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Which Soap screened the first transsexual character? | EastEnders Make UK Soap History As They Cast First Transgender Actor To Play A Transgender Character
EastEnders Make UK Soap History As They Cast First Transgender Actor To Play A Transgender Character
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Grab your celebratory snacks and get ready to quite possibly weep with joy (maybe just us but we wanted to warn you), because EastEnders have cast the first ever transgender actor in UK soap history. HURRAH!
Riley Carter Millington will arrive on Albert Square this month as Kyle, who, like Riley, has transitioned from female to male.
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Copyright [BBC/EastEnders]
He’ll then be back on the Square permanently at the end of this year, making him the first transgender actor to play a transgender character in a UK soap. YAAAS!
Executive Producer of EastEnders, Dominic Treadwell-Collins, announced that he was creating a transgender character for the soap earlier this year and was determined to find a transgender actor to fill the role.
Working alongside groups in the transgender community, the soap then undertook workshops to find the right person for the job - ENTER RILEY, in his first television role.
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Copyright [Giphy]
Explaining just how thrilled he is about joining the ranks, Riley said: “I am extremely excited to be joining EastEnders.
“I can honestly say that I have now fulfilled my two biggest dreams – to be living my life as a man and to be an actor. I cannot wait to really get stuck in with filming and I look forward to seeing what is in store for my character.”
Dominic added: “From Mark Fowler’s HIV to Colin and Barry’s first gay kiss, EastEnders has always led the way in changing audience’s perceptions about ‘difference’ – and ultimately making the world a better place. It has been my intention for a long time to cast a trans actor playing a trans role – and we have been so careful to ensure that we cast the right actor for the part.
“I’ve sat in many acting workshops over the years with our Casting Executive Julia Crampsie and her team – but never have we been so moved by the incredible life stories and wealth of talent that we experienced over our several weeks of workshops with transgender actors.
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Copyright [BBC]
“The people we met showed us a strength and bravery that took our breath away – and to go through as much as they have while maintaining humour and a positive view on the world is testament to what special people we met.
“In Riley, we have found not just a talented actor but also an inspirational young man whose warmth immediately comes through the screen. And this isn’t about tokenism. Alex Lamb and his story team have worked with Riley to create an EastEnders character who is fresh and relatable – but also comes with his own stock of secrets and is going to be thrown right into one of our biggest stories for the end of the year.
“I hope that the audience will take Riley and his character to their hearts as quickly as everyone here at EastEnders has done.”
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Copyright [ITV]
Coronation Street’s Hayley Cropper and Hollyoaks’ Blessing Chambers were transgender characters, but neither were played by transgender actors.
HUGE CONGRATULATIONS and GOOD LUCK to you, Riley, on your new role - We cannot WAIT to see what happens!
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When she arrived in Eastenders, who was Binnie Roberts’ girlfriend? | EastEnders' transgender actor seen on set for the first time as Riley Carter Millington makes soap history - Mirror Online
EastEnders' transgender actor seen on set for the first time as Riley Carter Millington makes soap history
The new star has been spotted filming ahead of his historic first appearance this month
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EastEnders has unveiled plans to introduce the first ever transgender actor in TV soap history later this month - and filming is underway.
Riley Carter Millington , 21, has started work as he prepares to join the cast of Albert Square as Kyle ahead of a more regular debut later in the year.
The star has been spotted on set with Lacey Turner smiling and joking as they shoot scenes thought to be for a Christmas episode.
Riley Carter Millington joins Lacey Turner on set (Photo: ISOIMAGES)
The pair appeared relaxed on set as they strolled around and sat chatting on Saturday.
Riley has transitioned from female to male, just like his character Kyle in the soap.
After working alongside groups within the transgender community, EastEnders undertook workshops to find an actor for the role. As soon as they found the actor, the character was developed and created.
Riley was shooting Christmas scenes for EastEnders (Photo: ISOIMAGES)
Riley has already filmed his first scenes and will appear briefly at the end of the month before joining the show fully later in the year - here's everything you need to know about the young actor .
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He said: “I am extremely excited to be joining EastEnders. I can honestly say that I have now fulfilled my two biggest dreams - to be living my life as a man and to be an actor. I cannot wait to really get stuck in with filming and I look forward to seeing what is in store.”
Previously female actress Julie Hesmondhalgh played transgender character Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street. But no soap has ever featured a transgender acting playing such a role.
(Photo: ITV)
EastEnders’ Executive Producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins said: “From Mark Fowler’s HIV to Colin and Barry’s first gay kiss, EastEnders has always led the way in changing audience’s perceptions about ‘difference’ – and ultimately making the world a better place. It has been my intention for a long time to cast a trans actor playing a trans role – and we have been so careful to ensure that we cast the right actor for the part.
(Photo: BBC)
"In Riley, we have found not just a talented actor but also an inspirational young man whose warmth immediately comes through the screen. And this isn’t about tokenism. Alex Lamb and his story team have worked with Riley to create an EastEnders character who is fresh and relatable – but also comes with his own stock of secrets and is going to be thrown right into one of our biggest stories for the end of the year. I hope that the audience will take Riley and his character to their hearts as quickly as everyone here at EastEnders has done."
(Photo: Neil Dawson for Attitude)
Prominent transgender journalist and presenter Paris Lees praised the decision to introduce Riley.
Paris said: "It’s the biggest thing to happen for the transgender community in Britain this decade. As a long-time EastEnders fan, I didn’t think Dominic Treadwell-Collins could top bringing Kathy back - but he’s managed it! As a pop culture moment this is massive and a sign of the times."
Expect Kyle on our screens later this month.
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WWII, in which year did the Battle of Kursk occur ? | Battle of Kursk | World War II Database
World War II Database
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
ww2dbaseAfter a two year stalemate, both the Soviets and Germans awaited major confrontations that would define the momentum for either side. This decisive battle would occur near the town of Kursk, a town on the Moscow-Rostov railway, in Southern Russia.
ww2dbaseIn Mar 1943, German general Erich von Manstein captured Kharkov, a city south of Kursk, and formed a long perimeter along the eastern side of the city. He allowed an opening through his line, allowing Soviet forces to advance, forming a bulge, before sending in his Panzers in two pincer movements to encircle the bulge. The German forces in this battle fielded some new weapons, including the Ferdinand self-propelled artillery and the tank Pather that was designed specifically to counter the Soviet T-34 tanks. The offensive to eliminate the surrounded Soviet forces were devised by Colonel General Kurt Zeitzler, at the insistence Adolf Hitler even though Heinz Guderian opposed risking so much for what he believed to be a small gain. By the time the Germans were finally ready to launch the actual offensive, Soviet spy network "the Lucy Ring" and the British intelligence both had already learned of the attack plans, and even without the spy network the massive tank build up would had alarmed the Soviet field commanders there. Marshall Georgi Zhukov was in command of the Soviet defensive forces, who convinced Josef Stalin to hold off on a summer offensive until he could defeat the impending German attack at Kursk first. To prepare for the defense, Zhukov summoned 300,000 civilians and built a series of defenses including tank traps, mine fields, and various defensive positions. Militarily, Zhukov wielded a strength consisted of 1,300,000 men, 3,600 tanks, 20,000 pieces of artillery, and 2,400 aircraft. On the other side, the Germans were about to attack with over 800,000 men (including three Waffen SS divisions), 2,700 tanks, and 1,800 aircraft.
ww2dbaseThe battle started on 4 Jul 1943 as a series of delays, including the desperate situation in Jun 1943 that took away attention from this offensive. Nevertheless, after sappers of the Gro�deutschland Division bravely and efficiently cleared a path through the mine fields the previous night, German Stuka fighters led the attack targeting the lightly armored tops of Soviet tanks, followed by an artillery barrage then by the infantry and armor. The 2nd SS Panzer Corps, 3rd Panzer Corps, and the 11th Panzer Division stormed Soviet positions, making advances through the rest of the day, but the Soviets resisted fiercely and slowed the German advances. Main reasons for the slow German advance were often attributed to the defensive structures, especially mine fields, that the Soviets painstakingly set up. Also, Walther Model of the German Ninth Army was employing a rather conservative tactic with his tanks, withholding some in reserve instead of following the usual German tactic that poured all armor strength into battle immediately. Around midnight Zhukov, armed with good intelligence on German movement, ordered a bombardment by artillery pieces, mortars, and Katyusha rocket launchers accurately on German forces.
ww2dbaseOn the next day, Paul Hausser's 2nd SS Panzer Corp advanced under a newly devised tactic Panzerkiel, where Tiger tanks opened the way for other tanks, prying through enemy defensive lines. By the second day of the Kursk offensive, German troops had penetrated 20 miles into Soviet territory, at a high cost on both sides. At Prokhorovka Hausser's flanks were supposed to be protected by the 3rd Panzer Corps, which was unexpectedly stalled by the 7th Guards Army. To take advantage of the situation, the entire 5th Guards Tank Army was deployed to strike at the 2nd SS Panzer Corps on 12 Jul, which was to become the largest tank battle in history. Armor on both sides engaged in close-range combat, while air forces took their shots at the tanks on the ground amidst the fierce dogfights in the air. Armor-piercing anti-tank guns also made their share of damage during the battle. As tanks on both sides burned and sent thick smoke into the sky, aircraft could no longer tell friend from foe, and slowly disengaged themselves from ground targets in fear of striking friendly units. At the end of the day when the battle subsided, the Germans had lost 60 tanks and Soviets 822.
ww2dbaseAs casualties mounted high for both sides, Hitler made a surprising announcement to withdraw part of the German forces to reinforce Italy, a response to the successful western Allies' landing in Sicily. After the German strength weakened after the withdrawl, Soviet forces continued on to liberate Oryol, Belgorod, and Kharkov after the Battle of Kursk.
ww2dbaseAlthough the Soviet forces suffered heavier casualties at Kursk than the Germans, the engagement was a success for the Soviets in that they stopped a planned German offensive. Historians attributed a tactical victory to the Soviets at Kursk for that the German forces were depleted and demoralized at the end of the battle without support of reserve forces. Manstein made the recommendation to Hitler that a final reinforcement at Kursk could have turned the tides of the battle and destroyed the Soviet troops present in the area mending their recently received wounds, but Hitler had already made up his mind to shift his focus to Italy. At the end of the fighting in Kursk, the German forces had suffered 200,000 casualties and lost 500 tanks, while Soviet losses amounted to 860,000 casualties and 1,500 tanks. Although the Soviet losses in tanks were greater than that of the Germans, at this time the Kirov tank factory along with other factories on the east side of the Ural mountains were just reaching their peak production capability while the German factories were becoming stressed. In fact, German armor would never regain its numerical superiority over their Soviet counterparts again.
ww2dbaseSources: the Fall of Berlin, Wikipedia.
Battle of Kursk Timeline
25 Apr 2005 07:17:16 AM
not enough info. on Kursk
2. Anonymous says:
15 Jan 2006 02:52:19 PM
A good range of information. This site is meant to brief people on the event, while there are other websites dedicated to an event Kursk for instance.
3. Anonymous says:
19 Jan 2006 02:37:02 AM
you are quoted as the german lost only 50 tanks and the russian 822...are you sure about that figure?
4.
C. Peter Chen says:
19 Jan 2006 06:00:41 AM
At Prokhorovka the German losses were only about 50 (some claim slightly higher number, but none over ~80), not the entire course of the Kursk actions. The final tally is listed further below in the article, estimating the final losses to be about 500 tanks for the Germans and 1500 for the Russians. Please review the article once more for details, thanks!
5. Gregg Heilman says:
11 Jan 2010 06:53:48 AM
I was able to rent this DVD this past week.
It provides GREAT detail of the equipment of both the Russians and Germans, their troops and their commanders at Kursk.
If you can get a copy to watch it is WELL worth it. It clearly provides the battle plans and movements of both sides during the battle.
I highly recommend this DVD and it is actual film footage from the actual event.
War File: Battlefield: The Battle of Kursk (2008)
6. Anonymous says:
23 Apr 2011 03:38:12 PM
"Historians attributed a tactical victory to the Russians...". This is an understatement at best.
Other historians think that Kursk was THE decisive battle of WW2. Even if you just look at the (real) numbers of German losses, the significance of this battle was more than that of Italian campaign or Normandy landing (the D day). Then consider not only the numbers but the quality of German troops. France was defended by meager leftovers of the once mighty Wehrmacht.
More importantly, the Red Army came close the pre-war USSR border on a 3000 km-wide front, after which Romania, on the far south of that front became indefensible from the Bolsheviks. This, in turn, meant inevitable collapse of German armed forces and industry as Romania provided the bulk of German oil.
Kursk was strategic victory for Stalin. As the result of that battle, USSR was firmly established as a world superpower. England and France lost their influence in Europe for the following 50 years and possibly forever.
7. Anonymous says:
2 Jul 2011 08:09:13 PM
This account is nonsense. Hitler was on the verge of winning this battle when he pulled many of his troops and armour out to send to Italy and the Balkans to defend against allied advance. This account is based on corrupt Soviet propaganda. I know the real truth, because I've read the German account.
8. Kurt Steiner says:
12 Jul 2011 06:22:54 PM
Anonymous, I salute you. You have brought truth to this communist propaganda site.
9. Boris says:
25 Jul 2011 11:57:33 PM
Germans won the Kursk battle but They must withdraw because Nort and South of Kursk front Russians prepared to start new offensive and circle germans again like in Stalingrad. Obviously Hitler didn't want second Stalingrad!
10. Kurt Steiner says:
13 Sep 2011 05:18:21 AM
The Kursk operation was betrayed by a treasonous German officers clique in service to the Soviet Union. That clique sabotaged most of Germany's main battles on the Eastern Fron front 1941-45. They caused the slaughter of millions of German troops. What we know as WW2 history is mostly Soviet-serving lies.
Most US people who comment om history are ignoramuses repeating Soviet bias originated in WW2.
11. Anonymous says:
28 Sep 2011 09:21:33 PM
Typical soviet rubbish about the battle. The german was a much better fighter than his soviet counter-part in w.w.2. Fighting vast @ superior odds @ a never ending supply of tanks @ men.This is why the german soldier performed skilfully @ superior for so long!
12. Anonymous says:
26 Mar 2012 12:03:22 PM
If the Pro-Germanic critics are so neagatively critcal of the article, perhaps they could provide another interpretation based upon the historical facts. I would like to see a wider history about this turning point in history. One fact is clear is that Hitler was unable to mount another major offensive on the Eastern Front after his withdrawl at Kursk.
13. Yiannis Georgiou says:
28 Jun 2012 02:00:37 PM
i would say its a general description of the battle based on some sourses.It doesnt means its nonsenses it doesnt means its the abslolute historical facts.
p.s. the casualties seems inaccurate
14. Anonymous says:
26 May 2014 06:09:42 PM
I know this argument or debate is old but, I will put my say into it. There may have been double agents in the German army, I'm not sure about that, this to me sounds like an excuse for the failure and misjudgment of an unfit leader. The only double agents that I know of were the Cambridge five, which were British spies that gave information of German troop movements to the Soviets. Also the casualties of Kursk here look to be an average of various reports, because no one actually knows how many men and vehicles were lost. Though it is generally agreed that the Soviets lost five times more troops than the Germans. This is also considered by most scholars whether they be German, American, Russian, or any other nationality you can think of, as the turning point of the war in Europe. At this point Germany was not producing enought material or vehicles to build up after any major losses. While at the same time any losses by the Soviets could be easily replaced, due to an impressive production rate and the vast population of the Soviet Union. While I'll admit Germany may have been able to push the Soviets back and gain more land if they tried, it was not the best option. Advancing would have spread their already overworked armies even thinner, effectively making any defense of territory impossible. So, retreating and switching to defensive warfare was the best option Germany had. Kursk may have gone differently if Hitler attacked in May like his staff advised, but he decided to wait for more tanks to be produced, which made no difference because this allowed the Soviets time to make their lines nearly impenetrable. If the attack was staged in May the German panzers would have smashed through the Soviet defenses at the time, this would force the Soviets back into a defensive war. Which would have prolonged the war in the east and may have led to a total German victory over the Soviet Union. At the least it would have raised German morale, and would probably have led to an increase in German recruitment. Of course this is not what happened.
15. Anonymous says:
30 May 2014 12:18:19 PM
@14
16. Brian says:
24 Jun 2014 02:22:01 PM
I have to say, website owner-editor, that you sure are patient with some of the tin-foil that posts in the comments section. Between neo-Nazis and post-fall communists, the wild extremes of both sides run rampant. :-)
Just read the article, you jugheads. It's based upon reliable, authoritative historians who've actually looked at the primary data. Deal with it.
17. FF says:
20 Apr 2016 12:55:21 AM
In fact, the Soviet spies in the German Army were very important for that battle. The famous Lucy Ring gave so many informations to the the Soviet Union that almost any part of the plan was known. For example, you can read Operation Scratched Earth, by Paul Carell.
Tactically, Kursk was a German victory. From a military point of view, a victory is a battle in which your infantry gains positions, and the German Army only gained positions in the first part of the battle. A victory can be too expansive, like the famous victory of King Pyrrhus Ⅱ's Army. At Koursk, 56000 were killed, or 6.2 % of the 900000 German soldiers (or 800000 according to this article), and 142000 of the 1300000 Soviet soldiers (10.9 %), so either in absolute and in relative number Kursk was a German victory.
However, Germany was fighting with forces far greater than its own ones, and a the only way for Hitler to win the war before being totally outnumbered � as it was to happen in 1944 � was to destroy the whole Soviet Army at Kursk, and to pierce the Soviet forces.
The Anglo-Saxon landing in Sicily, and General Patton's quick conquest of this island forced Hitler to send in Italy several divisions : it was the end of the German offensive at Kursk.
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Gorbachev became Soviet Premier in which year ? | Battle of Kursk – a turning point of WWII — RT News
Battle of Kursk – a turning point of WWII
Published time: 8 May, 2010 04:58
Edited time: 6 Oct, 2010 02:53
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The Russian town of Prokhorovka, in the south of Russia, is where a crucial battle of the Kursk defense took place in 1943. This fiercest of tank clashes switched the momentum on the Eastern Front to the Soviets.
RT highlights key points of the war and how the main geographical spots of decisive battles are preparing for the Victory celebration.
For some veterans this year Victory Day parade is not just for show. They are the few who remember first hand the original reason for today’s pageantry.
Because 67 years ago, this part of central Russia was the largest battlefield the world had ever seen. And they are grateful it is remembered.
“65 years later, I want to greet the new young generation,” said one of the veterans, during a remembrance speech. “I am happy that a great new generation is growing, which has done a good job in Prokhorovka. This is a beautiful area you’re standing on.”
Spring 1943. Hitler wants to strike back at the Red Army and avenge the humiliating defeat at Stalingrad in February. Soviet attacks have pushed out a huge bulge into German lines around the city of Kursk, 600km south of Moscow. Now the Germans want to pinch it off at its base. Hitler said that victory here would be a beacon for the whole world.
“They saw Russia as a big prize, so to say,” claimed WWII veteran Dmitry Yuriev. “It would’ve been profitable, had they conquered it. But they miscalculated. The Russian nation proved tougher, stronger, more confident and far-sighted than they imagined.”
But Hitler also wanted to introduce Germany’s latest tanks to battle and kept delaying the attack. By July, they were finally ready. So were the Soviets.
Tipped off by multiple intelligence sources, Zhukov convinced Stalin to turn the area around Kursk into a giant fortress, with eight defensive lines bristling with anti-tank guns and artillery. When the panzers rolled forward in the summer heat, the Red Army was waiting.
From hundreds of kilometers of trenches, Soviet troops raked the advancing panzer divisions with fire. The Germans broke through three of the Soviets’ defense lines, but after five days of it, their advance had ground to a halt.
In desperation, the Germans in the south pincer regrouped and tried to smash their way through to the base of the bulge. The assault was spearheaded by three of Germany’s most ruthless and elite SS divisions.
It all came to a head on the 12th July, 1943, in what’s become known as the death ride of the panzers near the little Russian town of Prokhorovka. On the morning of the 12th July two huge tank forces from German and Soviet sides, unaware of each others’ locations, collided head on on the field of Prokhorovka.
Eyewitnesses describe a scene of unimaginable carnage. The Germans’ advantages in range and firepower were useless as tanks blasted each other from point blank range.
Some Soviet crews, knowing death was imminent, rammed their vehicles into the Germans, sending both vehicles up in a huge fireball. Such was the maelstrom that neither side’s air forces could intervene, unable to tell friend from foe in the swirling dust. A huge thunderstorm broke overhead, heard by no one.
This was the culmination of total war in the industrial age, and of the Soviet Union’s fight to the death with Nazi Germany.
By the day’s end, the Red Army had fought the SS to a standstill.
Hundreds of burning tanks littered the field, heavy with the stench of exploded shells, burning fuel and charred human flesh. It had been a horrifically bloody draw.
But the Soviets, now totally mobilized for a war of annihilation, could replace their losses. The Nazis could not. It was the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany.
“The Battle of Kursk on the 12th July was a turning point in WWII,” said Natalya Ovcharova, curator of Prokhorovka museum. “German troops began retreating on the 12th July. First they left Belgorod, and then other areas. Some even believe that the Battle of Prokhorovka started the retreat of the Germans which ended in Berlin.”
The Red Army had beaten a full scale German summer offensive for the first time, and all without a sign of the Western Allies promised second front.
If Stalingrad had witnessed the birth of a new Red Army, this was its coming of age.
The road from Prokhorovka, would lead all the way to Berlin.
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WWII, in which year did the Battle of Stalingrad take place ? | Battle of Stalingrad - World War II - HISTORY.com
Battle of Stalingrad
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Introduction
The Battle of Stalingrad (July 17, 1942-Feb. 2, 1943), was the successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) in the U.S.S.R. during World War II. Russians consider it to be the greatest battle of their Great Patriotic War, and most historians consider it to be the greatest battle of the entire conflict. It stopped the German advance into the Soviet Union and marked the turning of the tide of war in favor of the Allies. The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the bloodiest battles in history, with combined military and civilian casualties of nearly 2 million.
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The Russians hailed it a “contemporary Cannae,” and the Germans condemned it as a Rattenkrieg (Rat War). Both descriptions were fitting. In the Battle of Stalingrad, Soviet forces surrounded and crushed an entire German army under General Friedrich Paulus, emulating Hannibal’s encirclement and destruction of a Roman army under Aemilius Paulus in 216 B.C. For both sides, Stalingrad became a desperate ordeal of rodentlike scurrying from hole to hole.
This monumental battle is justly considered a turning point in the war on the Eastern Front and one of the most crucial engagements of World War II . The invading Germans saw the conquest of Stalingrad as essential to their campaign in southern Russia, since from this strategic point on the Volga River they could launch further assaults in the Caucasus. The Russians were determined to defend the city as a vital industrial and transportation center. Both Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler understood the symbolic importance of the only city to bear the Soviet dictator’s name.
On September 3, 1942, the German Sixth Army under Paulus reached the outskirts of Stalingrad, expecting to take the city in short order. But the Russians had built up their defenses and continued to bring in reinforcements. A very able general, V. I. Chuikov, took command of the main defending force, the Sixty-second Army, while Marshal Georgii K. Zhukov, Soviet Russia’s greatest general, planned a counteroffensive.
In subsequent days the invaders fought their way into Stalingrad against fierce resistance. This was urban street fighting of the most bitter sort, occasioning tremendous losses on both sides. The blasted ruins of houses and factories began to stink as hot winds carried the smell of decaying corpses into every nook and cranny. By late September the Germans could raise the swastika flag over the Univermag department store in the center of town, but they could not dislodge the Russians from the sprawling industrial quarters along the Volga.
In mid-November, as the stalled invaders were running short of men and munitions, Zhukov launched his counteroffensive to encircle the enemy. At this point the Germans probably could have fought their way out, but Hitler would not allow them to: they were ordered to hold their ground at all costs. Air Marshal Hermann Goring promised to resupply the Sixth Army from the air but proved unable to do so. As winter set in, Field Marshal Erich von Manstein mounted a rescue mission, but it was halted short of its goal, and the freezing and starving Germans in Stalingrad were forbidden to try to reach their would-be rescuers. On February 2, 1943, General Paulus surrendered what remained of his army-some 91,000 men. About 150,000 Germans had died in the fighting.
The Soviet victory at Stalingrad was a great humiliation for Hitler, who had elevated the battle’s importance in German opinion. He now became more distrustful than ever of his generals. Stalin, on the other hand, gained confidence in his military, which followed up Stalingrad with a westward drive and remained largely on the offensive for the rest of the war.
The Reader’s Companion to Military History. Edited by Robert Cowley and Geoffrey Parker. Copyright © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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Which actress provided the love interest in the film High Noon ? | Battle of Stalingrad ends - Feb 02, 1943 - HISTORY.com
Battle of Stalingrad ends
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On this day, the last German troops in the Soviet city of Stalingrad surrender to the Red Army, ending one of the pivotal battles of World War II.
On June 22, 1941, despite the terms of the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939, Nazi Germany launched a massive invasion against the USSR. Aided by its greatly superior air force, the German army raced across the Russian plains, inflicting terrible casualties on the Red Army and the Soviet population. With the assistance of troops from their Axis allies, the Germans conquered vast territory, and by mid-October the great Russian cities of Leningrad and Moscow were under siege. However, the Soviets held on, and the coming of winter forced a pause to the German offensive.
For the 1942 summer offensive, Adolf Hitler ordered the Sixth Army, under General Friedrich von Paulus, to take Stalingrad in the south, an industrial center and obstacle to Nazi control of the precious Caucasian oil wells. In August, the German Sixth Army made advances across the Volga River while the German Fourth Air Fleet reduced Stalingrad to a burning rubble, killing over 40,000 civilians. In early September, General Paulus ordered the first offensives into Stalingrad, estimating that it would take his army about 10 days to capture the city. Thus began one of the most horrific battles of World War II and arguably the most important because it was the turning point in the war between Germany and the USSR.
In their attempt to take Stalingrad, the German Sixth Army faced a bitter Red Army under General Vasily Zhukov employing the ruined city to their advantage, transforming destroyed buildings and rubble into natural defensive fortifications. In a method of fighting the Germans began to call the Rattenkrieg, or “Rat’s War,” the opposing forces broke into squads eight or 10 strong and fought each other for every house and yard of territory. The battle saw rapid advances in street-fighting technology, such as a German machine gun that shot around corners and a light Russian plane that glided silently over German positions at night, dropping lethal bombs without warning. However, both sides lacked necessary food, water, or medical supplies, and tens of thousands perished every week.
Soviet leader Joseph Stalin was determined to liberate the city named after him, and in November he ordered massive reinforcements to the area. On November 19, General Zhukov launched a great Soviet counteroffensive out of the rubble of Stalingrad. German command underestimated the scale of the counterattack, and the Sixth Army was quickly overwhelmed by the offensive, which involved 500,000 Soviet troops, 900 tanks, and 1,400 aircraft. Within three days, the entire German force of more than 200,000 men was encircled.
Italian and Romanian troops at Stalingrad surrendered, but the Germans hung on, receiving limited supplies by air and waiting for reinforcements. Hitler ordered Von Paulus to remain in place and promoted him to field marshal, as no Nazi field marshal had ever surrendered. Starvation and the bitter Russian winter took as many lives as the merciless Soviet troops, and on January 21, 1943, the last of the airports held by the Germans fell to the Soviets, completely cutting the Germans off from supplies. On January 31, Von Paulus surrendered German forces in the southern sector, and on February 2 the remaining German troops surrendered. Only 90,000 German soldiers were still alive, and of these only 5,000 troops would survive the Soviet prisoner-of-war camps and make it back to Germany.
The Battle of Stalingrad turned the tide in the war between Germany and the Soviet Union. General Zhukov, who had played such an important role in the victory, later led the Soviet drive on Berlin. On May 1, 1945, he personally accepted the German surrender of Berlin. Von Paulus, meanwhile, agitated against Adolf Hitler among the German prisoners of war in the Soviet Union and in 1946 provided testimony at the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg. After his release by the Soviets in 1953, he settled in East Germany.
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To which union do the acting profession belong to ? | Actors Guild, Actors Unions
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Read about the main actors guilds and actors unions for actors, models, and all other performers, their requirements and duties. Find out how to join the local branch of SAG, AFTRA, AEA, CAEA, EQUITY UK, and Actors FCU in your area.
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Actors, models, and all other performers can choose to belong to a variety of actors unions, such as the Screen Actors's Guild (SAG) , the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) , the Actors' Equity Association ("AEA" or "Equity") , the Canadian Actors' Equity Association (CAEA) , and the British Actor's Union (Equity UK) .
Many audition breakdowns specify whether they are looking for union or non-union actors. This is because certain productions companies and particular projects are under contract to hire union members only. All unions negotiate the terms of contracts, length of working days, turnaround time, required school hours for minors, percentages that producers must pay for benefits, and guarantees that payment will be made and acts on the performer's behalf when terms of their contract are breached. Actors, models, and other performers must meet eligibility requirements and they must pay a membership fee to belong to any union. However, these unions are neither an employment or placement agency. Belonging to an actor's guild or actor's union does not guarantee audition roles, acting jobs, or modeling jobs, but they are there to guarantee the best possible working conditions for its members.
| Equity |
Also a colour shade, which creature is associated with the Babycham bottle label? | Home - Equity
Home
Equity incorporating the Variety Artistes' Federation is an independent trade union, registered at:
Equity, Guild House, Upper St Martin's Lane, London WC2H 9EG
Telephone: 020 7379 6000 Email: [email protected]
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First appearing in 1572, which country’s flag is the oldest tricolour in the world? | World Flags List & Maps
World Flags List & Maps
Author Topic: World Flags List & Maps (Read 473 times)
Buderim
World Flags List & Maps
« on: June 26, 2011, 04:36:33 AM »
• The Tricolour of The Netherlands is the oldest tricolor, first appearing in 1572 as the Prince's flag in orange–white–blue. Soon the more famous red–white–blue began appearing — it is however unknown why, though many stories are known. After 1630 the red–white–blue was the most commonly seen flag. The Dutch Tricolor has inspired many flags but most notably those of Russia, India, New York City, South Africa (the 1928-94 flag), and France, which spread the tricolor concept even further. The flag of the Netherlands is also the only flag in the world that is adapted for some uses, when the occasion has a connection to the royal house of the Netherlands an orange ribbon is added.
• The national flag of FranceTricolore was designed in 1794. As a forerunner of revolution, France's tricolour flag style has been adopted by other nations. Exampless: Italy, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ireland, Haiti, Romania, Mexico.
• The flag of the United States, also nicknamed The Stars and Stripes or Old Glory. In the same way that nations looked to France for inspiration, many countries were also inspired by the American Revolution, which they felt was symbolized in this flag. Examples: Liberia, Chile, Malaysia, Uruguay, and the French region of Brittany.
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| Netherlands |
What very British name do we give to an alloy of Antimony, Copper and Tin? | Ireland
This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website
Ireland
The stripes were found in a different order in the early (pre-independence) days.
James Dignan, 14 May 1996
The oldest known reference to the use of the three colours (green, white and orange) as a nationalist emblem dates from September 1830 when tricolour cockades were worn at a meeting held to celebrate the French revolution of that year - a revolution which restored the use of the French tricolour. The colours were also used in the same period for rosettes and badges, and on the banners of trade guilds. There is also one reference to the use of a flag 'striped with orange and green alternately'. However, the earliest attested use of a tricolour flag was in 1848 when it was adopted by the Young Ireland movement under the influence of another French revolution. Speeches made at that time by the Young Ireland leader Thomas Francis Meagher suggest that it was regarded as an innovation and not as the revival of an older flag.
Vincent Morley, 8 January 1997
The Irish television channel RTÉ 1 included the following flag-related item on its main news programme last night.
A historian named Dermot Power has established that the tricolour was publicly unveiled by Thomas Francis Meagher, a leader of the Young Ireland movement, at a meeting in his native city of Waterford on 7 March 1848 - exactly 150 years ago today. The report showed the large second-floor window from which he addressed a crowd in the street below and at which the flag was displayed.
This discovery pushes back the history of the flag by five weeks: it had previously been thought that it was first displayed by Meagher at a meeting held in Dublin on 15 April 1848. More importantly, the television report stated that Meagher informed the Waterford meeting that the flag was being shown for the first time. No such claim was made at the later Dublin meeting, an omission which had led to speculation that the flag might have been in use for some time before 1848. This possibility now appears to have been excluded.
