled with her advocacy for causes out of the mainstream, such as Wetwheels Foundation's commitment to accessible sailing and the National Lighthouse Museum. On her 60th and 70th birthdays, the BBC and Vanity Fair both asked whether she would retire, and she denied it both times, citing her parents' example as well as her commitment to her royal duties. Anne's public personality has been described as "not suffering fools lightly" while maintaining a "still-impressive level of grace and courtesy".
British Vogue editor Edward Enninful has said that "Princess Anne is a true style icon and was all about sustainable fashion before the rest of us really knew what that meant". Her style has been noted for its timelessness; she relies almost solely on British fashion brands, with tweed and tailored suits as her hallmarks. She is known for recycling outfits, such as her floral-print dress worn both to the wedding of the Prince of Wales in 1981 and the wedding of Lady Rose Windsor in 2008. Anne is the patron of U.K. Fashion and Textile Association. She has been noted for wearing "bold patterns and vibrant pops of colour". Her style choices often reflect her equestrian interests as well as the practicality of her fast-paced schedule. In the 1970s and 1980s, she was often photographed wearing trends such as puff sleeves, cardigans, bright floral patterns, and multicoloured stripes. Anne is also one of the few women in the royal family to wear a military uniform. According to The Guardian, she is "rarely seen without a brooch" during royal events. Her millinery styles have included jockey caps and hats of multiple colours and bold patterns. She presented the Queen Elizabeth II award for British design at London Fashion Week in 2020. Anne has appeared on three British Vogue covers; after first appearing on the 1971 September issue at age 21, she also featured in the May and November 1973 issues, commemorating her engagement to Mark Phillips. She was featured in the cover story for the April 2020 issue of Vanity Fair.
Titles, styles, honours and arms
Titles and styles
15 August 1950 – 6 February 1952: Her Royal Highness Princess Anne of Edinburgh
6 February 1952 – 14 November 1973: Her Royal Highness The Princess Anne
14 November 1973 – 13 June 1987: Her Royal Highness The Princess Anne, Mrs Mark Phillips
13 June 1987 – present: Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal
Anne is the seventh Princess Royal, an appellation given only to the eldest daughter of the sovereign. The previous holder was King George V's daughter, Mary, Countess of Harewood.
Honours
2 June 1953: Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal
1969: Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II
15 August 1974: Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) – (Grand Master from 20 April 2007)
6 February 1977: Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal
1989: Canadian Forces Decoration (CD) with three clasps (1999, 2009, 2019)
1990: Extra Companion of the Queen's Service Order (QSO)
23 April 1994: Royal Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter (KG)
30 November 2000: Extra Knight of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle (KT)
6 February 2002: Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal
7 June 2005: Commemorative Medal for the Centennial of Saskatchewan
29 September 2005: Chief Grand Companion of the Order of Logohu (GCL)
2009: Dame Grand Cross of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem (GCStJ)
1971–2009: Dame of Justice of the Most Venerable Order of St John of Jerusalem (DJStJ)
6 February 2012: Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
Service Medal of the Order of St John with 2 Gold Bars
6 February 2022: Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal
Foreign
1969: Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria
1969: Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the White Rose of Finland
1971: Grand Cordon of the Order of the Precious Crown
1971: Commemorative Medal of the 2500th Anniversary of the founding of the Persian Empire
1972: Grand Cross of the Order of the House of Orange
1972: Grand Cross of the Order of the Oak Crown
1972: Member 1st Class of the Order of the Yugoslav Flag
2017: Order of Isabella the Catholic
2017: Grand Cross 2nd Class of the National Order of Madagascar
2021: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit
Appointments
Fellowships
1986: Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (FRCVS)
1987: Royal Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS)
1999: Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE)
2006: Honorary Fellow of the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation
2010: Royal Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng)
2011: President of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA)
2012: Royal Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci)
2017: Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (FRCS)
16 May 2019: Honorary Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (FRCGS).
2021: President of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers
Civic
1986: Master, Worshipful Company of Carmen
1994: Master, Worshipful Company of Woolmen
1996, 2017: Lord High Commissioner, General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
2001: Master, Worshipful Company of Farmers
2017: Prime Warden, Worshipful Company of Fishmongers
Academic
1981: University of London, Chancellor
2011: University of Edinburgh, Chancellor
2012: University of the Highlands and Islands, Chancellor
2013: Harper Adams University, Chancellor
Honorary academic degrees
2004: University of Regina, Saskatchewan, Doctor of Laws (LLD)
2010: Memorial University of Newfoundland, Doctor of Laws (LLD)
2011: Cranfield University, Doctor of Science (DSc)
2020: University of Aberdeen, Doctor of Laws (LLD)
Other appointments
2015: Honorary member of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews
Military appointments
As with other senior royals, Princess Anne holds a number of appointments in the armed forces of Commonwealth realms:
Australia
1977– : Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Australian Corps of Signals
2011– : Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Australian Corps of Transport
Canada
1972– : Colonel-in-Chief of the 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's)
1977– : Colonel-in-Chief of the Grey and Simcoe Foresters
1977– : Colonel-in-Chief of the Communications and Electronics Branch
1982– : Colonel-in-Chief of The Royal Regina Rifles
1987– : Colonel-in-Chief of Royal Newfoundland Regiment
2003– : Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Canadian Medical Service
2014– : Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Canadian Hussars
2015– : Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Canadian Navy (Fleet Pacific)
2017– : Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
New Zealand
1977– : Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal New Zealand Army Nursing Corps
1977– : Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals
United Kingdom
1970– : Colonel-in-Chief of the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment (29/45 Foot)
1977– : Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Corps of Signals
1981– : Commandant-in-Chief of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (Princess Royal's Volunteer Corps)
1983–2006 : Colonel-in-Chief of The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment)
1989– : Royal Honorary Colonel of the University of London OTC
1992– : Colonel-in-Chief of the King's Royal Hussars
1992– : Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Logistic Corps
1993– : Affiliated Colonel-in-Chief of the Queen's Gurkha Signals
1993– : Affiliated Colonel-in-Chief of the Queen's Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment
1998– : Colonel of the Blues and Royals
2003– : Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps
2006– : Royal Colonel of the Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland
2006– : Royal Colonel of the 52nd Lowland, 6th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland
1977–2011: Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Lyneham
1993– : Honorary Air Commodore of the University of London Air Squadron
2011– : Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Brize Norton
1974–1993: Chief Commandant of the Women's Royal Naval Service
1993– : Chief Commandant for Women in the Royal Navy
2006– : Commodore-in-Chief of HMNB Portsmouth
2021– : Admiral of the Sea Cadet Corps
1988– : Lady Sponsor of </ref>
2001– : Lady Sponsor of
Other appointments
1971–2014: Lady Sponsor of TS Royalist
Military ranks
Royal Navy 15 August 1993: Rear Admiral
Royal Navy 15 August 2009: Vice Admiral
Royal Navy 15 August 2012: Admiral
British Army 15 August 2020: General
Royal Air Force 15 August 2020: Air Chief Marshal
Arms
Issue
Ancestry
The Princess Royal's ancestry can be traced as far back as Cerdic, King of Wessex (519–534).
Notes
References
External links
The Princess Royal at the royal family website
1950 births
20th-century British people
21st-century British people
20th-century British women
21st-century British women
BBC Sports Personality of the Year winners
British event riders
British female equestrians
British princesses
Chancellors of the University of Edinburgh
Chancellors of the University of London
Companions of the Queen's Service Order
Dames Grand Cross of the Order of St John
Dames Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
English Anglicans
Equestrians at the 1976 Summer Olympics
Fellows of King's College London
Fellows of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society
Female admirals
Grand Companions of the Order of Logohu
Grand Cordons of the Order of the Precious Crown
Grand Crosses of the Order of the House of Orange
Honorary air commodores
House of Windsor
International Olympic Committee members
Knights of the Garter
Knights of the Thistle
Living people
Lords High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
Members of Trinity House
Mountbatten-Windsor family
Olympic equestrians of Great Britain
People associated with Harper Adams University
People educated at Benenden School
People from Westminster
Presidents of the British Science Association
Princesses Royal
Recipients of the Grand Decoration with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria
Recipients of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
Royal Navy admirals
Royal Olympic participants
Spanish Riding School
Women in the British Army
Women in the Royal Navy
Women's Royal Naval Service officers
Wives of knights
Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts
Female Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering
Female Fellows of the Royal Society
Presidents of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers
Children of Elizabeth II | en |
doc-en-4783 | The 2000 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 54th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It commenced on 12 March and ended on 22 October after seventeen races. Michael Schumacher became Ferrari's first World Drivers' Champion in 21 years, having clinched the Drivers' title at the penultimate race of the season. Ferrari successfully defended its Constructors' title. This season marked the first for future world champion Jenson Button.
The season was, for the third consecutive year, a close battle between Ferrari and McLaren. Schumacher won the first three races and dominated the first part of the season as McLaren had reliability issues. Then misfortune struck Schumacher, who retired from three consecutive races with both Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard scoring big. Häkkinen then surged to win two races in a row, leaving him six points clear of Schumacher who faced a fifth consecutive season at Ferrari without titles since 1996. Schumacher fought back winning the final four races of the season in convincing fashion, recording pole position on all those occasions. The title was sealed in Japan on 8 October, after a classic straight fight between Schumacher and Häkkinen, with Schumacher passing Häkkinen at the final pit stop and then holding out in front.
The season held the record for the smallest number of drivers competing in a single season with only one driver change (Luciano Burti deputising for an ill Eddie Irvine in Austria) putting the total at 23 (similar to 2002 season). This record stood until 2008, where there were no driver changes, although the Super Aguri F1 team withdrew in the middle of that season.
Teams and drivers
The following teams and drivers competed in the 2000 FIA Formula One World Championship. All teams competed with tyres supplied by Bridgestone.
† All engines were 3.0 litre, V10 configuration.
Team changes
After being bought by Ford, the Stewart team was renamed Jaguar Racing, with the team's engines rebadged as Cosworths. The Ford V10s used by Minardi were rebadged as Fondmetal engines, in deference to Gabriele Rumi's financial input to the team, and the car's main colour was changed from white to a fluorescent yellow. The Ford name, ever-present on the Formula One grid since the debut of the Ford Cosworth DFV in 1967, was therefore absent for the 2000 season, although it would make a brief return in 2003 and 2004.
Williams switched to BMW engines, replacing the Supertec units of the previous season. The contract, which had been signed back in 1998, marked BMW's return to Formula One after over a decade of absence. BAR, who had also used Supertecs in 1999, signed a deal with Honda to use their engines for the 2000 season. Honda's previous stint as an engine supplier had ended in 1992, when their highly successful collaboration with McLaren came to a conclusion.
Following the departure of engine designer Brian Hart, who had been responsible for the team's Hart, Yamaha and Arrows engines, the Arrows team switched to Supertec engines for 2000.
Driver changes
Rubens Barrichello, who scored three podiums for Stewart in 1999, signed for Ferrari, replacing Eddie Irvine. The previous season's runner-up joined the newly established Jaguar team, in what was essentially a straight swap with Barrichello.
1996 champion Damon Hill retired from Formula One at the end of the 1999 season. Jarno Trulli moved from Prost to Jordan, filling Hill's vacant seat. Prost's other driver Olivier Panis left the team to become the test driver for McLaren. The two seats at the French team were taken by Jean Alesi, who moved from Sauber, and 1999 International Formula 3000 champion Nick Heidfeld, who had previously been a test driver at McLaren. Mika Salo signed for Sauber after short spells as an injury replacement for Ricardo Zonta for three races and Michael Schumacher for six races in 1999.
Jenson Button made his debut for Williams after beating the team's test driver Bruno Junqueira in a 'shoot-out' test. Button replaced Alessandro Zanardi at the team. The Italian returned to motor racing in 2001 when he rejoined the CART championship.
Toranosuke Takagi left Formula One to drive for Nakajima Racing in Formula Nippon, where he won the 2000 title. His place at Arrows was taken by Jos Verstappen, whose previous Formula One race had been the 1998 Japanese Grand Prix, when he was driving for Stewart.
Gastón Mazzacane was promoted to a Minardi race drive for 2000, after spending the previous season as their test driver. The Argentine driver took the place of Luca Badoer, who was unable to find a race seat, and so focused on his role as test driver for Ferrari. Stéphane Sarrazin, who had driven for Minardi at the 1999 Brazilian Grand Prix, became the test driver for Prost.
Mid-season changes
Jaguar test driver Luciano Burti made his racing debut at Austria, replacing the ill Eddie Irvine.
Regulation changes
To keep costs down, the V10 engine configuration was made fully mandatory in 2000 so that engine builders would not develop and experiment with other configurations. The V10 configuration had been the most popular since the banning of turbocharged engines in 1989, and no other configuration had been used since 1998.
A change to red flag procedure was introduced, where races stopped after two laps but before three-quarters race distance had been completed would be restarted with the cars lining up on the grid in the order they were at the end of the penultimate lap before the lap during which the red flag was shown. Only the race order and number of laps completed were taken into account for the restarted race, with time differences between the cars voided; as such, the distance of the restarted race became the number of laps remaining from the original races, deducted by three.
On 7 September, the FIA announced that using cooled fuel during a Grand Prix would be banned "with immediate effect".
This was the last full season for cars competing without traction control, launch control, and fully-automatic gearboxes, until the and seasons, respectively. (Note: Traction control was reintroduced five races into the season, at the Spanish Grand Prix.)
Season calendar
Report
The main changes among the top teams were that Eddie Irvine was replaced by Rubens Barrichello at Ferrari and at Jordan, former world champion Damon Hill had retired, and was replaced by Jarno Trulli.
The first race of the season was in Australia, and the top five placings were similar to the previous year. The McLaren pair of world champion Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard started 1–2 ahead of the Ferrari pair of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello. The Jordans of Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Jarno Trulli were fifth and sixth. During the race, the McLarens kept their positions at the start, while Barrichello lost out to Frentzen. The McLarens pulled away from Michael Schumacher, but on lap ten, Coulthard retired with a misfire. Häkkinen's engine blew up nine laps later, giving the lead to Schumacher. Neither Jordan also lasted the race, Frentzen retiring with a hydraulic failure from second, and Trulli with an engine failure from fourth. All this gave Ferrari an easy 1–2 with Schumacher winning from Barrichello, with Ralf Schumacher, driving for Williams completing the podium.
For the second round in Brazil, the top four were the same again in qualifying, with Häkkinen and Coulthard starting 1–2 ahead of Michael Schumacher and Barrichello. Schumacher, who was on a two-stop strategy took the lead within two laps, built up a 20-second gap, and pitted. He rejoined in second, behind Häkkinen. Coulthard was suffering from gearbox problems, and so was not quick enough. Barrichello, who was also on a two-stopper was stuck behind Häkkinen for 15 laps, before passing him, and this compromised his race. He rejoined fourth after his stop, but his engine blew up soon after. Häkkinen was starting to edge away from Michael Schumacher, until he had to retire with an oil leak. This gave Schumacher the win, ahead of Coulthard and Giancarlo Fisichella. There was controversy after the race when all the drivers in the top six with the exception of Fisichella were excluded because of problems with their wooden floors. The teams appealed but when the FIA was scrutineering the cars again, they found out that the front wing endplates on Coulthard's car were lower than they should have been. Thus, the position of everyone except for Coulthard was reinstated. The final top three were: Michael Schumacher, Fisichella and Frentzen. Notably, Jenson Button was sixth, and got his first ever championship point. He also set the record for the youngest F1 driver to score a point.
After two rounds, Michael Schumacher had a maximum 20 out of 20 points, and no one else had even ten, and notably both McLaren drivers had none. Second was Fisichella with 8, with Barrichello third with 6. Ferrari also had a big lead in the Constructors' Championship with 26 points, the second being Benetton with 8, and the third being Williams with 7. McLaren had none.
The third round was in San Marino, and Häkkinen took his third consecutive pole, with Michael Schumacher splitting the McLarens, and Barrichello was fourth. Häkkinen and Schumacher maintained their positions at the start, while Barrichello got past Coulthard. The race developed into a battle between Häkkinen and Schumacher, and quick in and out laps during the second round of pitstops enabled the latter to take the lead. Schumacher won, with Häkkinen second, and Coulthard third ahead of Barrichello.
The European season started off in Britain, and in a wet-dry qualifying, Barrichello took his third pole position of his career, beating Frentzen by three-thousandth of a second, with the McLarens on the second row, Häkkinen ahead of Coulthard. Michael Schumacher could manage only fifth. At the start, the top two got away well and kept their places, while Coulthard got ahead of his teammate, and Schumacher lost three places. Frentzen was on a two-stop strategy, and pitted, leaving Barrichello leading from Coulthard and Häkkinen. Barrichello kept a gap till his car started suffering from engine and hydraulic problems, and Coulthard took the lead on lap 30 with a superb passing manoeuvre on the outside at Stowe. He pitted two laps later, giving back the lead to the fading Barrichello. Barrichello hung around until lap 35 when he spun at Luffield, and drove his car to the pits only to find out his team weren't ready. He waited until the stop was over, only to find out that he couldn't restart the car as his hydraulics had completely failed.
This left him with no option but to retire. Frentzen now led, but after his second stop he rejoined fourth behind the McLarens and the Ferrari of Schumacher. Frentzen's gearbox failed 6 laps from the end, forcing him to retire. Coulthard took his second consecutive home victory, ahead of Häkkinen who completed the McLaren 1–2, with Schumacher third.
The win got Coulthard to second in the standings with 14 points, but 20 behind Michael Schumacher who had 34. Häkkinen had 12, and Barrichello and Ralf Schumacher had nine. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari had 43 points, while McLaren had 26.
Round five was in Spain, and Michael Schumacher took his first pole of the year ahead of Häkkinen, Barrichello and Coulthard (who was not 100% fit after a plane crash in France). Schumacher and Häkkinen stayed first and second after the start, but their teammates had lost out to Ralf Schumacher. Michael Schumacher stalled during the second round of stops, and lost the lead to Häkkinen. After the stops, Michael Schumacher had a problem with his tyres, and was passed by Coulthard, Ralf Schumacher and Barrichello. He then pitted, and rejoined fifth. Häkkinen took his first win of the season, with Coulthard making it a second successive McLaren 1–2, and Barrichello completed the podium. Michael Schumacher was fifth behind his brother.
The European Grand Prix, held at the Nurburgring in Germany was next. Coulthard took pole ahead of Michael Schumacher, Häkkinen and Barrichello. Coulthard did not have a great start and was quickly passed by Schumacher. Häkkinen, however, had a blinder and shot past both of them. And then the rain came, resulting in Schumacher passing Häkkinen on lap 11 at the chicane. Schumacher kept the lead, Coulthard passed Häkkinen, and Barrichello was down in ninth. Häkkinen passed Coulthard, who was struggling badly with a problem. There were no more changes at the front. Schumacher won from Häkkinen, Coulthard was third but was lapped, and Barrichello charged back up from ninth to fourth.
With over a third of the season complete, Michael Schumacher led the championship with 46 points, Häkkinen was second with 28, Coulthard was third with 24, and Barrichello was fourth with 16. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari had 62 points, McLaren had 52, and Williams were best of the rest with 15.
The glamorous Monaco Grand Prix was the seventh round, and Michael Schumacher eased to pole. Jordan found some pace, with Trulli getting second ahead of Coulthard, and Frentzen fourth ahead of Häkkinen. As the race started, the top drivers maintained their places, but in the midfield, Jenson Button tipped Pedro de la Rosa into a spin, blocking the track. The race had to be red-flagged. Out came the second start, and all the drivers started cleanly. The Jordans were not as quick as they were in qualifying, and Trulli was clearly holding up Coulthard, and the latter could do nothing about it. Schumacher shot out into the distance at a second a lap. Then, on lap 37, Trulli retired with a gearbox failure, releasing Coulthard. Coulthard closed in on Schumacher, but with a gap of 36 seconds, there was nothing much he could do until Schumacher suffered suspension failure on the 55th lap, forcing him to retire. Häkkinen was fifth until he slowed down with a problem. The team were able to fix it and send him back out again. Frentzen, who was running second punted his car into the wall with eight laps to go, in an attrition-filled race. Coulthard took the win, ahead of Barrichello and Giancarlo Fisichella, while Häkkinen mustered sixth place.
Now to North America for the Canadian GP. Michael Schumacher took pole ahead of Coulthard, Barrichello and Häkkinen. The top two kept their grid positions into the first corner, but Jacques Villeneuve was up to third ahead of Barrichello and Häkkinen. This allowed the top two to pull away. And then Coulthard was given a ten-second stop-and-go penalty because his mechanics worked on his car less than 15 seconds before the parade lap. He rejoined in the midfield. Barrichello passed Villeneuve on lap 25, but the gap to Schumacher was 27 seconds. Häkkinen took third from Villeneuve on lap 28, and the order settled down until it started raining. Everyone pitted for wets, and the order was shuffled completely. Schumacher stayed first, but Fischella had got ahead of Barrichello and Häkkinen, with Trulli fifth. A mistake from Fisichella allowed Barrichello through into second. Michael Schumacher took his fifth win of the season, with Barrichello making it a Ferrari 1–2 ahead of Fisichella. Häkkinen had to be content with fourth.
With nearly half the season over, Michael Schumacher had a 22-point lead in the standings, with 56 points to Coulthard's 34. Häkkinen and Barrichello were not far behind, with 32 and 28 points respectively. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari had an 18-point lead over McLaren, with 84 points to the McLaren's 66. Benetton were third with 18.
The French Grand Prix was next on the calendar. Michael Schumacher took his third consecutive pole, and again Coulthard was second, Barrichello third and Häkkinen fourth. When the race started, Schumacher kept first but Coulthard was beaten by Barrichello. Schumacher slowly started to pull away from his teammate and built a lead. Coulthard's car handled better as the fuel load decreased, and on lap 22, he passed Barrichello. During the round of pitstops, Barrichello lost out to Häkkinen. Schumacher's tyres were badly blistered, and so the McLarens and Barrichello started to close in on him. Coulthard tried to pass him at the outside of the Adelaide hairpin but Schumacher pushed him wide. Coulthard was not happy and made a series of irate gestures. A few laps later, Coulthard went for the inside at the same corner and made the move cleanly. Coulthard apologized for his gestures after the race. Schumacher kept second until 12 laps from the end when his engine blew up. Coulthard won, with Häkkinen making it a McLaren 1–2, and Barrichello completed the podium.
The A1-Ring in Austria was the host for Round ten. Häkkinen and Coulthard started 1–2, for the first time since Brazil, with the Ferraris of Barrichello and Schumacher in third and fourth respectively. The McLarens maintained their positions at the start, but there was carnage behind, with the Ferraris at the centre. Trulli hit the back of Barrichello, and at the same time, Ricardo Zonta hit Schumacher, tipping him to a spin. Schumacher spun in Trulli's path, causing a collision between the two drivers that lead to their retirements from the race. During the mayhem that followed, Mika Salo emerged third and Pedro de la Rosa emerged fourth, with Barrichello down in ninth. The McLarens quickly disappeared into the distance, while de la Rosa took third from Salo. Barrichello charged back up to fourth, which became third when de la Rosa's engine failed, putting him out from third. Häkkinen and Coulthard gave McLaren their fourth 1–2, with Barrichello finishing third. After the race, McLaren were penalized and lost 10 Constructors' Championship points because an FIA seal was found to be missing from Häkkinen's car; Häkkinen did not lose any points.
With ten races out of 17 finished, Michael Schumacher led the championship with 56 points, whilst Coulthard was only 6 points behind with 50, and Häkkinen a further two points behind with 48. Barrichello was fourth with 36, and Fisichella was fifth with 18. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari led by only 4 points now, with 92 compared to McLaren's 88. Williams were third with 19.
Now to Germany, and Coulthard took his second pole ahead of Michael Schumacher, with Fisichella taking third from Häkkinen in a dry-wet qualifying. Häkkinen had one of his best ever starts, and shot up to first even before the first corner. Schumacher was hit from behind by Fisichella, and both were punted into the wall. This left Häkkinen and Coulthard running 1–2, with no one to challenge them. After 25 laps out of 44, the McLarens were half a minute ahead of third-placed Trulli. de la Rosa was fourth, ahead of Barrichello who was both recovering from a bad qualifying. And then, a disgruntled Mercedes-Benz employee ran to the track with a banner. The safety car was out, while the man was taken away. Everyone took the chance to pit, and Coulthard lost out badly because McLaren could not take both their cars at the same time. As the race restarted, it started raining. However, it rained only in some portion of the track. Everyone with the exception of Barrichello and Frentzen pitted. This left Barrichello leading ahead of Frentzen, Häkkinen, Trulli and Coulthard. Those on dries were lapping as quick as those on wets. Trulli was given a stop-go penalty for overtaking under yellow flags. Frentzen lost second when his gearbox failed. This left Barrichello to take his first ever win ahead of Häkkinen and Coulthard.
The drivers went to Hungary for the next round, and Michael Schumacher took pole ahead of Coulthard, Häkkinen, Ralf Schumacher and Barrichello. Häkkinen again started like a rocket, and beat both Michael Schumacher and Coulthard into the first corner. Häkkinen pulled away, and Coulthard was held up by Schumacher. Coulthard would have got in front of Schumacher at the second round of stops, but lost time behind Gastón Mazzacane and then Marc Gené. This meant he emerged a fraction behind Schumacher. Häkkinen won, with Schumacher and Coulthard making up the podium. Barrichello beat Ralf to fourth.
Häkkinen's win had now given him the lead in the championship, with 64 points to Schumacher's 62. Coulthard was third with 58, and Barrichello fourth with 49. Fisichella was fifth with 18. In the Constructors' Championship, McLaren took the lead from Ferrari, a lead of 1 point, with 112 compared to Ferrari's 111. Williams were third with 24.
Round 13 out of 17 was in Belgium. Häkkinen took pole, and much to his joy, Trulli and Button took second and third, pushing Michael Schumacher and Coulthard down to fourth and fifth. It was wet at the start, but the top 5 maintained their positions. Häkkinen immediately set about building up a lead. On lap five, Button tried to pass Trulli, and they collided. Trulli was out, and Button lost places. Schumacher and Coulthard gladly took second and third. The former now started to close in on Häkkinen, and took the lead when Häkkinen had a half-spin on lap 12. As the track dried out, everyone changed from wet to dry tyres. Coulthard stayed out too long, and dropped from third to ninth. On a dry track, Häkkinen was faster than Schumacher, and chased him down. With four laps to go, he made a move, but Schumacher turned at him and forced him to the grass at 200 mph. On the next lap, when they were coming to lap Ricardo Zonta, the two men took either sides, and when they turned, Häkkinen was ahead. Häkkinen went on to win and Schumacher had to be content with second. Ralf was third, and Coulthard bounced back to finish fourth.
The next round was in Italy, the home of Ferrari. Their drivers did not disappoint, Schumacher and Barrichello giving them their first 1–2 start of the season, ahead of Häkkinen, Villeneuve and Coulthard. At the start, Schumacher and the McLarens started well, but Barrichello and Villeneuve started badly. Schumacher and Häkkinen were first and second, with Coulthard third. Into the second chicane, and Frentzen just braked too late, and hit the back of Barrichello and Trulli, who were running side by side. All three spun, and Coulthard too was collected in the confusion. Later, it came out that a fire marshal, Paolo Ghislimberti had been killed after he was hit on the chest by a wheel from this collision. The top three at the end of this carnage were: Michael Schumacher, Häkkinen and Ralf Schumacher. The race restarted after 10 laps behind the safety car, and Michael Schumacher and Häkkinen quickly pulled away from the rest. Häkkinen tried to outpace Schumacher, but he was just not as quick as the latter. Michael Schumacher took his sixth win of the year, ahead of Häkkinen and Ralf. After the race, Schumacher burst into tears in the press conference, when told that he had equalled Ayrton Senna's record of 41 wins, and about Ghislimberti's death.
With three more races to go, Häkkinen still led Michael Schumacher by two points, with 80 compared to the latter's 78. Coulthard was all but out of it, and was third with 61. Barrichello was fourth with 49, Ralf was fifth with 20, and Fisichella sixth with 18. In the Constructors' Championship, McLaren had 131 points, and a lead of four points over Ferrari who had 127. Williams was third with 30.
The United States Grand Prix hosted the 15th round, and Michael Schumacher took his seventh pole of the season. Coulthard was second, with Häkkinen and Barrichello third and fourth. Before the race, it rained, and so everyone started on wet tyres. The red lights stayed longer than usual for the start, and Coulthard took off a little too early. This gave him the lead, but it was clear that he would suffer a penalty. He led, ahead of Schumacher and Häkkinen. He knew he would have to suffer a penalty, and blocked Schumacher so that his teammate could close in. Schumacher was having none of it, and passed Coulthard on lap 7 at the first corner. The track began to dry out, and Häkkinen pitted for dries. He came out behind Gastón Mazzacane, and was stuck there. Coulthard soon had his penalty and dropped out of contention. The Ferraris stayed out late, and while Schumacher was ten seconds in the lead, Barrichello rejoined in the mid-field. The top three after the change for dries were Michael Schumacher, Häkkinen and Ralf Schumacher. Häkkinen set a string of fastest laps, and closed down a ten-second gap to Michael Schumacher to four in ten laps, only for his engine to blow up on lap 25. Michael Schumacher was left with a big lead ahead of his brother, which became even bigger when Ralf's engine failed with 12 laps to go, giving second to Frentzen. Frentzen, however was soon passed by a charging Barrichello. Schumacher had a spin towards the end, but hit nothing and survived. He went on to win, with Barrichello making it a Ferrari 1–2, and Frentzen completed the podium.
This win, coupled with Häkkinen's retirement gave Schumacher an eight-point lead, meaning that a win in the next race would give him the title. The result also gave Ferrari the lead in the Constructors' Championship.
The penultimate round was in Japan, and Michael Schumacher beat Häkkinen to pole by 0.009 seconds. Coulthard was third and Barrichello fourth. The race started in overcast conditions, with rain looming. Häkkinen started off better than Schumacher and took the lead. Coulthard maintained third. The two title contenders, Häkkinen and Schumacher pulled away from the others at over a second a lap and were separated by 2–3 seconds. The first round of stops changed nothing. Then, some rain started spitting down at the track, and Schumacher started to close in. Schumacher's second pitstop was three laps after Häkkinen's, and although he was two seconds behind Häkkinen before the stops, he came out four seconds ahead. Schumacher won the race, and the championship, with Häkkinen and Coulthard completing the podium. Barrichello finished fourth.
The final round of the season was in Malaysia. Michael Schumacher took pole again, ahead of Häkkinen, Coulthard and a flu-ridden Barrichello. Schumacher had a poor start from pole, and immediately both McLarens were ahead of him. However, it became clear that Häkkinen had jumped the start and he received a penalty. He let Coulthard through, and held up the Ferraris until he went in for the penalty. Coulthard had a good lead, but wasted it by running wide at Turn three. He pitted before Michael Schumacher, and the time he lost by the mistake gave the lead to Schumacher. The two ran together for the rest of the race, with Barrichello unable to keep up. Michael Schumacher won again, ahead of Coulthard and Barrichello, and this ensured the Constructors' Championship for Ferrari. Häkkinen charged back to finish fourth.
At the end of the season, Michael Schumacher was champion with 108 points, Häkkinen was second with 89, Coulthard third with 73, Barrichello fourth with 62, Ralf Schumacher fifth with 24, and Fisichella sixth with 18. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari won with 170 points, McLaren was second with 152, and Williams was third with 36.
Safety car
For this season, the safety car remained the Mercedes-Benz CL55 AMG, which was introduced in 1999.
Results and standings
Grands Prix
Scoring system
Points were awarded to the top six finishers in each race as follows:
World Drivers' Championship standings
Notes:
– Driver did not finish the Grand Prix but was classified, as he completed more than 90% of the race distance.
World Constructors' Championship standings
Notes:
– Driver did not finish the Grand Prix but was classified, as he completed more than 90% of the race distance.
Notes
References
External links
formula1.com – 2000 official driver standings (archived)
formula1.com – 2000 official team standings (archived)
2000 Formula One Sporting Regulations Retrieved from web.archive.org on 4 June 2012
2000 Formula One Technical Regulations Retrieved from web.archive.org on 4 June 2012
Formula One seasons
Formula 1 | en |
doc-en-7818 | A teen situation comedy, or teen sitcom, is a subgenre of comedic television program targeted towards young people. In general, these type of programs focus primarily on characters between 11 and 19 years of age and routinely feature characters involved in humorous situations (either realistic or fantasy in style, depending on the program's plotline), and often focus on the characters' family and social lives. The primary plot of each episode often involves the protagonist(s) the program centers on, while secondary plotlines often focus on the character(s') parents, siblings (those not among the leads, if any) or friends, although the secondary characters may sometimes also or instead be involved in the episode's main plot.
The most common episodic plot lines used in teen sitcoms involve the protagonist(s) dealing with family and friends, ending up in a complicated situation (such as the protagonist's parents not allowing them to try out for a school sports team because of their gender) that the characters must solve by episode's end, getting into moral conflicts with their parents, friends, relatives, or siblings, and coming-of-age situations (such as a first date or learning how to drive); however, more dramatic and shocking plot elements or ones which center on undesirable (such as bullying, anxiety, peer pressure, dirty cops, excessive force, underage alcoholism, and possibly even substance abuse) may be featured as well, in what are sometimes called "very special episodes".
Although adolescents are the main audience focus for these programs, these programs are also popular with young adults as well as preteens. Older adults may enjoy them for nostalgic purposes. Like teen dramas, this genre was also generally non-existent during the first 30 years of television.
History
1940s–1980s
When sitcoms reached their peak in the 1950s and 1960s, these programs were supposed to be family-oriented. Sitcoms of the 1950s and 1960s such as Leave it to Beaver, Father Knows Best, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and The Donna Reed Show were popular with teenagers, along with the entire family. The teen movie genre was popular during the 1960s and led the way towards the teen sitcom genre.
The earliest ancestor of the teen sitcom was Meet Corliss Archer, a TV adaptation of a popular radio show about a teenage girl which aired briefly in syndication in 1954. The first teen sitcom on a major network was The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, a 1959–1963 CBS sitcom based on collegiate short stories by humorist Max Shulman. Dobie Gillis followed the adventures of a teenage boy and his friends through high school, the military, and college, and was the first U.S. network television program to feature teenagers (played by Dwayne Hickman and Bob Denver, actors in their twenties at the time) as its lead characters.
In the mid-1960s, the creation of sitcoms such as The Monkees and Gidget were primarily targeted towards teenage audiences. The 1969–1974 ABC sitcom The Brady Bunch was very popular with younger audiences, especially pre-teens and younger teenagers, as was its competitor The Partridge Family, which premiered in 1970. These shows are very similar to the "tween" orientated shows that have aired in more recent years such as Hannah Montana. The 1970s also featured teen sitcoms such as What's Happening!!, Happy Days and Welcome Back, Kotter.
During the 1980s, television series such as The Facts of Life, Silver Spoons, Square Pegs, Family Ties, The Hogan Family, Who's The Boss?, Growing Pains, The New Leave It To Beaver, My Two Dads, and Good Morning, Miss Bliss (later known as Saved By The Bell) were extremely popular especially among the younger demographic.
1990s onward
Teen-oriented sitcoms have become more popular since the 1990s; during that decade, these type of programs gradually became fairly common on both broadcast and cable networks. Although pertinent social issues relating to the demographic were featured in earlier series, Blossom regularly focused on such issues, with episodes dealing with subject matter such as drug use, guns and teen sex.
ABC
Several sitcoms aired on ABC during the early and mid-1990s were aimed primarily at teenage audiences as well as families; most of them aired as part of TGIF, the network's popular Friday night comedy block that originally ran from 1989 to 2000. Such examples include Step by Step (which focused on a blended family and regularly focused on the exploits of the six younger characters), Boy Meets World (similar in format to The Wonder Years, which ended before Boy Meets World debuted in 1993, both of which focused on a boy dealing with the challenges that come with growing into adolescence) and Family Matters (which originated as a family sitcom spun off from the family-friendly though adult-centered Perfect Strangers, but soon shifted more of its focus towards its teenage characters due to the popularity of the character of nerdy high school (and later, college) student Steve Urkel).
Other short-lived series that featured teenage protagonists included Sister, Sister (which aired during the 1994–1995 season but was cancelled and promptly moved to The WB and Clueless (aired during the 1996–1997 season but later moved to CBS; based on the hit 1995 comedy film starring teen idol Alicia Silverstone).
One of the TGIF's biggest hits was Sabrina, the Teenage Witch which debuted in 1996. It starred Melissa Joan Hart whom was previously known to young audiences in the hit Nickelodeon teen sitcom Clarissa Explains It All which aired from 1991 to 1994. Sabrina was based on a popular Archie Comics character that was featured in an animated series from the early 1970s and a 1996 TV movie of the same name that aired on Showtime. The franchise focused on the adventures of the eponymous main character who tries to live a normal life as a teenager and later young adult while dealing with being a half-witch/half-mortal; Sabrina ran for four seasons on ABC and an additional three on The WB).
Though TGIF was originally geared towards families, the success of Sabrina, The Teenage Witch and Boy Meets World which had its teenage cast become teen idols and the transfer of its more successful sitcoms like Step by Step and Family Matters (which by that point was more focused on the young adult cast) to CBS in 1997, led to the block's shift towards teen-oriented sitcoms that fall. In order to capitalize on the success of Sabrina, TGIF introduced two new fantasy comedies (albeit with male protagonists): Teen Angel (which heavily leaned towards a teenage demographic with its three male protagonists) and You Wish (which had more a family-oriented demographic). However, neither managed to find an audience and were cancelled after only a season.
Another attempt at a teenage demographic came with the 1999 sitcom Odd Man Out which heavily promoted its teenage lead star Erik Von Detten (nicknamed "EVD") who was already popular with the teenage female audience from his previous roles in Disney media such as So Weird and Brink! and the Universal film Leave It to Beaver. However like Teen Angel, it failed to reach its intended audience and was cancelled after one season. Detten would later star in another short-lived TGIF sitcom, Complete Savages (2004-2005) which consisted of a predominately teenage male cast with a dysfunctional sibling dynamic a la Malcolm in the Middle.
Over time, the Big Three television networks (ABC, CBS and NBC) began shifting away from family-oriented comedies toward comedy series focused on adults (although some family comedies have continued to return on those networks since then), teen sitcoms for the most part began to shift more towards broadcast networks intentionally aimed at younger audiences than the Big Three and cable television.
NBC
In 1989, the sitcom Saved by the Bell (a retooling of the 1987–88 Disney Channel comedy Good Morning, Miss Bliss) premiered on NBC. The series quickly became a fan favorite and one of the most highly rated and popular teen shows of all time. Saved by the Bell had its main characters go through typical teen issues and the drama of high school, though the series was very comical and the issues were often resolved before the end of the episode. Notably, Saved by the Bell featured teenage archetypes and stereotypes. Saved by the Bell kept its Saturday morning slot until 1993, when it ended after four seasons (by the final season, two main characters – Kelly Kapowski (Tiffani Thiessen) and Jessie Spano (Elizabeth Berkley) – departed from the series and were replaced by a new character).
Saved by the Bell spawned a short-lived spin-off Saved by the Bell: The College Years, which aired in primetime and only lasted one season; another spin-off, Saved by the Bell: The New Class, lasted for seven years (although it was notable for reusing plotlines originating in episodes of the original Saved by the Bell series). The series was responsible for the creation of NBC's TNBC Saturday morning block, which was targeted towards teenagers. The block also featured comedies such as California Dreams (focusing on an aspiring band), Hang Time (centering on the players and cheerleaders of a high school basketball team), City Guys (centering on the developing friendship of two New York City high school students of different backgrounds and races) and One World (focusing on a family in which all six children are adopted from different backgrounds). The vast majority of the series on the TNBC block were produced by Peter Engel.
Fox, The WB and UPN
Fox, The WB and UPN were each launched (respectively in 1986 and 1995) with target audiences aimed at teenagers and adults between the ages of 12 and 34. Fox aired teen dramas such as Beverly Hills, 90210 and Party of Five and sitcoms such as That '70s Show, Malcolm in the Middle, Married... with Children (in which its teen characters, who grew into adults over the 11-year run sometimes alternated between being part of the main plot and the secondary plot) and Parker Lewis Can't Lose.
That '70s Show was a hit with both teenage and adult audiences, and focused on the lives of six teenage friends living in Wisconsin between 1976 and 1979; despite the short time period it was set in, the sitcom aired for eight years on Fox due to the use of a floating timeline. While Malcolm in the Middle was targeted towards an adult demographic, it featured a predominately adolescent-to-young adult male cast which led to its popularity with younger viewers and launched the career of teen idol Frankie Muniz.
The WB and UPN were popular destinations for teen sitcoms. The WB's earliest comedies with teens as the central characters included Sister, Sister (which originated on ABC from 1994 to 1999; about teenage twin sisters who accidentally reunite while at a clothing store with their respective adopted parents after being separated after they were born 15 years earlier, resulting in Tia Landry (Tia Mowry) and her mother Lisa (Jackée Harry) moving in the house belonging to Tamera Campbell (Tamera Mowry) and her father Ray (Tim Reid)) and Unhappily Ever After (originally centering on the divorcing parents of three children, but shifted its primary focus on the latter characters, specifically attractive but intelligent redhead Tiffany Malloy (Nikki Cox) and her less-than-bright brother Ryan (Kevin Connolly)).
In 2002, What I Like About You debuted on The WB – centering on spontaneous, wild 16-year-old Holly Tyler (portrayed by former Nickelodeon star Amanda Bynes), who convinces her father – who accepts a job position in Japan – to let her live with her neurotic, uptight older sister Valerie (portrayed by former 90210 star Jennie Garth). In general, The WB put much of its programming focus during the network's 11-year existence on teen-oriented series (attempting to broaden its audience in its final two years), which alongside comedy series had also included dramas such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and One Tree Hill.
UPN's sitcoms largely (with few exceptions) were aimed at African-American audiences; such programs aimed at teens included Moesha, which focused on African-American teenager Moesha Mitchell (portrayed by singer Brandy) and her family and friends. The 2001–06 sitcom One on One, centered on Breanna Barnes (Kyla Pratt), who (in a relatively similar concept as What I Like About You) convinces her mother to let her live with her father Flex Washington (Flex Alexander), a former basketball star who became a father to Breanna at age 18. Both The WB and UPN were shut down in September 2006, and were replaced by The CW (which carried series from both predecessor networks, including Everybody Hates Chris, which was loosely based on the adolescence of actor/comedian Chris Rock). The CW dropped sitcoms from its schedule in 2009 (when Everybody Hates Chris and the adult-targeted dramedy The Game were canceled), to focus more on its drama and reality series.
MTV
The creation of MTV in 1981 had gathered a majority of the teenage audience with the airing of back-to-back music videos. Over time (beginning in the early 1990s), MTV gradually shifted into its current format as a lifestyle and pop culture channel that airs a limited amount of music videos, mostly during the late night and early morning hours, instead focusing on reality shows, soap operas, sports, documentaries and music-related programs.
MTV aired series targeted towards teenagers such as TRL, a daily music countdown show; Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, a reality show focused around a group or rich teenagers living in California; and the latter's spinoff The Hills, which centered on former Laguna Beach cast member Lauren Conrad and her internship at Teen Vogue. During the 1990s, MTV aired the controversial animated series Beavis and Butt-head, which focused on the antics of two idiotic teenage slackers and their unsuccessful attempts at getting girls, though they often displayed gross, violent and crude behavior; a spinoff about one of the lead characters' former classmates, Daria, premiered in 1997 and focused around a cynical, sarcastic, intelligent yet monotone teenage girl and her stereotype-infested high school. In 2010, MTV premiered its first live action teen sitcom The Hard Times of RJ Berger, which became an instant hit although it would be canceled after two seasons. Awkward, which debuted in 2011, was another hit for the network and focuses on a teenage girl who tries to navigate through adolescence after the circumstances of a bathroom accident after reading an anonymous letter written about her, result in her notoriety once her high school classmates believe she attempted suicide.
Nickelodeon
Children's cable channel Nickelodeon had begun its own trend of producing teen sitcoms in the late 1980s; one of the earliest was the 1989–93 series Hey Dude, which focused on a group of teenagers working at a dude ranch; the network's most popular comedy of the 1990s was Clarissa Explains It All, running from 1991 to 1994 and starring then-unknown actress Melissa Joan Hart, which focused around Clarissa Darling, a typical teenager that faced typical teen issues and an aggravating younger brother. The series debunked a long-held belief that a children's series that centered on a female character would not be popular with boys, in fact, Clarissa was widely popular among children of both genders (Hart would later star in the hit sitcom Sabrina, the Teenage Witch which further would catapult her further into teen stardom).
In the same year as Clarissa, Nickelodeon also premiered Salute Your Shorts, a sitcom following the various hijinks of teenage campers at Camp Anawanna and Welcome Freshmen, a subversive take on the high school sitcom which featured a mix of comedy skits, a glaring lack of educational and moral lessons, sexual innuendo and cynical main characters. However, neither managed to reach the success of Clarissa which outlived both series by a year. The year 1992 saw the introduction of the network's popular long-running primetime block SNICK (contraction of Saturday Night Nick) and the network's first in-house sketch comedy/variety series Roundhouse. While hugely unsuccessful in the ratings, Roundhouse still was innovative in some ways such as featuring a large diverse teenage cast and an urban setting which stood out from the predominately white suburban environment of the Nickelodeon's past series.
From 1993 to 1994, Nickelodeon aired The Adventures of Pete & Pete (which grew to have a strong cult following over the years), The Secret World of Alex Mack (a female driven series like Clarissa which was also a success, having a four-year run) and the short-lived My Brother and Me (which serves as a milestone as Nickelodeon's first black sitcom). The year 1994 marked the premiere of highly successful sketch comedy series All That which highlighted a multiethnic cast similar to its predecessor Roundhouse but unlike its predecessor, All That enjoyed a decade of popularity ending its long run in 2005. All That was also a vital starting point of Dan Schneider's relationship with Nickelodeon and started the careers of several successful teen actors associated with the network's brand.
In 1996, Nickelodeon debuted Kenan & Kel (the first spin-off of All That which became a hit sitcom for the network), in 1998, Cousin Skeeter, and in 1999, The Amanda Show (the second spin-off of All That which remains one of Nickelodeon's highest rated series and launched the career of teen idol Amanda Bynes) and 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd.
From the 2000s onward, Nickelodeon has aired The Brothers Garcia, Noah Knows Best, As Told by Ginger, The Nick Cannon Show (spun-off from All That), Taina (a predecessor to Victorious), Drake & Josh (spun-off from The Amanda Show), Romeo!, Unfabulous, Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, Zoey 101 (spun-off from All That), Mr. Meaty, Just Jordan, iCarly (spun-off from Drake & Josh and grew to become one of longest-running and the highest rated live-action series in Nickelodeon history), True Jackson, VP, Big Time Rush, The Troop, Bucket & Skinner's Epic Adventures, How to Rock, Victorious (spun-off from Zoey 101 and served as the launching pad for pop star Ariana Grande's music career), Sam & Cat (spun-off from iCarly and Victorious), Supah Ninjas, The Thundermans, Every Witch Way, Bella and the Bulldogs, Henry Danger, Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn, and Talia in the Kitchen, all of which are targeted towards older children and teenagers along with adults.
Its teen comedies, as well as animated and dramatic series, populated the longest-running SNICK block that ran from 1992 to 2005; SNICK was replaced by TEENick as the network's block for teen comedy in 2002, the same year which Nickelodeon launched The N (as an evening program block on Noggin, it has since been spun off into a separate cable channel that is now known as TeenNick), which is devoted to airing teen sitcoms (outside of the network's nighttime block).
Disney Channel
Launched in 1983, Disney Channel was originally a premium channel geared towards young children, families and adults. However, in 1988, the channel made its first attempt to appeal to an adolescent audience with its first original sitcom Good Morning, Miss Bliss. Miss Bliss detailed the lives of middle schoolers who got into various wacky adventures but had the guidance of their kind-hearted homeroom teacher Miss Bliss (portrayed by Hayley Mills of The Parent Trap fame). It was short-lived and was retooled later into NBC's Saved by the Bell which enjoyed much more success on the broadcast network and syndication.
Another attempt came with 1989 reboot of The Mickey Mouse Club (MMC) which contained a mix of sketch comedy, musical and dance numbers (often covers of then-popular pop songs), celebrity guest stars and serial dramas. As opposed to its counterpart Kids Incorporated (also airing on Disney Channel) which was aimed squarely at children, MMC'''s demographic skewed towards older children and teenagers. It was not only a huge success for the premium channel but served as a testing ground for the channel's earliest attempts at creating a brand of teen pop stars. Two pop groups were spawned from the variety show: The Party and MMC, both contained the most popular cast members at the time. A few years after MMC ended, a handful of former cast members would go on to have successful careers in music and film including: Britney Spears, Ryan Gosling, Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez (who both became members of the popular boy band *NSYNC), Christina Aguilera and Keri Russell.
During the 1990s and 2000s, Disney Channel would begin to air reruns of teen-themed comedies and dramas with foreign and Canadian imports such as Eerie, Indiana, The Baby-Sitters Club, Ready or Not, The Torkelsons, Growing Pains, Brotherly Love, Smart Guy, Ocean Girl, Dinosaurs, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, Boy Meets World, Sister, Sister, Life with Derek and Naturally, Sadie.
In 1997, Disney Channel began the transition into the basic cable market (which was completed nationwide by 2002) and underwent a network overhaul. This overhaul involved the network shifting its main focus to "tweens" and young teenagers which culminated in the 1998 launch of the Zoog Disney brand. Zoog Disney was a primetime and weekend block hosted by animated teenage cyber-creatures called "Zoogs" and featured original series and films, live concerts and music videos of current teen pop artists, exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of upcoming Disney films, extreme sports clips and interstitials that promoted usage of the internet. These new original series included: Flash Forward (a coming-of-age comedy about two best friends in their last year of middle school), The Jersey (a sports-themed comedy about a magical jersey that places its teenage protagonists into the bodies of famous athletes), The Famous Jett Jackson (a dramedy about the star of an action television action series trying to balance life as a normal teenager), Bug Juice (a reality show about the adventures of teenagers at summer camp) and So Weird (a dramatic sci-fi series focusing around a teenage girl who attracts the paranormal/occult and often has to battle potential threats to humanity, despite the darker tone of its past seasons, the final season was re-tooled to have a lighter tone and highlighted the musical talents of the new protagonist).
Disney Channel's first truly successful sitcom was Even Stevens, centering on the sibling rivalry between lead characters Ren and Louis Stevens; it was followed one year later (in 2001) by Lizzie McGuire, which centered on a junior high school girl dealing with the onset of puberty, trying to become popular and other teen issues, and topped Even Stevens in popularity among viewers. That's So Raven, which mixed fantasy and real-life issues (centering on a girl who has psychic abilities that are only known by her friends and family), also became a major hit for Disney Channel; it was also the first Disney Channel series both to last four seasons and to reach 100 episodes.That's So Raven ultimately led to more "high concept" series to be produced for the channel, the most notable of which include Hannah Montana (centering on a girl who, until the series' fourth and last season, led a secret double life as a teen pop star; the series surpassed its predecessors in terms of popularity), The Suite Life of Zack and Cody (centering on twin brothers living in a hotel where their mother works as a singer and a smart blonde and a dumb Asian live here; it led to a spin-off set on a cruise ship featuring the majority of the original series' main cast, The Suite Life on Deck) and Wizards of Waverly Place (which surpassed That's So Raven as the longest-running Disney Channel series by number of episodes, ending its run with 106 episodes, and centered on three siblings vying to become the sole wizard of their family). The channel continues to produce comedies with a "high concept" plot, such as Jessie (focusing on a woman from Texas who becomes a nanny to four upper-class New York City children), Shake It Up (about two teenage girls who are dancers on a local music show), A.N.T. Farm (about middle school students transferred into a gifted high school education program), Austin & Ally (about a teen pop singer's relationship with a teenage songwriter) and Dog With a Blog (about a family whose pet dog is able to talk). However, shows with a more basic plotline are also featured such as Good Luck Charlie (focusing on the Duncan Family adjusting to the recent arrival of a new baby), Liv and Maddie (focusing on teenage twin sisters, one of whom is a former sitcom star, adjusting to life together in the same high school And Focus on The Rooney Family), I Didn't Do It (which outlines an incident involving the two lead characters each episode as explained by them), and Girl Meets World (which focuses on Boy Meets World characters, Cory and Topanga Matthews' teenage daughter, Riley as she navigates the challenges of life and being a teenager) which are all fairly popular with teenage audiences, as well as older children and young adults.
Disney Channel's comedy series, while not exclusively targeted for that audience, are geared more towards teen and preteen girls; in contrast, the channel's male-oriented spin-off network Disney XD, features series aimed at boys, although shows on each network are widely popular among both genders. Disney XD's sitcoms have included Zeke and Luther (about two teenage skateboarders), Crash & Bernstein (about a 12-year-old boy's friendship with a living puppet), Mighty Med (about a hospital for superheroes), I'm in the Band (about a teenage boy recruited as the new guitarist to a washed-up heavy metal band), Kickin' It (about a group of teenage students at a martial arts academy), Lab Rats (about three teen superheroes and a normal boy) and Pair of Kings'' (about two fraternal twin brothers who are connected to a royal family from a faraway kingdom).
See also
List of teen sitcoms
Teen magazine
Very special episodes
Notes
Television terminology
Television genres
Sitcom | en |
doc-en-9539 | Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. It was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries, in neighborhoods which had predominantly African descendants. The tango is the result of a combination of Rioplatense Candombe celebrations, Spanish-Cuban Habanera, and Argentinean Milonga. The tango was frequently practiced in the brothels and bars of ports, where business owners employed bands to entertain their patrons with music. The tango then spread to the rest of the world. Many variations of this dance currently exist around the world.
On August 31, 2009, UNESCO approved a joint proposal by Argentina and Uruguay to include the tango in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists.
History
Tango is a dance that has influences from African, South American and European culture. Dances from the candombe ceremonies of former African slave peoples helped shape the modern day tango. The dance originated in lower-class districts of Buenos Aires and Montevideo. The music derived from the fusion of various forms of music from Europe. The words "tango" and "tambo" around the River Plate basin were initially used to refer to musical gatherings of slaves, with written records of colonial authorities attempting to ban such gatherings as early as 1789.
Initially, it was just one of the many dances, but it soon became popular throughout society, as theatres and street barrel organs spread it from the suburbs to the working-class slums, which were packed with hundreds of thousands of European immigrants.
When the tango began to spread internationally around 1900, cultural norms were generally conservative, and so tango dancing was widely regarded as extremely sexual and inappropriate for public display. This led to a phenomenon of culture shock. Additionally, the combination of African, Native American and European cultural influences in tango was new and unusual to most of the Western world.
Many neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires have their particular tango histories: for example La Boca, San Telmo and Boedo. At Boedo Avenue, Cátulo Castillo, Homero Manzi and other singers and composers used to meet at the Japanese Cafe with the Boedo Group.
In the early years of the 20th century, dancers and orchestras from Buenos Aires travelled to Europe, and the first European tango craze took place in Paris, soon followed by London, Berlin, and other capitals. Tango historian Nardo Zalko, a native of Buenos Aires who lived most of his life in Paris, investigated the mutual fertilization between the two cities in his work, Paris – Buenos Aires, Un Siècle de Tango ("A Century of Tango"). Towards the end of 1913, it hit New York City as well as Finland. In the U.S., around 1911, the word "tango" was often applied to dances in a or rhythm such as the one-step. The term was fashionable and did not indicate that tango steps would be used in the dance, although they might be. Tango music was sometimes played but at a rather fast tempo. Instructors of the period would sometimes refer to this as a "North American tango", versus the so-called "Argentine tango". The tango was controversial because of its perceived sexual overtones and, by the end of 1913, the dance teachers who had introduced the dance to Paris were banished from the city. By 1914, more authentic tango stylings were soon developed, along with some variations like Albert Newman's "Minuet" tango.
In Argentina, the onset in 1929 of the Great Depression, and restrictions introduced after the overthrow of the Hipólito Yrigoyen government in 1930, caused tango to decline. Its fortunes were reversed in the late 1940s as the tango again became widely fashionable and a matter of national pride under the first Perón government, which in turn had a major effect on Argentinian culture overall. Mariano Mores played a significant role in the resurgence of the tango in 1950s Argentina. Mores's Taquito Militar was premiered in 1952 during a governmental speech by President Juan D. Perón, which generated a strong political and cultural controversy between different views of the concepts of "cultured" music and "popular" music, as well as the links between both "cultures".
Tango declined again in the late 1950s, as a result of economic depression and the banning of public gatherings by the military dictatorships; male-only tango practice—the custom at the time—was considered "public gathering". That, indirectly, boosted the popularity of rock and roll because, unlike tango, it did not require such gatherings. However, in the 1990s the tango again experienced a resurgence in Argentina due in large part to the endeavors of Osvaldo Peredo.
In 2009, the tango was added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists.
Etymology
There are several theories regarding the origin of the word tango, none of which has been proven. An African culture is often credited as the creator of this word; in particular, it is theorized that the word derives from the Yoruba word shangó, which refers to Shango, the God of Thunder in traditional Yoruba religion. This theory suggests that the word “shangó” was morphed through the dilution of the Nigerian language once it reached South America via slave trade. According to an alternative theory, tango is derived from the Spanish word for "drum", tambor. This word was then mispronounced by Buenos Aires’ lower-class inhabitants to become tambo, ultimately resulting in the common tango. It is also sometimes theorized that the word is derived from the Portuguese word tanger, which means "to play a musical instrument". Another Portuguese word, tangomão, a combination of the verb tanger ("to touch") with the noun mão ("hand") meaning "to play a musical instrument with one's hands", has been suggested as the etymon of tango.
According to some authors, tango is derived from the Kongo word ntangu which means "sun", "hour", "space-time".
Styles
The tango consists of a variety of styles that developed in different regions and eras of Argentina as well as in other locations around the world. The dance developed in response to many cultural elements, such as the crowding of the venue and even the fashions in clothing. The styles are mostly danced in either open embrace, where lead and follow have space between their bodies, or close embrace, where the lead and follow connect either chest-to-chest (Argentine tango) or in the upper thigh, hip area (American and International tango).
Different styles of tango are:
Tango aalon
Tango argentino
Tango canyengue
Tango fantasia
Tango liso
Tango oriental
Tango orillero
Tango salon
Tango camacupense (Angola)
Tango milonguero (tango apilado) (see also "Milonguero")
Tango nuevo (new tango)
Tango vals (Tango waltz)
Milonga
Ballroom tango
Finnish tango
Uruguayan tango
Maxixe (Brazilian tango)
These are danced to several types of music:
Tango
Electronic tango-inspired music (Tango electronico)
"Alternative tango", i.e. music that is an alternative to tango, or non-tango music employed for use in tango-inspired dance
The milonguero style is characterized by a very close embrace, small steps, and syncopated rhythmic footwork. It is based on the or style of the crowded downtown clubs of the 1950s.
In contrast, the tango that originated in the family clubs of the suburban neighborhoods (Villa Urquiza/Devoto/Avellaneda etc.) emphasizes long elegant steps, and complex figures. In this case the embrace may be allowed to open briefly, to permit execution of the complex footwork.
The complex figures of this style became the basis for a theatrical performance style of tango seen in the touring stage shows. For stage purposes, the embrace is often open, and the complex footwork is augmented with gymnastic lifts, kicks, and drops.
A newer style sometimes called tango nuevo or 'new tango' has been popularized in recent years by a younger generation of dancers. The embrace is often quite open and very elastic, permitting the leader to lead a large variety of very complex figures. This style is often associated with those who enjoy dancing to jazz- and techno-tinged "alternative tango" music, in addition to traditional tango compositions.
Tango de salon (salon tango)
Tango canyengue
Tango canyengue is a rhythmic style of tango that originated in the early 1900s and is still popular today. It is one of the original roots styles of tango and contains all fundamental elements of traditional Tango from the River Plate region (Uruguay and Argentina). In tango canyengue the dancers share one axis, dance in a closed embrace, and with the legs relaxed and slightly bent. Tango canyengue uses body dissociation for the leading, walking with firm ground contact, and a permanent combination of on- and off-beat rhythm. Its main characteristics are its musicality and playfulness. Its rhythm is described as "incisive, exciting, provocative".
The complex figures of this style became the basis for a theatrical performance style of Tango seen in the touring stage shows. For stage purposes, the embrace is often very open, and the complex footwork is augmented with gymnastic lifts, kicks, and drops.
Tango nuevo
A newer style sometimes called tango nuevo or 'new tango' was popularized after 1980 by a younger generation of musicians and dancers. Ástor Piazzolla, composer and virtuoso of the bandoneón (so-called "tango accordion") played a major role in the innovation of traditional tango music. The embrace is often quite open and very elastic, permitting the leader to initiate a great variety of very complex figures. This style is often associated with those who enjoy dancing to jazz- and techno-tinged, electronic and alternative music inspired in old tangos, in addition to traditional Tango compositions.
Tango nuevo is largely fueled by a fusion between tango music and electronica (), though the style can be adapted to traditional tango and even non-tango songs. Gotan Project released its first tango fusion album in 2000, quickly following with La Revancha del Tango in 2001. Bajofondo Tango Club, a Rioplatense music band consisting of seven musicians from Argentina and Uruguay, released their first album in 2002. Tanghetto's album Emigrante (electrotango) appeared in 2003 and was nominated for a Latin Grammy in 2004. These and other electronic tango fusion songs bring an element of revitalization to the tango dance, serving to attract a younger group of dancers.
New tango songs
In the second half of the 1990s, a movement of new tango songs was born in Buenos Aires. It was mainly influenced by the old orchestra style rather than by Piazzolla's renewal and experiments with electronic music. The novelty lies in the new songs, with today's lyrics and language, which find inspiration in a wide variety of contemporary styles.
In the 2000s, the movement grew with prominent figures such as the Orquesta Típica Fernandez Fierro, whose creator, Julian Peralta, would later start Astillero and the Orquesta Típica Julián Peralta. Other bands also have become part of the movement such as the Orquesta Rascacielos, Altertango, Ciudad Baigón, as well as singer and songwriters Alfredo "Tape" Rubín, Victoria di Raimondo, Juan Serén, Natalí de Vicenzo and Pacha González.
Ballroom tango
Ballroom tango, divided in recent decades into the "International" and "American" styles, has descended from the tango styles that developed when the tango first went abroad to Europe and North America. The dance was simplified, adapted to the preferences of conventional ballroom dancers, and incorporated into the repertoire used in International Ballroom dance competitions. English tango was first codified in October 1922, when it was proposed that it should only be danced to modern tunes, ideally at 30 bars per minute (i.e. 120 beats per minute – assuming a measure).
Subsequently, the English tango evolved mainly as a highly competitive dance, while the American tango evolved as an unjudged social dance with an emphasis on leading and following skills. This has led to some principal distinctions in basic technique and style. Nevertheless, there are quite a few competitions held in the American style, and of course mutual borrowing of technique and dance patterns happens all the time.
Ballroom tangos use different music and styling from the tangos from the River Plata region (Uruguay and Argentina), with more staccato movements and the characteristic head snaps. The head snaps are totally foreign to Argentine and Uruguayan tango, and were introduced in 1934 under the influence of a similar movement in the legs and feet of the tango from the River Plate, and the theatrical movements of the pasodoble. This style became very popular in Germany and was soon introduced to England. The movements were very popular with spectators, but not with competition judges.
Finnish tango
Tango arrived in Finland in 1913. The tango spread from the dominant urban dance form to become hugely popular across Finland in the 1950s after World War I and World War II. The melancholy tone of the music reflects the themes of Finnish folk poetry; Finnish tango is almost always in a minor key.
The tango is danced in very close full thigh, pelvis and upper body contact in a wide and strong frame, and features smooth horizontal movements that are very strong and determined. Dancers are very low, allowing long steps without any up and down movement, although rises and falls are optional in some styles. Forward steps land heel first except when descending from a rise, and in backward steps dancers push from the heel. In basic steps, the passing leg moves quickly to rest for a moment close to the grounded leg. Dips and rotations are typical. There is no open position, and typically feet stay close to the floor, except in dips the follower might slightly raise the left leg. Unlike in some Argentine-Uruguayan tango styles, in Finnish tango there is no kicking of any kind, and there are no aerials.
The annual Finnish tango festival Tangomarkkinat draws over 100,000 tango fans to the central Finnish town of Seinäjoki; the town also hosts the Tango Museum.
Comparison of techniques
Argentine-Uruguayan and ballroom tango use very different techniques. In Argentine and Uruguayan tango, the body's center moves first, then the feet reach to support it. In ballroom tango, the body is initially set in motion across the floor through the flexing of the lower joints (hip, knee, ankle) while the feet are delayed, then the feet move quickly to catch the body, resulting in snatching or striking action that reflects the staccato nature of this style's preferred music.
In tango, the steps are typically more gliding, but can vary widely in timing, speed, and character, and follow no single specific rhythm. Because the dance is led and followed at the level of individual steps, these variations can occur from one step to the next. This allows the dancers to vary the dance from moment to moment to match the music (which often has both legato and/or staccato elements) and their mood.
The Tango's frame, called an abrazo or "embrace", is not rigid, but flexibly adjusts to different steps, and may vary from being quite close, to offset in a "V" frame, to open. The flexibility is as important as is all movement in dance. The American Ballroom Tango's frame is flexible too, but experienced dancers frequently dance in closed position: higher in the elbows, tone in the arms and constant connection through the body. When dancing socially with beginners, however, it may be better to use a more open position because the close position is too intimate for them. In American Tango open position may result in open breaks, pivots, and turns which are quite foreign in Argentine tango and International (English) tango.
There is a closed position as in other types of ballroom dance, but it differs significantly between types of tango. In Tango from the River Plata region, the "close embrace" involves continuous contact at the full upper body, but not the legs. In American Ballroom tango, the "close embrace" involves close contact in the pelvis or upper thighs, but not the upper body. Followers are instructed to thrust their hips forward, but pull their upper body away and shyly look over their left shoulder when they are led into a "corte".
In tango from the River Plate region, the open position, the legs may be intertwined and hooked together, in the style of Pulpo (the Octopus). In Pulpo's style, these hooks are not sharp, but smooth ganchos.
In Tango from the River Plata, Uruguay and Argentina, the ball or toe of the foot may be placed first. Alternatively, the dancer may take the floor with the entire foot in a cat-like manner. In the International style of Tango, "heel leads" (stepping first onto the heel, then the whole foot) are used for forward steps.
Ballroom tango steps stay close to the floor, while the River Plata Tango (Uruguayan and Argentine) includes moves such as the boleo (allowing momentum to carry one's leg into the air) and gancho (hooking one's leg around one's partner's leg or body) in which the feet travel off the ground. Both Uruguayan and Argentine tango features other vocabulary foreign to ballroom, such as the parada (in which the leader puts his foot against the follower's foot), the arrastre (in which the leader appears to drag or be dragged by the follower's foot), and several kinds of sacada (in which the leader displaces the follower's leg by stepping into her space).
Famous tango singers
Carlos Acuña (1915–1999) was known for his deep, high and expressive voice. His foreign travels brought him success in Uruguay, Mexico, Italy and Spain, where he became a close friend of the exiled Juan Perón.
Néstor Fabián
Carlos Gardel
Roberto Goyeneche
Julio Sosa (1926–1964) from Uruguay was one of the most important tango singers during tango's unhappy years in the 1950s and early 1960s. His passion for poetry led to his sole published book; his passion for fast cars led to his young death.
Olavi Virta
Reijo Taipale
Tita Merello
Edmundo Rivero
Pyotr Leschenko
Tango influence
Music and dance elements of tango are popular in activities related to gymnastics, figure skating, synchronized swimming, etc., because of its dramatic feeling and its cultural associations with romance.
For the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina, Adidas designed a ball and named it Tango, likely a tribute to the host country of the event. This design was also used in 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain as Tango Málaga, and in 1984 and 1988 UEFA European Football Championships in France and West Germany.
Tango in society
Tango appears in different aspects of society: Regular milongas and special festivals. A very famous festival is the Tango Buenos Aires Festival y Mundial in Buenos Aires also known as World tango dance tournament. On a regional level there are also many festivals inside and outside of Argentina. One local festival outside Argentina is Buenos Aires in the Southern Highlands in Australia.
Gender and tango
Typically the tango is performed between a man and a woman, however the two have very different aspirations within the tango. Women often looked to the tango to help them gain confidence and to help them find a potential relationship. Men however looked to the tango for intimate reasons, and were known to be flirty and sexually willing. Women, however, were primarily focused on the dance itself and became wealthy. As time went on and the tango culture changed, women and men often wanted to travel and compete and also teach tango classes and then both women and men are viewed as equals.
Gender roles also plays a big part in the mechanics of tango due to the tango needing a leader. But in more recent times this is being challenged due to woman not wanting to be dependent on the male for the dance. In the early 1900s, there were often more male dancers than female so the dance was performed between two men. This allowed for both men to learn the leading and following roles of tango and adapt to both lead equally in the dance. This changed the mechanics of the dance to be closer to two equally leading roles between men and women or same sex pairs.
Tango in film
Argentine tango is the main subject in these films:
¡Tango! (1933)
Kaatru Veliyidai (2017), directed by Mani Ratnam with the song Tango Kelayo composed by Oscar winner A.R. Rahman and lyrics written by vairamuthu.
Adiós Buenos Aires (1938)
Tango: El Exilio de Gardel/Tangos: the Exile of Gardel (1985), starring Philippe Léotard, directed by Fernando Solanas
Tango Bar (1988), starring Raúl Juliá
The Tango Lesson (1997), starring Sally Potter and Pablo Verón, directed by Sally Potter
Tango (1998), starring Cecilia Narova and Mía Maestro, directed by Carlos Saura
Assassination Tango (2002), starring Robert Duvall, Rubén Blades and Kathy Baker, directed by Robert Duvall
Orquesta Típica (2005), documentary film about typical orchestra Fernandez Fierro, directed by Nicolas Entel
12 Tangos – Adios Buenos Aires (2005), directed by Arne Birkenstock
Tango libre (2012), directed by Frédéric Fonteyne
Vaje v objemu / Practice in embrace (2012), directed by Metod Pevec
A number of films show tango in several scenes, such as:
The Threepenny Opera (Die 3-Groschen-Oper) (1931), directed by G. W. Pabst, has number called Tango Ballade.
The Plow That Broke the Plains (1936), directed by Pare Lorentz.
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921), starring Rudolph Valentino and Alice Terry, directed by Rex Ingram.
L'amore in città (1953), segment "Paradise for three hours" (Paradiso per tre ore), directed by Dino Risi, starring nonprofessional actors, featuring a long sequence in a ballroom, where a passionate tango of Mario Nascimbene is played.
Il Conformista (1970), starring Jean-Louis Trintignant and Dominique Sanda, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci.
Last Tango in Paris (1972), starring Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci.
The World's Greatest Lover (1977), starring Gene Wilder (who also directed), Carol Kane and Dom DeLuise.
Death on the Nile (1978), Peter Ustinov and Olivia Hussey tango whilst David Niven is the unfortunate partner to Angela Lansbury's rather eccentric version of the dance.
Tango (1981), a short animation film by Zbigniew Rybczynski. Received an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film, Academy Awards 1982.
Never Say Never Again (1983), starring Sean Connery and Kim Basinger, directed by Irvin Kershner.
Naked Tango (1990), starring Vincent D'Onofrio and Mathilda May, directed by Leonard Schrader.
Scent of a Woman (1992), Al Pacino as blind Colonel dances Argentine tango.
Strictly Ballroom (1992), directed by Baz Luhrmann.
Addams Family Values (1993), Raul Julia and Anjelica Huston dance a tango so passionate that it literally burns the floor and makes all the champagne bottles in the nightclub pop their corks.
Schindler's List (1993), starring Liam Neeson.
True Lies (1994), starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis and Tia Carrere, directed by James Cameron.
Evita (1996), Madonna and Antonio Banderas dance a ballroom tango.
Happy Together (1997), directed by Wong Kar-wai.
Moulin Rouge! (2001), featuring Ewan McGregor and "El Tango de Roxanne".
Waking Life (2001), directed by Richard Linklater.
Le Tango Des Rashevski (2002).
Chicago (2002), starring Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Richard Gere, directed by Rob Marshall includes a song titled "Cell Block Tango" and is accompanied with a dance.
Frida (2002), Salma Hayek and Ashley Judd dance a tango to the Lila Downs performed song "Alcoba Azul".
Shall We Dance (2004), starring Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez and Susan Sarandon, directed by Peter Chelsom.
Madonna featured choreography inspired by the Argentine tango styles for the Die Another Day section of her 2004 Re-Invention Tour. Segments of the 2005 documentary I'm Going To Tell You A Secret show this choreography in use.
Rent (2005) had Anthony Rapp and Tracie Thoms perform a semi-elaborate ballroom tango in the song "Tango:Maureen" to describe their emotional relations and issues over a promiscuous girl they both dated.
Mad Hot Ballroom (2005), documentary directed by Marilyn Agrelo.
Love and Other Disasters (2006), Jacks (Brittany Murphy) and Paolo (Santiago Cabrera) perform a tango together.
Take the Lead (2006), starring Antonio Banderas, directed by Liz Friedlander.
Another Cinderella Story (2008), starring Selena Gomez and Drew Seeley. Performed during the Black and White Ball in the scene where Mary drops her Zune.
Easy Virtue (2008), in which Jessica Biel and Colin Firth dance a tango.
Step Up 3D (2010), in which Rick Malambri, Sharni Vinson and some of the supporting characters at a ballroom dance a tango to Jazmine Sullivan's Bust Your Windows.
Pixilation II (2011), short animation film by Kambras.
Finnish tango is featured to a greater or lesser extent in the following films:
Onnen maa (1993), starring Pertti Koivula and Katariina Kaitue, directed by Markku Pölönen.
Levottomat (2000), starring Mikko Nousiainen and Laura Malmivaara, directed by Aku Louhimies.
Tulitikkutehtaan tyttö (1990), starring Kati Outinen, directed by Aki Kaurismäki.
Mies vailla menneisyyttä (2002), starring Markku Peltola and Kati Outinen, directed by Aki Kaurismäki.
Varjoja paratiisissa (1986), starring Matti Pellonpää and Kati Outinen, directed by Aki Kaurismäki.
Kuutamolla (2002), starring Minna Haapkylä and Laura Malmivaara, directed by Aku Louhimies.
Tango Kabaree (2001), starring Martti Suosalo and Aira Samulin, directed by Pekka Lehto.
Minä soitan sinulle illalla (1954), starring Olavi Virta, directed by Armand Lohikoski.
Tango in popular culture
A Sesame Street episode features a Tango Festival being held at the Furry Arms Hotel.
The Backyardigans uses the Tango genre for the episode; Secret Agent.
Gallery
References
Further reading
Davis, Kathy (2015). Dancing Tango: passionate encounters in a globalising world'. NYUP.
Kassabova, Kapka (2011). Twelve Minutes of Love, a tango story (English), Portobello., 9781846272851
Nau, Nicole (1999). Tango Dimensionen (German), Kastell Verlag GmbH, .
Nau, Nicole (2000). Tango, un baile bien porteño (Spanish), Editorial Corregidor,
Park, Chan (2005). Tango Zen: Walking Dance Meditation (English), Tango Zen House,
Park, Chan (2008). TangoZen: Caminar y Meditar Bailando (Spanish-English), Editorial Kier,
Savigliano, Marta E. (1995) Tango and the Political Economy of Passion. Westview Press,
Turner, David (2006). A Passion for Tango'' (English), Dingley Press 2004 Revised and augmented,
External links
Argentine Tango Radio
Tango in the Movies
Tango dance
Partner dance
Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
Urban street dance and music
Articles containing video clips | en |
doc-en-15619 | This is a list of Portuguese words that come from Germanic languages. Many of these words entered the language during the late antiquity, either as words introduced into Vulgar Latin elsewhere, or as words brought along by the Suebi who settled in Gallaecia (Northern Portugal and Galicia) in the 5th century, and also by the Visigoths who annexed the Suebic Kingdom in 585. Other words were incorporated to Portuguese during the Middle Ages, mostly proceeding from French and Occitan languages, as both cultures had a massive impact in Portuguese during the 12th and 13th centuries. More recently other words with Germanic origin have been incorporated, either directly from English or other Germanic languages, or indirectly through French.
Many of these words are shared with the Galician language, with minor spelling or phonetic differences. It is divided into words that come from English, Frankish, Langobardic, Middle Dutch, Middle High German, Middle Low German, Old English, Old High German, Old Norse, Old Swedish, and Visigothic and finally, words which come from Germanic with the specific source unknown. Projections indicate over 600 Germanic words in Portuguese, with a tendency to increase due to English, German and other modern influences.
Some of these words existed in Latin as loanwords from other languages. Some of these words have alternate etymologies and may also appear on a list of Galician words from a different language. Some words contain non-Germanic elements. Any form with an asterisk (*) is unattested and therefore hypothetical.
Dutch
bombordo: port side of a ship: from French babord "portside", from Dutch bakboord "left side of a ship", literally "back side of a ship" (from the fact that most ships were steered from the starboard side), from bak "back, behind", (from Germanic (*)bakam) + boord "board, side of a ship", see borde below (in Germanic section). Also see estibordo "starboard" below in the Germanic section
berbequim= carpenter's brace: from regional French veberquin (French vilebrequin), from Dutch wimmelken, from wimmel "auger, drill, carpenter's brace" + -ken, a diminutive suffix, see maniquí below in Middle Dutch section.
English
bar (the beverage establishment)
basquetebol or basquete (Brazil) = basketball
bit, byte, and many other computing terms
Champô, shampoo or xampu (Brazil) = shampoo
cheque = Cheque (US English check)
choque = shock
clicar = to click
clique = click
estandarte = adj. standard
clube = club
cocktail or coquetel (Brazil) = cocktail
cowboy
deletar = to delete
faroeste = far west, Western,
fashion = adj., fashionable
futebol = football
hamburguer = cheeseburger, hot dog, hamburger, fast food
interface = interface
lanchonete = snack bar, from the English word "luncheonette"
marketing = marketing
mesmerizar = mesmerize
mouse = computer mouse
Nylon or náilon (Brazil) = nylon
revolver = revolver
realizar = to realize
sanduiche, sanduíche, sandes = sandwich
show = adj., something with showlike qualities, spectacular
telemarketing, know-how
teste (academic) = test
turista = tourist
vagão = wagon
voleibol = volleyball
Frankish
aguentar = to endure, bear, resist: from Italian agguantare "to retain, take hold of" (originally "to detain with gauntlets"), from a- + guanto "gauntlet", from Frankish (*)want (see guante below) + verbal suffix -are (suffix changed to -ar in Spanish).
alojar = to lodge, to house, to provide hospitality: from Old French loge, see lonja below.
alojamento = lodging (hospitality): from Old French logo "dwelling, shelter", from Frankish (*)laubja "covering, enclosure", from Germanic (*)laubja "shelter" (implicit sense "roof made of bark")
loja = market, building where merchants and sellers gather: from Old French logo "dwelling, shelter", from Frankish (*)laubja "covering, enclosure", from Germanic (*)laubja "shelter" (implicit sense "roof made of bark"), from the IE root (*)leup- "to peel."
bordar = to embroider: from Frankish (*)bruzdon (source of Old French brouder, brosder and French broder), from Germanic (*)bruzd- "point, needle", from the IE root (*)bhrs-dh-, from (*)bhrs-, from (*)bhar-, "point, nail."
canivete = penknife, Swiss army knife: from Frankish *knif via old Fra canivet
crossa or croça = crosier (religion): from Frankish *krukkja (stick with a bent extremity) akin to French crosse, Dutch kruk, German Krücke, English crutch, Norwegian krykkja.
destacar, destacamento (military) = to detach troops: from French détachar (influenced by Spanish atacar), from Old French destachier "to unattach", from des- "apart, away" + atachier, a variation of estachier, from estaca, from Frankish stakka, see estaca below in Germanic section.
destacar = to stand out, to emphasize: from Italian staccare "to separate", from Old French destacher, destachier, see destacar above.
escanção = cupbearer, sommelier from Old Frankish *skankjo 'to offer a drink'
estandarte = noun. a military standard: from Old French estandart, probably from Frankish (*)standhard "standard that marks a meeting place", (implicit sense: "that which stands firmly"), from (*)standan "to stand", (from Germanic (*)standan, from the IE root (*)sta- "to stand".) + (*)hard "hard, firm", see ardid below in Germanic section.
guante = glove, gauntlet: from Catalan guant "gauntlet", from Frankish (*)want "gauntlet."
loja = market, building where merchants and sellers gather: from Old French logo "dwelling, shelter", from Frankish (*)laubja "covering, enclosure", from Germanic (*)laubja "shelter" (implicit sense "roof made of bark"), from the IE root (*)leup- "to peel."
raspar [v] = to scrape, tear, shave: from Frankish *hraspōn, from Proto-Germanic *hraspōną, a derivative of Proto-Germanic *hrespaną (“to tear”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)krebʰ- (“to turn; bend; shrink”). Related to Old High German raspōn (“to scrape together; rasp”), Middle Dutch raspen, Middle Low German raspen, Old English ġehrespan (“to plunder”). https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/r%C3%A2per
raspadinha = scratch card: same as above
German
acordeon = accordion from akkordeon
Báltico = baltic from Baltisch
benzina = benzine from benzin
burgomestre = (City)mayor from Bürgermeister
chic or chique = Chic from Schick
chope = draft beer from shoppen
chucrute = coleslaw from sauerkraut
cobalto = cobalt from Kobold
estilístico = stylistic from Stylistik
faustebol = faustball
caputar = broken
LSD (alucinogénio) = LSD from Lysergsäurediethylamid
metapsicológico, metapsicologi = metapsychology from Metapsychologie (S. Freud)
plancton = plancton from Plankton
poltergeist = poltergeist from Poltergeist
pragmatismo = pragmatism from Pragmatismus
propedêutico = introductory from Propädeutik
protoplasma = protoplasm from Protoplasma
Quartzo = quartz from Quarz
Rösti (culinária) = rösti from Rösti (Swiss Swiss dish of grated potatoes formed into a small flat cake and fried)
sabre = sabre from Sabel
social-democrata = social democrat from Sozialdemokrat
valsa = waltz from Walzer, walzen
vampiro = vampire from Vampir
Vermouth or Vermute = vermouth from Vermut (drink)
Zinco = zinc from Zink
Latin words in Portuguese of Germanic origin
bisonte (from L bisont-,bison from Gmc, akin to OHG wisant, aurochs)
feudal (from Latin feodum, feudum of Gmc origin, akin to OE feoh, cattle, property)
filtro; filtrar = "filter; to filter" from ML filtrum felt from Gmc, akin to OE felt, felt
instalar (from ML installare from stallum of Gmc origin, akin to OHG stal, stall)
sabão = "soap" from Latin sapon-, sapo, soap from Gmc
Langobardic
palco = a balcony, balcony of a theater: from Italian palco, from Langobardic palk "scaffolding", from Germanic (*)balkōn "beam, crossbeam", see balcão below in Germanic section.
Middle Dutch
baluarte = bulwark: from Old French boloart "bulwark, rampart, terreplein converted to a boulevard", from Middle Dutch bolwerc "rampart",
amarrar = to moor a boat, to tie, to fasten: from French amarrer, "to moor", from Middle Dutch aanmarren "to fasten", from aan "on" (from Germanic (*)ana, (*)anō, from the IE root (*)an-) + marren "to fasten, to moor a boat."
Derivatives: amarra 'mooring', amarração 'binding, strong emotional bond, emotional relationship, mooring', amarrado 'determined, obstinate, bound, moored', amarradura 'mooring place, knot or tool'
manequim = a mannequin, dummy, puppet: from French mannequin, from (probably via Catalan maniquí) Dutch manneken, mannekijn "little man", from Middle Dutch mannekijn, from man "a man" (see alemán below in Germanic section) + the diminutive suffix -ken, -kin, -kijn, from West Germanic (*)-kin (cf. Modern German -chen)
rumo = direction, course, route, pomp, ostentation: from Old Spanish rumbo "each of the 32 points on a compass", from Middle Dutch rume "space, place, rhumb line, storeroom of a ship", from Germanic rūmaz "space, place", from the IE root (*)reu- "space, to open".
Middle High German
Middle Low German
Old English
arlequim = harlequin: from Italian arlecchino, from Old French Herlequin "mythic chief of a tribe", probably from Middle English Herle king, from Old English Herla cyning, Herla Kyning literally King Herla, a king of Germanic mythology identified with Odin/Woden. Cyning "king" is from Germanic (*)kunjan "family" (hence, by extension royal family), from the IE root (*)gen- "to birth, regenerate".
bote = a small, uncovered boat: from Old French bot, from Middle English bot, boot, from Old English bāt, from Germanic (*)bait-, from the IE root (*)bheid- "to split".
caneco = jug: from Old English *can- derived from cunnan
caneca = mug: *see above 'can'
leste = east: from French est, from Middle English est, from Old English ēast, from Germanic (*)aust-, from the IE root (*)awes-, aus "to shine".
norte = north: from Old French nord, from Old English north, from Germanic (*)north-, from the IE root (*)nr-to "north", from (*)nr- "wikt:under, to the left"
oeste = west: from Middle English west, from Old English west, from Germanic (*)west-, from (*)wes-to-, from (*)wes-, from (*)wespero- "evening, dusk"
sul = south (combining form): from Old French sud "south", from Old English sūth, from Germanic (*)sunthaz, from the IE root (*)sun-, swen-, variants of (*)sāwel- "sun"
sudeste = 'southeast' *see above sud+est
sudoeste = 'southwest' *see above sud+west
Old High German
agrafo = staple, stitch from French 'agrafe', from OHG chrapfo
agrafar [v] = to staple, to stitch (a wound, a cut, piece of fabric) from French 'agrafer', from OHG chrapfo
banca = bench: see banco= bench below
banco = bench: from Old High German banc "bench, board"
banco = bank: from French banque "bank", from Italian banca "bench, money changer's table", from Old High German banc, see banco= bench above
feltro = felt, from OHG 'filz'or Frankish 'filtir'
feltrar, enfeltrar [v] = to tangle or mat together, to turn smthg. into felt
Old Norse
bife = steak, beefsteak: from English beefsteak, from beef (ultimately from Latin bōs, bovis "cow", from the IE root (*)gwou- "ox, bull, cow" ) + steak, from Middle English steyke, from Old Norse steik "piece of meat cooked on a spit", from Germanic (*)stik-, see estaca below in the Germanic section.
Old Swedish
Visigothic
agasalhar [v] = from Visigothic *gasalja (partner, colleague)
agasalho = coat, warm clothes. From Visigothic *gasalja
broa = 'corn and rye bread' from Visigothic *brauth
esgrima = fencing, from Visigothic *skirmja (protection)
esmagar (v) = to smash, squeeze, crush or grind. From Suebian *magōn 'stomach'
gabar (v) = to flatter, to bray, to boast, to brag about. From Suebian *hurnjanan 'to blow a horn'
grampo = clamp, clip, cramp. From *kramp
grampear, grampar [v] = to clamp, to staple * same as above
grampa = clip, metal hook, clasp * same as above
carampão = cramp, clench * same as above
grampeador = stapler * same as above
gravar (v) = to carve, record, inscribe. From Suebian/OGrm *graba 'graft'
gravura = engraving, etching. From *graba 'graft'
gravação= recording (voice/music/audiovisual). From *graba 'graft'
guarda = guard, bodyguard, protection: from Visigothic wardja "a guard", from Germanic wardaz, from the IE root (*)wor-to-, see guardar below in Germanic section.
guardião = guardian: from Visigothic wardjan accusative of wardja, see guardia above.
atacar (v) = to attack: Old Italian attaccare "to fasten, join, unite, attack (implicit sense: to join in a battle)", changed from (*)estacar (by influence of a-, common verbal prefix) "to fasten, join", from Visigothic stakka "a stick, stake", from Germanic (*)stak-, see estaca in Germanic section.
ataque = attack, raid. Same as above
faísca = spark, from Visigothic or Suebian *falwiskan. From medieval 'falisca', cognate of Swedish falaska, Mid-High German valwische (*falwiskō), Norse fọlski.
faiscar (v) = lightning, sparking. Same as above
fita = ribbon, tape. From Visigothic/Suebian *veta 'ribbon'
gavião = hawk, from Visigothic *gabila, akin to German Gabel 'fork'.
rapar (v) = to shave (hair): from Visigothic *𐌷𐍂𐌰𐍀𐍉𐌽r=hrapōn, from Prot-Germanic *hrapōną||to scrape, from Indo-European *(s)kreb-||to turn; to touch}}.
rapado = shaved head, skinhead
tosquiar = to shear, to cut very short, from Visigothic *skairan
Germanic
abandonar = to abandon: from Old French a bandon, from a + bandon "control" from ban "proclamation, jurisdiction, power", from Germanic (*)banwan, (*)bannan "to proclaim, speak publicly"
abandono = abandonment, solitude
abandonado = abandoned, rejected, derelict
abordar = to board a ship, to approach, to undertake: from a- + bordo "side of a ship", variation of borde, see borde below
abotoar = to button: from a- + botão "button", see botão below
abrasar = to burn, to parch: from a- + brasa "a coal, ember" (see brasa below) + the verbal suffix -ar
aguentar = "to put up with" (< maybe It agguantare, from guanto "gauntlet" < Old Provençal < OFr guant < Frankish *want)
aguardar = to wait, wait for: from a- + guardar, see guardar below.
alemão = of Germany (adjective), the German language: from Late Latin Alemanni, an ancient Germanic tribe, from Germanic (*)alamanniz (represented in Gothic alamans), from ala- "all" + mannis, plural of manna-/mannaz "man" (Gothic manna) from the IE root (*)man- "man"
ardil = trick, scheme, ruse: from Old Spanish ardid "risky undertaking in war", from Catalan ardit (noun) "risky undertaking, strategy", from ardit (adjective) "daring, bold", from a Germanic source represented in Old High German harti "daring, bold" and hart "hard", both from the IE root (*)kor-tu- .
arenque = herring: possibly via French hareng, from Germanic (compare Old High German hārinc).
harpa = a harp: from French: harpe, from Germanic (*)harpōn-.
arrimar = to approach: possibly from Old French arrimer, arimer "to arrange the cargo in the storeroom of a ship", from Germanic (*)rūmaz "room"
atrapar = to trap, to ensnare: from French attraper, from Old French a- + trape "trap", from Germanic (*)trep- (seen in the Old English træppe) from the IE root (*)dreb-, from (*)der- "to run."
bala = a bullet: Italian balla/palla, from Germanic (*)ball-, see beisebol above in Old English section.
balear = "to shoot"
balcão = a balcony: from Italian balcone, from Old Italian balcone "scaffold", from Germanic (*)balkōn "beam, crossbeam", from the IE root (*)bhelg- "beam, board, plank."
balão = a large ball: from Italian ballone, pallone, balla (see bala above) + -one, an augmentive suffix, related to and possibly the source of Spanish -ão (in balão). see here.
banda = ribbon, band, sash: from Old French bande "knot, fastening", from Germanic '*band-', from the IE root (*)bhondh-, from (*)bhendh-
banda = band, troop, musical group: from Germanic '*bandwa-', "standard, signal", also "group" (from the use of a military standard by some groups), from the IE root (*)bha- "to shine" (implicit sense "signal that shines").
bandeira = banner: from Vulgar Latin (*)bandaria "banner", from Late Latin bandum "standard", from Germanic (*)bandwa, see banda = group below
bandido = bandit, gangster: from Italian bandito "bandit", from bandire "to band together", from Germanic *banwan, see abandonar above
banco = "bench; bank" (OFr bank < Germanic *banki)
banqueiro = "banker, financier"
banca = "bench, seat"
bancada = "row of seats, stall"
Abancar = "to settle somewhere"
banquete = a banquet: rom Old French banquet, diminutive of banc "bench, long seat", of Germanic origin, of the same family as the Old High German banc, see banco= bench above in Old High German section.
banquetear = "to feast, to have a banquet"
barão, baronesa, baronato = "baron, baroness, baronet"
bisonte = Bison bison: from Latin bisontem (accusative of bison) "wisent (Bison bonasus)", from Germanic (*)wisand-, wisunt- (Old High German wisant, wisunt).
branco = white, white person, blank: from Vulgar Latin (*)blancus, from Germanic (*)blank- "to shine", from the IE root.
briga = fight, scuffle: from Gothic *Brika-, Old High German Brech-en, Anglo-Saxon break. :Derivatives: brigar [v] 'to fight'
bloco = a block, a bloc: from French bloc, from Middle Dutch blok "trunk of a tree", from a Germanic source represented in the Old High German bloh.
bloqueio = "roadblock, blockade"
bloquear = "to block, to veto, to stop"
bloqueado = "something or someone which is blocked, halted, trapped"
boémio or boêmio (Brazil) = a bohemian, of Bohemia, vagabond, eccentric, Gitano, Gypsy: from bohemio/Bohemia (from the belief that the Gitanos came from Bohemia), from Latin bohemus, from Boihaemum, literally "place of the Boi/Boii (from Celtic, see bohemio here) + Latin -haemum "home", from Germanic (*)haima "home", from the IE root (*)koi-mo-
bola = ball from Proto-Germanic *balluz, *ballô (“ball”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰoln- (“bubble”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to blow, inflate, swell”)
bolas = colloquial bollocks, coward, popular interjection idiom 'ora bolas!' oh my! or damn it!, to express frustration or disapproval. From Proto-Germanic *balluz
borda = border, edge: from Old French bord "side of a ship, border, edge", from Frankish
bordar = "to knit"
bordado = "knit work"
bosque = forest, woods: from Catalan of Provençal of Old French bosc, from Germanic (*)busk- "brush, underbrush, thicket" (source of Old High German busc).
bosquejo = a sketch, outline, rough draft: from Spanish bosquejar "to sketch, to outline", probably from Catalan bosquejar from bosc, see bosque above.
bota = a boot: from or simply from the same source as French botte "boot", from Old French bote "boot", probably from the same source as Modern French pied bot "deformed foot" in which bot is from Germanic (*)būtaz, from the IE root (*)bhau- "to strike", see botar below.
botar = to throw, to bounce, to jump: from Old French boter, bouter "to open, to hit, to strike, to perforate", from Romance bottare "to strike, to push, to shove", from Germanic (*) buttan "to hit, to strike" from the IE root (*)bhau-
botão = button: from Old French boton, bouton "button", from boter, bouter "to open, perforate", see botar above
bóia = a buoy: probably from Old French boie, from Germanic, possibly from Old High German bouhhan, from Germanic (*)baukna- "signal", from the IE root (*)bha- "to shine"
brasa = a coal, ember: from Old French brese "a coal" (Modern French braise), probably from Germanic (*)bres-, (*)bhres-, from the IE root (*)bhreu-
buraco = from Proto-Germanic burō, burōną 'hole'
chouriço, choiriça = Latinezed SAURICIUM, from Suebian/Gothic SAURAZ 'dried, smoked'
churrasco, churrasqueira, churrascaria, churrascar[v] = from Suebian/Gothic SAURUS
estaca = a stake: from Germanic (*)stak-, from the IE root (*)steg- "pale, post pointed stick".
estibordo = starboard side of a ship: from Old French estribord "starboard", (Modern French tribord), from a Germanic source (confer Old English stēorbord). From Germanic (*)stiurjō "to steer", + Germanic
faca = knife from a Germanic source, uncertain if Old German happa (hatchet, sickle) or Frankish *happja, cognate of French hache, Spanish hacha, English hatchet or axe
Derivatives: facalhão 'eustace', faqueiro 'cutlery or cutlery cabinet', facada 'stabbing', colloquial facada nas costas 'to stab (someone) behind the back'
gaita = bagpipe Uncertain, but likely from Old Suebian, akin to Visigothic *agaits- 'goat' from Proto Indo-European *ghaido-. Most logical origin as bagpipes were traditionally made from goats skin.
Derivatives: gaiteiro '(bag)piper', gaita 'penis, or swearword akin to "cock"'(colloquial), gaita-de-foles, gaita-de beiços, 'different types or names for bagpipes, gaitar 'to sob or to fail an exam' (colloquail).
grupo = group: From Italian gruppo, from a Germanic word represented by Old High German kropf "beak."
Derivatives: agrupar 'to group, to organise into a section', agrupado 'part of a group', agrupamento 'act of grouping, a team'.
guardar = to guard, watch over, keep, observe (a custom): from Germanic (*)wardōn "to look after, take care of", from the IE root (*)wor-to-, "to watch", from (*)wor-, (*)wer- "to see, watch, perceive"
oboé = an oboe: from French hautbois from haut (ultimately from Latin altus "high") + bois "wood", see bosque above.
roca = roc, spindle: from Gothic *rukka
Derivatives: enrocar[v], rocar[v], 'to spindle', enrocamento 'riprap'
saco, sacola = bag, sack, rucksack
sacar = to snap, to extract, to snatch, to withdraw (i.e. money from an ATM or account)
saque = withdrawal, theft
ressaque, ressacar = money order, to collect a money order (i.e. Forex)
saxónico, saxão = Saxon
sala, salinha, saleta = a room: from Germanic sal- "room, house", from the IE root (*)sol- "hamlet, human settlement."
salão = main room of a house (see sala above) + -on, augmentive suffix.
saxofone = "saxophone"
sopa = soup (it comes from Sanskrit suppa)
sul = south
sudeste = southeast
sudoeste = southwest
sueco = Swedish
suisso, suíço= Swiss
suíno = swine, pig from Proto-Germanic *swinan 'pig'
suinicultor, suinocultor = pig farmer from Proto-Germanic swinan + Latin cultor
suinicultura = porcine breeding from Proto-Germanic swinan + Latin colere
suinicídio = pig killing from Proto-Germanic swinan + Latin cidium
tacho = pot, pan
taco = stick, chalck
tacão = heel
talo, talão = stem, branch, heel
tampão, tampon = tampon
tampa = "top, lid"
tapar = to cover, to hide
teta, tetinha, tetona, tetão = tit, breast
teutónico = teutonic, powerful
trampa = a trap: possibly from Germanic, from the same derivation as trampolín (see below) and atrapar (see above).
trampolim = a trampoline: from Italian trampolino "trampoline" (implicit sense: game of agility on stilts), from trampoli, plural of a Germanic word (*)tramp- (such as German trampeln and Old High German trampen, both meaning "to tread, trample"), from the IE root (*)dreb-,
toalha = towel
toalhete = "handtowel"
toalhinha = "small towel"
toldo = tarpaulin, cover
toldar = to mist up, to darken, to sadden
trepar = to climb, to copulate
trepada = (informal) shag
trombone = trombone
tromba = snout, face
trombudo = someone unfriendly looking
tromba d'água = gusty showers
trombão, trompão = thicker part of a fishing rod
trombar = to sip down food, to scoff up
tropa = troop
atropar = to gather troops
trupe = group, band, gang, student group, artistic group
trupar = to knock someone's door
trotar = to run, a horse running
tungsténio = tungsten
vanguarda = vanguard: from Old Spanish avanguardia, from Catalan avantguarda from avant "before, advance", (from Latin ab- + ante "before") + guarda "guard", from Germanic wardaz, see guardia above in Visigothic section.
vagão, vagonete, vagoneta = "wagon"
valquiria = valkyrie
vandalo = "vandal, destructive person"
vandalismo = "vandalism" (second element only)
varão, varonil = "male, manly"
venda = blindfold, from Proto-Germanic *binda; see Old High German binta
vermute = vermuth
wagneriano = "Wagnerian"
Names
Forenames
Ancient Roman-derived names are the most numerous in Portugal and Portuguese-speaking countries. Together with Germanic-derived names they constitute the majority of those (and similarly to most European/Western countries inherited also a number of ancient Greek and Hebrew names) today:
Alberto, Adalberto = from the Germanic name Adalbert, composed of the elements adal "noble" and beraht "bright". This name was common among medieval German royalty. Used in Western Europe mainly: Aubert (French), Adalbert, Adelbert, Albrecht (German), Adalbert (Polish), Adelbert, Albertus (Dutch), Adalberht, Adalbert, Albertus (Ancient Germanic), Alpertti, Altti, Pertti (Finnish), Abbe, Abe (Frisian), Alberte (Galician), Adalberto, Alberto (Italian), Bèr (Limburgish), Albertas (Lithuanian), Adalberto, Alberto (Spanish)
Albertina, Alberta = same as above
Albina = Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Slovene, Polish, German, Ancient Roman form of 'ALBINUS'
Adelaide = from Germanic Adalheidis, which was composed of the elements adal "noble" and heid "kind, sort, type". It was borne in the 10th century by Saint Adelaide, the wife of the Holy Roman Emperor Otto the Great.
Adelardo, Abelardo = from the ancient Germanic name Adalhard, composed of the elements adal "noble" and hard "brave, hardy
Adélia, Adelina, Adele, Aline = Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, German, Ancient Germanic *ADELA (Latinized)
Adelino = from Germanic “Athal-win”, meaning of noble birth
Ademar =
Adolfo =
Adosinda = from a Visigothic name derived from the Germanic elements aud "wealth" and sinþs "path".
Adriano = Portuguese for Adrian in English, Romanian, Polish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Russian, form of 'Hadrianus'
Afonso = from Ancient Germanic Adalfuns, Alfons, Hadufuns, Hildefons. Used in Western Europe
Afonsina =
Agildo =
Agnaldo =
Aldo =
Alda, Aldina = originally a short form of Germanic names beginning with the element ald "old", and possibly also with adal "noble"
Alfredo =
Aloísio =
Álvaro = cognate of Nordic ALVAR. From Ancient Germanic Alfher, Alfarr, name composed of the elements alf "elf" and hari "army, warrior". Mainly Nordic= Alvar (Estonian), Elvar (Icelandic), Alvar (Swedish), Alvaro (Spanish)
Alzira = relatively rare name. 'Alzira' or 'Alzire' is a Germanic name meaning `Beauty, Ornament`
Amalia, Amália, Amélia, = Portuguese, Italian, Romanian, Dutch, German, from Latinized form of the Germanic name 'Amala', a short form of names beginning with the element amal meaning "work".
Amaro = from the Germanic name 'Audamar', derived from the elements aud "wealth, fortune" and meri "famous". Variants: Otmar (Czech), Othmar, Otmar, Ottmar, Ottomar (German), Amaro (Spain, specially Galicia and Asturias)
Américo = Portuguese form of Ancient German 'Emmerich'. In other languages: Emery, Amery, Emory (English), Émeric (French), Emmerich (German), Imre, Imrus (Hungarian), Amerigo (Italian), Imrich (Slovak)
Anselmo = from the Germanic elements ans "god" and helm "helmet, protection". Used in Western Europe
Arlete = variation of French Arlette, from Germanic 'Herleva' possibly a derivative of hari "army", era "honour", or erla "noble" (or their Old Norse cognates). This was the name of the mother of William the Conqueror, who, according to tradition, was a commoner.
Armando, Armindo = a derivation of Herman, from Ancient Germanic Hariman, Herman, Hermanus
Armanda, Arminda = same as above
Arnaldo = from Proto-Germanic Arnold, used in Western Europe = Arnau (Catalan), Arnoud, Aart, Arend (Dutch), Arnold, Arn, Arnie (English), Arnaud (French), Ane, Anne (Frisian), Arnold, Arend, Arndt, Arne (German), Nöl, Nölke (Limburgish)
Arnaldina =
Anselmo = Portuguese variation of German, English (Rare), Ancient Germanic 'ANSELM' from the elements ans "god" and helm "helmet, protection".
Astolfo =
Ataúlfo =
Aubri = from the Germanic Alberich, derived from the elements alf "elf" and ric "power".
Austragésilo =
Baldemar, Baldomero = from Ancient Germanic Baldomar, derived from the elements bald "bold, brave" and meri "famous
Balduíno =
Belmiro =
Beltrão = from the Germanic element beraht "bright" combined with hramn "raven. Used in Western Europe: Beltran (Catalan) Bertrand (English), Bertrand (French) Bertram (German), Bertrando (Italian)
Barbara = Portuguese, English, Italian, French, German, Polish, Hungarian, Slovene, Croatian, Late Roman derived from Greek βαρβαρος (barbaros) meaning "foreign"
Bernardo = from the Germanic name Bernard, derived from the element bern "bear" combined with hard "brave, hardy"
Bernardino, Bernardim = Same as above
Bernardina, Bernadete, Bernardete = Same as above
Branca, Bianca = from the Germanic word "blanc" (white, fair). European variants: Blanka (Croatian), Blanka (Czech), Blanche (English), Blanche (French) Branca (Galician), Bianka (German), Bianka, Blanka (Hungarian), Bianca (Italian), Bianka, Blanka (Polish), Bianca (Romanian), Blanka (Serbian), Blanka (Slovak), Blanca (Spanish)
Bruno = Portuguese, German, Italian, French, Spanish, Croatian, Polish, from Ancient Germanic element brun "armour, protection" or brun "brown"
Brunilde = from Ancient Germanic variant of 'BRÜNHILD'
Carlos, Carlo = from the Germanic name Karl, which was derived from a Germanic word meaning "man". An alternative theory states that it is derived from the common Germanic element hari meaning "army, warrior". Used all over Europe
Carolina, Carla, Carlota = female versions of the Germanic name 'Karl' above
Clodoaldo =
Clodomir =
Clodovil =
Clotilde = form of the Germanic name Chlotichilda which was composed of the elements hlud "fame" and hild "battle". Saint Clotilde was the wife of the Frankish king Clovis, whom she converted to Christianity. Used in France, Portugal, Italy, Spain
Clóvis =
Conrado = from the Germanic elements kuoni "brave" and rad "counsel". This was the name of a 10th-century saint and bishop of Konstanz, in southern Germany. Variants: Konrad, Kurt (German), Dino (Croatian), Konrád (Czech), Konrad (Danish), Koenraad, Koen, Koert (Dutch), Konrád (Hungarian), Corrado, Corradino, Dino (Italian), Konrad (Norwegian), Kondrat, Konrad (Polish), Konrád (Slovak), Konrad (Slovene), Conrado (Spanish), Konrad (Swedish)
Cremilde =
Deolinda = from the Germanic name Theudelinda, derived from the elements theud "people" and linde "soft, tender". In decline, mainly used in Portugal, Brazil and Galicia
Duarte = "Edward", from Germanic Ead "rich" and Weard "guardian"
Dieter = from ancient Germanic Theudhar, derived from the elements theud "people" and hari "army"
Djalma =
Eberardo =
Edgar =
Edite, Edith = from the Old English name Eadgyð, derived from the elements ead "wealth, fortune" and gyð "war". It was popular among Anglo-Saxon royalty, being borne for example by Saint Eadgyeth;, the daughter of King Edgar the Peaceful. Variants: Edyth, Edytha (English), Edit (Swedish), Edita (Croatian), Edita (Czech), Édith (French), Edit (Hungarian), Edita (Lithuanian), Eda (Medieval English), Edyta (Polish), Edita (Slovak), Edita (Slovene)
Edmar =
Edmundo = Portuguese form of EDMUND. In other European languages: Eadmund (Anglo-Saxon), Edmund, Ed, Eddie, Eddy, Ned (English), Edmond, Edmé (French), Edmund (German), Ödön, Ödi (Hungarian), Éamonn, Eamon, Éamon (Irish), Edmondo (Italian), Edmao, Mao (Limburgish), Edmund (Polish)
Edna =
Eduardo = see 'Duarte' above
Eduarda =
Eduvigis =
Edvaldo =
Edvino = Portuguese form of Edwin, from the Old English elements ead "wealth, fortune" and wine "friend"
Egil = from the Old Norse name Egill, a diminutive of names that began with the element agi "awe, terror"
Elba =
Elder =
Elgar = from Old English ælf ("elf") and gar ("spear")
Elidérico = from Germanic Aldric derived from the elements ald "old" and ric "ruler, mighty".
Elmar, Elmer = from the Old English name ÆÐELMÆR
Elvira =
Elsa, Elza =
Eurico, Érico, Eric, Erik = From Old High German êwa "time, age, law" combined with rîcja "powerful, strong, mighty." The second element is also closely related to Celtic rîg or rix and Gothic reiks, which all mean "king, ruler." However, this name can also be a short form of Eburic. Euric was the name of a 5th-century king of the Visigoths.
Ermenegildo =
Ermelindo =
Ernesto = Portuguese form of Ancient Germanic 'ERNST' used in German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Dutch, English 'ERNEST'
Ernestina =
Etelvina =
Evaldo = from the ancient Germanic name Ewald, composed of the elements ewa "law, custom" and wald "rule"
Evelina, Ivelina, Avelina, Evelyne, Evelin = from the Norman French form of the Germanic name Avelina, a diminutive of AVILA. Variants: Eileen, Evelina, Avaline (English), Ava, Avelina, Aveza, Avila (Ancient Germanic), Evelien, Eveline (Dutch), Evelin (Estonian), Eveliina (Finnish), Eveline, Évelyne (French), Ava, Evelin (German), Evelin (Hungarian), Eibhlín, Eileen, Aileen (Irish), Evelina, Lina (Italian), Ewelina (Polish), Aileen (Scottish), Evelina (Swedish)
Francisco, Francisca = FRANCISCUS, FRANZISKA from Ancient Germanic form of Franciscus (see FRANCIS, Franz, Frans, François, Francisque, Francesco, Francesc, Pranciškus)
Fernando, Fernão, Fernandino = from a Germanic name composed of the elements fardi "journey" and nand "daring, brave". The Visigoths brought the name to the Iberian Peninsula, where it entered into the royal families of Spain and Portugal. From there it became common among the Habsburg royal family of the Holy Roman Empire and Austria, starting with the Spanish-born Ferdinand I in the 16th century. A notable bearer was Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521), called Fernão de Magalhães in Portuguese, who was the leader of the first expedition to sail around the earth. Variants: Fernand (French), Ferdinand, Ferdi (German), Ferdinand, Ferdi (Dutch), Ferdie, Ferdy (English), Veeti, Vertti (Finnish), Ferran (Catalan), Ferdinánd, Nándor (Hungarian), Ferdinando (Italian), Ferdynand (Polish), Fernando, Hernando, Hernán, Nando (Spanish)
Fernanda = same as above
Frederico, Fred = form of a Germanic name meaning "peaceful ruler", derived from frid "peace" and ric "ruler, power". This name has long been common in continental Germanic-speaking regions, being borne by rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, Germany, Austria, Scandinavia, and Prussia. Variants: Bedřich (Czech), Frederik (Danish), Frederik, Fred, Freek, Frits, Rik (Dutch), Fredrik, Veeti (Finnish), Frédéric, Fred (French), Fedde (Frisian), Friedrich, Fiete, Fred, Fritz (German), Frigyes (Hungarian), Friðrik (Icelandic), Federico, Federigo, Fredo (Italian), Fricis, Frīdrihs (Latvian), Fredrik (Norwegian), Fryderyk (Polish), Friderik (Slovene), Federico (Spanish), Fredrik (Swedish)
Genival =
Geraldo =
Germano =
Germana =
Gertrudes = from Ancient Germanic Geretrudis, Gertrud. Used all over Europe with variations
Gilberto, Gil =
Gildo =
Gilmar =
Giraldo =
Gisele, Gisela =
Godiva =
Godofredo = from Germanic Godafrid, which meant "peace of god" from the Germanic elements god "god" and frid "peace"
Gonçalo = from Ancient Germanic Gundisalvus. See Gonçal (Catalan), Gonzalo (Spanish)
Gualberto = from the Germanic name Waldobert, composed of the elements wald "rule" and beraht "bright". Variants: Gaubert (French), Wob, Wubbe (Dutch), Wob, Wobbe, Wubbe (Frisian)
Gualter = see also Valter/Walter
Guido =
Guilherme = Portuguese equivalent of William in English, from Ancient Germanic Wilhelm or n Willahelm. See Breton: Gwilherm. Used all over Europe in numerous variations
Guilhermina =
Guímaro, Guimaro = derived from old Visigothic ‘Vímar, Vímara’, from ‘Weimar’, a name from any of several places called Weimar in Hesse and Thuringia, from Old High German wīh "holy" and mari "standing water".
Guiomar = from the Germanic name Wigmar, which is formed of the elements wig "war, battle" and meri "famous"
Gumercindo =
Gustavo = from Gundstaf, possibly means "staff of the Goths", derived from the Old Norse elements Gautr "Goth" and stafr "staff". Used all over Europe
Haroldo = from Old Norse Haraldr derived from the elements here "army" and weald "power, leader, ruler". Variants: Hariwald (Ancient Germanic), Hereweald (Anglo-Saxon), Harald (Danish), Harold (English), Harri (Finnish), Harald (German), Haraldur (Icelandic), Aroldo (Italian), Harald (Norwegian), Haroldo (Spanish), Harald (Swedish), Harri (Welsh)
Hedda =
Hélder, Helder, Elder = maybe from the name of the Dutch town of Den Helder (meaning "hell's door" in Dutch) or derived from the Germanic given name HULDERIC; elments hulda "merciful, graceful" and ric "power, rule".
Helga =
Hélmut = from the Germanic name Helmut, formed of the elements helm "helmet" and muot "spirit, mind"
Heloísa =
Henrique = Germanic name Heimirich meaning "home ruler", composed of the elements heim "home" and ric "ruler". It was later commonly spelled Heinrich, with the spelling altered due to the influence of other Germanic names like Haganrich, in which the first element is hagan "enclosure". Used throughout Europe and the Caucasus: Heimirich, Heinrich, Henricus(Ancient Germanic) Henrik(Armenian) Endika(Basque) Enric(Catalan) Henrik(Croatian) Jindřich, Hynek, Jindra(Czech) Henrik, Henning(Danish) Hendrick, Hendrik, Henricus, Heike, Heiko, Hein, Henk, Hennie, Henny, Rik(Dutch) Hendrik, Indrek(Estonian) Harri, Henri, Henrikki, Heikki(Finnish) Henri(French) Heike, Heiko(Frisian) Anri(Georgian) Heinrich, Hendrik, Henrik, Heiner, Heinz, Henning(German) Henrik(Hungarian) Hinrik(Icelandic) Anraí, Einrí(Irish) Enrico, Arrigo, Enzo, Rico(Italian) Indriķis, Ints(Latvian) Henrikas, Herkus(Lithuanian) Hinnerk, Hinrich, Heike, Heiko(Low German) Herry(Medieval English) Henrik, Henning(Norwegian) Henryk(Polish) Henrique(Portuguese) Eanraig, Hendry(Scottish) Henrich(Slovak) Henrik(Slovene) Enrique, Kike, Quique(Spanish) Henrik, Henning(Swedish) Harri(Welsh)
Henriqueta = Portuguese and Galician feminine form of HENRIQUE.
Heraldo = from the Old English name Hereweald, derived from the elements here "army" and weald "power, leader, ruler". The Old Norse cognate Haraldr was also common among Scandinavian settlers in England. This was the name of five kings of Norway and three kings of Denmark. See also Harold and Harald.
Herberto, Heriberto =
Herman, Hermano = from the Germanic elements hari "army" and man "man". Used in English, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Slovene
Hermenegildo = from a Visigothic name which meant "complete sacrifice" from the Germanic elements ermen "whole, entire" and gild "sacrifice, value". It was borne by a 6th-century saint, the son of Liuvigild the Visigothic king of Hispania. Used in Western Europe: Erminigild (Ancient Germanic), Ermenegilde (French), Hermenegild (German), Ermenegildo (Italian), Hermenegildo (Spanish)
Hermínio =
Herminia =
Hilda, Ilda = From Proto-Germanic Hildr (Ancient Scandinavian), Hild, Hilda (Anglo-Saxon), used in Western Europe= Hilda (Danish), Hilda, Hilde (Dutch), Hilda (English), Hilda, Hilde (German), Hildur (Icelandic), Hildr (Norse Mythology), Hilda, Hilde, Hildur (Norwegian), Hilda (Spanish), Hilda, Hildur (Swedish)
Hildeberto, Hildiberto = Portuguese variant of Hildebert, Hilbert, from the Germanic elements hild "battle" and beraht "bright"
Hildebrando =
Hildegardo =
Hugo =
Humberto =
Idália, Idalina, Ida = Originally a medieval short form of names beginning with the Old Frankish element idal, extended form of Old Frankish id meaning "work, labour" (cf. Ida). Used in Western Europe
Ildefonso = from Ancient Germanic Hildefons
Inga =
Ingrid =
Isilda = * possibly Germanic, perhaps from a hypothetic name like Ishild, composed of the elements is "ice, iron" and hild "battle". Could be an early version of Isolda.