Vincent Morley, 9 March 1998
The use of the Irish tricolour flag in the period 1922-39 was almost entirely confined to the territory of the Irish Free State. To many, perhaps to most, Irish people it was still 'the Sinn Fein Flag'. From Hayes-McCoy (1979), A History of Irish Flags from Earliest Times
It was used unofficially by the government in the Irish Free State, but not with the intention that it should become the national flag:
"The government in Ireland have taken over the so called Free State Flag in order to forestall its use by republican element and avoid legislative regulation, to leave them free to adopt a more suitable emblem later."
[PRO document DO 117/100 written in 1928]
In the event the tricolour was adopted as the national flag, but not until 1937.
David Prothero, 1 February 2001
See also:
An official document (115 kbyte PDF file) describing the protocol to be observed when displaying the Irish national flag gives Pantone colours for green 347, and orange 151.
Dean McGee, 18 October 2001
This translate to browser safe RGB as:
PMS 151 RGB:255-102-0 (#FF6600)
PMS 347 RGB:0-153-102 (#009966)
(Note: conversion from PMS to RGB depends so much on software and monitor settings, parameters and preferences that almost always such conversion is *not* a loss in color detail.)
António Martins-Tuválkin, 18 October 2001
In CMYK values this would be:
Green C 100 - M 0 - Y 80 - K 10
Orange C 0 - M 65 - Y 100 - K 0
Ivan Sache, 18 October 2001 and Jesse Kahn, 3 November 2008
Here is the result, with the flag from the top of the page for comparison:
image by António Martins-Tuválkin
image by Vincent Morley
In spite of it being described on an official website, I am not quite satisfied with the green colour. I think it it looks way too pale, in comparison with other green flags we have. Maybe (just maybe) 0-153-51 would do a bit better?
Željko Heimer, 21 October 2001
It certainly would. Apart from its paleness, 0-153-102 is also too far towards the blue end of the spectrum. 0-153-51 looks fine on my monitor, but so does 0-153-0.
Vincent Morley, 21 October 2001
The protocol manual for the London 2012 Olympics ( Flags and Anthems Manual London 2012 ) provides recommendations for national flag designs. Each NOC was sent an image of the flag, including the PMS shades, for their approval by LOCOG. Once this was obtained, LOCOG produced a 60 x 90 cm version of the flag for further approval. So, while these specs may not be the official, government, version of each flag, they are certainly what the NOC believed the flag to be.
For Ireland: PMS 347 green, 151 orange. The vertical flag is simply the horizontal version turned 90 degrees clockwise.
Ian Sumner, 11 October 2012
Historical colours
My question is all about the colours or more specifically the third colour on the flag. The Irish Flag is green, white and ____. However, my father was born in 1915 and spent his formative years growing up in Eire in its formative years and described the colours as green white and gold. From personal recollection the flag I remember was gold. I especially remember the flag outside Colbert station in Limerick with a CIE logo in the middle. Though emblems within the flag are now frowned upon. The only place where I could see a justification for my belief was a friend's book of national team colours where at some point in the 80s it shows the Republic Of Ireland's strip going from green white and gold to green white and orange. More than anything else though when did it change?
Kevin Bourke, 30 August 2012
According to G.A.Hayes-McCoy in ‘A History of Irish Flags from the Earliest Times’ (Academy Press, Dublin, 1979) the third colour was sometimes orange, sometimes yellow and sometimes gold, with orange not becoming the predominant colour until it was adopted by the Defence Forces of the Irish Free State in 1923; “army usage influenced the Irish public and the orange stripe ousted the yellow in the popular use of colours throughout the country.” Even so the third colour was still being desribed as yellow in 1934, ‘National Flags’ by E.H. Baxter, and occasionally yellow in 1939, ‘Flags of the World’ by V.Wheeler-Holohan, who wrote that “the green is for Ireland and the white and orange (or yellow) are the Papal Colours.”
David Prothero, 1 September 2012
Meaning of the Colours
Officially (i.e. in the national constitution) the colours of the Irish flag have no meaning. However many urban legends have arisen to account for the colours. Some are presented below:
From this webpage : The Green is for the Catholics, the Orange for the Protestants and the white for the peace between them. Every once in a while when you see a green-white-yellow (instead of orange) flag around the country here, that person is basically disagreeing.
Heather, 27 April 2003 [Ed. note: green-white-yellow/gold are the colours of Offaly .]
From a Government webpage : The green represents the older Gaelic tradition while the orange represents the supporters of William of Orange. The white in the centre signifies a lasting truce between the 'Orange' and the 'Green'.
There are a few reason why Green is associated with Catholics in Ireland - Coming from the long struggle for independence. Around the time of the American Revolution, there was anxiety in the ruling classes of Europe; fearing that the ideas of liberty and so on would spread to their own population and spark some kind of revolt. This was very true in Ireland - where resentment to British rule was very strong. Green had always been associated with Ireland as a nation, and with the revolutionary groups within it. For a while around 1776, the wearing of the colour green was actually barred by the authorities, giving rise to the song of the same name.
Green was the colour of sympathy for independence around this time, and has pretty much stuck with that until this day. The modern flag arrives much later, as a compromise flag - Which ironically, today, is used as a symbol for (complete) independence.
Jim McBrearty, 29 April 2003
The orange colour is associated with the Protestants in Ulster and that derived from William III (of the House of Orange and originally the Stadtholder of the Netherlands) who defeated the Irish Catholics at the Battle of the Boyne somewhere in the late 1600s. It was included in the Irish flag in an attempt to reconcile the Protestants with the Irish independence movement.
A.P. Burgers, 26 May 2004
Flag introduced 13 February 1945 ( Hayes McCoy, 1979 )
Vincent Morley, 2 February 2002
The traditional arms of Ireland have the harp on a blue field. A gold harp on a green field (as opposed to the blue of the arms) was the traditional Green Flag of Ireland before the tricolour became popular.
Roy Stilling, 30 May 1996
The evolution of the heraldic harp can be traced in Irish coinage. The harp first appeared on coins in the reign of Henry VIII. From the reign of Henry VIII to that of Elizabeth I the fore-pillar of the harp was plain. In the coinages of James I and Charles I it had an animal head. The naked female torso first appeared in the coinage of Charles II (appropriately enough perhaps) and was a permanent feature from then until 1822 when the Irish currency was abolished. The harp adopted as the state emblem on the formation of the Irish Free State is a medieval instrument, the Brian Boru harp, which is preserved in Trinity College Dublin. Use of this particular harp is reserved to the state so all private bodies are obliged to use harps of other designs.
Vincent Morley, 27 January 1997
The harp that appears on the presidential standard differs from that shown on conventional representations of the national arms in being less ornate, in not being tilted into the playing position (i.e. it has diagonal rather than vertical strings), and in having only twelve gold strings rather than a larger number of silver strings. The field of the presidential standard is also in a darker shade of blue than the usual field of the national arms, and the ornamentation on the harp is worked in blue thread of the same shade.
Vincent Morley, 1 November 1999
Source: The National Flag (click on 'The National Flag')
Željko Heimer, 29 January 2002
Arms introduced November 1945 ( Hayes McCoy, 1979 )
Vincent Morley, 2 February 2002
Discussion on the Variants of the Irish Harp
The colour of the strings on Irish harps is not consistent. On the national arms they are white (silver); on the jack and presidential standard they are yellow; on the naval pennant , they were white, as appears from the photograph in Hayes-McCoy (1979) , 'A History of Irish flags from Earliest Times'. These differences reflect the fact that the designs were introduced by independent processes at different times. The relevant dates are:
Aer Chor na h-Eireann was established on February 1922 (renamed Oct. 1924).
The 1922-1923 roundel was a classic orange-white-green with rudder stripes. In 1923 it was replaced by wing stripes and rudder stripes. In 1939 a "Celtic boss" roundel was adopted of two colors. Cochrane and Elliott, 1998 show the absence of tail insignia as seen also at this site (note the roundel on a white plate as reported above) but this image does show a fin flash.
Another change occurred in 1954 added white to the roundel. Again Cochrane and Elliott, 1998 and also Wheeler 1986 showed no tail insignia while in reality there is a fin flash. See examples here , here , and here .
Dov Gutterman, 17 June 2004
I came across www.westernpeople.ie/news/story.asp?j=26607 , "Mayo plan for national symbol for Travellers".
Here are some extracts:
"A Mayo traveller is leading a major campaign for a Traveller Flag or symbol for their community.
"The work which Bernard Sweeney is currently putting all of his time into and which he is hoping will result in something positive for his community, will be decided in September when the community will vote around the country for the acceptance or disregard of a national symbol for travellers.
"A native of Ballinrobe, Bernard has been travelling around the county for the past number of weeks in the hope of convincing his comrades their community should have an overall symbol which he is hoping will be a flag.
"The idea has now advanced onto a much broader platform and it has been decided that a vote should be taken within the community on September 15th next on a national level. "We decided to organise a vote which will take place in September in which people will decide on a symbol, a flag, or nothing at all. The democracy around it is very even handed. It will include travellers all over Ireland aged 15 and over."
"He himself is 100% for the idea. "There are flags everywhere. There are town, county, boyscouts, club flags, etc, up to the National flag and it is all part of one's identity. So we are just saying why not have a flag that represents travellers. It would identify us as Irish travellers.
"Other ethnic groups around the world all have flags. Personally I think it would be a mark of respect for travellers who have died over the years. For me, we would have it on anti-racism days, celebrations as a badge of pride. It is nothing more than that and will never take away our Irishness."
André Coutanche, 8 August 2005
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Having lived in exile for three years at Chiselhurst in Kent, who died in 1873? | BBC News Online | French want Napoleon remains back
French want Napoleon remains back
11 December 07 11:34 GMT
A French government minister has visited a Hampshire abbey asking for the remains of Napoleon III which are buried there to be returned to France.
Christian Estrosi wants them sent back by 2010 to mark the 150-year anniversary of Nice becoming part of France under Napoleon III.
The former French president and emperor - nephew of Napoleon I - died in exile in Britain.
The monks at St Michael's Abbey in Farnborough have denied the request.
The deposed president first lived in Kent when he came to Britain and when he died he was originally buried in Chislehurst.
'Frank' discussion
Napoleon III spent the last three years of his life in exile in England, with Empress Eugenie and his only son, after he was captured and deposed during the Franco-Prussian war in 1870.
When his son - also Napoleon - died in 1879, the empress built a monastery and imperial mausoleum in Farnborough.
Abbot Cuthbert Brogan said the bodies of Napoleon III and his son were moved to the imperial crypt at St Michael's Abbey in 1888.
The empress was also entombed there when she died in 1920.
Mr Estrosi laid a floral tribute to the emperor, after which he met with the abbot.
"It was private conversation between me and the minister that was frank and I think he left with a fuller appreciation of what's here and why it should continue to be here," Abbot Brogan told the BBC.
Mr Estrosi has been quoted in the French press as saying he was grateful to London for everything it did for the imperial couple, but that France also has a claim to the remains.
| Napoleon III |
Fernando Alonso drives for which F1 team? | Research Grants 1997 - Fondation Napoleon
Research Grants 1997
François-Joël BALLAND: Ramel, Minister of Finance
Doctoral Thesis in Modern and Contemporary History
Supervisor: Jean Tulard
University Paris IV-Sorbonne
Dominique-Vincent Ramel, from Montolieu near Carcassonne, was first a député of the third estate in the Estates General, then later a député to the Constituante; he was elected to the Convention. In these two assemblies he progressively specialised in administrative and financial matters. And it was for this reason that on the 14th February 1796 the Directoire appointed him Minister of Finance; and he remained in office for three years, four months until the 23rd July 1799, a fact which makes Ramel one of the most important ministers of finance in the history of France. It should be noted here that Gaudin had been called to this post on the 3rd November 1795 from theTrésorerie nationale, but because he refused to toe the line he only lasted five days.
If we bracket off the brief period from July to November 1799 when Robert-Lindet held this ministerial position, then Ramel appears in his true light as the real predecessor to Gaudin, Napoleon Bonaparte’s finance minister for the entire consular and imperial periods (including the Hundred Days), that is, from November 1799 to June 1815. But Ramel was not just Gaudin’s predecessor. He was also his precursor.
We are in debted to Ramel for the following :
the preparation for the franc germinal with the suppression of the bad money (assignats and mandats territoriaux) and the stablilising of stock markets with the bankruptcies of two-thirds, an event which eliminated the state’s debts. It should also be borne in mind that Ramel established the name of the French currency as the “franc”;
the establishment in (1779) of analytical accountancy with double entry book-keeping and his efforts to start a land survey, on the foundations of which the ministry under Gaudin built their work of national census and accountancy;
the initial impetus given to fiscal reforms which were pursued by Gaudin, and his work to rehabilitate indirect taxation and the imposition of a door and window tax.
This thesis deals with these three issues in detail.
François-Joël Balland, has a first degree in History (Paris IV-Sorbonne, 1988), an MA in History (marked Très bien, 1989), and a doctorate in modern history (supervised by Professor Jean Tulard, 1996).
He works with the cultural service of the Musée de l’Armée.
SECOND EMPIRE RESEARCH GRANT
Florence PUECH: Chislehurst: the imperial family in exile (end of September 1870 to 1881)
Doctorate in Contemporary History
Supervisor: Philippe Levillain
University Nanterre-Paris X
The empress Eugénie and the imperial family spent eleven years in exile in a house in Camden Place, not far from London. And it was in this small Kent village that the empress and the young Prince impérial Louis found refuge after the capitulation of the French army at Sedan (2 septembre 1870) and the proclamation of the Republic by the Assemblée (4 septembre). The emperor, prisoner in Wilhelmshohe, was not to be able to join them until 19 March 1871. It was thus at Chislehurst that all the attempts to prepare an imperial re-entry to Paris, like that of Napoleon Ist in 1815 after the Hundred days, were made – but all to no avail.
Finally accepting this state of affairs, the imperial family prepared themselves for a more long-term stay in England. Chislehurst became the base for their new life à l’anglaise, where the education of the young Prince impérial was the most important priority, all however within the context of a lively court life, respecting the traditions established at the Tuileries. Even though the pomp was much reduced, visitors flocked from all over Europe to honour the deposed monarch. In fact, London became home to French colony. These years were marked by feelings of hope and peace and calm, but also boredom and death. Indeed, Chislehurst was soon to be Napoleon III’s final resting place in 1873, shortly before witnessing the funeral of his son, the Prince impérial, killed by Zulus in 1879. These years of short-lived and fragile happiness, entirely centred on the figure of the young prince, were also for Eugénie years of transition towards the second, very long (Eugénie outlived her husband by about 50 years) and very lonely half of her life.
I propose to concentrate on this period of residence at Camden Place, a little-studied, but nevertheless a very important, moment in French history. Study of this “English decade” is in fact study of the final disappearance of the Bonaparte dynasty. The Second Empire died in England, anonymous, desperately avoiding the critical press which it attracted then and still today. Although these events had little impact on a political level, the central characters and what they represent for history (or what history might have been had they lived), is sufficient justification for this study.
My research is ordered around seven themes :
the establishment of the court at Chislehurst ;
the residence at Camden Place ;
the question of financial resources ;
the projects for a return to France ;
new light on the personnality of the Emperor ;
the British view of the exiles ;
what these “Chislehurst years” add up to.
Florence Puech has a Masters in contemporary history (Parisian church preservation policy 1970-1997 – graded Very good) and her PhD at the University of Paris X-Nanterre is supervised by Prof. Philippe Levillain. The proposed title of her thesis is: Chislehurst: the imperial family in exile (end of September 1870 to 1881).
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In the TV series 'Lost', who played a rock musician from Manchester called Charlie Pace? | Charlie Pace | Lostpedia | Fandom powered by Wikia
"Charlie" redirects here. For Desmond and Penny 's son, see: Charlie Hume
Charlie Hieronymus Pace was a survivor from the middle section of Oceanic Flight 815 . Before the crash , he was the bassist and principal songwriter for the rock band Drive Shaft . He was addicted to heroin, but he kicked the habit on the island. He also suffered from self-doubt before the crash, but he formed new relationships on the island, including a friendship with Hurley and a romantic relationship with Claire Littleton .
Learning from Desmond he was fated to die, Charlie sacrificed himself to guide the survivors toward safety. After his death, Charlie has continued to guide his friend Hurley .
In the flash-sideways , he was reunited with his lover, Claire Littleton after she gave birth to Aaron, and along with their friends, they moved on.
Contents
Charlie amazed at his christmas present . (" Fire + Water ")
Charlie was raised a devout Catholic and served as an altar boy. According to a dream, his mother gave him a piano one Christmas because she sensed his special musical talent. Charlie's father , however, vehemently opposed the career choice, and believed that Charlie and his brother Liam should become butchers like him. His father supported Charlie in other arenas though, teaching him to swim as a child. Charlie claimed he later became Northern England's swimming champion. (" Fire + Water ") (" Greatest Hits ")
Musical career and addiction
Charlie honed his talents over the years, practicing and singing on the street for money . During one performance of Oasis' Wonderwall, a stranger claimed they'd been on an Island together, and Charlie jokes that "this is why we don't do drugs." Another time, he chased off a mugger after performing, and the victim he saved called him a hero. (" Flashes Before Your Eyes ") (" Greatest Hits ")
Charlie and Liam performing in a concert. (" The Moth ")
Charlie and Liam formed a band called Drive Shaft . They initially doubted their chances, but they heard their song " You All Everybody " on the radio one day, and the group gained hope. Their song then became a hit, and the pressure of stardom consumed Liam, who turned to heroin . During their second Finland tour, he gave Charlie an heirloom ring for Christmas, thinking that only drug-free Charlie could carry on the family legacy. (" The Moth ") (" Greatest Hits ")
The band was a one-hit wonder. Losing popularity, they stooped so low to parody their song for a diapers commercial. Liam's addiction continued as well, and Charlie stood in for him at his daughter's birth. Charlie tried rejuvenating the band with a new song , but Liam sold Charlie's piano for an Australia rehab clinic. With Liam gone, Drive Shaft ceased to exist. (" Fire + Water ")
Despite Liam's expectations, Charlie eventually turned to heroin. A year after Liam left the band, Charlie started a relationship with Lucy , a wealthy businessman's daughter, so he could rob her to pay his dealer . He changed his mind and took a job from her father, but heroin withdrawal kicked in, sending him to the hospital. Doctors returned to Lucy from Charlie's pocket a stolen antique, still covered in his vomit. (" Homecoming ")
Flight 815
Charlie gets high in the plane's bathroom.(" Pilot, Part 2 ")
Years after Drive Shaft's fall, Charlie flew to Sydney to try and convince Liam to reform the band. Liam, now living happily with his wife and children, refused and offered to house Charlie while he fought his addiction. Charlie, not wanting to deal with his brother anymore, scoffed at this and bought a plane ticket for seat 29C aboard Oceanic Flight 815 . (" Homecoming ") (" The Moth ")
He spent the night before the flight with a fellow addict who pretended to be a Driveshaft fan in a desperate attempt for his drugs. They fought physically over the last of his stash. On the plane, fearing a flight attendant's suspicion, Charlie threw his stash into a toilet, first snorting some of it. The plane then hit turbulence, and Charlie quickly buckled himself into a new seat. (" Exodus, Part 2 ") (" Pilot, Part 2 ")
On the Island
Charlie after the crash. (" Pilot, Part 1 ")
When the crash's initial aftermath had died down, Charlie accompanied Jack and Kate to the cockpit so he could secretly recover his stash from the bathroom. The Smoke Monster chased them to through the jungle, and Charlie told the other survivors. Charlie joined a group the next day that picked up Rousseau 's distress call. During the hike, the group was attacked by a polar bear . On day six, Charlie noticed a woman drowning in the sea. He ran to Jack for help, claiming he didn't swim. (" Pilot, Part 1 ") (" Pilot, Part 2 ") (" White Rabbit ")
Charlie makes a choice regarding his addiction . (" The Moth ")
Charlie began using heroin again. John Locke helped him with the addiction by trading him his drugs for his guitar , but withdrawal pains made him soon demand his stash back. Locke told him he would return it the third time he asked. Still suffering, Charlie later argued with Jack, causing one of the caves to collapse on Jack. Charlie crawled in though and rescued him. Later that night, successfully retrieved his drugs from Locke, he threw them into the fire and began the long road to recovery. (" Walkabout ") (" House of the Rising Sun ") (" The Moth ")
Charlie quickly became friends with Claire , a pregnant survivor, first offering her a second blanket the night of the crash. When half the survivors moved to the caves, he convinced her to join them by offering a pretend jar of her favorite food: peanut butter . Charlie began to feel an emotional attraction to her, which blossomed into genuine love. (" Greatest Hits ") (" Confidence Man ")
Jack and Kate try to save Charlie. (" All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues ") ( promotional still )
After Claire began suffering from nightmares and possible attacks, Charlie defended her against those who disbelieved her. The next day, an Other masquerading as a survivor kidnapped Claire and left Charlie to die hanging in the jungle. Kate and Jack found and resuscitated him. (" Raised by Another ") (" All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues ")
With Claire gone, Charlie withdrew from the others. Rose confided in him though about her missing husband to comfort him. When Claire returned the survivors used her as bait to capture her kidnapper . Charlie foiled the plan by shooting him before anyone could interrogate him. Sayid warned him the murder would take its toll on Charlie. (" Whatever the Case May Be ") (" Homecoming ") (" Outlaws ")
Charlie kills Ethan Rom. (" Homecoming ")
Not long after, Claire gave birth to a healthy boy . Charlie took on the role of surrogate father to the child and looked after him when Claire couldn't. (" Do No Harm ") (" The Greater Good ")
Danielle Rousseau soon after though attacked Claire and kidnapped the baby, hoping to exchange him for her missing daughter . Charlie and Sayid went after her, walking into one of Danielle 's traps on the way and coming upon a plane containing statues filled with heroin. They successfully rescued Aaron, and Charlie angrily told Danielle "You're pathetic!" as Lily had said to him. Charlie returned Aaron to Claire, but he'd brought something else back as well, one of the heroin-filled statues. (" Exodus, Part 1 ") (" Exodus, Part 2 ")
Days 44-67 (Season 2)
Charlie questioning Locke about the Swan. (" Everybody Hates Hugo ") ( promotional still )
No one initially told Charlie about the newly-opened Hatch , but he eventually followed Locke and demanded answers. Learning of the Swan's food, he demanded peanut butter for Claire from Hurley , who eventually complied. Charlie and Claire's relationship was good during these days - Claire tended to Charlie's wounds and casually asked after his Virgin Mary statue, not knowing its contents. Eko knew though and told Claire. He then forced Charlie to lead him to the Beechcraft , which they burned. Claire banished Charlie from her tent, believe he was using again. Charlie in fact had stashed an entire collection of heroin statues. (" Everybody Hates Hugo ") (" Man of Science, Man of Faith ") (" The 23rd Psalm ")
Charlie along with Aaron on the beach. (" Fire + Water ")
As Charlie struggled with his isolation, he dreamed of having to save Aaron . Locke interpreted this as more evidence of drug use, which bothered Charlie, who'd earlier laughed off Shannon 's visions. Charlie started a fire one night to distract the camp so he could "baptize" Aaron in the ocean. Claire demanded her baby's return, and Locke punched him repeatedly. Locke also confiscated Charlie's stash. Charlie retaliated by allying with Sawyer to humiliate Locke, attacking Sun to simulate the Others attacking and letting Sawyer control the Swan's guns. (" Fire + Water ") (" Man of Science, Man of Faith ") (" The Long Con ")
Charlie at Henry Gale's grave. (" The Whole Truth ") ( promotional still )
Charlie found a new mentor and friend though in Sayid . After interrogating a new prisoner , Sayid told Charlie he remembered what the Others had done to him and Claire. The pair later followed a map to the prisoner's supposed balloon . Charlie took a gun along, and he refused to relinquish it to Ana Lucia , but he gave it to Sayid. Charlie found the balloon, but buried beneath it, they discovered the body of the man the prisoner was impersonating. (" One of Them ") (" The Whole Truth ") (" Lockdown ")
After this adventure, Charlie began helping Eko build a church , and he continued alone once Eko moved to the Swan. Vincent led Charlie to the heroin statues in Sawyer's stash, and Charlie threw them into the ocean as Locke looked on. Charlie further redeemed himself by handing Claire a DHARMA vaccine from the supply drop . The two held hands at Ana Lucia and Libby 's funeral. (" Dave ") (" Three Minutes ")
Charlie's redemption (" Three Minutes ")
The next day, Charlie saw Locke weeping in the jungle and informed him of Desmond 's return to the island. After Locke locked Eko out of the Swan's computer room, Eko enlisted Charlie's help to retrieve dynamite to blow their way in. Charlie tried to mediate between Eko and Locke, but Eko lit the dynamite, and a fireball almost killed Charlie. He awoke nearly deaf, and Desmond urged him to flee. Charlie did, though he first tried to rescue Eko. That night, he and Claire caught up, and they kissed. (" Live Together, Die Alone ")
Days 68-91 (Season 3)
Locke asks Charlie "to stand guard", outside the sweat lodge . (" Further Instructions ")
After Locke lost his voice, Charlie stood watch outside his sweat lodge at his request. Together, they then saved Eko from a polar bear . Charlie and Hurley later led Sayid to the injured Eko, and when Eko's tent caught fire, they dragged him out. Eko then ran off into the jungle, and they failed to find him. A few days later, as Charlie and Hurley distributed Sawyer 's stash, Desmond told them the Monster had killed Eko, and Locke warned them to keep the camp calm. (" Further Instructions ") (" The Cost of Living ") (" Flashes Before Your Eyes ")
Desmond began experiencing visions of Charlie dying. He constructed a lightning rod to divert lightning from Claire 's tent. He foresaw Charlie drowning trying to rescue Claire, so he saved her himself. Hurley and Charlie got him drunk , and Desmond admitted the premonitions. Charlie later failed to get further details out of him and became depressed. Hurley though recruited Charlie to drive the DHARMA van down a steep cliff, and the pair celebrated joyously when they succeeded. (" Every Man for Himself ") (" Flashes Before Your Eyes ") (" Tricia Tanaka Is Dead ")
Charlie tells Sun the truth about the kidnapping. (" Exposé ")
Two days later, Charlie prepared a beach-side picnic, but Desmond dissuaded him, having foreseen another of his deaths. Charlie abandoned the picnic and belittled a new rescue plan from Claire, hurting and shocking her. Desmond explained the situation, and she told Charlie they'd face the ordeal together. Later that day, the two attached a note to a seagull and released it. (" Par Avion ")
Charlie helped investigate Nikki and Paulo 's deaths, and he confessed to Sun his earlier role in he attack. The next few days passed peacefully, and he spent lots of time with Claire , even composing music again. Hurley tricked Sawyer into sharing a feast with the camp the next day, and Charlie inadvertently revealed the con. Then one day, he found Claire deathly ill in her tent. He cared for Aaron and looked after her, and when Juliet helped her recover, Charlie was overjoyed. (" Exposé ") (" Left Behind ") (" One of Us ")
Desmond convinces Charlie to go camping. (" Catch-22 ")
Later, Desmond recruited him for a "camping trip," Desmond in fact was leading a mission to find a rescuer he'd foreseen. They followed a helicopter into the jungle, and Desmond saved Charlie from one of Rousseau 's traps. Realizing Desmond had brought him to likely death he'd foreseen, Charlie lost his temper. They then found a parachutist though and stabilized her, and Desmond convinced them to keep her presence a secret. (" Catch-22 ") (" D.O.C. ") (" The Brig ")
Charlie gives Desmond his final message before drowning (" Through the Looking Glass, Part 2 ")
Desmond had a final vision - Charlie dying by turning off the flooded Looking Glass station's signal jammer. Charlie accepted the suicide mission. He passed his ring to Aaron and kissed Claire goodbye. He went out in a canoe with Desmond, passing on a list of his life's best moments. The Scotsman volunteered to take Charlie's place, but Charlie knocked him out with an oar and swam to the station, discovering it wasn't flooded after all, but it was inhabited by two women who beat and interrogated him till Mikhail arrived and shot them. One gave Charlie the jammer's code before she died, and he entered it, successfully disabling it.
He then received an incoming message, revealing that Desmond's girlfriend Penny hadn't sent their "rescuers". Mikhail, still alive, then blew up a window, filling the chamber with water. Charlie passed on the message to Desmond and drowned. (" Greatest Hits ") (" Through the Looking Glass ")
Post-death
Desmond returned to the beach with news of Charlie's death and his final message. The group then headed for the radio tower to warn Jack , unaware he had already called the freighter . When the groups reunited, Hurley told a sorrowful Claire of Charlie's demise, and the death caused Hurley and Claire to side with Locke when the group divided. After Claire's house at the barracks was blown up by an RPG, Claire believes Sawyer is Charlie and calls out his name, as Sawyer carries her to safety. (" The Beginning of the End ") (" The Shape of Things to Come ")
After leaving the Island, Desmond and Penny had a son named Charlie . In 2007, upon returning to the island, Sun found Charlie's ring in Aaron's crib. (" Jughead ") (" The Incident, Part 1 ")
According to the official story of the Oceanic 6 , Charlie was one of the three survivors who survived the initial crash but died before the rescue. According to Jack, he drowned shortly before the rescue. (" There's No Place Like Home, Part 1 ") Oceanic Airlines rejected a petition from Drive Shaft fans, who wanted Membata 's exact location so they could build Charlie a memorial. ( The Oceanic Six: A Conspiracy of Lies )
Flash sideways
In the flash sideways world , Driveshaft saw far more success, and " You All Everybody " was the first of several hits. Charlie still was addicted to heroin. Classical musician Daniel Widmore hired him to come to Los Angeles to fuse rock and classical music for a benefit concert.
Charlie is revived by Jack, wondering if he is alive.
When Charlie saw a "cop" on Oceanic Flight 815 , he fled to a lavatory to hide his stash. Turbulance caused him to choke on the heroin baggie, and he briefly remembered his life, including Claire . Half an hour later, staff enlisted Jack Shephard 's help, fearing something was wrong. Another passenger kicked in the door, and Jack removed the heroin bag from Charlie's throat. Charlie awoke ungrateful and told Jack that he was "supposed to die." Police officers led him off the plane in cuffs when it landed. He remained in prison untill his brother bailed him out. (" Happily Ever After ") (" LA X, Part 1 ") (" Recon ")
Charlie's mission triggers a vision for Desmond. (" Happily Ever After ")
Desmond collected him from prison, and he crossed the street to a bar paying no heed to traffic. He told Desmond about his experience on the plane - seeing "the truth" - and refused to come to the scheduled concert. Desmond tried to convince him otherwise, but as they drove away together, Charlie mocked him and his superficial lifestyle. He then steered the car off a dock into a marina, making no attempt to escape. Desmond escaped and rescued him, but in the process remembered the last time he'd seen Charlie drown. They were both admitted to the hospital, and when Charlie regained consciousness, he fled, and Desmond chased him. He suggested Desmond pursue Penny , whom he'd started recalling. (" Happily Ever After ")
Charlie reunites with Claire and Aaron.
Days later, Hurley tranquilized Charlie in his motel and left him backstage at the concert. Charlotte woke him up. Charlie performed with the band and Daniel, then he saw Claire in the audience and followed her backstage. Claire went into labor, and he left to find water and blankets. When he returned, Aaron had been born. He touched Claire and remembered his entire life. The two sat together with Aaron in the church later as a bright light washed over them. (" The End ")
Appearances to Hurley
Charlie visits Hurley at Santa Rosa Hospital (" The Beginning of the End ")
Charlie also appeared to Hurley during his years off the island. Hurley first saw him in a convenience store and panicked, and his flight turned into a full on car chase with the LAPD . In the interrogation room, Hurley hallucinated Charlie drowning, disturbing him so greatly that he agreed to be taken back to the Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute . Charlie began visiting him regularly there, possibly even visible to one of the other patients . At an early visit, he told Hurley "they" needed him, apparently referring to the people still on the Island . Hurley closed his eyes and counted to five , and Charlie disappeared. On a later visit, Charlie said Jack would soon visit and gave Hurley two messages to give him. One: "You're not supposed to raise him ". Two: Jack would soon receive a visitor of his own. (" The Beginning of the End ") (" Something Nice Back Home ")
Character overview
What Charlie wanted most was to be useful, to be someone others would turn to. He tried unsuccessfully at first to help the others and be part of what he called the “Men” and later proved himself. He even died trying (and partly succeeding) to save his friends.
He suffered from heroin addiction that caused him to be rejected by some characters and perhaps to have his visions . He fought and eventually lost this habit. Charlie was a successful singer and musician but his band didn’t last, to his great pain.