Isnard =
Ivo = Germanic name, originally a short form of names beginning with the Germanic element iv meaning "yew". Alternative theories suggest that it may in fact be derived from a cognate Celtic element. This was the name of several saints (who are also commonly known as Saint Yves or Ives). Variants: Yvo (German), Yvo (Dutch), Erwan, Erwann (Breton), Yves, Yvon (French), Ives (History), Iwo (Polish)
Ivone = female version of Ivo
Juscelino, Joscelino = from a Germanic masculine name, variously written as Gaudelenus, Gautselin, Gauzlin, along with many other spellings. It was derived from the Germanic element Gaut, which was from the name of the Germanic tribe the Gauts, combined with a Latin diminutive suffix.
Lars =
Leonardo =
Leonildo =
Leonor, Eleonor, Eleonora = from Occitan Aliénor derived from Ancient Germanic Eanor
Leopoldo = from the Germanic elements leud "people" and bald "bold". The spelling was altered due to association with Latin leo "lion". Used in Western Europe
Liduína = female form derived from Ludwin, Leutwin or Liutwin. There are instances where the first element of the name can also be derived from Old High German hlûd "famous"
Lindolfo =
Lorelei =
Lotário =
Luís, Luiz, Aloisio, Aloysio, Ludovico = from Ancient Germanic Chlodovech, Clodovicus, Ludovicus, Clovis, Hludowig. Used all over Europe
Luisa =
Mafalda = variant of ‘Matilde’ (Matilda) in Portuguese and Italian. From the Germanic name Mahthildis meaning "strength in battle", from the elements maht "might, strength" and hild "battle". Saint Matilda was the wife of the 10th-century German king Henry I the Fowler. The name was common in many branches of European royalty in the Middle Ages.
Manfred =
Matilde = from the Germanic name Mahthildis meaning "strength in battle", from the elements maht "might, strength" and hild "battle". Used mainly in Western Europe: Mathilda, Maud, Maude(English) Mathilda(Swedish) Mahthildis, Mathilda(Ancient Germanic) Matylda(Czech) Mathilde, Tilde(Danish) Machteld, Mathilde, Mechteld, Maud, Til(Dutch) Mahaut, Mathilde, Maud(French) Mathilde, Mechthild, Mechtilde(German) Matild(Hungarian) Mafalda, Matilde(Italian & Portuguese) Til(Limburgish) Mathilde(Norwegian) Matylda(Polish) Matilde(Spanish) Mallt(Welsh)
Nivaldo =
Norberto = from the Germanic elements nord "north" and beraht "bright". Variants: Norberto (Italian), Norbaer, Baer, Bèr, Nor (Limburgish), Norberto (Spanish)
Odorico =
Olavo = from Old Norse Áleifr meaning "ancestor's descendant", derived from the elements anu "ancestor" and leifr "descendant". This was the name of five kings of Norway, including Saint Olaf (Olaf II). Used mainly in Northern Europe: Olaf, Olav, Oluf, Ole (Danish), Olaf (Dutch), Olev (Estonian), Olavi, Uolevi, Olli (Finnish), Olaf (German), Ólafur (Icelandic), Amhlaoibh (Irish), Olaf, Olav, Ola, Ole (Norwegian), Olaf (Polish), Amhlaidh, Aulay (Scottish), Olof, Olov, Ola, Olle (Swedish)
Osmar =
Osvaldo, Oswaldo = Portuguese variant of Oswald, from the Old English elements os "god" and weald "power, ruler". See also Old Norse name Ásvaldr.
Osvalda, Osvaldina = female form of Osvaldo
Oto, Otto = short form of various names beginning with the Germanic element aud meaning "wealth, fortune". Used mainly in Northern & Western Europe: Audo, Odilo, Odo, Otto (Ancient Germanic), Otto (Danish), Otto (Dutch), Otto (English), Otto (Finnish), Otto, Udo (German), Ottó (Hungarian), Ottó (Icelandic), Oddo, Ottone, Ottorino (Italian), Ode (Medieval English), Eudes (Medieval French), Otto (Norwegian), Otto (Swedish)
Raimundo = from Proto-Germanic *raginaz («council») and *mundō («protection»), Raymund
Ramiro = Latinized form of the Visigothic name 'Ramirus' (Raginmar) derived from the Germanic elements ragin "advice" and meri "famous". Rare, mainly in Portugal and Spain.
Raul =
Reginaldo, Reinaldo, Ronaldo, Reynaldo = from the Germanic name Raginald, made of elements ragin "advice" and wald "rule". Used in Western Europe: Ragnvald (Danish), Reinoud, Reinout (Dutch), Reino (Finnish), Renaud, Reynaud (French), Reinhold (German), Raghnall (Irish), Rinaldo (Italian), Ragnvald (Norwegian), Raghnall, Ranald, Ronald (Scottish), Reynaldo (Spanish), Ragnvald (Swedish), Rheinallt (Welsh)
Ricardo = from the Germanic elements ric "power, rule" and hard "brave, hardy". Used all over Europe: Ricard (Catalan), Richard (Czech), Rikard (Danish), Richard (Dutch), Richard, Dick, Rich, Richie, Rick, Rickey, Ricki, Rickie, Ricky, Ritchie (English), Rikhard, Riku (Finnish), Richard (French), Richard (German), Richárd, Rikárd (Hungarian), Risteárd (Irish), Riccardo (Italian), Rihards (Latvian), Ričardas (Lithuanian), Rikard (Norwegian), Ryszard (Polish), Rihard (Slovene), Rikard (Swedish), Rhisiart (Welsh)
Roberto =
Roberta =
Rodrigo = from Germanic Hrodric/Hrēðrīc/Rørik/Hrœrekr (Roderick, Rodrick, Roderich; a compound of hrod ‘renown’ + ric ‘power(ful)’), from the Proto-Germanic *Hrōþirīk(i)az; it was borne by the last of the Visigoth kings and is one of the most common Lusophone personal names of Germanic origin.[]
Rodolfo = Portuguese variation from Ancient Germanic 'Hrodulf', 'Hrolf', 'Hrólfr', Hróðólfr (Ancient Scandinavian), Hrothulf, Hroðulf (Anglo-Saxon), Rudolf (Armenian), Rudolf (Croatian), Rudolf (Czech), Rolf, Rudolf (Danish), Roelof, Rudolf, Rodolf, Roel, Ruud (Dutch), Rolf, Rollo, Rudolph, Rodolph, Rolph, Rudy (English), Rodolphe, Rodolph (French), Rolf, Rudolf, Rodolf, Rudi (German), Ruedi (German (Swiss)), Rudolf, Rudi (Hungarian), Roul (Medieval English), Roul (Medieval French), Rolf, Rudolf (Norwegian), Rudolf (Polish), Rudolf (Russian), Rudolf (Slovene), Rolf, Rudolf, Roffe (Swedish)
Rogério = from Proto-Germanic Hrodger, Hróarr, Hróðgeirr (Ancient Scandinavian), Hroðgar (Anglo-Saxon), used in Western Europe = Roger (Danish), Roger, Rogier, Rutger (Dutch), Roger, Rodge, Rodger (English), Roger (French), Roger, Rüdiger (German), Ruggero, Ruggiero (Italian), Ruth (Limburgish), Roar, Roger (Norwegian), Roger (Swedish)
Rolando, Orlando, Roldão = from Proto-Germanic Hrodland used all over Europe = Roeland, Roland, Roel (Dutch), Roland, Rolland, Roly, Rowland, Rowley (English), Roland (French), Roland (German), Loránd, Lóránt, Roland (Hungarian), Orlando, Rolando (Italian), Rolan (Russian), Rolando, Roldán (Spanish), Roland (Swedish)
Romildo =
Rosalina, Rosalinda = from Ancient Germanic Roslindis. Used in Western Europe
Rui = Equivalent to English Roy (Roderick) from Ancient Germanic Hroderich. Used in Western Europe: Roderic (Catalan), Roderick, Rod, Roddy (English), Rodrigue (French), Rodrigo, Roi (Galician), Rodrigo (Italian), Rodrigo, Ruy (Spanish)
Ubaldo =
Ulrico =
Wagner =
Waldemar, Valdemar =
Waldevino, Balduíno = from Proto-Germanic Baldovin, Baldwin, used in Western Europe= Boudewijn (Dutch), Baldwin (English), Baudouin (French), Baldovino, Baldo (Italian), Balduino (Spanish), Maldwyn (Welsh)
Waldir =
Waldo =
Walfredo =
Walter, Valter =
Wanda, Vanda =
Wania, Vânia =
Wilfried, Vilfredo = from Proto-Germanic Willifrid, Wilfrith, Wilfrið (Anglo-Saxon), used in Western Europe= Guifré (Catalan), Vilfred (Danish), Wilfred, Wilfrid, Wil, Wilf (English), Wilfried (German), Vilfredo (Italian) Wilfredo (Spanish)
Wolfgang =
Surnames
Abreu = toponymic, from “Avredo” (avi + redo) derived from Gothic 'avi' grace and 'redo' to give, to offer. See Norman-French Évreux
Afonso = patronymic of the same name
Antunes = patronymic form of Antonio
Aires = Germanic hypocorism of 'Hari' or 'Hêri' meaning army
Araújo, Araujo = toponymic, from Gothic 'Ruderic'
Arnaldes = patronymic of Germ. 'Arnold(us)'
Arouca = toponymic, derived from Frankish or Gaulish *rusk (iris) maybe via old French 'rouche'
Alencar, Alenquer = toponymic, derived from Ancient Germanic “Alankerk” (Alan + kerk, temple of the Alans) referring to the Alans
Alves, Álvares = patronymic form of Álvaro
Bandeira = from Ancient Germanic *bandwa, band-
Beltrão = patronymic of the same name
Berenguer, Beringer, Berengar = derived from Ancient Germanic 'Geir', 'Ger' meaning bear and spear (see Geraldo= Gerald)
Bernardes = patronymic form of Bernardo
Branco = from Germanic 'blank' (white, fair)
Esteves = patronymic form of Estêvão
Fernandes = patronymic form of Fernando, archaic Fernão
Geraldes, Giraldes = patronymic form of Geraldo
Gonçalves = patronymic form of Gonçalo
Gondesendes, Gondesende = toponymic form of Germanic 'Gondesindus', 'Gondisalvus'
Guarda, Guardão = from Germanic 'wardon' (to guard, watch)
Guedes = patronymic form of Guede < Latinised vădu, < Germanic vâd or Weit
Guerra = from Gothic 'wirro' (war)
Guerrinha = from Gothic 'wirro' (war)
Guerreiro = from Gothic 'wirros' (warrior)
Gusmão = from Gothic 'gutsman' (goodman)
Guterres = patronymic form of Guterre
Henriques = patronymic form of Henrique
Martins = patronymic form of Martim, Martinho
Mendes = patronymic form of Menendo (short form of Hermenergildo)
Moniz = patronymic form of archaic Moninho or Munio
Norberto = patronymic of the same name, from Germanic Nordberctus, elements 'nort' (north)+ berth (illustrious)
Nunes = patronymic form of Nuno
Resende, Rezende = toponymic of Resende, from Suebian 'sinde' and 'sende', derived from the Germanic "sinths" (military expedition)
Ródão = from ancient Germanic H1reiH- 'flow, river'
Rodrigues = patronymic form of Rodrigo
Roldão = patronymic form of the same name, variant of Roland
Sá = from Germanic 'sal' (room, building)
Saavedra = combination of Germanic 'sal' + Latin 'vetus< vetera (old)
Salas = from Germanic 'sal' (room, building)
Sousa, Souza = Visigothic toponymic, from archaic 'Souza'
Velêz, Velez = from Visigothic baptismal name 'Vigila' (Wigila), patronymic of Vela (Veila, derived from Vigila).
Viegas= patronymic form of Egas
List
A
abandonar; abandono = "to abandon" ; "abandon"
atacar = "to attack"
abordar = "to attack (a problem)"
B
bala =
balcão = "balcony"
bandeira =
bandoleiro = "bandit"
banquete =
barão =
bébé or bebê (Brazil) = "baby"
bife = "beefsteak"
bigode = "moustache" (from German Bei Gott, "By God")
bisonte
branco; branca = "white"
bloco; bloquear = "block; to block"
bordar = "to embroider"
bote = "boat"
bramar = "to bellow, roar"
brecha = "breach, opening"
brinde = "toast(with drinks)"
brio= "spirit", "brio" (Celtic???)
brisa = "breeze" (Old Spanish briza from East Frisian brisen, to blow fresh and strong)
brocha =
brotar = "to sprout"
buganvília = "bougainvillea"
burguês = "bourgeoisie", "member of the middle class"
busca; buscar = "search, find, look for"
C
carpa = "carp"
chocar = "to crash, collide"
clube = "club, association"
cobalto = "cobalt"
comarca = "comarch"
correia = "strap, belt, leash"
D
dália = dahlia (named for Swedish 18th century botanist Anders Dahl)
dinamarquês = "a Dane, a citizen of the Kingdom of Denmark"
dança; dançar = "dance; to dance"
dardo = "a dart"
debute =
dique = "a dikewall"
dólar = "a dollar"
E
edredão, edredom = "eiderdown"
emboscar = "to ambush"
embraiagem = "clutch"
enriquecer = "get rich"
estampar = "to stamp"
estampida = same as "estampido"; bang, beat, blow (sound like a shot)
estandarte
este = "east"
estuco; estuque =
F
falar
feudal
feudo
flibusteiro
filme = movie, picture
filtro; filtrar
flutuar; frota; flotilha
folclore = from English folklore
fornido; fornecido
forragem
forrar
framboesa
francês
franco (candid)
franco (money)
franquear = free, no charge, no cost, for free,
frasco = bottle, urn, pot, vase, container
fresco = chilly, icy, freesing, cold
futebol = football (soccer)
G
gabardine; gabardina
gaita
galante
galardão
galope
gado
ganhar
ganso; gansa
garagem
garantia
garbo
gardênia
garrote
gavião
gravar
gripe, gripa
grisalho
groselha
grupo
gadanha
guarida
guarnição
guerra = germ. warra, lat. bellum
guerrilha
gueto
guia = "a guide"
guiar
guilhotina
guião
grinalda
guisa
guisar
H
heraldo
I
inglês
instalar
J
jardim
K
L
lastro
lata
lista
lote
lotaria
lua-de-mel (calque)
M
maleta
Malta
maquiagem, maquilagem
marcar
marcha
marchar
marechal
marquês
marquesa
marta
mascote
mação
mastro
N
nórdico
normando
norte
O
oeste = "west"
orgulho = pride
P
palco
paquete
placa
Q
queque = "cake"
quinquilharia = "old junk", "cheap antiques shop"
R
rancho
raça = "race (lineage)" from Italian raza of Gmc origin, akin to OHG rīga, line; OE ræw, row
raspar
rata
ratão
refrescar
refutar (Gmc origin???)
reno
retaguarda
rico
rifa
rifle
riqueza
roubar
roubo
rum
roupa
rufião
rumba
russo
S
sala
salão
saxofone
sopa
sud- /sul
sueco
suíço
T
tacha
taco
tacão
talar
tampão
tapa
tapar
tarjeta
teta
teutônico
toalha
toldo
tope
trampa
trégua
trepar
trombone
trompa
trompeta
tropa
trotar
tungstênio (Tungsten)
U
ufano
V
vagão
valquíria
valsa
vadio
vandalismo
vândalo
varão
venda
vermute
W
wagneriano
X
Z
zinco zinc
See also
History of the Portuguese language
List of French words of Germanic origin
List of Galician words of Germanic origin
Portuguese vocabulary
External links
Portuguese words of Germanic origin
References
Portuguese Germanic
Germanic | en |
doc-en-9044 | Bruchsal (; orig. Bruohselle, Bruaselle, historically known in English as Bruxhall) is a city at the western edge of the Kraichgau, approximately 20 km northeast of Karlsruhe in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on Bertha Benz Memorial Route.
Bruchsal is the largest city in the district of Karlsruhe and is known for being Europe's largest asparagus producer and one of the economic centers of the region of Karlsruhe. The Bruchsal area also includes the cities and towns of Bad Schönborn, Forst, Hambrücken, Karlsdorf-Neuthard, Kraichtal, Kronau, Oberhausen-Rheinhausen, Östringen, Philippsburg, Ubstadt-Weiher and Waghäusel. Until 1972 Bruchsal was the seat of the district of Bruchsal, which was merged into the district of Karlsruhe as a result of the district reform, effective January 1, 1973.
Bruchsal's population passed the 20,000 mark around 1955. When the new Body of Municipal Law for Baden-Württemberg went into effect on April 1, 1956, the city was therefore immediately awarded Große Kreisstadt status. In addition, Bruchsal cooperates with the neighboring communities of Forst, Hambrücken and Karlsdorf-Neuthard in administrative matters.
Geography
Bruchsal is located at the edge of the Upper Rhine River Plains and the Kraichgau along the Saalbach, which is a small tributary of the Rhine that joins it between Philippsburg and Oberhausen.
Neighboring communities
The following cities and towns share a border with Bruchsal. They all belong to the district of Karlsruhe and are listed clockwise, starting in the North: Forst (Baden), Ubstadt-Weiher, Kraichtal, Bretten, Gondelsheim, Walzbachtal, Weingarten (Baden), Stutensee and Karlsdorf-Neuthard. In addition the exclave of Bruchsal situated North of Karlsdorf-Neuthard shares borders with the towns of Graben-Neudorf, Waghäusel and Hambrücken.
Boroughs
The city of Bruchsal is made up of Bruchsal proper along with the boroughs of Büchenau, Heidelsheim, Helmsheim, Obergrombach and Untergrombach.
A few neighborhoods within the city limits are known by their own name, but their limits are not precisely documented. Furthermore, former homesteads are located inside today's city limits. These often only consist of one or several buildings, such as Langental, Rohrbacher Hof, Scheckenbronnerhof, Staighof, Talmühle and Auf dem Michaelsberg in the borough of Untergrombach.
History
Ancient era and early Middle Ages
Excavations and artifacts provide evidence of a settlement on the Michelsberg (Untergrombach) as early as 4000 BC during the Neolithic. In the core of Bruchsal the oldest settlement discovered was dated back to AD 640. It is located near today's Saint Peter's Church. The first mention of Bruchsal in official documents occurred in 976, when the king came to town. In October 980, Otto II and his court stayed at the king's palace in Bruchsal for several days.
Middle Ages
Henry II of Germany became ruler of Bruchsal in 1002 following the subjugation of his rival Herrmann of Swabia. In 1056 Henry III of Germany presented the settlement to the bishop of Speyer (Konrad I) as a gift. The city remained part the diocese until the German Mediatisation in 1802. It also was the seat of an administrative district that originally only consisted of the core of Bruchsal (i.e., the city as it existed prior to the various district reforms). In 1067 Henry IV resided in Bruchsal from time to time. 1248 was the first time Bruchsal was referred to as a city, and in 1278 Saint Peter's Church was mentioned for the first time. After extensive damage to both, the Palace and Saint Peter's Church were reconstructed in 1320. The Bergfried (an outlook and defensive tower bastion) was erected in 1358, and the city wall was completed in 1452. In 1460 the first coin was minted in Bruchsal.
1501–1750
In 1502 the first peasant revolt (Bundschuh), led by Joß Fritz of Untergrombach, chose Bruchsal as its target. Traitors to the rebellion allowed the authorities to take the revolt's leaders into custody. Ten were decapitated in the Bruchsal Palace courtyard. Joß Fritz got away and went into hiding in the Southern Black Forest. In 1525 the peasant revolts peaked. Inflation, hunger and the Plague added to the desperation, and the revolts were forcibly put down by the Prince. The known peasant leaders Hall, Wurm and the Minister Eisenhut were captured and decapitated in the Palace courtyard. During the 30 Years War in 1622 Bruchsal was completely destroyed, and in 1644 the French garrison in Philippsburg raided the city. In 1676 the French again destroyed parts of Bruchsal, and on August 10, 1689 the city was bombarded by the French general Duras and was completely destroyed. After that Bruchsal counted only 130 residents.
By April 24, 1711 Bruchsal had recovered sufficiently to play host to Prince Eugene of Savoy of the Habsburg Court in Vienna. Then in 1716 the Bishop of Speyer, Heinrich von Rollingen, moved his residence into the Bruchsal Palace. This move elevated the city's status to that of an official residence of the Diocese of Speyer. At the same time, Bruchsal became the seat of the "Vizedomamt", the most important office held by the Diocese on the West bank of the Rhine. In 1719 Cardinal Damian Hugo von Schönborn became the new bishop, and after settling in he commissioned in (1722), among others, the new baroque château and the new Saint Peter's Church (from 1742). Both were built and, in part, designed by Balthasar Neumann. In the Bishop's honor, the Southern gate out of the château grounds is referred to as Damian's Gate to this day. In 1743 Franz Christof von Hutten, Schönborn's successor, completed the extensive construction of the baroque city of Bruchsal, by adding Damian's Gate, the military barracks and the Water Château (home to one of the city's two regional, college track high schools, the Schönborn Gymnasium).
1751–1815
In 1753 the Schönborn Gymnasium was founded by Bishop von Hutten. In 1770 the new bishop, Count August von Limburg-Stirum, took up office. Bruchsal now counted 6,000 residents. In 1796 French troops occupied the city. German Mediatisation turned all property owned by the Diocese of Speyer over to the House of Baden, and Bruchsal became the seat of the district court. The district then was divided and reunited several times through 1819.
In 1806 the Marquess Amalie of Baden, widowed since 1801, took up residence in Bruchsal's baroque château and lived there until 1823. She had 8 children of whom 6 were daughters, and she was known as Europe's mother-in-law. Amalie's son, the later Grand Duke Karl, was married to Stéphanie de Beauharnais, a niece of Napoleon's wife Josephine per orders given by Napoleon himself. In 1812 Stephanie gave birth to a son, who died after 14 days. This was the origin of the legend of Kaspar Hauser's nobility. Amalie's daughter Louise was married to Alexander I of Russia and became the Russian Tsarina Elisabeth Alexeievna. Amalie's daughter Friedericke wed Gustaf IV Adolf to become Queen of Sweden (though she asked for and received asylum in Bruchsal after 1807 due to the coup d'état of her husband's government). Amalie's daughter Maria was married to the Duke of Braunschweig, and two other daughters were married to the regents of Bavaria and of Hessen-Darmstadt.
In 1815, after Napoleon's reign was over, Bruchsal and Amalie entertained the following company in the baroque château at Bruchsal until the dust settled: The Russian Tsar, Prince Metternich, the King of Prussia, as well as his son, the later Emperor of Germany.
1816–1880
In 1841 the Rhine Valley Railway was completed between Heidelberg, Bruchsal, and Karlsruhe. In 1848/1849 the Baden Revolution did manage to stray into Bruchsal a bit. While the revolutionaries (Gustav Struve, Lorenz Brentano, Amand Goegg and others) met in the château, the commoners freed prisoners from the just-completed prison. This prison, the Old Palace, was the scene of executions well into World War II and even later. On June 23, 1849, the revolution was quelled by Crown Prince Wilhelm at the battle of Ubstadt. 1856 brought gas lighting to Bruchsal, and the city received Baden's Guillotine. In 1864 the district of Philippsburg was merged WITH the Bruchsal district, which now belonged to the newly formed "Greater Karlsruhe." On June 1, 1869 the first German railway signal factory, Schnabel-Henning, was founded in Bruchsal. Later it was merged with Siemens AG, and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and 1871 made Bruchsal an important rail hub for the provisioning of German troops.
1881–1945
In 1881 a synagogue was built. The Industrial Revolution brought economic growth, mostly with the help of the railway and the area's tobacco and hops production. 1889 gave residents in Bruchsal their first telephones, and in 1906 the Prince-Styrum Hospital was built. The city's slaughterhouse opened in 1908, and World War I again turned Bruchsal into a major hub on the supply line for the troops. Immediately after the war, in 1919 and 1920 the city was wired for electricity. In 1934 the Autobahn was built between Heidelberg and Bruchsal, and in 1936 the Bretten district was merged with the Bruchsal district. In 1938 the Nazis destroyed the synagogue (in its place stands a fire station today) and the Jewish population were deported. In 1939 the District Bruchsal became the district of Bruchsal, which included 38 towns and cities, until it was merged into Karlsruhe (district) during the district reform of 1970. On the afternoon of March 1, 1945, Bruchsal was bombed by the Allies. At the time of the attack, the war was essentially over, with the front line only 20 km from the city limits and nearly no one left to defend it. To this day, that particular attack upsets residents as the consensus is that it was unnecessary and inconsequential to the outcome of the war. There are allegations that the attack by U.S. bombers was conducted in retaliation for the killing of a parachuted pilot by farmers. In addition to the 1,000 lives that perished that day, the entire inner city and the baroque château were destroyed. On April 2, 1945, allied forces took Bruchsal without resistance.
On March 1, 1945, shortly before 2 p.m., a bomb attack by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) with 116 heavy bombers killed more than 1,000 people and destroyed the entire city center immediately before the end of the war (the Allies were already away on the Rhine) and the castle of the then 12,000-strong city.
On April 2, 1945, associations of the 1st French Army entered Bruchsal without a fight. In the following days, there were numerous rapes of Bruchsal girls and women by the French colonial troops (see Sexual Violence in World War II # French and British Army). Between November 1945 and March 1946, 13 people, who had been sentenced to death by American military courts for their involvement in National Socialist war crimes, were executed in Bruchsal. These included those involved in aviation murders and three employees of the Hadamar Nazi killing center, in which over 600 forced laborers had been murdered.
1946 to the present
Starting from 1 April 1956 Bruchsal was awarded the Große Kreisstadt status, as its population had passed the 20,000 mark in 1955. Between 1971 and 1974 the local government reform incorporated 5 neighbouring communities into the city of Bruchsal, including the cities of Heidelsheim and Obergrombach. Under a further reform in 1973, Bruchsal was incorporated into the district of Karlsruhe. Thus Bruchsal lost its district seat status, though it still remains a major economic centre of the region.
Local government reform
In the local government reform in the early 1970s the following cities and towns became part of the city of Bruchsal. Before the district reform they were all part of Bruchsal district.
July 1, 1971: Obergrombach and Untergrombach
July 1, 1972: Büchenau and Helmsheim
October 1, 1974: Heidelsheim
Demographics
Figures reflect the city limits at the time and are estimates or Census data (¹), or official extensions thereof, counting only primary residences.
¹ Census data
Government
Under the local government reform in the 1970s, borough councils were introduced in Baden-Württemberg. Residents of each borough elect their Borough Council at each municipal election. The Borough Council must be consulted on issues that significantly affect the borough. The Borough President also leads the Borough Council.
City council
Since the last municipal elections on May 25, 2014, the City Council of Bruchsal consists of 32 members (previously 35) whose official title is "Stadtrat" (male) or "Stadträtin" (female) (City Councillor). They belong to political parties as follows:
Mayor
The head of the city is the Mayor, who is elected by registered voters for a term of 8 years. His permanent Deputy is the City Council President.
Mayors since 1900
1898–1913: Karl Stritt
1913–1933: Karl Meister
1945–1963: Franz Bläsi (CDU)
1964–1985: Adolf Bieringer (CDU)
1985–2009: Bernd Doll (CDU)
2009–present: Cornelia Petzold-Schick
Coat of arms
Bruchsal's Coat of Arms features a solid, polished silver cross on blue background, with a silver ball in the top left quadrant. The official city colors are white and blue. The Coat of Arms symbolized the Cross of Speyer, referring to the fact that Bruchsal was the official residence of the Bishop until 1803, and has been in use for many centuries. There is some uncertainty as to how the ball came into the arms. The ball may have become part of the Coat of Arms by accident, in that an engraving fault may have been misinterpreted in an older print. Residents refer to it commonly as the Schandfleck (the "blot on the city's escutcheon").
Main sights
Buildings
The Château of Bruchsal was built in the baroque style of the mid 18th century, starting around 1720, and served as the official residence of the bishops of Speyer. Its centre was a three-winged building that was based on the plans of Maximilian von Welsch for Cardinal Damian Hugo Philipp von Schönborn, Prince-Bishop of Speyer (1719–1743) and of Konstanz (1740). After the plans had been modified several times, the central staircase was built by Balthasar Neumann, who had taken over and filled the role of Chief Engineer since 1731. It is generally regarded as one of the most successful design solutions for a baroque staircase. The château complex includes numerous other buildings, among them Damian's Gate and the Church of the Court. In the closing days of World War II the château was badly damaged by an air raid aimed at Bruchsal, and it burned out completely. The famous staircase largely survived (though it was badly damaged), but the dome did not. After lengthy discussions about whether and how it should be done, the large central part of the building (Corps de Logis) was reconstructed (well into the 1970s) as a museum, while the Church wing design was changed to a modern design.
The Belvedere was originally designed as a Lustschloss (pleasure palace), to which a shooting house was added for use in the shooting competitions often held by the Court. As time went by, the Manor was nicknamed Belvedere by the city's residents, as it enjoyed the best view of the city. The Belvedere is part of the City Gardens.
The most significant church in Bruchsal is Saint Peter's Church, where the last of the Bishops of Speyer were laid to rest. Another important churches are the City Church of Our Lady and the Martin Luther Church (the main Protestant church of the city). City Hall adjacent to the Market Place is a modern building erected in the 1950s which has since been protected by law as an important historic structure.
The prison, constructed around 1848, is nicknamed the Octagon Cafe or "Cafe Achteck". Today it is a high security institution and predominantly houses individuals convicted of violent crimes and convicted terrorists, such as members of the Red Army Faction.
Museums
The State Museum of Baden operates a branch in parts of the Château at Bruchsal. It features an art-historic collection and the German Music Box Museum.
Additionally, the boroughs of Heidelsheim and Untergrombach each maintain a museum of local history, and a Kindergartenmuseum displays items showing the history and development of preschools and includes games, dolls, and preschool furnishings. Inside Damian's Gate at the southern exit of the château grounds, the local art society (Kunstverein Bruchsal e. V.) exhibits contemporary art.
Parks
The City Gardens near the Belvedere were constructed in 1901. Then there is the Bürgerpark around the Community Center and, last but not least, the Château Gardens, the largest park in the city. Its upper gardens were constructed at the same time the château was built, starting around 1721, while the middle and lower gardens were never completely finished. The railway to Heidelberg cuts through the lower gardens today and reduced them to a tree-lined avenue.
Culture
The Badische Landesbühne theater company calls Bruchsal home, its home theater being the stage in the Community Center (built on the grounds of the former Psycha, which is today the Bürgerpark and intended to be Bruchsal's cultural center).
Bruchsal also supports an amateur theater company called Die Koralle. Die Koralle has produced between two and four plays a year, both modern and of the classics, since approximately 1965.
Willi - die Bühne organizes independent arts events from time to time at the city slaughterhouse.
Although Bruchsal is a fairly small city it has a very active night life.
Transport
Bruchsal is located near the Autobahn A 5 (Karlsruhe - Frankfurt) (Bruchsal Exit). In addition, the city is traversed by federal highways B 3 (Karlsruhe - Heidelberg) and B 35 (Bretten - Germersheim).
Bruchsal station, designed and built by Berthold Schweikert, is located at the intersection of the Karlsruhe–Heidelberg line, the line to Mühlacker and the line to Germersheim.
Light rail or "S-Bahn" Lines S 3 (Karlsruhe - Heidelberg - Speyer) and S 4 (Bruchsal - Heidelberg - Speyer) of the S-Bahn RheinNeckar, and the S 31 (Karlsruhe - Bruchsal - Odenheim), S 32 (Karlsruhe - Bruchsal - Menzingen) and S 9 (Bruchsal - Bretten - Knittlingen - Mühlacker) lines of the Stadtbahn Karlsruhe in the Karlsruher Verkehrsverbunds (KVV) also stop at the Bruchsal station. Furthermore, most of the boroughs have stops along these light rail lines.
Additional public transport within the city and its immediate surroundings is offered by numerous bus lines.
Media
The Badischen Neuesten Nachrichten (BNN), a daily newspaper operating out of Karlsruhe, publishes a local edition by the name of Bruchsaler Rundschau.
Willi, a monthly magazine, is published and is also available online, at no charge, in .pdf form.
Stadtinfoplattform Bruchsal-XL offers facts, reports and up-to-date information on events in the city and region.
Cable TV's Channel S14 broadcasts the Bruchsal-Magazin BM-TV with weekly programs on news from Bruchsal and the region. These broadcasts are also available via live Internet-TV through the Stadtinfoplattform Bruchsal-XL.de site. Also available are online archives.
Finally, the Bruchsaler Wochenblatt, a weekly offered free of charge, and the Kurier, an advertising weekly published by the Badischen Neuesten Nachrichten and also offered free of charge, round out the picture.
Education
Bruchsal was the home of the International University in Germany, one of the first private colleges in Germany. The university occupied the former military barracks complex in the Kasernenstraße before ceasing operations at the end of 2009.
Bruchsal also offers a wide variety of liberal arts schools, among them the Justus-Knecht-Gymnasium, the Schönborn-Gymnasium (both public college-track high schools), the St. Paulusheim gymnasium, a private college-track high school that started out as a boys-only boarding school, and the Albert-Schweitzer-Realschule, a non-college track public high school (all in the core of Bruchsal).
The school system also operates the following grammar and middle schools: Burg School in the borough of Obergrombach, Dietrich-Bonhoeffer-School, Johann-Peter-Hebel-School (near the Château Gardens), Joss-Fritz-School in Untergrombach, Konrad-Adenauer-School in the southern core of the city and Stirum School in the centrum, as well as an independent grammar school each in the boroughs of Büchenau and Helmsheim.
Specialized schools are offered as well: Pestalozzi School for the learning disabled and, administered by the district of Karlsruhe, Karl-Berberich-School for the mentally disabled. The district also runs the four vocational schools located in Bruchsal. They are the Balthasar-Neumann-School I, Balthasar-Neumann-School II (teaching artisan, mechanics and other hands-on occupations), the merchant and bookkeeping school (teaching administrative and merchant professions) and Käthe-Kollwitz-School (teaching professions in the field of home economics).
The Abendrealschule Bruchsal allows students with middle school diplomas to achieve the first in a series of steps to gain college entrance prerequisites on a part-time basis after work. It is part of a structured program commonly referred to as the Alternate Path to Higher Education. Furthermore, three private schools, the nursing school attached to the Fürst-Stirum-Klinik Bruchsal and the College for Special Education of St. Maria complete Bruchsal's educational offers.
Research
The research project for urban and autonomous freight logistics, efeuCampus, was launched in July 2019 on the site of the former Dragonerkaserne barracks. Systems for autonomous freight delivery and collection are developed and tested on the campus. The overall project is funded by the European Union and the state of Baden-Württemberg.
Notable people
1470 (approx.) in Untergrombach, Joß Fritz, farmer, leader during the peasant revolts, died after 1524
1500 Johannes Stumpf, theologian, topographer, historian and chronicler; died 1575 in Zürich
1534 Samuel Eisenmenger physician, theologian and astrologer, died 1585
1824 Katrina Wolf Murat, maker of the first U.S. flag in Colorado
1857 in Heidelsheim, Isaac Baer, from 1897 Julius Baer, private banker, died 9. March 1922 in Riehen, Switzerland
1861 Karl Steiner, died 1929 in Baden-Baden, born in Heidelsheim, official
1875 Otto Oppenheimer, textile trader, dialect and homeland poet, died 1951 in New York, USA
1879 Wilhelm Henning, died after 1943, military and ethnic-nationalistic politician
1883 Walter Buch, jurist and judge of the NSDAP-court, died 1949 in Schondorf am Ammersee
1894 Leo Kahn, artist, died 1983 in Safed, Israel
1896 Wilhelm Sauter, painter (paintings and drawings), died 1948 in Göppingen
1898 Fritz Klein German resistance fighter against national socialism, was executed in the penal prison of the Seilerbahn in 1944
1909 Josef Hirtreiter, SS Holocaust perpetrator who worked at Treblinka extermination camp
1937 Emma Guntz, German-French author and journalist
1938 Franz Alt, journalist and author
1963 Klaus Bachmann, journalist, author, historian
1968 John Zimmermann, military historian and lieutenant
1971 Thomas Hellriegel, triathlete (long distance)
1974 Anke Huber, tennis player
1984 Florian Dick, footballer
1993 Marvin Wanitzek, footballer
1994 Petar Mišić, footballer
1995 Jimmy Marton, footballer
Twin towns – sister cities
Bruchsal is twinned with:
Sainte-Menehould, France (1965)
Cwmbran, Wales, United Kingdom (1979)
Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, France (1989)
Gornja Radgona, Slovenia (2006)
Volterra, Italy (2008)
Notes
References
Badisches Städtebuch; Vol. IV Part 2 of the Deutsches Städtebuch. Handbuch städtischer Geschichte - Im Auftrage der Arbeitsgemeinschaft der historischen Kommissionen und mit Unterstützung des Deutschen Städtetages, des Deutschen Städtebundes und des Deutschen Gemeindetages, published by Erich Keyser, Stuttgart, 1959.
Anton Heuchemer: Zeit der Drangsal. Die katholischen Pfarreien Bruchsals im Dritten Reich. Veröffentlichungen der Historischen Kommission der Stadt Bruchsal. Bruchsam, Publisher K.W. Dörr, 1990.
Hubert Krins et al.: Brücke, Mühle und Fabrik. Technische Kulturdenkmale in Ba-Wü. Theiss, Stuttgart. Vol. 2 Industriearchäologie. Publisher Landesmuseum f Technik u Arbeit, Mannheim. 1991. . S. 33 zum Schlachthof, Tafel 12. Ein Denkmal für Backstein-Industriearchtiektur.
External links
Schönborn Gymnasium
Justus Knecht Gymnasium
Paulusheim
Käthe-Kollwitz-Schule
Official Website of the City of Bruchsal
Events and websites for Bruchsal
More on the baroque Bruchsal Château
Official Château website
Die Badische Landesbühne
Bruchsal.org, the community's Internet newspaper
German Music Box Museum
Homepage of SEW-Eurodrive
Towns in Baden-Württemberg
Karlsruhe (district)
Baden
Holocaust locations in Germany | en |
doc-en-10122 | Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV is a British comedy sketch series written by and starring comedian Victoria Wood, with appearances from Julie Walters, Celia Imrie, Duncan Preston, Susie Blake and Patricia Routledge. The show was televised on BBC Two between 1985 and 1987 and included sketches that became famous in the United Kingdom. Some examples are one-offs like Waitress (popularly known as Two Soups), in which Walters, as an elderly waitress, takes far too long to deliver two bowls of soup, regular features like Acorn Antiques (a parody of low-budget soap opera), as well as musical performances by Wood including her best-known number, The Ballad of Barry and Freda ("Let's Do It").
The show was created when Wood was enticed away from rival television station ITV in 1984. She wrote the whole program and the synopsis of it for Radio Times. The series led to spin-off script books, video tapes and DVDs.
The show won BAFTA Awards for all its episodes and, in 1996, it was awarded all-time "Favorite Comedy Series" by the BBC.
Wood preferred to work with a regular repertory of actors she could trust. After the show ended, she occasionally revived aspects of it with these colleagues. A notable spin-off is Acorn Antiques, the West End musical.
Background
Wood, having spent most of her television career before As Seen on TV with the opposition television station ITV, was lured to the BBC with a promise of bigger budgets and more creative control than on previous television shows, such as Wood and Walters.
To produce and direct the show, Wood chose Geoff Posner, who had previously worked on successful and acclaimed British comedy shows of the early 1980s such as Not The Nine O'Clock News, The Young Ones and the pilot of Blackadder. Equally impressed with her work, Posner said of Wood's gift for comedy, "She manages to examine people talking and capture speech-patterns and subjects that are everyday, but hysterical at the same time... it's quite unique to hold a mirror up to ordinary life and make it so special."
Going into production in summer 1984 – with studio recordings in September and October – the first series of As Seen on TV was intended for broadcast late that year. As a theatre tie-in, Wood arranged a short stand-up tour with the same name as the show, to capitalize on her television appearances around the same time. This backfired when the BBC put back the opening broadcast to early the following year.
Recurring sketches
As well as numerous stand-alone sketches and songs, the show had many recurring items. Each show opened with Wood's performing a stand-up comedy monologue, often using material she had already honed on her stage tours. Within the half-hours that followed, there were usually several fairly regular sketch items mixed in.
Linking many of the sketches was Susie Blake as a snobbish and arrogant television continuity announcer. Notable lines spoken by Blake include "We'd like to apologize to viewers in the North. It must be awful for them".
Patricia Routledge starred as Kitty, a self-righteous middle-aged spinster from Cheadle, who featured in a weekly monologue. To show the character's forthrightness, Wood had originally written Kitty's opening introduction as "Hello, I'm Kitty. I've had a boob off and I can't stomach whelks"; the "boob off" line was later changed to "I've given gallons of blood". The Kitty character shared similarities with a character in one of Wood's earlier sketch shows, Wood and Walters, Dotty (then played by Julie Walters).
Margery & Joan featured Walters (as Margery) and Wood (as Joan) parodying banal daytime television magazine shows.
Gail and Carl was a regular sketch in series one featuring Andrew Livingston and Victoria Wood as a young, naïve northern couple. For example, Carl, in response to being asked where babies come from, replies, "You want to send off for a pamphlet. We've got one at home about lagging."
The He Didn't? sketches that featured in the second series starred Wood as Kelly Marie Tunstall, a delinquent teenager standing at a bus stop telling her friend (Mary Jo Randle) ever more fanciful stories. "So he walks over, right, an' 'e 'ad tattoos on 'is arms - anchor 'ere, microwave 'ere." "He didn't!" "He did." Each responds to the other after a ludicrous anecdote with the words
"He didn't?"
"He did!"
Acorn Antiques
Acorn Antiques is perhaps the best-remembered regular item from the series. It was a spoof soap opera set in an antiques shop, which, despite its provincial high-street status, manages to supply an unending stream of works by Picasso, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. The two shop customers appearing at the start of each sketch, examining some antique, are always played by the same two actors. The sketch parodied the soap genre with its bad acting, ridiculous dialogue and contrived plot twists. Wood drew inspiration from the long-running ATV/Central serial Crossroads, The Cedar Tree and the BBC radio soap opera Waggoners Walk (1969–1980).
The sketches even led to a fanzine and appreciation gatherings, where fans would dress up as the characters. In 2004, in a poll on its website, Channel 4 voted Acorn Antiques the seventh best comedy sketch of all time. In 2005, Acorn Antiques was turned into a West End musical (see below).
Spoof documentaries
Each episode of As Seen on TV featured a spoof documentary on "slice-of-life" stories such as a girl who wanted to swim the channel and an old man moving into a home. Just An Ordinary School, for example, took a look at an exclusive girl's public school, with one pupil claiming "there are all sorts of girls here, even colored girls, though they tend to be princesses mainly".
Another spoof was of a musical detailing the life of Bessie Bunter, entitled Bessie! The musical starts as an Andrew Lloyd Webber parody with the setting of a girl's private school but they've included issues such as the Spanish Civil War and the McCarthy era. On being asked about Bessie's fatness, the producer (Sir Dave) replies "it is a sort of mental fatness". The lead actress, Carla, belts out in rehearsals one of the songs, "One Day", despite insisting she has "pneumonia". She says to prepare for the role she starts with the bra and then everything falls into place. Later, Bessie! is rewritten completely and the previous cast are sacked: it is, after all, a musical about "a big fat girl". Meanwhile, Carla is crying and being comforted by her colleagues, but further upset by Sir Dave telling her to "get the **** out of here will you Carla? We don't really want snot all over the plush, love". In this rewritten part of Bessie, she is played by Victoria Wood who sings an impossibly glamorous and upbeat number. However, she complains at the end that "you're going to have to change this floor".
Usually lasting around five minutes, the spoof documentaries were narrated by a usually off-screen "reporter" in the first series and presented for the most part by Duncan Preston in the second series, as "Corin Huntley". It was a continuation of style for Wood, who had previously produced similar pseudo-realistic spoofs such as The Woman Who Had 740 Children and Girls Talking for Wood and Walters.
One-off sketches
The show featured many, often acclaimed, one-off sketches, like Waitress (popularly known as Two Soups), where Julie Walters plays an elderly deaf waitress who takes an incredibly long time to take an order for two bowls of soup. In 2004, British television network Channel 4 (in a poll conducted on its website) awarded it "27th Best Comedy Sketch Of All Time". Walters said "she [Wood] knows I like playing old women. Why? Because I am one! I love the shape of them."
Classic Coronation Street was a recreation of 1960s Coronation Street. It starred Wood as the show's gossiping Ena Sharples, with Julie Walters as Martha Longhurst and Lill Roughley as Minnie Caldwell, with Ena telling them the "gossip" she has heard about the show's plotlines for the next two decades. The sketch was written with a detailed knowledge of the soap opera's past: "That stuck up Ida Barlow, who's no better than she should be... it'll not be too long before she falls under a bus! That Harry Hewitt'll likely get crushed under the axle of his own van, and as for Valerie Barlow – and if this isn't judgement for setting 'erself up in 'er own front parlour as a so-called hair stylist then my name isn't Ena Sharples – from what I hear, it's two clogs to a thrupenny bit that she'll electrocute 'erself with 'er own 'airdryer." This sketch's accuracy earned Wood praise from Doris Speed, who had played Annie Walker in Coronation Street from 1960 to 1983.
Giving Notes featured Walters as the leader of an amateur dramatics company giving notes to her cast: "I can't say this too often: it may be Hamlet, but it's got to be fun, fun, fun!" Shoe Shop also starred Walters as a mad shoe shop saleswoman and Wood as her customer. In the sketch she delivers Wood a pair of high-heeled shoes, though Wood requested a flat pair. Walters snaps off the heels and replies, "flatter now".
Medical School had Wood as a nervous interviewee, applying to become a medical student. Asked what the last book she read was, she replies "Othello. It's a book by William Shakespeare, of the Royal Shakespeare Company". In On The Trolley, Wood played a waitress in a restaurant, responding to any order of food with the repetitive phrases "Is it on the trolley?" and "Can you point at it?" This was Wood's personal favourite sketch in the series.
Self-Service featured Wood and Walters as two friends at a self-service café. It features many classic lines including, "Aren't prawns an aphrodisiac?" "Well, I wouldn't put it past them." and "Can we get by, we're not having a sweet." "Very wise with those hips!"
Music
Music featured regularly on the show, often with Wood singing self-penned songs accompanying herself on the piano. The best-remembered tune from the show is the seven-minute-long "The Ballad of Barry and Freda – Let's Do It". It concerns a couple, Barry and Freda; she is hungry for sex, he isn't. It climaxes with the lines "beat me on the bottom with a Woman's Weekly, let's do it! Let's do it tonight!". The song was performed numerous times by Wood in her live performances. Wood said of the number: "A joy to write, a sod to learn, and I daren't finish a show without it. The first time I performed it, a woman at the stage door asked, 'How long have you been cross-eyed?'"
As Seen on TV featured other musical styles: So Pissed Off With Love, a duet with Wood and Denis Lawson; Keep On Shopping, an epic musical number about shopping; At The Chippy, with Wood, Walters, Meg Johnson and others singing in tribute to their local fish parlour; Marie And Clarie And Min, featuring Wood, Johnson and Hope Jackman as three old women on a seaside trip, as well as other numbers. The show contained a skit on the old "fill in" footage often slotted into scheduling to cover technical breakdowns: "I'm Gonna Knock, Knock, Knock On Your Knocker". Comedy sketches featured music, like the parody of the staging of a West End musical, Bessie, and a send-up of the Judy Garland–Mickey Rooney "let's put on a show" genre in "I'm Counting Moonbeams".
Preferring to work with people she knew, Wood hired David Firman to be musical director for the series. Firman had previously been musical director for Wood's play Good Fun.
Episodes
The series lasted for 12 regular half-hour episodes (and a final 40-minute special) between 1985 and 1987. All six episodes of the first series were broadcast between 11 January and 15 February 1985 at 9:00pm on Friday evenings on BBC2. They followed the same format with an opening stand up monologue from Wood, followed by a mixture of sketches, songs and spoof mini-documentaries, with regular soap opera parody Acorn Antiques making its introduction. This first series reached 4.55 million viewers by the penultimate show, making it the tenth most popular programme that week on the channel. To Wood's surprise, the series then went on to win two BAFTA Awards (see below).
The second series of six episodes were broadcast between 10 November and 15 December 1986, this time on the (then) more popular Monday slot on BBC2. It followed a similar format to the first series. By the third week it was the number one most watched programme on BBC2 with 8.55 million viewers. Having scored an even bigger ratings and critical success than its previous series, its triumph even led Wood to be invited on that year's prestigious Royal Variety Performance.
Between series one and two, Wood said she thought it was a mistake to do another As Seen on TV series, and had attempted to write a play instead: "I've been seeking to branch out, but it hasn't happened. I wanted to do something different before I went back on TV." However, she soon decided that the play was "too Alan Ayckbourn", threw it away and began writing the second run instead. She aimed to write 18 minutes of script a week. In the end it took six months to complete, an experience she did not enjoy. "You pour everything you've got into one sketch and you don't ever want to write another - only you realise there are fifty-nine more to go before you've got enough for a series, it's torment".
The series returned for a 40-minute special on 18 December 1987. Wood defined 'special' as "ten minutes longer and I've splashed out on a new bra".
She said of her decision to finish the show: "I love television, and if it was possible for me to work in it more, then I would; but because of the position I've put myself in of being the only writer on the show, I can't physically work in it that often. I've just had it with sketch shows for a bit – people have liked it, and I want to stop while they still like it."
The Radio Times Guide To TV Comedy described Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV as having "a regular company of fine performers, good production values, incisive scripts and a snappy pace... the show rarely dipped below brilliant and featured numerous delights, such as Wood's hilariously authentic dialogue and her surprisingly stinging satirical characters".
Cast
Wood used a regular ensemble of actors in the series, Julie Walters, Celia Imrie and Duncan Preston, with Susie Blake and Patricia Routledge doing weekly spots.
Julie Walters was a long term collaborator of Wood's, although unlike Wood and Walters, their previous television series together, only Wood's name remained in the title. This was because in the interim, Wood was getting viewers of it turning up to her solo stand up shows expecting to see a double act. This didn't stop Wood making Walters almost as prominent in this newer series. She played many two handers with Wood as well as other roles such as daytime television host Margery, a mad shoe shop lady, the elderly waitress in the Two Soups sketch, and a transsexual hairdresser. Most famously, she played cleaning lady Mrs. Overall in Acorn Antiques. She later revealed that alongside her starring role in Educating Rita, it's the part she's still recognised the most by the public for.
Duncan Preston (who appeared in Wood's 1981 teleplay Happy Since I Met You) was cast in weekly roles. He had even turned down the chance to play Shakespeare and an offer of a world tour as Hotspur in Henry IV, Part One at the same time. Preston later said, "I was at a crossroads and I had the choice of going straight or going off at a tangent with Victoria, I chose the latter and she changed my life". Most famously playing the recurring role of Clifford in Acorn Antiques, he advertised a men's bra, was "Corin Huntley" – a documentary presenter – and was the voice of the monster Crayola in Wood's parody of Doctor Who. Wood said of Duncan, "He hasn't been exploited properly in the show because I tend to write parts for women, which is fair enough, but it does mean that Duncan plays the bank manager or the man in the hotel. I don't like men's men. Duncan's mainly the sort of man who likes women, so you can talk to him about your ovaries and it causes no embarrassment". Preston said he was cast "because I was so tall".
Celia Imrie was a long-standing friend of Wood and had even been in the studio audience when Wood performed on the TV talent show New Faces in 1974. However, it was when Wood saw her act in a show by BBC Scotland called Eighty-One Take Two that she was impressed enough to hire her friend for the show. Imrie played various roles throughout the run, like a co-presenter of McConomy (a spoof TV economy show), and most famously Miss Babs in Acorn Antiques. Imrie said in 2007, "Miss Babs is still what I'm best known for, even though I don't go around with bright yellow hair." During her run in As Seen on TV Imrie received a fan letter from playwright Alan Bennett. "He wrote a card to me saying he adored Miss Babs. You can't imagine how thrilling that was. I still have that card today." Imrie though believes that the praise should go to Wood's writing: "Every word is of huge importance and crafted to perfection. It was a wonderful, happy accident that I met her."
Wood spotted Susie Blake in a musical at the King's Head Theatre and cast her in the role of the opinionated continuity announcer. Wood said of her casting at the time, "I didn't think of her particularly for the continuity announcer, but she came in and could do it, just like that. I'd love to cast her in a song-and-dance number – I feel so sorry for her always having to wear those terrible blouses". When As Seen On TV ended Blake said "I'm very sad that this is the last time we will all work together but I understand why Vic wanted to stop. Anyway there were only two series of Fawlty Towers and, as far as I'm concerned, this rates with it, so I'm sure it'll be shown lots of times".
Patricia Routledge starred as Kitty, the self-righteous spinster from Cheadle in weekly monologues. Routledge had appeared in a monologue before in Alan Bennett's 1982 play A Woman of No Importance. In 1999, as part of Comic Relief, Wood parodied Routledge in Wetty Hainthropp Investigates, a spoof of Routledge's BBC1 detective series Hetty Wainthropp Investigates.
Semi-regulars in the show included Jim Broadbent, who'd previously appeared with Wood in the London staging of her play Talent. He appeared in such parts as a sleazy press photographer and a telephone deodorising engineer. Lill Roughley, who Wood first spotted when she worked with her then husband Geoffrey Durham in 1977, was given various roles, such as impersonating Coronation Street'''s Minnie Caldwell. Mary Jo Randle, as well as playing Kelly-Marie Tunstall's friend, appeared as an actress who hadn't worked for three years in the spoof documentary To Be An Actress.
Wood hired many actors she had previously worked with and felt she could trust, such as Peter Ellis, Meg Johnson, Kay Adshead and Sue Wallace. Wood hired several celebrities for the show including Frank Bruno, Denis Healey, Claire Rayner, Pete Postlethwaite, Maureen Lipman, Hope Jackman, Molly Weir, Henry Kelly, Dora Bryan and Anne Reid (who would star with Wood again in her sitcom dinnerladies in 1999. Kelly and Bryan made guest appearances in the sitcom).
AwardsAs Seen on TV was a highly acclaimed show in the United Kingdom by the time it ended in 1987. Wood, having just received a BAFTA for the first series, said at the time: "I was very pleased to win, but it really put pressure on me. I was already writing the new series and every time I looked at the award I kept on thinking that people would be expecting so much more now and I just wouldn't be able to live up to it. In the end, I just put the thing away." The series then went on to win BAFTAs for its entire run.
In 1996, the BBC celebrated its 60th anniversary with an awards ceremony titled Auntie's All Time Greats. In it, As Seen on TV beat Monty Python's Flying Circus for "Favourite Comedy Series". It beat the same show again when it won 'best sketch show' in the Radio Times Comedy Poll in 2001.As Seen on TV was given regular repeats on BBC1 and BBC2 until 1995.
The show was not repeated on television again until November 2007, when British satellite TV station UKTV Gold began airing As Seen on TV in a regular afternoon slot.
Both series are currently available on Netflix.
Revivals
Although the show ended in 1987, elements of it have been revived by the cast from time to time. Wood and Walters both appeared as Margery and Joan in a sketch for Red Nose Day 1988 – A Night of Comic Relief, broadcast live. Acorn Antiques has been revived many times: firstly, Mrs Overall briefly returned in 1992's Victoria Wood's All Day Breakfast. Secondly, Acorn Antiques was briefly brought back for an episode in 2001, featuring the original cast and Nick Frost as an armed robber. In 2005 it was revived by Wood as a West End theatre production Acorn Antiques: The Musical!, starring the original cast and directed by Trevor Nunn. Limited to a 16-week sold-out run, it then toured with a brand-new cast, this time directed by Wood herself.
Script books
There have been two books published featuring scripts from As Seen On TV. Up To You, Porky (published in 1985) features scripts from the first series mixed in with extracts from Wood and Walters and Wood's stage show Lucky Bag. In 1987, the follow-up Barmy was published, featuring sketches entirely collated from As Seen on TV. Barmy features a Margery and Joan sketch specially written as an introduction to the book, where they review forthcoming novels. Exclusive to this book are two sketches cut from the original broadcast, 'Lady Police Serial', a parody of the long-running Juliet Bravo, where Wood as Juliet chats to her Desk Sergeant Wilberforce. 'Craft Shop', where the owner (Rosalind March) tries to tempt her customer (Celia Imrie) with the likes of "Ukrainian Prayer Shawls, woven by the mothers of Russian dissidents whilst in a state of euphoria, which doesn't happen very often which is why we've only got three."
DVD, video and other media
For a series so lauded, its commercial release was for many years limited to compilations, with only a full commercial release of the entire series 20 years after the show ended. Initially, a best of series one VHS was released by BBC Video in 1986 and rereleased in 1989, with a sub-heading "The Very Best Now On Video". The series was then issued on DVD in 2002 as a 90-minute compilation titled Best of Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV. It was not until 2 April 2007 that the entire series (including the Christmas special) was finally released, in a two-disc DVD set. It was classified a 12 certificate, as it "Contains infrequent bleeped language and moderate sex references". In 1993, a VHS a compilation with the Acorn Antiques sketches was released on BBC Video. A DVD reissue followed in 2005.
Audio highlights were made into two half-hour shows for Radio 4. They were broadcast on 18 and 25 August 1992. Audio highlights of the show were released over two cassettes by the BBC in 1991.