Charlie was cheerful and liked to make jokes to ease the atmosphere, like his friend Hurley . From the beginning, he fell in love with Claire and acted very kind and protective to her and Aaron. He says that the best moment of his life was when he met her.
Religion also played a big part of his life, having lost his faith due to his drug obsession and band crisis, but went on to regain it during his time on the Island and the trials he endured. His last action before death was crossing himself.
Trivia
General
Charlie was the second character to have a flashback, and the fifth character to have a centric episode.
Charlie is the third character (after Jack and Kate) with most centric episodes in a single season, with 4 (" Pilot, Part 2 ", " The Moth ", " Homecoming ", and " Exodus, Part 2 ") in Season 1.
Charlie was the second former main character to appear in Season 6 .
Charlie's episode count so far is 65. He was killed on his 60th episode appearance.
Four of his appearances were made solely by his flash-sideways counterpart.
Charlie is the tenth character with most appearances (with 65) and is also the tenth character with most centric episodes (with 7).
Eloise and Miles saw Charlie performing in the flash sideways .
Pierre introduced Charlie to the stage in the flash sideways .
In the final moments of the first two Season Finales, Claire reconciling with Charlie is shown.
Claire and Charlie were the last two main characters to be seen in Season 2.
Charlie wrote the word " FATE " on his fingers, which he later changed to "LATE". In, " Fire + Water " during the dream sequence, the letters on the bandages changed back to " FATE "
This is also shown in the next-to-last episode of Season 3, sealed with a kiss and the last time they see each other; though it is not in the final moments, it is near the end of the episode.
Hieronymus Pace is an anagram for "pious archenemy"
"LATE" Backwards is "ETAL" which is a latin phrase short for Et Alia which means "and others".
According to Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof , the character of Charlie is an homage to Larry Underwood , a character in Stephen King ’s novel The Stand . [1]
Larry Underwood also risks his life to save the world after kicking drugs.
Charlie was the eighth main character to be killed.
Charlie wears a ring with the initials " D.S. " on the middle finger of his right hand. Initially thought to be a Drive Shaft ring since he pointed to it in the pilot while telling Kate that he's a member, the ring is actually a family heirloom, as revealed in " Greatest Hits ". The initials stand for Dexter Stratton .
In the episode Exodus, Part 2 , as Hurley is leaving his hotel, Charlie is a passenger in the overcrowded elevator. As Hurley heads for the exit stairs, Charlie shouts after him, "Some of us have a bloody flight to make!!"
During Charlie's heroin scenes actor Dominic Monaghan is actually snorting brown sugar.
In the episode " The Moth ", in which Charlie breaks his addiction, his shirt changes. In previous episodes, Charlie is wearing a striped shirt reminiscent of prison garb.
The actor, Dominic Monaghan , has a tattoo on his left shoulder that reads Living is Easy with Eyes Closed, which is a lyric from The Beatles ' " Strawberry Fields Forever ". This tattoo has become an apparent part of Charlie's character, as well.
In " The End ", we see that the tattoo now has the complete lyric, Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see.
Charlie, Claire, and Aaron appearing as a family in Locke's vision
Charlie changed the word from "FATE" to "LATE" on bandages around his fingers.
Charlie is a fan of The Kinks.
The Kinks song, "He's Evil" was sung by Charlie while he was fishing with Jin, in the episode " The 23rd Psalm ".
The band happens to have recorded a song called "The Big Black Smoke." The lyrics in this song have some similarities to the things that have happened on the Island, such as " the Monster " that often appears as black smoke and tries to drag someone down.
Charlie's middle name is Hieronymus. Hieronymus is the Latin version of Jerome, which is Greek for "sacred name".
It was St. Jerome who translated the Bible into Latin.
It is also the first name of the Dutch surrealist painter Hieronymus Bosch , famous for his depictions of demons.
Hieronymus is also the foreign variant of the name Geronimo, a reference to the band Geronimo Jackson .
He had never heard of Geronimo Jackson .
Charlie has a fear of bees.
One of the first things Charlie does when he arrives on the Island is write "FATE" on strips of tape around his fingers. The last thing he does on the Island before he drowns is make the sign of the cross. The last thing he does before that is write "Not Penny's boat" on his hand and hold it up to the window for Desmond to see.
Charlie was the only person who could have turned off the radio jammer after Bonnie was incapacitated, because he was a musician , was familiar with the Beach Boys " Good Vibrations " (probably played it a few times during his street musician days), and could quickly figure out the notes corresponding to a 16 -tone keypad. Sun was also a musician, but might not have been familiar with Beach Boys' music. This might explain why Ben is so angry and surprised when he is told Charlie is in the Looking Glass , sends Mikhail to kill everyone there, and seems to change to his plans instantly by deciding to intercept the castaways with Alex .
In both " Pilot, Part 1 " and " Pilot, Part 2 " Charlie speaks the last words, with a question that leads the episode on a dramatic cliffhanger - "Guys? How does something like that happen?" (" Pilot, Part 1 ") and "Guys? Where are we?" (" Pilot, Part 2 ")
Charlie is the second character who saved Desmond's life.
Locke broke down on top of the Hatch over Boone's death, giving Desmond hope and resulting in Desmond giving up ideas of suicide.
Charlie died in an effort to prevent the Looking Glass from flooding and killing Desmond.
Charlie's checker-pattern shoe is or was on display at the ABC Commissary at the Disney Hollywood Studios theme park in Bay Lake, FL
In Hurley's vision (post-island) Hurley sees Charlie by the "Ho Ho's." Also when Jack and Hurley are playing "H-O-R-S-E" Jack gets to "H-O" and then ends. "H" is the 8th letter in the alphabet and "O" is the 15th. Which links back to the Numbers 8 and 15 and also the flight number 815.
Charlie's brother, Liam leads their band, Drive Shaft . In Flashes Before Your Eyes and Greatest Hits , Charlie is on the sidewalk singing Oasis' "Wonderwall." Oasis' lead singer and guitarist/songwriter are brothers; the lead singer's name is Liam.
When Desmond saw Charlie playing the guitar on the street in England, Charlie was singing the Oasis song "Wonderwall". In this song the lyrics are, "Maybe you're gonna be the one that saves me". A precursor to Desmond saving Charlie from death multiple times.
Charlie's appearance when he visits Hurley in the flashforward is very reminiscent of Tyler Durden's appearance when he returns to The Narrator in Fight Club . They both have closely cut hair, fashionable clothes and large sunglasses.
A Drive Shaft CD was a clue for the Find 815 ARG
Charlie's death was voted number 8 in the UK TV special 'Top 50 TV Endings'.
Charlie is one of 22 main characters to have their names appear in a soundtrack title.
He is allergic to bees.
Last words (vocal): "Your boat! 80 miles offshore! Uhh.. Naomi! The parachutist!" Last words (written): "NOT PENNYS BOAT"
Witnesses of his death: Desmond, Penny
Dominic Monaghan based Charlie off of a Monkey. [1]
Charlie is one of four main characters to die at a DHARMA station. The others are Ana Lucia , Libby and Juliet .
Charlie was the only main character out of them who was not buried outside a DHARMA station.
Charlie's close encounters with death
Even before Desmond started having premonitions, Charlie had several dangerous brushes with death:
During the flight of Oceanic Flight 815 , he was originally seated at 29C (see Flight 815 seat numbers ), and would likely have been sucked out when the tail section broke off if he had not been in the first-class bathroom when the first turbulence hit. When he exited to find a seat, he narrowly avoided being hit by an accelerating service cart and took an empty seat in the middle section, avoiding the fate of those in the front section . (" Pilot, Part 2 ")
Ethan hanged Charlie from a tree; Jack resuscitated him. (" All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues ")
Charlie was following Hurley across the suspension bridge when it broke. He had to climb up the side of the cliff to avoid falling. Not very long after that, he and Hurley became shooting targets for Rousseau . (" Numbers ")
Charlie had a large bag of rocks fall on his head, a trap set by Rousseau , during his trek to rescue Aaron. (" Exodus, Part 3 ")
He had another near-miss brush with the Monster during Eko's first confrontation it. (" The 23rd Psalm ")
Charlie almost died twice in the Swan . First, he was in the entrance when the dynamite went off, and he was inside when the fail-safe key was turned. (" Live Together, Die Alone, Part 2 ")
After Desmond started having premonitions, many involved scenarios in which Charlie would die:
If Desmond had not constructed a lightning rod, Charlie would've been electrocuted. (" Every Man for Himself ")
When Claire was about to drown, Charlie dived in to save her, and would himself have drowned, had Desmond not rescued Claire first. (" Flashes Before Your Eyes ")
Desmond revealed to Charlie that he would have fallen into the water and fatally slammed into the rocks if Charlie had tried to catch a seagull for Claire. (" Par Avion ")
Desmond saved Charlie from being stabbed in the neck by an arrow that was fired as part of a trap set by Rousseau . (" Catch-22 ")
Additional casting
Jeremy Shada played the role of young Charlie in " Fire + Water " and " Greatest Hits ".
Unanswered questions
| Dominic Monaghan |
The signature tune of which TV show is entitled 'Barnacle Bill'? | Drive Shaft | Lostpedia | Fandom powered by Wikia
Theories
Drive Shaft was the rock band that Charlie Pace and his older brother Liam Pace founded. They named the band for their great-grandfather, Dexter Stratton , whose initials appeared on an heirloon ring passed down to the brothers. The band found international fame after its first (and only) hit song " You All Everybody ", which was featured on their self-titled debut album. They released a follow-up album, Oil Change, which was not as successful. Drive Shaft was a quartet; one member of the band has not been named on Lost .
Contents
History
Pre-crash
The band began in the 1990s in the Paces' hometown of Manchester . They first performed at the Night and Day bar on Oldham Street, and they soon moved on to other local clubs. Charlie, regretting the lifestyle, considered quitting, but the band then scored a record contract. Though the album did not initially sell well, their first song made it to the radio, as the band discovered on the way to a Clitheroe gig. "You All Everybody" later became a hit, and the band became a success.(" Greatest Hits ") (" The Moth ")
Drive Shaft album covers, from the $2 bin
The group released a second album Oil Change, and they toured the world. Then rivalry grew between the lead brothers, the members turned to drugs and disputes arose over royalties. Ater a hiatus of a year, Charlie declared that "Drive Shaft might be dead." Soon after Liam had a child , the band reunited, but they found little work. They were reduced to performing in advertisements, such as an embarrassing spot for diapers . (" The Moth ") (" Homecoming ") (" Fire + Water ")
Charlie wrote a new song to inspire a comeback for the band, but Liam left England for a rehab clinic in Sydney . By 2003, their albums found their way to record stores' $2 bargain bins. In 2004, the band received the opportunity for a new 8-week tour, starting in Los Angeles . Charlie flew to Sydney to recruit his brother, but Liam, having settled down with his family, turned him down. (" Fire + Water ") (" Everybody Hates Hugo ") (" The Moth ")
Post-crash
Following Charlie's apparent death in the Oceanic 815 crash, the band returned to fame. They held a large memorial service for Charlie and released a greatest hits collection, which sold well. (" Greatest Hits ")
On the Island. Charlie often referenced his career as a musician. Kate found him familiar and was impressed to learn he was a member of Drive Shaft. Locke , a fan, said he preferred their debut album to Oil Change. Naomi eventually came to Island and told Charlie of the band's renewed popularity. Charlie also tried to write new music for the band on the Island, including the song " Monster Eats the Pilot ". (" Pilot, Part 1 ") (" House of the Rising Sun ") (" Greatest Hits ") (" Born to Run ")
Flash sideways
The band saw more popularity in the flash sideways , and "You All Everybody" was just the first of several hits. They were still together in September of 2004. The band performed at a benefit concert hosted by Eloise Widmore for the Golden State Natural History Museum shortly after the arrival of Oceanic Flight 815 . (" Happily Ever After ") (" The End ")
Discography
The live album
Drive Shaft
The self-titled debut was a grand success, going gold an unknown number of times, due in part to the hit single " You All Everybody ". The album was promoted with a Drive Across America Tour.
Oil Change
The band's sophomore release did not fare as well. The album did not break gold status on any charts.
Greatest Hits
Released after the crash of Flight 815 , on which Charlie was presumed to have died, this album was "everywhere", according to Naomi Dorrit . (" Greatest Hits ")
Live in Jakarta
This album was first seen in the Find 815 alternate reality game. Sam Thomas owns a copy.
Parting Words
In the flash-sideways, Drive Shaft played this song along with Daniel Widmore, who played on the piano. (" The End ")
Tours
Drive Shaft all-access pass (taken from the Oceanic Airlines website)
Headlined the Drive Across America Tour during the peak of their success from "You All Everybody".
Had toured Finland at least twice.
Were booked to open for Meat Coat for a comeback tour in Los Angeles. Liam 's refusal to reconcile with the band, and later, Charlie 's status in the outside world as confirmed dead, scrapped the tour.
Drive Shaft got their start at the Night and Day Bar on Oldham St, Manchester, U.K. (" Greatest Hits "). This is a genuine place (though it's actually called the Night and Day Café: official site ). Due to its size it is a starting place for many new bands.
Oasis influence
The band in the Lost storyline appears to have many similarities secondary to this influence:
Both bands have a lead singer called Liam .
Both bands formed in Manchester, UK.
There is a sibling relationship in the band ( Charlie & Liam Pace /Noel & Liam Gallagher).
Both have four official members. (Oasis have no official drummer however, Zak Starkey, the son of Ringo Starr plays for them on a session basis.)
Charlie sings backing vocals and is the principal songwriter, like Noel Gallagher.
Both sibling pairings have been known to feud over who sings certain parts of songs.
Liam refers to Charlie as "baby brother" much like Noel Gallagher's reference to Liam as "our kid" (Manchester slang for a young family member).
Drive Shaft performing in concert
During the early years of Oasis, the band was known to be heavy drug users.
Liam Pace's stance at the microphone is similar to Liam Gallagher's.
The chord progression of "You All Everybody" is highly similar to Oasis's "Rock And Roll Star" from their debut album Definitely Maybe.
Charlie was seen playing " Wonderwall " as a street performer in " Flashes Before Your Eyes " and " Greatest Hits ".
Charlie is seen in " Greatest Hits " saying that he was going to quit the band and as a result their tour would be cancelled which is representative of Noel Gallagher's famous "walk out" on Oasis touring in America, where he came back to the UK with the Union Jack Guitar raised high at the airport. This furthers the Noel Gallagher connection.
Liam and Noel Gallagher famously argued on the single release, Wibbling Rivalry , regarding what the band is actually about, with Noel saying that it is about the music, whilst Liam saying that it is about the groupies, drugs, and run-ins with the law. Charlie & Liam Pace argued about the same subjects at the time when the band was deteriorating.
Ocean Colour Scene
In addition to Oasis, Monaghan also mentions the band Ocean Colour Scene is a possible influence upon Jude's composition of the song "You All Everybody", and also mentions Prince and Beck as an inspiration for his singing voice in " Pilot, Part 1 " on the Season 1 DVD featurette, Backstage with Drive Shaft :
“
Dominic Monaghan: I based the voice in the Pilot on when Prince puts on his female voice, for when he sings like, "If I Was Your Girlfriend" on "Sign 'O' the Times". He kind of affects this female voice, and Beck does it as well. So, I just thought, well, I have'a laugh, because I don't know what this song is going to be, so I might as well do the harmonies, which is why it became this, [Sings high-pitched] "You All Everybody", which actually isn't what it actually became in Episode 5 The Moth. But we just took the exact lyrics from that talk show and turned it into a song. We gave it over to this songwriter called Jude.
Bryan Burk: Jude is this amazing local L.A. singer-songwriter. Um, who I'd first heard of him because he had a song on the City of Angels soundtrack.
Dominic Monaghan: Him and his band just y'know, brought together this kind of, 'Oasis-esque', 'Ocean-Colour-Scene-y' [1] , y'know, not great, but kind of not bad tune.
”
Trivia
Charlie was penning a new song about brothers for their next album, (" Fire + Water "), but never got to finish it after Liam left for rehab in Australia. The lyrics were: "Funny now, you finally see me standing here / Funny now, I'm crying in the rain / All alone, I try to be invincible / Together now we can be saved ."
Charlie said he played tribal flutes in a recording session. (" Tabula Rasa ")
(deleted from " Pilot, Part 2 ")
Outside of Lost
"You All Everybody" could be heard in the background of an episode of Alias , also produced by Bad Robot , and created by J.J. Abrams .
A real life band named Driveshaft existed in Cork, Ireland during the 1980s.
In issue #90 of Ultimate X-Men, on the last page a character can be seen wearing a shirt saying "Drive Shaft". Furthermore, an ad for Oceanic Airlines appears in the background as well as a partially-obscured poster advertising Lost.
A Drive Shaft tour poster (featuring artwork based on the U.S. flag) is visible in Damon Lindelof 's office in *the DVD extra "Lost in a Day" on the Lost: The Complete Third Season (DVD) , at the "4:39 pm Los Angeles" segment.
See also
| i don't know |
Which English spa town hosts an annual International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival? | BBC - Derby - Around Derby - Tour of Buxton
Buxton is a quaint and ancient spa town on the fringes of the Peak District.
Take a look at some of the main features with our photo tour.
The Derbyshire town of Buxton has been described as many things: the 'Jewel of All Spa Towns' and the 'Heart of The Peak District' to name but two.
The latter is not strictly true as Buxton lies outside the boundaries of the Peak District National Park.
Buxton is Britain's highest market town, standing at over 1000ft above sea level, and is one of only two towns in England which the Romans prefixed with the term 'Aquae' - the Latin for 'waters' - Aquae Arnemetiae (the other was Aquae Sulis, which we now know as the city of Bath).
| Buxton |
Which place did Freddy Mercury & Montserrat Caballë sing about in 1987? | Derwent Manor - The Big Cottage Company
Derwent Manor
Gallery Things to do key facts
A world of well dressings and carnivals
Walk, cycle or ride the Severn Trail. Catch a country show or sheepdog trial. Imagine yourself as Mr Darcy at charming Chatsworth House. Revel in a bucolic world of well dressings and carnivals and village shows. At day’s end, a pint and a packet of crisps await in the Jug and Glass.
Discover the Peak District
There is so much to see and do in Derbyshire and the Peak District National Park. From the high hills, craggy rock-faces and wild moorlands of England’s National Park, to the tranquil, tree-shaded dales and valleys, from the woodlands and hilly pastures of the north east to the gently meandering rivers and canals of the south.
The market town of Ashbourne in Derbyshire is less than two miles away. The cobbled market-place, hidden alleys and yards are a delight to explore. And just a short drive away are the Heights of Abraham. A cable car journey is just the start at this popular family Peak District attraction in Matlock Bath.
Close by, the Sett Valley Trail is a 2.5 mile recreational trail for walkers, cyclists and horse riders linking New Mills and Hayfield. Hayfield is renowned for its annual Country Show and Sheepdog trials held each September and also has a popular well dressing and annual carnival.
Just a short drive away are the caverns around Castleton, the plague village of Eyam, the popular walking village of Edale and the attractive village of Hope.
Pay a visit to the spectacular Chatsworth House. Set in extensive parkland with a backdrop of wooded, rocky hills leading to heather moorland, Chatsworth House was used as Pemberley, the residence of Mr Darcy in the film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.
Country Kids
Venture deep underground at Poole’s Cavern and discover some of Buxton’s darker secrets. This great carboniferous limestone cavern is one of the finest show caves in England and boasts many strange and wondrous formations, sculpted over millions of years.
Fancy yourself as Tarzan, swinging through the trees in Buxton Country Park on the Go Ape extravaganza high above the forest floor? Go on! Get an adrenalin buzz!
Surrounded by the Peak District National Park, we’ve got some of the best rock climbing, cycling, mountain biking, sailing, caving, walking and horse riding anywhere in Britain.
Explore a unique Hilltop Park via a thrilling Cable Car ride. Once at the Summit enjoy going underground on tours of two Show Caverns at The Heights of Abraham.
For the Grown Ups
Each year Buxton Opera House plays host to a series of festivals including the internationally acclaimed Buxton Festival and the International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival.
Sail, powerboat, windsurf, kayak and much more at Carsington Water.
Go wild in the country on a quad bike, on a mountain bike or in a paintball battle. Or be more genteel and take a tour around picturesque country parks and beautiful stately homes like Chatsworth House and Haddon Hall.
If you would like to indulge in some beauty and health pampering our expert beauty therapists offer a full range of treatments. Get all the luxury of a visit to a five star spa in the comfort of your own country hideaway.
We'd love to help so
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Which male star played the title role in the 2004 film 'The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou'? | The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou Movie Review (2004) | Roger Ebert
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My rational mind informs me that this movie doesn't work. Yet I hear a subversive whisper: Since it does so many other things, does it have to work, too? Can't it just exist? "Terminal whimsy," I called it on the TV show. Yes, but isn't that better than half-hearted whimsy, or no whimsy at all? Wes Anderson's "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" is the damnedest film. I can't recommend it, but I would not for one second discourage you from seeing it.
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To begin with, it has a passage of eerie beauty, in which the oceanographer Steve Zissou ( Bill Murray ) and his shipmates glide in a submarine past an undersea panorama of wondrous and delightful creatures. They are seeking the dreaded jaguar shark that ate Steve's beloved partner, and when they find it, well, they fall silent and just regard it, because it's kind of beautiful. This could have been a scene from "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" if Captain Nemo had been a pothead.
Zissou is, we learn, the auteur of a series of increasingly uneventful undersea documentaries, in which the momentum is sliding down a graph that will intersect in the foreseeable future with a dead standstill. "The Life Aquatic" opens with the premiere of his latest work, which ends with the audience gazing up at the screen as if it is more interesting now that it is blank. Zissou himself seems to be in the later stages of entropy and may become one of those Oliver Sacks people who just sit there on the stairs for decades, looking at you. His crew would seem slack-witted to SpongeBob.
On board the good ship Belafonte, Zissou has assembled his ex-wife Eleanor ( Anjelica Huston ), her ex-husband Alistair ( Jeff Goldblum ), the salty dog Klaus Daimler ( Willem Dafoe ), the plummy producer Oseary Drakoulias ( Michael Gambon ), and the financial guy Bill ( Bud Cort , so that's what happened to him). Along the way they collect Ned Plimpton ( Owen Wilson ), who thinks he may be Steve's son, although my theory is he's just another one of George Plimpton's unfinished projects. Their mission is to find the deadly shark, exact revenge, and film the adventure. Covering the expedition is Jane Winslett-Richardson ( Cate Blanchett ), whose surname suggests she is the result of an affair involving the matriarchs of two great acting families and a designated male, perhaps Ned's birth father.
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These characters involve themselves in great plot complications, which are facilitated by the design of the boat, which looks like a rust bucket on the outside but conceals innumerable luxuries, including a spa. There is also a "scientific laboratory" with lots of equipment that looks as if it might have been bought at auction from a bankrupt high school in 1955. Anderson has built a wonderful set with a cutaway front wall so that we can look into all the rooms of the boat at once; it's the same idea Jerry Lewis used in "The Ladies' Man."
Events on the boat are modulated at a volume somewhere between a sigh and a ghostly exhalation. Steve Zissou is very tired. I suggest for his epitaph: Life for him was but a dreary play; he came, saw, dislik'd, and passed away. Ned makes an effort to get to know his father, a task made difficult because Steve may not be his father and is not knowable. Jane, Ned and Steve form a romantic triangle, or perhaps it is just a triangle. A folk singer performs the works of David Bowie in Portuguese, and the ship is boarded by Filipino pirates.
So you see, it's that kind of movie. The colors are like the pastels produced by colored pencils, and kind of beautiful, like the shark. The action goes through the motions of slapstick at the velocity of dirge. Steve Zissou seems melancholy, as if simultaneously depressed that life is passing him by, and that it is taking so long to do it. Anjelica Huston seems privately amused, which is so much more intriguing than seeming publicly amused. Cate Blanchett proves she can do anything, even things she should not do. I forgot to mention that Steve's friend is played by Seymour Cassel , who I think I remember told me one night in Dan Tana's that he had always wanted to be eaten by a shark in a movie.
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In which city are the districts of Didsbury and Moston? | Bill Murray Movies Spotlight - ComingSoon.net
Bill Murray Movies Spotlight
February 24, 2016
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Enjoy ten of the “Bear Necessities” of Bill Murray movies before The Jungle Book swings into theaters!
Bill Murray is one of the rare actors to go from TV performer to movie star to national treasure. There’s so much love for Murray that no one seems to mind if he crashes their wedding party or photobombs them. Because he’s Bill Murray, he gets to do whatever he wants to do. And that extends to his career decisions as well.
Murray’s breakthrough gig was his run on Saturday Night Live in the late ‘70s, but he’s far better known for his numerous feature films. Several of Murray’s films in his peak period are considered to be among the all-time cinema classics, including the original Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day. Murray is still actively starring in movies, although he’s no longer the box office draw that he once was.
Director Jon Favreau ’s upcoming live-action adaptation of Disney’s The Jungle Book features Murray as the voice of Baloo, the beloved bear who protects and mentors Mowgli ( Neel Sethi ).
Ahead of The Jungle Book ’s release on April 15, ComingSoon.net is looking back at Murray’s ten most memorable films. And if you’re a true Bill Murray fan, you’ve probably already seen them all!
Bill Murray Movies Spotlight: Meatballs (1979)
Everyone remembers Ghostbusters, but the origins of Murray’s involvement with that movie started with Meatballs. This was Murray’s first leading role in a film, and it was co-written by Harold Ramis and directed by Ivan Reitman , both of whom would later reunite with Murray on Ghostbusters and other projects.
Murray’s character was Tripper Harrison, the head counselor of Camp North Star, a summer camp largely made up of underdogs. Meatballs actually spawned a comedy franchise and three sequels, none of which involved Murray at all.
Bill Murray Movies Spotlight: Caddyshack (1980)
Ramis and Murray reunited on the golf-themed comedy film, Caddyshack; which was also Ramis’ debut as a director. Appearing alongside Murray were Chevy Chase , Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, and Michael O’Keefe.
Because of his Saturday Night Live schedule, Murray had only a small role in Caddyshack as Carl Spackler, a greenskeeper tasked with eliminating a particularly hard-to-kill gopher. Although he originally spent only six days on set, Murray was called back to film more material for Caddyshack, including the only scene that he has ever shared with his former SNL castmate, Chase.
Bill Murray Movies Spotlight: Ghostbusters (1984)
If John Belushi had lived, Murray wouldn’t have been involved with Ghostbusters. But because Belushi passed away before Ghostbusters was written, his role, Dr. Peter Venkman, went to Murray. Ramis co-starred as Dr. Egon Spengler, with Dan Aykroyd as Dr. Ray Stantz, Ernie Hudson as Winston Zeddemore, Sigourney Weaver as Dana Barrett, and Rick Moranis as Louis Tully.
Ghostbusters spawned a franchise that included a very popular animated series and Ghostbusters 2, which isn’t quite as beloved as the first film. Murray’s refusal to come back for Ghostbusters 3 prevented that sequel from ever happening, but almost all of the original cast (including Murray) lent their voices and likenesses to the 2009 Ghostbusters video game.
Bill Murray Movies Spotlight: The Razor’s Edge (1984)
Part of the reason that Murray joined Ghostbusters was to get financing for his passion project, The Razor’s Edge, an adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham ‘s novel. Murray even co-wrote the script for The Razor’s Edge and starred as the main character, Larry Darrell, an ambulance driver in World War I who searches for meaning in his life after the war ends.
This was Murray’s first stab at drama, and it was savaged by critics and considered to be a disappointing flop. Because of this movie, Murray took an extended hiatus from feature films.
Bill Murray Movies Spotlight: Scrooged (1988)
Scrooged was Bill Murray’s comeback film, and someone in Paramount ’s marketing team deserves a lot of credit for the following tagline: “Bill Murray is back among the ghosts, only this time, it’s three against one.” As the name suggests, Scrooged was an updated version of Charles Dickens ‘s A Christmas Carol, with Murray starring as Frank Cross, a very Scrooge-like network executive who gets the whole “three ghosts of Christmas” treatment on the way to redemption.
Bill Murray Movies Spotlight: Quick Change (1990)
Quick Change made this list because it was the first and only time that Murray has ever directed a film, a credit that he shared on this movie with its screenwriter, Howard Franklin. Murray portrayed Grimm, a bankrobber who successfully pulls off a heist with his girlfriend Phyllis ( Geena Davis ) and their friend, Loomis ( Randy Quaid ). But their getaway is complicated by increasingly comedic obstacles in their path.
Although Murray got great reviews for Quick Change, he has never attempted to direct a movie again.
Bill Murray Movies Spotlight: Groundhog Day (1993)
Groundhog Day is one of the most fondly-remembered films of Murray’s career. He played Phil Connors, a newscaster who was forced to relive a single day countless times until he finally got it right. Murray reunited with Ramis, who directed this film, but the two men reportedly had a falling out while making Groundhog Day. Despite receiving critical raves for the film, this was the last time that Murray and Ramis worked together.
Bill Murray Movies Spotlight: Rushmore (1998)
While Rushmore gave Murray some indie cred, it significantly boosted the career of director Wes Anderson . Rushmore was also the feature film debut of Jason Schwartzman . In the film, Schwartzman’s Max was a student who was befriended by Herman Blume (Murray) before they clashed over their mutual love for Rosemary Cross ( Olivia Williams ), a teacher at Max’s school.
Murray has subsequently appeared in all of Anderson’s follow up films in at least a cameo role.
Bill Murray Movies Spotlight: Lost in Translation (2003)
Lost in Translation gave Murray some of the best reviews of his career and a nomination for Best Actor at the Academy Awards. Within the film, he played Bob Harris, an over-the-hill actor who becomes unexpectedly close to a much younger woman named Charlotte ( Scarlett Johansson ).
The complexity of Bob and Charlotte’s relationship drove Lost in Translation into becoming an unexpected critical and financial hit. The ambiguous nature of Bob’s final whispered words for Charlotte was also part of the film’s staying power.
Bill Murray Movies Spotlight: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
While Murray had only a supporting role in Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums, he was once again in the lead for Anderson’s next film, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. This movie was a bizarre parody of the adventures of Jacques-Yves Cousteau , a very famous French diver. Within the film, Murray played the title character, Steve Zissou, as he attempted to avenge himself on the “jaguar shark” that killed his former partner.
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What nationality is tennis legend Roger Federer? | JockBio: Roger Federer Biography
In professional tennis, the only crime worse than lacking world-class talent is squandering it. For years, the curse of untapped potential hung around Roger Federer’s neck like an anvil, as the waited with growing impatience for his big breakthrough. With no holes in his game, fans simply assumed the only thing the fluid, efficient Swiss star needed was character. One life-altering tragedy and 16 Grand Slam titles later, all is forgiven and forgotten, as Roger has brought an element of artistry back to the men’s game. This is his story…
GROWING UP
Roger Federer was born August 8, 1981, in Basel, Switzerland. ( Click here for today's sports birthdays .) His parents, Robert and Lynette, both worked in the pharmacuetical industry. Robert was an executive for Ciba-Geigy. He met Lynette, a native South African and also a Ciba-Geigy employee, during a business trip. Their marriage also produced a daughter, Diana, in 1979.
Roger and his older sister grew up in the town of Munchenstein, just outside the city of Basel. A 2,000-year-old city on the Rhine, it is home to Switzerland’s oldest university, dozens of museums and the famous Theater Basel.
Tennis was a family passion in the Federer home, though neither Roger’s parents nor his sister had any special aptitude for the game. Everyone enjoyed it, however, and Roger showed enough promise to earn entry into Basel’s crack junior program at the age of eight.
Roger’s first sports hero was Boris Becker, the young German who won Wimbledon in 1985. Roger recalls watching Becker play Stefan Edberg in the 1988 Wimbledon final. He cried when his idol lost. Controlling his temper was a problem that would plague Roger throughout his childhood.
His game already showed signs of genius, but like many kids his age, he was often out of control on the court. (Roger describes himself as a “hothead.”) He erupted after hitting dumb shots and rarely went through a day without hurling his racket against the fence. Robert and Lynette were mortified when they saw their son’s behavior during tournaments. Roger could not understand this. He was never rude to umpires, linesmen or opposing players. His anger was reserved for himself. The Federers refused to speak to him after one of his episodes, frustrating him even more.
Enter Peter Carter. A tough player from Australia, he had learned how to make a little talent go a long way. From the age of 10 to 14, Roger spent more time with Carter than his own parents. The coach taught Roger flawless technique on his ground strokes and serve, and watched him grow into his body and start dominating opponents. The two also discussed the mental side of the game—not just strategy and psychology, but also about the importance of being gracious and polite and reigning in your emotions. Carter was eventually able to get Roger to see how much energy he wasted during his outbursts, and over the next few years, the incidents lessened considerably.
In 1994, at the age of 13, Roger decided it was time to leave home and accept an invitation to Switzerland’s national training center in Ecublens, near Lausanne. He would come home on weekends and spend time with his family, but every Sunday night, when it was time to board the train for the two-hour ride back, he was terribly depressed. The training center was in the French-speaking part of the country. Roger, who spoke German, found himself isolated by many of the students and coaches.
Three years later, he left Ecublens and re-enrolled in a new training facility in Biel, where Carter had been put on staff. Reunited with his coach, Roger began a steady rise to the world’s top junior ranking.
In 1997, Peter Lundgren, a former ranked ATP player from Sweden who had once coached Marcelo Rios, joined the staff and worked with Roger on occasion. He helped to refine Roger’s already-silky strokes and hammered home the self-control message on which Carter had made such good headway.
The following year, Roger distinguished himself as the mot polished teenager in tennis and earned the ITF’s #1 world ranking, capturing the Wimbledon junior singles (versus Irakli Labadze) and doubles titles, as well as the Orange Bowl (versus Guillermo Coria) in Florida. He also reached the finals of the junior draw at the U.S. Open, but lost to David Nalbandian.
Only Edberg, Pat Cash and Bjorn Borg had taken the junior singles at Wimbledon and then gone on to win the senior singles. Aiming to be the fourth, Roger decided it was time to join the men’s tennis tour. After signing a representation deal with IMG, he played some year-end mop-up events and did well enough, reaching the quarterfinals in Toulouse—just his second ATP tournament—and winning the singles and doubles in a Swiss satellite event to finish the season.
Instead of tabbing Carter as his coach for his first full pro season, Roger chose Lundgren instead. Once a Top-25 player, Lundgren had insights into the pros that Carter did not. Roger still consulted frequently with his former coach, and within a couple of years, he engineered the ouster of Swiss Davis Cup captain of Jakob Hlasek so that Carter could step into this role. As Switzerland’s best young player, Roger had the power to do this.
Roger played well in 1999. He reached the semifinals of a tournament in Vienna and advanced to the quarters in Marseille, Rotterdam and Basel. His biggest victory came over Carlos Moya, who was ranked #5 at the time. Roger also won a Challenger-level event in Brest, defeating Max Mirnyi. By the end of the year, he was the youngest member of the ATP Tour’s Top 100.
ON THE RISE
The 2000 season brought Roger his first two ATP finals appearances. He lost to countryman Marc Rosset in Marseille in a final-set tiebreak and to Tomas Enqvist in the finals at Basel. Roger was playing about .500 tennis until the U.S, Open, then finished 16-9 through the end of the year.
By far the highlight of Roger’s '00 season was representing Switzerland at the Olympics in Sydney. He lost his quarterfinal match, barely missing out on a medal, By then Rogerhad become smitten with a member of the Swiss women’s team, Miroslava Vavrinec. Their relationship blossomed in the ensuing years, and she eventually was considered a member of the Federer family.
Roger finally got on the board in 2001, winning his first ATP singles title in Milan. He defeated Goran Ivanisevic, Evgeny Kafelnikov and Julien Boutter on his road to the championship. From there, Roger led the Swiss Davis Cup team to victory over the United States by taking both his singles ties as well as the doubles. The first “Federer Express” headlines began appearing soon after.
The best was yet to come. With everyone handing the Wimbledon crown to red-hot Pete Sampras that year, Roger stepped up and beat the American star in five sets to end his 31-match winning streak. Tennis fans thought this might be Roger’s long-awaited breakthrough, but he lost in the next round to Tim Henman. It was not the first time he had followed a significant win with a perplexing loss, and it would not be the last.
Roger spent the rest of the summer nursing a groin injury. He reappeared at the U.S. Open—where he lost to Andre Agassi in the fourth round. Roger picked up his game when the European indoor tournaments rolled around, reaching the final in his hometown of Basel after an impressive win over Andy Roddick. Henman was waiting for him in the final, however, and beat him for a second time that year.
Roger claimed his first two ATP doubles titles in '01, in Rotterdam with Jonas Bjorkman and in Gstaad with Marat Safin. He ended the year ranked #13 in singles and got high marks on all surfaces. He had a winning record on hardcourts, grass, clay and carpet—an unusual feat for a developing player. Roger barely missed securing one of the six slots in the season-ending Masters Cup. He made it his goal to reach that tournament in 2002.
Roger started the ’02 season with a victory at Sydney, an important tuneup for the Australian Open. He began the Open well, advancing to the round of 16 without trouble. Then he ran into Tommy Hass. Though he was handling Haas—Roger actually had match point—the pesky German fought back and won in five sets, taking the decider 8-6.
Bjorn Borg,
Black Book Partners Archives
Waiting for Roger to claim his place in the Top 10 was becoming a frustrating process for his fans. After every signature vicotry, there seemed to be a deflating loss. This is not unusual on the men’s tour, but in Roger’s case, he won with such creativity and style it was hard to see how he was ever defeated. In Key Biscayne, he upended #1 ranked Lleyton Hewitt and seemed unstoppable on his way to the final, where Andre Agassi cleaned his clock.
From a player’s perspective, you were never sure which Federer was going to show up. And you didn’t always find out right away. For every guy Roger blew off the court, there was someone else who hung in until he lost his rhythm, and suddenly it was a match again. At the ’02 French Open, Roger was beaten by Moroccan journeyman Hicham Arazi in the first round. A week earlier, at a clay court tournament in Hamburg, he had destroyed Gustavo Kuerten and Marat Safin to win his first Masters series event.
As the summer tournaments rolled around, Roger managed to creep into the Top 10 for the first time. But he was still vulnerable in long matches. It wasn’t a matter of conditioning, but rather one of mental toughness. Roger knew it, too. After four- and five-set losses, he would weep out of frustration in the locker room. When he lost in the first round at Wimbledon in straight sets to 154th-ranked Mario Ancic, some of his most ardent fans began siding with his detractors; perhaps Roger did not have what it took after all.
Despite Roger’s claims to the contrary, the pressure of his as-yet-unfulfilled potential was starting to get to him. He had always been despondent after bad losses, but it was getting harder and harder to shake them off. To get to sleep, he would bang his head into the pillow repeatedly to release the tension.
Roger dropped another first-rounder that season at an August tournament in Toronto. He stuck around to compete in doubles, but was basically just partying at night instead of preparing for his matches. One evening, Roger went out for beers with some other players after attending a Cirque du Soleil performance, and ignored Lundgren’s repeated attempts to summon him on his cell phone. Finally, his coach called Wayne Ferreira and got through to Roger. Peter Carter was dead, Lundgren told Roger. Talk about guilt—it was at Roger’s urging that Carter had gone on safari in South Africa. His vehicle had veered off the road and fallen into a ravine. He and the driver were killed instantly.
Roger lost it. He bolted into the street. When he couldn’t find a cab, he panicked and just started running. He ran more than a mile until he gained his bearings and made his way back to the hotel. Roger returned to Switzerland to see to the arrangements for Carter’s funeral. The body arrived in Basel on his 21st birthday.
Carter’s death forced Roger to focus on his life, his game and his relationships. As a young pro, he had brushed aside some of what Carter had taught him about being a good player and a good man. Now he wanted to honor his old friend by finally embracing these qualities.
It didn’t happen overnight. Roger played the U.S. Hardcourts in Cincinnati and was beaten soundly in the first round, and then won only three matches in Flushing Meadows before bowing out of the U.S. Open. Roger finally began to turn things around later in September, when he avenged his loss to Harazi in a Davis Cup tie against Morocco. Roger teamed with George Bastl to win the doubles andbeat Younes El-Aynaoui to wrap up the series. In each match—they both ended 6-3, 6-2, 6-1— it was like watching a tennis God toy with mere mortals. Someone had flicked on the switch.
Roger finished the year strong enough to earn a #6 ranking, and was the only Top 10 player to win multiple singles and doubles championships—teaming with Mirnyi for titles in Rotterdam and Moscow.
Roger easily made the season-ending Masters Cup draw. He won the round-robin phase of the tournament andmet Hewitt in the semis. The two young stars pounded away at each other, splitting the first two sets 7-5 and 5-7. Roger was outlasted by Hewitt 7-5 in a classic third and final set, but he impressed tennis experts with his newfound grit against a superior player.
Never afraid to move forward—or move on—Roger decided to end his long relationship with IMG in 2003 and asked his parents to handle the bulk of his business dealings, adding an attorney and media consultant to Team Federer.
Andre Agassi, 2004 SI for Kids
Roger started the year on fire, winning his first 10 matches and capturing singles titles in Dubai and Marseille. He lost in the fourth round of the Australian Open, but kicked back into high gear that April in Davis Cup play. Roger won both of his singles matches and the doubles to defeat France 3-2.
When the clay court season began, Roger took the first tournament in Munich without dropping a set. He also reached the finals of his next event. But at the French Open, Roger bowed out again in the first round, this time to Luis Horna.
MAKING HIS MARK
Roger righted himself when the men’s tour moved to grass, winning at Halle, one of the tune-up events for Wimbledon. He was firing on all cyliders at the All-England Club, and for a change things seemed to be breaking his way. Co-favorites Hewitt and Agassi lost early, which meant the spotlight was retrained on Roger and Roddick, who were both unbeaten on grass in ’03 as they headed for their semifinal clash.
It was all Roger could do to get on the court for this match after straining his back during his fourth-round victory over Feliciano Lopez. Deep massage, pain pills, and a shot at his first Grand Slam kept him going.
There was still the small matter of Roddick. The favorite to advance to the final and win it all, he hadn’t lost in more than a month—and had his serve working. The fact that Roger had never gone this deep into a Grand Slam before did not help his cause with the odds-makers, who believed that he was once again in over his head.
A day before the Federer-Roddick match, tennis legends John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Martina Navratilova and Ilie Nastase authored an open letter to the ITF claiming that serve-and-volley tennis was dead, and that new rules needed to be implemented to save the beauty of tennis. Roger answered their charges in eye-opening fashion, demolishing Roddick in straight sets with a masterful display of all-court tennis. Roddick played well and served bullets, but had no answer for the game Roger brought to centre court that day.
In the final, Roger faced the only guy on the tour with a serve harder than Roddick’s, Mark Philippoussis. The Aussie held serve most of the time, but was overmatched by Roger once points went into play. The final score of 7-6, 6-2, 7-6 made the match look closer than it was. At no point was the outcome really in doubt. With the Grand Slam monkey off his back, Roger set his sights on a #1 ranking.
Roger reached the final in his next tournament, in Gstaad, but lost to Jiri Novak, ending his unbeaten streak at 15 matches. At the U.S. Open, he lost in the fourth round to David Nalbandian. So much for #1. After the tournament, Roger sucked it up for what he knew would be an emotional meeting with the Australian Davis Cup team.
The winner of this competition would not only get to the finals, it would claim the first Carter Cup, named in honor of Roger's old coach. Anytime Switzerland and Australia compete in tennis, the trophy is on the line. Roger won his first match, but by the time he faced Hewitt, the Swiss were down 2-1. He played inspired tennis and took the first two sets. Up 5-3 in the third set, Roger failed to chase after a pretty shot by Hewitt that he assumed was going out. This one point turned the match around, giving Hewitt extra fire in his belly andRoger too much to think about. He lost the third and fourth sets, and then Hewitt ran him off the court in the fifth, 6-1. Roger rushed to the locker room sobbing.
Carter’s parents met with Roger privately after the match and tried to console him. They told him that in Roger’s tennis, they saw their son living on—that when they pulled for Roger, it was like pulling for Peter. This meeting enabled Roger to appreciate Carter’s life lessons on a much deeper level. Some say Roger finally transitioned from boy to man after this meeting in Melbourne.
Prior to the season-ending Masters Cup in Houston, Roger got on the wrong side of tournament chairman “Mattress Mac” McIngvale and endured a tongue-lashing that might have sent him packing in the past. Choosing to stay, he unleashed his anger on Agassi in front of a rabidly pro-Agassi crowd. Roger also destroyed Nalbandian and the new world #1 Roddick on his way to the final, where he beat Agassi again. It was a nice way to end the season.
Despite having just completed the finest year of his career, Roger fired his coach, Lundgren. Their relationship, he felt, had become too cozy. Roger needed someone who could rattle his cage when necessary. He believed he and Lundgren had been through too much together for that to happen.
Roger started the 2004 campaign with his second Grand Slam title, at the Australian Open. He was on top of his game, as he cruised through the draw and defeated Safin in the final. The victory convinced any remaining disbelievers that Roger had arrived, and vaulted him to the tour’s #1 ranking for the first time.
Roger held that ranking with tournament wins in Dubai, Indian Wells and Hamburg. The victory on clay in Germany was a significant one. Unlike the players to whom he was now increasingly being compared—Sampras and McEnroe—Roger was a killer on clay.
For this reason, he was installed as the favorite at Roland Garros. But a tough loss to Gustavo Kuerten in the third round derailed his dream of winning four Grand Slams. After the French Open, however, the Federer Express just kept rolling.
Roger Federer, 2003 NetPro
Roger took his next four tournaments, including Wimbledon. He outplayed Roddick and out-strategized his coach, Brad Gilbert, during a rain-interrupted final. The two young stars sparred for two-plus sets and sat through two delays before Roger finally found his rhythm and began playing his A Game. Even so, Roddick gained several break points in the third and fourth sets, but Roger did a great job fighting them off. He won 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4. After the match, all Roddick could do was shake his head in admiration. He had thrown everything he had at Roger, to no avail.
At Wimbledon, Roger showed the tennis world two things it had been waiting to see: he could win against a Top 10 player when he wasn’t at his best, and he could adjust to changing strategies and conditions. It was a truly artistic victory against an overpowering player and a coach who delighted in “winning ugly.”
Prior to the U.S. Open, Roger joined the Swiss team in Athens for the Olympics. He lost in the second round to Tomas Berdych, but had a good time at the games. The defeat turned out to be the last one of the year for Roger. Incredibly, he ran the table the rest of the way.
Roger’s sternest test came in the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows against Agassi, as wind, rain and a vociferous home crowd threatened to throw him off. Yet just as he had at Wimbledon, Roger adjusted again and won. The semifinals brought a familiar nemesis in Henman, but this time it was barely a match, as Roger blew him off the court.
In the final against Hewitt, Roger authored a near-perfect opening set. Stunning Hewitt and the crowd, he won 6-0 in under 20 minutes. Roger went up 5-2 in the second set but stumbled and let Hewitt back in the match. He recovered to take the tiebreak, and then blanked Hewitt in the third, 6-0. Those who knew both men were shocked. Hewitt’s greatest asset, his tenacity, had all but disappeared by the final set. Roger’s longtime flaw, his lack of grit, was all but absent during the match.
Tennis fans were gushing about the tour’s first three-Slam champ since Mats Wilander in 1988. Roger was not only hailed as the leader of the game’s new wave of male players, he was saluted for his “throwback” style.
Roger ended the season at the Masters in Houston, winning the tournament without a hiccup. This was Hewitt’s chance to reassert his former dominance over Roger. Instead, Roger clobbered him in their round-robin match. He beat Hewitt again in the finals, in straight sets—the sixth victory against the Aussie in ’04 against no losses.
Roger finished the season with only six losses and was a perfect 11-0 when he reached the finals of a tournament. In his final 23 matches against Top 10 players, he was perfect, too, going 23-0. It had been more than 30 years since a player had dominated the men’s tour to this degree.
A few days after the conclusion of the ’04 season, Roger began thinking about 2005. He was determined to improve his stamina and mapped out a more rigorous regimen and diet plan.
Roger's first test of the '05 season came at the Australian Open. He breezed through the early rounds, including a decisive victory over Agassi. In the semis, he met Safin, who had his eye on the #1 ranking. The match was a classic, as the two slugged it out for nearly five hours. They split the first four sets, delighting the SRO crowd with their all-out effort on every point. Several times Roger showed the strain of keeping his 26-match unbeaten string intact as he screamed at himself in anger.
Heading into the fifth set, he needed treatment on his right shoulder and elbow for pain that he later called more of a nuisance than anything else. Safin kept the pressure on, making Roger chase down balls all over the court. Trailing 8-7, Roger served to stay alive. With a chance for a break to win the match, Safin drove a shot deep to Roger's forehand. He lunged in desperation, but dropped his racket as he hit his return. With Roger totally defenseless, Safin ended the thrilling match with a simple putaway. The final line score read 5-7, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (6), 9-7.
Roger Federer, 2004 SI for Kids
Roger rebounded to win the big ATP Masters events in Indian Wells and Miami. In the latter, he fought back from two sets down in a spine-tingling final to win in five sets. His victim was an 18-year-old Spaniard named Rafael Nadal. The two had met in Miami a year before, and Nadal had cleaned Roger’s clock. As the two warriors left the court after their epic final in 2005, their mutual respect was obvious. A rivalry was beginning to bloom. Their next meeting came at the French Open. Clay was Nadal’s best surface, and he beat Roger in a four-set semifinal on his way to his first Grand Slam singles victory.
At Wimbledon, Roger went through the draw like a buzzsaw, disposing of Fernando Ganzalez and Lleyton Hewitt in the quarters and semis. In the final against Roddick, Roger dominated the opening set, won the second in a tiebreaker, and closed the American out in the third 6–4.
Roger was untouchable at the U.S. Open. He did not lose a single set on his way to the semifinal against Hewitt, whom he beat in four sets. Roger bested Agassi in the final 6–3, 2–6, 7–6, 6–1. He finished the year at #1 again. There were really no weaknesses in his game at this point. Some were saying that he deserved to be mentioned among the greatest players of all time.
Nothing in 2006 diminished this observation. Roger practically slept through the Australian Open, beating Nikolay Davydenko, Flag of Germany Nicolas Kiefer and Marcos Baghdatis in the final three rounds. He got his wakeup call when the clay court season began, as Nadal beat him in Monte Carlo and Rome. The match in Italy lasted five hours, and Roger saved two match points in the fifth-set tiebreaker. It added yet another chapter to what had quickly become the most compelling rivalry in tennis. When Nadal beat Roger in the French Open final, their story was one of the most talked-about in sports.
Roger won Wimbledon again, taking every match in straight sets on his way to a final showdown with Nadal. Roger wiped him out 6–0 in the first set, captured the second-set tiebreaker and then finished him off in the fourth set. Nadal may have been the master of clay, but on grass Roger was still the man.
And on hard surfaces, too. Roger claimed the U.S. Open for the third year in a row, surviving a tough quarterfinal with James Blake and defeating Roddick again in the final. At the end of the year, he beat Blake in the finals of the Masters Cup, winning it for the third time in four seasons. Roger was number one again. Behind him at #2 was Nadal, but he was just a speck in the rearview, thousands of points behind. That would start to change in 2007.
Roger began the year by winning his 10th Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open. Once again he cruised through a lackluster field, dispatching Fernando González in the final. Roger took the championship without the loss of a set. He ran his consecutive match streak to 41 before losing at Indian Wells to Guillermo Cañas. He fell to Cañas again at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, leading some to speculate that either: a) Cañas knew something no one else did, or b) that something was wrong with Roger.
Roger lost to Nadal in the finals at Monte Carlo and dropped a match to another journeyman in Rome. That made four tournaments in a row without a trophy. However, just when people were whispering he was vulnerable on clay, Roger beat Nadal in the final at the Hamburg Masters. It was the first time he had defeated the Spaniard on the slow stuff. Nadal bounced right back at Roland Garros, denying Roger the French Open for a third consecutive year.
Heading into Wimbledon, Roger was well-rested. He skipped the warm-up tournament in Halle, which he had won each year since 2003, and tore through the draw at the All England Club. He defeated Richard Gasquet in the semis. In the finals, Roger met—who else?— Nadal. Their match lasted five grueling sets, with Roger winning two tiebreakers before taking the finale with relative ease, 6–2. The last time anyone had stretched Roger to the limit at Wimbledon was in 2001.
Roger won his 50th career singles championship in Cincinnati later that summer. Next, he captured the U.S. Open again, beating Novak Djokovic in the final. Roger finished another #1 season by beating Nadal in the Masters Cup semis on the way to the championship.
Roger started 2008 as the prohibitive favorite in Australia, but was bumped out in the semis by Djokovic, who went on to win it all. It was later revealed that Roger had been the victim of food poisoning. Later he announced that he had been diagnosed with mononeucleosis. Predictably, he showed poorly in the other early season tournaments.
Roger soon hired a new coach, Jose Higueras. In his first appearance under his tutelage, he won the Estoril Open in Portugal. His opponent in the final, Nikolay Davydenko, retired after suffering a leg injury in the second set. The previous year, Davydenko had pulled out of a match with a foot injury, triggering an investigation by the ATP. More than a million dollars had been bet against him by Russian gamblers in that match. Davydenko was ultimtely cleared of the charges.
Roger faced Nadal in the finals of two clay court tournaments that spring and lost both times. They also met in the finals of the French Open, where Nadal destroyed him. Roger lost one of the sets 6–0. The last time he had been bageled was in 1999.
Roger tightened things up in the weeks before Wimbledon and was sharp throughout the tournament. The tennis world watched in delight as he and Nadal headed for a second straight clash in the final. Roger had a chance to break the modern record with a sixth consecutive championship.
Rafael Nadal, 2005 SI for Kids
The match went on all day—almost literally. Thanks to rain delays, it lasted over seven hours, with nearly five hours of breathtaking tennis. Nadal seemed to have the upper hand early on, taking the first two sets 6–4, 6–4. But Roger fought back in the third, winning in a tiebreaker. He took the fourth set in a tiebreaker too, saving two match points in the process. The fifth set featured one spine-tingling point after another. Nadal finally prevailed 9–7. Most people who watched the two superstars battle said it was the greatest match they’d ever seen.
A month later, Nadal surpassed Roger as the #1 player in the world. Roger had held that honor for a remarkable 237 consecutive weeks, easily eclipsing the men’s record (160, by Jimmy Connors) and women’s record (186, by Steffi Graf).
After winning a gold medal in doubles at the Olympics, Roger put his stamp on the U.S. Open for the fifth year in a row. After survivng a tough match with Igor Andreev in the round of 16, he beat Gilles Muller, Djokovic and Andy Murray for the championship. Murray had stunned Nadal, denying fans in Flushing Meadows a chance to watch a 7th Federer-Nadal Grand Slam final.
Roger finished 2008 in the unfamiliar #2 spot behind Nadal. He hit the courts in 2009 looking to reclaim the top spot. He reached his 19th straight Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open but lost in the finals to Nadal. The match lasted more than four hours, and when it was over, Roger and his fans may have sensed the sun was starting to set on his marvelous career. He could barely summon the words to thank the crowd and congratulate his opponent.
Injuries and mid-round losses clouded the picture for Roger during the early months of the season. By the French Open, however, he was firing on all cylinders again. Hoping to capture the one Grand Slam that had eluded him, he caught a break when Nadal was upended in the semifinals by Robin Soderling. Roger then took Soderling apart in the final to become the sixth player ever to complete a career Grand Slam. His 14th Grand Slam singles titles matched the record established seven years earlier by Pete Sampras.
Roger broke that record in July when he won Wimbledon for the seventh time. Nadal was out of the draw with tendonitis, which meant that Roger would face either Andy Murray or Andy Roddick in the final. When Roddick upset Murray with a brilliant performance, Roger knew he would have all he could handle, despite the fact that he held an 18–2 career record against the Texan.
Roger dropped the first set and nearly lost the second, but salvaged a dramatic tiebreaker. He won the third set in a tiebreaker, too. As the fourth set began, Roger had yet to break Roddick’s serve. Fortunately he had been serving well himself, but it was Roddick who broke through to even the match 6–3.
The fifth set went a record-setting 30-game epic. Both players were brilliant. Roddick showed incredible fortitude, while Roger kept trying to solve his serve. To his own credit, Roger was serving up aces at a remarkable rate, logging 50 for the match. He finally broke Roddick to win the match. With that victory, Roger regained the #1 world ranking from Nadal.
Roger took a well-earned five-week break after Wimbledon. He returned to action in Canada at the Rogers Cup, where he lost in the quarters to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. He bounced back at the next event, the Cincinnati Open, beating Djokovic in the finals.
At the U.S. Open, Roger scored a comeback win over Hewitt—his 14th match win in a row against his old nemesis—and beat Djokovic again to reach the finals. On the second-to-last point of the match, Roger hit a passing shot from between his legs. He later called it the greatest shot of his life. Two days later, the crowd at Flushing Meadows was stunned when Roger fell short of the title, losing to Juan Martin del Porto. It marked the first time he had lost a Grand Slam final to anyone other than Nadal.
Roger looked spent after his U.S. Open loss. He played through aches and pains the rest of the season, losing to del Porto and (for the first time ever) Djokovic in the ATP World Tour Finals. He then lost to Robin Soderling and Nikolay Davydekno in his first 2010 tournaments. Those defeats spurred speculation that fatherhood—he and his wife Mirka had celebrated the birth of twin girls, Charline Riva and Myla Rose—may have cost him his edge, and that he was entering his waning years.
Those whispers ended in Mebourne, when Roger staged a great comeback against Davydekno in the quarterfinals and then beat Tsonga and Andy Murray in straight sets to capture the Australian Open—his 16th Grand Slam championship, and his first as a dad.
Roger Federer & Rafael Nadal,
2008 Sports Illustrated
As it turned out, this was Roger’s one and only Grand Slam final in 2010. He failed to reach the semis at the French for the first time in six years and relinquished the #1 ranking in the process. This was a huge deal. Roger had held the top spot for a combined 285 weeks—one short of Pete Sampras’s record.
Roger sank to #3 after losing to Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. He looked to rebound at the U.S. Open but fell in a five-set thriller to rising star Novak Djokavic. Roger actually had match point against the 23-year-old Serb but let the victory slip away.
Between the two Grand Slam events, Roger hired coach Paul Annacone to revitalize his game. The new partnership paid immediate dividends, as Roger won two European tournaments. These wins pushed him ahead of Sampras on the career victories list, with a total of 65. After the U.S. Open, Roger won on the hard surface in Cincinnati. He rebounded from a first-set loss in the best-of-three final against Mardy Fish. In the season-ending World Tour Finals, he defeated Nadal in the final. In all, he won five of the nine events he entered—and was runner-up in two others—after teaming up with his new coach. It was enough to give Roger a #2 year-end ranking.
Roger entered the 2011 Australian Open having failed to win at the previous three Grand Slams. It had been a long time—eight years, in fact—since he had gone winless in four straight. He advanced to the semis before running into a red-hot Djokavic, who took the matchin straight sets. He went on to win the title. At the Sony Ericcson in Miami, Roger advanced to the finals but lost to Nadal. He lost again that spring to Nadal in Madrid.
Heading into the French Open, for the first time in nearly a decade, the tennis experts were not expecting to see Roger in a Grand Slam final. He crossed them up by defeating Djokavic—previously unbeaten in a remarkable seven events in 2011—in four sets in the semifinals to earn another shot at Nadal. Alas, the Spaniard took the first two sets, dropped the third, and then blew Roger out in the fourth to claim supremacy on clay.
Roger and Nadal have finished in the top two spots on the men’s tour each year since 2005. Coming out of the French Open, Roger was ranked #3—miles ahead of Andy Murray and right behind Nadal and Djokvic, who were neck-and-neck for #1. He faces his toughest battle trying to keep that streak going in 2011. The two leaders are on their game, and Roger is fighting Father Time as he approaches his 30th birthday.
Those who claim Roger belongs in the same class with players like Bill Tilden, Rod Laver and Sampras no longer have to defend their view. When Roger is playing his best, he is as good as anyone who has ever taken the court. He can do more to beat an opponent than anyone on the tour and isn't afraid to adjust his approach if the situation warrants—or if he just feels like it. In an era when rackets amount to little more than power tools, Roger hand-crafts his wins. That type of virtuosity was thought to be a thing of the past not too long ago. Hopefully, for Roger and the rest of tennis, it’s a sign of the future.
ROGER THE PLAYER
Though capable of overwhelming most of his opponents, Roger prefers to pick their games apart—sometimes exposing their weaknesses, sometimes finding ways to use their own strengths against them. These cat-and-mouse games used to be his undoing, but he has perfected his craft, and now it his opponents who look helpless at times, not him.
Roger’s anticipation and footwork are as good an anyone’s on the pro tour—and maybe ever. His volleying skills are matchless among current ATP players, and the best the tour has seen since John McEnroe’s. Surrounded by super athletes who wield ultrapowerful rackets, Roger has reintroduced the slice to men’s tennis. So few current players have experience with this “weapon” that it has become one of Roger’s most effective approach shots.
Despite his reputation for finesse, Roger does not lack a power game. His strokes are so effortless, it seems impossible that he could generate the pace he does, but clean winners don’t lie—he hits as many as any top player. The same is true of Roger’s serve, which is well above average.
Off the court, Roger’s courteousness and openness have endeared him to the tennis fans. There may not be a nicer guy on the tour.
Those who believe Roger is as good at this age as anyone in history point to the fact that, unlike Laver and Borg, he is comfortable on hard surfaces, and can dominate on them. And unlike Sampras and McEnroe, his game is championship-caliber on clay.
Roger Federer,
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Inventor of the telephone Alexander Graham Bell died and was buried in which country? | BIOGRAPHY: Roger Federer Lifetime
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BIOGRAPHY
Roger Federer has been ranked as the number one tennis player in the world, but how did the young man from Switzerland get this far?
Roger Federer, who is considered as the greatest player in the sport by many, was born on 8 August 1981 in Binningen, Switzerland. His father Robert is a Swiss national and his mother Lynette Durand was born in South Africa. This means he holds both Swiss and South African citizenship.
He started playing tennis at the age of eight-years-old but didn't stick to this sport exclusively as a child. Instead, he also took part in badminton, cricket and basketball, which helped him improve his hand-eye coordination.
Federer first started playing tennis professionally as a junior, with his most notable wins being the boys' singles final at Wimbledon and the Orange Bowl in 1998. During his junior career, he also won four ITF junior singles tournaments and ended 1998 as the junior world number one.
His first final as an adult tennis player came in 2000 at the Marseille Open where he lost to fellow Swiss player Marc Rosset. Federer took part in the Sydney Olympics and met former Women's Tennis Association player Mirka Vavrinec who was also competing. They started dating and when Vavrinec had to retire from the sport due to a foot injury in 2002 she became his public relations manager.
Going back to his tennis career, he won the 2001 Hopman Cup representing Switzerland along with Martina Hingis. He then enjoyed his first singles win at the Milan Indoor Tournament the same year.
Federer then reached the quarter-final of the French Open, his first Grand Slam, followed by the same stage at Wimbledon. He reached the quarter-final after beating Pete Sampras, who was Federer's favourite player as a child.
In 2002, he reached the final of the Miami Masters event where he lost to Andre Agassi on a hard court. The same year, he won his first Masters Series beating Marat Safin. This victory placed Federer in the top ten tennis players in the world for the first time. He finished the year in sixth.
Like all male Swiss citizens, Federer had to undertake national military service but in 2003, he was deemed unfit because of a long-standing back problem. However, it luckily hasn't affected his tennis skills!
He won his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon beating Mark Phillippoussis in the final in 2003 before winning his first and only doubles Masters Series 1000 event in Miami with Max Mirnyi. On the ATP Tour, he reached nine finals and won seven of them. By the end of the year, he was ranked the world number two tennis player behind Andy Roddick.
In 2004, he won three Grand Slams becoming the first person to do so since Mats Wilander in 1988. After winning the Australian Open, Federer became the world number one tennis player. He then beat Roddick to win Wimbledon for the second time and defeated Lleyton Hewitt to take home the US Open title for the first time.
Federer then failed to reach the finals of the Australian Open and the French Open to his main rival Rafael Nadal at the start of 2005. He soon bounced back though and won Wimbledon for the third time and beat Agassi to win the US Open.
In 2006, Federer won three Grand Slam singles titles and reached the final of the French Open where he lost to Nadal. As a result, Federer was the first man to reach all four finals in a calendar year since Rod Laver in 1969. Once again, he won Wimbledon and ended the year as the top ranked tennis player.