Radio Times synopsis
At the time of the original broadcasts, as well as writing and appearing in the show, Wood wrote its programme synopsis for the broadcast listings magazine Radio Times''. All were misleading, with little or nothing to do with the contents of the actual broadcast. The entry for the first show on 8 January 1985 said:
These continued throughout the original broadcast run:
Other entries make reference to Mendelssohn, Anita Harris and others who would make no appearance on the actual show.
References
External links
Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV at BBC Comedy Guide
1985 British television series debuts
1987 British television series endings
1980s British television sketch shows
BBC television sketch shows
British mockumentary television series
Television series about television | en |
doc-en-3437 | This is a list of the bird species recorded in Algeria. The avifauna of Algeria includes a total of 433 species.
This list's taxonomic treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families and species) and nomenclature (common and scientific names) follow the conventions of The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 2021 edition. The family accounts at the beginning of each heading reflect this taxonomy, as do the species counts found in each family account. Introduced and accidental species are included in the total counts for Algeria.
The following tags have been used to highlight several categories. The commonly occurring native species do not fall into any of these categories.
(A) Accidental - a species that rarely or accidentally occurs in Algeria
(E) Endemic - a species endemic to Algeria
(I) Introduced - a species introduced to Algeria as a consequence, direct or indirect, of human actions
(Ex) Extirpated - a species that no longer occurs in Algeria although populations exist elsewhere
Ostriches
Order: StruthioniformesFamily: Struthionidae
The ostrich is a flightless bird native to Africa. It is the largest living species of bird. It is distinctive in its appearance, with a long neck and legs and the ability to run at high speeds.
Common ostrich, Struthio camelus
Ducks, geese, and waterfowl
Order: AnseriformesFamily: Anatidae
Anatidae includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl, such as geese and swans. These birds are adapted to an aquatic existence with webbed feet, flattened bills, and feathers that are excellent at shedding water due to an oily coating.
Graylag goose, Anser anser
Greater white-fronted goose, Anser albifrons (A)
Lesser white-fronted goose, Anser erythropus (A)
Taiga bean-goose, Anser fabalis (A)
Brant, Branta bernicla
Barnacle goose, Branta leucopsis (A)
Red-breasted goose, Branta ruficollis (A)
Mute swan, Cygnus olor
Tundra swan, Cygnus columbianus
Whooper swan, Cygnus cygnus
Egyptian goose, Alopochen aegyptiacus (A)
Ruddy shelduck, Tadorna ferruginea
Common shelduck, Tadorna tadorna
Garganey, Spatula querquedula
Blue-winged teal, Spatula discors (A)
Northern shoveler, Spatula clypeata
Gadwall, Mareca strepera
Eurasian wigeon, Mareca penelope
Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos
Northern pintail, Anas acuta
Green-winged teal, Anas crecca
Marbled teal, Marmaronetta angustirostris
Red-crested pochard, Netta rufina (Ex)
Common pochard, Aythya ferina
Ring-necked duck, Aythya collaris (A)
Ferruginous duck, Aythya nyroca
Tufted duck, Aythya fuligula
Greater scaup, Aythya marila
Velvet scoter, Melanitta fusca
Common scoter, Melanitta nigra (A)
Common goldeneye, Bucephala clangula (A)
Smew, Mergellus albellus (A)
Common merganser, Mergus merganser
Red-breasted merganser, Mergus serrator
Ruddy duck, Oxyura jamaicensis (I)
White-headed duck, Oxyura leucocephala
Pheasants, grouse, and allies
Order: GalliformesFamily: Phasianidae
The Phasianidae are a family of terrestrial birds which consists of quails, partridges, snowcocks, francolins, spurfowls, tragopans, monals, pheasants, peafowls and jungle fowls. In general, they are plump (although they vary in size) and have broad, relatively short wings.
Ring-necked pheasant, Phasianus colchicus (I)
Common quail, Coturnix coturnix
Barbary partridge, Alectoris barbara
Red-legged partridge, Alectoris rufa (I)
Flamingos
Order: PhoenicopteriformesFamily: Phoenicopteridae
Flamingos are gregarious wading birds, usually tall, found in both the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. Flamingos filter-feed on shellfish and algae. Their oddly shaped beaks are specially adapted to separate mud and silt from the food they consume and, uniquely, are used upside-down.
Greater flamingo, Phoenicopterus roseus
Lesser flamingo, Phoenicopterus minor (A)
Grebes
Order: PodicipediformesFamily: Podicipedidae
Grebes are small to medium-large freshwater diving birds. They have lobed toes and are excellent swimmers and divers. However, they have their feet placed far back on the body, making them quite ungainly on land.
Little grebe, Tachybaptus ruficollis
Horned grebe, Podiceps auritus
Red-necked grebe, Podiceps grisegena (A)
Great crested grebe, Podiceps cristatus
Eared grebe, Podiceps nigricollis
Pigeons and doves
Order: ColumbiformesFamily: Columbidae
Pigeons and doves are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy cere.
Rock pigeon, Columba livia
Stock dove, Columba oenas
Common wood-pigeon, Columba palumbus
European turtle-dove, Streptopelia turtur
Eurasian collared-dove, Streptopelia decaocto (I)
Laughing dove, Streptopelia senegalensis
Namaqua dove, Oena capensis
Sandgrouse
Order: PterocliformesFamily: Pteroclidae
Sandgrouse have small, pigeon like heads and necks, but sturdy compact bodies. They have long pointed wings and sometimes tails and a fast direct flight. Flocks fly to watering holes at dawn and dusk. Their legs are feathered down to the toes.
Pin-tailed sandgrouse, Pterocles alchata
Chestnut-bellied sandgrouse, Pterocles exustus (A)
Spotted sandgrouse, Pterocles senegallus
Black-bellied sandgrouse, Pterocles orientalis
Crowned sandgrouse, Pterocles coronatus
Lichtenstein's sandgrouse, Pterocles lichtensteinii
Bustards
Order: OtidiformesFamily: Otididae
Bustards are large terrestrial birds mainly associated with dry open country and steppes in the Old World. They are omnivorous and nest on the ground. They walk steadily on strong legs and big toes, pecking for food as they go. They have long broad wings with "fingered" wingtips and striking patterns in flight. Many have interesting mating displays.
Great bustard, Otis tarda (Ex)
Arabian bustard,
Houbara bustard, Chlamydotis undulata
Little bustard, Tetrax tetrax (Ex)
Cuckoos
Order: CuculiformesFamily: Cuculidae
The family Cuculidae includes cuckoos, roadrunners and anis. These birds are of variable size with slender bodies, long tails and strong legs.
Great spotted cuckoo, Clamator glandarius
Pied cuckoo, Clamator jacobinus (A)
Common cuckoo, Cuculus canorus
Nightjars and allies
Order: CaprimulgiformesFamily: Caprimulgidae
Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal birds that usually nest on the ground. They have long wings, short legs and very short bills. Most have small feet, of little use for walking, and long pointed wings. Their soft plumage is camouflaged to resemble bark or leaves.
Red-necked nightjar, Caprimulgus ruficollis
Eurasian nightjar, Caprimulgus europaeus
Egyptian nightjar, Caprimulgus aegyptius
Swifts
Order: CaprimulgiformesFamily: Apodidae
Swifts are small birds which spend the majority of their lives flying. These birds have very short legs and never settle voluntarily on the ground, perching instead only on vertical surfaces. Many swifts have long swept-back wings which resemble a crescent or boomerang.
Alpine swift, Apus melba
Common swift, Apus apus
Pallid swift, Apus pallidus
Little swift, Apus affinis
Rails, gallinules, and coots
Order: GruiformesFamily: Rallidae
Rallidae is a large family of small to medium-sized birds which includes the rails, crakes, coots and gallinules. Typically they inhabit dense vegetation in damp environments near lakes, swamps or rivers. In general they are shy and secretive birds, making them difficult to observe. Most species have strong legs and long toes which are well adapted to soft uneven surfaces. They tend to have short, rounded wings and to be weak fliers.
Water rail, Rallus aquaticus
Corn crake, Crex crex
African crake, Crex egregia (A)
Spotted crake, Porzana porzana
Eurasian moorhen, Gallinula chloropus
Eurasian coot, Fulica atra
Red-knobbed coot, Fulica cristata
Allen's gallinule, Porphyrio alleni (A)
Western swamphen, Porphyrio porphyrio
Striped crake, Aenigmatolimnas marginalis (A)
Little crake, Zapornia parva
Baillon's crake, Zapornia pusilla
Cranes
Order: GruiformesFamily: Gruidae
Cranes are large, long-legged and long-necked birds. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back. Most have elaborate and noisy courting displays or "dances".
Demoiselle crane, Anthropoides virgo (Ex)
Common crane, Grus grus
Thick-knees
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Burhinidae
The thick-knees are a group of largely tropical waders in the family Burhinidae. They are found worldwide within the tropical zone, with some species also breeding in temperate Europe and Australia. They are medium to large waders with strong black or yellow-black bills, large yellow eyes and cryptic plumage. Despite being classed as waders, most species have a preference for arid or semi-arid habitats.
Eurasian thick-knee, Burhinus oedicnemus
Stilts and avocets
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Recurvirostridae
Recurvirostridae is a family of large wading birds, which includes the avocets and stilts. The avocets have long legs and long up-curved bills. The stilts have extremely long legs and long, thin, straight bills.
Black-winged stilt, Himantopus himantopus
Pied avocet, Recurvirostra avosetta
Oystercatchers
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Haematopodidae
The oystercatchers are large and noisy plover-like birds, with strong bills used for smashing or prising open molluscs.
Eurasian oystercatcher, Haematopus ostralegus
Plovers and lapwings
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Charadriidae
The family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels and lapwings. They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks and long, usually pointed, wings. They are found in open country worldwide, mostly in habitats near water.
Black-bellied plover, Pluvialis squatarola
European golden-plover, Pluvialis apricaria
Pacific golden-plover, Pluvialis fulva (A)
Northern lapwing, Vanellus vanellus
White-tailed lapwing, Vanellus leucurus
Kentish plover, Charadrius alexandrinus
Common ringed plover, Charadrius hiaticula
Little ringed plover, Charadrius dubius
Eurasian dotterel, Charadrius morinellus
Sandpipers and allies
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Scolopacidae
Scolopacidae is a large diverse family of small to medium-sized shorebirds including the sandpipers, curlews, godwits, shanks, tattlers, woodcocks, snipes, dowitchers and phalaropes. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. Variation in length of legs and bills enables multiple species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food.
Whimbrel, Numenius phaeopus
Slender-billed curlew, Numenius tenuirostris
Eurasian curlew, Numenius arquata
Bar-tailed godwit, Limosa lapponica
Black-tailed godwit, Limosa limosa
Ruddy turnstone, Arenaria interpres
Red knot, Calidris canutus
Ruff, Calidris pugnax
Curlew sandpiper, Calidris ferruginea
Temminck's stint, Calidris temminckii
Sanderling, Calidris alba
Dunlin, Calidris alpina
Little stint, Calidris minuta
Pectoral sandpiper, Calidris melanotos (A)
Jack snipe, Lymnocryptes minimus
Eurasian woodcock, Scolopax rusticola
Great snipe, Gallinago media
Common snipe, Gallinago gallinago
Red-necked phalarope, Phalaropus lobatus
Common sandpiper, Actitis hypoleucos
Green sandpiper, Tringa ochropus
Spotted redshank, Tringa erythropus
Common greenshank, Tringa nebularia
Marsh sandpiper, Tringa stagnatilis
Wood sandpiper, Tringa glareola
Common redshank, Tringa totanus
Buttonquails
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Turnicidae
The buttonquails are small, drab, running birds which resemble the true quails. The female is the brighter of the sexes and initiates courtship. The male incubates the eggs and tends the young.
Small buttonquail, Turnix sylvaticus
Pratincoles and coursers
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Glareolidae
Glareolidae is a family of wading birds comprising the pratincoles, which have short legs, long pointed wings and long forked tails, and the coursers, which have long legs, short wings and long, pointed bills which curve downwards.
Cream-colored courser, Cursorius cursor
Collared pratincole, Glareola pratincola
Skuas and jaegers
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Stercorariidae
The family Stercorariidae are, in general, medium to large birds, typically with grey or brown plumage, often with white markings on the wings. They nest on the ground in temperate and arctic regions and are long-distance migrants.
Great skua, Stercorarius skua
Pomarine jaeger, Stercorarius pomarinus (A)
Parasitic jaeger, Stercorarius parasiticus
Auks, murres, and puffins
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Alcidae
Alcids are superficially similar to penguins due to their black-and-white colours, their upright posture and some of their habits, however they are not related to the penguins and differ in being able to fly. Auks live on the open sea, only deliberately coming ashore to nest.
Common murre, Uria aalge (A)
Razorbill, Alca torda
Atlantic puffin, Fratercula arctica
Gulls, terns, and skimmers
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Laridae
Laridae is a family of medium to large seabirds, the gulls, terns, and skimmers. Gulls are typically grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have stout, longish bills and webbed feet. Terns are a group of generally medium to large seabirds typically with grey or white plumage, often with black markings on the head. Most terns hunt fish by diving but some pick insects off the surface of fresh water. Terns are generally long-lived birds, with several species known to live in excess of 30 years.
Black-legged kittiwake, Rissa tridactyla
Sabine's gull, Xema sabini (A)
Slender-billed gull, Chroicocephalus genei
Grey-hooded gull, Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus (A)
Black-headed gull, Chroicocephalus ridibundus
Little gull, Hydrocoloeus minutus
Mediterranean gull, Ichthyaetus melanocephalus
Audouin's gull, Ichthyaetus audouinii
Common gull, Larus canus (A)
Yellow-legged gull, Larus michahellis (A)
Caspian gull, Larus cachinnans
Lesser black-backed gull, Larus fuscus
Great black-backed gull, Larus marinus
Little tern, Sternula albifrons
Gull-billed tern, Gelochelidon nilotica
Caspian tern, Hydroprogne caspia
Black tern, Chlidonias niger
White-winged tern, Chlidonias leucopterus
Whiskered tern, Chlidonias hybrida
Roseate tern, Sterna dougallii
Common tern, Sterna hirundo
Arctic tern, Sterna paradisaea
Sandwich tern, Thalasseus sandvicensis
Lesser crested tern, Thalasseus bengalensis
Loons
Order: GaviiformesFamily: Gaviidae
Loons, known as divers in Europe, are a group of aquatic birds found in many parts of North America and northern Europe. They are the size of a large duck or small goose, which they somewhat resemble when swimming, but to which they are completely unrelated.
Red-throated loon, Gavia stellata (A)
Arctic loon, Gavia arctica
Common loon, Gavia immer
Southern storm-petrels
Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: Oceanitidae
The austral storm petrels are relatives of the petrels and are the smallest seabirds. They feed on planktonic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering.
Wilson's storm-petrel, Oceanites oceanicus
Northern storm-petrels
Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: Hydrobatidae
Though the members of this family are similar in many respects to the southern storm-petrels, including their general appearance and habits, there are enough genetic differences to warrant their placement in a separate family.
European storm-petrel, Hydrobates pelagicus (A)
Leach's storm-petrel, Hydrobates leucorhous
Shearwaters and petrels
Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: Procellariidae
The procellariids are the main group of medium-sized "true petrels", characterised by united nostrils with medium septum and a long outer functional primary.
Cory's shearwater, Calonectris diomedea
Great shearwater, Ardenna gravis
Sooty shearwater, Ardenna griseus
Yelkouan shearwater, Puffinus yelkouan
Balearic shearwater, Puffinus mauretanicus
Storks
Order: CiconiiformesFamily: Ciconiidae
Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked, wading birds with long, stout bills. Storks are mute, but bill-clattering is an important mode of communication at the nest. Their nests can be large and may be reused for many years. Many species are migratory.
Black stork, Ciconia nigra
White stork, Ciconia ciconia
Yellow-billed stork, Mycteria ibis
Boobies and gannets
Order: SuliformesFamily: Sulidae
The sulids comprise the gannets and boobies. Both groups are medium to large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish.
Northern gannet, Morus bassanus
Cormorants and shags
Order: SuliformesFamily: Phalacrocoracidae
Phalacrocoracidae is a family of medium to large coastal, fish-eating seabirds that includes cormorants and shags. Plumage colouration varies, with the majority having mainly dark plumage, some species being black-and-white and a few being colourful.
Pygmy cormorant, Microcarbo pygmeus
Great cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo
European shag, Gulosus aristotelis
Pelicans
Order: PelecaniformesFamily: Pelecanidae
Pelicans are large water birds with a distinctive pouch under their beak. As with other members of the order Pelecaniformes, they have webbed feet with four toes.
Great white pelican, Pelecanus onocrotalus
Dalmatian pelican, Pelecanus crispus
Herons, egrets, and bitterns
Order: PelecaniformesFamily: Ardeidae
The family Ardeidae contains the bitterns, herons and egrets. Herons and egrets are medium to large wading birds with long necks and legs. Bitterns tend to be shorter necked and more wary. Members of Ardeidae fly with their necks retracted, unlike other long-necked birds such as storks, ibises and spoonbills.
Great bittern, Botaurus stellaris
Little bittern, Ixobrychus minutus
Gray heron, Ardea cinerea
Black-headed heron, Ardea melanocephala (A)
Purple heron, Ardea purpurea
Great egret, Ardea alba
Little egret, Egretta garzetta
Western reef-heron, Egretta gularis (A)
Cattle egret, Bubulcus ibis
Squacco heron, Ardeola ralloides
Black-crowned night-heron, Nycticorax nycticorax
Ibises and spoonbills
Order: PelecaniformesFamily: Threskiornithidae
Threskiornithidae is a family of large terrestrial and wading birds which includes the ibises and spoonbills. They have long, broad wings with 11 primary and about 20 secondary feathers. They are strong fliers and despite their size and weight, very capable soarers.
Glossy ibis, Plegadis falcinellus
Northern bald ibis, Geronticus eremita (Ex)
Eurasian spoonbill, Platalea leucorodia
Osprey
Order: AccipitriformesFamily: Pandionidae
The family Pandionidae contains only one species, the osprey. The osprey is a medium-large raptor which is a specialist fish-eater with a worldwide distribution.
Osprey, Pandion haliaetus
Hawks, eagles, and kites
Order: AccipitriformesFamily: Accipitridae
Accipitridae is a family of birds of prey, which includes hawks, eagles, kites, harriers and Old World vultures. These birds have powerful hooked beaks for tearing flesh from their prey, strong legs, powerful talons and keen eyesight.
Black-winged kite, Elanus caeruleus
Bearded vulture, Gypaetus barbatus
Egyptian vulture, Neophron percnopterus
European honey-buzzard, Pernis apivorus
Cinereous vulture, Aegypius monachus (A)
Lappet-faced vulture, Torgos tracheliotos
Eurasian griffon, Gyps fulvus
Short-toed snake eagle, Circaetus gallicus
Lesser spotted eagle, Clanga pomarina
Greater spotted eagle, Clanga clanga (A)
Booted eagle, Hieraaetus pennatus
Tawny eagle, Aquila rapax
Spanish eagle, Aquila adalberti (Ex)
Imperial eagle, Aquila heliaca
Golden eagle, Aquila chrysaetos
Verreaux's eagle, Aquila verreauxii (A)
Bonelli's eagle, Aquila fasciata
Eurasian marsh-harrier, Circus aeruginosus
Hen harrier, Circus cyaneus
Pallid harrier, Circus macrourus
Montagu's harrier, Circus pygargus
Eurasian sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus
Northern goshawk, Accipiter gentilis
Red kite, Milvus milvus
Black kite, Milvus migrans
White-tailed eagle, Haliaeetus albicilla (A)(Ex)
Common buzzard, Buteo buteo
Long-legged buzzard, Buteo rufinus
Barn-owls
Order: StrigiformesFamily: Tytonidae
Barn-owls are medium to large owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long strong legs with powerful talons.
Barn owl, Tyto alba
Owls
Order: StrigiformesFamily: Strigidae
The typical owls are small to large solitary nocturnal birds of prey. They have large forward-facing eyes and ears, a hawk-like beak and a conspicuous circle of feathers around each eye called a facial disk.
Eurasian scops-owl, Otus scops
Eurasian eagle-owl, Bubo bubo
Pharaoh eagle-owl, Bubo ascalaphus
Little owl, Athene noctua
Maghreb owl, Strix mauritanica
Long-eared owl, Asio otus
Short-eared owl, Asio flammeus
Marsh owl, Asio capensis (Ex)
Mousebirds
Order: ColiiformesFamily: Coliidae
The mousebirds are slender grayish or brown birds with soft, hairlike body feathers and very long thin tails. They are arboreal and scurry through the leaves like rodents in search of berries, fruit, and buds. They are acrobatic and can feed upside down. All species have strong claws and reversible outer toes. They also have crests and stubby bills.
Blue-naped mousebird, Urocolius macrourus (A)
Hoopoes
Order: BucerotiformesFamily: Upupidae
Hoopoes have black, white and orangey-pink colouring with a large erectile crest on their head.
Eurasian hoopoe, Upupa epops
Kingfishers
Order: CoraciiformesFamily: Alcedinidae
Kingfishers are medium-sized birds with large heads, long, pointed bills, short legs and stubby tails.
Common kingfisher, Alcedo atthis
Bee-eaters
Order: CoraciiformesFamily: Meropidae
The bee-eaters are a group of near passerine birds in the family Meropidae. Most species are found in Africa but others occur in southern Europe, Madagascar, Australia and New Guinea. They are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies and usually elongated central tail feathers. All are colourful and have long downturned bills and pointed wings, which give them a swallow-like appearance when seen from afar.
White-throated bee-eater, Merops albicollis (A)
Blue-cheeked bee-eater, Merops persicus
European bee-eater, Merops apiaster
Rollers
Order: CoraciiformesFamily: Coraciidae
Rollers resemble crows in size and build, but are more closely related to the kingfishers and bee-eaters. They share the colourful appearance of those groups with blues and browns predominating. The two inner front toes are connected, but the outer toe is not.
European roller, Coracias garrulus
Woodpeckers
Order: PiciformesFamily: Picidae
Woodpeckers are small to medium-sized birds with chisel-like beaks, short legs, stiff tails and long tongues used for capturing insects. Some species have feet with two toes pointing forward and two backward, while several species have only three toes. Many woodpeckers have the habit of tapping noisily on tree trunks with their beaks.
Eurasian wryneck, Jynx torquilla
Great spotted woodpecker, Dendrocopos major
Lesser spotted woodpecker, Dryobates minor
Levaillant's woodpecker, Picus vaillantii
Falcons and caracaras
Order: FalconiformesFamily: Falconidae
Falconidae is a family of diurnal birds of prey. They differ from hawks, eagles and kites in that they kill with their beaks instead of their talons.
Lesser kestrel, Falco naumanni
Eurasian kestrel, Falco tinnunculus
Red-footed falcon, Falco vespertinus (A)
Eleonora's falcon, Falco eleonorae
Sooty falcon, Falco concolor (A)
Merlin, Falco columbarius
Eurasian hobby, Falco subbuteo
Lanner falcon, Falco biarmicus
Peregrine falcon, Falco peregrinus
Barbary falcon, Falco peregrinus pelegrinoides
Old World parrots
Order: PsittaciformesFamily: Psittaculidae
Characteristic features of parrots include a strong curved bill, an upright stance, strong legs, and clawed zygodactyl feet. Many parrots are vividly colored, and some are multi-colored. In size they range from to in length. Old World parrots are found from Africa east across south and southeast Asia and Oceania to Australia and New Zealand.
Rose-ringed parakeet, Psittacula krameri (I)
African and New World parrots
Order: PsittaciformesFamily: Psittacidae
Most of the more than 150 species in this family are found in the New World.
Dusky parrot, Pionus fuscus (A)
Old World orioles
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Oriolidae
The Old World orioles are colourful passerine birds. They are not related to the New World orioles.
Eurasian golden oriole, Oriolus oriolus
Bushshrikes and allies
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Malaconotidae
Bushshrikes are similar in habits to shrikes, hunting insects and other small prey from a perch on a bush. Although similar in build to the shrikes, these tend to be either colourful species or largely black; some species are quite secretive.
Black-crowned tchagra, Tchagra senegalus
Shrikes
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Laniidae
Shrikes are passerine birds known for their habit of catching other birds and small animals and impaling the uneaten portions of their bodies on thorns. A typical shrike's beak is hooked, like a bird of prey.
Red-backed shrike, Lanius collurio (A)
Red-tailed shrike, Lanius phoenicuroides
Great gray shrike, Lanius excubitor
Masked shrike, Lanius nubicus (A)
Woodchat shrike, Lanius senator
Crows, jays, and magpies
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Corvidae
The family Corvidae includes crows, ravens, jays, choughs, magpies, treepies, nutcrackers and ground jays. Corvids are above average in size among the Passeriformes, and some of the larger species show high levels of intelligence.
Eurasian jay, Garrulus glandarius
Maghreb magpie, Pica mauritanica
Eurasian magpie, Pica pica
Red-billed chough, Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax
Eurasian jackdaw, Corvus monedula
Rook, Corvus frugilegus (A)
Carrion crow, Corvus corone
Pied crow, Corvus albus (A)
Brown-necked raven, Corvus ruficollis
Common raven, Corvus corax
Tits, chickadees, and titmice
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Paridae
The Paridae are mainly small stocky woodland species with short stout bills. Some have crests. They are adaptable birds, with a mixed diet including seeds and insects.
Coal tit, Periparus ater
African blue tit, Cyanistes teneriffae
Great tit, Parus major
Penduline-tits
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Remizidae
The penduline-tits are a group of small passerine birds related to the true tits. They are insectivores.
Eurasian penduline-tit, Remiz pendulinus (A)
Larks
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Alaudidae
Larks are small terrestrial birds with often extravagant songs and display flights. Most larks are fairly dull in appearance. Their food is insects and seeds.
Greater hoopoe-lark, Alaemon alaudipes
Thick-billed lark, Ramphocoris clotbey
Bar-tailed lark, Ammomanes cincturus
Desert lark, Ammomanes deserti
Black-crowned sparrow-lark, Eremopterix nigriceps (A)
Horned lark, Eremophila alpestris (A)
Temminck's lark, Eremophila bilopha
Greater short-toed lark, Calandrella brachydactyla
Calandra lark, Melanocorypha calandra
Dupont's lark, Chersophilus duponti
Mediterranean short-toed lark, Alaudala rufescens
Wood lark, Lullula arborea
Eurasian skylark, Alauda arvensis
Thekla's lark, Galerida theklae
Crested lark, Galerida cristata
Maghreb lark, Galerida macrorhyncha
Bearded reedling
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Panuridae
This species, the only one in its family, is found in reed beds throughout temperate Europe and Asia.
Bearded reedling, Panurus biarmicus
Cisticolas and allies
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Cisticolidae
The Cisticolidae are warblers found mainly in warmer southern regions of the Old World. They are generally very small birds of drab brown or grey appearance found in open country such as grassland or scrub.
Zitting cisticola, Cisticola juncidis
Reed warblers and allies
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Acrocephalidae
The members of this family are usually rather large for "warblers". Most are rather plain olivaceous brown above with much yellow to beige below. They are usually found in open woodland, reedbeds, or tall grass. The family occurs mostly in southern to western Eurasia and surroundings, but it also ranges far into the Pacific, with some species in Africa.
Eastern olivaceous warbler, Iduna pallida
Western olivaceous warbler, Iduna opaca
Olive-tree warbler, Hippolais olivetorum
Melodious warbler, Hippolais polyglotta
Icterine warbler, Hippolais icterina
Aquatic warbler, Acrocephalus paludicola
Moustached warbler, Acrocephalus melanopogon
Sedge warbler, Acrocephalus schoenobaenus
Marsh warbler, Acrocephalus palustris
Eurasian reed warbler, Acrocephalus scirpaceus
African reed warbler, Acrocephalus baeticatus
Great reed warbler, Acrocephalus arundinaceus
Grassbirds and allies
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Locustellidae
Locustellidae are a family of small insectivorous songbirds found mainly in Eurasia, Africa, and the Australian region. They are smallish birds with tails that are usually long and pointed, and tend to be drab brownish or buffy all over.
River warbler, Locustella fluviatilis
Savi's warbler, Locustella luscinioides
Common grasshopper-warbler, Locustella naevia
Swallows
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Hirundinidae
The family Hirundinidae is adapted to aerial feeding. They have a slender streamlined body, long pointed wings and a short bill with a wide gape. The feet are adapted to perching rather than walking, and the front toes are partially joined at the base.
Plain martin, Riparia paludicola (A)
Bank swallow, Riparia riparia
Eurasian crag-martin, Ptyonoprogne rupestris
Rock martin, Ptyonoprogne fuligula
Barn swallow, Hirundo rustica
Red-rumped swallow, Cecropis daurica
Common house-martin, Delichon urbicum
Bulbuls
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Pycnonotidae
Bulbuls are medium-sized songbirds. Some are colourful with yellow, red or orange vents, cheeks, throats or supercilia, but most are drab, with uniform olive-brown to black plumage. Some species have distinct crests.
Common bulbul, Pycnonotus barbatus
Leaf warblers
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Phylloscopidae
Leaf warblers are a family of small insectivorous birds found mostly in Eurasia and ranging into Wallacea and Africa. The species are of various sizes, often green-plumaged above and yellow below, or more subdued with grayish-green to grayish-brown colors.
Wood warbler, Phylloscopus sibilatrix
Western Bonelli's warbler, Phylloscopus bonelli
Yellow-browed warbler, Phylloscopus inornatus (A)
Willow warbler, Phylloscopus trochilus
Common chiffchaff, Phylloscopus collybita
Iberian chiffchaff, Phylloscopus ibericus
Bush warblers and allies
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Scotocercidae
The members of this family are found throughout Africa, Asia, and Polynesia. Their taxonomy is in flux, and some authorities place some genera in other families.
Scrub warbler, Scotocerca inquieta
Cetti's warbler, Cettia cetti
Sylviid warblers, parrotbills, and allies
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Sylviidae
The family Sylviidae is a group of small insectivorous passerine birds. They mainly occur as breeding species, as the common name implies, in Europe, Asia and, to a lesser extent, Africa.
Eurasian blackcap, Sylvia atricapilla
Garden warbler, Sylvia borin
Lesser whitethroat, Curruca curruca
Western Orphean warbler, Curruca hortensis
African desert warbler, Curruca deserti
Tristram's warbler, Curruca deserticola
Rüppell's warbler, Curruca ruppeli (A)
Sardinian warbler, Curruca melanocephala
Moltoni's warbler, Curruca subalpina (A)
Western subalpine warbler, Curruca iberiae
Eastern subalpine warbler, Curruca cantillans
Greater whitethroat, Curruca communis
Spectacled warbler, Curruca conspicillata
Marmora's warbler, Curruca sarda
Dartford warbler, Curruca undata
Laughingthrushes and allies
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Leiothrichidae
The members of this family are diverse in size and colouration, though those of genus Turdoides tend to be brown or greyish. The family is found in Africa, India, and southeast Asia.
Fulvous chatterer, Argya fulva
Kinglets
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Regulidae
The kinglets, also called crests, are a small group of birds often included in the Old World warblers, but frequently given family status because they also resemble the titmice.
Goldcrest, Regulus regulus
Common firecrest, Regulus ignicapillus
Wallcreeper
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Tichodromidae
The wallcreeper is a small bird related to the nuthatch family, which has stunning crimson, grey and black plumage.
Wallcreeper, Tichodroma muraria (A)
Nuthatches
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Sittidae
Nuthatches are small woodland birds. They have the unusual ability to climb down trees head first, unlike other birds which can only go upwards. Nuthatches have big heads, short tails and powerful bills and feet.
Algerian nuthatch, Sitta ledanti (E)
Treecreepers
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Certhiidae
Treecreepers are small woodland birds, brown above and white below. They have thin pointed down-curved bills, which they use to extricate insects from bark. They have stiff tail feathers, like woodpeckers, which they use to support themselves on vertical trees.
Short-toed treecreeper, Certhia brachydactyla
Wrens
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Troglodytidae
The wrens are mainly small and inconspicuous except for their loud songs. These birds have short wings and thin down-turned bills. Several species often hold their tails upright. All are insectivorous.
Eurasian wren, Troglodytes troglodytes
Dippers
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Cinclidae
Dippers are a group of perching birds whose habitat includes aquatic environments in the Americas, Europe and Asia. They are named for their bobbing or dipping movements.
White-throated dipper, Cinclus cinclus
Starlings
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Sturnidae
Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds. Their flight is strong and direct and they are very gregarious. Their preferred habitat is fairly open country. They eat insects and fruit. Plumage is typically dark with a metallic sheen.
European starling, Sturnus vulgaris
Spotless starling, Sturnus unicolor
Rosy starling, Pastor roseus
Thrushes and allies
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Turdidae
The thrushes are a group of passerine birds that occur mainly in the Old World. They are plump, soft plumaged, small to medium-sized insectivores or sometimes omnivores, often feeding on the ground. Many have attractive songs.
Mistle thrush, Turdus viscivorus
Song thrush, Turdus philomelos
Redwing, Turdus iliacus
Eurasian blackbird, Turdus merula
Fieldfare, Turdus pilaris (A)
Ring ouzel, Turdus torquatus
Old World flycatchers
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Muscicapidae
Old World flycatchers are a large group of small passerine birds native to the Old World. They are mainly small arboreal insectivores. The appearance of these birds is highly varied, but they mostly have weak songs and harsh calls.
Spotted flycatcher, Muscicapa striata
Black scrub-robin, Cercotrichas podobe (A)
Rufous-tailed scrub-robin, Cercotrichas galactotes
European robin, Erithacus rubecula
Common nightingale, Luscinia megarhynchos
Bluethroat, Luscinia svecica
Red-breasted flycatcher, Ficedula parva
European pied flycatcher, Ficedula hypoleuca
Atlas flycatcher, Ficedula speculigera
Collared flycatcher, Ficedula albicollis
Moussier's redstart, Phoenicurus moussieri
Common redstart, Phoenicurus phoenicurus
Black redstart, Phoenicurus ochruros
Rufous-tailed rock-thrush, Monticola saxatilis
Blue rock-thrush, Monticola solitarius
Whinchat, Saxicola rubetra
European stonechat, Saxicola rubicola
Northern wheatear, Oenanthe oenanthe
Isabelline wheatear, Oenanthe isabellina
Desert wheatear, Oenanthe deserti
Western black-eared wheatear, Oenanthe hispanica
Eastern black-eared wheatear, Oenanthe melanoleuca
Red-rumped wheatear, Oenanthe moesta
Black wheatear, Oenanthe leucura
White-crowned wheatear, Oenanthe leucopyga
Mourning wheatear, Oenanthe lugens
Waxwings
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Bombycillidae
The waxwings are a group of passerine birds with soft silky plumage and unique red tips to some of the wing feathers. In the Bohemian and cedar waxwings, these tips look like sealing wax and give the group its name. These are arboreal birds of northern forests. They live on insects in summer and berries in winter.
Bohemian waxwing, Bombycilla garrulus
Waxbills and allies
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Estrildidae
The estrildid finches are small passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. They are gregarious and often colonial seed eaters with short thick but pointed bills. They are all similar in structure and habits, but have wide variation in plumage colours and patterns.
African silverbill, Euodice cantans (A)
Indian silverbill, Euodice malabarica (I)
Cut-throat, Amadina fasciata (A)
Red-billed firefinch, Lagonosticta senegala
Accentors
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Prunellidae
The accentors are in the only bird family, Prunellidae, which is completely endemic to the Palearctic. They are small, fairly drab species superficially similar to sparrows.
Alpine accentor, Prunella collaris
Dunnock, Prunella modularis
Old World sparrows
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Passeridae
Old World sparrows are small passerine birds. In general, sparrows tend to be small, plump, brown or grey birds with short tails and short powerful beaks. Old World sparrow are seed eaters, but they also consume small insects.
House sparrow, Passer domesticus
Italian sparrow, Passer domesticus (A)
Spanish sparrow, Passer hispaniolensis
Desert sparrow, Passer simplex
Eurasian tree sparrow, Passer montanus (A)
Sudan golden sparrow, Passer luteus
Rock sparrow, Petronia petronia
Wagtails and pipits
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Motacillidae
Motacillidae is a family of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. They include the wagtails, longclaws and pipits. They are slender, ground feeding insectivores of open country.
Gray wagtail, Motacilla cinerea
Western yellow wagtail, Motacilla flava
White wagtail, Motacilla alba
Richard's pipit, Anthus richardi
Tawny pipit, Anthus campestris
Meadow pipit, Anthus pratensis
Tree pipit, Anthus trivialis
Red-throated pipit, Anthus cervinus
Water pipit, Anthus spinoletta
Rock pipit, Anthus petrosus
Finches, euphonias, and allies
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Fringillidae
Finches are seed-eating passerine birds, that are small to moderately large and have a strong beak, usually conical and in some species very large. All have twelve tail feathers and nine primaries. These birds have a bouncing flight with alternating bouts of flapping and gliding on closed wings, and most sing well.
Common chaffinch, Fringilla coelebs
Brambling, Fringilla montifringilla
Hawfinch, Coccothraustes coccothraustes
Eurasian bullfinch, Pyrrhula pyrrhula
Crimson-winged finch, Rhodopechys sanguinea
Trumpeter finch, Bucanetes githaginea
European greenfinch, Chloris chloris
Eurasian linnet, Linaria cannabina
Red crossbill, Loxia curvirostra
European goldfinch, Carduelis carduelis
Citril finch, Carduelis citrinella (A)
European serin, Serinus serinus
Eurasian siskin, Spinus spinus
Longspurs and snow buntings
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Calcariidae
The Calcariidae are a group of passerine birds which had been traditionally grouped with the New World sparrows, but differ in a number of respects and are usually found in open grassy areas.
Lapland longspur, Calcarius lapponicus (A)
Snow bunting, Plectrophenax nivalis (A)
Old World buntings
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Emberizidae
The emberizids are a large family of passerine birds. They are seed-eating birds with distinctively shaped bills. In Europe, most species are called buntings. Many emberizid species have distinctive head patterns.
Black-headed bunting, Emberiza melanocephala (A)
Corn bunting, Emberiza calandra
Rock bunting, Emberiza cia
Cirl bunting, Emberiza cirlus
Yellowhammer, Emberiza citrinella (A)
Ortolan bunting, Emberiza hortulana
Cretzschmar's bunting, Emberiza caesia
House bunting, Emberiza sahari
Striolated bunting, Emberiza striolata
Reed bunting, Emberiza schoeniclus
Little bunting, Emberiza pusilla (A)
Rustic bunting, Emberiza pusilla (A)
See also
List of birds
Lists of birds by region
References
External links
Avibase, website by country with standardised codes for abundance and seasonal presence
Algeria
Birds
Algeria | en |
doc-en-2569 | DC's Stargirl, or simply Stargirl, is an American superhero television series created by Geoff Johns that premiered on streaming service DC Universe. It is based on the DC Comics superhero Courtney Whitmore created by Johns and Lee Moder. The series follows high school student Courtney Whitmore who discovers the cosmic staff and becomes the inspiration for a new generation of superheroes who become the Justice Society of America.
Overview
Legend
= Main cast (credited)
= Recurring cast (4+)
= Guest cast (1–3)
Main characters
Courtney Whitmore / Stargirl
Courtney Elizabeth Whitmore (portrayed by Brec Bassinger and Maizie Smith portrays a five-year old Courtney) is a high school student from Los Angeles who finds a powerful weapon, the Cosmic Staff and becomes the superheroine Stargirl. As Stargirl, she also becomes the leader of the second incarnation of the Justice Society of America (JSA).
Courtney was born and raised in Valley Village, California, to a single working mother, Barbara Whitmore. Barbara had an ongoing relationship with Sam Kurtis, though he was constantly in and out of their lives from the time Courtney was born. Courtney herself only met Sam a handful of times, but still cared deeply for him. When she was four, Sam Kurtis gifted her one of the lockets his mother had given him. He placed a photo of himself in the locket so Courtney would also have him with her. They spent Christmas together in a slew of fun and childlike games. She cherished the locket and wore it well into her teen years.
A year later on Christmas Eve 2010, Sam was scheduled to meet a now five-year-old Courtney to celebrate the holidays. However, he never arrived and vanished that night and the Whitmore's never saw or heard from him again. A distraught Courtney waited for Sam all night with a special gift for him. Barbara dedicated nearly two years looking for Sam for the sake of their daughter, but eventually gave up. Courtney persevered and became a gymnast, began practicing martial arts where she learned incredible fighting skills, and reached at least a blue belt. She was also very advanced in her gymnast career, being the best on her team at Sherman High. She had a strong circle of friends in California.
In the first season, ten years ago on Christmas Eve, a five-year-old Courtney Whitmore waited for her father to arrive, only to be disappointed once again when he didn't. Her single mother Barbara Whitmore leaves for work but tells her daughter to focus on the positives, such as spending the holiday with her close friend Mary.
In the present day, Courtney packs her room in California to travel across the country with her new step-father, Pat Dugan, and stepbrother Mike Dugan, to the small town of Blue Valley, Nebraska, where her mother has secured a new job. The move is against Courtney’s wishes but she does her best to try and get along with Pat for her mother's sake.
Her first day at Blue Valley High is met with obstacles as she makes an enemy of mean girl Cindy Burman and is ostracized to the loser table by Paula Brooks, forced to sit with the talkative Beth Chapel, social outcast Yolanda Montez, and delinquent Rick Harris. After standing up for Yolanda against a cruel jock named Henry King Jr. who she shoved into a passing lunch lady, Courtney is dragged away by Principal Anaya Bowin who then scolds Cindy for using a profanity on Courtney in her presence. She returns to her new house where Mike has plans with his friends while she is having trouble fitting in. Her annoyance over the day and Pat trying to bond with her causes her to snap that he isn’t her father. She runs to the basement where her anger turns to curiosity when she finds boxes of superhero paraphernalia in Pat’s things. She learns from a series of photographs that Pat was a hero named Stripesey, the famed Starman’s sidekick, and a member of the Justice Society of America. She also finds a magical staff that glows in her presence. When she picks it up, the staff whirs to life and displays its larger-than-life attributes. The staff has a mind of its own and takes her on a nightly adventure, where she learns that the staff grants her powers such as flight, cosmic blasts, and allows her to perform gymnastics feats. The staff brings her to a drive-in where she once again encounters Henry Jr, this time he is heckling other movie watchers. To teach him a lesson she attempts to poke holes in his tires but the staff, wanting more, shoots a cosmic blast at the car causing it to blow up. She engages in a fight with Henry and barely wins before flying back to her home. She is confronted by a worried Pat who tells her about his life as a sidekick, and that his best friend Starman, Sylvester Pemberton, was murdered during a fight. He explains that the staff only ever worked for Starman, prompting Courtney to see a resemblance between her father and Starman. Now believing that she is Starman’s daughter and that this is her destiny, she convinces Pat to help her be a hero.
Things take a turn for Courtney when the staff takes her on a bonding exercise that results in an unpleasant meeting with Injustice Society of America villain Brainwave. She is rescued by Pat, who operates a massive robot called S.T.R.I.P.E. He once again warns her of the dangers of being a hero and how Brainwave was responsible for the deaths of many JSA members, though it was Icicle who ultimately killed Starman. She learns about surviving member Rex Tyler, who operated as Hourman, and how Rex was murdered a few years after the JSA were defeated. Pat stresses the importance of keeping her identity a secret to protect her loved ones. She decides to steal Starman's old suit and turns it into a suit fit for herself.
Yolanda Montez / Wildcat II
Yolanda Montez (portrayed by Yvette Monreal) is a once popular student at Blue Valley High until a scandal made her an outcast and a disgrace to her Catholic parents. A skilled boxer, she becomes one of Courtney's friends and a member of the new JSA as the new Wildcat.
Yolanda Montez was born and raised in Blue Valley, Nebraska, to a conservative and religious family. She was raised by her mother Maria and father Juan. She also lives with her cousin Alex and her grandmother. She attended Blue Valley schools and frequently went to church with her family, was outgoing, and had a strong social life.
Yolanda then attended Blue Valley High School, where she was popular and attentive with big dreams. She attended church with her family and was voted most outgoing at BVHS alongside her football-playing boyfriend, Henry King Jr.. In 2019, she ran for class president and was supported by her doting parents, grandmother, and younger cousin. She had been in a relationship with Henry King Jr. for quite some time and believed they were serious. Her classmate and presidential rival Cindy Burman, was jealous of Yolanda's relationship with Henry.
One night, Henry asked Yolanda to send him revealing photos of herself. She was hesitant at first but eventually did send him a topless photo. The next day, Henry showed off the images to his friends while Yolanda discussed things with Principal Bowin. Cindy grabbed Henry's phone long enough to see the messages, though he quickly grabbed it back. At the school assembly, Cindy sent the pictures of Yolanda to the entire student body and faculty. Yolanda was humiliated and disgraced by her family. Her relationship with Henry fell apart and she faced serious consequences by her religious parents. She was grounded until Maria and Juan said otherwise and her phone privileges taken away. They stopped bringing her to church and made it known how Yolanda had disgraced the Montez name. At school, she was dubbed the school slut.
In the first season, in the crowded cafeteria at her usual table, Yolanda is silently eating her salad, paying no attention to fellow students and table companions, Rick Tyler and Beth Chapel. They are suddenly joined by new-girl Courtney Whitmore. Courtney introduces herself and Beth warmly responds while Yolanda continues to ignore Courtney's presence. When Courtney tries to converse with the group Yolanda stays silent along with everyone else. Beth informs Courtney that the people at the table aren't friends and are losers. Yolanda merely looks up at Beth and barely reacts when Rick sulks out of the cafeteria. The trio is soon joined by Henry King Jr. and two of his football friends. Two boys lean on the table to Yolanda's left, while Henry leans close to Yolanda's right. She leans away from Henry, visibly uncomfortable. Henry tauntingly asks her if she has any new pictures of herself that she would like to share with them. Courtney tells him to leave Yolanda alone, much to Yolanda's surprise. Yolanda incredulously witnesses a struggle between Courtney and Henry that results in Courtney going to detention with the principal.
Beth Chapel / Doctor Mid-Nite II
Beth Chapel (portrayed by Anjelika Washington) is a social reject and nerd who becomes one of Courtney's friends and a member of the new JSA as the new Doctor Mid-Nite.
Beth was born on May 15th, 2004, in Omaha General Hospital to Bridget and James Chapel. She primarily grew up in Blue Valley, Nebraska, with her loving and attentive parents. They were her best friends and very close throughout Beth's childhood. They had ant farms, roach farms, and did almost everything together. Beth grew up and eventually attended Blue Valley High, which is when her parents expressed a desire to get back to their lives. This proved difficult for Beth, so she threw herself into schoolwork and created the BVHS teachers appreciation club – though she is the only member. She quickly became an outcast despite her talkative and outgoing personality, but often participated in school events despite being relatively friendless.
In the first season, in the crowded cafeteria, Beth is eating lunch at her usual spot with Yolanda Montez and Rick Tyler, when they are suddenly joined by new-girl Courtney Whitmore. Courtney introduces herself and Beth warmly responds. When Courtney tries to converse with the group Beth stays silent along with everyone else. Beth tells her that the people at the table aren't friends with each other or anyone else and they're basically the Loser Table. She hardly reacts to Rick abruptly leaving or Henry King's aggressive behavior with Yolanda and the incident that followed. The next day, Beth video conferences with her mom at lunch and cues in her father. She excitedly gets her dad to join the "family lunch", only to be informed by him that he's busy. Bridget's colleague, Dr. Henry King Sr., stops by and waves hi to Beth, taking a seat at his desk behind Dr. Chapel. She asks her daughter who the girl sitting next to her, and Beth introduces Courtney to her. Beth tells Bridget she'll see Courtney at the open house, and their video call ends. Beth tells Courtney her parents were the best and Courtney gives her an awkward smile. At the open house that night, Beth excitedly tells her parents about her teachers and is seen socializing alongside her parents.
Rick Tyler / Hourman II
Richard "Rick" Tyler (portrayed by Cameron Gellman and Boston Pierce portrays a 7-year-old Rick) is a high school delinquent with anger issues and the son of the original Hourman whose parents were killed in a staged car accident when he was seven. He becomes one of Courtney's friends and a member of the new JSA as the new Hourman.
Nine years ago, Rex Tyler and his wife, Wendi, lived in West Farms, Blue Valley, Nebraska, with their son, Rick. Rex had been tracking the ISA for a long time and had been onto something. One night, in a frenzy, Rex recorded down a burst of discovered information. He and Wendi quickly packed their bags into their car and planned to flee Blue Valley, much to the confusion of Rick. Wendi’s brother, Matt Harris, arrived confused as to why he had been called to Blue Valley. Rex quickly explained that inside was the deed to the house, which they left to Matt, and records pertaining to Rick. On the certificates, Matt was listed as Rick’s biological father and having the last name Harris instead of Tyler. Though Matt was hesitant, Rex told him about the $50,000 he left in the house for the pair. While they hoped to not be gone long, he wanted to have a backup plan just in case. Rex and Wendi tearfully said goodbye to their son. Rex gave Rick a 1966 yellow mustang keychain and told him to hold onto it while he was away. He alluded that it was more important than Rick knew. Rick's parents then got into their car and sped away while Rick yelled after them, begging his parents not to leave him. Rex and Wendi died in a car "accident" that night, and Rick fell into the custody of Matt.
Rick became a troubled kid at Blue Valley who was in and out of trouble be it at school or around town. His relationship with Matt was tumultuous and abusive, due to Matt's quick temper and bitterness over being left in charge of a kid he never wanted. Rick felt this neglect and, upon entering high school, became a delinquent. He often sat at a loser table where he kept to himself, stole school property, and frequently received detention. He also drank alcohol when he wasn't attending classes. In his free time, Rick worked to repair his father's mustang.
Mike Dugan
Mike Dugan (portrayed by Trae Romano) is a Pat Dugan's son and Courtney's stepbrother.
Mike lived with his single father, Pat Dugan, in California with their dog. They moved around a lot when Mike was younger, but seemingly settled in California after Pat met Barbara Whitmore. When Pat and Barbara married, Mike gained a stepmother and new stepsister, Courtney. The blended family moved from California to Blue Valley, Nebraska. While he wasn't thrilled about the idea of moving to a nowhere town, he quickly adjusted to the small-town lifestyle but throwing himself into gaming.
In the first season, Pat Dugan arrives at the former house of the Whitmore's, his son Mike in the passenger seat and their dog Max in the backseat. Mike voices his disapproval about moving to a rural location that doesn't have several popular California food locations. Pat begs his son to stay positive, only to get a snarky reply that he's positive it'll blow ass. Mike tells his father he thought they were gonna stop moving around when he hooked up with Barbara, a term Pat rejects. Mike tries to pitch other ways of saying hooked up, but Pat ignores his son's snarkiness.
Henry King Jr.
Henry King Jr. (portrayed by Jake Austin Walker) is a student at Blue Valley High as well as its star football player.
Henry King Jr. was born to Dr. Henry King Sr. and Merri King in 2004. He is the nephew of Merri's brother, Sylvester Pemberton. Henry grew up in California with his parents. The day after his sixth birthday, Merri was supposed to pick Henry up from school but never showed. Henry was scared that his mother had forgotten about him. A few hours later, his father picked him up and told him that there had been an accident. His mother had fallen into the pool and drowned, and by the time Dr. King found her, she was ice cold. The remaining King's moved to Blue Valley, Nebraska, soon after Merri's death.
Three months ago, Henry had a relationship with Yolanda Montez and she believed they were serious. He was supportive of her campaign for student president and they enjoyed their time together. One night, he asked her to send him revealing pictures of herself and she obliged. The next day, he showed his friends the images in the halls of BVHS. His phone was taken by Cindy Burman, however, he managed to retrieve it. At the assembly, Yolanda's pictures were leaked by Cindy which led to a breakup between Henry and Yolanda. He then began dating Cindy, which was orchestrated by Dr. King and Cindy's father, Dr. Ito.
In the first season, Henry approaches a table in the cafeteria alongside his other jock friends. He leans to the right of Yolanda, smirking at her despite her being uncomfortable with his presence. His friends shroud to the left of her, boxing her in. Henry slyly and cruelly asks if his friends smell that, saying that it smells like a slut and looks at Yolanda. He then asks if she has taken any pictures she wants to share with them, but Yolanda stays quiet. Courtney Whitmore, however, speaks up telling him to leave Yolanda alone. Henry looks to Courtney and greets her as the new girl and snatches her phone, asking what she has on hers instead. He smirks holding it just out of her reach when she tries to grab it. As if on instinct, she shoves him backward while grabbing her phone back from him. He staggers into a lunch monitor who spills food all over the place. Henry mutters something after Courtney as she is taken away by Principal Bowin. That night, Henry and his friends gather at the drive-in movie theater but cause trouble instead. They are purposely loud and obnoxious, annoying fellow movie-goers who yell at them to stop. He and his friends advance to the car with the teens who dared to speak up against him. As they are harassing their peers, one of Henry's friends brings attention to the person letting air out of his tires. The staff Stargirl is holding intentionally hurtles itself into his chest, knocking him down. Henry and his other friend rush to fight Stargirl, unaware of the person's identity. The staff positions itself horizontally and glows bright, blinding Henry's friends and causing them to run into it. Henry recovers from being hit, and charges at Stargirl again. The staff twirls Stargirl into the air, tripping Henry back. The staff backs up to avoid one of the jocks and accidentally hits Henry in the face. Aiming for the third boy, the staff blasts a beam of light that causes Henry's car to explode, knocking everyone to the ground. Henry stands amidst the chaos and clutches his head, muttering that his dad is going to kill him.
After his dad Henry Sr. was hospitalized, Henry Jr. begins to visit him while he recuperates, during which Henry Jr.'s powers begin to develop before fully manifesting after Cindy challenges Stargirl. After researching his powers and his father's work, Henry Jr. slowly begins to share his father's views on humanity. Shortly after Stargirl tries to convince him otherwise in her civilian identity, Henry Jr. commits his first murder when he kills his father's lawyer for trying to have him taken off life support. After discovering Henry Sr. killed his mother to ensure his loyalty to the Injustice Society, Henry Jr. chooses to fight him and gives his life to save Stargirl's Justice Society while encouraging her to keep fighting and making peace with Yolanda as Brainwave collapses the ceiling on him.
In season two, Eclipso uses the illusion of Henry King Jr. to torment Yolanda.
Cindy Burman / Shiv
Cynthia "Cindy" Burman (portrayed by Meg DeLacy) is the daughter of the Dragon King, girlfriend of Henry King Jr. and the most popular student at Blue Valley High with enhanced abilities and wields wrist blades from her skin. While she is the school's cheerleading captain, she is determined to follow in her father's footsteps. In pursuit of this, she acquired a powerful suit of armor and a flame-throwing staff.
Cindy was born to Dr. Shiro Ito and his first wife, Suzanne Ito in Blue Valley, Nebraska. Shiro sought to conduct experiments on Cindy that would change her physically and emotionally. To avoid further trauma, Suzanne took Cindy and fled Blue Valley. They eventually settled in Farmersville, California. A fearful Cindy worried that her father would find her, though Suzanne assured her they were safe. That very night, Dragon King returned and took Cindy and Suzanne back to Blue Valley where he began his experiments. He started by placing shiv's in her wrists that allowed her to do irreparable harm to those around her. She grew up studying chemistry and became very advanced physically, mentally, and in her education.
When she was in the third grade, Cindy lost control of her powers and accidentally murdered Suzanne. She was devastated by the loss which Dragon King also blamed her for. On her first day in the fourth grade, Cindy addressed her class over the death of her mother and merely stated that she didn't like her mother anyway. After this, her father sought a new caretaker for Cindy but the first woman didn't work out for unknown reasons. He then kidnapped Bobbie Burman and made her into Cindy's caretaker and public stepmother. Following the death of her mother, Cindy's personality began to change into a more viscous and cunning young girl. She became the meanest girl in school during the fourth grade, and continued her tyrannical rule well into her years at Blue Valley High School.
By 2018, Cindy was the head cheerleader, best friends with the popular girls, and seemed to have it all. She opposed Yolanda Montez for school president but was jealous of Yolanda's relationship with Henry King Jr. She was also tasked by her father to get close with Henry to see if he exhibited any telekinetic powers like his father. One day, she witnessed Henry showing his friends topless photos that Yolanda had sent him the night before. She snatched the phone from his hands and saw the images, though Henry quickly took the phone back. At the election, Cindy sent the images out to the entire student body and faculty. She humiliated Yolanda and forced a breakup between her and Henry. Cindy then promptly began dating Henry.
When Courtney moved to Blue Valley High School and got in trouble with Principal Bowin for shoving Henry King Jr. into a passing lunch lady, Cindy quoted to Courtney "That's my boyfriend you bitch" as Principal Bowin scolds Cindy for using a bad language in her school. Dragon King even turned down having Cindy partaking in the ISA's activities. This causes Cindy to steal some of her father's inventions to force him to accept her by fighting and badly injuring Stargirl before being driven off by the school janitor Justin. During a rematch with Stargirl, Henry Jr. gets caught in the crossfire and uses his burgeoning psychic powers to knock them both down before Ito has his daughter evacuated by his drones. Dragon King imprisons Cindy to keep her out of further trouble. During the final battle against the ISA, Cindy escapes, kills her father, and finds a gem containing Eclipso amongst the Wizard's possessions.
In season two, Cindy works with Eclipso to create their own Injustice Society called Injustice Unlimited. While fighting Stargirl's Justice Society of America and Shade, Stargirl accidentally breaks the gem, freeing Eclipso. He uses a shard of it to send Cindy to the Shadowlands despite Stargirl's best efforts to save her, though Shade eventually uses his powers to rescue her. Following this, Cindy forms a truce with Courtney, admits to Yolanda that she was the one who leaked the photo, and calls Artemis Crock and her family to help defeat Eclipso. Following the fight, Cindy confronts Yolanda wanting to make amends and mentions her interest to join the JSA.
Jordan Mahkent / Icicle
Jordan Mahkent (portrayed by Neil Jackson) is the leader of the Injustice Society of America (ISA), an "astute" businessman with the power of cryokinesis and founder of a firm called The American Dream that is responsible for the revitalization of Blue Valley.
Jordan was in London when he first met Christine, a talented artist, who caught his attention because of her beauty. He was nervous to ask her out as another man was pursuing her, whom he implied to have killed to be her only suitor. When Jordan finally grew the courage to speak with Christine, she showed him the most beautiful drawings – of him. She had liked him too but was just waiting for him to make a move. They later married and had a son together, Cameron. At some point, Jordan founded The American Dream to rebuild America one town at a time.
During an unknown time, Jordan founded the Injustice Society of America and collected various individuals with an array of talents or gifts like Brainwave, Fiddler, Gambler, Shade, Solomon Grundy, Sportsmaster, Tigress, and Wizard. His collection of supervillains was doubted by reluctant allies, and he was ultimately betrayed by one of his members. Jordan, under his moniker of Icicle, made fast enemies with the Justice Society of America, a team of superheroes who sought to protect the world. As Icicle, he fought individual members of their team several times over the years before the culmination of their feud on December 24, 2010. The battle resulted in the destruction of the JSA where he somehow took down Flash, froze Sandman, and sent an icicle into Sylvester Pemberton.
Christine worked as a school teacher at a newly built school. Unbeknownst to anyone beforehand, Bannerman Chemicals built the school Christine worked at on top of a former chemical waste dump. The chemicals Christine was exposed to everyday caused her to develop Cancer. It was in Blue Valley, Nebraska, that Christine laid in Jordan's bed at home, dying. Jordan brought their eight-year-old song Cameron to see his mother, so could have a chance to say goodbye. She died that night only moments after she made Jordan promise to do whatever it took to complete his mission – even if he had to kill anyone who got in his way. After Christine's death, Jordan was overcome with emotion and ran outside where he let out an emotional scream. He temporarily lost control of his powers and froze the entire garden while his son watched from inside the house.
Jordan left Blue Valley and temporarily resigned his leadership of the ISA to William Zarick. His son, Cameron, was primarily raised by Jordan's elderly parents Sofus and Lily. Jordan traveled around the country searching for the people responsible for his wife becoming ill. He also observed the state of the country and took notes on how broken the country is and the forgotten small towns.
After returning to Blue Valley, Icicle engages Stargirl and S.T.R.I.P.E. in battle, which leads to the murder of ISA member Wizard's son Joey. When Wizard confronts him about what happened, Icicle freezes him with his parents covering up his death by stating that he had a heart attack. When meeting with Dragon King, Icicle allowed him to have Wizard's body for one of his experiments. Icicle the meets with the ISA to determine how to handle Stargirl after she starts rebuilding the JSA. During the final battle, Icicle leads the ISA in enacting "Project: New America", but Stargirl's JSA foil their plans. After sustaining damage while fighting her and S.T.R.I.P.E., Icicle is shattered by Mike Dugan using his dad's truck.
In season two, Cameron makes a mural for his dad. Eclipso later uses an illusion of Icicle on Barbara where he claimed that the snowstorm has enabled him to be reborn.
Henry King Sr. / Brainwave
Henry King Sr. (portrayed by Christopher James Baker) is a member of the ISA with psionic abilities, the father of Henry King Jr. and a successful neurosurgeon at Blue Valley Medical Center.
Henry was born on October 12, 1971, to an abusive and neglectful father, who believed lessons had to be taught physically and with emotional impact. When Henry was just a boy, he shoplifted a ball that he wanted but his father made him take it back. In protest, Henry threw the ball into a well. His father hung him upside down by the ankles over the well, threatening that if Henry ever disobeyed again, he would be dropped into the dark well. That moment of trauma shaped Henry's life, as he felt defenseless and weak ever since.
Decades ago, Henry King was a mere laboratory scientist who struggled to be taken seriously by his peers. He created cerebral expansion experiments that would, hopefully, grant people more access to the cerebral cortex of their brains. His superiors closed down his experiment and deemed it too dangerous. Henry decided to proceed against their orders and secretly use the experiments on himself. He began to manifest migraines and, during a mugging, read a man's mind for the first time. He also used telekinesis to save himself and gave the man a seizure just by thinking of it. From that point on, Henry documented every day of his journey with his powers by recording himself on a series of VHS tapes. The tapes would later be stored in his secret Brainwave room in his residence. When his powers manifested, Henry learned what he believed to be the real version of humanity. He heard wicked thoughts that made him grow to despise humans. He killed to make his mind feel better, as that was the only relief he could get from his headaches. After these events, Henry assumed the alias of the "terrible telepath" Brainwave, a powerful villain. He also joined the Injustice Society of America where he began working with Icicle to achieve Project: New America. His telepathic abilities would allow the ISA to take control of every developed mind in six states to carve out the "perfect" America. Around this time, he robbed a bank where he was apprehended by Merri, the "Girl of A Thousand Gimmicks", whose pure thoughts gave him pause. He was captivated by her.
They eventually married and had a son who they named Henry King Jr. after Dr. King. They settled in California where the ISA encountered their costumed counterparts, the Justice Society of America. Merri's brother operated as Starman, a member of the JSA. This caused conflict and paired with Merri's positive influence, Henry began to question Jordan's plan. On Christmas Eve, 2010, Jordan lured the JSA to California where Henry fought alongside his fellow ISA members as Brainwave. During the battle, Brainwave had killed Hawkman, Hawkgirl, and Johnny Thunder offscreen. Brainwave then faced off against Starman and the two had a war of mind and will. Brainwave was ultimately knocked down by Starman, who was later impaled by Icicle.
After the battle, Henry returned home and was forced to tell Merri about her brother's death and the role he played in it. He wanted her to go into hiding and run, but she refused and he knew she would never forgive him for the role he played in Sylvester's murder. Henry was forced to choose between the ISA and Merri, so he drowned Merri in their pool. He then picked Junior up from school and told him that Merri had died in an accident, that there was nothing he could do to save her. Henry promptly moved to Blue Valley, Nebraska, seemingly to help further Project: New America due to the town's ideal tunnel system.
Henry assumed a position at Blue Valley Medical Center where he is an extremely talented neuro-surgeon. At some point after, Henry collaborated with Dr. Shiro Ito/Dragon King to have the latter's daughter Cindy Burman date his son Henry King Jr. in order to monitor his behavior and see if his powers manifest.
After discovering that Stargirl had come into possession of Starman's Cosmic Staff and learning her secret identity in the present, Henry Sr. attempts to kill her and take the staff from her, but she defeats him and puts him into a coma. As part of the ISA's plans for Project: New America, Icicle makes preparations to revive Henry Sr. After the latter's son Henry Jr. murders his attorney, Henry Sr. wakes up from his coma and rejoins the ISA after Dragon King cures his amnesia. During a fight with the ISA, Henry had no choice but to kill his own son by collapsing the ceiling on him. When Stargirl leads a new iteration of the JSA against the ISA, Henry Sr. attempts to manipulate Wildcat by using her memories of his son against her, but she sees through his tactics and kills him.
In season two, Eclipso uses an illusion of Brainwave to torment Yolanda.
Barbara Whitmore
Barbara Whitmore (portrayed by Amy Smart) is a Courtney's mother and Pat Dugan's wife who strives to balance her work and home life. After her marriage to Pat, she initially serves as a surrogate mother to her stepson Mike and also to Courtney's JSA teammates after discovering Pat and Courtney's secrets.
Barbara was born and raised in Blue Valley, Nebraska. She moved to California during her adulthood, which is around the time she met Sam Kurtis. They had a daughter together, Courtney, which is when Barbara settled into Valley Village, California. Sam was never present in Courtney or Barbara's life, leaving her to primarily be a single mother.
On Christmas Eve 2010, Barbara Whitmore waited impatiently at her house with her daughter, Courtney, waiting for Courtney's father to arrive. When he failed to show and Barbara had to work, she asked her longtime friend Maggie Kramer if Courtney could stay at her house for the evening. Maggie agreed happily and told Barbara that they are friends and she's happy to help. Barbara kissed her daughter goodbye saying that Maggie will watch her while Barbara's at work. Courtney understands but cries that she wants her father, which Barbara knows. She leaves for work while Courtney looks out the window waiting for a man that would never show.
In 2018, Barbara met Pat Dugan at Richie's Diner while visiting Blue Valley to settle her deceased mother's estate. They ordered the same food – a corn dog and banana split. They had an instant connection and were married two years later. After accepting a job in Blue Valley, Barbara, her husband, daughter, and stepson moved from California to Blue Valley.
Pat Dugan / S.T.R.I.P.E.
Patrick "Pat" Dugan (portrayed by Luke Wilson) is a Courtney's stepfather, the former sidekick to Starman, and a mechanic who owns a repair garage where he stores a 15-foot robotic vehicle of his own creation made from spare car parts. Pat serves as a reluctant mentor and father figure to Courtney and her JSA teammates while using a garage called The Pit Stop as a front. Despite his superheroics, Pat wants to provide a normal life for his family.
Pat's father was a mechanic in the army who worked on tanks. His work required the Dugan's to move around a lot, especially when he was a teenager. Every year or two they had to pack up and move to a new place. The constant moving never allowed Pat to form lasting friendships, so he grew close to his father and regarded him as his best friend. At some point Pat followed in his father's footsteps and joined the army.
When Pat was twenty he was hired by the Pemberton family to serve as their mechanic and driver. He befriended the Pemberton's fifteen-year-old son, Sylvester. One day, Sylvester put on a mask to stop criminals that were threatening his parents, and Pat helped him in his endeavor. Their partnership eventually turned to friendship with Sylvester and Pat extending their crime-fighting antics to superheroism. Sylvester went as the masked hero, Star-Spangled Kid. Pat served as Sylvester's sidekick and guardian, Stripesy. His less-than-inspired superhero name of Stripesy was due to his striped outfit and highlighted Sylvester's alias as the Star-Spangled Kid. He served as the sidekick to Sylvester's teenage alias, Star-Spangled-Kid. The duo's antics caught the attention of the media, specifically Civic City News when they defeated a villain named Doctor Weerd.
At the beginning of their crime-fighting days, Pat and Sylvester joined the underappreciated group known as the Seven Soldiers of Victory. They followed the leadership of Shining Knight with Pat growing close to the Shining Knight. The group later encountered the reptilian villain known as Dragon King. The Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy helped the Seven Soldiers of Victory stop Dragon King from destroying New York. They even saved the world once. Once Dragon King went into hiding, the Soldiers disbanded and lost contact with one another.
A few years later, Sylvester found the cosmic staff and began using it in his times as a superhero. He reinvented himself as the adult superhero Starman, though Pat still operated as his sidekick Stripesy. Sylvester was recruited into the Justice Society of America, an elite team of superheroes that gained much media attention. Sylvester brought Pat into the JSA and the team became very close. Pat served as the team's sidekick and took care of their artifacts and kept their suits clean. He was a valued and important member of the JSA.
On Christmas Eve, 2010, the Injustice Society lured the JSA into a battle in an abandoned California mansion. Unbeknownst to them at the time, the battle was a trap as the ISA planned to eliminate the JSA so they could further a secret agenda. The JSA was defeated by the time Pat, who was absent from the battle for a majority of the time, arrived. He rushed to Starman's aid in the hopes of saving his friends. He witnessed the deaths of Wildcat, Dr. Mid-Nite, and many others. He attempted to escape with a fatally wounded Starman, who died later that night.
Pat kept Starman's staff safe and retired from his sidekick days. He ensured the rest of the JSA's artifacts and suits were safely stored in the JSA headquarters. Pat still wanted revenge on the ISA and offered to help his fellow JSA member, Rex Tyler, who had also survived the battle. Rex declined his help, even turning down Pat's new armored robot. Nine years ago, in 2011, Rex changed his mind and sent Pat all of his research including his journal.
Two years ago, Pat followed Rex's research to Blue Valley, Nebraska. During this visit to Blue Valley, Pat met Barbara Whitmore at Richie's Diner while they were both visiting Blue Valley. They ordered the same food – a corn dog and banana split. They had an instant connection and were married a few years later. After accepting a job in Blue Valley, Barbara, Pat, his son Mike, and stepdaughter Courtney, moved from California to Blue Valley.
Cameron Mahkent
Cameron "Cam" Mahkent (portrayed by Hunter Sansone and Roger Dale Floyd portrays a younger Cameron) is a student at Blue Valley High, aspiring artist, and the son of Jordan Mahkent who was born with cryokinetic powers like his father. He and Courtney share a mutual crush.
Cameron was born to Jordan and Christine Mahkent in Blue Valley, Nebraska. Eight years ago, Cameron's mother, Christine, was exposed to a toxin that ultimately gave her cancer. At this point, he was living with his father and Grandparents. One night, Cameron's father, Jordan, took Cameron to say goodbye to his dying mother. Cameron gave Christine a floral drawing of her garden, to which she told him to never stop drawing. They hugged but she went into a cardiac episode which scared Cameron, and he ran away. She died later that night and Cameron was primarily raised by his grandparents, while his father left to explore the country and hunt down the people responsible for Christine's death.
In season two, Cameron works on a mural of his father and is raised by his grandparents while denying Cindy's offer to find the people that killed his dad. What he doesn't know is that his own cryokinesis is developing. At one point, Eclipso used an illusion of a cryokinetic Cameron to torment Mike. Once his mural is done sometime after Eclipso's defeat, his grandparents reveal their cryokinesis to him.
Eclipso
Eclipso (portrayed by Nick Tarabay and Milo Stein portrays Eclipso's form of Bruce) is an entity trapped inside a black diamond that Cindy obtains. He plans to become a god by feeding on the negativity and darkness of the people on Earth.
Eclipso is an entity of vengeance and evil that was given life by and once resided in The Shadowlands, a place of darkness and shadows. The Black Diamond originated on Diablo Island, a now-forgotten island in the Pacific Ocean. Diablo Island was removed from maps by 1832, as those who visited never returned. According to legend, there were two waring tribes living on either side of the island. One tribe summoned an evil entity of vengeance to weaponize against their enemies. They sealed the entity inside the black diamond.
An explorer named Bruce Gordon rediscovered Diablo Island, but when he arrived everyone had been dead for decades. He found the Black Diamond and picked it up, which made him susceptible to the effects of Eclipso's powers. He returned to the mainland and used Eclipso's influence to achieve fame as one of the greatest explorers in the world. Bruce wrote many books about the island and reached notoriety for being the only person who ever returned.
Eventually, Bruce grew weary of the price his fame and riches cost, including Eclipso ruining his friends and colleagues. Gordon contemplated suicide, but Eclipso convinced him he could help reclaim his lost love Nora by killing her husband. Bruce would not take someone’s life, however Eclipso offered to do it for him and Bruce Gordon’s body was completely taken over by Eclipso.
At some point, Eclipso used the form of Bruce as a ten-year-old boy to tempt his latest victim, Rebecca McNider. She fell victim to Eclipso when she was lured across the street to a birthday party her mother forbid her from attending. Eclipso encouraged her to steal a doll from the pile of presents. When she did, Bruce appeared behind Rebecca and held up the black diamond. Rebecca was found dead by her mother soon after.
The Justice Society of America members Green Lantern, Spectre, Hawkman, and Hawkgirl all faced Eclipso and lost, with Eclipso then vowing to come after the JSA’s families. After receiving information from the Shade that killing Eclipso’s host would send him back into the diamond Starman, Wildcat and Hourman decided to kill Bruce Gordon. They went against the wishes of Stripsey and Flash who thought it was against the JSA’s belief’s to take a human life. Gordon was killed by the JSA with Eclipso being trapped back in the Black Diamond. Starman had the black diamond put it into storage. This choice of action affected the JSA which is the reason why they were later beaten by the ISA some years later.
At some point, William Zarick, also known by his villainous counterpart The Wizard, came into possession of the diamond containing Eclipso. He hid it in his storage unit in Blue Valley, Nebraska. Cindy later found the diamond following Icicle's defeat.
In season two, Cindy works with Eclipso to form their version of the Injustice Society called Injustice Unlimited. Though she was not pleased that Eclipso used her body to kill her stepmother. After recruiting Isaac Bowin and Artemis Crock, they battle Stargirl's JSA and Shade until Stargirl accidentally breaks the Black Diamond. Free of his imprisonment, Eclipso betrays Cindy, using a diamond shard to send her to the Shadowlands before consuming Bowin, injuring Hourman, and causing Shade and Crock to flee before doing the same. Utilizing Gordon's likeness, Eclipso soon resurfaces to torment the JSA and Stargirl's family via their negative emotions and memories like tormenting Yolanda with the images of Brainwave and Henry King Jr., have Beth experience her parents getting a divorce, making Rick think that Solomon Grundy kill a girl when he was actually making him attack his Uncle Matt, causing Barbara to experience the rebirth of Icicle in the snowstorm, causing Matt to be attacked by a cryokinetic Cameron, and causing Pat to see the illusions of Bruce Gordon and some of the ISA members. While Beth is able to resist, Eclipso sends Stargirl to the Shadowlands despite the resistance from Pat and Jennie. After Shade rescues Stargirl and Burman, the pair join forces with the JSA, Sportsmaster, Tigress, Starman, Solomon Grundy, and Thunderbolt to fight Eclipso. While Eclipso kills Grundy, Sportsmaster and Tigress weaken the former before Thunderbolt turns Eclipso into a slice of toast during Stargirl and Jennie's attack on him. The heroes hide Eclipso's toast form for safekeeping.
Lawrence "Crusher" Crock / Sportsmaster
Lawrence "Crusher" Crock / Sportsmaster (recurring season 1; guest season 2; main season 3; portrayed by Neil Hopkins) is a member of the ISA who wields sports-themed weapons and believes that all of his targets are just part of a game to win.
Sportsmaster partook in the ISA's attack on the Justice Society of America (JSA)'s headquarters where he and Tigress were knocked down by Starman.
10 years later, Crusher is the owner of a gym in Blue Valley called Ripped City, is married to Paula Brooks, and is the father of Artemis Crock. In "The Justice Society", Sportsmaster and Tigress were instructed by Icicle to dust off their outfits to help Gambler with his mission while also mentioning the complaint they got from Anaya Bowin about killing another coach. As they met Gambler while watching Artemis perform on the football field, they go over their plans for the mission and even take the moment to scold Gambler for littering near them upon his arrival. Sportsmaster and Tigress attack and overpower Stargirl and her friends when they attempt to intercept an ISA operation only to be driven off by S.T.R.I.P.E. Sportsmaster assists the ISA in enacting Project: New America. Both of them are defeated by Stargirl's JSA.
In season two, it is mentioned that Sportsmaster and Tigress are incarcerated. Sportsmaster and Tigress temporarily break out of prison to see their daughter Artemis' football tryouts. In the episode "Summer School: Chapter Thirteen", Artemis breaks Sportsmaster and Tigress out of prison so that they can help Cindy Burman and the JSA fight Eclipso. Following this, the Crock family move in next door to the Whitmore-Dugan family much to the dismay.
Paula Brooks / Tigress
Paula Brooks / Tigress (recurring season 1; guest season 2; main season 3; portrayed by Joy Osmanski) is a member of the ISA who hunts the world's most dangerous humans.
Tigress took part in the ISA's attack on the JSA's headquarters. She fought Hourman before he was ambushed by Wizard. Starman even fought her and Sportsmaster where he knocked them to the ground.
10 years later, Paula is a gym teacher at Blue Valley High, the wife of "Crusher" Crock, and mother of Artemis Crock. She is the one who directs Courtney to where Yolanda Montez, Beth Chapel, and Rick Tyler sit. In "The Justice Society", Sportsmaster and Tigress were instructed by Icicle to dust off their outfits to help Gambler with his mission while mentioning the complaint he got from Anaya Bowin about them killing another coach. As they met Gambler while watching Artemis perform on the football field, they go over their plans for the mission and even take the moment to scold Gambler for littering near them upon his arrival. Sportsmaster and Tigress attack and overpower Stargirl and her friends when they attempt to intercept an ISA operation only to be driven off by S.T.R.I.P.E. When Sportsmaster and Tigress were hunting the Whitmore-Dugans and received Anaya Bowin as their backup, Tigress was the one who killed Bowin after she insulted them for the fact that they can't keep Artemis in line. Sportsmaster assists the ISA in enacting Project: New America. Both of them are defeated by Stargirl's JSA.
In season two, it is mentioned that Sportsmaster and Tigress are incarcerated. Sportsmaster and Tigress temporarily break out of prison to see their daughter Artemis' football tryouts. In the episode "Summer School: Chapter Thirteen", Artemis breaks Sportsmaster and Tigress out of prison so that they can help Cindy Burman and the JSA fight Eclipso. Following this, the Crock family move in next door to the Whitmore-Dugan family much to their dismay.
Sylvester Pemberton / Starman
Sylvester Pemberton / Starman (guest season 1–2; main season 3; portrayed by Joel McHale) is a member of the original JSA who used an anti gravity Cosmic Staff invented by scientist Ted Knight that Courtney later finds.
During the threat of Eclipso, Sylvester and the JSA had a hard time deciding what to do with Eclipso who is using the body of Bruce Gordon. Starman had no choice but to kill him offscreen and contain Eclipso's gem. Both Starman and Pat had a drink afterwards.
During the holiday season when the Injustice Society had gotten back together, Starman and the Justice Society were attacked at their base by the Injustice Society as he advised an approaching Pat to stay away. Starman was able to knock down Wizard, Gambler, Sportsmaster, Tigress, and Brainwave. The ISA's leader Icicle fatally wounded Sylvester, but the latter's sidekick and friend Pat Dugan evacuated him. In his dying moments, he urged Pat to find someone worthy to wield his Cosmic Staff and ensure the Justice Society's legacy survived. His staff was later found by Courtney Whitmore, who became the show's titular character and Pemberton's successor. In the two-part season one finale, "Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E.", a man claiming to be Pemberton searches for Pat in California.
This is confirmed in season two to be Sylvester Pemberton back from the dead as he continues to search for Pat. By the time he finds where Pat currently lives, he shows up to help Courtney get Eclipso out of her. Following Eclipso's defeat, Sylvester offers to teach Stargirl some moves while planning to explain to her and Pat about how he is back from the dead later.
Recurring characters
Introduced in season one
Ted Grant / Wildcat
Ted Grant / Wildcat is a member of the original JSA who was a former heavyweight boxer and skilled street fighter that wore an exosuit that artificially enhanced his natural athletic prowess.
During the fight against Eclipso, Wildcat attended Rebecca McNider's funeral. Then he and the other ISA members had to decide what to do about Eclipso and his host Bruce Gordon which resulted in them having no choice but to kill Bruce Gordon and contain his gem.
When the ISA got back together one holiday season, Wildcat showed up at Pat's garage to pick up Johnny Thunder. He advised Pat to worry about the safety of his son. When Pat arrived at the scene of the fight, Grant was thrown out of a window by an unknown opponent and landed near him.
Ten years later, Grant's suit was inherited by Yolanda Montez, who became the new Wildcat.
In season two, Eclipso used an illusion of Ted Grant to fight Yolanda.
Charles McNider / Doctor Mid-Nite
Charles McNider / Doctor Mid-Nite (portrayed by Henry Thomas in season one, Alex Collins in season two) is a member of the original JSA who was a detective and a brilliant and forward-thinking medical pioneer with special goggles equipped with an A.I., later named "Chuck" by Beth, patterned on his personality to aid him in fighting crime.
During the threat of Eclipso, Charles lost his daughter Rebecca to him. He and his wife Myna attended her funeral where some of the JSA members in their civilian attires also attended.
During the fight between the JSA and the ISA, Doctor Mid-Nite was grabbed by one of Shade's attacks.
In season two, Shade denied that he killed McNider. It turns out that he was secretly rescued by Shade during the ISA's attack and lost him in the Shadowlands. McNider eventually makes contact with Chapel and later encounters Courtney Whitmore and Cindy Burman after Eclipso sent them to the Shadowlands. Once Shade uses his abilities to free the trio, McNider and Chapel work to find Eclipso. After Whitmore's JSA defeat Eclipso, McNider gives Chapel his blessing to continue operating as Doctor Mid-Nite before she informs him that his wife has settled in Melody Hills, where she now has a son.
Chuck
"Chuck" (voiced by Henry Thomas in season one, Alex Collins in season two) is an A.I. of Charles McNider.
Jenny Williams
Jenny Williams (season 1; guest season 2; portrayed by Ashley Winfrey) is a student at Blue Valley High School, the best friend of Cindy Burman, co-captain of the school's cheerleading squad, and the older sister of Jakeem.
Artemis Crock
Artemis Crock (portrayed by Stella Smith) is the daughter of "Crusher" Crock and Paula Brooks and a star athlete at Blue Valley High School.
In season two, Artemis is in a foster home following the arrest of her parents. Thanks to Eclipso, she joins Cindy's Injustice Unlimited.
In season three, she moves next door to the Whitmoor-Dugan’s.
Steven Sharpe / Gambler
Steven Sharpe / Gambler (season 1; portrayed by Eric Goins) is member of the ISA who is a master in the art of deception, wields a derringer, owns a pet cat, and is depicted as an enemy of Doctor Mid-Nite.
Steven Sharpe accompanies the Injustice Society in their attack on the Justice Society of America, during which he fought the JSA's leader Starman and was defeated by him.
10 years later, Sharpe is the CFO of The American Dream with an egocentric and cut-off personality. Sharpe meets with his Icicle to discuss whether Stargirl is a potential threat to their plans. Gambler later met with Sportsmaster and Tigress in their civilian identities to talk about the mission that involves him getting the data they need for Project: New America. Afterwards, the two of them scold Gambler for the littering he committed near them and demands that he picks up the discarded garbage which he does. Gambler's mission was a success with Sportsmaster and Tigress holding off the ISA. After assisting Icicle in making preparations, Sharpe helps the ISA enact Project: New America in the two-part episode, "Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E." However, after Stargirl's JSA foil their plans, he wipes the ISA's servers and escapes while his teammates are either killed or captured.
Solomon Grundy
Solomon Grundy is a towering zombie and member of the ISA.
Grundy accompanied the Injustice Society in their attack on the Justice Society of America's headquarters. He was sent after a fleeing Pat Dugan, who was evacuating a mortally wounded Starman, but failed to catch them.
In the ten years since the attack, Grundy has been kept under "The American Dream's" corporate headquarters in a reinforced cell to keep him under control, though he was released once to kill Hourman and his wife when they came too close to interfering with the Injustice Society.
By the present day however, Hourman's son Rick Tyler took up his father's mantle to seek revenge on Grundy. Though the two meet and fight in the season one finale, Rick spares Grundy's life and lets him go under the condition that he never returns.
In season two, Rick hears news about a "bear" breaking into restaurants for food. To avoid further incidents, Rick leaves some food in a specific part of the forest that Grundy was sighted in. Grundy later came out and shared some apples with Rick. Due to Eclipso's powers, Rick saw his uncle Matt as Grundy who supposedly killed a girl. After Rick was arrested and Matt was hospitalized, Grundy sadly watches from a far and quotes "friend". Grundy later assists the JSA in fighting Eclipso where he managed to beat him up before Eclipso blasts a hole in him. Following Eclipso's defeat, Rick buries him in front of an apple tree. Shade shows up stating that Grundy has a habit of returning from the dead at the right place at the right day.
Solomon Grundy appears through CGI.
Anaya Bowin
Anaya Bowin (season 1; guest season 2; portrayed by Hina Kohan) is the principal of Blue Valley High School, a skilled violinist, the mother of Isaac Bowin, and secretly a member of the ISA. She is also the widow of the Fiddler.
In her first appearace, she drags Courtney away to deal with her after she shoved Henry King Jr. into a passing lunch lady. When Cindy calls Courtney a bitch in retaliation, Principal Bowin scolds Cindy for using such language. She later hosted an open house and even visited a comatose Brainwave in the hospital. When Icicle returned to Blue Valley, Bowin sent a text to him about Sportsmaster and Tigress killing another coach.
Principal Bowin accompanied Gambler in obtaining a part for Project New America.
In the season finale, Anaya gives her son some advice about his bullying problem by talking about her husband. When Anaya is sent to aid Sportsmaster and Tigress in hunting the Whitmore-Dugan family, she is killed by Tigress for insulting them like mentioning how they couldn't keep Artemis in line.
In season two, Anaya's death was covered up as a hunting accident and she was succeeded by Harold Sherman. She later appears in the Shadowlands.
Justin / Shining Knight
Justin / Shining Knight (season 1; portrayed by Mark Ashworth) is a mysterious janitor at Blue Valley High School with amnesia who is formerly a centuries old vigilante, a knight from Camelot who carries Excalibur, and member of the Seven Soldiers of Victory.
Justin later uses his enchanted sword to save Stargirl from Cindy Burman. Justin receives recurring visions and seeks out Pat Dugan, Rick Tyler, and Beth Chapel for help. After hallucinating them as Dragon King and his drones, Pat talks Justin down and reveals to his allies the latter's true identity as Shining Knight. Justin assists the Justice Society of America in thwarting the Injustice Society's plans before leaving to find other surviving members of his team.
Isaac Bowin
Isaac Bowin (seasons 1–2; portrayed by Max Frantz) is a student at Blue Valley High School and the son of Anaya Bowin and the Fiddler. He is a savant musician. Before her untimely death at the hands of Tigress, Anaya gives some word of wisdom about his father when advising Isaac to deal with his bully problems. He fights his tormentor which is broken up by a teacher as Isaac stated that his mother advised him to do it.
In season two, he joins Cindy's Injustice Unlimited after she tells him about his parents' secret life. When Eclipso is freed, Isaac is consumed by him. He was listed as "missing" on the fliers. Isaac appeared with his mother in the Shadowlands.
Maria Carmen Saravia
Maria Carmen Saravia (portrayed by Maria Sager) is a waitress at Richie's Diner who later becomes Yolanda's co-worker.
Travis Thomas
Travis Thomas (portrayed by Sam Brooks) is a tough jock at Blue Valley High School who is friends with Henry King Jr.
Brian Tanner Balloid
Brian Tanner Balloid (portrayed by Jasun Jabbar) is a jock at Blue Valley High School and one of Henry Jr.'s friends.
Bridget Chapel
Bridget Chapel (portrayed by Kron Moore) is the mother of Beth Chapel who works as a doctor at the Blue Valley Medical Center
James Chapel
James Chapel (portrayed by Gilbert Glenn Brown) is the father of Beth Chapel and the husband of Bridget Chapel who works as a businessman at The American Dream.
Sofus Mahkent
Sofus Mahkent (portrayed by Jim France) is the father of Jordan and grandfather of Cameron who supports Jordan's campaign and also has cryokinetic powers.
Lily Mahkent
Lily Mahkent (portrayed by Kay Galvin) is the mother of Jordan and grandmother of Cameron who supports Jordan's campaign and also has cryokinetic powers.
Dr. Shiro Ito / Dragon King
Dr. Shiro Ito / Dragon King (season 1; guest season 2; portrayed by Nelson Lee) is a close ally of the ISA and the father of Cindy Burman. A controversial scientist who hides his reptilian face and experiments on himself and his patients. He was originally an Imperial Japanese war criminal from WWII who was supposedly executed for his crimes before secretly falling in with the ISA.
Dragon King meets with Icicle to discuss his support for the Injustice Society's plans involving a machine the latter is building and Shade betraying the group. While he considers late member Wizard to be vile, Dragon King gets Icicle's approval to obtain Wizard's body for further experiments. Dragon King is also concerned with the possibility of Brainwave's son Henry King Jr. developing powers of his own, to the point of forcing his daughter Cindy Burman to date King in order to keep watch over him. Dragon King's suspicions prove correct when Cindy fights Stargirl and King uses psychic powers to knock them down after getting caught in the crossfire. Stargirl leads the Justice Society of America in an attack on the Injustice Society's subterranean headquarters, during which they discover Dragon King had acquired reptilian traits. During the JSA's second attack on the Injustice Society, Dragon King is killed by Cindy who slashes her in the back.
In season two, Dragon King appears in Cindy's flashback watching her from the shadows. Then he appears in the Shadowlands with his drones where he tries to complete her.
Zeek
Zeek (portrayed by King Orba) is the owner of a junkyard that Pat befriends when looking for scrap metal to make use of.
Introduced in season two
Jennie-Lynn Scott
Jennie-Lynn Scott (season 2; portrayed by Ysa Penarejo) is the daughter of Alan Scott / Green Lantern who grew up in an orphanage and seeks to reunite with her brother.
She breaks into Courtney Whitmore's home to retrieve her father Alan Scott's lantern, only to be attacked by Courtney. After Jennie introduces herself to Courtney and the latter's family, Courtney becomes skeptical of Jennie's intentions, believing she is a mole for the Injustice Society. As Pat Dugan trains Jennie to control her powers, which initially appear connected to Alan's lantern, Courtney eventually apologizes. After feeling isolated and emotional over her missing brother Todd Rice, Jennie breaks the lantern and strengthens her powers, after which Dugan theorizes Jennie herself is the source. Following this, Jennie leaves to find Rice, though Courtney and Dugan later recruit her to help them fight Eclipso. Courtney and Pat later find her in Civic City and a clue to where her brother is. While Jennie helped to repair the Black Diamond at the JSA's old Civic City headquarters, it attracted Eclipso who knocked Jennie down. Following a nightmare involving Eclipso taking control of Courtney, Jennie helps out in the final battle. When Eclipso is weakened, Jennie helps Stargirl in her attack as Thunderbolt turns Eclipso into a slice of toast. Afterwards, Jennie continues her search for her brother.
Richard Swift / Shade
Richard Swift / Shade (season 2; portrayed by Jonathan Cake) is an immortal supervillain who can generate and control shadows.
He used to be part of the ISA, though he did parley with Sylvester Pemberton about what should be done about Eclipso. During the fight with the JSA during the holiday season, Shade used his shadow attacks to drag Doctor Mid-Nite away. Shade later left upon considering Icicle's Project New America a "folly".
Following the thwarting of Project New America, Shade has resurfaced as a traveling collector of items to seek out the Black Diamond. After being confronted by Stargirl's JSA, Swift reveals his reasons for being with the ISA, denies killing Mid-Nite, and demands to be left alone, claiming he will leave peacefully once he gets what he wants. While a battle ensues, Swift subdues the heroes before escaping. In a later confrontation, he reveals to Stargirl that Eclipso murdered Mid-Nite's daughter Rebecca. After receiving help from Stargirl's mother Barbara Whitmore, Swift intervenes during a fight between the JSA and Injustice Unlimited in an attempt to destroy the Black Diamond. However, Stargirl inadvertently breaks it and frees Eclipso, who forces Swift to flee. Eventually, Swift resurfaces to aid Stargirl in reconstructing the Black Diamond, claiming it can be used to trap Eclipso once more. He later reveals his deception, using the diamond to strengthen his powers and summon Eclipso, who sends Stargirl to the Shadowlands. Subsequently, Swift seeks a darkened theater to recuperate as he watches The Picture of Dorian Grey. However, Barbara and her husband Pat Dugan find and convince him to open a portal to the Shadowlands so that Stargirl, Mid-Nite, and Cindy Burman can escape. The effort seemingly kills Swift, who dissipates in a cloud of dark energy. However, he later returns to help the JSA defeat Eclipso. After Rick digs a grave for Solomon Grundy, Shade tells Rick that Solomon Grundy had a way of returning from the dead.
Guest stars
Introduced in season one
Rex Tyler / Hourman (portrayed by Lou Ferrigno Jr.) - A member of the original JSA and the father of Rick Tyler who was "a master chemist and adrenaline junkie" with the ability to acquire super strength for one hour a day using a substance of his own invention in his hourglass amulet. Ten years prior to the series, Rex was with the Justice Society when the Injustice Society attacked their headquarters. He fought with Tigress before being defeated by Wizard. Having survived the attack, he and his wife Wendi tracked the Injustice Society to Blue Valley. They left their son Rick with Wendi's brother Matt before they were killed by Solomon Grundy while fleeing Blue Valley. Rick Tyler would go on to take up his father's mantle and amulet to avenge his parents.
William Zarick / Wizard (portrayed by Joe Knezevich) - A member of the ISA who uses magic. Wizard partook in the ISA's attack on the Justice Society of America (JSA)'s headquarters, during which he defeated Hourman. Before he can attack Pat, Wizard was defeated by Starman. At some point afterwards, he claimed the Eclipso's Black Diamond. In his civilian identity, Zarick works as a Blue Valley councilman as well as an executive and financial supporter of a prominent business called The American Dream, which is run by other former members of the Injustice Society. He is also the father of aspiring magician Joey Zarick and the husband of Denise Zarick. Having grown weary of his obligations to the ISA and wanting a normal life with his family, he rebuffs his former leader Icicle when he comes to seek help against Stargirl amidst her attempts to revive the JSA. After Joey is killed in an accident that Icicle caused, Zarick confronts him to avenge his son only to be frozen to death. Icicle's parents cover up his death by stating that he died of a heart attack as Jordan dedicates a theater in memory of him. After getting Icicle's approval, ISA member Dragon King obtains Wizard's body for experimentation purposes. Cindy Burman finds the Black Diamond in Zarick's storage unit. In season two, he appears with his family in the Shadowlands.
Mary Kramer (portrayed by Annie Thurman as a teenageer, Olivia Baughn as a young girl) - Courtney's best friend back in California.
Maggie Kramer (portrayed by Elizabeth Bond) - The mother of Mary Kramer.
Josh Hamman (portrayed by Christian Adam) - A nerd at Blue Valley High School.
Mrs. Patterson (portrayed by Suehyla El-Attar) - A teacher at Blue Valley High School.
Joey Zarick (voiced by Wil Deusner) - The son of William Zarick and an aspiring magician. He was killed when Icicle caused him to be struck by an approaching vehicle. In season two, Joey appears in the Shadowlands with his family.
Denise Zarick (portrayed by Cynthia Evans) - The wife of William Zarick and the mother of Joey Zarick. After William and Joey's deaths, Denise gets suspiscious of her husband's death as he was in good health which she mentions to Pat. While looking for spare parts, Pat finds Denise's wrecked car with a magician's hat in it. In season two, Denise appears in the Shadowlands with her family.
Bobbie Burman (portrayed by Lesa Wilson) - The latest wife of Dragon King and the stepmother of Cindy. In season two, Bobbie is killed by Eclipso when he control's Cindy's body.
Mercedes (portrayed by C.C. Castillo) - The housekeeper of the King family.
Mr. Levine (portrayed by Nick Basta) - A math teacher at Blue Valley High School.
Alex Montez (portrayed by Jonathan Blanco) - Yolanda's younger cousin who does not consider her a disgrace.
Maria Montez (portrayed by Kikey Castillo) - Yolanda's Catholic mother.
Juan Montez (portrayed by Wilmer Calderon) Yolanda's father.
Matt Harris (portrayed by Adam Aalderks) - The brother of Rex Tyler's wife Wendi and Rick Tyler's maternal uncle. He assumes guardianship of Rick after Rex and Wendi are killed by the ISA and developed an abusive relationship with him. In season two, Matt drives away Rick's teacher Miss Woods. Eclipso caused Rick to see Matt as Solomon Grundy who killed a little girl which placed Matt in critical condition. After closing the door to his hospital room and failing to reason with Matt, Pat had to do an unseen intimidation to get Matt to drop the charges on Rick.
Sam Kurtis (portrayed by Geoff Stults) - Courtney's father and Barbara's ex-boyfriend who attempts to reconnect with Courtney a decade after his disappearance. He resurfaces ostensibly to reconnect with his daughter Courtney Whitmore, though he secretly attempts to steal her locket and sell it off for money. However, her stepfather Pat Dugan realizes Kurtis' true intentions and confronts him telling him to never return.
Introduced in season two
Rebecca McNider (portrayed by Olive Abercrombie) - The daughter of Charles McNider who became one of Eclipso's victims.
Myra McNider (portrayed by Emily Dunlop) - The wife of Charles McNider.
Harold Sherman (portrayed by Tywayne Wheatt) - The principal of Blue Valley High School who succeeds Anaya Bowin. After busing Courtney when she thought that Artemis was going to attack her, Sherman informs Pat and Barbara of this while mentioning that she will have to attend summer school after flunking one of her classes. When Deisinger undergoes a psych evaluation after what Eclipso did to him, Sherman takes over his class.
Miss Woods (portrayed by Deborah Bowman) - A teacher at Blue Valley High School.
Paul Deisinger (portrayed by Randy Havens) - An art teacher at Blue Valley High School who oversees the summer school class that Courtney, Yolanda, Rick, and Isaac are in. Cindy Burman uses Eclipso to enchant Deisinger into painting until he becomes engulfed by a paint blob. When the Justice Society of America investigate, he causes them to see nightmares until Stargirl pulls him out of the paint blob, curing him of Eclipso's powers. Following this, Deisinger undergoes a psych evaluation.
Father Thomas (portrayed by Kenny Alfonso) - A priest at Blue Valley's church. He hears of Yolanda's mentioning that the Devil might be on Earth while also working to get Maria to be supportive of Yolanda's current drama.
Johnny Thunder (portrayed by Ethan Embry) - A member of the original JSA who owned a pink pen that contained Thunderbolt. He was present at Rebecca McNider's funeral. During the holiday season where the ISA got back together, Johnny Thunder was at Pat's garage talking about how the JSA often have to clean up Thunderbolt's mess. Wildcat shows up to pick up Johnny Thunder when Solomon Grundy is seen with the ISA. Before leaving, Johnny Thunder states to Pat that they will have egg nog when he returns. This doesn't happen as he alongside Hawkman and Hawkgirl are killed offscreen by Brainwave. Before dying, Johnny Thunder made a wish to Thunderbolt that he'd find another person like him to bear the pink pen.
Thunderbolt (voiced by Jim Gaffigan) - A 5th Dimension Genie that resides in a pink pen. He requires strict rules to grant wishes, such as specific wording. According to Pat Dugan, Thunderbolt was a dangerous weapon. Thunderbolt and Johnny Thunder were with the Justice Society of America until they were attacked by the Injustice Society, during which Johnny was killed by Brainwave and Thunderbolt was left trapped in his pen for over 10 years after Johnny wished for him to return to it and wait for a new owner. In season two, Mike gets ahold of the pen and befriends Thunderbolt. Following a confrontation with Shade however, Mike unknowingly wishes for the pen to end up in better hands, causing it to be teleported to his friend Jakeem Williams' house. Thunderbolt later assists Stargirl's JSA and their allies fight Eclipso where he tries to shock Eclipso. Jakeem later wishes for Eclipso to be toast causing Thunderbolt to turn Eclipso into toast during Stargirl and Jennie's final attack on him.
Jakeem Williams / Jakeem Thunder (portrayed by Alkoya Brunson) - A gamer who is Mike Dugan's best friend, the brother of Jenny Williams, and the current keeper of Thunderbolt's pen. When Mike wishes for the pen to be in better hands, it ends up in the hands of Jakeem Williams. He does makes some wishes that resulted in larger foods appearing in Blue Valley. When Thunderbolt returns from China with Chinese food, he grants a wish for a replacement part for S.T.R.I.P.E. to appear. Thunderbolt assists in the attack on Eclipso where he manages to shock him before Eclipso threw him into S.T.R.I.P.E. After Eclipso was weakened, Thunderbolt granted Jakeem's wish for Eclipso to be toast as he turns Eclipso into toast during Courtney and Jennie's final attack on him.
Millie Myers (portrayed by Blaire Erskins) - The foster mother of Artemis Crock.
Jay Garrick / Flash (portrayed by John Wesley Shipp) - A member of the original JSA with super-speed. Flash was present at the funeral of Rebecca McNider after she was killed by Eclipso and had to vote against killing Eclipso's host Bruce Gordon. During the ISA's attack on the JSA, Flash was taken down by Icicle as seen when his helmet has ice on it. Shipp also played a version of Garrick in the Arrowverse series The Flash.
Bruce Gordon (portrayed by Jason Davis) - An archaeologist who found the diamond that Eclipso was in on Diablo Island. After being possessed by Eclipso and having beaten some of the JSA members, Starman had no choice but to kill Gordon and claim the diamond. Eclipso used an illusion of Gordon to torture Pat.
Grumpy Joe (portrayed by Gregory Knowow) - A grouchy patron at Richie's Diner with an impatient personality.
Louise Love (portrayed by Lynne Ashe) - The head nurse at the Helix Institute for Youth Rehabilitation. After being visited by Courtney, Pat, and Jennie, Louise contacted Mister Bones stating that they successfully moved Todd to another facilitiy while also mentioning that he has a sister. Following Eclipso's defeat, Louise informed Mister Bones that Jennie is still looking for Todd and the sightings of superheroes and supervillains in Blue Valley.
Sonia Sato (voiced by Kristen Lee) -
Mister Bones (voiced by Keith David) - The director of the Helix Institute for Youth Rehabilitation with a transparent head that shows his skull. He was informed by Louise Love about Todd being relocated and that he has a sister. Following Eclipso's defeat, Louise informed Mister Bones that Jennie is still looking for Todd and the sightings of superheroes and supervillains in Blue Valley. Mister Bones decides that he should pay a visit to Blue Valley
Notes
References
Stargirl | en |
doc-en-7470 | Churchill, Hitler and the Unnecessary War: How Britain Lost Its Empire and the West Lost the World, is a book by Patrick J. Buchanan, published in May 2008. Buchanan argues that both world wars were unnecessary and that the British Empire's decision to fight in them was disastrous for the world. One of Buchanan's express purposes is to undermine what he describes as a "Churchill cult" in America's élite and so he focuses particularly on how Winston Churchill helped Britain get into wars with Germany in 1914 and again in 1939.
Synopsis
Buchanan cites many historians including George F. Kennan, Andreas Hillgruber, Simon K. Newman, Niall Ferguson, Charles Tansill, Paul W. Schroeder, Alan Clark, Michael Stürmer, Norman Davies, John Lukacs, Frederick P. Veagle, Correlli Barnett, John Charmley, William Henry Chamberlin, David P. Calleo, Maurice Cowling, A. J. P. Taylor and Alfred-Maurice de Zayas. Buchanan argues that it was a great mistake for Britain to fight Germany in both world wars, which he believes was a disaster for the whole world.
World War I
Buchanan accuses Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, of having a "lust for war" in 1914. Buchanan follows the conclusions of Kennan, an American realist diplomat, who wrote in his 1984 book The Fateful Alliance that the 1894 Franco-Russian Alliance was an act of "encirclement" of Germany and that German foreign policy after 1894 was defensive rather than aggressive. Buchanan describes Germany as a "satiated power" that sought only peace and prosperity but was threatened by a revanchist France obsessed with regaining Alsace-Lorraine. He calls Russia an "imperialist" power that was carrying out an aggressive policy in Eastern Europe against Germany.
Buchanan argues that Britain had no quarrel with Germany before 1914, but the great rise of the Imperial German Navy, spearheaded by Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, was a "threat to Britain" that forced the British to bring back to European waters the bulk of its Royal Navy and to make alliances with Russia and France. Buchanan asserts that a disastrous policy that "tied England to Europe" and created the conditions that led the British to involvement in the war.
On the other hand, Buchanan asserts that the greatest responsibility for the breakdown in Anglo-German relations was the "Germanophobia" and zeal for the Entente Cordiale with France of the British Foreign Secretary, Edward Grey. In assessing responsibility for the course of events, Buchanan asserts that the British could have easily ended the Anglo-German naval arms race in 1912 by promising to remain neutral in a war between Germany and France.
Buchanan calls "Prussian militarism" an anti-German myth invented by British statesmen and that the record of Germany supports his belief that it was the least militaristic of the European Powers. He writes that in the century between the Battle of Waterloo (1815) and World War I (1914), Britain had fought ten wars and Germany three. Buchanan points out that until 1914, German Kaiser Wilhelm II had not fought a war but Churchill had served in three wars: "Churchill had himself seen more war than almost any soldier in the German army."
Buchanan claims that Wilhelm was desperate to avoid a war in 1914 and accepts the German claim that it was the Russian mobilization of July 31 that forced war on Germany. Buchanan accuses Churchill and Grey of getting Britain to enter the war in 1914 by making promises that Britain would defend France without the knowledge of Cabinet or Parliament. Buchanan argues that the United States should never have fought in World War I, and that it was "deceived and dragged" into war in 1917: "Americans blamed the 'Merchants of Death' – the war profiteers – and the British propagandists" who created the myth of the Rape of Belgium.
Buchanan calls the British "hunger blockade" of Germany in World War I "criminal" and accepts the argument of British economist John Maynard Keynes, who wrote in his 1919 The Economic Consequences of the Peace that the reparations that were imposed on Germany in the Treaty of Versailles were "impossible" to pay.
World War II
Buchanan argues that World War II could have been avoided if the Treaty of Versailles had not been so harsh toward Germany. Buchanan views the treaty as unjust toward Germany and argues that German efforts to revise Versailles were both moral and just. Buchanan calls those historians who blame Germany for the two world wars "court historians" who he argues have created a myth of sole German guilt for the world wars. In contrast to his opposition to Versailles, Buchanan wrote that by means of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Germany had merely applied to that "prison house of nations," Russia, the principle of self-determination, releasing from Russian rule Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, and the Caucasus (largely modern Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan) (despite the Septemberprogramm). Buchanan says that Hungary, which lost two thirds of its territory by the Treaty of Trianon, considered it a "national crucifixion" and was embittered toward the Allies by it.
Buchanan thinks that Czechoslovakia should never have been created; it was "a living contradiction of the principle" of self-determination, with the Czechs ruling "Germans, Hungarians, Slovaks, Poles, and Ruthenians" in a "multi-ethnic, multilingual, multicultural, Catholic-Protestant conglomeration that had never before existed." Buchanan accuses Czech leaders Edvard Beneš and Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk of deceiving the Allies, particularly US President Woodrow Wilson, on the ethnicity of the regions that became Czechoslovakia. "Asked why he had consigned three million Germans to Czech rule, Wilson blurted, 'Why, Masaryk never told me that!'". The alleged Wilson quote seems unlikely given the fact Wilson was well aware of demographic situation in the Bohemian crown lands in his 1889 book The State: Elements of Historical and Practical Politics. Furthermore Wilson only spoke with Masaryk on one occasion and wasn't interested in discussing Czechoslovak independence.
As a result of their humiliation at Versailles, the Germans became more nationalistic and ultimately put their confidence in Adolf Hitler. Buchanan writes that there was a "Great Civil War of the West" in both world wars and in which Buchanan contends that Britain should have stayed neutral in rather than upholding an unfair Treaty of Versailles. Buchanan damns successive British and French leaders for not offering to revise Versailles in Germany's favor in the 1920s while the Weimar Republic was still in existence and stopped the rise of Hitler.
Buchanan agrees with quotations of historians Richard Lamb and Alan Bullock that the attempt by German Chancellor Heinrich Brüning to found an Austro-German customs union in March 1931 could have prevented Hitler from coming to power. Buchanan criticizes the Allies for opposing it and quotes Bullock regarding their veto as not only helping "to precipitate the failure of the Austrian Kreditanstalt and the German financial crisis of the summer but forced the German Foreign Office to announce on September 3 that the project would be abandoned. The result was to inflict a sharp humiliation on the Bruning government and to inflame national resentment in Germany." Buchanan argues that Britain, France, Italy, and Czechoslovakia all indirectly assisted Hitler's rise to power in 1933.
Weimar-era German leaders like Gustav Stresemann, Heinrich Brüning, and Friedrich Ebert were all responsible German statesmen, according to Buchanan, and were working to revise Versailles in a manner that would not threaten the peace of Europe, but they were undermined by the inability and unwillingness of Britain and France to co-operate. Buchanan follows the distinction made by German historian Andreas Hillgruber between a Weimar foreign policy to restore Germany to its pre-1918 position for some territorial expansionism in Eastern Europe and a Nazi foreign policy for which that was only the first step toward a larger program of seeking Lebensraum by war and genocide in Eastern Europe. Since Buchanan argues that there was a moral equivalence between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, he maintains that Britain should have just allowed Germany and the Soviet Union to destroy each other and that Britain should have meanwhile awaited the course of events and rearmed fast enough to be able to fight if necessary. Buchanan argues that the "guarantee" of Poland in 1939 was impossible to fulfill but made the war inevitable. Buchanan calls Hitler's foreign policy program more moderate than the war aims sought by German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg's Septemberprogramm in World War I. Buchanan contends that Hitler was interested in expanding into only Eastern Europe and did not seek territory in Western Europe and Africa. Moreover, Buchanan argues that once Hitler came to power in 1933, his foreign policy was not governed strictly by Nazi ideology but was modified ad hoc by pragmatism.
Buchanan writes that Benito Mussolini was committed to the Stresa Front of 1935 and that it was an act of folly on the part of Britain to vote for League of Nations sanctions on Italy for invading Ethiopia, as that only drove Fascist Italy into an alliance with Nazi Germany (despite the intervention in the Spanish Civil War). He writes that British opposition to the Second Italo-Ethiopian war was unnecessary, as the small territory Italy controlled were countered by the much larger British territories in Africa, meaning Italy could have never posed a threat to its colonies. Buchanan notes that France, under Pierre Laval, agreed to Italy's right to conquer Ethiopia as the price of maintaining the Stresa Front, but Britain had what Buchanan calls a "sanctimonious" attitude for sanctions in defense of what Churchill, quoted by Buchanan, described as "a wild land of tyranny, slavery, and tribal war." Buchanan also quotes Churchill as arguing, "No one can keep up the pretense that Abyssinia is a fit, worthy, and equal member of the league of civilized nations." In early 1936, when the crisis over Ethiopia had pushed Britain and Italy to the brink of war, there occurred the remilitarization of the Rhineland in violation of the Treaty of Versailles.
Buchanan points out that Hitler regarded the Franco-Soviet Pact as an aggressive move directed at Germany and that it violated the Locarno Treaties, and he adds that Hitler had a strong case. Hitler utilized the claim of the violation of Locarno as a diplomatic weapon against which the French and the British had no answer.
Buchanan argues that Hitler's public demands on Poland in 1938 and 1939, namely the return of the Free City of Danzig to the Reich, "extra-territorial" roads across the Polish Corridor, and Poland's adhesion to the Anti-Comintern Pact were a genuine attempt to build an anti-Soviet German-Polish alliance, especially since Buchanan argues that Germany and Poland shared a common enemy, the Soviet Union. Buchanan claims that Hitler wanted Poland as an ally against the Soviet Union, not an enemy. Citing March 1939 by the British historian Simon K. Newman and Andrew Roberts, in his The Holy Fox: The Life of Lord Halifax, Buchanan argues that the British "guarantee" of Polish independence in March 1939 was a deliberate ploy on the part of its Foreign Minister, Lord Halifax, to cause a war with Germany in 1939. Buchanan calls Chamberlain's "guarantee" of Poland "rash" and the "fatal blunder" that caused the end of the British Empire. Buchanan argues that Halifax and Neville Chamberlain had different motives for the guarantee. Without deciding between the various theories regarding Chamberlain's motivation, Buchanan recites several, including those of Liddell Hart, Newman, and Roberts.
Buchanan agrees with British historian E. H. Carr, who said in April 1939 about the Polish "guarantee": "The use or threatened use of force to maintain the status quo may be morally more culpable than the use or threatened use of force to alter it." Buchanan maintains that Hitler did not want a war with Britain and that Britain should not have declared war in 1939 on an Anglophile Hitler who wanted to ally the Reich with Britain against their common enemy the Soviet Union.
Buchanan accepts the picture drawn by British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who, in his 1961 The Origins of the Second World War, considered Polish Foreign Minister Colonel Józef Beck a frivolous and irresponsible man who was incapable of understanding the magnitude of the crisis that was facing his country in 1939. Buchanan argues that rather than offering a "guarantee" of Poland that Britain could not fulfill, Chamberlain should have accepted that it was impossible to save Eastern Europe from German aggression and instead set about re-arming Britain in order to be prepared for any future war with Germany, should it be necessary. Instead, Buchanan claims that the acceptance of Eastern Europe as Germany's sphere of influence as a quid pro quo for Germany staying out of Western Europe would have been better than World War II.
Buchanan argues that it was a great blunder on the part of Chamberlain to declare war on Germany in 1939 and that it was an even greater blunder on the part of Churchill to refuse Hitler's peace offer of 1940, thus making World War II in Buchanan's opinion the "unnecessary war" of the title. The title of course was borrowed from Churchill, who stated in his memoirs, "One day President Roosevelt told me that he was asking publicly for suggestions about what the war should be called. I said at once, 'The Unnecessary War.' There never was a war more easy to stop than that which has just wrecked what was left of the world from the previous struggle." Buchanan writes, "For that war one man bears full moral responsibility: Hitler.... But this was not only Hitler's war. It was Chamberlain's war and Churchill's war...." In Buchanan's view, the "final offer" made by the German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop to the British Ambassador Sir Nevile Henderson on the night of August 30, 1939 was not a ploy, as many historians argued, but a genuine German offer to avoid the war. Likewise, Buchanan argues by citing F.H. Hinsley, John Lukacs, and Alan Clark that Hitler's peace offers to Britain in the summer of 1940 were real and so Churchill was wrong to refuse them.
Buchanan calls the Morgenthau Plan of 1944 a genocidal plan for the destruction of Germany that was promoted by the vengeful Henry Morgenthau and his deputy, Soviet agent Harry Dexter White, a way of ensuring Soviet domination of Europe, with Churchill being amoral for accepting it.
Buchanan even claims a moral equivalence between Churchill and Hitler. Buchanan suggests that there was no moral difference between Churchill's support for the compulsory sterilization and segregation of the mentally-unfit before 1914 and the German Action T4 program. Likewise, Buchanan argues that the views that Churchill expressed about Judeo-Bolshevism in his 1920 article "Zionism and Bolshevism" seem not very different from Hitler's views about "Judeo-Bolshevism" in Mein Kampf. Buchanan attacks Churchill as the man who brought in the Ten Year Rule in 1919, which based British defense spending on the assumption that there would be no major war for the next ten years, and claims that made Churchill the man who disarmed Britain in the 1920s. Buchanan attacks Churchill as a inept military leader who caused successive military debacles such as the Siege of Antwerp, the Dardanelles campaign, the Norwegian Campaign, the Battle of Singapore, and the Dieppe Raid.