Once again, Federer reached the final of all four Grand Slams in 2007 and won three of them. He lost the French Open to Nadal but defeated him at Wimbledon. The following year, he only won the US Open against Andy Murray but lost Wimbledon and the French Open to Nadal. He ended 2008 as the second top tennis player in the world.
In 2009, Federer married his girlfriend Vavrinec in Switzerland. She gave birth to identical twins Myla Rose and Charlene Riva on 23 July 2009. In terms of his career, he won two Grand Slams – the French Open and Wimbledon. This was his sixth win at the British tournament and his 15th Grand Slam win, which surpassed Sampras' record of 14.
The following year started well as Federer won the Australian open but he was, rather shockingly, knocked out of Wimbledon in the quarter-final and fell to number three in the world rankings. Due to some minor wins, he ended the year in second place.
Federer lost in straight sets at the Australian Open in 2011 before losing to Nadal in the final of the French Open and being defeated by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Wimbledon quarter-final. He was also knocked-out of the US Open but managed to finish the year as world number three after doing well at the ATP World Tour Finals.
In 2012, Federer won the Indian Wells Master series for the record fourth time. On 8 July 2012, he beat Murray in four sets in the Wimbledon final for his seventh win. This means he ties Sampras' record and became the world number one again.
Four weeks later, he met Murray at Wimbledon again but this time in the gold medal match of London 2012. He lost and took home a silver medal for Switzerland.
In 2013 he was beaten by Andy Murray in the semi finals of the Australian Open and was upset in a number of tournaments due to a serious back injury.
As of 2014, he is currently rated the number four player in the world.
He also supports a number of charities as well as the Roger Federer Federation, which he set up in 2003 to help disadvantaged people in South Africa.
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Which was the first country to establish a permanent airport on Antarctica? | Which Country Owns Antarctica?
Which Country Owns Antarctica?
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Antarctica is huge. The continent that surrounds the south pole comprises nearly 10% of the earth’s landmass. It’s also extremely cold. The annual average temperature is -50°C and 98% of Antarctica is covered by ice that averages a mile thick. Does any country actually own it?
Who Owns Antarctica?
No country or nation is a recognized ‘owner’ of Antarctica but several nations do claim pie-shaped slices of the continent. Thanks to an international treaty signed in 1959, only one thing rules Antarctica – science. The treaty signed back then froze new territorial claims, banned military activity, weapons testing, and made Antarctica off-limits for nuclear testing. One thing the treaty did allow for was scientific research. 47 nations have ratified the treaty and any nation is free to do scientific research as long as they share their research with the rest of the world. Later amendments to the treaty sought to cover Antarctica’s natural resources.
Territories of Antarctica
The later additions protect seals, whales, other marine based life while also regulating any possible (future) mineral development. Several countries have attempted to get access to the area for the abundance of natural resources that are believed to be there. Since no company or nation has done thorough surveys, it is believed that extremely rich oil and coal reserves lie deep beneath the ice.
Currently, Argentina, the United Kingdom, Chile, France, New Zealand, Australia, and Norway have all claimed areas to establish research bases. At this time, there are 15 established science bases around the continent with scientists from 28 different nations. There are more than 4,000 scientists that operate the research stations in the summer months but this number decreases to just over 1,000 during the winter months.
What Kind Of Scientific Research is Done in Antarctica?
Meteorite In Antarctica
The first actual scientific research done in Antarctica was largely geography and elemental meteorology. This involved the mapping of the continent and determining its weather patterns and movements of glaciers. After, geologists began to study the rock types and structures in an effort to connect Antarctica to the other continents in the Southern Hemisphere. As more discoveries were made – fish, mammals, and the birds inhabiting the south pole and coastal areas – biologists and zoologists were added to expeditions. Now, virtually all scientific disciplines have their specialists represented in the farthest outposts of Antarctica. The current scientific research taking place now falls mainly among the following disciplines: biology, geology, astronomy, meteorology, glaciology, oceanography, atmospheric sciences, and medical science. Scientists studying volcanology and meteorites are especially thrilled with what secrets Antarctica may reveal.
Astrophysics In Antarctica
Thanks to Antarctica’s thin, dry, cold atmosphere and due to the ozone hole (which has been getting smaller over the years thanks to reduced CFC usage worldwide), Antarctica is the perfect place to study space and the stars. Ongoing research includes the formation of large-scale structure in the early Universe, cosmic microwave background, origins of star-forming molecular clouds, the origin and evolution of protostars, and the interaction between molecular clouds and early stars.
Bonus fact: Interestingly enough, Antarctica has 2 ATM’s. They were installed back in 2000 at the McMurdo Station which is 840 miles from the south pole. A few of the workers were trained to perform minor repairs but a vendor is sent down once every two years to service them and deliver spare parts and/or upgrade software.
References:
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Mt Elbrus, Europe's highest, is in which country? | Lonely Planet Travel Guides and Travel Information
International Geophysical Year (IGY)
The ancients
Antarctica, unlike any other continent, was postulated to exist long before it was actually discovered. The ancient Greeks, beginning with Pythagoras in about 530 BC, believed the earth to be round. Aristotle supported and refined the idea, suggesting that the symmetry of a sphere demanded that the earth’s inhabited northern region should be balanced by an equally inhabited – or, at least, inhabitable – southern region. Without it, the top-heavy globe might tumble over. This idea of earthly balance gave rise to the name we give the southern continent today: Antarktos, or ‘opposite Arktos, ’ the constellation in the northern sky. In Egypt Ptolemy agreed that geographical equilibrium required an unknown southern continent, but he believed the unknown land would be populated and fertile. A map he drew c AD 150 showed a large continent linking Africa and Asia .
Two factors conspired, however, against anyone going to look for this mysterious undiscovered continent. First, ancient thinkers as far back as Parmenides (460 BC) believed that between the earth’s two temperate regions would be found a zone of fire and perhaps even monsters. This may have been wisdom somehow gleaned from an early traveler who had experienced a tropical summer. This torrid zone was thought to be impassable and deadly. If mortal fear was not enough to dissuade would-be discoverers, perhaps eternal damnation did the trick, for the Catholic Church found the idea of a southern continent – with its own population, and thus its own separate relationship with God – unacceptable. The idea that the Creator could possibly have made two sets of humanity was deemed heretical, and the flat-earth theory was given full backing.
Intrepid voyagers nevertheless pushed back the boundaries of their known worlds. As early as 700 BC, the Greek historian Herodotus records, a Phoenician fleet sailed from the Red Sea south along the African coast and around Cape Agulhas to the Strait of Gibraltar . This incredible voyage was not to be repeated for nearly 2000 years. In AD 650, according to Rarotongan legend, a Polynesian navigator named Ui-te-Rangiora sailed so far south that he reached a place where the sea was frozen. These voyages were neither repeated nor widely known, however, and it was not until late in the 15th century that further progress was made on answering the question of Antarctica.
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The explorers
The Portuguese made the first important penetrations south, beginning with a naval voyage in 1487–88 led by Bartholomeu Días de Novaes and João Infante, who sailed around the southern tip of Africa , Cape Agulhas, as far as present-day Mozambique . Their voyage opened the way for another naval expedition, led by Vasco da Gama in 1497, to discover the way around Africa to India . These expeditions proved that if there was a great southern continent, it was not attached to Africa .
Likewise, Portuguese explorer Fernão de Magalhães (Ferdinand Magellan), leading the first circumnavigation of the globe from 1519 to 1522, discovered and named Tierra del Fuego (‘Land of Fire, ’ named not for the ancients’ torrid regions, but for the campfires built by the native Yámana people that had been spotted onshore). By sailing through the straits that now bear his name, Magellan proved the southern land was not connected to South America , either, although it remained possible that it was attached to Tierra del Fuego.
What’s remarkable about these discoveries is that their makers were disproving rather than proving the existence of a great southern land. Antarctica was a mysterious place whose extent was originally imagined to be enormous: it was thought to cover the whole Southern Ocean and connect to the southern extremes of the known continents. Although each subsequent voyage of discovery pared off great sections of open ocean where Antarctica was obviously not located, few people seemed able to conceive that the continent might not exist at all; instead the belief persisted strongly that Antarctica – a greatly diminished Antarctica, to be sure – must lie just a little further south. But the Southern Ocean ’s terrifying storms and impenetrable pack ice conspired to keep the continent’s white face shrouded from inquiring eyes for centuries more.
Terra Australis (Southern Land) – the term was first used by Flemish mapmaker Oronce Finé in 1531 – continued to exert its attraction, however. Englishman Francis Drake, sailing in Pelican (later named Golden Hind), made the second circumnavigation of the globe from 1577–80. Drake discovered the passage now named for him, definitively proving that no southern continent was connected to either South America or Tierra del Fuego. As the sub-Antarctic and Southern Ocean archipelagoes (the Falklands, South Sandwich Islands, South Georgia, Bouvetøya, Îles Kerguelen) were found in succession, some were initially thought to be northerly projections of Terra Australis, but each eventually proved merely insular. Dutchman Abel Janszoon Tasman’s voyages, charting parts of Tasmania and New Zealand in 1623–25 and again in 1644, also sparked hope that they might be part of the great missing continent, but they were not.
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Cook
Yorkshireman James Cook (1728–79), once apprenticed to a shopkeeper, was the widest-ranging explorer who ever lived. He circumnavigated the globe three times, discovering more territory than anyone else in history. Aged 40, he undertook the first of his three great voyages. Between 1768 and 1771, he found New Zealand and the whole east coast of Australia , claiming them for Britain. On his third voyage, from 1776 to 1779, he explored the Arctic coasts of North America and Siberia before being killed by natives in Hawaii in 1779.
Cook’s Antarctic discoveries came on his second voyage, beginning in 1772 aboard HMS Resolution and HMS Adventure. Like HMS Endeavour, Cook’s previous ship, these vessels were colliers from the north country of England . Part of Cook’s genius lay in persuading the Royal Navy of the value of these ships that he had come to know in his earliest seagoing days as a deckhand on the coal run from Yorkshire to London: he knew that these shallow-drafted barques could explore close inshore without risk of running aground. On his second voyage with the ships, Cook’s expedition sailed 109, 500km and penetrated further south than anyone before. They crossed the Antarctic Circle on January 17, 1773, becoming the first people to do so, and crossed it twice again without ever sighting land, despite pushing to a record 71°10´S. On their third pass through the pack ice, Cook and his men landed on South Georgia, which he called the Isle of Georgia, and discovered the South Sandwich Islands.
Despite his remarkable first circumnavigation of Antarctica – done without losing a single crewmember – Cook failed to find the southern continent itself. It’s almost more remarkable that he didn’t find Antarctica, given that he managed to get so much further south than anyone before. Cook simply had poor luck: in the longitudes where he managed to penetrate furthest south, the coast of Antarctica itself also swerved southward. Upon leaving the frozen southern seas for the last time, Cook wrote:
Thick fogs, Snow storms, Intense Cold and every other thing that can render Navigation dangerous, one has to encounter and these difficulties are greatly heightned by the enexpressable horrid aspect of the Country, a Country doomed by Nature never once to feel the warmth of the Suns rays, but to lie for ever buried under everlasting snow and ice.
If there were any remaining doubt how Cook felt about the prospects of a still-undiscovered Antarctica, he later underscored this opinion:
...whoever has resolution and perseverance to clear up this point by proceeding farther than I have done, I shall not envy him the honour of discovery, but I will be bold to say that the world will not be benefited by it.
So convincing were his pessimistic sentiments that Cook discouraged other explorers from seeking the great southern continent for decades afterward. But he also recorded his observations of large numbers of seals and whales – and others, more commercially minded than the Royal Navy, took notice.
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The sealers
During the sealing era from about 1780 to 1892, more than 1100 sealing ships visited Antarctic regions (both the peri-Antarctic islands, and the Antarctic Peninsula), compared to barely 25 exploration ships. The sealers came from Britain, the Cape Colony (now part of South Africa ), France , Tasmania and New South Wales (in present-day Australia ), New Zealand and the United States. Most were motivated by profit, not discovery, though a few firms, notably Enderby Brothers of London, spent vast sums on exploration.
Fur seals have two layers that make up their coats: stiff, outer ‘guard hairs’ to protect the body when they clamber over rocks, and a dense layer of underfur to trap insulating air bubbles and keep the skin dry. Preparing the pelts required the removal of the guard hairs, a technique for many decades known only by the Chinese.
Sealing was an extremely hard life. Gangs were typically dropped off on a promising beach and left for months at a time while the ship continued in search of other sealing grounds. The sealers lived in tents, rude huts, or small caves among the rocks. All offered little shelter from the wind and weather.
The brutality of their work impressed even the sealers themselves. ‘By having our hands daily imbued in the blood of animals, ’ wrote American William Dane Phelps in 1871, ‘our natures were so changed, that acts of cruelty, which, one year previous, would have been revolting to us, we now seemed to enjoy…’
Greed was the watchword as the sealing gangs slaughtered without thought for the future. Captain James W Budington, a Connecticut sealer who worked in the Antarctic for more than 20 years, testified to the US Congress in 1892:
We killed everything, old and young, that we could get in gunshot of, excepting the black pups, whose skins were unmarketable, and most all of these died of starvation, having no means of sustenance, or else were killed by a sort of buzzard, when the mother seals, having been destroyed, were unable to protect them longer... The seals in all these localities have been destroyed entirely by this indiscriminate killing of old and young, male and female. If the seals in these regions had been protected and only a certain number of ‘dogs’ (young male seals unable to hold their positions on the beaches) allowed to be killed, these islands and coasts would be again populous with seal life. The seals would certainly not have decreased and would have produced an annual supply of skins for all times. As it is, however, seals in the Antarctic regions are practically extinct, and I have given up the business as unprofitable.
Another Connecticut sealer, George Comer of East Haddam, testified to the Congress in the same year about the enormous waste of life involved in sealing:
In the first part of a season we never disturbed the rookeries we visited, always letting the seals come on shore; then we would kill them on land with clubs or rifles. During the latter part of a season the seals became very wild, and we used to shoot them in the water from boats. When we shoot them in the water, we lose certainly three out of five we kill by sinking, and we also wounded a great many more. Shooting seals in the water is the most destructive method of taking them as compared with the number of skins we have to show for our work.
Elephant seals also were hunted for the oil that can be rendered from their blubber rather than for fur, which they lack. Elephant seals grow to massive sizes, particularly males, but the sealers found ‘sea elephants’ easy prey. ‘To the skilful hunter their overthrow is but the work of a moment, ’ wrote one sealer on Kerguelen. ‘He fearlessly approaches the animal in front, and, as it raises the left forepaw to advance upon him, with great address plunges his lance, 10ft or 12ft [3m or 3.6m] long, into its heart.’
Sealing voyages far outnumbered expeditions that could be called strictly scientific. Nearly a third of the peri-Antarctic islands were discovered by sealers. But sealers considered their discoveries proprietary and kept the information to themselves (although drunken sailors were not always able to restrain from boasting about newfound sealing grounds). So it remained for kings, czars and governments to send out exploring expeditions, in hopes of extending their sovereignty over ever-greater empires.
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Bellingshausen
Fabian von Bellingshausen (1778–1852), a Baltic German and captain in the Russian Imperial Navy, participated in the first Russian circumnavigation in 1803–06. In 1819 Czar Alexander I dispatched Bellingshausen on a voyage to the Southern Ocean , a dream assignment for Bellingshausen, who had long admired Cook’s voyages. With his flagship Vostok (East), a newly launched corvette with a copper-sheathed hull, and the older, sluggish transport ship Mirnyy (Peaceful) which constantly slowed the expedition, Bellingshausen sailed from Kronstadt, an island off St Petersburg, in July 1819.
The expedition crossed the Antarctic Circle on January 26, 1820, and the next day became the first to sight the Antarctic continent. Through a heavy curtain of falling snow, at 69°21´S, 2°14´W, Bellingshausen saw ‘an icefield covered with small hillocks.’ Not realizing the importance of his discovery, however, he merely noted the weather and position in the ship’s log before continuing. The two ships sailed eastward, pushing further south than anyone before, reaching 69°25´S. Eventually they tacked north to escape the oncoming winter, spending four months in the South Pacific in 1820. Turning south again, they crossed the Antarctic Circle six more times, eventually probing as far as 69°53´S, where they discovered Peter I Øy, the southernmost land known at that time. They also found a second piece of ice-free land south of the Circle, which Bellingshausen called Alexander Coast after the czar. It is now known to be an island joined to the Antarctic Peninsula by an ice shelf.
Returning north through the South Shetlands, Bellingshausen met American sealer Nathaniel Brown Palmer , in Hero, who claimed to know well the coast Bellingshausen had just explored. A legend created by Palmer ’s biographer, sealer Edmund Fanning, insists that Bellingshausen was so impressed by Palmer ’s claims of knowledge that he named the new territory after Palmer . But the meticulous Bellingshausen never noted this alleged act in his diaries or charts; the story appears to be fantasy.
Despite Bellingshausen’s discoveries – and his duplication of his hero Cook’s circumnavigation of Antarctica – he returned to Russia to find that his countrymen had little interest in his voyage. It took nearly 120 years and the start of the Cold War before his accomplishments were fully appreciated – by a Soviet Union newly anxious to assert its right to authority in the Antarctic.
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Smith
English merchant Captain William Smith (1790–1847), sailing in the British ship Williams in early 1819, set a course well south of Cape Horn while bound for Valparaiso, Chile , probably to avoid difficult winds. He sighted the South Shetlands on February 19, but made no landing. Returning eastward from Chile in June, Smith headed south again, reaching 62°S, but this time he was too far west and missed the islands. On his third voyage that year, again in Williams, Smith landed on King George Island on October 17. He claimed it for George IV, naming it first New South Britain, then New South Shetland. The islands were thus the first part of Antarctica (south of 60°S) to be discovered. On October 18, he sighted the island now named for him (Smith Island). Smith returned to the islands again later in the year with Bransfield.
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Bransfield
Although Edward Bransfield (c 1783–1852) was once credited with being first to sight Antarctica, it is now agreed that Bellingshausen beat him to that honor by three days.
After Smith announced his discovery of the South Shetlands in 1819, the Royal Navy chartered his ship, Williams, to survey the islands. Bransfield was put aboard Williams, and they sailed south from Valparaiso, Chile . On January 22, 1820, they landed at King George Bay (perhaps at Turret Point) on King George Island and again claimed the islands for Britain. Two months were spent charting the South Shetlands.
Continuing south, Bransfield sighted the Antarctic Peninsula on January 30, 1820, calling it Trinity Land. One of his midshipmen, quoted in the Literary Gazette and Journal of Belle Lettres, called it ‘a prospect the most gloomy that can be imagined…the only cheer the sight afforded was in the idea that this might be the long-sought Southern Continent.’ They surveyed the islands along it for another 20 days before being stopped by pack ice and turning north.
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Palmer
American sealer Nathaniel Brown Palmer (1799–1877), son of a shipyard owner, left his home of Stonington, Connecticut at age 14 to go to sea. On his second sealing voyage to the South Shetlands in 1820, commanding the sloop Hero, Palmer sailed south with a small fleet of other sealers. Hero carried five crewman, including Peter Harvey, born in Philadelphia in 1789, the first recorded black person to reach such a high southern latitude (although there is a good chance that Cook’s ships had black crewmembers, since up to 10% of Royal Navy crews of that era were black, with many former slaves remaining aboard their ships).
Upon his arrival in the South Shetlands, the need for a more secure anchorage for the five ships drove Palmer to push south ahead of the others. He anchored inside the caldera of Deception Island, almost certainly the first person to do so. On November 16, either from a high lookout at Deception or from Hero’s masthead, he saw Trinity Island to the southeast and probably the Antarctic Peninsula beyond. The next day Palmer sailed to investigate, but due to heavy ice thought it imprudent to try to land. In later years, Palmer claimed that he had found the Antarctic continent, calling his discovery Palmer Land. But even if he did see Antarctica on that occasion, his sighting came 10 months after Bellingshausen’s (January 27) and Bransfield’s (January 30) earlier that year. Later that summer, in January 1821, while searching for seal rookeries, Palmer took Hero south along the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula as far as Marguerite Bay.
A year later, commanding the sloop James Monroe, Palmer was searching for seals in the South Shetlands with British Captain George Powell of Dove. Finding no seals, they steered east, and on December 6, 1821, sighted a large island of a new group. Since there were no seals, Palmer had no interest in the discovery, but Powell went ashore and claimed it for the British crown, calling it Coronation Island, and the group, ‘Powell’s Group, ’ now known as the South Orkney Islands .
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Biscoe
Another Briton, John Biscoe (1794–1843), joined the Royal Navy at age 18 and fought in the 1812 war against the US. Dispatched by the London firm of Enderby Brothers in July 1830, he made the third circumnavigation of Antarctica, sailing in the brig Tula , accompanied by George Avery in the cutter Lively. The vessels sighted what they called Enderby Land on February 24, 1831, and confirmed the discovery three days later – the first sighting of the Antarctic continent in the Indian Ocean sector. Biscoe was also struck by the beauty of the aurora australis, which, he recorded, ‘at times (appeared) not many yards above us.’ Oncoming winter forced the ships north to Hobart , but scurvy so ravaged Tula ’s crew that only Biscoe, three other men and a boy were able to work. Aboard Lively, which had become separated from Tula , all but three of the crew died of scurvy or other diseases.
Sailing again with both ships in October 1831, on what was, after all, supposed to be a commercial voyage, Biscoe spent three months searching for whales or seals off New Zealand . Finding none, he headed south once more, sailing eastward and discovering Adelaide Island (which he named for the consort of King William IV) on February 16, 1832. Biscoe found more land (now thought to be Anvers Island) on February 21, and claimed the territory for King William IV. Still seeking seals or another valuable cargo, Biscoe was forced to sail for England after Tula damaged her rudder. (En route home, Lively was wrecked in the Falklands.) Although he returned to London in January 1833 with empty holds and one ship missing, Biscoe was fortunate to have extremely open-minded bosses. Instead of reproach, he received the highest award of the newly established Royal Geographical Society.
After Biscoe’s return, the coast he discovered was named Graham Land, for James RG Graham, First Lord of the Admiralty. Although this was in fact a southern portion of the Antarctic Peninsula, which had already been sighted by Bransfield, Smith and Palmer , the name eventually came to be applied to the entire Antarctic Peninsula on British maps, while the name Palmer Land was used by American chartmakers. This difference continued until 1964, when the US and the UK agreed to use the name Antarctic Peninsula for the entire northward-reaching extension of the Antarctic continent, with the northern part to be called Graham Land and the southern, Palmer Land.
British discoveries in the Peninsula region had not escaped the attention of the US government. After nearly a decade of being urged to do so, the US Congress voted to send ships south to explore the region.
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Wilkes
By the time American Lieutenant Charles Wilkes (1798–1877) was offered command of the US Exploring Expedition in 1838, the position had been declined by several senior officers. Perhaps they knew something Wilkes didn’t, for this inauspicious beginning foretold great hardship for the expedition. In the words of British polar historian Laurence P Kirwan (The White Road, Hollis & Carter, 1959), it was ‘the most ill-prepared, the most controversial, and probably the unhappiest expedition which ever sailed the Antarctic seas.’
For a start, the six ships selected were ill-suited to polar exploration. Warships Vincennes, Peacock and Porpoise had gun ports that admitted heavy seas; Sea Gull and Flying Fish were former New York pilot boats; the sluggish storeship Relief rounded out the sorry fleet. As might be expected of an expedition planned by committee, the US Ex Ex, as it became known, lacked focus. Antarctica was to be just one area of its endeavor, and a minor one at that: Wilkes was also directed to explore the whole of the Pacific, from Chile to Australia to the northwest coast of North America . A jealous Navy Department, meanwhile, did all it could to exclude civilian scientists from the expedition, though Wilkes did manage to take with him artist Titian Ramsey Peale.
By the time the expedition sailed on August 18, 1838, a depressed Wilkes confided to his private diary that he felt ‘doomed to destruction.’ After sailing down the east coast of South America to Orange Harbour, near the tip of Tierra del Fuego, Wilkes divided the fleet in three. He directed Peacock and Flying Fish to sail southwest to try to better Cook’s southing record. Vincennes and Relief were to survey the coast of Tierra del Fuego.
Placing himself aboard Porpoise, Wilkes set off south with Sea Gull to see how far they could penetrate the pack ice. The ships soon lost contact with one another, each undergoing its own trials. Gales blew out sails and tangled rigging, boats were crushed by ice, men were injured and frozen. Wilkes himself, in the flagship, narrowly missed running aground on Elephant Island in fog. Sea Gull was lost off Chile with all hands. But Peacock and Flying Fish managed to cross the 70th parallel, little more than a degree away from beating Cook’s record.
Now diminished by two (Relief had been sent home as unsuitable for ice work), the expedition reconvened in Sydney in November 1839 after surveying in the South Pacific. After a month’s recuperation, the four ships sailed south again on December 26, with Wilkes commanding Vincennes. On board was one of the first recorded canine visitors to the Antarctic, a dog acquired in Sydney and named after that port. Again the ships were quickly separated, and in late February Flying Fish gave up its search for the others and returned to New Zealand alone.
The other three vessels managed to rendezvous, however, and on January 16, 1840 – three days before Dumont d’Urville made his discovery – they sighted land in the region of 154°30´E, putting a boat ashore three days later to confirm it. Separating again, Vincennes continued west, sighting and charting discoveries until reaching the present-day Shackleton Ice Shelf, which Wilkes named Termination Land. The massive ice shelf, which today extends nearly 290km out to sea, convinced him that it was time to head home, which he did on February 21.
Having followed the Antarctic coast for nearly 2000km, Wilkes announced the discovery of an Antarctic continent upon his return to Sydney. Later, James Clark Ross, to whom Wilkes gave a manuscript copy of his tracing of the Antarctic coastline, announced that he had sailed over positions Wilkes laid down on his chart as land. Ross was equally dismissive of Wilkes’ claim for an Antarctic mainland, but Wilkes insisted that he had limned a continent.
Subsequent investigations have proven the accuracy of most of Wilkes’ delineation of the Antarctic coastline he followed. Antarctic atmospheric conditions sometimes combine to create a phenomenon known as ‘looming, ’ in which geographic features beneath the horizon—as far as hundreds of kilometers distant—appear much closer than they are. Wilkes was hardly the last Antarctic explorer to be misled by the occurrence, and aerial photo-mapping has confirmed the integrity of his Antarctic cartography.
Wilkes’ only reward upon homecoming in New York was a court-martial. Petty jealousy of some officers, coupled with his harsh shipboard discipline, entangled Wilkes in a messy trial in a Naval Court of Inquiry held at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Two long months later, all of the charges against him – save one – were dismissed. Found guilty of ordering a too-severe punishment for some thieving seamen, Wilkes was officially reprimanded by the Secretary of the Navy. The US Congress, however, handed Wilkes his bitterest defeat, authorizing publication of just 100 copies of the expedition’s official report. Today, the full set of the Narrative is one of the rarest and most valuable polar books.
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Dumont d’urville
Frenchman Jules-Sébastien-César Dumont d’Urville (1790–1842) was a veteran of two circumnavigations (and fluent in English, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian and Spanish), when he sailed from Toulon in 1837 with Astrolabe and Zélée, clad in copper for protection from the ice. Although Dumont d’Urville hoped to reach the South Magnetic Pole – magnetism was then one of science’s hottest questions – his orders from King Louis Philippe were simply to proceed as far south as possible in the Weddell Sea. Indeed, the explorers were promised a bonus of 100 gold francs each if they reached 75°S, with another 20 francs for each additional degree gained toward the Pole.
But the ice in the Weddell Sea that season extended much further north – its normal configuration – and much to his frustration Dumont d’Urville was unable to penetrate nearly as far south as Weddell. At the end of February he discovered (or rediscovered, since sealers had probably already landed there) Louis Philippe Land and Joinville Island at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. By this time, scurvy plagued his ships; on the return to Tierra del Fuego a sailor died of the dreaded disease.
Following a year-long ethnological voyage in the Pacific, during which 23 men died of dysentery and fever, Dumont d’Urville and his crews headed south again in January 1840. On the 19th, they saw what they felt certain was land, confirmed the next day by a clearer sighting. Unable to go ashore because of massive ice cliffs, they sailed west before coming upon a group of islets just a few hundred meters offshore. A party was landed, a few chips of granite hacked off as proof that they had found terra firma, and the discovery claimed for France . An officer who had anticipated success brought out a bottle of Bordeaux and a toast was raised to the King.
Honoring his wife by naming the new territory for her, Dumont d’Urville was the only early explorer to so honor his wife, though another Frenchman, Charcot, later followed his example. Terre Adélie was, Dumont d’Urville wrote, dedicated to ‘the devoted companion who has three times consented to a painful separation in order to allow me to accomplish my plans for distant exploration.’ The Adélie penguin likewise commemorates Madame Dumont d’Urville.
Heading east in search of the Magnetic Pole, Dumont d’Urville’s lookouts were astonished one afternoon to see an American man-of-war emerge from the fog, running before the wind straight toward them. The ship was Porpoise, part of Wilkes’ US Ex Ex, but thanks to a misunderstanding, the two vessels did not stop to communicate. Each side later blamed the other for raising sail and blowing past. Returning to France in November 1840 to great acclaim after their 38-month voyage, Dumont d’Urville and his men were rewarded by the French government with 15, 000 francs, to be divided by the expedition’s 130 surviving members.
Less than two years later, Dumont d’Urville, his wife, and their son Jules were killed in a train derailment as they returned from Versailles to Paris on May 8, 1842.
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Ross
Scotsman James Clark Ross (1800–62), considered one of the most dashing figures of his time, had all of the advantages for Antarctic exploration that Wilkes lacked. After joining the Royal Navy at the tender age of 11, Ross went on to a career of Arctic discovery. Between 1818 and 1836, he spent eight winters and 15 summers in the Arctic. In 1831, as second-in-command of a voyage led by his uncle, John Ross, he located the North Magnetic Pole. In 1839 he was asked to lead a national expedition to explore the south, and if possible, to locate the South Magnetic Pole. The contrast between his commission and Wilkes’ could not have been greater. With his government firmly behind the effort, both philosophically and financially, Ross was given excellent ships, officers and provisions; his sailors were volunteers on double pay.
Sailing in September 1839 in Erebus and Terror, three-masted barques specially strengthened for ice navigation, the expedition stopped in Hobart en route. There, the Governor of Van Diemen’s Land ( Tasmania ) was John Franklin, himself a veteran Arctic explorer who would later sail Arctic waters again – in the same Erebus and Terror – before disappearing and triggering the greatest polar search in history.
In Hobart , Ross heard troubling news: both Wilkes and Dumont d’Urville were exploring the area in which he intended to search for the magnetic pole. Ross reacted quickly, changing his plans to a more easterly longitude for the push south.
Good fortune was to be on his side, although the elements made Ross earn it. Sailing south along the 170°E meridian, he pushed through pack ice for four days. On January 9, 1841, he broke through to open water, becoming the first to reach what we know today as the Ross Ice Shelf. The next day, Ross sighted land, an unexpected development. A boat was put ashore two days later on Possession Island, the new territory claimed for Queen Victoria.
Ross’ goal, however, was the South Magnetic Pole, which had been calculated to lie both north and west of his current position. To follow the coast south and eastward would appear to be the ‘wrong’ way to get there, but to sail west would mean following in the tracks of Wilkes and Dumont d’Urville, equally unappealing. Ross may have been thinking of the Arctic islands and channels he knew well; perhaps sailing south and east would reveal a passage back toward the expected pole. So he stayed his course, discovering High (now called Ross) Island, and naming its two mountains – Erebus and Terror – for his ships.
Lying in Ross’ path, however, was a formidable obstacle, what he called simply ‘the Victoria Barrier, ’ a wall of ice towering 60m above the sea. It was, Ross wrote, ‘a mighty and wonderful object far beyond anything we could have thought or conceived. What was beyond it we could not imagine.’ This barrier, today known as the Ross Ice Shelf, also frustrated him: ‘We might with equal chance of success try to sail through the Cliffs of Dover , as penetrate such a mass.’ The two ships cruised along the Barrier for 450km, the sailors in awe of its unchanging face, oblivious to even the most gigantic wave crashing against it. After calculating on January 22, 1841 that he had surpassed Weddell’s furthest south, Ross turned for Hobart .
Sailing south again in November 1841, Ross aimed for the eastern extremity of the Barrier, reaching a new record south of 78°10´S on February 23. After surviving a horrifying storm among ice fragments as ‘hard as floating rocks of granite’ that nearly destroyed the rudders of both ships, they met an even greater hazard.