Buchanan claims that Hitler's ambitions were confined only to Eastern Europe and cites such historians as Ian Kershaw, Andreas Hillgruber and Richard J. Evans that Hitler wanted an anti-Soviet alliance with Britain. Buchanan maintains that British leaders of the 1930s were again influenced by Germanophobia, which led them to suspect that Germany was out to conquer the world. Citing John Lukacs, Buchanan maintains that Operation Barbarossa was not part of any long-range master plan on the part of Hitler, but it was instead an attempt by Hitler to force Britain to make peace by eliminating Britain's last hope of victory by bringing the Soviet Union into the war on the Allied side.
Buchanan argues that the Holocaust would not have developed the scale that it did without Hitler's invasion of Poland and then the Soviet Union, as he would not otherwise have been in control of most European Jews. Buchanan argues that if Churchill had accepted Hitler's peace offer of 1940, the severity of the Holocaust would have been greatly reduced.
With respect to the debate about German foreign policy, Buchanan countenances historians, such as Gerhard Weinberg, who argue that Germany wanted to conquer the entire world, and he instead contends that Nazi Germany was never a danger to the United States and that it was not a danger to Britain after the Battle of Britain. Buchanan points out that the "master plan to conquer South and Central America" that Franklin Roosevelt publicly endorsed was actually produced by British intelligence and that German sources reveal no evidence for its veracity.
Buchanan calls the British "area bombing" of German cities in World War II a policy of "barbarism" and quotes Churchill stating that its purpose was "simply for the sake of terror." In particular, Buchanan argues that the bombing of Dresden in 1945 was barbaric and that Churchill personally ordered it by quoting Churchill himself and Air Marshall Arthur Harris as evidence.
Buchanan believes that Churchill was largely responsible for "Western man's reversion to barbarism" in World War II and notes that generals like Curtis LeMay, when they bombed Japan, had followed the example set by British Air Marshal Harris in using "terror bombing" as a method of war against Germany.; Buchanan quotes LeMay himself "We scorched and boiled and baked to death more people in Tokyo that night of March 9–10 than went up in the vapor of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined."
Buchanan concludes, "We and the British fought for moral ends. We did not always use moral means by any Christian definition."
Endorsing the concept of Western betrayal, Buchanan accuses Churchill and Roosevelt of turning over Eastern Europe to the Soviet Union at the Tehran Conference and the Yalta Conference. Citing the Cuban-American lawyer Alfred-Maurice de Zayas, Buchanan calls the expulsion of the Germans from Eastern Europe, in which 2 million died, a crime against humanity "of historic dimensions" and contrasts the British prosecution of German leaders at the Nuremberg Trials for crimes against humanity while Churchill and other British leaders were approving the expulsion of the Germans from Eastern Europe.
Buchanan also writes that the United States should have stayed out of the events of World War II. However, because the United States insisted for the United Kingdom to sever the Anglo-Japanese Alliance in 1921, Japan ultimately aligned itself with the Axis and later attacked Pearl Harbor. Buchanan blames Churchill for insisting to the British Cabinet in 1921 to give in to pressure to end its alliance with Japan.
Buchanan concludes that if World War II had not taken place, the British Empire would have continued through the 20th century. Buchanan favorably cites the 1993 assessment of Alan Clark that World War II "went on far too long, and when Britain emerged the country was bust. Nothing remained of assets overseas. Without immense and punitive borrowings from the US we would have starved. The old social order had gone forever. The empire was terminally damaged. The Commonwealth countries had seen their trust betrayed and their soldiers wasted." Likewise, Buchanan blames British statesmen for bringing Britain into the war against Germany, which caused the economic ruin of Britain but also brought Communists to power in Eastern Europe and China in 1949, all of which would have been avoided if Britain had not "guaranteed" Poland in 1939.
Buchanan claims that for the most part, American leaders in the Cold War followed the wise advice of Kennan, who understood that a strong Germany was needed as an American ally to keep the Soviet Union out of Central Europe. The United States did not rush into unnecessary wars with the Soviet Union but instead waited patiently for the Soviet Union to fall apart.
Buchanan ends his book with an attack on George W. Bush and argues that just as Churchill led the British Empire to ruin by causing unnecessary wars with Germany twice, Bush led the United States to ruin by following Churchill's example in involving the United States in an unnecessary war in Iraq, and he passed out guarantees to scores of nations in which the United States has no vital interests, which placed his country in a position with insufficient resources to fulfil its promises. Buchanan expresses the view that just as Chamberlain's "guarantee" of Poland in March 1939 caused an "unnecessary war" with Germany in September, the current guarantees of Eastern European nations by the United States are equally unwise and require a declaration of war with Russia if a hostile regime ascended to power in the latter country and attacked Eastern Europe. However, the United States has no vital interests in Eastern Europe. Finally, Buchanan highlights the symbolism of Bush placing a bust of Churchill in the Oval Office as evidence that Bush's neoconservative foreign policy was influenced and inspired by Churchill.
Reviews
The book was 16th on its first week on The New York Times bestseller list. MSNBC notes that Buchanan joins historians who are more critical of British involvement in World War II.
The book has received mostly negative reviews. Canadian journalist Eric Margolis in the Toronto Sun endorsed Buchanan's study as a "powerful new book." Margolis wrote that neither Britain nor the United States should have fought in World War II and that it was simply wrong and stupid that millions of people died to stop the 90% German Free City of Danzig from rejoining Germany. Margolis accepts Buchanan's conclusion that the British "guarantee" of Poland in March 1939 was the greatest geopolitical blunder of the 20th century. Margolis wrote:
Jonathan S. Tobin in The Jerusalem Post gave Buchanan's book a negative review and suggested the author is anti-Semitic and representative of a "malevolent" form of appeasement. American writer Adam Kirsch, in The New York Sun, attacked Buchanan for using no primary sources, and for saying there was a conspiracy by historians to hide the truth about the two world wars. Kirsch acidly remarked if that was the case, Buchanan did not need only secondary sources to support his arguments. Kirsch accused Buchanan of hypocrisy for denouncing Churchill as a racist who was opposed to non-white immigration to Britain but demanding the same in the United States. Kirsch wrote that Buchanan's apocalyptic language about the West in decline owed more to Oswald Spengler than to American conservatives. Kirsch argued that Buchanan's heavy reliance on Correlli Barnett's 1972 book The Collapse of British Power as a source reflects the fact that both Buchanan and Barnett are two embittered conservatives unhappy with the way history worked out and they prefer to talk about how much nicer history would have been if Britain had not fought in the two world wars or the United States and Britain in Iraq.
American classicist Victor Davis Hanson criticized Buchanan for what he sees as a pro-German bias and instead contends that the Treaty of Versailles was too lenient rather than too harsh toward Germany.
In a hostile review, the American journalist David Bahnsen called Buchanan's book an "anti-semitic piece of garbage" and accused Buchanan of being unique in that he posited the Holocaust as an understandable, if excessive, response to the British "guarantee" of Poland in 1939.
British journalist Geoffrey Wheatcroft, in a review in The New York Review of Books, complained that Buchanan had grossly exaggerated the harshness of the Treaty of Versailles by noting that most historians think that Germany started World War I and that Buchanan's criticism of the British "area bombing" of cities in the war pays no attention to how limited Britain's options seemed to Churchill in 1940. Wheatcroft wrote that Buchanan cited right-wing British historians like Clark, Cowling, and John Charmley when they stated that Britain should never have fought Germany or at least should have made peace in 1940, but he ignored the wider point that Clark, Cowling and Charmley were making: they viewed the United States rather than Germany as the British Empire's main rival.
Hungarian-American historian John Lukacs, in a review in The American Conservative, compared Buchanan to David Irving and argued that the only difference between the two was that Irving uses lies to support his arguments while Buchanan uses half-truths. Lukacs commented that Buchanan cites the left-wing British historian A. J. P. Taylor only when it suits him; when Taylor's conclusions are at variance with Buchanan's views, Buchanan does not cite him. Lukacs objected to Buchanan's argument that Britain should have stood aside and allowed Germany to conquer Eastern Europe as Buchanan ignores just how barbaric and cruel Nazi rule was in Eastern Europe in World War II. Finally, Lukacs claimed that Buchanan has often been accused of Anglophobia. Lukacs felt that Buchanan's lament for the British Empire was a case of crocodile tears. Lukacs concluded that Buchanan's book was not a work of history but was a thinly-veiled admonitory allegory for the modern United States with Britain standing in for the United States and Germany, Japan, and Italy standing in at various points for modern Islam, China, and Russia.
Conservative American journalist Christopher Jones attacked Buchanan in a review for saying that Hitler's aims in 1939 were limited to allowing Danzig to rejoin Germany when Hitler wanted to destroy Poland. Likewise, Jones criticized Buchanan for writing that the Czech people were better off as part of the Reich Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, ruled over by Reinhard Heydrich, than as part of independent and democratic Czechoslovakia. Buchanan claims that Hitler did not want a world war over Danzig and uses the lack of readiness of the Kriegsmarine for a war with Britain in 1939 as proof of that. Jones notes the German navy was in the middle of a major expansion, codenamed Plan Z, intended to prepare it to take on the British navy by the mid-1940s.
British journalist Christopher Hitchens, in a review in Newsweek, claimed that ignorance by Buchanan on the aggression of Imperial Germany and notes that Wilhelm openly encouraged Muslims to wage jihad against the Western colonial powers during World War I, conducted the Herero and Namaqua Genocide in German South-West Africa, and supported the Young Turks government while it committed the Armenian genocide. Hitchens argued that Imperial Germany was dominated by a "militaristic ruling caste" of officers and Junkers who recklessly sought conflict at every chance, and that it was simply nonsense for Buchanan to write of Germany being "encircled" by enemies on all sides before World War I.
See also
John Charmley
The Death of the West
Hitler's War
References
Sources
.
External links
.
"Nazis 'offered to leave western Europe in exchange for free hand to attack USSR'". The Daily Telegraph. London,
"Churchill's War" by David Irving – lecture on YouTube
2008 non-fiction books
Anti-British sentiment
Books about Adolf Hitler
Books about foreign relations of the United Kingdom
Books about international relations
Books by Patrick J. Buchanan
English-language books
History books about World War I
History books about World War II
History books about the United Kingdom
Non-fiction books about diplomacy
Non-fiction books about war
Non-interventionism
Opposition to World War II
Paleoconservative publications
Winston Churchill | en |
doc-en-7940 | Corby is a town in North Northamptonshire, England, located north-east of Northampton. From 1974 to 2021, the town served as the administrative headquarters of the Borough of Corby. At the 2011 Census, the built-up area had a population of 56,810, while the borough, which was abolished in 2021, had a population of 61,255.
Figures released in March 2010 revealed that Corby has the fastest growing population in both Northamptonshire and the whole of England. The town was at one time known locally as "Little Scotland" due to the large number of Scottish workers who came to Corby for its steelworks. Recently, Corby has undergone a large regeneration process with the opening of Corby railway station and Corby International Pool in 2009 and the Corby Cube in 2010. The Cube was home to the (former) Corby Borough Council offices and also houses a 450-seat theatre, a public library and other community amenities.
History
Early history
Mesolithic and Neolithic artefacts have been found in the area surrounding Corby and human remains dating to the Bronze Age were found in 1970 at Cowthick. The first evidence of permanent settlement comes from the 8th century when Danish invaders arrived and the settlement became known as "Kori's by" – Kori's settlement. The settlement was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Corbei". Corby's emblem, the raven, derives from an alternative meaning of this word. These Danish roots were recognised in the naming of the most southern of the town's housing estates, Danesholme, around which one of the Danish settlements was located.
Corby was granted the right to hold two annual fairs and a market by Henry III in 1226. In 1568 Corby was granted a charter by Elizabeth I that exempted local landowners from tolls (the fee paid by travellers to use the long-distance public roads), dues (an early form of income tax) and gave all men the right to refuse to serve in the local militia. A popular legend is that the Queen was hunting in Rockingham Forest when she (dependent on the legend) either fell from her horse or became trapped in a bog whilst riding. Upon being rescued by villagers from Corby she granted the charter in gratitude for her rescue. Another popular explanation is that it was granted as a favour to her alleged lover Sir Christopher Hatton.
Corby Pole Fair
The Corby Pole Fair is an event that has taken place every 20 years since 1862 in celebration of the charter. According to a newspaper report dated 14 June 1862 which focuses on the extravagances of the fair, the fugitive slave John Anderson was described as being educated in the Corby British School, giving the town an unusual link to slavery in the United States.
The next pole fair will be held on Friday, 3 June 2022, to coincide with The Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
From rural village to industrial town
The local area has been worked for iron ore since Roman times. An ironstone industry developed in the 19th century with the coming of the railways and the discovery of extensive ironstone beds. By 1910 an ironstone works had been established. In 1931 Corby was a small village with a population of around 1,500. It grew rapidly into a reasonably sized industrial town, when the owners of the ironstone works, the steel firm Stewarts & Lloyds, decided to build a large integrated ironstone and steel works on the site. The start of construction in 1934 drew workers from all over the country including many workers from the depressed west of Scotland and Irish labourers. The first steel was produced in October 1935 and for decades afterwards the steel works dominated the town. By 1939 the population had grown to around 12,000, at which time Corby was thought to be the largest "village" in the country, but it was at that point that Corby was re-designated an urban district (see the Local Government section below).
1940s and 1950s
During the Second World War the Corby steelworks were expected to be a target for German bombers but in the event there were only a few bombs dropped by solitary planes and there were no casualties. This may be because the whole area was blanketed in huge dense black, low-lying clouds created artificially by the intentional burning of oil and latex to hide the glowing Bessemer converter furnaces at the steelworks from German bomber crews. The only known remaining scars from German attacks can be found in the form of bullet holes visible on the front fascia of the old post office in Corby village (now known as Decades bar and restaurant). The Corby steelworks made a notable contribution to the war effort by manufacturing the steel tubes used in Operation Pluto (Pipe Line Under the Ocean) to supply fuel to Allied forces on the European continent.
In 1950, with a population of 18,000, Corby was designated a New Town with William Holford as its architect. By 1951, he prepared the development plan with a car oriented layout and many areas of open space and woodland. In 1952, Holford produced the town centre plan and in 1954 the layout for the first 500 houses. The town now underwent its second wave of expansion, mainly from Scotland. Corby is famous for its Scottish heritage based on decades of incoming steel workers and was for a time known locally as "Little Scotland".
Decline of the steel industry
In 1967 the British steel industry was nationalised and the Stewarts & Lloyds steel tube works at Corby became part of British Steel Corporation. The Government approved a ten-year development strategy with expenditure of £3,000 million from 1973 onwards, the objective of which was to convert BSC from a large number of small scale works, using largely obsolete equipment, to a far more compact organisation with highly competitive plant.
Steelmaking was to be concentrated in five main areas: South Wales, Sheffield, Scunthorpe, Teesside and Scotland, most of which are coastal sites with access to economic supplies of iron rich imported ores. It was not until 1975 that a closure programme was agreed after a 14-month review by Lord Beswick, the then Minister of State for Industry. Corby was not one of the Beswick Plants that were to close in the review. By this time BSC was plunging into loss and important parts of the investment programme was held back. The European Union, Davignon Plan, had also asked for Steel Capacity in Europe to be significantly reduced. In May 1979, the New Conservative Governments Minister, Sir Keith Joseph announced the closure of Corby Steelworks. By the end of 1981 over 5,000 jobs had been lost from British Steel in Corby, and further cuts took the total loss to 11,000 jobs, leading to an unemployment rate of over 30%. Steel tube making continued, however, initially being supplied with steel by rail from Teesside and later from South Wales.
The title track of Steeltown by Big Country is about the loss of jobs in Corby.
Redevelopment
Corby was designated as a new town in 1950. Most of the housing in the town has been built since this date. The first new street completed was Bessemer Grove, about the same time that the re-built blast furnace was lit. New industry was subsequently attracted to the town when the Thatcher government designated it as an Enterprise Zone. By 1991 unemployment had returned to the national average. The recovery of Corby was explained in 1990 by John Redwood, then a junior minister in the Department of Trade and Industry, as being a result of the establishment of the Enterprise Zone, the promotion of Corby by the Thatcher government, the work of private investors and the skills of the work force. Others believe the town's recovery was significantly assisted by its central location and substantial grants from the EU. The enterprise zone was promoted by the Corby Industrial Development Centre through a prospectus that parodied The Economist, titled The Ecorbyist; publication continued at least as late as 1994.
To the north of Corby, on the industrial estates, is a 350MW power station built in 1994; and the Rockingham Motor Speedway built in 2001.
Politics
The Corby constituency contains parts of traditionally Conservative East Northamptonshire that balance the traditionally Labour town of Corby leading to a marginal constituency that has gone to the party forming the UK Government at every general election since the creation of the constituency in 1983. At the 2005 general election, Labour won Corby with a majority of just over 1,000 votes. At the 2010 general election, the sitting Labour MP Phil Hope lost the seat to writer Louise Bagshawe, the Conservative Party candidate, who became Louise Mensch after her marriage the following year.
In 2012, Mensch resigned as an MP and the resulting by-election was won by Labour's Andy Sawford with a majority of 7,791 votes over the Conservatives. UKIP finished in third place whilst the Liberal Democrats finished in fourth place, losing their deposit. The by-election was of national and international media interest due to the constituency being a marginal seat. During the wait for the results announcement, "Corby" briefly trended worldwide on Twitter.
The Conservatives took back the Corby constituency from Labour in 2015, with Conservative Tom Pursglove defeating Labour's Andy Sawford by a majority of 2,412 votes.
In local politics, the now abolished Corby Borough Council was controlled by the Labour Party since 1979. In 2015, the council had 24 Labour representatives and 5 Conservatives.
On 8 December 2014, Northamptonshire Police began an investigation into financial dealings by Corby Borough Council. In July 2013, Conservative councillors Rob McKellar and David Sims handed the "suspicious" findings of an audit report to the police to see if a crime had been committed. The audit report examined four major projects, including the Corby Cube, the cost of which went from £35m to £47m.
In the 2016 referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union, Corby voted 64% in favour of leaving whilst only 36% voted to remain in the EU. The turnout was 74.1% with the leave vote winning with a majority of 9,141 votes. The constituency's Conservative MP at the time, Tom Pursglove, had also been in favour of the UK leaving the European Union being one of the founders of Grassroots Out, the pro-Brexit organisation largely supported by Conservative and UKIP politicians.
Corby used to have 15 wards at the time of the 2011 census however following a boundary change only 11 remained. Some entirely new wards were created in the change however the Beanfield, Central, Danesholme, Rowlett, Rural West, Stanion and Corby Village, Weldon and Gretton and Lodge Park wards remained in existence. On the 1 April 2021, the Corby Borough Council was abolished and the Town of Corby now has 4 wards in the Town Council which are Oakley, Corby West, Kingswood and Hazel Lees and Lloyds, and 5 wards in the Unitary Authority which includes the Town Wards as well as incorporating the surrounding parishes into Corby Rural.
In March 2018, following Northamptonshire County Council becoming insolvent, due to financial and cultural mismanagement by the cabinet and officers, the then Secretary of State for Local Government, Sajid Javid, sent commissioner Max Caller into the council, who recommended the county council and all district and borough councils in the county be abolished, and replaced by two unitary authorities, one covering the West, and one the North of the county. These proposals were approved in April 2019. It meant that the districts of Daventry, Northampton and South Northamptonshire were merged to form a new unitary authority called West Northamptonshire, whilst the second unitary authority North Northamptonshire consists of the former Corby, East Northamptonshire, Kettering and Wellingborough districts. These new authorities came into being on 1 April 2021. Elections for the new authorities were due to be held on 7 May 2020, but were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and were instead held on 6 May 2021.
In the Local Elections on 6 May 2021, Corby returned 12 Labour Councillors and 3 Conservative Councillors across 5 wards, with the Conservatives only being elected in the Rural Ward. The newly created Corby Town Council returned 17 Labour Councillors across 4 Wards, which are all the seats on the Corby Town Council. The Leader of the Corby Town Council is Councillor Matt Keane, its Deputy Leader is Councillor Mark Pengelly, its first Town Council Mayor is Councillor Lawrence Ferguson and its first Town Council Deupty Mayor is Councillor Tafadzwa Chikoto.
City status bid
In 2012, Corby bid to gain city status as part of Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. However, it lost out to Perth, Chelmsford and St Asaph.
Elections
2003 Corby Borough Council election
2007 Corby Borough Council election
2012 Corby by-election
2015 Corby Borough Council election
Society and culture
It is recorded in 1851 that the accent spoken in the northern parts of Northamptonshire would be more recognisable as a "West Country dialect". Scottish migration to Corby has created a unique population in the borough. The link with Scotland is a strong feature of the area: according to the 2001 Census, there were 10,063 Scottish-born in the Corby Urban Area – 18.9% of the population. A further 1.3 per cent were born in Northern Ireland. It has been estimated that a further third of the population are Scottish or of Scottish descent.
The Scottish heritage is cherished by many inhabitants. There are Scottish social and sporting clubs and there are many fervent supporters of the Rangers and Celtic football clubs (indeed, Corby was home to the largest Rangers Supporters' Club outside Glasgow and Northern Ireland until its closure in February 2013) as well as the Scottish National Team. Many shops sell Scottish foods and a supermarket even introduced Gaelic signs to their Corby store (but they have since removed them). An annual Highland Gathering featuring traditional Scottish sports, music and dancing is held in the town. Corby is the only town in England apart from London with two Church of Scotland churches. Local legend states that Corby sees the highest sales of the Scottish soft drink Irn-Bru of anywhere outside Scotland. Asda Corby is stated to sell 17 times more Irn-Bru than any other store in England. Its popularity is cemented by the fact that it is available for purchase in all bars, nightclubs and pubs in the area. In 2014, Corby held a mock referendum in the run up to the Scottish independence referendum. 576 votes were cast, with 162 voting for Scottish independence and 414 voting against.
The song Steeltown by Big Country (title track of the album) was written about the town of Corby, telling how many Scots went to work there, but found themselves unemployed when the steelworks declined. (Source: Melody Maker, 1984)
According to the 2001 Census 1.7% of the population are non-white and the average age of the population (37.2) is slightly lower than the average for England and Wales (38.6).
November 2010 saw the opening of the Corby Cube, a major development in the town centre. As well as new council chamber, registrar office, and public library, the Cube is home to a 450-seat theatre and 100 capacity studio theatre. A programme of live theatre, dance, music and standup comedy is complemented by a participation programme encouraging all parts of Corby community to get involved. Recently the theatre started screening films, twice a week and including current mainstream releases and the best in world, independent and art house cinema. A report in 2012 revealed that the Cube was built with dangerous design flaws and almost double its original estimated costs and a capacity of only half of what was planned.
A crater on Mars discovered in the late 1970s was named after Corby, in reference to a famous transcript of a conversation in June 1969 between the crew of the Apollo 11 mission and mission control, whereby world news was relayed to the crew, amongst it was the news that "in Corby, an Irishman named John Coyle won the World's Porridge Eating Championship by consuming 23 bowls of instant oatmeal in 10 minutes". The reply from Apollo 11: "I'd like to enter Aldrin in the porridge eating contest next time; he's on the 19th bowl. Roger."
Sport and leisure
Corby's main football team is Corby Town F.C., who play in the Southern League Division One Central. The Steelmen play at Steel Park and have an average home attendance of 431 in 2018/19. The town's other semi-professional football club are Stewarts & Lloyds Corby F.C., who play in the United Counties League. S&L play their home matches at Occupation Road.
Corby is also home to the Corby East Midlands International Swimming Pool which was built in 2009. It is also home to the Stewarts and Lloyds Rugby Football Club which despite the long closure of the steel industry maintains its proud heritage of its industrial roots. The club plays in the RFU's Midland South East 3 division.
Corby also has an athletics club for under-11s to over 60s. In the Youth Development League, the upper age group gained promotion to Midland East 1 and gained promotion in the Heart of England Athletics League. Jordan Spence is currently the senior captain of the athletics club.
Transport
Roads
The town is located along the A43, A427, A6003 and is from the A14 at Kettering. Corby lies within two hours' drive of four international airports: Birmingham, Luton, Stansted and East Midlands. Being a new town, Corby's road network is different from that of older towns. There are several dual carriageways, most of the principal roads have wide reservations and high speed limits and pedestrian crossings over them are often underpasses. However, Corby is only connected by dual carriageway to one neighbouring town, Kettering (the A6003). All other roads into the town are single carriageways. The three dual carriageways form an outer ring road around most of Corby, however it only encircles suburbs south of the town centre and a small amount of countryside.
Buses
Corby is served by six bus routes under the Corby Star brand name. Route X4 connects the town with Peterborough, Oundle, Weldon, Danesholme, Kettering, Isham, Wellingborough, Earls Barton, Northampton, It is also operated by Stagecoach Midlands. National Express coaches also provide long-distance connections to the north and Scotland. Plans to build a new bus station in Corby are being considered by the council following the closure of the old bus station in August 2002.
Rail
Following a number of years when the town had no railway station, a new facility opened on 23 February 2009. East Midlands Railway runs half-hourly services to London St Pancras via and . The route to London was converted to electric traction in May 2021. There is also a limited peak time service running north to , , and .
Employment and education
Employment
Since the 1980s the unemployment rate has returned to a level closer to the national average (2.7% in October 2005). Employment is biased towards manufacturing (36.8% compared with a regional average of 18.5%) and against public administration, health and education (10.0% compared with the regional average of 25.9%). Much of industry is concentrated in purpose-built industrial estates on the outskirts of the town. Fairline Boats were manufactured here. Weetabix Limited make Weetos in the north of the town. RS Components are based near Rockingham Speedway. Taste Original (formerly Puredrive), part of Zwanenberg Food Group UK has operated from Corby since 1988 making cooked meat snacking products. Amy's Kitchen has recently opened a factory here, and manufactured products for the UK market here.
2018 research by Sky News identified Corby as the town most threatened by job losses in the UK due to automation with 31% of employment subject to cliff-edge automation.
Demography
According to the 2001 Census the proportion of the working age population with degree-level qualifications (8.5%) is the lowest of all areas in England and Wales. 39.3% have no GCSE-equivalent qualifications at all. The borough of Corby has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in the East Midlands, outside of the metropolitan boroughs (unitary authorities), although Lincoln is very similar.
According to the 2011 census, Corby had a population of 61,255 and was 85.0% White British, 9.1% Other White (not including White Irish and Irish Traveller), 1.4% mixed race, 1.4% Asian and 1.7% Black. Corby's least White British ward is Oakley Vale where 70.7% of the population are White British while Corby's least ethnically diverse ward is Rural West, where 95.6% of the population are White British. In 2011, 5567 people registered their ethnicity as 'Other White' or 9.1% of the population. This figure includes a large community of people from Poland and the Baltic States.
Schools
The Corby campus of Tresham Institute of Further and Higher Education provides a range of vocational courses for post-16 students and adult learners. The nearest universities are the University of Northampton, to the south and both the University of Leicester and De Montfort University in Leicester, to the west.
Brooke Weston Academy, was one of only fifteen CTCs in England, opened in 1990. Brooke Weston CTC consistently achieved examination results in the top 5% of English state schools, and has been a City Academy since September 2008.
Since 1990 several of Corby's other secondary schools have fared less well with a series of poor examination results and critical inspection reports leading to mergers and closures, the most recent being the closure of Our Lady and Pope John School in 2005. Currently there are five secondary schools in Corby: Brooke Weston Academy, Lodge Park Academy, Corby Business Academy, Kingswood Secondary Academy and the newly opened Corby Technical School which opened to students in an old unused primary school in September 2012 with the new building completed and opened in November 2013. Corby Business Academy has a special unit for children with severe special educational needs. All four schools have sixth forms for post-16 students.
Corby has 17 primary schools, of which two are Church of England schools, three are Roman Catholic and one for children with severe behavioural and emotional difficulties.
Regeneration and redevelopment
Corby has an Urban Regeneration Company - North Northants Development Company, which now covers the whole of North Northamptonshire rather than just Corby (it was previously known as Catalyst Corby). The company is working closely with Corby Borough Council, Land Securities (town centre owners), the East Midlands Development Agency and the Homes and Communities Agency to regenerate the town centre as part of the masterplan for the whole town. The population of Corby town is expected to double in the next 30 years through housing on large estates such as Prior's Hall, Little Stanion, Oakley Vale and Great Oakley.
In October 2007 Corby's new shopping precinct, Willow Place, opened. In addition Parkland Gateway, the Borough's £50m investment situated adjacent to Willow Place and including a new Olympic-sized swimming pool and civic hub (due for completion in November 2010), is being built following its approval in January 2007. Work began on the project in October 2007 and the Corby East Midlands International Pool was officially opened by Olympian Mark Foster in July 2009. Although the Evolution Corby project is currently on hold, limited aesthetic augmentation work within the town centre continues.
Corby town centre has recently gained a Wetherspoon Pub & Hotel called "The Saxon Crown". It is a refurbished 1960s Cooperative Store and its name refers to the history of the area: the village of Corby derives its name from Kori, a leader of Danish invaders who settled in a clearing in Rockingham Forest.
The local Conservative Party, who call themselves "Team Corby", have argued that further regeneration in Corby should be delivered through bringing visitors to the town to visit its numerous historic sites. They argue that a co-ordinated tourism programme will increase and diversify the population available for the leisure industry to market to, and thus result in more local leisure facilities being opened.
North Londonshire
Stephen Fry voiced an advertising campaign in London from 2010 to entice people to move to Corby and the surrounding area including Rushden, Kettering and Wellingborough. The North Northamptonshire Development Corporation's campaign uses newspaper and London Underground advertisements, and also local radio with North Northamptonshire, being dubbed 'North Londonshire', as the area is only an hour from London St Pancras by rail. The campaign was criticised by residents in the county proud of the Northamptonshire name.
Toxic waste contamination
In July 2009 Corby Borough Council was found liable for negligently exposing pregnant women to toxic waste during the reclamation of the former British Steel Corporation steelworks, causing birth defects to their children. The judge found in favour of 16 of the 18 claimants, the oldest of whom was 22 at the time of the ruling. The ruling was significant as it was the first in the world to find that airborne pollution could cause such birth defects
Geography
Corby is north-northwest of London, north east of Northampton, southeast of Leicester, east of Birmingham and west of Peterborough, its nearest city.
The built up area of Corby had a population of 56,810 in 2011 compared with 61,255 for the Borough of Corby. The urban area had an area of 20.5 km2 compared with 80.3 km2 for the larger borough. Corby is expanding rapidly, with the borough having a population of 53,400 in 2001 and increasing to 61,300 in 2011. The expansion has resulted in villages like Great Oakley and Weldon being absorbed into the town's urban area. However, the latter remains a parish, being separated from the rest of Corby by the A43.
Areas of Corby
Most of Corby's population live in the town itself, however in terms of area it is mostly rural. This list includes the villages within the borough but also districts of the urban area and modern housing developments. The borough of Corby is made up of 11 wards following a boundary change after the 2011 census.
Weldon
Danesholme
Kingswood
Rockingham
Corby Old Village
Gretton
Exeter
Cottingham
Snatchill
Middleton
Town Centre
Oakley Vale
Great Oakley
East Carlton
Hazelwood
Rowlett
Willowbrook
Stanion
Little Stanion
Beanfield
Lodge Park
Twin towns
Corby is twinned with:
Châtellerault, France
Velbert, Germany
Shijiazhuang, China
Arms
See also
Grade I listed buildings in Corby
Grade II* listed buildings in Corby
References
External links
Corby Town Council
Corby Local Shops News & Events
Corby Borough Council
BBC website about Corby
The English town that's truly Scottish (Scotsman.com)
Towns in Northamptonshire
North Northamptonshire
New towns in England
Ironworks and steelworks in England
Scottish diaspora
New towns started in the 1950s | en |
doc-en-12473 | Antarctic Development Squadron Six (VXE-6 or ANTARCTIC DEVRON SIX, commonly referred to by its nickname, The Puckered Penguins) was a United States Navy air test and evaluation squadron based at Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California with forward operating bases at Christchurch, New Zealand and McMurdo Station, Antarctica.
Established at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland on 17 January 1955 as Air Development Squadron Six (VX-6), the squadron's mission was to conduct operations in support of Operation Deep Freeze, the operational component of the United States Antarctic Program. The squadron relocated to Naval Air Station Quonset Point, Rhode Island on 1 February 1956. On 1 January 1969 the squadron was redesignated Antarctic Development Squadron Six (VXE-6).
Following the closure of NAS Quonset Point in the 1970s, the squadron relocated to NAS Point Mugu. Using the tail codes XD (1955) and JD (1957), the squadron flew numerous aircraft over the course of its existence—many of which were pioneering endeavors. For example, the first air link between Antarctica and New Zealand was established by men and aircraft of VX-6 in 1955. The following year, a ski-equipped R4D Dakota of VX-6 became the first aircraft to land at the South Pole. In 1961, the first emergency midwinter medical evacuation flight was conducted from Byrd Station to Christchurch. In 1963, an LC-130F Hercules of VX-6 made the longest flight in Antarctic history. In 1967, a United States Navy LC-130F of VX-6 completed the first scheduled winter flight to Antarctica, landing at Williams Field.
Following the closure of austral summer operations at Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station in February 1999, the squadron returned to Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California, where it was disestablished on 31 March 1999.
History
VX-6 traces its roots to Operation Highjump (1946–1947), the fourth Antarctic expedition conducted by United States Navy Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd. That expedition set out in December 1946 to conduct an extensive aerial survey of Antarctica, using Martin PBM Mariners based in the pack ice of the Ross Sea, as well as land-based R4D Dakotas (Dakota, from the acronym "DACoTA" for Douglas Aircraft Company Transport Aircraft, was the designation used by the United States Navy to refer to the Douglas C-47 Skytrain). By the time Operation Highjump was concluded in late February 1947, the team had mapped about of coastline and of the interior of the continent.
Operation Deep Freeze I and II
On 1 February, Task Force 43 was activated to plan Antarctic operations scheduled to begin in the fall under the code name Operation Deep Freeze, with Captain George J. Dufek as commanding officer. Dufek would remain as commanding officer through Operation Deep Freeze IV, which concluded in 1959. The mission of Task Force 43 was to provide all the logistical support necessary for the successful U.S. participation in the upcoming International Geophysical Year (1957–8). More specifically, this meant that Task Force 43 was responsible for the construction of airstrips and iceports and the establishment of bases on Antarctica that would enable scientists to conduct geophysical studies upon that continent. On 14 November, the flagship of the recently promoted RADM Dufek, Commander Task Force 43, steamed from Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia to rendezvous in New Zealand with other ships of the task force for the onward voyage to Antarctica.
VX-6 made its first deployment at that time as part of Task Force 43 (the logistics arm of Operation Deep Freeze). That first season, VX-6 completed nine long-range exploratory flights. The squadron also transported people and materials necessary for the construction of Little America Base Camp, the Naval Air Operations Facility on Hut Point Peninsula (Ross Island), the first South Pole Station (now referred to as "Old Pole"), and assisted in the establishment of four other bases on the continent. On 20 December 1955, two Lockheed P2V-2 Neptunes and two R5D Skymasters (R5D was the designation used by the United States Navy to refer to the Douglas C-54 Skymaster) established the first air link between Antarctica and New Zealand with a flight from Christchurch to McMurdo Station.
Following its return from Operation Deep Freeze I in February 1956, VX-6 was relocated to Naval Air Station Quonset Point, Rhode Island. Naval Construction Battalion Center Davisville, the site of manufacture of the first Quonset huts, was also located at Quonset Point. NCBC Davisville was the home of Naval Construction Battalion 200, which had been established to perform the construction of any facilities required by the United States Antarctic Program. In September of that year, LCDR Ray E. Hall drew the first rendition of "Puckered Pete", a cartoon character which later became the unofficial mascot of VX-6.
On 31 October 1956, during Operation Deep Freeze II, Qué Será Será, a ski-equipped R4D Dakota piloted by LCDR Conrad S. Shinn, became the first plane to land at the South Pole. The seven United States Navy men (RADM George J. Dufek, CAPT Douglas L. Cordiner, CAPT William M. Hawkes, LCDR Conrad S. Shinn, LT John R. Swadener, AD2 John P. Strider, and AT2 William A. Cumbie Jr.) aboard that aircraft were the first to stand at this spot in 44 years, the last being Robert Falcon Scott's ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition in January 1912. RADM Dufek had chosen LCDR Shinn and his flight crew to attempt the landing, which was an extraordinary undertaking since the South Pole was almost above sea level where the aircraft engines would operate considerably below their optimum power levels. In addition it was expected that extremely cold conditions could be expected on the surface. The landing party remained at the South Pole for only 49 minutes, setting up navigational aids to assist the future delivery of materials and equipment for constructing a scientific observation station at the spot. Also in 1956, an R4D Dakota delivered the first group of 11 Seabees and 11 dog sleds, together with tents and other equipment to the South Pole, to begin construction of the first South Pole Station.
1957–1969
In January 1958, a VX-6 UC-1 Otter made the first wheels-on-dirt landing in Antarctica at Marble Point. On 1 October 1959, RADM David M. Tyree (Commander, U.S. Naval Support Force Antarctica from 14 April 1959–26 November 1962) arrived at Naval Air Facility McMurdo Station from Christchurch aboard an R5D Skymaster piloted by LCDR J. A. Henning of VX-6. This first flight of the season marked the operational implementation of Operation Deep Freeze V.
On 9–10 April 1961, the first midwinter medical evacuation flight was conducted to rescue Leonid Kuperov, a seriously ill Soviet scientist, from Byrd Station. Two VX-6 C-130BL Hercules from Quonset Point flew from to Christchurch. One (piloted by CDR Lloyd E. Newcomer) then flew on to Byrd Station to pick up Kuperov, while the other stood by in Christchurch. The total distance flown during this rescue mission was just under 13000 miles.
On 22 February 1963, an LC-130F Hercules of VX-6 made the longest flight in Antarctic history, covering territory never before seen by man. The plane (piloted by CDR William H. Everett and carrying RADM James R. Reedy (Commander, U.S. Naval Support Force Antarctica from November 1962–April 1965) among its passengers, made the flight from McMurdo Station, beyond the South Pole to the Shackleton Range and then southeastward to the pole of inaccessibility before returning to McMurdo Station; the duration of this journey was 10 hours and 40 minutes. Also in February 1963, VX-6 completed the first delivery of bulk fuel by a Lockheed LC-130 Hercules.
On 26 June 1964, an LC-130F Hercules, commanded by LT Robert V. Mayer of VX-6, completed a round-trip flight from Christchurch to Antarctica in an emergency evacuation of petty officer B. L. McMullen, critically injured in a fall. As in the earlier medical evacuation of 1961, two planes, with teams of medical specialists on board, flew from NAS Quonset Point to Christchurch where one plane stood by while the other undertook the hazardous flight. On 30 September 1964, three LC-130 Hercules aircraft of VX-6 took off from Melbourne, Christchurch and Punta Arenas, respectively. The three aircraft flew to Antarctica, landing on Williams Field, from McMurdo Station. The flight from Melbourne, the first in history from Australia to Antarctica, passed over the South Pole to drop a 50-pound sack of mail to the wintering-over party, then landed at Byrd Station before proceeding to McMurdo Station. The arrival of RADM Reedy on this flight marked the official opening of Operation Deep Freeze 1965. Also in 1964, VX-6 conducted the first flight from Cape Town, South Africa to McMurdo Station, the first flight of a U.S. aircraft to the Soviet Vostok Station, and the first successful demonstration of trimetrogon aerial photography, used extensively to map Antarctica.
On 7 June 1966, a C-130 Hercules, piloted by CDR Marion Morris of VX-6, returned to Christchurch after a flight to McMurdo Station to evacuate UT-2 Robert L. Mayfield, who had been critically injured in a fall. It was the third emergency air evacuation from Antarctica during the winter night.
On 18 June 1967, The first scheduled winter flight to Antarctica was successfully completed when a United States Navy LC-130F of VX-6 flying from Christchurch landed at Williams Field. Although earlier winter flights had been made to Antarctica as a result of medical emergencies, this was the first planned flight. On 2 December 1967, an LC-117D Skytrooper landed at McMurdo Station from Hallett Station. This was the last C-117 flight on the Antarctic continent, marking the end of 11 years of service to VX-6 by the Douglas C-47 Skytrain airframe.
On 1 January 1969, VX-6 was redesignated Antarctic Development Squadron Six (VXE-6). On 31 August 1969, two LC-130 Hercules aircraft of VXE-6 arrived at McMurdo Station, 6 weeks in advance of the opening of Operation Deep Freeze 70. Among the passengers were Rear Admiral David F. Welch, Commander U.S. Naval Support Force Antarctica (NSFA) and seven scientists.
1970s
1974 marked the end of an accident-free era for the Puckered Pete squadron. On January 15, 1974, two days before the 20th anniversary of its commissioning, VXE-6 lost a plane - BUNO 148319. "319" made a forced landing on the ice after a JATO bottle exploded on take-off which destroyed the aircraft's right wing. BUNO 159129 was flown in to rescue the 319 crew and passengers on January 15, 1974. Upon takeoff, the nose ski collapsed while trying to takeoff, 600 miles from McMurdo station. Both aircraft were Antarctica landmarks until they were recovered in 1979.
In 1975, CDR Fred C. Holt (12/7/1935-10/26/2020, Columbus GA) assumed command of the squadron from CDR Vernon Peters. RADM Jim Stockdale was present at the change of command ceremony. CDR Holt's wife, Sue, stated that "Admiral Stockdale is the only person I ever gave up my bed for" when he stayed at the Holt residence the night before the COC. CDR Holt enjoyed working with his squadron mates and remarked that his time on the ice was one of the best tours he experienced in his 21-year Navy career.
On During Operation Deep Freeze 1978, VXE-6 evacuated five critically injured Soviets from the crash site of an IL-14 Crate transport aircraft at Molodyozhnaya Station on the southern shore of Alasheyev Bight in the Cosmonauts Sea. This trip was 1,825 miles round trip from McMurdo Station.
On 28 November 1979, Air New Zealand Flight 901 (TE 901) crashed into Mount Erebus, killing all 257 on board. Three hours later, VXE-6 initiated the search and rescue effort (referred to as Operation Overdue), sending an LC-130R Hercules (XD-01, BuNo 160741, c/n 4731) and two UH-1N Huey helicopters from McMurdo Station to search the area of the last known position of TE 901 (approximately 38 miles true north of McMurdo Station). These aircraft were joined a half-hour later, at 4:16pm by six more aircraft launched from McMurdo Station. No survivors could be seen. At around 9:00 am, twenty hours after the crash, helicopters with search parties managed to land on the side of the mountain. The search parties confirmed that the wreckage was from Air New Zealand Flight 901, and that there were no survivors. In June 2009, Fifteen U.S. citizens were presented the New Zealand Special Service Medal(Erebus) for their work in the body recovery, victim identification and crash investigation phases of Operation Overdue, and resulting from the TE 901 crash. Those receiving the medal included LCDR Reedy Buford, CDR William Andre Coltrin, CDR Paul Richard Dykeman, LCDR William F. Ferrell, LCDR John K. Goodrum, PHAN Charles (Chuck) Hitchcock, PH2 Richard L. Horton, ENS George Mixon, CAPT Victor Louis Pesce, CWO Choyce Prewitt, and AD2 Brian Jon Vorderstrasse.
1980s–1990s
In 1988, another medical evacuation to the South African National Antarctic Expedition (SANAE) Station at Vesleskarvet nunatak broke the record for time and distance in a single Antarctic flight. Another highlight of the 1988 season was the recovery of an LC-130 Hercules that had been buried in ice and snow since its crash in 1971 near Dumont d'Urville Station. That aircraft was fully restored and operated with VXE-6 until its disestablishment in 1999.
In 1990, VXE-6 moved almost 8,000 passengers and over 6 million pounds of cargo which included five resupply flights to Vostok Station. That year, VXE-6 also accomplished the first wheeled landing of an LC-130 Hercules on a blue ice surface near Beardmore Glacier. On 25 October 1991, the first all-female crew took an LC-130 Hercules to "open up" Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.
1993 saw VXE-6 break many records, including the transportation of nearly 9.4 million pounds of cargo and fuel. On 3 February 1996, during the squadron's 40th annual deployment to Antarctica, the squadron conducted its last helicopter mission in Antarctica. The helicopter component of VXE-6 was formally disestablished in April 1996.
1997 marked the beginning of a three-year program designed to transition United States Department of Defense long-range logistic support for the Antarctic Program from the U.S. Navy to the U.S. Air Force, specifically the New York Air National Guard (NYANG). 1998 was marked by the delivery of materials necessary to begin the construction of the new South Pole Station, completed in 2005.
Beginning in 1997, responsibility for long-range logistical support of Operation Deep Freeze was transferred from the VXE-6 squadron to the 109th Airlift Wing of the New York Air National Guard (NYANG). The transition was planned over a three-year period to avoid any negative impact on operations and to ensure a complete transfer of knowledge from the U.S. Navy unit to the NYANG. During the 1996/1997 season, VXE-6 operated six aircraft and was augmented by aircraft of the NYANG. VXE-6 operated five aircraft during the 1997/1998 season, and the number of flight hours was divided roughly equally between VXE-6 and the NYANG.
The United States Air Force, via the 109th Airlift Wing of the Air National Guard, officially took over responsibility as the primary Department of Defense partner for the National Science Foundation in support of the U.S. Antarctic Program at the beginning of the 1998/1999 season. A new organization, Detachment 13, was formed to manage the overall support from the Department of Defense. The detachment replaced the NSFA organization. The main organizations under Detachment 13 were the 109th Airlift Wing of the NYANG, the Navy’s VXE-6 squadron, and Aviation Technical Services. For the 1998/1999 season, the six LC-130s of the NYANG were augmented by only three LC-130 aircraft of the VXE-6 squadron.
Operation Deep Freeze 1999 was VXE-6's last deployment season in support of the United States Antarctic Program. On 24 February 1999, following the closure of Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station's summer operations, the last three LC-130R Hercules from VXE-6 returned to Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California. The squadron was disestablished on 1 April 1999. Over the course of its existence, VXE-6 logged more than 200,000 flight hours in direct support of United States interests (primarily scientific research) in the Antarctic. The squadron transported more than 195,000 passengers, delivered over 240 million pounds of dry cargo and nearly 10 million gallons of fuel to numerous sites throughout Antarctica.
Aircraft
The squadron operated a variety of aircraft throughout the course of its existence. Fixed-wing aircraft included the Grumman UF-1L Albatross, de Havilland Canada UC-1 Otter, Douglas C-47 Skytrain (R4D Dakota and LC-47 models), Douglas C-54 Skymaster (R5D and C-54 models), Lockheed P-2 Neptune (P2V-2 and P2V-7 models), Lockheed R7V Constellation, and the Lockheed LC-130 Hercules (LC-130F and LC-130R models). Helicopters included the Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw (HO4S-3 model) and Sikorsky LH-34 Seahorse (HUS-1A and HUS-1L models), and the Bell UH-1N Twin Huey. The ski-equipped LC-130 Hercules, with its long range and heavy load capability, had been in use in Antarctica since 1961 and continues in its critical role to this day with other units, VXE-6 having operated the type between 1969 and 1999. Introduced in 1971, the twin-engine UH-1N Huey helicopter allowed for the rapid transportation of field teams and cargo to otherwise inaccessible locations within a 150-mile radius of McMurdo Station. Three VXE-6 LC130R models (R1 159129 and R2 160740 and 160741) were converted to LC-130H and continue to fly with the NY ANG 109th Airlift Wing.
Accidents and incidents
Twenty sailors and marines assigned to the squadron and four civilians died in Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze as a result of aviation accidents.
On 18 October 1956, a P2V-2 Neptune crashed at McMurdo Station during a landing in whiteout conditions, killing David W. Carey, Rayburn A. Hudman, Marion O. Marze, and Charles S. Miller.
On 12 July 1957, an HO4S-3 crashed in the vicinity of McMurdo Station during austral winter, killing Nelson R. Cole.
On 4 January 1959, a UC-1 Otter crashed on takeoff at Marble Point, killing Harvey E. Gardner and Lawrence J. Farrell.
On 9 November 1961, a P2V-7 crashed on takeoff from Wilkes Station, killing William D. Counts, Romuald P. Compton, William W. Chastain, James L. Gray and passenger geologist Dr. Edward C. Thiel.
On 2 February 1966, a LC-47J crashed on Ross Ice Shelf during takeoff, killing Ronald Rosenthal, Harold M. Morris, William D. Fordell, Richard S. Simmons, Wayne M. Shattuck, and Charles C. Kelley.
On 19 November 1969, a helicopter crash near Mount McLennan resulted in the deaths of two civilians—Jeremy Sykes, an NZARP film director and Thomas E. Berg, a USARP geologist. On 9 December 1987, an LC-130R (BuNo 159131, c/n 4522) crashed while landing at Site D-59 (Carrefour), 1,200 kilometers from McMurdo Station. LCDR Bruce Bailey and AK2 Donald M. Beatty were killed in this crash. Ironically, this mission was an attempt to recover the "City of Christchurch" aircraft that had crashed at the same site in February 1971. On 13 October 1992, a UH-1N Huey helicopter (BuNo 158249, c/n 31420) crashed in whiteout conditions near Cape Royds, resulting in the deaths of AMS1 Benjamin Micou and two civilians working for NZARP (Garth Varcoe and Terry Newport).
In addition to the aforementioned fatality accidents, there were a number of less serious accidents. On 8 October 1970, a Lockheed C-121J Constellation (BuNo 131644, c/n 4145, named "Pegasus") departed Christchurch, bound for Williams Field. Aboard were 12 crew and 68 passengers on the first flight of the 1970-1971 season of Operation Deep Freeze. Weather conditions at Williams Field deteriorated during the flight to whiteout conditions, with a fierce snowstorm and zero visibility. After making six low passes over the field, the aircraft attempted to land with 90 degree crosswinds of up to 40 mph. On the second attempt to land, the starboard main undercarriage hit a snow bank and separated. The starboard wing broke off, and the airplane slid through the snow, causing damage to the tail. There were only slight injuries to five people on board. The aircraft hulk is still there.
On 1 February 1971, an LC-130F (BuNo 148321, c/n 3567) crashed in Victoria Land when a JATO bottle broke loose during an open field takeoff. This caused the nose landing gear to collapse. Two weeks later, on 15 February 1971, another LC-130F (BuNo 148318, c/n 3562, named "City of Christchurch") taxied over a snow berm during a storm while maneuvering for take-off at McMurdo Station. The wing hit the ground, and the aircraft was burned beyond salvage. This was the first USN Hercules written off. On 28 January 1973, an LC-130R (BuNo 155917, c/n 4305) crash landed at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, after a late go-around in whiteout conditions.
The original LC-130R crashed while landing at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in 1973.
In the 1974/75 season during an open field takeoff on Dome C a JATO bottle on an LC-130F came loose and damaged the wing and one propeller thus causing an aborted takeoff. A fire in the wing caused further damage to the wing. An LC-130R was used in an attempt to rescue the scientists and aircrew. Reluctant to use JATO, the nose gear of the LC-130R collapsed in the rough ice and snow during the takeoff, forcing the rescue attempt to be aborted. A third LC-130 finally succeeded in rescuing all of the involved personnel. The National Science Foundation and the U.S. Navy made plans to recover the two downed aircraft during the next season. This involved replacement of the wing on the first aircraft and of the nose landing gear on the second aircraft. Preparations were made during the off-season to accomplish the repairs. After temperatures had risen sufficiently the recovery operations began in November 1975. Many flights were needed to transport all the material to the Dome C site. As an LC-130F took off for return to McMurdo another JATO bottle came loose, again damaging a propeller. Thus, Dome C became the home of three damaged LC-130s. As the damage to the last LC-130 was relatively minor compared to the others it was repaired first. Through the extraordinary effort of the repair team, maintenance team and aircrews, all three aircraft were repaired and recovered from Dome C.
On December 31, 1993, an LC-130 crashed on Lucy Glacier near Mount Isbell in the Geologists Range. The aircraft was retrieving a field party from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee who had spent six weeks investigating the geology in the mountains between the Byrd Glacier and Nimrod Glacier. The crash occurred in soft snow during an open-field takeoff when a propeller struck the snow, sending the propeller into the fuselage. Fuel from the damaged engine ignited, and the plane spun sideways sliding for approximately 200 meters down the glacier before coming to a stop. The plane was overhauled on site and flown back to McMurdo Station three weeks later.
See also
History of the United States Navy
List of inactive United States Navy aircraft squadrons
List of United States Navy aircraft squadrons
VX-4
VX-9
VX-20
VX-23
VX-30
VX-31
References
Further reading
External links
Use of P2V aircraft for Operation Deep Freeze by the US Navy's squadron VXE-6
US Navy and US Marine Corps Aircraft Serial Numbers and Bureau Numbers--1911 to Present
Blue Ice Runways in Antarctica
Test squadrons of the United States Navy
Operation Deep Freeze | en |
doc-en-15716 | Angola (; ), officially the Republic of Angola (), is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) country in both total area and population (behind Brazil), and is the seventh-largest country in Africa. It is bordered by Namibia to the south, the DR Congo to the north, Zambia to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Angola has an exclave province, the province of Cabinda, that borders the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The capital and most populated city is Luanda.
Angola has been inhabited since the Paleolithic Age. Its formation as a nation-state originates from Portuguese colonisation, which initially began with coastal settlements and trading posts founded in the 16th century. In the 19th century, European settlers gradually began to establish themselves in the interior. The Portuguese colony that became Angola did not have its present borders until the early 20th century, owing to resistance by native groups such as the Cuamato, the Kwanyama and the Mbunda.
After a protracted anti-colonial struggle, Angola achieved independence in 1975 as a Marxist–Leninist one-party Republic. The country descended into a devastating civil war the same year, between the ruling People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), backed by the Soviet Union and Cuba, the insurgent anti-communist National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), supported by the United States and South Africa, and the militant organisation National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA), backed by the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The country has been governed by MPLA ever since its independence in 1975. Following the end of the war in 2002, Angola emerged as a relatively stable unitary, presidential constitutional republic.
Angola has vast mineral and petroleum reserves, and its economy is among the fastest-growing in the world, especially since the end of the civil war; however, economic growth is highly uneven, with most of the nation's wealth concentrated in a disproportionately small sector of the population and highly concentrated in China and in the United States. The standard of living remains low for most Angolans; life expectancy is among the lowest in the world, while infant mortality is among the highest.
Since 2017, the government of João Lourenço has made fighting corruption its flagship, so much so that many individuals of the previous government are either jailed or awaiting trial. Whilst this effort has been recognised by foreign diplomats to be legitimate, some skeptics see the actions as being politically motivated.
Angola is a member of the United Nations, OPEC, African Union, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, and the Southern African Development Community. As of 2021, the Angolan population is estimated at 32.87 million. Angola is multicultural and multiethnic. Angolan culture reflects centuries of Portuguese rule, namely the predominance of the Portuguese language and of the Catholic Church, intermingled with a variety of indigenous customs and traditions.
Etymology
The name Angola comes from the Portuguese colonial name ('Kingdom of Angola'), which appeared as early as Paulo Dias de Novais's 1571 charter. The toponym was derived by the Portuguese from the title held by the kings of Ndongo and Matamba. Ndongo in the highlands, between the Kwanza and Lucala Rivers, was nominally a possession of the Kingdom of Kongo, but was seeking greater independence in the 16th century.
History
Early migrations and political units
Modern Angola was populated predominantly by nomadic Khoi and San prior to the first Bantu migrations. The Khoi and San peoples were neither pastoralists nor cultivators, but rather hunter-gatherers. They were displaced by Bantu peoples arriving from the north in the first millennium BC, most of whom likely originated in what is today northwestern Nigeria and southern Niger. Bantu speakers introduced the cultivation of bananas and taro, as well as large cattle herds, to Angola's central highlands and the Luanda plain.
A number of political entities were established; the best-known of these was the Kingdom of the Kongo, based in Angola, which extended northward to what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo and Gabon. It established trade routes with other city-states and civilisations up to and down the coast of southwestern and western Africa and even with Great Zimbabwe and the Mutapa Empire, although it engaged in little or no transoceanic trade. To its south lay the Kingdom of Ndongo, from which the area of the later Portuguese colony was sometimes known as Dongo, and right next to them lay the Kingdom of Matamba.
Portuguese colonization
Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão reached the area in 1484. The previous year, the Portuguese had established relations with the Kongo, which stretched at the time from modern Gabon in the north to the Kwanza River in the south. The Portuguese established their primary early trading post at Soyo, which is now the northernmost city in Angola apart from the Cabinda exclave. Paulo Dias de Novais founded São Paulo de Loanda (Luanda) in 1575 with a hundred families of settlers and four hundred soldiers. Benguela was fortified in 1587 and became a township in 1617.
The Portuguese established several other settlements, forts and trading posts along the Angolan coast, principally trading in Angolan slaves for plantations. Local slave dealers provided a large number of slaves for the Portuguese Empire, usually in exchange for manufactured goods from Europe.
This part of the Atlantic slave trade continued until after Brazil's independence in the 1820s.
Despite Portugal's territorial claims in Angola, its control over much of the country's vast interior was minimal. In the 16th century Portugal gained control of the coast through a series of treaties and wars. Life for European colonists was difficult and progress was slow. John Iliffe notes that "Portuguese records of Angola from the 16th century show that a great famine occurred on average every seventy years; accompanied by epidemic disease, it might kill one-third or one-half of the population, destroying the demographic growth of a generation and forcing colonists back into the river valleys".
During the Portuguese Restoration War, the Dutch West India Company occupied the principal settlement of Luanda in 1641, using alliances with local peoples to carry out attacks against Portuguese holdings elsewhere. A fleet under Salvador de Sá retook Luanda in 1648; reconquest of the rest of the territory was completed by 1650. New treaties with the Kongo were signed in 1649; others with Njinga's Kingdom of Matamba and Ndongo followed in 1656. The conquest of Pungo Andongo in 1671 was the last major Portuguese expansion from Luanda, as attempts to invade Kongo in 1670 and Matamba in 1681 failed. Colonial outposts also expanded inward from Benguela, but until the late 19th century the inroads from Luanda and Benguela were very limited. Hamstrung by a series of political upheavals in the early 1800s, Portugal was slow to mount a large scale annexation of Angolan territory.