The two ships barely missed catastrophe on March 13, 1842 when, traveling together in darkness after midnight, they were blown by a gale into a group of icebergs. To avoid instant collision with one of the bergs, each ship put the helm over hard, but they crashed into one another. Rising on an enormous wave, Terror landed on Erebus, breaking away Erebus’ bowsprit, foretopmast, booms, yards and stays.
One of Erebus’ anchors was driven right though the hull’s copper sheathing into the side of the ship. ‘If both Ships was forty Seconds Longer in contact They would Gow down together and no Person would live to tell the tale, ’ wrote one of Erebus’ crew. When they separated, each ship still faced great danger: Erebus, now just 8m from the giant berg, somehow managed to slip past. Terror likewise narrowly avoided collision with the floating mountain.
Following this unnerving crash, the ships again reached the Barrier. It appeared to join a range of mountains, but winter’s onset forced a retreat. Ross’ third season was equally disappointing: trying to best Weddell’s southing record in Weddell’s namesake sea, Ross found conditions similar to those encountered by everyone but Weddell. He was forced to head home after reaching 71°30´S.
The expedition reached England on September 2, 1843, after nearly 4½ years away. When Ross married later that year, his bride Anne’s father set one condition: he must promise to end his exploring days, a pledge Ross made and faithfully kept – with one exception. In 1847–48 he returned to the Arctic to search for John Franklin, who had disappeared after sailing in Ross’ old ships Erebus and Terror in 1845 to try to navigate the Northwest Passage.
After Ross’ important discoveries, Antarctica was once again ignored by the rest of the world, which was distracted by things such as the slave trade and the Crimean War.
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Larsen
Norwegian Carl Anton Larsen (1860–1924) went to sea at age 14, and at 25 became master of his first whaling ship. Later, he sailed in Jason on the same voyage that carried Fridtjof Nansen to Greenland for his famous east–west crossing in 1888. Whaling entrepreneur Christen Christiansen dispatched Larsen in Jason in 1892 to search for whales in the Antarctic. In 1893, having found fur and elephant seals, but no whales of any species that he could catch, Larsen returned home. He went south again independently later that year, this time with three ships: Jason, Hertha and Castor. The expedition explored both coasts of the northern Antarctic Peninsula, discovered Oscar II Land and made the first use of skis in Antarctica. Larsen also found petrified wood on Seymour Island. He went on to captain Nordenskjöld’s Antarctic in 1901, and to establish South Georgia’s Grytviken whaling station, Antarctica’s first, in 1904.
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Bull
Norwegian-born Henrik Johan Bull (1844–1930) traveled to Australia in 1885 and set himself up in business. Sure that a fortune could be made by reviving the Antarctic whaling trade, but unable to convince any Australians to join him, Bull returned to Norway in 1893. There he persuaded Svend Foyn, wealthy inventor of the exploding harpoon gun, to back an expedition to assess the Ross Sea’s potential for whaling. Whales in the northern hemisphere had been hunted to commercial extinction, and although petroleum products had to some degree replaced whale oil, baleen (whalebone) was still prized for women’s fashions.
Sailing from Norway in 1893 in a refitted whaling steamer, Antarctic (later to be used by Nordenskjöld), Bull’s expedition encountered many misfortunes and saw few whales. A £3000 profit made from sealing at Îles Kerguelen evaporated when the ship ran aground at Campbell Island. Putting in for repairs at Melbourne , the ship picked up Carsten E Borchgrevink, who signed on as assistant biologist in 1894. On January 18, 1895, Antarctic landed on the Possession Islands, where Borchgrevink discovered lichens, the first vegetation found south of the Antarctic Circle.
Six days later, a party went ashore at Cape Adare in what was claimed to be the first landing ever made on the continent outside the Peninsula. The landing was only one of several disputed ‘first landings’ on the continent. Penguins, rock specimens, seaweed and more lichens were collected. Although Antarctic’s voyage was commercially unsuccessful, it helped revive interest in Antarctica. Bull himself continued sealing and whaling, and at the age of 62 was shipwrecked on Îles Crozet for two months.
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De Gerlache
Belgian Adrien Victor Joseph de Gerlache de Gomery (1866–1934), a lieutenant in the Royal Belgian Navy, persuaded the Brussels Geographical Society to finance a scientific expedition to Antarctica. Sailing in a refitted three-masted sealing ship (with an auxiliary engine) that he purchased in Norway and rechristened Belgica, de Gerlache left Antwerp in 1897 with a decidedly international crew. The Belgian Antarctic Expedition included a Romanian zoologist, a Russian meteorologist, a Polish geologist and a Norwegian who offered to join the expedition as first mate, without pay: Roald Amundsen. As the ship’s surgeon, de Gerlache signed an American, Frederick A Cook.
The expedition got a late start sailing south, leaving Punta Arenas on December 14. Some now speculate that this tardy departure was a deliberate attempt by de Gerlache to ensure that Belgica would be beset in pack ice and thus forced to remain in the Antarctic for the winter. Others have correctly pointed out that the Antarctic pack was known to be at its most navigable late in summer. By early February, the expedition had discovered and mapped the strait which now bears de Gerlache’s name on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula, as well as the islands on the west side of that strait: Brabant, Liège , Anvers and Wiencke. Along the eastern side of the strait, they charted the Peninsula’s Danco Coast, named for the ship’s magnetician, who died during the expedition.
Photography was first used in Antarctica on this expedition. Cook recorded that ‘as the ship steamed rapidly along, spreading out one panorama after another of a new world, the noise of the camera was as regular and successive as the tap of a stock ticker.’
Belgica crossed the Circle on February 15, 1898. By March 1, already deep into the heavy pack ice, she reached 71°31´S. The next day began a long imprisonment in the ice. The ship would not be freed for 377 days – and then only by enormous effort and a great deal of luck. During this, the first time anyone had wintered south of the Antarctic Circle, the expedition underwent great hardships: midwinter darkness toyed with the men’s sanity, and the lack of vitamin C made them ripe for scurvy.
Cook, who had been on the North Greenland Expedition with Robert E Peary in 1891 and returned to Greenland twice more in the next three years, is probably responsible for saving the ship. To prevent scurvy, he urged de Gerlache to set an example by eating fresh seal and penguin meat, which the men detested. He organized elaborate betting games to take the crew’s minds off their desperate circumstances and encouraged them to think of things to amuse themselves. One popular event, held on Belgian King Leopold’s birthday, was the ‘Grand Concourse of Beautiful Women’ – 464 illustrations of beauties ‘representing all kinds of poses and dress and undress’ were selected from a Paris journal and judged according to 21 characteristics, including ‘rosy complexion, ’ ‘underclothes, ’ ‘most beautiful face’ and ‘sloping, alabaster shoulders.’ The men hoped that once the expedition returned to civilization, the winners would agree to appear before the committee to receive their prizes.
That they would return to civilization was by no means certain, however. By January 1899, Cook suggested that they attempt to liberate themselves by hand-sawing a canal 600m from a stretch of open water back to the ship. They worked like dogs for a month. When they were within 30m of the ship, a wind shift tightened the pack ice. Their hard-won canal closed within an hour. Two weeks later, the ice opened and they steamed into the polynya, only to be forced to wait another month until they could gain the open sea. Belgica finally reached Punta Arenas on March 28, 1899.
The primary achievement of the Belgian Antarctic Expedition – surviving the first Antarctic night – proved that bases could be set up on the continent itself, enabling a full-time program of exploration. That knowledge was crucial for the next phase of Antarctic discovery.
Adrien de Gerlache remained involved in Antarctic affairs. In 1903 he joined Charcot’s Français expedition, but resigned in Pernambuco, Brazil because he had recently become engaged and missed his fiancée too much to prolong the separation. He later launched a business venture he called ‘polar safaris, ’ taking tourists to East Greenland and Spitsbergen, but the enterprise collapsed in its initial phase. De Gerlache sold his ship, Polaris, a 270-tonne barquentine, to Shackleton, who renamed it Endurance. De Gerlache’s son, Gaston de Gerlache, joined the Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1957–59.
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Borchgrevink
Carsten Egeberg Borchgrevink (1864–1934), son of a Norwegian father and an English mother, sailed with Bull in Antarctic in 1894. Landing at Cape Adare convinced Borchgrevink it was possible to survive an Antarctic winter ashore, so he decided to organize his own expedition to be first to accomplish it.
Failing to raise any money in Australia , Borchgrevink visited Britain, where he met with rejection after rejection – until 1897, when he convinced publisher Sir George Newnes to give £40, 000. Borchgrevink’s stunning fundraising success infuriated the British exploration establishment, headed by the Royal Geographical Society, which was preparing its own Antarctic expedition. Even more galling, Borchgrevink’s British Antarctic Expedition of 1898–90 was British in name only. Just three (two Englishmen and one Australian) of the 31 men were not Norwegian. The expedition’s Southern Cross, a converted Norwegian sealer, sailed under the Union Jack only at the insistence of its magnanimous sponsor.
Departing London on August 22, 1898, Southern Cross arrived at Cape Adare on February 17, 1899. Two weeks later, after a pair of simple wooden huts were erected on Ridley Beach, which Borchgrevink named after his mother, Southern Cross departed to winter in New Zealand . The 10 men left behind were some of the most solitary in history, having the entire Antarctic continent to themselves.
They had, however, plenty of canine companionship. Borchgrevink brought 90 sledge dogs, the first ever used in Antarctica. The expedition also pioneered the use of kayaks for sea travel, and was the first to bring to Antarctica the Primus stove, a lightweight, portable pressure stove invented in Sweden six years before. Although the kayak never became an important mode of Antarctic transportation, the Primus was carried by nearly every expedition that followed Borchgrevink’s. It is still in use today.
Unfortunately, the expedition marked another first – the first human death on the continent – when Norwegian zoologist Nicolai Hansen died on October 14, 1899. He was buried on the ridge above Cape Adare. Aside from Hansen’s death, there were other accidents – including a nearly disastrous fire and a narrow escape from coal-fume asphyxiation – but the expedition escaped the dietary and psychological dangers experienced by Belgica’s crew. When Southern Cross returned on January 28, 1900, to pick up the expedition, it had proven a critical fact: humans could survive Antarctica’s winter ashore, using a wooden hut as a base for exploration.
Borchgrevink’s expedition produced many positive results, including excellent maps of the Ross Sea area drawn by the expedition’s English surveyor and magnetician, William Colbeck of the Royal Navy, which would prove invaluable to later explorers. Nevertheless, Borchgrevink’s return to England was all but unheralded. The establishment was still embittered by his fundraising success – and absorbed by Scott’s impending expedition. Not until 1930 did the Royal Geographical Society award Borchgrevink its Patron’s Medal. He died in Norway four years later.
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Drygalski
Erich Dagobert von Drygalski (1865–1949), a geography professor at the University of Berlin and leader of a four-year expedition to Greenland , was given command of the German South Polar Expedition in 1898. Drygalski and 31 other men sailed from Kiel on August 11, 1901, in Gauss, a three-masted schooner with auxiliary engines. Drygalski named the ship after German mathematician Johann Karl Friedrich Gauss, who had calculated the position of the South Magnetic Pole, the accuracy of which Ross had set out to test.
Stopping at Cape Town and Îles Kerguelen (where it met an advance party that had been landed previously and picked up coal, provisions and 40 dogs), the expedition sighted land on February 21, 1902, in the region of 90°E. Drygalski named the territory Kaiser Wilhelm II Land. On the same day, the ship was beset, soon becoming, in Drygalski’s words, ‘a toy of the elements.’
With Gauss trapped in the west-drifting pack, the men settled into a routine of scientific work by day, and card games, lectures, beer and music by night. With snow drifted up over the ship, its warm, humid interior was infused with a very German Gemütlichkeit (coziness). The expedition even published a shipboard newspaper, Das antarktische Intelligenzblatt (the Antarctic Intelligencer).
A sledging party journeyed 80km to the Antarctic coast, discovering along the way a low volcano they named Gaussberg after their ship. On March 29, 1902, Drygalski ascended 480m in a large, tethered hydrogen balloon and used a telephone to report his observations to the ship. The men recorded penguin sounds with an early phonograph, and undertook two more sledging trips to Gaussberg. On the last of these, Drygalski and his companions nearly were lost in the trackless white wasteland of snow-covered sea ice.
Being beset during winter was one thing, but when spring and then summer arrived, the men began to feel desperate, especially after sawing, drilling and even dynamiting the 5m- to 6m-thick ice did nothing to free the ship. Gauss’ captain suggested they toss message-filled bottles into the sea – and launch others by balloon – so a rescue party might find them.
A basic principle of physics, luckily observed by Drygalski himself during a walk on the ice, liberated them in the end. Drygalski remarked that cinders from the ship’s smokestack caused the ice on which they landed to melt, since the dark ashes absorbed the sun’s heat. He ordered his men to lay a trail of coal ash, supplemented by rotting food and other garbage, across the 600m of ice separating Gauss from open water.
As hoped, the ingenious trick worked. Soon there was a 2m-deep channel filled with water. Two months passed, however, before the bottom of the canal cracked open, on February 8, 1903, and the ship was freed. The expedition next spent seven weeks trying to chart the Kaiser Wilhelm II coast, but constantly shifting sea ice threatened to trap Gauss once more, and Drygalski reluctantly ordered the ship north on March 31.
After reaching Cape Town , he wired Berlin for permission to return to the Antarctic the following season. But the Kaiser, apparently disappointed that more new territory was not discovered and claimed for the Fatherland, refused the request. Despite his disappointment, Drygalski spent the next three decades writing up the expedition’s reports, which occupy 20 volumes.
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Nordenskjöld
Swedish geologist Nils Otto Gustav Nordenskjöld (1869–1928) had previously led expeditions to the Yukon and Tierra del Fuego, and his uncle, the North Polar explorer Nils AE Nordenskiöld, made the first transit of the Northeast Passage around Siberia . So he was well suited for the task assigned to him in 1900: leadership of the Swedish South Polar Expedition, the first to winter in the Antarctic Peninsula region.
Sailing in Antarctic, the stout former sealer used by Bull in 1893–95, the expedition left Gothenburg on October 16, 1901. At Antarctic’s helm was Larsen, the Norwegian who had already discovered Oscar II Land during a previous expedition in 1892–94. By late January 1902 Antarctic was exploring the western side of the Peninsula, making several important geographical discoveries (among them, the fact that the Orleans Strait connected with the Gerlache Strait, and not with the Weddell Sea, as had been believed) before sailing back to the tip of the Peninsula. There, they crossed between the Peninsula and off-lying Joinville Island, naming the strait for their ship, Antarctic.
Next the expedition attempted to penetrate south into the Weddell Sea, but its infamous ice stopped them. Instead Nordenskjöld and five men set up a winter base on Snow Hill Island in February 1902. Antarctic, meanwhile, sailed for the Falklands to winter there. Poor weather confined the Snow Hill party to its small hut for most of the winter, but in December Nordenskjöld was able to sledge to Seymour Island, directly north of Snow Hill, where he found some striking fossils – including the bones of a giant penguin – bolstering earlier fossil finds made on the island by Larsen in 1893.
However, December is midsummer in Antarctica, and the men were getting distinctly anxious about their ship, which should have arrived by then. Their fears were justified, although they were not to learn why for many months. After wintering in Patagonia and South Georgia, Antarctic had returned south, again surveying the western side of the Peninsula. Trying unsuccessfully to cross through her namesake strait to reach the Peninsula’s east coast – and the men at Snow Hill – Antarctic stopped at Hope Bay on the Peninsula’s tip to drop off three men, who would try to hike the 320km to Snow Hill.
The ship then sailed around Joinville Island and headed south, soon becoming caught in the pack ice, whose relentless grip inexorably crushed it. The end, on February 12, 1903, was recorded by one of the men, Carl Skottsberg:
Now the name disappears from sight. Now the water is up to the rail, and, with a rattle, the sea and bits of ice rush in over her deck. That sound I can never forget, however long I may live...the streamer, with the name Antarctic, disappears in the waves. The bowsprit – the last mast-top – She is gone!
The ship sank 45km from tiny Paulet Island, and the men spent 16 days sledging provisions and small boats to it.
The three men left at Hope Bay, meanwhile, found their way to Snow Hill Island blocked by open water, so they settled down to wait for Antarctic’s return, according to a prearranged plan. The Swedish Antarctic Expedition was now split into three groups, two living in very rough conditions, with no group aware of the others’ fates. How they all managed to survive is one of the greatest examples of good fortune in Antarctic history.
The Hope Bay trio, after eking out the winter in a primitive hut and living primarily on seal meat, set out again for Snow Hill on September 29. By a lucky coincidence, Nordenskjöld and another man were dog-sledging north on a research journey from Snow Hill at the same time. On October 12, the two groups met. Nordenskjöld was so struck by the Hope Bay men’s remarkable appearance – they were completely soot-blackened, and wearing odd masks they had fashioned to prevent snow blindness – that he wondered if they were from a previously unknown race. Nordenskjöld’s companion Ole Jonassen considered an unholstered revolver a necessary precaution in facing these disconcerting apparitions. But they quickly established the identities of their fellow expeditioners, renaming the point of their rendezvous ‘Cape Well Met.’
Antarctic’s crew, meanwhile, wintered on Paulet Island. They built a stone hut and killed 1100 Adélies for food before the birds left for the winter. On June 7, just before midwinter, Ole Wennersgaard, who had been sick for weeks, died. On October 31, Larsen led a group of five others in an open boat to search for the trio at Hope Bay. Finding a note the three had left at their hut, Larsen decided he would have to follow by sea the route that the Hope Bay men were taking to Snow Hill Island.
Even as Larsen’s group rowed their boat south, outside help was on its way to Snow Hill Island. Since nothing had been heard of the Swedish expedition, three search parties had been dispatched. Argentina sent a naval ship, Uruguay , to search for it in 1903. On November 8, Uruguay ’s crew found two of the men from Snow Hill Island camped at Seymour Island, and after waking them, joined them in the short trek to Snow Hill – arriving, by incredible coincidence, only a few hours ahead of Larsen and his group. After a joyful reunion, all that was left to do (on November 11) was pick up the remaining Antarctic crew members back on Paulet Island. They, ironically, had just finished collecting 6000 penguin eggs, their first surplus food supply.
Although Nordenskjöld’s expedition is remembered primarily for its survival against nearly overwhelming odds, it also performed the most important research in Antarctica (including studies in botany, geology, glaciology and hydrography) undertaken up to its time.
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Scott’s discovery expedition
Even as Nordenskjöld’s men were struggling for survival, British explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott (1868–1912) was working from a base on Ross Island. The son of an upper-middle-class brewer, Scott joined the Royal Navy’s training ship Britannia as a cadet at age 13. He advanced through the ranks, and was promoted to commander in June 1900. A month later he was named leader of the British National Antarctic Expedition, which the country’s exploration establishment had been planning since the mid-1880s.
When Scott’s well-financed expedition sailed from England on August 6, 1901 in Discovery, a specially built wooden steam barque, it was the best-equipped scientific expedition to Antarctica to date. After stopping in New Zealand for refitting and reprovisioning, the expedition got off to an inauspicious start when a seaman fell to his death from the top of the mainmast. On January 3, 1902, Discovery crossed the Antarctic Circle, and six days later stopped briefly at Cape Adare.
Penetrating the Ross Sea, Scott cruised along the Ross Ice Shelf, discovering King Edward VII Land on its eastern margin. He also made the first flight in Antarctica, on February 4, 1902, in a tethered balloon called Eva. From a height of 240m, Scott saw the Ross Ice Shelf’s undulating surface rising toward the polar plateau. Camera-toting expedition member Ernest Shackleton went up next, becoming Antarctica’s first aerial photographer.
By mid-February 1902, Scott’s men had established winter quarters at Hut Point on Ross Island. Although a hut was built ashore, Discovery, frozen into the sea ice, served as the expedition’s accommodations. Officers and men were separated into wardroom and mess deck, befitting the quasi-naval expedition that it was. The hut was reserved for scientific work and recreation, including theatrical performances by the ‘Royal Terror Theatre company.’
Life in McMurdo Sound was not all research and games, however. In a violent snowstorm during a sledge trip, a young sailor named George Vince slipped over a precipice to his death. The winter passed fairly quietly otherwise, the group’s accommodations made cheerier by another Antarctic first – electric lights (powered by a windmill). With Shackleton as editor, the expedition published Antarctica’s first magazine, the monthly South Polar Times, and one issue of a more ribald alternative, the Blizzard, whose title page featured a figure holding a bottle, captioned ‘Never mind the blizzard, I’m all right.’
With spring, the expedition’s real work began. To the cheers of Discovery’s men, Scott set out for the South Pole on November 2, 1902, with Shackleton, scientific officer Dr Edward A Wilson, 19 dogs and five supply sledges hitched in train formation. Despite initial optimism and a large food depot laid by an advance party, the trio soon struck harsh reality, Antarctica-style. The men had never tried skiing or sled-dog driving; their inexperience produced predictably poor results.
Through sheer willpower, they reached 82°17´S on December 30 before turning back. Actually, Scott and Wilson reached that point, Shackleton having been ordered to remain at camp that morning to look after the dogs. This may not have been an intentional slight on Scott’s part (although certainly it was petty), but Shackleton smarted at the gesture.
For all three, the trip home was miserable. The remaining dogs by now were nearly worthless, and soon were hitched behind the sledge, which the men pulled themselves. On at least one occasion, a dog was carried on the sledge. As dogs weakened, they were shot and fed to the others. The men were also breaking down. Shackleton especially was suffering badly from scurvy – but accounts of the trip that say he had to be carried on the sledge are incorrect.
Two weeks before the southern party’s return home on February 3, the relief ship Morning arrived in McMurdo Sound. Morning’s captain, William Colbeck, had been the surveyor on Borchgrevink’s Southern Cross. Colbeck and Scott, upon his return, decided that with Discovery still frozen into the ice, Morning should not wait to depart. Seeing that he would probably have to remain another winter, Scott sent home eight men, including Shackleton, who went only upon being ordered. The following summer, after Scott led a sledging party in southern Victoria Land, Morning returned, in company with Terra Nova, sent by the British government. The two vessels bore distressing news: if Discovery could not be freed within six weeks, it was to be abandoned. After weeks of cutting and blasting, Scott was nearly ready to give up, but nature relented, and the ice gave way. One final charge, on February 16, 1904, released Discovery for the long journey home.
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Bruce
Scotsman William Spiers Bruce (1867–1921), the physician son of a surgeon, joined an Antarctic whaling voyage from Dundee as Balaena’s surgeon-naturalist in 1892. He would have joined Bull’s Antarctic expedition in 1894–95, but was unable to reach Melbourne in time to meet the ship. In 1901 he declined the offer of a position on Scott’s expedition because he was in the midst of planning his own Scottish National Antarctic Expedition.
Sailing from Troon on November 2, 1902 in Scotia, a renamed Norwegian steam sealer with extremely elegant lines, the expedition pushed south into the Weddell Sea. By 70°S, Scotia was beset, and after freeing herself, headed north to winter at Laurie Island in the South Orkneys. There the expedition set up a meteorological station, hand-built of stone and called Omond House, on April 1, 1903. Midwinter’s Day (June 22) 1903 was celebrated with a barrel of Guinness porter, a brew made more potent by the freezing of its water, unintentionally yielding concentrated alcohol.
At the end of the first season, Scotia sailed to Port Stanley and Buenos Aires. Bruce asked the British government to continue staffing Omond House, but his request was refused. Instead, at the invitation of the British Ambassador, the Oficina Meteorológica Argentina agreed to assume responsibility for the station. This duty, which the Argentine government maintains to the present day, makes the station (now called Orcadas) the oldest continuously operated base in the Antarctic.
Pushing south again in January 1904, Bruce was able to penetrate the Weddell Sea to 74°S. There he discovered Coats Land, which he named for the expedition’s patrons, Andrew and James Coats of Paisley, Scotland . Scotia followed the coast for 240km, but the fast ice continually kept the ship two or three frustrating kilometers offshore. No landing could be made.
A remarkable series of photographs, documenting the first known use of bagpipes in the Far South, shows an emperor penguin, head thrown back and beak agape, being serenaded by a kilted piper. Although an observer noted ‘only sleepy indifference, ’ some photos show that the bird was tethered by a line to prevent escape.
Although Bruce later became a world authority on Spitsbergen in the Arctic, he must have retained a special love for the Antarctic. Upon his death in 1921, his ashes were carried south and poured into the Southern Ocean .
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Charcot
French physician Jean-Baptiste Etienne August Charcot (1867–1936) inherited 400, 000 gold francs and a Fragonard painting, Le Pacha, from his father, a famous neurologist whose work influenced Freud. Charcot used this entire fortune to finance construction of a three-masted schooner, Français, and to outfit it with laboratory equipment. His original intention had been to sail north to the Arctic, but when word arrived that Nordenskjöld’s expedition was missing in Antarctica, Charcot decided to go south. Meanwhile, French citizens rallied for the French Antarctic Expedition, contributing 450, 000 francs.
Français sailed from Le Havre on August 15, 1903 – into immediate tragedy. Just minutes off the quay a hawser parted, striking and killing a sailor; the expedition was delayed 12 days before departing without further incident. In Buenos Aires, the expedition learned that the Argentine ship Uruguay had already rescued Nordenskjöld and his men. Charcot decided instead to investigate the west coast of the Peninsula. He deliberately chose to avoid the Ross Sea, with its potential for international rivalry, an act for which Scott later called him ‘the gentleman of the Pole.’
By February 19, 1904, Charcot had discovered Port Lockroy on Wiencke Island. Sailing on, he decided to winter at a sheltered bay on the north coast of Booth Island, a place he named Port Charcot for his father. The bay was so small that the explorers were able to stretch a hawser across its mouth to keep out ice that might otherwise crush their ship. Winter passed with various amusements (including reading and discussing old newspapers) and sledging expeditions to nearby islands. The peace was marred only by the death of the ship’s pet pig, Toby, who once ate a basketful of fish – and the hooks that caught them.
After the spring breakup, the expedition sailed north, running into trouble on January 15, 1903, when Français struck a rock. Despite attempts at plugging the hole and round-the-clock pumping, the ship continued to flood. Temporary repairs at Port Lockroy enabled the expedition to continue to Tierra del Fuego and Buenos Aires, where Charcot sold Français to the Argentine government. Then he headed home to a hero’s welcome from all of France – except his wife Jeanne (a granddaughter of Victor Hugo) who divorced him for desertion.
Four years later, Charcot returned to Antarctica, this time leading an expedition sponsored by the French government, which granted him 600, 000 francs. On August 15, 1908, he again sailed from Le Havre , this time in the newly built and amusingly named Pourquoi Pas? (Why Not?), which he had once christened his toy boats as a child. Among those aboard was his second wife, Meg, who sailed as far as Punta Arenas . (Charcot had secured a prenuptial agreement from her that she would not oppose his explorations.)
After stopping at Deception Island’s whaling station, where Charcot saved a man from a hideous death by amputating his gangrenous hand, Pourquoi Pas? sailed on Christmas Day 1908, continuing the survey work on the western side of the Peninsula that Charcot had begun with Français. As on his previous voyage, unfortunately, Charcot struck a rock, damaging Pourquoi Pas?, which had pumps that were able to manage the water pouring in. The expedition pushed on, discovering and naming the Fallières Coast, circling Adelaide Island and proving its insularity, and discovering Marguerite Bay (named for Meg). Most useful for this survey work was a small, iron-prowed motorboat carried in Pourquoi Pas?. The ship also boasted electric lighting and a 1500-volume library.
Those amenities proved valuable during the winter of 1909, when the expedition wintered at Petermann Island, with Pourquoi Pas? frozen into the ice at a bay they called Port Circumcision. The group set up a shore station, with huts for meteorological, seismic, magnetic and tidal research, and passed the winter with reading, lectures, meetings of the ‘Antarctic Sporting Club’ and recitations from a novel being written by one of the officers.
At winter’s end, they headed north to re-coal the ship at Deception – where a whaling-company diver inspected the ship’s damaged hull and warned against further exploration. Charcot ignored the advice, turning south once more. On January 11, 1910, he made his most personally treasured discovery, sighting an uncharted headland at 70°S, 76°W. This he called Charcot Land (since proven to be an island) – not after himself, but after his esteemed father. Twenty-six years later, Charcot and Pourquoi Pas? were again sailing in treacherous waters, this time off Iceland , when a gale arose and claimed captain, ship and all but one of the 43-man crew.
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Shackleton’s Nimrod expedition
Anglo-Irishman Ernest Henry Shackleton (1874–1922), second of 10 children born to a doctor and his Quaker wife, was badly stung by his breakdown on the return from Scott’s furthest south in 1902. Shackleton lived by his family motto: Fortitudine vincimus (By fortitude we conquer). Even as he was being invalided home by Scott, Shackleton resolved to return to Antarctica one day – which he did in 1908. An indefatigable worker with a charming, forceful personality, Shackleton inspired fierce loyalty and admiration. His men called him ‘The Boss.’
Following his return from the Discovery expedition, Shackleton married and fathered the first of his three children, at the same time holding a succession of jobs: magazine journalist, secretary of the Scottish Royal Geographical Society, (unsuccessful) candidate for Parliament and, finally, PR man for a big Glasgow steelworks. The works’ owner, William Beardmore, took a liking to Shackleton and agreed to sponsor an Antarctic expedition.
The British Antarctic Expedition sailed from Lyttelton , New Zealand , on New Year’s Day 1908, in Nimrod, a three-masted sealing ship with 40 years’ Arctic experience. To conserve coal, the ship was towed part of the 2700km to the ice edge by the steel-hulled Koonya. Although Shackleton had originally intended to use Discovery’s old base at Ross Island, Scott wrote to him describing his own plans for another Antarctic expedition and asked him to establish his shore base elsewhere. Shackleton agreed to seek his own headquarters, but when he arrived at the Ross Ice Shelf in January 1908, he was dismayed to find that the Bay of Whales, the inlet where Discovery had launched its balloon just six years before, had disappeared. Evidently the great ice shelf had calved, in which case it would be risky to establish a base atop it. But Nimrod was unable to push further east, due to pack ice, so Shackleton reluctantly decided to use Ross Island as his base – breaking his promise to Scott.
Unforgiving ice blocked his path to Hut Point, however, compelling Shackleton to build his hut at Cape Royds on Ross Island, 30km further from his goal. While he didn’t bring sledge dogs, neither did Shackleton agree with Scott’s romantic notion that manhauling was ‘more noble and splendid’ than dog-driving. Instead, Shackleton brought Siberian ponies, unfortunately unsuited to the task. Although they managed to pull loads a considerable distance across the Ross Ice Shelf, they did not have dogs’ stamina or versatility.
With three companions – Jameson Adams, Eric Marshall and Frank Wild – Shackleton pioneered the route up to the polar plateau (which he claimed, and named, for King Edward VII) via the Beardmore Glacier, named for the expedition’s patron. By January 9, 1909, the foursome had trudged to within 180km of the Pole before being forced by dangerously dwindling supplies of food to turn and run for home. It was the hardest decision of Shackleton’s life. He told his wife Emily later: ‘I thought you’d rather have a live donkey than a dead lion.’
Still, they had achieved a remarkable run, beating Scott’s furthest south by 589km, discovering almost 800km of new mountain range, and showing the way to anyone who would attempt the Pole after them. They also found coal and fossils at Mt Buckley at the top of the Beardmore Glacier.
The expedition achieved other firsts. Six men led by Professor TW Edgeworth David ascended Mt Erebus for the first time, reaching the rim of the volcano’s crater on March 10, 1908 after a five-day climb. While the polar party was out, Douglas Mawson and Alistair Mackay , with Professor David again leading, hiked nearly 1600km to the South Magnetic Pole, reaching it on January 16, 1909, the first time it had been visited. (Today the Pole is offshore in the Dumont d’Urville Sea, and Antarctic tour ships routinely sail over it.) The expedition tested Antarctica’s first motorcar, an Arrol-Johnston, at Cape Royds. It was no good in snow, but proved useful for transporting loads across the sea ice. The expedition also produced about 80 copies of Aurora Australis, the first – and only – book published in Antarctica.
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Amundsen
Norwegian Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (1872–1928) was already a veteran explorer by the time he sailed in 1910 from Christiana (modern-day Oslo ) on his way to what only he and a few others knew was Antarctica. Amundsen had been with the first group to winter south of the Antarctic Circle, the Belgica expedition. From 1903 to 1906 he accomplished the first navigation of the Northwest Passage, a goal sought by mariners for centuries. He spent three winters in the Arctic, learning from the native Inuit much about polar clothing, travel and dog-handling that would later prove invaluable.