The slave trade was abolished in Angola in 1836, and in 1854 the colonial government freed all its existing slaves. Four years later, a more progressive administration appointed by Portugal abolished slavery altogether. However, these decrees remained largely unenforceable, and the Portuguese depended on assistance from the British Royal Navy to enforce their ban on the slave trade. This coincided with a series of renewed military expeditions into the bush.
By the mid-nineteenth century Portugal had established its dominion as far north as the Congo River and as far south as Mossâmedes. Until the late 1880s, Portugal entertained proposals to link Angola with its colony in Mozambique but was blocked by British and Belgian opposition. In this period, the Portuguese came up against different forms of armed resistance from various peoples in Angola.
The Berlin Conference in 1884–1885 set the colony's borders, delineating the boundaries of Portuguese claims in Angola, although many details were unresolved until the 1920s. Trade between Portugal and its African territories rapidly increased as a result of protective tariffs, leading to increased development, and a wave of new Portuguese immigrants.
Angolan independence
Under colonial law, black Angolans were forbidden from forming political parties or labour unions. The first nationalist movements did not take root until after World War II, spearheaded by a largely Westernised and Portuguese-speaking urban class, which included many mestiços. During the early 1960s they were joined by other associations stemming from ad hoc labour activism in the rural workforce. Portugal's refusal to address increasing Angolan demands for self-determination provoked an armed conflict, which erupted in 1961 with the Baixa de Cassanje revolt and gradually evolved into a protracted war of independence that persisted for the next twelve years. Throughout the conflict, three militant nationalist movements with their own partisan guerrilla wings emerged from the fighting between the Portuguese government and local forces, supported to varying degrees by the Portuguese Communist Party.
The National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA) recruited from Bakongo refugees in Zaire. Benefiting from particularly favourable political circumstances in Léopoldville, and especially from a common border with Zaire, Angolan political exiles were able to build up a power base among a large expatriate community from related families, clans, and traditions. People on both sides of the border spoke mutually intelligible dialects and enjoyed shared ties to the historical Kingdom of Kongo. Though as foreigners skilled Angolans could not take advantage of Mobutu Sese Seko's state employment programme, some found work as middlemen for the absentee owners of various lucrative private ventures. The migrants eventually formed the FNLA with the intention of making a bid for political power upon their envisaged return to Angola.
A largely Ovimbundu guerrilla initiative against the Portuguese in central Angola from 1966 was spearheaded by Jonas Savimbi and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). It remained handicapped by its geographic remoteness from friendly borders, the ethnic fragmentation of the Ovimbundu, and the isolation of peasants on European plantations where they had little opportunity to mobilise.
During the late 1950s, the rise of the Marxist–Leninist Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) in the east and Dembos hills north of Luanda came to hold special significance. Formed as a coalition resistance movement by the Angolan Communist Party, the organisation's leadership remained predominantly Ambundu and courted public sector workers in Luanda. Although both the MPLA and its rivals accepted material assistance from the Soviet Union or the People's Republic of China, the former harboured strong anti-imperialist views and was openly critical of the United States and its support for Portugal. This allowed it to win important ground on the diplomatic front, soliciting support from nonaligned governments in Morocco, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, and the United Arab Republic.
The MPLA attempted to move its headquarters from Conakry to Léopoldville in October 1961, renewing efforts to create a common front with the FNLA, then known as the Union of Angolan Peoples (UPA) and its leader Holden Roberto. Roberto turned down the offer. When the MPLA first attempted to insert its own insurgents into Angola, the cadres were ambushed and annihilated by UPA partisans on Roberto's orders—setting a precedent for the bitter factional strife which would later ignite the Angolan Civil War.
Angolan Civil War
Throughout the war of independence, the three rival nationalist movements were severely hampered by political and military factionalism, as well as their inability to unite guerrilla efforts against the Portuguese. Between 1961 and 1975 the MPLA, UNITA, and the FNLA competed for influence in the Angolan population and the international community. The Soviet Union and Cuba became especially sympathetic towards the MPLA and supplied that party with arms, ammunition, funding, and training. They also backed UNITA militants until it became clear that the latter was at irreconcilable odds with the MPLA.
The collapse of Portugal's Estado Novo government following the 1974 Carnation Revolution suspended all Portuguese military activity in Africa and the brokering of a ceasefire pending negotiations for Angolan independence. Encouraged by the Organisation of African Unity, Holden Roberto, Jonas Savimbi, and MPLA chairman Agostinho Neto met in Mombasa in early January 1975 and agreed to form a coalition government. This was ratified by the Alvor Agreement later that month, which called for general elections and set the country's independence date for 11 November 1975. All three factions, however, followed up on the ceasefire by taking advantage of the gradual Portuguese withdrawal to seize various strategic positions, acquire more arms, and enlarge their militant forces. The rapid influx of weapons from numerous external sources, especially the Soviet Union and the United States, as well as the escalation of tensions between the nationalist parties, fueled a new outbreak of hostilities. With tacit American and Zairean support the FNLA began massing large numbers of troops in northern Angola in an attempt to gain military superiority. Meanwhile, the MPLA began securing control of Luanda, a traditional Ambundu stronghold. Sporadic violence broke out in Luanda over the next few months after the FNLA attacked MPLA forces in March 1975. The fighting intensified with street clashes in April and May, and UNITA became involved after over two hundred of its members were massacred by an MPLA contingent that June. An upswing in Soviet arms shipments to the MPLA influenced a decision by the Central Intelligence Agency to likewise provide substantial covert aid to the FNLA and UNITA.
In August 1975, the MPLA requested direct assistance from the Soviet Union in the form of ground troops. The Soviets declined, offering to send advisers but no troops; however, Cuba was more forthcoming and in late September dispatched nearly five hundred combat personnel to Angola, along with sophisticated weaponry and supplies. By independence, there were over a thousand Cuban soldiers in the country. They were kept supplied by a massive airbridge carried out with Soviet aircraft. The persistent buildup of Cuban and Soviet military aid allowed the MPLA to drive its opponents from Luanda and blunt an abortive intervention by Zairean and South African troops, which had deployed in a belated attempt to assist the FNLA and UNITA. The FNLA was largely annihilated, although UNITA managed to withdraw its civil officials and militia from Luanda and seek sanctuary in the southern provinces. From there, Savimbi continued to mount a determined insurgent campaign against the MPLA.
Between 1975 and 1991, the MPLA implemented an economic and political system based on the principles of scientific socialism, incorporating central planning and a Marxist–Leninist one-party state. It embarked on an ambitious programme of nationalisation, and the domestic private sector was essentially abolished. Privately owned enterprises were nationalised and incorporated into a single umbrella of state-owned enterprises known as Unidades Economicas Estatais (UEE). Under the MPLA, Angola experienced a significant degree of modern industrialisation. However, corruption and graft also increased and public resources were either allocated inefficiently or simply embezzled by officials for personal enrichment. The ruling party survived an attempted coup d'état by the Maoist-oriented Communist Organisation of Angola (OCA) in 1977, which was suppressed after a series of bloody political purges left thousands of OCA supporters dead (see 1977 Angolan coup d'état attempt). In the same period, the civil war culminated in its climax in a tandem of engagements, particularly the Battle of Quifangondo and soon after the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale, which marked a turning point with a subsequent defeat of the xenophobic South African Army.
The MPLA abandoned its former Marxist ideology at its third party congress in 1990, and declared social democracy to be its new platform. Angola subsequently became a member of the International Monetary Fund; restrictions on the market economy were also reduced in an attempt to draw foreign investment. By May 1991 it reached a peace agreement with UNITA, the Bicesse Accords, which scheduled new general elections for September 1992. When the MPLA secured a major electoral victory, UNITA objected to the results of both the presidential and legislative vote count and returned to war. Following the election, the Halloween massacre occurred from 30 October to 1 November, where MPLA forces killed thousands of UNITA supporters.
21st century
On 22 March 2002, Jonas Savimbi was killed in action against government troops. UNITA and the MPLA reached a cease-fire shortly afterwards. UNITA gave up its armed wing and assumed the role of a major opposition party. Although the political situation of the country began to stabilise, regular democratic processes did not prevail until the elections in Angola in 2008 and 2012 and the adoption of a new constitution in 2010, all of which strengthened the prevailing dominant-party system.
Angola has a serious humanitarian crisis; the result of the prolonged war, of the abundance of minefields, and the continued political agitation in favour of the independence of the exclave of Cabinda (carried out in the context of the protracted Cabinda conflict by the FLEC). While most of the internally displaced have now squatted around the capital, in musseques (shanty towns) the general situation for Angolans remains desperate.
A drought in 2016 caused the worst food crisis in Southern Africa in 25 years, affecting 1.4 million people across seven of Angola's 18 provinces. Food prices rose and acute malnutrition rates doubled, with more than 95,000 children affected.
José Eduardo dos Santos stepped down as President of Angola after 38 years in 2017, being peacefully succeeded by João Lourenço, Santos' chosen successor.
Geography
At , Angola is the world's twenty-fourth largest country - comparable in size to Mali, or twice the size of France or of Texas. It lies mostly between latitudes 4° and 18°S, and longitudes 12° and 24°E.
Angola borders Namibia to the south, Zambia to the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north-east and the South Atlantic Ocean to the west.
The coastal exclave of Cabinda in the north has borders with the Republic of the Congo to the north and with the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the south.
Angola's capital, Luanda, lies on the Atlantic coast in the northwest of the country.
Angola had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 8.35/10, ranking it 23rd globally out of 172 countries.
Climate
Angola, although located in a tropical zone, has a climate uncharacteristic of this zone, due to the confluence of three factors:
the cold Benguela Current flowing along the southern part of the coast
the relief in the interior
the influence of the Namib Desert in the southwest
Angola's climate features two seasons:
rainfall from November to April
drought, known as Cacimbo, from May to October, drier, as the name implies, and with lower temperatures
While the coastline has high rainfall rates, decreasing from north to south and from to , with average annual temperatures above , one can divide the interior zone into three areas:
North, with high rainfall and high temperatures
Central Plateau, with a dry season and average temperatures of the order of 19 °C
South, with very high thermal amplitudes due to the proximity of the Kalahari Desert and the influence of masses of tropical air
Administrative divisions
, Angola is divided into eighteen provinces (províncias) and 162 municipalities. The municipalities are further divided into 559 communes (townships). The provinces are:
Exclave of Cabinda
With an area of approximately , the Northern Angolan province of Cabinda is unusual in being separated from the rest of the country by a strip, some wide, of the Democratic Republic of Congo along the lower Congo River. Cabinda borders the Congo Republic to the north and north-northeast and the DRC to the east and south. The town of Cabinda is the chief population centre.
According to a 1995 census, Cabinda had an estimated population of 600,000, approximately 400,000 of whom are citizens of neighboring countries. Population estimates are, however, highly unreliable. Consisting largely of tropical forest, Cabinda produces hardwoods, coffee, cocoa, crude rubber and palm oil.
The product for which it is best known, however, is its oil, which has given it the nickname, "the Kuwait of Africa". Cabinda's petroleum production from its considerable offshore reserves now accounts for more than half of Angola's output. Most of the oil along its coast was discovered under Portuguese rule by the Cabinda Gulf Oil Company (CABGOC) from 1968 onwards.
Ever since Portugal handed over sovereignty of its former overseas province of Angola to the local independence groups (MPLA, UNITA and FNLA), the territory of Cabinda has been a focus of separatist guerrilla actions opposing the Government of Angola (which has employed its armed forces, the FAA—Forças Armadas Angolanas) and Cabindan separatists. The Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda-Armed Forces of Cabinda (FLEC-FAC) announced the virtual Federal Republic of Cabinda under the Presidency of N'Zita Henriques Tiago. One of the characteristics of the Cabindan independence movement is its constant fragmentation, into smaller and smaller factions.
Government and politics
The Angolan government is composed of three branches of government: executive, legislative and judicial. The executive branch of the government is composed of the President, the Vice-Presidents and the Council of Ministers.
The legislative branch comprises a 220-seat unicameral legislature, the National Assembly of Angola, elected from both provincial and nationwide constituencies. For decades, political power has been concentrated in the presidency.
After 38 years of rule, in 2017 President dos Santos stepped down from MPLA leadership. The leader of the winning party at the parliamentary elections in August 2017 would become the next president of Angola. The MPLA selected the former Defense Minister João Lourenço as Santos' chosen successor.
In what has been described as a political purge to cement his power and reduce the influence of the Dos Santos family, Lourenço subsequently sacked the chief of the national police, Ambrósio de Lemos, and the head of the intelligence service, Apolinário José Pereira. Both are considered allies of former president Dos Santos. He also removed Isabel Dos Santos, daughter of the former president, as head of the country's state oil company Sonangol.
Constitution
The Constitution of 2010 establishes the broad outlines of government structure and delineates the rights and duties of citizens. The legal system is based on Portuguese law and customary law but is weak and fragmented, and courts operate in only 12 of more than 140 municipalities. A Supreme Court serves as the appellate tribunal; a Constitutional Court does not hold the powers of judicial review. Governors of the 18 provinces are appointed by the president. After the end of the civil war, the regime came under pressure from within as well as from the international community to become more democratic and less authoritarian. Its reaction was to implement a number of changes without substantially changing its character.
The new constitution, adopted in 2010, did away with presidential elections, introducing a system in which the president and the vice-president of the political party that wins the parliamentary elections automatically become president and vice-president. Directly or indirectly, the president controls all other organs of the state, so there is de facto no separation of powers. In the classifications used in constitutional law, this government falls under the category of authoritarian regime.
Armed forces
The Angolan Armed Forces (FAA, Forças Armadas Angolanas ) are headed by a Chief of Staff who reports to the Minister of Defence. There are three divisions—the Army (Exército), Navy (Marinha de Guerra, MGA) and National Air Force (Força Aérea Nacional, FAN). Total manpower is 107,000; plus paramilitary forces of 10,000 (2015 est.).
Its equipment includes Russian-manufactured fighters, bombers and transport planes. There are also Brazilian-made EMB-312 Tucanos for training, Czech-made L-39s for training and bombing, and a variety of western-made aircraft such as the C-212\Aviocar, Sud Aviation Alouette III, etc. A small number of AAF personnel are stationed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa) and the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville).
Police
The National Police departments are Public Order, Criminal Investigation, Traffic and Transport, Investigation and Inspection of Economic Activities, Taxation and Frontier Supervision, Riot Police and the Rapid Intervention Police. The National Police are in the process of standing up an air wing, to provide helicopter support for operations. The National Police are developing their criminal investigation and forensic capabilities. The force has an estimated 6,000 patrol officers, 2,500 taxation and frontier supervision officers, 182 criminal investigators and 100 financial crimes detectives and around 90 economic activity inspectors.
The National Police have implemented a modernisation and development plan to increase the capabilities and efficiency of the total force. In addition to administrative reorganisation, modernisation projects include procurement of new vehicles, aircraft and equipment, construction of new police stations and forensic laboratories, restructured training programmes and the replacement of AKM rifles with 9 mm Uzis for officers in urban areas.
Justice
A Supreme Court serves as a court of appeal. The Constitutional Court is the supreme body of the constitutional jurisdiction, established with the approval of Law no. 2/08, of 17 June – Organic Law of the Constitutional Court and Law n. 3/08, of 17 June – Organic Law of the Constitutional Process. The legal system is based on Portuguese and customary law. There are 12 courts in more than 140 counties in the country. Its first task was the validation of the candidacies of the political parties to the legislative elections of 5 September 2008. Thus, on 25 June 2008, the Constitutional Court was institutionalized and its Judicial Counselors assumed the position before the President of the Republic. Currently, seven advisory judges are present, four men and three women.
In 2014, a new penal code took effect in Angola. The classification of money-laundering as a crime is one of the novelties in the new legislation.
Foreign relations
Angola is a founding member state of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), also known as the Lusophone Commonwealth, an international organization and political association of Lusophone nations across four continents, where Portuguese is an official language.
On 16 October 2014, Angola was elected for the second time a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, with 190 favorable votes out of a total of 193. The term of office began on 1 January 2015 and expired on 31 December 2016.
Since January 2014, the Republic of Angola has been chairing the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region (CIRGL). [80] In 2015, CIRGL Executive Secretary Ntumba Luaba said that Angola is the example to be followed by the members of the organization, due to the significant progress made during the 12 years of peace, namely in terms of socio-economic stability and political-military.
Human rights
Angola is classified as 'not free' by Freedom House in the Freedom in the World 2014 report. The report noted that the August 2012 parliamentary elections, in which the ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola won more than 70% of the vote, suffered from serious flaws, including outdated and inaccurate voter rolls. Voter turnout dropped from 80% in 2008 to 60%.
A 2012 report by the U.S. Department of State said, "The three most important human rights abuses [in 2012] were official corruption and impunity; limits on the freedoms of assembly, association, speech, and press; and cruel and excessive punishment, including reported cases of torture and beatings as well as unlawful killings by police and other security personnel."
Angola ranked forty-two of forty-eight sub-Saharan African states on the 2007 Index of African Governance list and scored poorly on the 2013 Ibrahim Index of African Governance. It was ranked 39 out of 52 sub-Saharan African countries, scoring particularly badly in the areas of participation and human rights, sustainable economic opportunity and human development. The Ibrahim Index uses a number of variables to compile its list which reflects the state of governance in Africa.
In 2019, homosexual acts were decriminalized in Angola, and the government also prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation. The vote was overwhelming: 155 for, 1 against, 7 abstaining.
Economy
Angola has diamonds, oil, gold, copper and rich wildlife (which was dramatically depleted during the civil war), forest and fossil fuels. Since independence, oil and diamonds have been the most important economic resource. Smallholder and plantation agriculture dramatically dropped in the Angolan Civil War, but began to recover after 2002.
Angola's economy has in recent years moved on from the disarray caused by a quarter-century of Angolan civil war to become the fastest-growing economy in Africa and one of the fastest-growing in the world, with an average GDP growth of 20% between 2005 and 2007. In the period 2001–10, Angola had the world's highest annual average GDP growth, at 11.1%.
In 2004, the Exim Bank of China approved a $2 billion line of credit to Angola, to be used for rebuilding Angola's infrastructure, and to limit the influence of the International Monetary Fund there.
China is Angola's biggest trade partner and export destination as well as the fourth-largest source of imports. Bilateral trade reached $27.67 billion in 2011, up 11.5% year-on-year. China's imports, mainly crude oil and diamonds, increased 9.1% to $24.89 billion while China's exports to Angola, including mechanical and electrical products, machinery parts and construction materials, surged 38.8%. The oil glut led to a local price for unleaded gasoline of £0.37 a gallon.
The Angolan economy grew 18% in 2005, 26% in 2006 and 17.6% in 2007. Due to the global recession, the economy contracted an estimated −0.3% in 2009. The security brought about by the 2002 peace settlement has allowed the resettlement of 4 million displaced persons and a resulting large-scale increase in agriculture production. Angola's economy is expected to grow by 3.9 per cent in 2014 said the International Monetary Fund (IMF), robust growth in the non-oil economy, mainly driven by a very good performance in the agricultural sector, is expected to offset a temporary drop in oil production.
Angola's financial system is maintained by the National Bank of Angola and managed by the governor Jose de Lima Massano. According to a study on the banking sector, carried out by Deloitte, the monetary policy led by Banco Nacional de Angola (BNA), the Angolan national bank, allowed a decrease in the inflation rate put at 7.96% in December 2013, which contributed to the sector's growth trend. Estimates released by Angola's central bank, said country's economy should grow at an annual average rate of 5 per cent over the next four years, boosted by the increasing participation of the private sector.
Although the country's economy has grown significantly since Angola achieved political stability in 2002, mainly due to fast-rising earnings in the oil sector, Angola faces huge social and economic problems. These are in part a result of almost continual armed conflict from 1961 on, although the highest level of destruction and socio-economic damage took place after the 1975 independence, during the long years of civil war. However, high poverty rates and blatant social inequality chiefly stems from persistent authoritarianism, "neo-patrimonial" practices at all levels of the political, administrative, military and economic structures, and of a pervasive corruption. The main beneficiaries are political, administrative, economic and military power holders, who have accumulated (and continue to accumulate) enormous wealth.
"Secondary beneficiaries" are the middle strata that are about to become social classes. However, almost half the population has to be considered poor, with dramatic differences between the countryside and the cities, where slightly more than 50% of the people reside.
A study carried out in 2008 by the Angolan Instituto Nacional de Estatística found that in rural areas roughly 58% must be classified as "poor" according to UN norms but in the urban areas only 19%, and an overall rate of 37%. In cities, a majority of families, well beyond those officially classified as poor, must adopt a variety of survival strategies. In urban areas social inequality is most evident and it is extreme in Luanda. In the Human Development Index Angola constantly ranks in the bottom group.
In January 2020, a leak of government documents known as the Luanda Leaks showed that U.S. consulting companies such as Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey & Company, and PricewaterhouseCoopers had helped members of the family of former President José Eduardo dos Santos (especially his daughter Isabel dos Santos) corruptly run Sonangol for their own personal profit, helping them use the company's revenues to fund vanity projects in France and Switzerland. After further revelations in the Pandora Papers, former generals Dias and do Nascimento and former presidential advisers were also accused of misappropriating significant public funds for personal benefit.
The enormous differences between the regions pose a serious structural problem for the Angolan economy, illustrated by the fact that about one third of economic activities are concentrated in Luanda and neighbouring Bengo province, while several areas of the interior suffer economic stagnation and even regression.
One of the economic consequences of social and regional disparities is a sharp increase in Angolan private investments abroad. The small fringe of Angolan society where most of the asset accumulation takes place seeks to spread its assets, for reasons of security and profit. For the time being, the biggest share of these investments is concentrated in Portugal where the Angolan presence (including the family of the state president) in banks as well as in the domains of energy, telecommunications, and mass media has become notable, as has the acquisition of vineyards and orchards as well as of tourism enterprises.
Angola has upgraded critical infrastructure, an investment made possible by funds from the nation's development of oil resources. According to a report, just slightly more than ten years after the end of the civil war Angola's standard of living has overall greatly improved. Life expectancy, which was just 46 years in 2002, reached 51 in 2011. Mortality rates for children fell from 25 per cent in 2001 to 19 per cent in 2010 and the number of students enrolled in primary school has tripled since 2001. However, at the same time the social and economic inequality that has characterised the country for so long has not diminished, but has deepened in all respects.
With a stock of assets corresponding to 70 billion Kz (US$6.8 billion), Angola is now the third-largest financial market in sub-Saharan Africa, surpassed only by Nigeria and South Africa. According to the Angolan Minister of Economy, Abraão Gourgel, the financial market of the country grew modestly since 2002 and now occupies third place in sub-Saharan Africa.
On 19 December 2014, the Capital Market in Angola was launched. BODIVA (Angola Stock Exchange and Derivatives, in English) was allocated the secondary public debt market, and was expected to launch the corporate debt market by 2015, though the stock market itself was only expected to commence trading in 2016.
Natural resources
The Economist reported in 2008 that diamonds and oil make up 60% of Angola's economy, almost all of the country's revenue and all of its dominant exports. Growth is almost entirely driven by rising oil production which surpassed in late 2005 and was expected to grow to by 2007. Control of the oil industry is consolidated in Sonangol Group, a conglomerate owned by the Angolan government. In December 2006, Angola was admitted as a member of OPEC.
According to the Heritage Foundation, a conservative American think tank, oil production from Angola has increased so significantly that Angola now is China's biggest supplier of oil. "China has extended three multi-billion dollar lines of credit to the Angolan government; two loans of $2 billion from China Exim Bank, one in 2004, the second in 2007, as well as one loan in 2005 of $2.9 billion from China International Fund Ltd."
Growing oil revenues also created opportunities for corruption: according to a recent Human Rights Watch report, 32 billion US dollars disappeared from government accounts in 2007–2010. Furthermore, Sonangol, the state-run oil company, controls 51% of Cabinda's oil. Due to this market control, the company ends up determining the profit received by the government and the taxes it pays. The council of foreign affairs states that the World Bank mentioned that Sonangol is a taxpayer, it carries out quasi-fiscal activities, it invests public funds, and, as concessionaire, it is a sector regulator. This multifarious work program creates conflicts of interest and characterises a complex relationship between Sonangol and the government that weakens the formal budgetary process and creates uncertainty as regards the actual fiscal stance of the state."
In 2002, Angola demanded compensation for oil spills allegedly caused by Chevron Corporation, the first time it had fined a multinational corporation operating in its waters.
Operations in its diamond mines include partnerships between state-run Endiama and mining companies such as ALROSA which operate in Angola.
Access to biocapacity in Angola is higher than world average. In 2016, Angola had 1.9 global hectares of biocapacity per person within its territory, slightly more than world average of 1.6 global hectares per person. In 2016, Angola used 1.01 global hectares of biocapacity per person - their ecological footprint of consumption. This means they use about half as much biocapacity as Angola contains. As a result, Angola is running a biocapacity reserve.
Agriculture
Agriculture and forestry is an area of potential opportunity for the country. The African Economic Outlook organization states that "Angola requires 4.5 million tonnes a year of grain but grows only about 55% of the maize it needs, 20% of the rice and just 5% of its required wheat".
In addition, the World Bank estimates that "less than 3 per cent of Angola's abundant fertile land is cultivated and the economic potential of the forestry sector remains largely unexploited".
Before independence in 1975, Angola was a bread-basket of southern Africa and a major exporter of bananas, coffee and sisal, but three decades of civil war (1975–2002) destroyed fertile countryside, left it littered with landmines and drove millions into the cities.
The country now depends on expensive food imports, mainly from South Africa and Portugal, while more than 90% of farming is done at the family and subsistence level. Thousands of Angolan small-scale farmers are trapped in poverty.
Transport
Transport in Angola consists of:
Three separate railway systems totalling
of highway of which is paved
1,295 navigable inland waterways
five major sea ports
243 airports, of which 32 are paved.
Angola centers its port trade in five main ports: Namibe, Lobito, Soyo, Cabinda and Luanda. The port of Luanda is the largest of the five, as well as being one of the busiest on the African continent.
Travel on highways outside of towns and cities in Angola (and in some cases within) is often not best advised for those without four-by-four vehicles. While reasonable road infrastructure has existed within Angola, time and war have taken their toll on the road surfaces, leaving many severely potholed, littered with broken asphalt. In many areas drivers have established alternate tracks to avoid the worst parts of the surface, although careful attention must be paid to the presence or absence of landmine warning markers by the side of the road. The Angolan government has contracted the restoration of many of the country's roads. The road between Lubango and Namibe, for example, was completed recently with funding from the European Union, and is comparable to many European main routes. Completing the road infrastructure is likely to take some decades, but substantial efforts are already being made.
Telecommunications
The telecommunications industry is considered one of the main strategic sectors in Angola.
In October 2014, the building of an optic fiber underwater cable was announced. This project aims to turn Angola into a continental hub, thus improving Internet connections both nationally and internationally.
On 11 March 2015, the First Angolan Forum of Telecommunications and Information Technology was held in Luanda under the motto "The challenges of telecommunications in the current context of Angola", to promote debate on topical issues on telecommunications in Angola and worldwide. A study of this sector, presented at the forum, said Angola had the first telecommunications operator in Africa to test LTE – with speeds up to 400 Mbit/s – and mobile penetration of about 75%; there are about 3.5 million smartphones in the Angolan market; There are about of optical fibre installed in the country.
The first Angolan satellite, AngoSat-1, was launched into orbit on 26 December 2017. It was launched from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan on board a Zenit 3F rocket. The satellite was built by Russia's RSC Energia, a subsidiary of the state-run space industry player Roscosmos. The satellite payload was supplied by Airbus Defence & Space. Due to an on-board power failure during solar panel deployment, on 27 December, RSC Energia revealed that they lost communications contact with the satellite. Although, subsequent attempts to restore communications with the satellite were successful, the satellite eventually stopped sending data and RSC Energia confirmed that AngoSat-1 was inoperable. The launch of AngoSat-1 was aimed at ensuring telecommunications throughout the country. According to Aristides Safeca, Secretary of State for Telecommunications, the satellite was aimed at providing telecommunications services, TV, internet and e-government and was expected to remain in orbit "at best" for 18 years. A replacement satellite named AngoSat-2 is in the works and is expected to be in service by 2020. As of February 2021, Ango-Sat-2 was about 60% ready. The officials reported the launch is expected in about 17 months, by July 2022.
Technology
The management of the top-level domain '.ao' passed from Portugal to Angola in 2015, following new legislation. A joint decree of Minister of Telecommunications and Information Technologies José Carvalho da Rocha and the minister of Science and Technology, Maria Cândida Pereira Teixeira, states that "under the massification" of that Angolan domain, "conditions are created for the transfer of the domain root '.ao' of Portugal to Angola".
Demographics
Angola has a population of 24,383,301 inhabitants according to the preliminary results of its 2014 census, the first one conducted or carried out since 15 December 1970. It is composed of Ovimbundu (language Umbundu) 37%, Ambundu (language Kimbundu) 23%, Bakongo 13%, and 32% other ethnic groups (including the Chokwe, the Ovambo, the Ganguela and the Xindonga) as well as about 2% mulattos (mixed European and African), 1.6% Chinese and 1% European. The Ambundu and Ovimbundu ethnic groups combined form a majority of the population, at 62%. The population is forecast to grow to over 60 million people in 2050, 2.7 times the 2014 population. However, on 23 March 2016, official data revealed by Angola's National Statistic Institute – Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE), states that Angola has a population of 25,789,024 inhabitants.
It is estimated that Angola was host to 12,100 refugees and 2,900 asylum seekers by the end of 2007. 11,400 of those refugees were originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, who arrived in the 1970s. there were an estimated 400,000 Democratic Republic of the Congo migrant workers, at least 220,000 Portuguese, and about 259,000 Chinese living in Angola. 1 million Angolans are mixed race (black and white).
Since 2003, more than 400,000 Congolese migrants have been expelled from Angola. Prior to independence in 1975, Angola had a community of approximately 350,000 Portuguese, but the vast majority left after independence and the ensuing civil war. However, Angola has recovered its Portuguese minority in recent years; currently, there are about 200,000 registered with the consulates, and increasing due to the debt crisis in Portugal and the relative prosperity in Angola. The Chinese population stands at 258,920, mostly composed of temporary migrants. Also, there is a small Brazilian community of about 5,000 people.
, the total fertility rate of Angola is 5.54 children born per woman (2012 estimates), the 11th highest in the world.
Languages
The languages in Angola are those originally spoken by the different ethnic groups and Portuguese, introduced during the Portuguese colonial era. The most widely spoken indigenous languages are Umbundu, Kimbundu and Kikongo, in that order. Portuguese is the official language of the country.
Although the exact numbers of those fluent in Portuguese or who speak Portuguese as a first language are unknown, a 2012 study mentions that Portuguese is the first language of 39% of the population. In 2014, a census carried out by the Instituto Nacional de Estatística in Angola mentions that 71.15% of the nearly 25.8 million inhabitants of Angola (meaning around 18.3 million people) use Portuguese as a first or second language.
According to the 2014 census, Portuguese is spoken by 71.1% of Angolans, Umbundu by 23%, Kikongo by 8.2%, Kimbundu by 7.8%, Chokwe by 6.5%, Nyaneka by 3.4%, Ngangela by 3.1%, Fiote by 2.4%, Kwanyama by 2.3%, Muhumbi by 2.1%, Luvale by 1%, and other languages by 4.1%.
Religion
There are about 1,000 religious communities, mostly Christian, in Angola. While reliable statistics are nonexistent, estimates have it that more than half of the population are Catholics, while about a quarter adhere to the Protestant churches introduced during the colonial period: the Congregationalists mainly among the Ovimbundu of the Central Highlands and the coastal region to its west, the Methodists concentrating on the Kimbundu speaking strip from Luanda to Malanje, the Baptists almost exclusively among the Bakongo of the north-west (now present in Luanda as well) and dispersed Adventists, Reformed and Lutherans.
In Luanda and region there subsists a nucleus of the "syncretic" Tocoists and in the north-west a sprinkling of Kimbanguism can be found, spreading from the Congo/Zaïre. Since independence, hundreds of Pentecostal and similar communities have sprung up in the cities, whereby now about 50% of the population is living; several of these communities/churches are of Brazilian origin.
the U.S. Department of State estimates the Muslim population at 80,000–90,000, less than 1% of the population, while the Islamic Community of Angola puts the figure closer to 500,000. Muslims consist largely of migrants from West Africa and the Middle East (especially Lebanon), although some are local converts. The Angolan government does not legally recognize any Muslim organizations and often shuts down mosques or prevents their construction.
In a study assessing nations' levels of religious regulation and persecution with scores ranging from 0 to 10 where 0 represented low levels of regulation or persecution, Angola was scored 0.8 on Government Regulation of Religion, 4.0 on Social Regulation of Religion, 0 on Government Favoritism of Religion and 0 on Religious Persecution.
Foreign missionaries were very active prior to independence in 1975, although since the beginning of the anti-colonial fight in 1961 the Portuguese colonial authorities expelled a series of Protestant missionaries and closed mission stations based on the belief that the missionaries were inciting pro-independence sentiments. Missionaries have been able to return to the country since the early 1990s, although security conditions due to the civil war have prevented them until 2002 from restoring many of their former inland mission stations.
The Catholic Church and some major Protestant denominations mostly keep to themselves in contrast to the "New Churches" which actively proselytize. Catholics, as well as some major Protestant denominations, provide help for the poor in the form of crop seeds, farm animals, medical care and education.
Urbanization
Health
Epidemics of cholera, malaria, rabies and African hemorrhagic fevers like Marburg hemorrhagic fever, are common diseases in several parts of the country. Many regions in this country have high incidence rates of tuberculosis and high HIV prevalence rates. Dengue, filariasis, leishmaniasis and onchocerciasis (river blindness) are other diseases carried by insects that also occur in the region. Angola has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world and one of the world's lowest life expectancies. A 2007 survey concluded that low and deficient niacin status was common in Angola. Demographic and Health Surveys is currently conducting several surveys in Angola on malaria, domestic violence and more.
In September 2014, the Angolan Institute for Cancer Control (IACC) was created by presidential decree, and it will integrate the National Health Service in Angola. The purpose of this new centre is to ensure health and medical care in oncology, policy implementation, programmes and plans for prevention and specialised treatment. This cancer institute will be assumed as a reference institution in the central and southern regions of Africa.
In 2014, Angola launched a national campaign of vaccination against measles, extended to every child under ten years old and aiming to go to all 18 provinces in the country. The measure is part of the Strategic Plan for the Elimination of Measles 2014–2020 created by the Angolan Ministry of Health which includes strengthening routine immunisation, a proper dealing with measles cases, national campaigns, introducing a second dose of vaccination in the national routine vaccination calendar and active epidemiological surveillance for measles. This campaign took place together with the vaccination against polio and vitamin A supplementation.
A yellow fever outbreak, the worst in the country in three decades began in December 2015. By August 2016, when the outbreak began to subside, nearly 4,000 people were suspected of being infected. As many as 369 may have died. The outbreak began in the capital, Luanda, and spread to at least 16 of the 18 provinces.
Education
Although by law education in Angola is compulsory and free for eight years, the government reports that a percentage of pupils are not attending due to a lack of school buildings and teachers. Pupils are often responsible for paying additional school-related expenses, including fees for books and supplies.
In 1999, the gross primary enrollment rate was 74 per cent and in 1998, the most recent year for which data are available, the net primary enrollment rate was 61 per cent. Gross and net enrollment ratios are based on the number of pupils formally registered in primary school and therefore do not necessarily reflect actual school attendance. There continue to be significant disparities in enrollment between rural and urban areas. In 1995, 71.2 per cent of children ages 7 to 14 years were attending school. It is reported that higher percentages of boys attend school than girls. During the Angolan Civil War (1975–2002), nearly half of all schools were reportedly looted and destroyed, leading to current problems with overcrowding.
The Ministry of Education recruited 20,000 new teachers in 2005 and continued to implement teacher training. Teachers tend to be underpaid, inadequately trained and overworked (sometimes teaching two or three shifts a day). Some teachers may reportedly demand payment or bribes directly from their pupils. Other factors, such as the presence of landmines, lack of resources and identity papers, and poor health prevent children from regularly attending school. Although budgetary allocations for education were increased in 2004, the education system in Angola continues to be extremely under-funded.
According to estimates by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, the adult literacy rate in 2011 was 70.4%. By 2015, this had increased to 71.1%. 82.9% of men and 54.2% of women are literate as of 2001. Since independence from Portugal in 1975, a number of Angolan students continued to be admitted every year at high schools, polytechnical institutes and universities in Portugal and Brazil through bilateral agreements; in general, these students belong to the elites.
In September 2014, the Angolan Ministry of Education announced an investment of 16 million Euros in the computerisation of over 300 classrooms across the country. The project also includes training teachers at a national level, "as a way to introduce and use new information technologies in primary schools, thus reflecting an improvement in the quality of teaching".
In 2010, the Angolan government started building the Angolan Media Libraries Network, distributed throughout several provinces in the country to facilitate the people's access to information and knowledge. Each site has a bibliographic archive, multimedia resources and computers with Internet access, as well as areas for reading, researching and socialising. The plan envisages the establishment of one media library in each Angolan province by 2017. The project also includes the implementation of several media libraries, in order to provide the several contents available in the fixed media libraries to the most isolated populations in the country. At this time, the mobile media libraries are already operating in the provinces of Luanda, Malanje, Uíge, Cabinda and Lunda South. As for REMA, the provinces of Luanda, Benguela, Lubango and Soyo have currently working media libraries.
Culture
Angolan culture has been heavily influenced by Portuguese culture, especially in language and religion, and the culture of the indigenous ethnic groups of Angola, predominantly Bantu culture.
The diverse ethnic communities—the Ovimbundu, Ambundu, Bakongo, Chokwe, Mbunda and other peoples—to varying degrees maintain their own cultural traits, traditions and languages, but in the cities, where slightly more than half of the population now lives, a mixed culture has been emerging since colonial times; in Luanda, since its foundation in the 16th century.
In this urban culture, Portuguese heritage has become more and more dominant. African roots are evident in music and dance and is moulding the way in which Portuguese is spoken. This process is well reflected in contemporary Angolan literature, especially in the works of Angolan authors.
In 2014, Angola resumed the National Festival of Angolan Culture after a 25-year break. The festival took place in all the provincial capitals and lasted for 20 days, with the theme ”Culture as a Factor of Peace and Development.
Cinema
In 1972, one of Angola's first feature films, Sarah Maldoror's internationally co-produced Sambizanga, was released at the Carthage Film Festival to critical acclaim, winning the Tanit d'Or, the festival's highest prize.
Literature
Angolan Writer Ndalu de Almeida, pen name Ondjaki published a novel called "Transparent City" in 2012 that takes place in Luanda, Angola.
Sports
Basketball is the second most popular sport in Angola. Its national team has won the AfroBasket 11 times and holds the record of most titles. As a top team in Africa, it is a regular competitor at the Summer Olympic Games and the FIBA World Cup. Angola is home to one of Africa's first competitive leagues.
In football, Angola hosted the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations. The Angola national football team qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, their first appearance in the World Cup finals. They were eliminated after one defeat and two draws in the group stage. They won three COSAFA Cups and finished runner-up in the 2011 African Nations Championship.
Angola has participated in the World Women's Handball Championship for several years. The country has also appeared in the Summer Olympics for seven years and both regularly competes in and once has hosted the FIRS Roller Hockey World Cup, where the best finish is sixth. Angola is also often believed to have historic roots in the martial art "Capoeira Angola" and "Batuque" which were practised by enslaved African Angolans transported as part of the Atlantic slave trade.
See also
Outline of Angola
Index of Angola-related articles
References
Further reading
Birmingham, David (2006) Empire in Africa: Angola and its Neighbors, Ohio University Press: Athens, Ohio.
Bösl, Anton (2008) Angola's Parliamentary Elections in 2008. A Country on its Way to One-Party-Democracy, KAS Auslandsinformationen 10/2008. Die Parlamentswahlen in Angola 2008
Cilliers, Jackie and Christian Dietrich, Eds. (2000). Angola's War Economy: The Role of Oil and Diamonds. Pretoria, South Africa, Institute for Security Studies.
Global Witness (1999). A Crude Awakening, The Role of Oil and Banking Industries in Angola's Civil War and the Plundering of State Assets. London, UK, Global Witness. A Crude Awakening
Hodges, Tony (2001). Angola from Afro-Stalinism to Petro-Diamond Capitalism. Oxford: James Currey.
Hodges, Tony (2004). Angola: The Anatomy of an Oil State. Oxford, UK and Indianapolis, US, The Fridtjol Nansen Institute & The International African Institute in association with James Currey and Indiana University Press.
Human Rights Watch (2004). Some Transparency, No Accountability: The Use of Oil Revenues in Angola and Its Impact on Human Rights. New York, Human Rights Watch. Some Transparency, No Accountability: The Use of Oil Revenue in Angola and Its Impact on Human Rights (Human Rights Watch Report, January 2004)
Human Rights Watch (2005). Coming Home, Return and Reintegration in Angola. New York, Human Rights Watch. Coming Home: Return and Reintegration in Angola
James, Walter (1992). A political history of the civil war in Angola, 1964–1990. New Brunswick, Transaction Publishers.
Kapuściński, Ryszard. Another Day of Life, Penguin, 1975. . A Polish journalist's account of Portuguese withdrawal from Angola and the beginning of the civil war.
Kevlihan, R. (2003). "Sanctions and humanitarian concerns: Ireland and Angola, 2001-2". Irish Studies in International Affairs 14: 95–106.
Lari, A. (2004). Returning home to a normal life? The plight of displaced Angolans. Pretoria, South Africa, Institute for Security Studies.
Lari, A. and R. Kevlihan (2004). "International Human Rights Protection in Situations of Conflict and Post-Conflict, A Case Study of Angola". African Security Review 13(4): 29–41.
Le Billon, Philippe (2005) Aid in the Midst of Plenty: Oil Wealth, Misery and Advocacy in Angola, Disasters 29(1): 1–25.
Le Billon, Philippe (2001). "Angola's Political Economy of War: The Role of Oil and Diamonds". African Affairs (100): 55–80.
MacQueen, Norrie An Ill Wind? Rethinking the Angolan Crisis and the Portuguese Revolution, 1974–1976, Itinerario: European Journal of Overseas History, 26/2, 2000, pp. 22–44
Médecins Sans Frontières (2002). Angola: Sacrifice of a People. Luanda, Angola, MSF.
Mwakikagile, Godfrey Nyerere and Africa: End of an Era, Third Edition, Pretoria, South Africa, 2006, on Angola in Chapter 11, "American Involvement in Angola and Southern Africa: Nyerere's Response", pp. 324–346, .
Pearce, Justin (2004). "War, Peace and Diamonds in Angola: Popular perceptions of the diamond industry in the Lundas". African Security Review 13 (2), pp 51–64. Wayback Machine
Porto, João Gomes (2003). Cabinda: Notes on a soon to be forgotten war. Pretoria, South Africa, Institute for Security Studies.
Tvedten, Inge (1997). Angola, Struggle for Peace and Reconstruction. Boulder, Colorado, Westview Press.
Vines, Alex (1999). Angola Unravels: The Rise and Fall of the Lusaka Peace Process. New York and London, UK, Human Rights Watch.
External links
Angola. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency.
Angola from UCB Libraries GovPubs.
Angola profile from the BBC News.
Key Development Forecasts for Angola from International Futures.
Bertelsmann Transformation Index 2012 – Angola Country Report
Markus Weimer, "The Peace Dividend: Analysis of a Decade of Angolan Indicators, 2002–2012".
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States and territories established in 1975 | en |
doc-en-8504 | Bilateral relations between Afghanistan and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland span a long and eventful history, dating back to the United Kingdom's Company rule in India, the British-Russian rivalry in Central Asia, and the border between modern Afghanistan and British India. There has been an Afghan embassy in London since 1922 though there was no accredited Afghan ambassador from 1981 to 2001.
History
The Great Game (1800–1839)
The 19th century was a period of diplomatic competition between the British and Russian empires for spheres of influence in Asia known as the "Great Game" to the British and the "Tournament of Shadows" to the Russians. With the exception of Emperor Paul who ordered an invasion of India in 1800 (which was cancelled after his assassination in 1801), no Russian tsar ever seriously considered invading India, but for the most of the 19th century, Russia was viewed as "the enemy" in Britain; and any Russian advancement into Central Asia was always assumed (in London) to be directed towards the conquest of India, as the American historian David Fromkin observed, "no matter how far-fetched" such an interpretation might be.
In 1832, the First Reform Bill lowering the franchise requirements to vote and hold office in Britain was passed, which the ultra-conservative Emperor Nicholas I of Russia openly disapproved of, setting the stage for an Anglo-Russian "cold war", with many believing that Russian autocracy and British democracy were bound to clash. In 1837, Lord Palmerston and John Hobhouse, fearing the instability of Afghanistan, the Sindh, and the increasing power of the Sikh kingdom to the northwest, raised the spectre of a possible Russian invasion of British India through Afghanistan. The Russian Empire was slowly extending its domain into Central Asia, and this was seen by the East India Company as a possible threat to their interests in India. In 19th century Russia, there was the ideology of Russia's "special mission in the East", namely Russia had the "duty" to conquer much of Asia, though this was more directed against the nations of Central Asia and the alleged "Yellow Peril" of China than India. The British tended to misunderstand the foreign policy of the Emperor Nicholas I as anti-British and intent upon an expansionary policy in Asia; whereas in fact though Nicholas disliked Britain as a liberal democratic state that he considered to be rather "strange", he always believed it was possible to reach an understanding with Britain on spheres of influence in Asia, believing that the essentially conservative nature of British society would retard the advent of liberalism. The main goal of Nicholas's foreign policy was not the conquest of Asia, but rather upholding the status quo in Europe, especially by co-operating with Prussia and Austria, and in isolating France, as Louis Philippe I, the King of the French was a man who Nicholas hated as an "usurper". The duc d'Orleans had once been Nicholas's friend, but when he assumed the throne of France after the revolution of 1830, Nicholas was consumed with hatred for his former friend who, as he saw it, had gone over to what he perceived as the dark side of liberalism.
The Company sent an envoy to Kabul to form an alliance with Afghanistan's emir, Dost Mohammad Khan, against Russia. Dost Mohammad had recently lost Afghanistan's second capital of Peshawar to the Sikh Empire and was willing to form an alliance with Britain if they gave support to retake it, but the British were unwilling. Instead, the British feared the French-trained Dal Khalsa, and they considered the Sikh army to be a far more formidable threat than the Afghans who did not have an army at all, instead having only a tribal levy where under the banner of jihad tribesmen would come out to fight for the emir. The Dal Khalsa was an enormous force that had been trained by French officers, was equipped with modern weapons and was widely considered to be one of the most powerful armies on the entire Indian subcontinent. For this reason, Lord Auckland preferred an alliance with the Punjab over an alliance with Afghanistan, which had nothing equivalent to the Dal Khalsa. The British could have had an alliance with the Punjab or Afghanistan, but not both at the same time. When Governor-General of India Lord Auckland heard about the arrival of Russian envoy Count Jan Prosper Witkiewicz (better known by the Russian version of his name, Yan Vitkevich) in Kabul and the possibility that Dost Mohammad might turn to Russia for support, his political advisers exaggerated the threat. Burnes described Witkiewicz: "He was a gentlemanly and agreeable man, of about thirty years of age, spoke French, Turkish and Persian fluently, and wore the uniform of an officer of the Cossacks". The presence of Witkiewicz had thrown Burnes into a state of despair, leading one contemporary to note that he "abandoned himself to despair, bound his head with wet towels and handkerchiefs and took to the smelling bottle". Dost Mohammad had in fact invited Count Witkiewicz to Kabul as a way to frighten the British into making an alliance with him against his archenemy Ranjit Singh, the Maharaja of the Punjab, not because he really wanted an alliance with Russia. The British had the power to compel Singh to return the former Afghan territories he had conquered whereas the Russians did not, which explains why Dost Mohammad Khan wanted an alliance with the British.
Alexander Burnes, the Scotsman who served as the East India Company's chief political officer in Afghanistan wrote home after having dinner with Count Witkiewicz and Dost Mohammad in late December 1837: "We are in a mess home. The emperor of Russia has sent an envoy to Kabul to offer...money [to the Afghans] to fight Rajeet Singh!!! I could not believe my own eyes or ears." On 20 January 1838, Lord Auckland sent an ultimatum to Dost Mohammad telling him: "You must desist from all correspondence with Russia. You must never receive agents from them, or have aught to do with them without our sanction; you must dismiss Captain Viktevitch [Witkiewicz] with courtesy; you must surrender all claims to Peshawar". Burnes himself had complained that Lord Auckland's letter was "so dictatorial and supercilious as to indicate the writer's intention that it should give offense", and tried to avoid delivering it for long as possible. Dost Mohammad was indeed offended by the letter, but in order to avoid a war, he had his special military advisor, the American adventurer Josiah Harlan engage in talks with Burnes to see if some compromise could be arranged. Burnes in fact had no power to negotiate anything, and Harlan complained that Burnes was just stalling, which led to Dost Mohammad expelling the British diplomatic mission on 26 April 1838.
British fears of a Russian invasion of India took one step closer to becoming a reality when negotiations between the Afghans and Russians broke down in 1838. The Qajar dynasty of Persia, with Russian support, attempted the Siege of Herat. Herat is a city that had historically belonged to Persia that the Qajar shahs had long desired to take back. It is located in a plain so fertile that is known as the "Granary of Central Asia"—whoever controls Herat and the surrounding countryside also controls the largest source of grain in all of Central Asia. Russia, wanting to increase its presence in Central Asia, had formed an alliance with Qajar Persia, which had territorial disputes with Afghanistan as Herat had been part of the Safavid Persia before 1709. Lord Auckland's plan was to drive away the besiegers and replace Dost Mohammad with Shuja Shah Durrani, who had once ruled Afghanistan and who was willing to ally himself with anyone who might restore him to the Afghan throne. At one point, Shuja had hired an American adventurer named Josiah Harlan to overthrow Dost Mohammad Khan, despite the fact Harlan's military experience comprised only working as a surgeon with the East India Company's troops in First Burma War. Shuja Shah had been deposed in 1809 and been living in exile in British India since 1818, collecting a pension from the East India Company because they believed that he might be useful one day. The British denied that they were invading Afghanistan, claiming they were merely supporting its "legitimate" Shuja government "against foreign interference and factious opposition". Shuja Shah was barely remembered by most of his former subjects by 1838, and those that did remember viewed him as a cruel, tyrannical ruler who, as the British were soon to learn, had almost no popular support in Afghanistan.
On 1 October 1838, Lord Auckland issued the Simla Declaration, attacking Dost Mohammed Khan for making "an unprovoked attack" on the empire of "our ancient ally, Maharaja Ranjeet Singh". Auckland went on to declare that Suja Shah was "popular throughout Afghanistan" and would enter his former realm "surrounded by his own troops and [...] supported against foreign interference and factious opposition by the British Army". As the Persians had broken off the siege of Herat and the Emperor Nicholas I of Russia had ordered Count Vitkevich home (he would commit suicide upon reaching St. Petersburg), the reasons for attempting to put Shuja Shah back on the Afghan throne had vanished. The British historian Sir John William Kaye wrote that the failure of the Persians to take Herat "cut from under the feet of Lord Auckland all ground of justification and rendered the expedition across the Indus at once a folly and a crime". Still, at this point Auckland was committed to putting Afghanistan into the British sphere of influence, and nothing would stop him from going ahead with the invasion.
On 25 November 1838, the two most powerful armies on the Indian subcontinent assembled in a grand review at Ferozepore as Ranjit Singh, the Maharajah of the Punjab brought out the Dal Khalsa to march alongside the sepoy troops of the East India Company and the British troops in India. Lord Auckland himself was present, amid much colorful pageantry and music as men dressed in brightly colored uniforms together with horses and elephants marched in an impressive demonstration of military might. Lord Auckland declared that the "Grand Army of the Indus" would now start the march on Kabul to depose Dost Mohammed and put Shuja Shah back on the Afghan throne, ostensibly because the latter was the rightful emir, but in reality to place Afghanistan into the British sphere of influence. The Duke of Wellington speaking in the House of Lords condemned the invasion, saying that the real difficulties would only begin after the invasion's success. He predicted that the Anglo-Indian force would rout the Afghan tribal levy, but then find themselves struggling to hold on due to the terrain of the Hindu Kush mountains and the fact that Afghanistan had no modern roads. He called the entire operation "stupid", given that Afghanistan was a land of "rocks, sands, deserts, ice and snow".
First Anglo-Afghan War (1839–1842)
The First Anglo-Afghan War (, also known by the British as the Disaster in Afghanistan) was fought between the British East India Company and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1839 to 1842. Initially, the British successfully intervened in a succession dispute between emir Dost Mohammad (Barakzai) and former emir Shah Shujah (Durrani), whom they installed upon conquering Kabul in August 1839. The main British Indian and Sikh force occupying Kabul along with their camp followers, having endured harsh winters as well, was almost completely annihilated while retreating in January 1842. The British then sent an Army of Retribution to Kabul to avenge their defeat, and having demolished parts of the capital and recovered prisoners they left Afghanistan altogether by the end of the year. Dost Mohamed returned from exile in India to resume his rule.
Treaty of Peshawar and buildup to the second war (1839–1878)
After months of chaos in Kabul, Mohammad Akbar Khan secured local control and in April 1843 his father Dost Mohammad, who had been released by the British, returned to the throne in Afghanistan. In the following decade, Dost Mohammad concentrated his efforts on reconquering Mazari Sharif, Konduz, Badakhshan, and Kandahar. Mohammad Akbar Khan died in 1845. During the Second Anglo-Sikh War (1848–1849), Dost Mohammad's last effort to take Peshawar failed.
By 1854, the British wanted to resume relations with Dost Mohammad, whom they had essentially ignored in the intervening twelve years. The 1855 Treaty of Peshawar reopened diplomatic relations, proclaimed respect for each side's territorial integrity, and pledged both sides as friends of each other's friends and enemies of each other's enemies.
In 1857 an addendum to the 1855 treaty permitted a British military mission to become a presence in Kandahar (but not Kabul) during a conflict with the Persians, who had attacked Herat in 1856. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, some British officials suggested restoring Peshawar to Dost Mohammad, in return for his support against the rebellious sepoys of the Bengal Army, but this view was rejected by British political officers on the North West frontier, who believed that Dost Mohammad would see this as a sign of weakness and turn against the British.
In 1863 Dost Mohammad retook Herat with British acquiescence. A few months later, he died. Sher Ali Khan, his third son, and proclaimed successor, failed to recapture Kabul from his older brother, Mohammad Afzal (whose troops were led by his son, Abdur Rahman) until 1868, after which Abdur Rahman retreated across the Amu Darya and bided his time.
In the years immediately following the First Anglo-Afghan War, and especially after the Indian rebellion of 1857 against the British in India, Liberal Party governments in London took a political view of Afghanistan as a buffer state. By the time Sher Ali had established control in Kabul in 1868, he found the British ready to support his regime with arms and funds, but nothing more. Over the next ten years, relations between the Afghan ruler and Britain deteriorated steadily. The Afghan ruler was worried about the southward encroachment of Russia, which by 1873 had taken over the lands of the khan, or ruler, of Khiva. Sher Ali sent an envoy seeking British advice and support. The previous year the British had signed an agreement with the Russians in which the latter agreed to respect the northern boundaries of Afghanistan and to view the territories of the Afghan emir as outside their sphere of influence. The British, however, refused to give any assurances to the disappointed Sher Ali.
Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–1880)
The Second Anglo-Afghan War () was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the latter was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dynasty, the son of former emir Dost Mohammad Khan. The war was part of the Great Game between the British and Russian empires.
After tension between Russia and Britain in Europe ended with the June 1878 Congress of Berlin, Russia turned its attention to Central Asia. That same summer, Russia sent an uninvited diplomatic mission to Kabul. Sher Ali Khan, the emir of Afghanistan, tried unsuccessfully to keep them out. Russian envoys arrived in Kabul on 22 July 1878, and on 14 August, the British demanded that Sher Ali accept a British mission too.
The emir not only refused to receive a British mission under Neville Bowles Chamberlain, but threatened to stop it if it were dispatched. Lord Lytton, the viceroy of India, ordered a diplomatic mission to set out for Kabul in September 1878 but the mission was turned back as it approached the eastern entrance of the Khyber Pass, triggering the Second Anglo-Afghan War.
The war was split into two campaigns – the first began in November 1878 with the British invasion of Afghanistan. The British were quickly victorious and forced the emir, Sher Ali Khan, to flee. Ali's successor Mohammad Yaqub Khan immediately sued for peace and the Treaty of Gandamak was then signed on 26 May 1879. The British sent an envoy and mission led by Sir Louis Cavagnari to Kabul, but on 3 September this mission was massacred and the conflict was reignited by Ayub Khan which led to the abdication of Yaqub.
The second campaign ended in September 1880 when the British decisively defeated Ayub Khan outside Kandahar. A new emir selected by the British, Abdur Rahman Khan, ratified and confirmed the Gandamak treaty once more. When the British and Indian soldiers had withdrawn, the Afghans agreed to let the British attain all of their geopolitical objectives, as well as create a buffer between the British Raj and the Russian Empire.
40 years of good relations (1880–1919)
The end of the Second Afghan War in 1880 marked the beginning of almost 40 years of good relations between Britain and Afghanistan under the leadership of Abdur Rahman Khan and Habibullah Khan, during which time the British attempted to manage Afghan foreign policy through the payment of a large subsidy. While ostensibly the country remained independent, under the Treaty of Gandumak (1879) it accepted that in external matters it would "...have no windows looking on the outside world, except towards India".
The death in 1901 of emir Abdur Rahman Khan led indirectly to the war that began 18 years later. His successor, Habibullah, was a pragmatic leader who sided with Britain or Russia, depending on Afghan interests. Despite considerable resentment over not being consulted over the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 (Convention of St. Petersburg), Afghanistan remained neutral during the First World War (1914–1918), resisting considerable pressure from the Ottoman Empire when it entered the conflict on the side of Imperial Germany and the sultan (as titular leader of Islam) called for a holy war against the Allies.
Despite remaining neutral in the conflict, Habibullah did in fact accept a Turkish-German mission in Kabul and military assistance from the Central Powers as he attempted to play both sides of the conflict for the best deal. Through continual prevarication, he resisted numerous requests for assistance from the Central Powers, but failed to keep in check troublesome tribal leaders, intent on undermining British rule in India, as Turkish agents attempted to foment trouble along the frontier. The departure of a large part of the British Indian Army to fight overseas and news of British defeats at the hands of the Turks aided Turkish agents in efforts at sedition, and in 1915 there was unrest amongst the Mohmands and then the Mahsuds. Not withstanding these outbreaks, the frontier generally remained settled at a time when Britain could ill afford trouble.
A Turco-German mission left Kabul in 1916. By that time, however, it had successfully convinced Habibullah that Afghanistan was an independent nation and that it should be beholden to no one. With the end of the First World War, Habibullah sought to obtain reward from the British government for his assistance during the war. Looking for British recognition of Afghanistan's independence in foreign affairs, he demanded a seat at the Versailles Peace Conference in 1919. This request was denied by the Viceroy, Frederic Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford, on the grounds that attendance at the conference was confined to the belligerents. Further negotiations were scheduled, but before they could begin Habibullah was assassinated on 19 February 1919.
This resulted in a power struggle, as Habibullah's brother Nasrullah Khan proclaimed himself as Habibullah's successor, while Amanullah, Habibullah's third son, had also proclaimed himself emir. The Afghan army suspected Amanullah's complicity in the death of his father. Needing a way of cementing his power, upon seizing the throne in April 1919 Amanullah posed as a man of democratic ideals, promising reforms in the system of government. He stated that there should be no forced labour, tyranny or oppression, and that Afghanistan should be free and independent and no longer bound by the Treaty of Gandamak.
Amanullah had his uncle Nasrullah arrested for Habibullah's murder and had him sentenced to life imprisonment. Nasrullah had been the leader of a more conservative element in Afghanistan and his treatment rendered Amanullah's position as emir somewhat tenuous. By April 1919 he realised that if he could not find a way to placate the conservatives, he would be unlikely to maintain his hold on power. Looking for a diversion from the internal strife in the Afghan court and sensing advantage in the rising civil unrest in India following the Amritsar massacre, Amanullah decided to invade British India.
Third Anglo-Afghan War (1919)
The Third Anglo-Afghan War (), also known as the Third Afghan War, the British-Afghan war of 1919 and in Afghanistan as the War of Independence, began on 6 May 1919 when the Emirate of Afghanistan invaded British India and ended with an armistice on 8 August 1919. The war resulted in the Afghans winning back control of foreign affairs from Britain, and the British recognizing Afghanistan as an independent nation. According to British author Michael Barthorp, it was also a minor strategic victory for the British because the Durand Line was reaffirmed as the border between Afghanistan and the British Raj, and the Afghans agreed not to foment trouble on the British side.
Alleged British involvement in the Khost rebellion (1924)
The Khost rebellion, also known as the 1924 Mangal uprising, the Khost revolt or the Mangal Revolt was an uprising against the Westernization and modernizing reforms of Afghanistan's king, Amanullah Khan. The uprising was launched in Southern Province, Afghanistan, and lasted from March 1924 to January 1925. It was fought by the Mangal Pashtun tribe, later joined by the Sulaiman Khel, Ali Khel, Jaji, Jadran and Ahmadzai tribes. After causing the death of over 14,000 Afghans, the revolt was finally quelled in January 1925.
During the rebellion, The Afghan government portrayed rebel leaders as traitors seeking to serve British interests, and that the campaigns against the rebels were undertaken in the defense of Afghanistan against British influence. In British Raj however, it was generally suspected that the Soviet Union was responsible for providing financial and military aid to the rebels, while in the Soviet Union, the blame was put on Britain. Senzil Nawid writes that despite claims of British involvement by Afghan historians and the contemporary Afghan press, "neither the press reports nor Afghan historians have provided corroborating evidence for this theory". The British Library website claims that Britain supported the Afghan government.
British role in the Afghan Civil War (1929)
The Afghan Civil War was fought from 14 November 1928 to 13 October 1929. Rebelling, and subsequently governing Saqqawist forces under Habibullāh Kalakāni fought against various opposing tribes and rival monarchs in the Kingdom of Afghanistan, among whom Mohammed Nādir Khān eventually achieved a preponderant role. Despite early successes, such as the capture of Kabul and defeat of Amanullah Khan on 17 January 1929 or the capture of Kandahar on 3 June, the Saqqawists were eventually deposed by anti-Saqqawist forces led by Nadir on 13 October 1929, leading to Nadir's ascension as King of Afghanistan, who ruled until his assassination on 3 November 1933.
According to a later British ambassador in Afghanistan, William Kerr Fraser-Tytler, the British empire, though officially neutral, was very concerned about the situation in Afghanistan and they "made up a set of rules to govern the situation. It was unneutral to refuse an Afghan entry into Afghanistan, but once he was in he became a contestant, and it would be unneutral to allow him to recross the border, seeking a brief asylum before plunging again into the fray. And so in a mixture of the rules of cricket and football it was ordained that a player might go on the field once, and play for the crown. But if he was forced into touch, and recrossed the line, whether voluntarily or not, he was 'out' and the referee would not let him back into the game."
Many commentators in Afghanistan and elsewhere hold the belief that Britain played a part in the fall of Amanullah in January 1929, and this is supported by Soviet Historiography. According to Encyclopædia Iranica, "While it can not be dismissed out of hand, the fact remains that no evidence to support it can be found in the copious British Indian archives pertaining to this period. There can be no doubt, however, that behind the stance of official neutrality which the British maintained throughout the crisis of 1929 lay an unwillingness to help Amān-Allāh to reconquer his throne and a benevolence toward the moves of Nāder Khan. While the Soviet authorities favored Amān-Allāh (though reluctantly) and aided a foray on his behalf by Ḡolām Nabī Čarḵī in the Balḵ region, the British authorities allowed Nāder Khan to reenter Afghanistan through India and to obtain a decisive addition of strength through his recruitment of thousands of armed Wazīr and Masʿūd frontier tribesmen. Also helpful was their decision to lift a restriction order, imposing residence at a fixed address in India, on Fażl ʿOmar Mojaddedī, who was to play an apparently decisive role in persuading the Naqšbandī mollās of Afghanistan to change sides and later was to become Nāder Shah's first minister of justice. In short, while all the evidence indicates that Bačča-ye Saqqā (Kalakani)’s rise was due solely to the internal disintegration of King Amān-Allāh's régime, there can be no doubt that British policy, tacit rather than explicit, helped to bring about Bačča-ye Saqqā’s fall".
British role in the Afghan tribal revolts of 1944–1947
Britain cooperated with the Afghan government in suppressing the tribal revolts of 1944–1947, via blockade, weapons sales and aerial bombardment.
British role in the Afghanistan conflict (1978–present)
The United Kingdom did not contribute nor actively oppose the communist-led Saur Revolution. It opposed the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and had no involvement in the series of civil wars that followed Soviet withdrawal in 1989.
In 2001–2014, British combat forces served with NATO in Afghanistan when Tony Blair followed George Bush into that country in the wake of the attacks that felled the World Trade Center. The main base for the British was Camp Bastion, in the Helmand Province in the south. All but 180 trainers were scheduled to leave in late 2014.
On 28 January 2010, Lancaster House in London was the site of an International Conference on Afghanistan. It was at this event that the framework of the next decade of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was settled by the Afghan president Hamid Karzai and his successor Ashraf Ghani. As seen at right, Gordon Brown, Hillary Clinton, Catherine Ashton, Hermann van Rompuy and Anders Fogh Rasmussen amongst other Western leaders were in attendance.
During the fall of Kabul, on August 16, 2021, the U.K. sent 200 additional troops to Afghanistan, bringing the total number of U.K troops in the country to 900, in order to assist with evacuation.
Diplomatic missions
The Embassy of Afghanistan in London is the diplomatic mission of Afghanistan in the United Kingdom. The building now used for the embassy was constructed by Charles James Freake in the late 1850s.
Earlier residents include the industrialist Charles Wright, chairman of Baldwins, and George Whiteley, 1st Baron Marchamley.
It was bought by Afghanistan in 1925.
Gallery
See also
The Great Game, Russia and Britain manoeuvre for influence
First Anglo-Afghan War (1839–1842)
Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–1881)
Third Anglo-Afghan War (1919)
Fourth Anglo-Afghan War (November 2001 – October 2014) part of the War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
Notes
References
Sources
Further reading
Adamec, Ludwig W. Afghanistan's foreign affairs to the mid-twentieth century: relations with the USSR, Germany, and Britain (University of Arizona Press, 1974).
Finlan, Alastair. Contemporary Military Strategy and the Global War on Terror: US and UK Armed Forces in Afghanistan and Iraq 2001–2012 (2014)
Fremont-Barnes, Gregory. The Anglo-Afghan Wars 1839–1919 (2014)
Nawid, Senzil. 1997. “The State, the Clergy, and British Imperial Policy in Afghanistan During the 19th and Early 20th Centuries”. International Journal of Middle East Studies (1997) 29#4.: 581–605. in JSTOR
Tripodi, Christian. "Grand Strategy and the Graveyard of Assumptions: Britain and Afghanistan, 1839–1919." Journal of Strategic Studies 33.5 (2010): 701–725. online
External links
Official site of the Afghanistan Embassy in London
United Kingdom
Bilateral relations of the United Kingdom
Anglo-Afghan Wars | en |
doc-en-10486 | What's Going On is the eleventh studio album by American soul singer, songwriter, and producer Marvin Gaye. It was released on May 21, 1971, by the Motown Records subsidiary label Tamla. Recorded between 1970 and 1971 in sessions at Hitsville U.S.A., Golden World, and United Sound Studios in Detroit, and at The Sound Factory in West Hollywood, California, it was Gaye's first album to credit him as a producer and to credit Motown's in-house studio band, the session musicians known as the Funk Brothers.
What's Going On is a concept album with most of its songs segueing into the next and has been categorized as a song cycle. The narrative established by the songs is told from the point of view of a Vietnam veteran returning to his home country to witness hatred, suffering, and injustice. Gaye's introspective lyrics explore themes of drug abuse, poverty, and the Vietnam War. He has also been credited with promoting awareness of ecological issues before the public outcry over them had become prominent.
The album was an immediate commercial and critical success, and came to be viewed by music historians as a classic of 1970s soul. In 2001, a deluxe edition of the album was released, featuring a recording of Gaye's May 1972 concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Broad-ranging surveys of critics, musicians, and the general public have shown that What's Going On is regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time and a landmark recording in popular music. In 2020, it was ranked number one on Rolling Stones list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Background
By the end of the 1960s, Marvin Gaye had fallen into a deep depression following the brain tumor diagnosis of his Motown singing partner Tammi Terrell, the failure of his marriage to Anna Gordy, a growing dependency on cocaine, troubles with the IRS, and struggles with Motown Records, the label he had signed with in 1961. One night, while holed up at a Detroit apartment, Gaye attempted suicide with a handgun, only to be saved from committing the act by Berry Gordy's father.
Gaye started to experience more international success around this time as both a solo artist with hits such as "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" and as a dual artist with Tammi Terrell, but Gaye said during this time that he felt he "didn't deserve" his success and he felt like "a puppet - Berry's puppet, Anna's puppet. I had a mind of my own and I wasn't using it." In March 1970, Gaye's singing partner Terrell died of a brain tumor. The singer responded to Terrell's death by refusing to perform onstage for several years. In January 1970, Motown released Gaye's next studio album, That's the Way Love Is, but Gaye refused to promote the recording, choosing to stay at home. During this secluded period, Gaye ditched his previous clean-cut image to grow a beard, and preferred to wear sweatsuits instead of dress suits and sweaters.
The singer also got back in touch with his spirituality and also attended several concerts held by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, which had been used for several Motown recordings in the 1960s. Around the spring of 1970, Gaye also began seriously pursuing a career in football with the professional football team the Detroit Lions of the NFL, even working out with the Eastern Michigan Eagles football team. However, his pursuit of a tryout was stopped after the owner of the team advised him that any future injury would derail his career. Gaye befriended three of the Lions teammates, Mel Farr, Charlie Sanders and Lem Barney, as well as then-Detroit Pistons star Dave Bing.
Conception
While traveling on his tour bus with the Four Tops on May 15, 1969, Four Tops member Renaldo "Obie" Benson witnessed an act of police brutality and violence committed on anti-war protesters who had been protesting at Berkeley's People's Park in what was later termed as "Bloody Thursday". Benson later told author Ben Edmonds, "I saw this and started wondering 'what was going on, what is happening here?' One question led to another. Why are they sending kids far away from their families overseas? Why are they attacking their own kids in the street?" Returning to Detroit, Motown songwriter Al Cleveland wrote and composed a song based on his conversations with Benson of what he had seen in Berkeley. Benson sent the song to the Four Tops but his bandmates turned the song down. Benson said, "My partners told me it was a protest song. I said 'no man, it's a love song, about love and understanding. I'm not protesting. I want to know what's going on.'"
Benson offered the song to Marvin Gaye when he participated in a golf game with the singer. Returning to Gaye's home outside Outer Drive, Benson played the song to Gaye on his guitar. Gaye felt the song's moody flow would be perfect for The Originals. Benson eventually convinced Gaye that it was his song. The singer responded by asking for partial writing credit, which Benson allowed. Gaye added new musical composition, a new melody and lyrics that reflected Gaye's own disgust. Benson said later that Gaye tweaked and enriched the song, "added some things that were more ghetto, more natural, which made it seem like a story and not a song ... we measured him for the suit and he tailored the hell out of it." During this time, Gaye had been deeply affected by letters shared between him and his brother after he had returned from service in the Vietnam War over the treatment of Vietnam veterans.
Gaye had also been deeply affected by the social ills plaguing the United States at the time, and covered the track "Abraham, Martin & John", in 1969, which became a UK hit for him in 1970. Gaye cited the 1965 Watts riots as a pivotal moment in his life in which he asked himself, "with the world exploding around me, how am I supposed to keep singing love songs?" One night, he called Berry Gordy about doing a protest record, to which Gordy chastised him, "Marvin, don't be ridiculous. That's taking things too far." The singer's brother Frankie wrote in his autobiography, My Brother Marvin, that while reuniting at their former childhood home in Washington, D.C., Frankie's recalling of his tenure at the war made both brothers cry. At one point, Marvin sat propped up in a bed with his hands in his face. Afterwards, Gaye told his brother, "I didn't know how to fight before, but now I think I do. I just have to do it my way. I'm not a painter. I'm not a poet. But I can do it with music."
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Marvin Gaye discussed what had shaped his view on more socially conscious themes in music and the conception of his eleventh studio album:
Recording
On June 1, 1970, Gaye entered Motown's Hitsville U.S.A. studios to record "What's Going On". Immediately after learning about the song, many of Motown's musicians, known as The Funk Brothers noted that there was a different approach with Gaye's record from that used on other Motown recordings, and Gaye complicated matters by bringing in only a few of the members while bringing his own recruits, including drummer Chet Forest. Longtime Funk Brothers members Jack Ashford, James Jamerson and Eddie Brown participated in the recording. Jamerson was pulled into the recording studio by Gaye after he located Jamerson playing with a local band at a blues bar and Eli Fontaine, the saxophonist behind "Baby, I'm For Real", also participated in the recording. Jamerson, who couldn't sit properly on his seat after arriving to the session drunk, performed his bass riffs, written for him by the album's arranger David Van De Pitte, on the floor. Fontaine's alto saxophone riff to open the song was not originally intended. When Gaye heard the playback of what Fontaine thought was simply a demo, Gaye instantly decided that the riff was the ideal way to start the song. When Fontaine said he was "just goofing around", Gaye being pleased with the results replied, "Well, you goof off exquisitely. Thank you."
The laid-back sessions of the single were credited to lots of "marijuana smoke and rounds of Scotch". Gaye's trademark multi-layering vocal approach came off initially as an accident by engineers Steve Smith and Kenneth Sands. Sands later explained that Gaye had wanted him to bring him the two lead vocal takes for "What's Going On" for advice on which one he should use for the final song. Smith and Sands accidentally mixed the two lead vocal takes together. Gaye loved the sound and decided to keep it and use it for the duration of the album.
That September, Gaye approached Gordy with the "What's Going On" song while in California where Gordy had relocated. According to one account, Gordy didn't like the song, allegedly calling it "the worst thing I ever heard in my life". As a result, Gaye angrily responded to Gordy's alleged putdown by going on strike until Gordy changed his mind. Gordy himself denied this claim, stating he loved the song's jazzy feel but cautioned Gaye that the sound was out of date of the sound of the times and also feared the loss of Gaye's crossover audience by releasing the political song. Gaye continued to record his own compositions during this time, some of which later made his 1973 album, Let's Get It On. Motown executive Harry Balk recalled trying to get Gordy to release the song at the end of the year, to which Gordy replied to him, "that Dizzy Gillespie stuff in the middle, that scatting, it's old." Gordy mentioned later that he feared no one would buy songs with a jazz influence after his attempt to be a record store owner of a jazz shop folded after a year, years prior to starting Motown. Most of Motown's Quality Control Department team also turned the song down, with Balk later stating that "they were used to the 'baby baby' stuff, and this was a little hard for them to grasp."
With the help of Motown sales executive Barney Ales, Harry Balk got the song released to record stores on January 20, 1971, sending 100,000 copies of the song without Gordy's knowledge, with another 100,000 copies sent after that success. Upon its release, the song became a hit and was Motown's fastest-selling single at the time, peaking at number 1 on the Hot Soul Singles Chart, and peaking at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Stunned by the news, Gordy drove to Gaye's home to discuss making a complete album, stating Gaye could do what he wanted with his music if he finished the record within 30 days before the end of March and thus effectively giving him the right to produce his own albums. Gaye returned to Hitsville to record the rest of What's Going On, which took a mere ten business days between March 1 and March 10. The album's rhythm tracks and sound overdubs were recorded at Hitsville, or Studio A, while the strings, horns, lead and background vocals were recorded at Golden World, or Studio B.
The album's original mix, recorded in Detroit at both Hitsville and Golden World as well as United Sound Studios, was finalized on April 5, 1971. When Gordy listened to the mix, he worried that no other hit single would emerge from it. To ease Gordy's worries, Gaye and the album's engineers entered The Sound Factory in West Hollywood in early May, integrating the orchestra somewhat closer with the rhythm tracks, while Gaye used different vocal tracks and added extra instrumentation. Presented to Motown's Quality Control department team, they were worried about future hit singles due to its concurrent style with each song leading to the next. Gordy however vetoed their decision, agreeing to put this mix of the album out that month.
Music and lyrics
"What's Going On," the title track, features soulful, passionate vocals and multi-tracked background singing, both by Gaye. The song had strong jazz, gospel, classical music orchestration, and arrangements. Reviewer Eric Henderson of Slant stated the song had an "understandably mournful tone" in response to the fallout of the late 1960s counterculture movements. Henderson also wrote that "Gaye's choice to emphasize humanity at its most charitable rather than paint bleak pictures of destruction and disillusionment is characteristic of the album that follows."
This is immediately followed in segue flow by the second track, "What's Happening Brother", a song Gaye dedicated to his brother Frankie, in which Gaye wrote to explain the disillusionment of war veterans who returned to civilian life and their disconnect from pop culture. "Flyin' High (In the Friendly Sky)", which took its title from a United Airlines tag, "fly the friendly skies", dealt with dependence on heroin. The lyric, "I know, I'm hooked my friend, to the boy, who makes slaves out of men", references heroin as "boy", which was slang for the drug. "Save the Children" was an emotional plea to help disadvantaged children, warning, "who really cares/who's willing to try/to save a world/that is destined to die?", later crying out, "save the babies". A truncated version of "God Is Love" follows "Save the Children" and makes references to God.
"Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" was another emotional plea, this time for the environment. According to Motown legend, musician and Funk Brothers leader Earl Van Dyke once mentioned that Berry Gordy didn't know of the word "ecology" and had to be told what it was though Gordy himself claimed otherwise. The song featured a memorable tenor saxophone solo from Detroit music legend Wild Bill Moore. "Right On" was a lengthy seven-minute jam influenced by funk rock and Latin soul rhythms that focused on Gaye's own divided soul in which Gaye later pleaded in falsetto, "if you let me, I will take you to live where love is King" after complying that "true love can conquer hate every time". "Wholy Holy" follows "God Is Love" as an emotional gospel plea advising people to "come together" to "proclaim love [as our] salvation". The final track, "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)", focuses on urban poverty, backed by a minimalist, dark blues-oriented funk vibe, with its bass riffs composed and performed by Bob Babbitt, who also performed on "Mercy Mercy Me" (Jamerson played on the rest of the album). The entire album's stylistic use of a song cycle gave it a cohesive feel and was one of R&B's first concept albums, described as "a groundbreaking experiment in collating a pseudo-classical suite of free-flowing songs."
David Hepworth described the album as "like a jazz record not merely because it had jazz manners and was slathered in strings and employed congas and triangle as its most prominent form of percussion...But it's also jazz in the sense that...[i]t plays like one long single."
The Absolute Sound described the album as "a brilliant psychedelic soul song-cycle".
Release and promotion
Released on May 21, 1971, What's Going On became Gaye's Top 10 entry on the Billboard Top LPs, peaking at number six. It stayed on the chart over a year, selling some two million copies within twelve months. It was Motown's (and Gaye's) best-selling album to that date - until he released Let's Get It On in 1973. It also became Gaye's second number-one album on Billboards Soul LPs chart, where it stayed for nine weeks, remaining on the Billboard Soul LPs chart for 58 weeks throughout 1971 and 1972. The title track, which had been released in January 1971 as the lead single to promote the album, sold over 200,000 copies within its first week and two-and-a-half-million by the end of the year. It hit #1 in Record World, #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 (behind Three Dog Night's "Joy to the World"), #1 on the Cash Box Top 100, and held the pole position on Billboard's Soul Singles chart five weeks running.
The follow-up single, "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)", peaked at number-four on the Hot 100, and also went number-one on the R&B chart. The third, and final, single, "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)", peaked at number-nine on the Hot 100, while also rising to number-one on the R&B chart, thus making Gaye the first male solo artist to place three top ten singles on the Hot 100 off one album, as well as the first artist to place three singles at number-one on any Billboard chart (in this case, R&B), off one single album. The album had a modest commercial reception in countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom; "Save the Children" reached number 41 on the latter country's singles chart, while the album reached number 56 twenty-five years after its original release. In 1984, the album re-entered the Billboard 200 following Gaye's untimely death. In 1994, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in the United States for sales of half a million copies after it was issued on CD. According to Nielsen SoundScan, it has vended over 1.6 million copies since sales tracking began (in 1991). It was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry for shipments of 300,000 albums.
Six months after the release of What's Going On, Sly and the Family Stone released There's a Riot Goin' On (1971), titled in response to Gaye's album.
Critical reception
What's Going On was generally well received by contemporary critics. Writing for Rolling Stone in 1971, Vince Aletti praised Gaye's thematic approach towards social and political concerns, while discussing the surprise of Motown releasing such an album. In a joint review of What's Going On and Stevie Wonder's Where I'm Coming From, Aletti wrote, "Ambitious, personal albums may be a glut on the market elsewhere, but at Motown they're something new ... the album as a whole takes precedence, absorbing its own flaws. There are very few performers who could carry a project like this off. I've always admired Marvin Gaye, but I didn't expect that he would be one of them. Guess I seriously underestimated him. It won't happen again." Billboard described the record as "a cross between Curtis Mayfield and that old Motown spell and outdoes anything Gaye's ever done". Time magazine hailed it as a "vast, melodically deft symphonic pop suite". The Village Voice critic Robert Christgau was less impressed. Writing in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), he deemed it both a "groundbreaking personal statement" and a Berry Gordy product, baited by three highly original singles but marred elsewhere by indistinct music and indulgent use of David Van De Pitte's strings, which Christgau called "the lowest kind of movie-background dreck".
According to Paul Gambaccini, Gaye's death in 1984 prompted a critical re-evaluation of the album, and most reviewers have since regarded it as an important masterpiece of popular music. In MusicHound R&B (1998), Gary Graff said What's Going On was "not just a great Gaye album but is one of the great pop albums of all time", and Rolling Stone later credited the album for having "revolutionized black music". The Washington Post critic Geoffrey Himes names it an exemplary release of the progressive soul development from 1968 to 1973, and Pitchforks Tom Breihan calls it a prog-soul masterpiece. BBC Music's David Katz described the album as "one of the greatest albums of all time, and nothing short of a masterpiece" and compared it to Miles Davis' Kind of Blue by saying "its non-standard musical arrangements, which heralded a new sound at the time, gives it a chilling edge that ultimately underscores its gravity, with subtle orchestral enhancements offset by percolating congas, expertly layered above James Jamerson's bubbling bass". In his 1994 review of Gaye's re-issues, Chicago Tribune reviewer Greg Kot described the album as "soul music's first 'art' album, an inner-city response to the Celtic mysticism of Van Morrison's Astral Weeks, the psychedelic pop of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band [and] the rewired blues of Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited." Richie Unterberger found the album somewhat overrated, writing in The Rough Guide to Rock (2003) that much of its "meandering introspection" paled in comparison to its three singles.
A remastered deluxe edition with 28 additional tracks was released on May 31, 2011, to similar acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 100, based on ten reviews.
Accolades
In 1985, writers on British music weekly the NME voted it best album of all time. In 2004, the album's title track was ranked number four on Rolling Stones list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. A 1999 critics' poll conducted by British newspaper The Guardian named it the "Greatest Album of the 20th Century". In 1997, What's Going On was named the 17th greatest album of all time in a poll conducted in the United Kingdom by HMV Group, Channel 4, The Guardian and Classic FM. In 1997, The Guardian ranked the album number one on its list of the 100 Best Albums Ever. In 1998 Q magazine readers placed it at number 97, while in 2001 the TV network VH1 placed it at number 4. In 2003, it was one of 50 recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry. What's Going On was ranked number 6 on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, one of three Gaye albums to be included, succeeded by 1973's Let's Get It On (number 165) and 1978's Here, My Dear (number 462). The album is Gaye's highest-ranking entry on the list, as well as several other publications' lists. In a revised 2020 list, this time voted on by musicians instead of music critics, the album moved up to the top spot, replacing The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Track listing
All songs produced by Marvin Gaye.
Standard edition
2002 CD bonus tracks
2001 Deluxe Edition
In 2001, a "Deluxe Edition" 2-CD version of the album was released by Motown, which included the original LP as released, the discarded "Detroit Mix" of the album, and the mono 45 rpm mixes of the singles. Also included was a recording of Gaye's first live concert performance after two years away from the stage following Tammi Terrell's illness and death, performed at The Kennedy Center Concert Hall in his native Washington, D.C., on May 1, 1972.
2011 Super Deluxe Edition
Disc 1 (original album)
Disc 1 (bonus tracks)
"What's Going On" (Original Rejected Single Mix)
"Head Title (Distant Lover)" (Demo)
"Symphony" (Demo)
"I Love the Ground You Walk On" (Instrumental)
"What's Going On" (Mono Single Version)
"God is Love" (Mono Single Version)
"Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" (Mono Single Version)
"Sad Tomorrows" (Mono Single Version)
"Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" (Mono Single Version)
"Wholy Holy" (Mono Single Version)
Disc 2 ("The Detroit Instrumental Sessions and More")
"Checking Out (Double Clutch)"
"Chained"
"Country Stud"
"Help the People"
"Running from Love" (Version 1)
"Daybreak"
"Doing My Thing"
"T Stands for Time"
"Jesus is Our Love Song"
"Funky Nation"
"Infinity"
"Mandota" (Instrumental)
"Struttin' the Blues"
"Running from Love" (Version 2 with Strings)
"I'm Going Home (Move)"
"You're the Man" (Parts I & II)
"You're the Man" (Alternate Version 1)
"You're the Man" (Alternate Version 2)
LP (Original Detroit Mix – April 5, 1971)
"What's Going On" (Detroit Mix) – 4:08
"What's Happening Brother" (Detroit Mix) – 2:43
"Flyin' High (In the Friendly Sky)" (Detroit Mix) – 3:49
"Save the Children" (Detroit Mix) – 4:02
"God Is Love" (Detroit Mix) – 1:47
"Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" (Detroit Mix) – 3:08
"Right On" (Detroit Mix) – 7:32
"Wholy Holy" (Detroit Mix) – 3:08
"Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" (Detroit Mix) – 5:46
Personnel
All lead vocals by Marvin Gaye
Produced by Marvin Gaye
Members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra Conducted and Arranged by David Van De Pitte
Background vocals:
Marvin Gaye
The Andantes (Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps)
Mel Farr, Charlie Sanders and Lem Barney of the Detroit Lions
Dave Bing of the Detroit Pistons
Bobby Rogers of The Miracles
Elgie Stover
Kenneth Stover
Strings, Woodwinds and Brass
Gordon Staples, Zinovi Bistritzky, Beatriz Budinzky, Richard Margitza, Virginia Halfmann, Felix Resnick, Alvin Score, Lillian Downs, James Waring – violins
Edouard Kesner, Meyer Shapiro, David Ireland, Nathan Gordon – violas
Italo Babini, Thaddeus Markiewicz, Edward Korkigan – cellos
Max Janowsky – double bass
Carole Crosby – harp
Dayna Hardwick, William Perich – flutes
Larry Nozero, Angelo Carlisi, George Benson, Tate Houston – saxophones
John Trudell, Maurice Davis – trumpets
Nilesh Pawar – oboe
Carl Raetz – trombone
The Funk Brothers – Instrumentation, spoken interlude ("What's Going On") and Solo Horns
Eli Fountain – alto saxophone "What's Going On"
Wild Bill Moore – tenor saxophone "Mercy Mercy Me"
Marvin Gaye – piano, Mellotron ("Mercy Mercy Me"), box drum ("What's Going On")
Johnny Griffith – celeste, additional keyboards
Earl Van Dyke – additional keyboards
Jack Brokensha – vibraphone, percussion
Joe Messina, Robert White – electric guitars
James Jamerson – bass guitar "What's Going On", "What's Happening Brother", "Flyin' High", "Save the Children", "God Is Love", and the b-side "Sad Tomorrows"
Bob Babbitt – bass guitar "Mercy Mercy Me", "Right On", "Wholy Holy" and "Inner City Blues"
Chet Forest – drums
Jack Ashford – tambourine, percussion
Eddie "Bongo" Brown – bongos, congas
Earl DeRouen – bongos and congas "Right On"
Bobbye Hall – bongos "Inner City Blues"
Katherine Marking – graphic design
Alana Coghlan – graphic design
John Matousek – mastering
Vic Anesini – Digital Remastering
James Hendin – Photography
Curtis McNair – Art Direction
Charts
Album
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Singles
Certifications
See also
Album era
List of number-one R&B albums of 1971 (U.S.)
[[What's Going On Live|What's Going On Live]], a 2019 album
References
Sources
External links
"Marvin Gaye: What's Going On Now"—an episode of the BBC World Service radio program The Documentary'' on the making of the album, on the 50th anniversary of its release
1971 albums
Marvin Gaye albums
Albums produced by Marvin Gaye
Concept albums
Tamla Records albums
Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients
Albums recorded at Hitsville U.S.A.
Orchestral pop albums
Pop albums by American artists
Psychedelic soul albums
Psychedelic music albums by American artists
United States National Recording Registry albums | en |
doc-en-962 | The Daraa insurgency is an ongoing conflict being waged against the Syrian Army and allies by various anti-government forces in Daraa Governorate. Insurgent activity began in late 2018, but drastically increased the following year. Over 1,200 attacks have occurred in the year after June 2019, when the insurgency intensified. Tensions between reconciled rebels and the Syrian government would lead to heavy armed clashes between the two sides in 2020 and 2021.
Background
Following the 2018 offensive that brought Daraa and Quneitra under control of the Syrian Arab Army, many rebels forces in the area agreed to Russian-brokered reconciliation deals, in which they laid down their weapons against the Syrian Army. The rebels also handed over their heavy weapons. Most rebels stayed behind, and control various areas in the province, as well as the Al-Balad subdistrict of the city of Daraa. Those who didn't agree to the terms were sent to rebel held areas in Idlib Governorate by bus. However, due to several factors, Daraa became unstable following the conflict. Tensions arose between the Syrian government and the reconciled rebels. Conditions in the province were lackluster. Most people in Daraa live below the poverty line, the poor financial situation has led to high unemployment, especially among youth. Basic services are in terrible condition, due in part to damage from fighting. Economic downturn and lack of security gave rise to crime and tribal justice, fueling the security chaos. The presence of foreign groups such as Hezbollah increased these tensions. In addition, forced conscription and arrests fueled anger against the Syrian government.
Factions
The Popular Resistance is the largest of the opposition groups in Daraa. It was created in 2018, but began extensive operations in 2019. They usually carry out attacks on Syrian Army positions, intelligence agencies, and former rebels and commanders working for the government. The soldiers of former rebel factions which operated with Daraa are present in several towns and cities in the province, and have clashed with government forces on several occasions during military operations against their areas. The Islamic State is also present in Daraa, and has carried out attacks against the Syrian Army.
Timeline
2018
Sporadic attacks occurred in the province following its return to government control.
September
27 September - Clashes with ISIS militants take place in the town of al-Hara in Northwest Daraa, the first of its kind since July.
November
23 November - A soldier in the Syrian Army was assassinated by unknown gunmen in the town of al-Allan.
December
December - There is an increase in attacks on government forces and collaborators. Such actions included an attack on an army checkpoint in the eastern Karak area, and assassination of two reconciled commanders.
2019
January
Clashes took place on 11 January between the Syrian Army and former rebels in the town of Al-Sanamayn after an attempt was made to arrest a commander of the latter. Unknown gunmen shot a person in the same town the next day. On 16 January, A former fighter was shot in Tariq al-Sadd. The head of al-Msifira township was assassinated. On 21 January, a former rebel commander's house was attacked by men with grenades and small arms. On 31 January, several explosions were heard as gunmen attacked Nahteh checkpoint, one of the largest checkpoints in the countryside, with shells and machine guns, causing Syrian soldiers to withdraw to rear positions.
February
On 4 February, several gunmen attacked an Air Force Intelligence HQ in the town of Da’el. The next day, an opposition group known as the Popular Resistance called on young men to join it in response to government recruitment campaigns, putting the authorities on high alert. On the 6 February the Popular Resistance group carried out its first attack of the month, blowing up a checkpoint and killing at least three soldiers. On 14 February, the Popular Resistance assassinated a military intelligence officer in al-Yabudeh. The following day, a reconciliation faction leader was assassinated. On the 16 February, between the towns of Sanamayn and Qita, a bus and car were attacked, leading to the deaths of seven soldiers. 18 February – In Sanamayn, the leader of the "People's Committee" was shot. The next day, a former rebel leader was fired upon in his car, wounding him. Gunmen tried unsuccessfully to kill the head of the Muzayrib municipality on the 20th.
On 25 February, a former judge was assassinated in the al-Yabudah court house. On the 28th, grenades were thrown at the cars of one of the godfathers in Al-Karak.
March
On 7 March, gunmen target a reconciled rebel loyal to security forces, injuring him. Two days later, the Sanamayn city council President's car was targeted with a grenade, injuring his daughter. Threats were sent to Ba'ath party officials in the province by Popular Resistance and the "Southern Brigades," another group which emerged in Daraa, on 10 March. The Southern Brigades had reportedly carried out an attack on the Ba'ath Party headquarters in Umm Walad back in February. Demonstrations in Daraa al-Balad took place after a statue of former president Hafez al-Assad was erected in the city, causing anger among the populace. They lasted several days, and demonstrations in other towns such as Tafas. Meanwhile, Popular Resistance attacked an Air Force Intelligence detachment in Al-Mulayha Al-Sharkiyya, killing the chief of the detachment. Multiple attacks took place on a detachment in the town of Da'el with medium weapons and grenades took place on several different days. A relief official affiliated with reconciliation settlements was kidnapped on the 30 March. On 31 March, gunmen attacked an army checkpoint in Daraa al-Balad, leading to casualties. The same day, clashes took place between the 5th corps and members of an Air Intelligence checkpoint due to abuses of the latter.
April
On the 2nd of April, gunmen opened fire on a car carrying two reconciled commanders in Bosra al-Harir, injuring one of them severely, while in the town of Sanamayn, a grenade was thrown at a former rebel's house. Attacks took place the next day, when an IED went off in the town of al-Suwar. The same day, a military security member was killed on the road to Khrab al-Shahem. Another was targeted on the same road, with him being injured and his grandson killed. An assassination attempt on a man working with Hezbollah also took place that day. Gunmen attacked an Air Intelligence checkpoint west of Karak on the 5th of April, and on the 6th, an Air intelligence HQ in al-Msifra town was shot at, leading for government forces to fortify their checkpoints. More attack occurred five days later, when, a mosque preacher was assassinated in al-Hrak and the Ba'ath party building in Daraa al-Mahatta, causing material damage. On April 20, the car of a Ba'ath party official in Sanamayn was damaged by gunfire. On 21 April the Popular Resistance killed an individual in connection with Air Intelligence, and a former fighter was killed the next day.
On April 24, Popular Resistance carried out a series of attacks on Syrian army checkpoints in the town of Sanamayn, and assassinated a reconciled commander in Muzayrib. Two dead bodies were found on the outskirts, though they could not be identified. An attack by unknown gunmen took place in another part of the province when doctor and his family were attacked at his home, injuring him and his family. five days later Popular Resistance killed a member of Air Intelligence on the road to Adwan town, and a reconciled fighter on the 30th.
May
On 3 May, the Popular Resistance killed a reconciled fighter, and on the 9th, assassinated the commander of the free Syrian Police in the Al-Balad neighborhood, after he reconciled with the government. Further attacks continued on the 23rd, when a former fighter was assassinated in the outskirts of Muzayrib town. The same day, after the arrest of a former commander who joined the Fourth division, other reconciled fighters took over two checkpoints, but withdrew after the commander was released. The Popular Resistance killed a soldier of the Fourth Division three days later in Daraa al-Balad. On the 29th, a former ISIS fighter was assassinated in Tafas, and a day later, in Jasim, two army soldiers were shot and injured after the molestation of two girls in the town.
Siege of al-Sanamayn
On the 15th of may, the government Criminal Security raided the home of Walid al-Zahra, leader of a rebel group active in the town, to arrest him. His brother and two others were taken. Clashes broke out, and 2 patrol members were killed in the clashes. Following this, the town was put under siege, and movement of people and goods was halted. Further clashes took place on May 19 as Popular Resistance carried out attacks on the Security Box in the town. A civilian was killed after being caught in the crossfire. The next day, reinforcements were brought to the area. On the 22nd, the Central Committee and government forces began negotiations with the government. The Central Negotiations Committee was created by reconciled rebels after the 2018 offensive to negotiate with the Syrian government. After a dignitary meeting with Russian forces, the siege of the town was finally lifted on the 23rd.
June
Popular Resistance intensified its attacks on government forces and supposed collaborators. The Ba'ath Party building in Om Walad village was attacked. Popular Resistance shot a former Ahrar al-Sham commander near Saham al-Goulan. In the town of Nawa, Popular Resistance assassinated Khaled Abu Rukba in front of his house. He was a member of the Central Negotiations Committee, and had joined air intelligence. A soldier was also killed by unknown gunmen in Tafas. Popular Resistance assassinated Abu al-Majd, who was part of an Iranian-affiliated office promoting Shi'ism. A Shia Muslim living in Tafas was killed by known gunmen. During the night of June 12, Popular Resistance attacked an air intelligence checkpoint on the road between Nahte and Busra al-Harir, killing or injuring all the soldiers. In the Quneitra countryside, a former commander who joined government forces was killed and his brother injured following an attack. More attacks by Popular Resistance and other groups took place in Da'el, Jasim, Nawa, and al-Hirak.
July
On the 3rd of July the first insurgent attack of the month occurred when a soldier of the Fourth division was killed. Two days later an air intelligence checkpoint in Om Walad village was attacked leading to casualties, and two members of air intelligence who were formerly fighters were found dead in the outskirts of al-Shammari. Following more assassinations, a Russian patrol was attacked with an IED. More assassinations and attacks on checkpoints occurred in Mukhtar of Al-Yadudah, Nawa, and other towns. Popular Resistance attacked the Fourth division's Zayzoun Camp with RPGs and machine guns, leading to injuries. Another bombing took place on the 17th of July, when an IED blew up a military bus travelling between Al-Dahiya neighborhood and Al-Yadudah town, killing and injuring multiple soldiers. The same day near Sheikh Saad, gunmen opened fire on a car, killing a colonel along with his wife and son. A lieutenant and member of the 5th corps would be targeted in the coming days. On July 27, a suicide bomber detonated a booby trapped car at an air intelligence checkpoint between Al-Harak city and Mulayha al-Atash, killing six soldiers. The same day, hours later, the head of the Ba'ath party branch in Jasim was assassinated. Over the next three days, several attacks were carried out against checkpoints in al-Sanamayn, between Al-Jibayliyah and Ghadir Al-Bustan.
August
Attacks against the Syrian army continued. Clashes took place for hours in the northern areas of al-Sanamayn in the second of August between the Syrian army and gunmen in the north of the city. A number of attacks took place on the 8th of August. Popular Resistance attacked a military checkpoint in the town of Tasil, two reconciled rebels in the Fourth division were assassinated in Daraa al-Balad, and a member of the republican guard was assassinated in the town of Tel Shihab. Another Republican Guard member was assassinated two days later. A RPG attack in Tafas left several members of a family injured. On the 11th, soldiers on the road to the Jasim hospital were the target of an IED attack, with several injuries reported. In addition, a border guard was killed and another injured when they were attacked by gunmen near Nasib town. The next day, a soldier was assassinated in Sheik Saad. The next attack took place four days later, when two Fourth Division soldiers were killed in the town of Nahj. On the 17th, an Iman who reportedly was a government agent was assassinated in the town of Alam. The municipality chairman of al-Shajrawas targeted two days later, leaving him seriously injured.
It was reported that the Syrian Army reinforced positions and threatened to storm the town of Tafas, blaming the rebels there for the security escalations in the province. Discussions took place between a former opposition commander in the town and the intelligence services. On the 20th, a man working with the security agencies was killed in Nateh. A man working closely with Hezbollah was killed on the 23rd. On the 24th, the chief of the local council in the town of Muzayrib was killed. Unidentified men kidnapped a photographer of a pro-government agency, he was found later with bruises. On the 28th, a Fourth Division soldier was killed in al-Yadudah. On the same day, gunmen carried out an attack on a military checkpoint south of Inkhil, injuring two soldiers.
On the 29th, a person collaborating with the government in the reconciliation area of Nab’ Al-Fawwar village was killed. The same day, three police officers in the town of Masakin Jalin were killed after gunmen opened fire on their car. On August 31, a minibus belonging to air intelligence was blown up with an IED on the road between western al-Gharya and eastern Karak in the eastern countryside, injuring over 15–17 security officers.
September
On the 1st, gunmen opened fire on the head of the Al-Shajarah municipality, but failed to injure him. He was known for his strong ties to the security agencies and Iranian groups and had been targeted before. On the 3rd of September, unknown gunmen shot and seriously injured a former ISIS fighter working with air intelligence and branch 215 in front of his home in Nawa. On the 4th of September, an ex-rebel working in military security was assassinated in the town of Om Batnah, in the Quneitra countryside. The same day, an IED was detonated in Zayzoun Camp, where units of the Fourth Division were positioned, injuring a colonel and four soldiers. On the 9th of September, it was announced that the head of the Air Intelligence branch in Daraa died in his home "under mysterious circumstances." On the 12th, a former opposition leader and reconciliation icon was targeted with an IED, but his condition was unknown. Gunmen carried out an attack in the town of Da'el, killing a member of the Command of the Ba'ath party's Yarmouk branch. On the 17th, unknown gunmen assassinated a Hezbollah fighter and his brother in the town of al-Harak. A bus was blown up in the al-Meftrah area, and two men died from their injuries days later. The next day, a soldier in the 5th corps was assassinated in Daraa al-Balad.
On the 19th, gunmen seriously injured someone working with government security services near al-Amal Hospital in Jasim. On the 20th, gunmen attacked a pro-government militia in Sanamayn, killing an ex-rebel, and an IED blew up a convoy of the 52nd brigade travelling between al-Darah and Skaka. On the 22nd of September, an IED blew up a car travelling between Izra and Bosra al-Harir, injuring a colonel of the 5th division. The next day a security agent was shot in the northern countryside of Daraa, and died later of his injuries. On the 24th, a man working with the security agencies was assassinated in Tel Shihab, and an IED blew up in front of a house in Daraa al-Balad. On the 25th September, clashes took place for hours when gunmen attacked the military headquarters of the NDF and Military Security in Sanamayn. One soldier was killed and several others were injured before the attackers fled. The same day. the Mukhtar of Al-Mulayha al-Sharkiyya, known to work with intelligence agencies, was killed in front of his home by unknown gunmen. Unidentified gunmen assassinated a citizen in the Al-Jam’eyya neighborhood of Sanamayn over personal problems. In Tafas, an ex-rebel who joined Air Intelligence was assassinated on the 28th. On the 30th of September, two gunmen opened fire on a citizen and injured them seriously in the town of Abtaa. An ex-rebel commander who became a commander in the 5th corps was seriously injured in the Yarmouk Basin near Sahem al-Golan, and a rocket launched by government forces to the south of Daraa city landed in a neighborhood of Daraa al-Balad.
October
On 1 October, gunmen attacked a house in the Yarmouk Basin, damaging it. An air intelligence officer was assassinated in Daraa al-Balad. On the 2nd, a recruiter for Hezbollah was found dead in Daraa al-Balad. An informant working for the government was targeted in the town of Sayda on 4 October, and injured in the attack. A soldier of the Syrian Army reserves was found dead near Bosra al-Harir the same day. Three attacks took place on the 6th. An ex-commander was assassinated on the road between Al-Taybah and Kahil, and a member of a municipality was injured after being shot in Nahteh. Two soldiers of the Fourth Division were assassinated in Tel Shihab. Another municipality member was injured on the 7th of October in the town of al-Yadudeh. On the 11th, unknown rebels targeted a Russian military patrol with an IED on the road between Jasim and Inkhil, causing injuries among the Russian police. A Syrian lieutenant officer escorting the Russian police column died from his injuries days later. Another bomb went off on the same road targeting a car carrying government forces, injuring several of them. Three ex-rebels who joined military security were assassinated in the town of Tafas. On the 12th, an ex-rebel who joined government forces was found dead near the town of Tal Samn.
November
On November 5 a member of the Russian backed 5 Corp was killed by an unknown attacker. On November 5 a former fighter of the "free army" that stuck reconciliation with the Syrian army was kidnapped then killed by unknown gunmen. Also on the 5th an informant for Hezbollah was killed by two unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle. On November 7 a reconciled rebel fighter was assassinated by unknown gunmen. On November 8 an IED exploded in the town of Tasil near a former rebel leader's house, the explosion killed 1 unidentified person. A drug dealer was also assassinated by unknown gunmen in the town of al-Mzeireb on the 8th. On November 11 a body of a civilian was dumped near a government checkpoint in village of Qita. On the 12th fighters from the group “Popular Resistance in Daraa”, attacked a checkpoint of the military intelligence killing 3 and injuring an unknown number of others. On November 12 small scale protest against Hezbollah occurred in the towns of Tal Shehab, Al-Ajami and Zayzun. An assassination attempt failed in the city of Inkhil. on the 15th more protest occurred in the towns of Al-Balad and Sahem Al-Golan. On November 16 a series of attack took place, 2 house belonging to members of the military intelligence were targeted with RPGs, no one was injured. A security checkpoint near Al-Sahwa was also hit with RPGs injuring 1 person. Clashes broke out in the town of Al-Hara between the "Popular Resistance" and military forces,an unknown number of people were injured in the clashes. On the 17th a body of a woman was found in the town of Al-Sahari. On the 18th 3 young men were injured in the city of al-Sanamin by unknown gunmen. A child was killed by gunfire on the road between Al-Sanamayn and al-Qenniyye on the 19th. Also on the 19th a member of collaborator of Hezbollah was killed. On the 20th a drug smuggler was killed by unknown gunmen. On the 23rd 2 member of the special forces were killed by unknown gunmen on the road between Tafas and Al-Yadudah. Also of the 23rd protest broke out in the city of Nawa. two attacks took place on the 25th, a civilian was killed after being kidnapped and a reconciled rebel fighter was killed by unknown gunmen. three incidents took place on the 27th protests started in the town of al-Shajra, A former rebel learder was killed in Tafas, and a lieutenant of the “NDF” was killed by unknown gunmen. On the 29th two brothers that struck reconciliation were killed and thousands of people protest across Daraa province against the government.
December
On December 1, unknown gunmen robbed a food aid compound belonging to the Syrian red crescent. On the 2nd multiple events happened.A former commander of the rebels survived an assassination attempt on his life, Gunmen robbed a jewelry store in Daraa city, a member of the “Military Security Intelligence Branch” was assassinated in Al-Sanamayn city. An IED killed a person in Jasim city, a member of the military was killed when their checkpoint was ambushed in al-Sanamin city, and a member of the 5th corp was seriouly injured in an attack in Al-Jiza town. On the 3rd protests against government broke out in the town of Hyt. On the 4th, an IED targeting an officer in the military went off, injuring him seriously. On December 5, a collaborator with the government was assassinated in the town of al-Msifra. On the 6th Armed gunmen attacked a checkpoint of the military, killing one member and injuring others. On the 7th, unknown gunmen armed with machine guns attacked a building of “Criminal Security” in Al-Sanamayn city. A fire fight then broke out between soldiers stationed inside and the gunmen, an Unknown number of people were injured or killed. On the 8th, a collaborator with Hezbollah was assassinated bu unknown gunmen. On the 9th gunmen attack the checkpoint of the Air Force Intelligence in Al-Karak Al-Sharqi town, an unknown of people were killed or injured, and a collaborator with the state security was assassinated in Jassim city. On the 10th the head of Al-Shajarah Municipality and a collaborator with the government was killed between Izraa and Al-Harrak, both were assassinated by unknown gunmen. On the 12th a former member of the rebels was assassinated in the town of Tafas. On December 13, an attack on Syrian military forces by unidentified attacker using light and medium weapons as well as RPGs, an unknown number of people were injured. On the 14th an IED targeted a military vehicle of the “52nd Brigade” between Namir and Al-Surah leaving many injured. On the 15th a civilian was assassinated by unknown gunmen on the road between Nahteh and Bosr Al-Harir. Protests also broke out in Naf’aa town on the 15th. On December 16, an unidentified man was found dead Atman town. On the 19th, a car was destroyed with an IED Jassim city, but no one was injured or killed. On the 20th protest against the government took place in the town of Al-Yadoda. On the 21st two members of the “4th Division” were assassinated by unknown gunmen on the road between Jassim and Salmin. On the 22nd a major attack took place 5 soldier of the 4th Division were killed by unidentified gunmen in an attack on their checkpoint in Sad Saham al-Golan. Another person was killed by unidentified gunmen in Bosr al-Harir town, and an unsuccessful assassination attempt on a member of the political security took place in Al-Sanamin city injuring him. A captain in Bosr Al-Harir town was killed on the 22nd.In total 7 people were killed on the 22nd. On the 23rd protests against the government took place in Tafas. On December 24, multiple events took place, members of the military raided multiple houses in Sayda and Al-Gharya Al-Sharqiyah, they arrested multiple people and looted the buildings. An IED killed a former commander of the "Shabab Al-Sunnah" rebel faction in Daraa city. A former commander of the “Al-Omary Gathering” rebel faction was arrested by Hezbollah, and two officers of the government were kidnapped in the town of Yadudeh. On the 26th an IED damaged a bus belonging to the military on the road between Nawa city and Tasil town injuring many. On the 27th protest against the government actions in Idlib took place in the town of Nahta. on the 28th A body of a person from Tal Shihab town was found Naseeb town. On the 29th Unknown gunmen opened fire from a vehicle at a group of civilian in Al-Sanamayn city injuring three. On the 30th an IED targeting a government post killed one government soldier and injured three more.
2020
January
On the 1st a machine gun attack took place, grenade was thrown at a checkpoint, and the municipality building of Mesika town was burned down. On the 2nd the Syrian reserve soldier was killed by unidentified gunmen on motorcycles. On the 3rd an IED attack targeting a former rebel commander took place in Al-Balad causing only material damage, a former rebel fighter was injured by unknown gunmen, unknown gunmen attack the military headquarter in al-Harak city, and a man was found dead on Khirbet al-Ghazali road. On the 4th unknown gunmen attack the Tafas military barracks and a civilian was injured in a machine gun attack in the town of Tal Shihab. On the 6th a drug dealer in the 4th division was assassinated in Al-Muzayrib town. On the 8th a commander of the 9th Division was attack in his car at Jbab village injuring his driver. On the 9th a former commander in “Shabab Al-Sunnah” rebel group executed three young men in Daraa city. On the 10th Unknown gunmen attack two checkpoints in al-Msifra and Eastern al-Gharya killing 3 and injuring 5, an assassination also took place in Amuriyyah village killing one. On the 12th two IEDs went off in Tafas city injuring one civilian and destroying a vehicle. On the 13th an unsuccessful assassination attempt took place in Al-Ghariya Al Sharqia town leave no one injured, but a successful assassination took place in Um al-Mayathen town killing one “Military Security" member. On the 15 a collaborator with Hezbollah was assassinated in Tasil town. On the 19th members of the 5th corp attacked the “Air Force Intelligence” headquarters in Da’el town several soldiers were injured, two members of the Airforce Intelligence were assassinated in Jassim town, and A doctor was killed in Bosr al-Harir town by an IED. Three attacks took place on the 21st the driver of a member of “People's Council of Syria” was assassinated on the road of Nimr – Jassim, a child was shot and killed in Jassim city, and unknown gunmen attacked Al-Souq checkpoint in Al-Sanamayn city with RPGs and machine guns. On the 22nd two soldier were abducted in al-Harak. On the 24th protests took place in Al-Harrak town and gunmen attacked a checkpoint of the “Air Force Intelligence" between Tasil and Adawan causing no casualties. On the 25th clashes between gunmen and police in the town of Abtaa injured many and a checkpoint belonging to the 112th Brigade was attack in Koya town. On the 26th a Jordanian civilian was found dead in Al-Harrak city after being kidnapped. On the 28th gunmen attacked the house of a commander in the 5th corp in Sayda town and an IED destroyed a vehicle in the town of Da’el. On the 29th unknown gunmen attacked a group of the “fourth division” soldiers in the town of Saham al-Golan. On the 30th A vehicle of the 4th division was destroyed with an IED in Al-Yadouda town, a member of the State Security was injured by gunfire in Jassim town, and clashes between the 4th division and the civilians of al-Sanamin took place after a member of the 4th division shot a young man. On the 31st a checkpoint was attack in al-Karak al-Sharqi, a Military Security member was attacked with an IED, and in Al-Gharia al-Sharqiya town gunmen open fired on the mayor of the towns house. None of these events caused any casualties.
February
Three assassinations took place on 2 February. A doctor and another civilian were killed in Tafas, while an ex-rebel was killed in the town of al-Shajarah. On the 3rd, an ex-rebel was assassinated in Daraa al-Balad, while unknown gunmen attempted to assassinate a farmer in Muzayrib. On 4 February, a soldier of the 4th Division was assassinated in the al-Rayy area, between Yaboudeh and Muzayrib. The same day, a civilian was assassinated by unknown gunmen in Muzayrib, while gunmen in Sanamayn attacked a pro-government fighter by shooting into his home. On the 7th, a soldier was shot in Yaboudeh town, with a civilian and child killed by stray bullets. On the 9th, a young man was found with his neck broken behind his house in Sanamayn, while a soldier of the 4th division was found dead in al Sha'ari area.
March
Heavy fighting broke out on March 1 after the start of a government security operation against FSA insurgent cells in Al-Sanamayn and other areas in the Daraa governorate. Government forces stormed Al-Sanamayn with tanks and artillery support; seven rebels were killed, including the local insurgent commander Walid al-Zahraa. The assault on the town prompted insurgents in the rest of Daraa to launch attacks on government positions throughout the governorate, killing around four soldiers. Seven civilians were killed in the government bombardment and subsequent clashes. After Russian mediation ended the fighting on March 3, 80 rebels handed in their weapons and settled their status, 25 were evacuated to Tafas, and 21 were evacuated to Al-Bab; in turn, 52 soldiers captured by rebels were released.
2021
July/August/September
On July of 2021, government forces started a siege on Daraa, which led to clashes breaking out across the Western part of the Daraa Governorate. After heavy shelling, the rebels agreed to a truce on September 1, allowing Russian military police and Syrian state security to enter the Daraa al-Balad neighborhood. Some clashes were soon thereafter, with the Russians threatening the insurgents to take part in a full SAA offensive if there were further problems. On September 6, a final truce was agreed on, with several government checkpoints being established inside Daraa al-Balad.
Following this deal, several other towns in the western Daraa countryside that had no SAA presence acquiesced to government demands, with Syrian state security and Russian military police entering the rest of western Daraa throughout September.
October
By October 9, villages from eastern Daraa began signing agreements with the government, with state forces entering the towns and conducting combing operations.
See also
Eastern Syria insurgency
Insurgency in Idlib
SDF insurgency in Northern Aleppo
Syrian Desert campaign (December 2017–present)
References
Daraa Governorate in the Syrian civil war
2019 in the Syrian civil war
2020 in the Syrian civil war
2021 in the Syrian civil war | en |
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