The Arctic was Amundsen’s first interest. He had long dreamed of reaching the North Pole. He was well into planning an expedition where he would freeze his ship into the Arctic ice and drift with the current across the Pole when news reached him that American Robert E Peary claimed to have reached 90°N on April 6, 1909. Amundsen quickly – secretly – turned his ambitions 180°.
Amundsen’s Fram (Forward), used by Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen on his unsuccessful attempt to reach the North Pole, sailed from Norway on August 9, 1910. Fram had a diesel engine, allowing quick start-up (as opposed to a coal-fired steam engine), as well as a rounded hull so it would rise out of pressing ice floes rather than being nipped like a standard hull. To prevent Scott from learning his plans, Amundsen kept quiet about his intentions – revealing them to just three members of the expedition – until he reached Madeira, where he told his stunned men. Soon after, sent his infamous telegram to Scott in Melbourne : ‘Beg leave to inform you Fram proceeding Antarctic Amundsen.’
Amundsen did not share Shackleton’s fear of a dangerously calving Ross Ice Shelf. He established his base, Framheim (home of Fram), on the shelf at the Bay of Whales, where Scott had made Antarctica’s first balloon flight. In a small prefab wooden hut, nine men spent the winter. Outside, some of the 15 identical tents served as store sheds – and some as doghouses for the expedition’s 97 North Greenland dogs. From Framheim, Amundsen had the advantage of starting 100km closer to the Pole, but he also had to pioneer a route up to the polar plateau from the Ross Ice Shelf. Scott, following Shackleton’s lead, could take the charted course up the Beardmore Glacier.
Leaving Framheim on October 19, 1911, after making one false start too early in the season, Amundsen and his four companions had four sledges, each pulled by 13 Greenland dogs. Dogs and skis made the difference. As Norwegians, they were well trained in the use of skis. During his Arctic years, Amundsen developed excellent dog-driving skills. He also planned meticulously, took three or four backups of every critical item, and the previous summer had laid 10 extremely well-marked depots as far as 82°S, which together contained 3400kg of stores and food.
The five men – Amundsen, Olav Bjaaland, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel and Oscar Wisting – reached the South Pole on December 14, 1911, camping for three days at what they called Polheim. Amundsen claimed the polar plateau for Norway , calling it King Haakon VII Land, and wrote a note to Scott in the dark green tent he left behind. Then, they turned for home.
‘On January 25, at 4am, ’ Amundsen laconically recorded in his diary, ‘we reached our good little house again, with two sledges and 11 dogs; men and animals all hale and hearty.’ Despite his near-flawless success, there were those who felt Amundsen’s achievement was tainted by several factors. In some ways, he had made the polar journey look too easy. There was also the view taken by some that Amundsen’s surprise assault on the Pole had forestalled Scott, as though the British explorer had the ‘right’ to reach the Pole first (although Amundsen preceded him to the Antarctic). Finally, the tragic drama of Scott’s expedition was much more the stuff of legend than was Amundsen’s cool triumph of technical skill.
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Scott’s Terra Nova expedition
When Scott received Amundsen’s startling cable on Oct. 13, 1910 – the day after Terra Nova arrived in port – Scott became deeply distressed, but worked hard not to show it. He had first watched Shackleton come close to snatching what he regarded as his prize. Now a dangerous new threat had arisen.
Sailing from New Zealand on November 29, 1910, in Terra Nova, the old Scottish whaler that had been one of the two relief ships sent at the end of the Discovery expedition, Scott’s British Antarctic Expedition got off to a rough start. Three days out of port, Terra Nova was hit by a screaming 36-hour gale that nearly sank her. Arriving at Ross Island in January 1911, Scott found ice blocking the way to his old Discovery hut on Hut Point, so he established winter quarters at Cape Evans, named after his second-in-command, ERGR ‘Teddy’ Evans. As soon as the hut was built, Scott commenced an ambitious program of depot-laying. He also introduced a useful Antarctic innovation: a telephone line was established between Cape Evans and Hut Point. Ponies, motor-sledges and dogs (and, later, mules) were employed to set up supply caches, but once again, when these methods failed, the expedition resorted to the old British standby of manhauling.
The next spring, on October 24, Scott dispatched a party with two motor-sledges, and eight days later followed with a larger group of men and 10 ponies. Various teams relayed supplies and laid depots. On January 4, 1912, the last support party turned back. For the final push to the Pole, Scott had chosen his companion on his previous journey furthest south, Edward Wilson, along with Lawrence Oates and Edgar Evans. Henry Bowers was added only the night before, a tactical error, since the food, tent and skis had been planned for a four-man team.
What happened next is the most famous Antarctic story of all. The five arrived at the Pole on January 17, 1912, to find that Amundsen had beaten them by 35 days. Nothing tells the tale better than Scott’s diary itself, unless it is one of the many biographies that deconstruct what has grown to be a hoary legend. Their return home was a haunting, desperate run of barely sighted depots, slow starvation and incredible cold. A delirious Evans died on February 17. A month later, Oates was in such bad shape that he prayed not to wake upon retiring. The next morning, deeply disappointed to find himself among the living, Oates walked out of the tent in a raging blizzard, telling his companions, ‘I am just going outside and may be some time.’ Another blizzard kept the three remaining men in their tent from March 21 onwards. Scott’s last entry was dated March 29. A search party sent out the following spring found them on November 12, 1912.
Among the effects the searchers found in the tent with the men’s bodies was Amundsen’s letter to the King of Norway . Scott had brought it with him as requested. Thus, one slightly ironic outcome of this tragic ‘race’ is that Scott ended up confirming Amundsen’s attainment of the Pole.
Despite being beaten to 90° South, Scott’s last expedition accomplished a great deal of important science. The push for research had itself contributed to the polar party’s destruction, since the men dragged a sledge that carried, among other items, 16kg of geological samples. The infamous three-man midwinter trek to Cape Crozier, which Apsley Cherry-Garrard chronicled so eloquently in The Worst Journey in the World, braved 24-hour darkness and temperatures as low as -59°C – so cold that the men’s teeth cracked in their mouths and they were ‘beginning to think of death as a friend, ’ as Cherry-Garrard wrote – all so that they could be the first to collect emperor penguin embryos. A separate Northern Party, led by Victor Campbell, discovered Oates Land (memorializing Lawrence Oates) and spent a winter of terrible privation in a snow cave at Terra Nova Bay on the Ross Sea’s western shore. A six-man group led by geologist Griffith Taylor explored the mysterious, otherworldly Dry Valleys, which Scott found on the Discovery expedition.
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Shirase
Coming from a country with no tradition of exploration, Nobu Shirase (1861–1946), a lieutenant in the Japanese Army and eldest son of a Buddhist priest, was a surprise visitor to Antarctica. Despite the Japanese public’s outright scorn of his fundraising efforts, Shirase organized an Antarctic expedition in 1910. Sailing from Tokyo on December 1 in Kainan Maru (Southern Pioneer), the expedition reached Victoria Land in March 1911. Unable to land, it returned to winter in Sydney, where Shirase and his countrymen set up camp in the garden of a well-to-do resident of suburban Vaucluse.
By mid-January 1912, Kainan Maru was back in the Ross Sea, this time with 29 Sakhalin sledge dogs. It met Amundsen’s expedition at the Bay of Whales on the Ross Ice Shelf. Amundsen – and Scott, too – had by this time already reached the Pole, although Shirase, of course, could not know it. Despite being far behind, Shirase and six of his men formed a ‘dash patrol’ and in a symbolic gesture, headed south with dogs and sledges. First, however, they had to claw their way atop the Ross Ice Shelf, which towered nearly 90m over the sea where Kainan Maru stood offshore. The patrol dashed 260km to a furthest south of 80°5´S, reached on January 28, 1912. There, Shirase claimed all the area of the Ross Ice Shelf within sight as the ‘Yamato Yukihara, ’ or ‘Yamato Snow Plain’ (‘Yamato’ being a poetical name for Japan ). This claim has never been taken seriously (even by Japan ), since Amundsen had already crossed the area on his way south to the Pole. The expedition had to abandon a score of dogs, eerily prefiguring the dogs marooned at Syowa station 46 years later. Nevertheless, Shirase’s team was welcomed as heroes when they returned to Yokohama on June 20, 1912.
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Mawson
Australian geologist Douglas Mawson (1882–1958) had been asked by Robert Scott to accompany Terra Nova, but he declined the invitation in favor of leading his own expedition. Already a veteran of Shackleton’s Nimrod, Mawson wanted to explore new territory west of Cape Adare. With the Australian government granting over half the expedition’s cost, Mawson escaped some of the financing worries that plagued other explorers.
The Australasian Antarctic Expedition sailed from Hobart on December 2, 1911, in Aurora, an old sealer with years of Arctic experience. Its master was Captain John King Davis . Aboard was the first airplane taken to the Antarctic, a Vickers REP monoplane that had crashed during a test flight before the expedition left Australia . Mawson brought the wingless aircraft anyway, hoping to use it as an ‘air tractor, ’ but its engine seized while towing a heavy load.
Aurora arrived at the ice edge in January 1912, then headed west and followed the coast to new territories, which Mawson called King George V Land and claimed for the British crown. At Cape Denison on Commonwealth Bay, he set up his base, unaware that the roaring katabatics make the spot one of the windiest places on earth. He later gave it the memorable name ‘the Home of the Blizzard.’ Eight men led by Frank Wild, another veteran of Shackleton’s Nimrod expedition, were landed at the Shackleton Ice Shelf, 2400km west of Cape Denison.
Battling wind speeds that occasionally reached more than 320km/h at Commonwealth Bay, the expedition systematically explored King George V Land, as well as neighboring Terre Adélie, during summer 1912–13. On one sledging trip, the first Antarctic meteorite was found. The expedition also made the first radio contact between Antarctica and another continent, on September 25, 1912, using a wireless relay at a five-man station the expedition established on Macquarie Island.
Despite those accomplishments and the comprehensive research done by the expedition, it is remembered primarily for the ordeal its leader endured on a deadly dog-sledging journey. With British soldier Belgrave Ninnis and Swiss mountaineer and ski champion Xavier Mertz, Mawson left Cape Denison on November 10, 1912, to explore eastward. By December 14, after crossing two heavily crevassed glaciers (later named for Mertz and Ninnis), they had traveled 500km from their base. That afternoon, Ninnis disappeared down an apparently bottomless crevasse with his team of dogs – and most of the party’s food, all of its dog food and its tent. ‘It seemed so incredible, ’ Mawson wrote later, ‘that we half expected, on turning round, to find him standing there.’
They immediately began a harrowing trek home. Battling hunger, cold, fatigue and, possibly, vitamin A poisoning from the dog livers they were forced to eat, Mawson and Mertz struggled on. Mertz died on January 7, when they were still more than 160km out. Mawson sawed the remaining sledge in half with a pocketknife to lighten his load. By now his body was literally coming apart: hair falling out, toenails loosened, even the thick soles of his feet sloughing off. Somehow he reached Cape Denison – a few hours after Aurora had sailed.
Six men had remained behind at the hut, hoping against hope that the missing party might return. Although they radioed the ship, heavy seas prevented Aurora from reaching Cape Denison. They were forced to spend another winter, arriving home in Australia in late February, 1914.
In 1929-31 Mawson returned to Antarctica, leading the two summer voyages of the British, Australian & New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (BANZARE) to the west of Commonwealth Bay, where they discovered Mac.Robertson Land, named for Sir MacPherson Robertson, an expedition benefactor.
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Filchner
With the Pole won, Bavarian army Lieutenant Wilhelm Filchner (1877–1957) decided to tackle another Antarctic question: whether the Weddell and Ross seas were joined by a channel, as some geographers posited. Educated at the Munich Cadet Corps and a veteran of a pioneering horseback journey through the Pamirs and another expedition to Tibet , Filchner hoped to cross the Antarctic continent, starting from the Weddell Sea, to solve this puzzle. Unable to raise the large amount of money a two-ship expedition would require, he decided merely to push as far south as he could into the Weddell Sea.
Sailing from Bremerhaven on May 4, 1911 in a Norwegian ship renamed Deutschland, the Second German South Polar Expedition called at Buenos Aires en route south. There, Filchner met aboard Fram with Amundsen, who was on his triumphant return from the Pole. By mid-December, Deutschland reached the Weddell Sea pack ice. After 10 days of pushing through narrow leads, the ship penetrated to the sea’s southern coast, William Bruce’s Coats Land. Sailing west, Filchner reached new territory, calling it ‘Prinz Regent Luitpold Land’ (now Luitpold Coast). He also discovered a vast ice shelf, naming it ‘Kaiser Wilhelm Barrier’ for his emperor (who later insisted that it be renamed after Filchner). Filchner then tried to establish a winter base (‘Stationseisberg’) on the ice shelf, but these plans had to be hastily abandoned when a huge section of the shelf carrying the expedition’s nearly completed hut calved into the sea.
The Antarctic winter closed in before Deutschland could escape to lower latitudes and the ship was beset and drifted for nine months. During this period of monotonous tedium, one crew member read an entire dictionary from A to Z. The expedition was also riven by a deep divide caused by the ship’s captain, Richard Vahsel, who was suffering from syphilis. He died in August 1912 during the drift and was, as Filchner later wrote, ‘committed to the sea in a sack, along with a heavy weight.’
Filchner led a three-man party on a dangerous midwinter dog-sledging trip over 65km of sea ice to the charted location of ‘New South Greenland , ’ which American sealer Benjamin Morrell claimed to have sighted in 1823. Finding nothing but frozen ocean, Filchner proved the nonexistence of Morrell’s ‘discovery.’ Successfully navigating back to the ship was a great feat, since the instruments were nearly destroyed by the -34°C cold – and Deutschland had drifted almost 65km with the current-driven pack ice.
On November 26, 1912, the decaying ice released the ship, which sailed to South Georgia and home. Back in Germany , armed with his newly won knowledge of the Weddell Sea coast, Filchner again tried to raise interest in a crossing of Antarctica, from the Weddell to the Ross Sea. But Germany ’s attention, on the eve of WWI, was elsewhere.
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Shackleton’s endurance expedition
After losing his most sought-after prize – but saving himself and his companions – on the Nimrod expedition, Ernest Shackleton had also set his sights on crossing Antarctica. The threat of a German expedition attempting the same journey helped Shackleton raise funds; nationalistic Britons sent in contributions to the ‘first crossing of the last continent.’ Shackleton’s plan was simple but ambitious: he would sail in Endurance to the Weddell Sea coast, establish a base, then trek across the continent via the Pole. At the top of the Beardmore Glacier, the crossing party would be met by another group, which would have been landed at Ross Island by Aurora, sailing from Hobart .
Even as Endurance prepared to sail, the firestorm ignited by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife on June 28, 1914 began engulfing Europe . Britain declared war on Germany on August 4, and Shackleton immediately offered Endurance and her crew for war service. Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, wired his thanks, but the expedition was told to proceed. Endurance sailed from Plymouth on August 8 ‘to carry on our white warfare, ’ as Shackleton put it. After calling at Madeira, Buenos Aires and South Georgia, the expedition pushed into the Weddell Sea pack ice. Soon Endurance was squeezing through ever-narrower leads.
By January 19, 1915, Endurance was caught. The events that followed have grown to legend, becoming nearly as famous as the story of Scott’s last expedition. The ship, inexorably crushed by the grinding ice floes, finally sank on November 21. Shackleton and his men lived on the pack ice for five months before they sailed three small boats to Elephant Island. Since it was uninhabited, Shackleton and five others had to sail another 1300km across the open sea in one of the boats, the 6.9m James Caird (which the ship’s carpenter had decked over with spare timbers) to seek help from the whalers at South Georgia. After 16 exhausting days at sea, they landed at South Georgia, completing one of history’s greatest navigational feats.
But their landfall was at King Haakon Bay, on South Georgia’s bleak, uninhabited southwest coast; the whaling stations were on the island’s northeastern side. Although no one had previously penetrated further than a kilometer or so from the coast, Shackleton had no choice but to try to cross the island. He and two of the six men who had sailed James Caird with him, Tom Crean and Frank Worsley, hiked for 36 straight hours over the 1800m-high mountains and crevassed glaciers to reach Stromness whaling station. As they neared the station, impassable ice cliffs forced them to lower themselves down an icy, 9m waterfall. Arriving at the station on May 20, 1916, their long beards, matted hair, ragged clothes – and fierce body odor, no doubt – caused the first three people they met to flee in disgust.
At the home of the station manager, where they bathed and were fed and clothed, Shackleton asked, ‘When was the war over?’ ‘The war is not over, ’ the manager answered. ‘Millions are being killed. Europe is mad. The world is mad.’ That night a whaler was dispatched to pick up the three men left behind at King Haakon Bay. After three failed rescue attempts over the next four months, Shackleton enlisted the help of Yelcho, a steamer lent by the Chilean government, and was finally able to pick up all 22 men stranded at Elephant Island on August 30.
Still, Shackleton’s troubles were not over – the Ross Sea party had encountered its own difficulties. Aurora had intended to winter at Ross Island, but a blizzard blew the ship from its moorings, stranding at Cape Evans 10 men who spent a miserable winter with minimal supplies. Aurora, meanwhile, was beset for 10 months, finally getting free on March 14, 1916. Shackleton met the ship in New Zealand and after an extensive refitting Aurora was able to relieve the marooned Cape Evans party on January 10, 1917. The war, meanwhile, raged for another 22 bloody months, long enough for two of Shackleton’s men to die in the fighting.
Shackleton himself lived to mount a final assault on the Antarctic, the ill-defined Quest expedition. Upon reaching South Georgia, he suffered a massive heart attack and died on January 5, 1922 aboard his ship, moored alongside at Grytviken.
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Wilkins
Australian George Hubert Wilkins (1888–1958), a Balkan War combat photographer and veteran of two Antarctic expeditions including the one in Shackleton’s Quest, decided in 1928 that the time was right to attempt a flight in Antarctica. Wilkins had already flown 4000km across the Arctic Ocean earlier in the year, becoming the first to cross the region by air, and now he took the same pilot (Carl Ben Eielson) and the same plane (now called Los Angeles ) south to tackle The Ice.
With his Arctic success guaranteeing him a well-funded expedition – including a lucrative US$25, 000 news-rights contract with American press lord William Randolph Hearst – Wilkins was transported on a whaling ship, Hektoria, which called at Deception Island. He also brought with him a backup pilot, Joe Crosson, and a second wood-framed Lockheed Vega monoplane, christened San Francisco . These planes were considered revolutionary for their time, having no wires or exposed controls that offered extra wind resistance.
Wilkins had equipped the Vegas with pontoons to enable it to take off from the protected waters of Deception’s Port Foster. But on test runs he encountered a uniquely Antarctic hazard: hundreds of albatrosses, attracted to the open water created when the ship broke the harbor ice. So Wilkins and his men – aided by crews from the nearby whaling station – cleared a runway on shore. It was rough, running 800m up a hill, down across ditches, up another hill and down to the harbor. If a plane hadn’t enough speed to take off by then, it would plunge into the water. On November 16, 1928, Wilkins and Eielson took off in Los Angeles , flying for just 20 minutes before the weather closed in. It was a useful shakedown – and made history as the first powered flight in Antarctica.
Little more than a month later, Wilkins and Eielson were ready to try a longer flight. Although they hoped to fly from the Peninsula to the Ross Sea, bad weather made this impractical. But on December 20, taking off again from Deception, they flew for 11 hours across the Peninsula and along its eastern side, covering 2100km and reaching as far as 71°20´S. Eight years before, on the British Imperial Expedition to Graham Land, Wilkins had been frustrated by ‘the slow, blind struggles’ to make progress over the difficult terrain. ‘This time, ’ he exulted, ‘I had a tremendous sensation of power and freedom – I felt liberated...for the first time in history, new land was being discovered from the air.’ Important though the flight was, Wilkins was deceived by the appearance of the Peninsula from above. He wrongly concluded that it must be an archipelago.
Wilkins returned to the Antarctic the next summer, making more flights and discoveries. All told, he mapped 200, 000 sq km of new territory, proving beyond doubt the airplane’s efficacy in Antarctic work. He later supported Lincoln Ellsworth with his flights over Antarctica.
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Byrd
American flier Richard Evelyn Byrd (1888–1957) was scared of Wilkins. A graduate of the US Naval Academy, Byrd had claimed in 1926 to be first to fly over the North Pole (the claim has been questioned). In 1927 he was narrowly beaten by Charles Lindbergh in the era’s greatest race: solo across the Atlantic. Soon after, he made it his goal to become first to fly over the South Pole.
Following his Arctic flight, Byrd raised nearly a million dollars from such eminent sponsors as Charles Lindbergh (US$1000), the National Geographic Society and the New York Times, which paid US$60, 000 for exclusive rights and the privilege of sending its own reporter, Russell Owen, on the expedition. Byrd’s United States Antarctic Expedition (USAE) was the best-funded private expedition to Antarctica in history. It sailed from Hoboken, New Jersey , in August 1928, in the square-rigged City of New York with not one, but three aircraft. ‘Accompanied by business managers, physicians, cameramen, dog trainers, scientists, aviators, newspapermen, ’ Time magazine wrote of the departing expedition, ‘the size and diversity of its personnel suggests a circus.’
Little America , the expedition’s base, was established at the Bay of Whales on the Ross Ice Shelf in January 1929. Byrd quickly set up a flying program with his three planes – a big aluminum Ford trimotor Floyd Bennett, named for his North Pole pilot who had died of pneumonia earlier in 1928; a smaller, single-engine Fairchild, Stars and Stripes; and a single-engine Fokker Universal named The Virginian for Byrd’s home state.
In March the expedition suffered Antarctica’s first plane crash, but luckily no one was in The Virginian. A five-man party had been flown south to survey the Rockefeller Mountains (named for an expedition sponsor), when a blizzard blasted them for 12 days. Although the Fokker was tied down, so furious was the wind that when the pilot made a radio call back to Little America from inside the plane, he saw that the airspeed indicator read 140km/h. A few mornings later, the men awoke at their nearby camp to find that the plane had flown itself 800m to an inevitable crash. Byrd and the others eventually rescued the stranded party.
With winter’s onset, the two remaining planes were cached in snow shelters. The men settled down to an under-snow routine of research, repair work, radio training, and recreation, which included watching some of the expedition’s 75 movies, carefully selected for their unprovocative story lines. On August 24 the sun rose again, and preparations for the big flight began. By November, a fuel depot was set up at the foot of the Axel Heiberg Glacier (the same glacier Amundsen had used) leading up to the polar plateau, since Floyd Bennett’s fuel tanks couldn’t carry enough to reach 90°S and back.
On November 28, a field party working in the Queen Maud Mountains far to the south radioed Little America that the weather was clear. Four men – Byrd as navigator; Bernt Balchen, chief pilot; Harold June, second pilot and radio operator; and Ashley McKinley, photo surveyor – climbed into the big Ford trimotor. Flying up the Liv Glacier, an icy on-ramp to the polar plateau, the plane was unable to climb due to the cold, thin air, forcing the men to ditch 110kg of their emergency rations. Balchen, an experienced Arctic pilot, gained a little more altitude by throwing the aircraft into a hard turn toward the towering rock face on his right and catching an updraft.
From there, it was a four-hour drone to the Pole, praying that Floyd Bennett’s engines would keep beating out their powerful rhythm. They did. At 1:14am on November 29, 1929, the plane reached the earth’s southern axis. ‘For a few seconds we stood over the spot where Amundsen had stood December 14, 1911, and where Scott had also stood, ’ Byrd wrote. ‘There was nothing now to mark that scene; only a white desolation and solitude disturbed by the sound of our engines.’
Byrd returned to the US as a national hero, feted with ticker-tape parades, a promotion to rear admiral, and a special gold medal struck in his honor. He went on to lead four more Antarctic expeditions including the second USAE of 1933-35 (during which he nearly died of carbon monoxide poisoning while living alone at a tiny weather station called Advance Base) and the massive US Government exercise known as Operation Highjump. But this was his finest hour.
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Ellsworth
American Lincoln Ellsworth (1880–1951), scion of a wealthy Pennsylvania coal-mining family, had whetted his appetite for polar exploration in 1925, when he made the first flight toward the North Pole with Roald Amundsen. The flight failed, but he reached the Pole in 1926, three days after Byrd’s flight.
In 1931 Ellsworth began what would become a long and productive association with Hubert Wilkins – with the goal of crossing Antarctica by air. For the first of their four expeditions together, Ellsworth bought a Northrop Gamma monoplane, which he named Polar Star, and a stout Norwegian fishing vessel, named Wyatt Earp after his hero, the gun-slinging marshal of the Old West, whose wedding ring Ellsworth wore and whose gun and holster he carried with him everywhere. For his pilot, Ellsworth chose Bernt Balchen, chief pilot on Byrd’s expedition.
The first Ellsworth Antarctic Expedition in 1933–34 ended after one short flight from skis in the frozen-over Bay of Whales. The plane was parked overnight on an ice floe, and a massive breakup early the next morning left the aircraft dangling by its wingtips from two separate pieces of the floe. The expedition was forced to retreat north, where Ellsworth’s money soon funded the plane’s repair.
In late 1934 he was back in the Antarctic, with a new flight plan: the expedition would fly from Wilkins’ old base at Deception Island to the Ross Sea via the Weddell Sea. But the season’s first try was another disaster – an engine seized after its heavy preserving lubricant was not drained before starting. The expedition again retreated north, to pick up a spare part that Ellsworth had flown in from the factory to a South American port. The next flight was equally frustrating: Balchen turned the plane around after little more than an hour, citing heavy weather to the south, though Ellsworth saw only a small squall. While he retained respect for Balchen, Ellsworth never hired him again.
The third try, in 1935, was lucky for Ellsworth, but only on the season’s third attempt. Ellsworth’s new pilot, Anglo-Canadian Herbert Hollick-Kenyon, made two false starts – the first aborted by a leaky fuel gauge and the second by a threatening storm. Polar Star finally took off from Dundee Island at the tip of the Peninsula on November 22, 1935, headed for the Bay of Whales on the Ross Ice Shelf. As the pair flew south, sighting and naming the Eternity and Sentinel Ranges, Ellsworth was overcome by the realization that his years of effort were finally paying off: ‘Suddenly I felt supremely happy for my share in the opportunity to unveil the last continent in human history.’
The 3700km flight was intended to last just 14 hours, even with landings to refuel. Poor weather stretched the trip to two weeks, during which time the pair established four separate camps. Unfortunately, their radio went dead during that period, prompting fear that they had perished. Even on the last leg of the flight, problems plagued them: Polar Star ran out of fuel 25km from the Bay of Whales, and they trekked eight days to reach it. Australia , meanwhile, urged on by Douglas Mawson and John King Davis , dispatched a ‘rescue’ attempt, although Wilkins and Wyatt Earp had already made detailed plans to pick up Ellsworth and Hollick-Kenyon at the Bay of Whales after their flight. The Australians met the explorers at Byrd’s former base, Little America II, where the explorers had been living comfortably for nearly a month. Heavy ice, meanwhile, slowed Wyatt Earp, which arrived four days later. After returning to a heroes’ welcome in the US, Ellsworth made a final expedition to Antarctica with his faithful friend Hubert Wilkins in 1938, then retired from exploration for good.
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The contemporary era
Wilkins’ flight was one of the last large private expeditions made to Antarctica. WWII interrupted the plans of many explorers, although a secret Nazi expedition in 1938–39, led by Alfred Ritscher, was dispatched to Antarctica by Field Marshal Hermann Göring. Göring was interested both in claiming territory and in protecting Germany ’s growing whaling fleet. The expedition used seaplanes to overfly vast stretches of the ice sheet, dropping unique 1.5m darts inscribed with swastikas to establish sovereignty – claims that were never recognized.
Later in the war, a German Hilfskreuzer (auxiliary raider), an armed merchant ship disguised to look like an innocent vessel from another nation, succeeded in a daring Antarctic raid that captured nearly the entire Norwegian whaling fleet – all without bloodshed or a single shot fired. On January 14, 1941, at 59°S, 2°30´W, (between the South Sandwich Islands and Bouvetøya), Schiff 33 (also known as Pinguin) stealthily approached and then captured one supply vessel, two factory ships and 11 whale-catchers – with a combined cargo of more than 18, 000 tonnes of valuable whale oil. All but one of the ships were sent as prizes back to Occupied France . One whale-catcher was retained and converted to another auxiliary raider.
In 1943 Britain began the permanent occupation of Antarctica, establishing Base A at Port Lockroy. After the war the cost of mounting a major expedition pushed nearly everyone but national governments out of the game.
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Operations Highjump & Windmill
In 1946 the US launched Operation Highjump, history’s largest Antarctic expedition. Officially called the US Navy Antarctic Developments Project, it was primarily a training exercise to give US forces experience in polar operations, which would have been valuable for them had the Cold War, then developing with the Soviet Union, flared into an all-out Arctic fight. Highjump sent 4700 men, 33 aircraft, 13 ships and 10 Caterpillar tractors to the continent. It used helicopters and icebreakers for the first time in the Antarctic. Tens of thousands of aerial photographs were taken along nearly three-quarters of the continent’s coast, although their usefulness for mapmaking was limited by a lack of ground surveys. A smaller, follow-up expedition the next year (later nicknamed Operation Windmill for its extensive use of helicopters) surveyed major features sighted by Highjump.
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Anare
In February 1954, Phillip Garth Law and the Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE) set up Mawson station in East Antarctica. Named after Douglas Mawson, this was the first permanent scientific station established on the continent, and the only one outside the Peninsula. Today, Mawson is one of Australia ’s three continental stations.
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International Geophysical Year (IGY)
A growing interest in the earth and atmospheric sciences during the late 1940s prompted the declaration of the International Geophysical Year. The IGY, which ran from July 1, 1957, to December 31, 1958, was timed to coincide with a peak level of sunspot activity. Its objective was to study outer space and the whole earth, with 66 countries participating from locations around the globe. But the IGY left its greatest legacy in Antarctica.
Twelve countries – Argentina , Australia , Belgium , Chile , France , Japan , New Zealand , Norway , South Africa , the UK, the US and the USSR – established more than 40 stations on the Antarctic continent and another 20 on the sub-Antarctic islands. Among these were the US base at the South Pole, created through a massive 84-flight airdrop of 725 tonnes of building materials, and the Soviet Vostok station at the Geomagnetic South Pole. Many countries also operated tractor traverses across great sections of the continental interior. The British Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition, led by Vivian Fuchs, was the first to cross the continent overland. The international cooperation promoted by the IGY led to the creation of the Antarctic Treaty.
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Kigali is the capital of which African country? | Rwanda Map / Geography of Rwanda / Map of Rwanda - Worldatlas.com
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Geographically dominated by mountain ranges, the Republic of Rwanda is predominantly rural, and its population relatively young; additionally, its population density is one of the highest in Africa .
Humans began inhabiting the region between 8000 BC - 3000BC, and had structured themselves into various clans (Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa) by the 15th century.
The Tutsi Nyiginya clan grew to be the more dominant, and during the 19th century, under the reign of King Kigeli Rwabugiri, reached its greatest expansion.
The territory of Rwanda was assigned to Germany as part of German East Africa in 1884. Under German ruling, the existing hierarchy remained intact, and power was delegated to the local chiefs.
A more direct form of ruling came during World War I when Belgian forces introduced a more centralized power structure. During this time frame Belgium also improved educational, health, and agricultural endeavors.
In 1959, three years before independence from Belgium, the majority ethnic group, the Hutus, overthrew the ruling Tutsi king. Over the next several years, thousands of Tutsis were killed, and some 150,000 driven into exile in neighboring countries.
The children of these exiles later formed a rebel group known as the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), and began a civil war in 1990. The war, along with numerous other political upheavals, exacerbated ethnic tensions, culminating in April 1994 in the genocide of roughly 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
The Tutsi rebels defeated the Hutu regime and ended the killing in July 1994, but approximately 2 million Hutu refugees - many fearing Tutsi retribution - fled to neighboring Burundi , Tanzania , Uganda , and the former Zaire.
Since then, most of the refugees have returned to Rwanda, but several thousand remain in neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo .
Paul Kagame became President of Rwanda in March 2000. In August of 2003, he won a landslide victory in the first national elections since his government took power in 1994.
The country has made a remarkable recovery under the leadership of Kagame, and is now considered to be a model for developing countries.
Rwanda has achieved stability, international integration and economic growth. The average income over the past ten years has tripled. The current government is one of the most efficient and honest in Africa and it is also regarded as the safest country in East and Central Africa .
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Rwanda, a small landlocked country in east-central Africa, is trying to recover from the ethnic strife that culminated in government-sponsored genocide in the mid-1990s.
In the genocide, an estimated 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed by dominant Hutu forces in 100 days.
The country has struggled with its legacy of ethnic tension associated with the traditionally unequal relationship between the Tutsi minority and the majority Hutus.
Today, Rwanda is striving to rebuild its economy, with coffee and tea production among its main exports. The World Bank has praised Rwanda's recent "remarkable development successes", which it says have helped reduce poverty and inequality.
Area 26,338 sq km (10,169 sq miles)
Major languages Kinyarwanda (official), French (official), English (official), Swahili
Major religions Christianity, indigenous beliefs
Life expectancy 54 years (men), 57 years (women)
Currency Rwandan franc
President: Paul Kagame
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Paul Kagame has run Rwanda since his rebel army ended the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of people in 1994.
He was sworn in as vice-president and defence minister in the new, post-genocide government in July 1994, but was widely seen as the real power in Rwanda.
In 2000 parliament elected him president. He won presidential elections in 2003 and again in 2010, and gained approval by referendum to stand for an unprecedented third term in 2017.
To his admirers he is a visionary leader, but to his critics he is a despot who tolerates no opposition.
Mr Kagame has been criticised for trampling on freedoms, building up the army to assert his authority, and using anti-genocide legislation to clamp down on opponents.
Mr Kagame, born in 1957, left the country as a young child when around half a million fellow Tutsis fled following a bloody Hutu-led uprising. His family settled in Uganda, and Mr Kagame later helped Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni come to power.
From 1990 he led the military arm of the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPF) in its war against the Hutu-controlled government.
MEDIA
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Image caption Radio soap operas have been used to foster peace and reconciliation and to help heal the wounds left by the genocide
Newspaper readership is limited and press often exercise self-censorship.
Critical bloggers are often based abroad, notes US-based Freedom House.
State TV and radio reach the largest audiences, and state-owned publications predominate in the print sector.
Radio - the main source of news - had a role in the 1994 genocide. Notorious "hate" station Radio Tele Libre Mille Collines (RTLM) was a vehicle for virulent anti-Tutsi propaganda.
TIMELINE
Some key dates in the history of Rwanda:
1300s - 1916 - Tutsis migrate into what is now Rwanda, which was already inhabited by the Twa and Hutu peoples. In the 1600s the Tutsi King Ruganzu Ndori subdues central Rwanda and outlying Hutu areas; by the late 1800s it is a unified state until it becomes part of German East Africa in 1890. It is occupied by Belgian forces 26 years later.
1959 - Tutsi King Kigeri V, together with tens of thousands of Tutsis, forced into exile in Uganda following Hutu-Tutsi violence.
1961 - Rwanda proclaimed a republic.
1963 - About 20,000 Tutsis are killed following an incursion by Tutsi rebels based in Burundi. Fighting between the two ethnic groups continues intermittently over the next three decades.
1994 - Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana and Burundi President Cyprien Ntaryamira are killed in a rocket attack on their plane. Habyarimana's death triggers 100-day orgy of violence, perpetrated mainly by Hutus against Tutsis and moderate Hutus. About 800,000 people are killed. Hutu militia flee to Zaire, taking with them around 2 million Hutu refugees.
1996-2003 - Rwanda's invasion of DR Congo marks the beginning of its lengthy involvement in the neighbouring country's civil war, first helping to oust President Mobutu and install Joseph Kabila, and later to oppose Kabila.
2003 - Voters back a draft constitution which bans the incitement of ethnic hatred. Paul Kagame wins the first presidential elections since the 1994 genocide.
2005 July - Government begins the mass release of thousands who confessed to involvement in the 1994 genocide. Rwanda's 12 provinces are replaced by a smaller number of regions with the aim of creating ethnically-diverse administrative areas.
2010 - A former army chief who fell out with President Kagame and fled to South Africa survives apparent assassination attempts in 2010 and 2014. A former Rwandan spy chief, another exiled opponent of Mr Kagame, is murdered in South Africa in 2014.
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What nationality was the astronomer Edwin Powell Hubble (1889-1953)? | Edwin Powell Hubble (1889 - 1953) - Genealogy
Edwin Powell Hubble
Springfield, Greene, Missouri, United States
Death:
Feb 26 1924 - Los Angeles, California, United States
Wife:
Sep 28 1953 - Los Angeles, California, USA
Father's last name:
Nov 20 1889 - Marshfield, Webster, Missouri, USA
Death:
Sep 28 1953 - San Marino, California
Parents:
Nov 20 1889 - Marshfield, Webster County, MO, 65706, USA
Death:
Sep 28 1953 - San Marino, Los Angeles County, CA, USA
Parents:
John Powell Hubble, Virginia Lee Hubble (born James)
Siblings:
Henry James Hubble, Lucy Lee Hubble, William Martin Hubble, Virginia Hubble, Helen Hubble, <Private> Hubble, <Private> Hubble
Partner:
Australian Newspapers
Text:
"...spares. _ Death Of E. P. Hubble -* NEW YORK, Sept. 29 (A.A.P.). - Dr. Edwin Powell Hubble, one of the astronomers who developed the e...
Publication:
Sep 30 1953 - Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Page:
NewspaperARCHIVE.com
Text:
... (AP)—Dr. Edwin P. Hubble, 74, one of the nation's foremost astronomers, died today from effects of a stroke suffered at his home here. O...
Date:
Circa 1890 - Missouri, United States
Residence:
1910 - Shelbyville Ward 4, Shelby, Kentucky, USA
Parents:
John Hubble, Virginia L Hubble
Siblings:
John Powell Hubble, Virginia Lee Hubble (born James)
Wife:
John Powell Hubble, Virginia Lee Hubble (born James)
Wife:
Nov 28 1889 - Webster, MO
Parents:
Cause of death: Cerebral thrombosis - Sep 28 1953 - San Marino
Parents:
John Powell Hubble, Virginia Lee James
Wife:
United States of America, Louisville,
And one more address
Nov 20 1889 - Marshfield, Webster County, Missouri, 65706, USA
Death:
Sep 28 1953 - San Marino, Los Angeles County, California, USA
Parents:
John Powell Hubble, Virginia Lee Hubble (born James)
Siblings:
William Hubble, Unknown Hubble, Unknown Hubble, Unknown Hubble
Wife:
About Edwin Hubble
American Astronomer
Edwin Powell Hubble was an American Astronomer known for his discovery of galaxies beyond the Milky Way.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_P._Hubble
Edwin Powell Hubble (November 20, 1889 – September 28, 1953) was an American astronomer who profoundly changed the understanding of the universe by confirming the existence of galaxies other than the Milky Way. He also considered the idea that the loss in frequency—the redshift—observed in the spectra of light from other galaxies increased in proportion to a particular galaxy's distance from Earth. This relationship became known as Hubble's law.
Hubble doubted the Doppler shift interpretation of the observed redshift that had been proposed earlier by Vesto Slipher, whose data he used, and that led to the theory of the metric expansion of space. He tended to believe the frequency of any beam of light could, by some so far unknown means, be diminished ever stronger, the longer the beam travels through space.
Biography
Hubble was born to an insurance executive, John Powell Hubble, and Virginia Lee James in Marshfield, Missouri and moved to Wheaton, Illinois in 1900. In his younger days he was noted more for his athletic prowess than his intellectual abilities, although he did earn good grades in every subject except for spelling. He won seven first places and a third place in a single high school track and field meet in 1906. That year he also set the state high school record for the high jump in Illinois. Another of his personal interests was dry-fly fishing, and he practiced amateur boxing as well.
His studies at the University of Chicago were concentrated on mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy, which led to a bachelor of science degree in 1910. Hubble also became a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity (and in 1948 was named the Kappa Sigma "Man of the Year"). He spent the three years at The Queen's College, Oxford after earning his bachelors as one of the university's first Rhodes Scholars, initially studying jurisprudence (instead of science as a promise to his dying father) and later added literature and Spanish, and earning his master's degree. Some of his acquired British mannerisms and dress stayed with him all his life, occasionally irritating his American colleagues.
Hubble's father had in 1909 moved his family from Chicago to Shelbyville, Kentucky so that the family could live in a small town, ultimately settling in nearby Louisville. His father died in the winter of 1913, while Edwin was still in England, and in the summer of 1913, he returned to care for his mother, two sisters, and younger brother, as did his brother William. The family moved once more to Everett Avenue, in Louisville's Highlands neighborhood, to accommodate Edwin and William.
Upon returning to the United States, Hubble taught Spanish, physics, and mathematics at the New Albany High School in New Albany, Indiana. He also coached the boys' basketball team there. Hubble's early biographers uniformly noted that he had passed the Kentucky bar examination and briefly practiced law in Louisville, but he did neither. There is no evidence that Hubble ever handled a legal case. After a year of high-school teaching, he returned to astronomy at the Yerkes Observatory of the University of Chicago, where he received his PhD in 1917. His dissertation was titled Photographic Investigations of Faint Nebulae.
Hubble then served in the United States Army in World War I, and he quickly advanced to the rank of major. In 1919, Hubble was offered a staff position in California by George Ellery Hale, the founder and director of the Carnegie Institution's Mount Wilson Observatory, near Pasadena, California, where he remained on the staff until his death. Hubble also served in the U.S. Army at the Aberdeen Proving Ground during World War II. For his work there he received the Legion of Merit award. Shortly before his death, Mount Palomar's giant 200-inch (5.1 m) reflector Hale Telescope was completed, and Hubble was the first astronomer to use it. Hubble continued his research at the Mount Wilson and Mount Palomar Observatories, where he remained active until his death.
Hubble experienced a heart attack on July 1949 while on vacation in Colorado. He was taken care of by Grace Hubble and continued on a modified diet and work schedule. He died of cerebral thrombosis (a spontaneous blood clot in his brain) on September 28, 1953, in San Marino, California. No funeral was held for him, and his wife Grace Hubble, did not reveal the disposition of his body.
Discoveries
The Universe goes beyond the Milky Way galaxy
Edwin Hubble's arrival at Mount Wilson, California, in 1919 coincided roughly with the completion of the 100-inch (2.5 m) Hooker Telescope, then the world's largest telescope. At that time, the prevailing view of the cosmos was that the universe consisted entirely of the Milky Way Galaxy. Using the Hooker Telescope at Mt. Wilson, Hubble identified Cepheid variables (a kind of star; see also standard candle) in several spiral nebulae, including the Andromeda Nebula and Triangulum. His observations, made in 1922–1923, proved conclusively that these nebulae were much too distant to be part of the Milky Way and were, in fact, entire galaxies outside our own. This idea had been opposed by many in the astronomy establishment of the time, in particular by the Harvard University-based Harlow Shapley. Despite the opposition, Hubble, then a thirty-five year old scientist, had his findings first published in The New York Times on November 23, 1924, and then more formally presented in the form of a paper at the January 1, 1925 meeting of the American Astronomical Society. Hubble's findings fundamentally changed the scientific view of the universe.
Hubble also devised the most commonly used system for classifying galaxies, grouping them according to their appearance in photographic images. He arranged the different groups of galaxies in what became known as the Hubble sequence.
Redshift increases with distance
Combining his own measurements of galaxy distances based on Henrietta Swan Leavitt's period-luminosity relationship for Cepheids with Vesto Slipher and Milton L. Humason's measurements of the redshifts associated with the galaxies, he discovered a rough proportionality of the objects' distances with their redshifts.[18] Though there was considerable scatter (now known to be due to peculiar velocities), he was able to plot a trend line from the 46 galaxies and obtained a value for the Hubble Constant of 500 km/s/Mpc, which is much higher than the currently accepted value due to errors in their distance calibrations. In 1929 Hubble formulated the empirical Redshift Distance Law of galaxies, nowadays termed simply Hubble's law, which, if the redshift is interpreted as a measure of recession speed, is consistent with the solutions of Einstein’s equations of general relativity for a homogeneous, isotropic expanding space. Although concepts underlying an expanding universe were well understood earlier, this statement by Hubble and Humason led to wider scale acceptance for this view. The law states that the greater the distance between any two galaxies, the greater their relative speed of separation. But two years before, in 1927, Georges Lemaître, a Belgian Catholic priest and physicist, published a paper in an obscure Belgian journal, Annales de la Societe Scientifique de Bruxelles. In that paper, he showed that the data collected by Hubble and two other astronomers up to that time was enough to derive a linear velocity-distance relation between the galaxies, and that this supported a model of an expanding universe based on Einstein’s equations for General Relativity.
This discovery was the first observational support for the Big Bang theory which had been proposed by Georges Lemaître in 1927. The observed velocities of distant galaxies, taken together with the cosmological principle appeared to show that the Universe was expanding in a manner consistent with the Friedmann-Lemaître model of general relativity. In 1931 Hubble wrote a letter to the Dutch cosmologist Willem de Sitter expressing his opinion on the theoretical interpretation of the redshift-distance relation:
Mr. Humason and I are both deeply sensible of your gracious appreciation of the papers on velocities and distances of nebulae. We use the term ‘apparent’ velocities to emphasize the empirical features of the correlation. The interpretation, we feel, should be left to you and the very few others who are competent to discuss the matter with authority.
Today, the "apparent velocities" in question are understood as an increase in proper distance that occurs due to the expansion of space. Light traveling through stretching space will experience a Hubble-type redshift, a mechanism different from the Doppler effect (although the two mechanisms become equivalent descriptions related by a coordinate transformation for nearby galaxies).
In the 1930s Hubble was involved in determining the distribution of galaxies and spatial curvature. These data seemed to indicate that the universe was flat and homogeneous, but there was a deviation from flatness at large redshifts.
According to Allan Sandage,
"Hubble believed that his count data gave a more reasonable result concerning spatial curvature if the redshift correction was made assuming no recession. To the very end of his writings he maintained this position, favouring (or at the very least keeping open) the model where no true expansion exists, and therefore that the redshift "represents a hitherto unrecognized principle of nature."
There were methodological problems with Hubble's survey technique that showed a deviation from flatness at large redshifts. In particular the technique did not account for changes in luminosity of galaxies due to galaxy evolution. Earlier, in 1917, Albert Einstein had found that his newly developed theory of general relativity indicated that the universe must be either expanding or contracting. Unable to believe what his own equations were telling him, Einstein introduced a cosmological constant (a "fudge factor") to the equations to avoid this "problem". When Einstein heard of Hubble's discovery, he said that changing his equations was "the biggest blunder of [his] life."
Other discoveries
Hubble discovered the asteroid 1373 Cincinnati on August 30, 1935. He also wrote The Observational Approach to Cosmology and The Realm of the Nebulae approximately during this time.
Nobel Prize
Hubble spent much of the later part of his career attempting to have astronomy considered an area of physics, instead of being its own science. He did this largely so that astronomers—including himself—could be recognized by the Nobel Prize Committee for their valuable contributions to astrophysics. This campaign was unsuccessful in Hubble's lifetime, but shortly after his death the Nobel Prize Committee decided that astronomical work would be eligible for the physics prize. (The prize cannot be awarded posthumously.)
Stamp
On March 6, 2008, the United States Postal Service released a 41 cent stamp honoring Hubble on a sheet titled "American Scientists" designed by artist Victor Stabin. His citation reads:
Often called a "pioneer of the distant stars," astronomer Edwin Hubble (1889–1953) played a pivotal role in deciphering the vast and complex nature of the universe. His meticulous studies of spiral nebulae proved the existence of galaxies other than our own Milky Way. Had he not died suddenly in 1953, Hubble would have won that year's Nobel Prize in Physics.
Honors
Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1940.
Legion of Merit for outstanding contribution to ballistics research in 1946.
Named after him
The crater Hubble on the Moon.
Orbiting Hubble Space Telescope.
Edwin P. Hubble Planetarium, located in the Edward R. Murrow High School, Brooklyn, NY.
Edwin Hubble Highway, the stretch of Interstate 44 passing through his birthplace of Marshfield, Missouri
The Edwin P. Hubble Medal of Initiative is awarded annually by the city of Marshfield, Missouri — Hubble's birthplace
Hubble Middle School in Wheaton, Illinois — renamed for Edwin Hubble when Wheaton Central High School was converted to a middle school in the fall of 1992.
2008 "American Scientists" US stamp series, $0.41
| The American |
If you had rubella what would you have caught? | Edwin Hubble - The Full Wiki
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the astronomer. For the politician, see Edwin N. Hubbell . For the trombonist, see Eddie Hubble .
Edwin Powell Hubble
Bruce Medal 1938
Edwin Powell Hubble (November 20, 1889 – September 28, 1953) was an American astronomer . He profoundly changed our understanding of the universe by demonstrating the existence of other galaxies besides the Milky Way . He also discovered that the degree of redshift observed in light coming from a galaxy increased in proportion to the distance of that galaxy from the Milky Way. This became known as Hubble's law , and would help establish that the known universe is expanding.
Hubble was generally incorrectly credited with discovering [1] the redshift of galaxies; these measurements and their significance were understood before 1917 by James Edward Keeler (Lick & Allegheny), Vesto Melvin Slipher (Lowell), and William Wallace Campbell (Lick) at other observatories.
Contents
8 External links
Biography
Edwin Hubble was born to an insurance executive in Marshfield, Missouri , and moved to Wheaton, Illinois , in 1889. In his younger days he was noted more for his athletic prowess than his intellectual abilities, although he did earn good grades in every subject except for spelling. He won seven first places and a third place in a single high school track & field meet in 1906. That year he also set the state high school record for the high jump in Illinois . Another of his personal interests was dry-fly fishing, and he practiced amateur boxing as well [2] .
His studies at the University of Chicago concentrated on mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy, which led to a bachelor of science in 1910. Hubble also became a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity (and in 1948 was named the Kappa Sigma "Man of the Year"). He spent the three years after earning his bachelors as one of Oxford University 's first Rhodes Scholars , studying jurisprudence initally, then switching his major to Spanish and earning his master's degree in that field.[citation needed] Some of his acquired British mannerisms and dress stayed with him all his life, occasionally irritating his American colleagues.
Upon returning to the United States, Hubble taught Spanish, physics , and mathematics at the New Albany High School in New Albany, Indiana . He also coached the boy's basketball team there. Hubble earned admission as a member of the Kentucky bar association , although he reportedly never actually practiced law in Kentucky . [3] Hubble served in the U.S. Army in World War I , and he quickly advanced to the rank of major . He returned to astronomy at the Yerkes Observatory of the University of Chicago, where he received his Ph.D. in 1917. His dissertation was titled Photographic Investigations of Faint Nebulae .
In 1919, Hubble was offered a staff position in California by George Ellery Hale , the founder and director of the Carnegie Institution's Mount Wilson Observatory , near Pasadena, California , where he remained on the staff until his death. Hubble also served in the U.S. Army at the Aberdeen Proving Ground during World War II . For his work there he received the Legion of Merit award. Shortly before his death, Mount Palomar's giant 200-inch (5.1 m) reflector Hale Telescope was completed, and Hubble was the first astronomer to use it. Hubble continued his research at the Mount Wilson and Mount Palomar Observatories, where he remained active until his death.
Hubble died of a cerebral thrombosis (a spontaneous blood clot in his brain) on September 28, 1953, in San Marino, California . No funeral was held for him, and his wife, Grace Hubble, did not reveal the disposition of his body. [4] [5]
Discoveries
The Universe goes beyond the Milky Way galaxy
Edwin Hubble's arrival at Mount Wilson, California, in 1919 coincided roughly with the completion of the 100-inch (2.5 m) Hooker Telescope , then the world's largest telescope. At that time, the prevailing view of the cosmos was that the universe consisted entirely of the Milky Way Galaxy . Using the Hooker Telescope at Mt. Wilson, Hubble identified Cepheid variables (a kind of star ; see also standard candle ) in several spiral nebulae , including the Andromeda Nebula . His observations, made in 1922–1923, proved conclusively that these nebulae were much too distant to be part of the Milky Way and were, in fact, entire galaxies outside our own. This idea had been opposed by many in the astronomy establishment of the time, in particular by the Harvard University -based Harlow Shapley . Hubble's discovery, announced on January 1, 1925, fundamentally changed the view of the universe.
Hubble also devised the most commonly used system for classifying galaxies , grouping them according to their appearance in photographic images. He arranged the different groups of galaxies in what became known as the Hubble sequence .
Redshift increases with distance
The 100-inch (2.5 m) Hooker telescope at Mount Wilson Observatory that Hubble used to measure galaxy distances and a value for the rate of expansion of the universe .
Hubble is generally credited with discovering [6] the redshift of galaxies. However, these measurements and their significance were understood before 1918 by James Edward Keeler (Lick & Allegheny), Vesto Melvin Slipher (Lowell), and Professor William Wallace Campbell (Lick) at other observatories. Combining his own measurements of galaxy distances based on Henrietta Swan Leavitt 's period-luminosity relationship for Cepheids with Vesto Slipher 's measurements of the redshifts associated with the galaxies, Hubble and Milton L. Humason discovered a rough proportionality of the objects' distances with their redshifts. Though there was considerable scatter (now known to be due to peculiar velocities), Hubble and Humason were able to plot a trend line from the 46 galaxies they studied and obtained a value for the Hubble-Humason constant of 500 km/s/Mpc, which is much higher than the currently accepted value due to errors in their distance calibrations. [7] In 1929 Hubble and Humason formulated the empirical Redshift Distance Law of galaxies, nowadays termed simply Hubble's law , which, if the redshift is interpreted as a measure of recession speed, is consistent with the solutions of Einstein ’s equations of general relativity for a homogeneous, isotropic expanding space . Although concepts underlying an expanding universe were well understood earlier, this statement by Hubble and Humason led to wider scale acceptance for this view. The law states that the greater the distance between any two galaxies, the greater their relative speed of separation.
This discovery was the first observational support for the Big Bang theory which had been proposed by Georges Lemaître in 1927. The observed velocities of distant galaxies, taken together with the cosmological principle appeared to show that the Universe was expanding in a manner consistent with the Friedmann-Lemaître model of general relativity . In 1931 Hubble wrote a letter to the Dutch cosmologist Willem De Sitter expressing his opinion on the theoretical interpretation of the redshift-distance relation: [8]
"... we use the term 'apparent velocities' in order to emphasize the empirical feature of the correlation. The interpretation, we feel, should be left to you and the very few others who are competent to discuss the matter with authority."
Today, the 'apparent velocities' in question are understood as an increase in proper distance that occurs due to the expansion of space . Light traveling through stretching space will experience a Hubble-type redshift, a mechanism different from the Doppler effect (although the two mechanisms become equivalent descriptions related by a coordinate transformation for nearby galaxies).
In the 1930s Hubble was involved in determining the distribution of galaxies and spatial curvature . These data seemed to indicate that the universe was flat and homogeneous, but there was a deviation from flatness at large redshifts. According to Allan Sandage ,
"Hubble believed that his count data gave a more reasonable result concerning spatial curvature if the redshift correction was made assuming no recession. To the very end of his writings he maintained this position, favouring (or at the very least keeping open) the model where no true expansion exists, and therefore that the redshift "represents a hitherto unrecognized principle of nature." [9]
There were methodological problems with Hubble's survey technique that showed a deviation from flatness at large redshifts. In particular the technique did not account for changes in luminosity of galaxies due to galaxy evolution .
Earlier, in 1917, Albert Einstein had found that his newly developed theory of general relativity indicated that the universe must be either expanding or contracting. Unable to believe what his own equations were telling him, Einstein introduced a cosmological constant (a "fudge factor") to the equations to avoid this "problem". When Einstein heard of Hubble's discovery, he said that changing his equations was "the biggest blunder of [his] life". [10]
Other discoveries
Hubble discovered the asteroid 1373 Cincinnati on August 30, 1939. He also wrote The Observational Approach to Cosmology and The Realm of the Nebulae around this time.
Nobel Prize
Hubble spent much of the later part of his career attempting to have astronomy considered an area of physics, instead of being its own science. He did this largely so that astronomers — including himself — could be recognized by the Nobel Prize Committee for their valuable contributions to astrophysics. This campaign was unsuccessful in Hubble's lifetime, but shortly after his death the Nobel Prize Committee decided that astronomical work would be eligible for the physics prize. [11]
On March 6, 2008, the United States Postal Service released a 41 cent stamp honoring Hubble on a sheet titled "American Scientists." His citation reads: "Often called a 'pioneer of the distant stars,' astronomer Edwin Hubble (1889-1953) played a pivotal role in deciphering the vast and complex nature of the universe. His meticulous studies of spiral nebulae proved the existence of galaxies other than our own Milky Way. Had he not died suddenly in 1953, Hubble would have won that year's Nobel Prize in Physics." The other scientists on the "American Scientists" sheet include Gerty Cori , biochemist; Linus Pauling , chemist; and John Bardeen , physicist.
Honors
Equipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him and calls the adventure Science.
Hubble, Edwin (May 1929). "The Exploration of Space". Harper's Magazine 158: 732.
Science is the one human activity that is totally progressive.
The Realm of the Nebulae (1936)
Eventually, we reach the utmost limits of our telescopes. There, we measure shadows and search among ghostly errors of measurement for landmarks that are scarcely more substantial.
The Realm of the Nebulae (1936)
Attributed
I chucked the law for astronomy, and I knew that even if I were second-rate or third-rate, it was astronomy that mattered.
as quoted by
N. Y. Mayall (1970). Biographical memoir. Volume 41, Memoirs of the National Academy of sciences, National Academy of Sciences (U.S.). National Academy of Sciences. p. 179.
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What is the German name for Lake Constance? | Constance | Define Constance at Dictionary.com
Constance
noun
1.
Lake. German Boden·see . a lake in W Europe, bounded by Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. 46 miles (74 km) long; 207 sq. mi. (536 sq. km).
2.
German Konstanz . a city in S Germany, on this lake: important church council 1414–18.
3.
Examples from the Web for Constance
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Contemporary Examples
At that moment Constance appeared and grew pale and rosy by turns as Louis bent over her small gloved fingers.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show Robert W. Chambers February 19, 2014
You will never marry Constance now, and if you marry any one else in your exile, I will visit you as I did my doctor last night.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show Robert W. Chambers February 19, 2014
Presently Louis rose with a nod to us and offered his arm to Constance, and they strolled away along the river wall.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show Robert W. Chambers February 19, 2014
Speaking of your legitimate ambition,” he said, “how do Constance and Louis get along?
Her words, her look, the tone of her voice touched Constance to the heart.
Fan W.H. Hudson (AKA Henry Harford)
Remember me to the old servants, and to our friends of Thurgovia and of Constance.
Hortense, Makers of History Series John S. C. Abbott
You can't help it, Constance, but it's a pity, for you are so nice.
British Dictionary definitions for Constance
Expand
noun
1.
a city in S Germany, in Baden-Württemberg on Lake Constance: tourist centre. Pop: 80 716 (2003 est) German name Konstanz
2.
Lake Constance, a lake in W Europe, bounded by S Germany, W Austria, and N Switzerland, through which the Rhine flows. Area: 536 sq km. (207 sq miles) German name Bodensee
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for Constance
Expand
constance
n.
mid-14c., "steadfastness," from Old French constance "steadfastness, permanence" (14c.), from Latin constantia (source of Italian costanza, Spanish constancia), noun of action from constantem (see constant (adj.)). Obsolete since 17c. except as a given name for a girl, which enjoyed a mild popularity in U.S. c.1945-1955.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
| Lake Constance |
The Robert Gordon University is located in which Scottish city? | Lake Constance, Switzerland - PassPorter.com
PassPorter.com
by Cheryl Pendry , PassPorter Featured Columnist
Last modified 07-15-2010
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Lake Constance (or Bodensee to give it its other name) is not somewhere that sounds instantly familiar. It wasn't somewhere that I'd heard of, but that was before I started to develop an itinerary for our road trip to Switzerland. The lake is part of the Rhine River, and is the third-largest freshwater lake in Central Europe.
Lake Bodensee - ferries passing
Two ferries pass in Lake Bodensee.
I soon discovered that Lake Constance is located in the northeast of Switzerland and in fact is bordered by three countries, all of which we'd be driving through on our trip. The south side of the lake lies in Swiss territory, while the eastern end is bordered by Austria. Head around to the north side of the lake and you'll find yourself in Germany. It's an odd arrangement, particularly as there are border crossing points whenever you enter or leave Switzerland, as it’s not part of the European Union. However, you can drive freely between Germany and Austria, and in fact, you barely notice when you move from one country to the next, with just a simple sign to tell you that you've now crossed the border.
Our exploration of Lake Constance started in the town that gave its name to this piece of water, Konstanz, which includes the only bit of German territory found on the south shore of the lake, though most of the municipality occupies a peninsula that extends into the lake from the northwest. The two parts of the town are separated by a narrow stretch of water - either part of the lake, or a bit of the Rhine River, depending on how you look at the map. We stayed the night here in a lakeside hotel that offered stunning views of the body of water than we’d be circling for the next 24 hours.
It was while there that we bought a guidebook to the area, and discovered that, just a few miles away off the peninsula's north shore was a place called Minau Island, that’s otherwise known as the Island of Flowers. This seemed like a good place to start our exploration and were amongst the first visitors to arrive for the day.
Mainau Island gained its reputation as a place for flowers, mainly because of its location. It's shielded from chill winds by nearby hills, while the lake warms up the island, meaning tropical plants can flourish here. It was back in the 1930s that the then owner decided to turn the place into a "little garden of paradise," and such was his success that this thriving business today has more than 300 paid employees. You only have to walk around the island to see why it needs to employ so many people. It's 110 acres in total, which I had no idea about when we first came here. My goodness, we did some walking that day, but it was all worth it.
Sadly, we were probably a week or two early to see all the spring flowers in full bloom, but despite that, we were still treated to some pretty special sights. In particular, the brilliant vibrant colours of the orchids in the greenhouses here will forever stick in my memory, as will the sea of crocuses that greeted us outside the Baroque palace. The major flower year on Mainau runs from April to October, including breathtaking displays of tulips, hyacinths, roses, snapdragons, dahlias and chrysanthemums. The island is open from sunrise to sunset daily from March to November, with admission costing €15 for adults, with discounted rates of €8 for students and children, and free admission for children aged 11 and under.
Once we had finished our explorations of Mainau Island, we headed south through Konstanz into Switzerland, to the neighboring town of Kreuzlingen. One can barely tell where Konstanz ends and Kreuzlingen picks up, the border seeming to cut one town almost in two, something which fascinated me. With each country using a different currency (Euros in Germany and francs in Switzerland), it means along the same road, there are two different currencies in use in two different countries, with a border crossing dissecting the road.
Continuing east along the south border of Lake Constance, our next stop was Romanshorn, where you can pick up a ferry that takes you across the lake to Friedrichshafen, Germany. As a result, Romanshorn is quite a transport hub, although many people merely use it to head on elsewhere, as opposed to staying there.
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The 1898 'Battle of Santiago' on the island of Cuba brought an end to which war? | Santiago
Click here to for the biography of Chief Yeoman Ellis, the only American killed at Battle of Santiago
Click here for a link to Admiral Cervera's report of the battle (in Spanish)
Click here for a link to Robley Evans' (Capt., USS IOWA) account of the battle.
GENERAL:
When the USS Maine exploded in Havana, Cuba, on February 15th, 1898, it served as the spark that ignited the Spanish-American War. As the American population was stirred into a frenzy by the popular press, Span knew that it had to protect its possessions in the Caribbean from American aggression. For while Spain was an empire in decline � now merely a shadow of her former glory � the United States was a nation on the rise. The battleship Maine was an early step in the building of a powerful American Navy that would establish the United States as a world power. American shipbuilders, inexperienced at building modern naval vessels, had many problems in completing the Maine , and her construction took ten years to complete. When the Maine was launched, she was already obsolete and was designated a �Second-Class Battleship.� Of limited military value, she was the perfect ship to make a �courtesy call� to Cuba, and assert American power.
But now, the very future of this new steel navy was at risk. The American people were wondering how it could be that one of the new battleships could be so utterly destroyed, and doubts were cast about the decision to build battleships for the United States Navy in the first place. And so, in the Navy Department, there arose a need to show just what the newest battleships were capable of � to provide a demonstration to the American people of the battleships� worth. This opportunity would present itself at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba, as the bulk of the United States� �New Navy� confronted what remained of what had once been the mighty Spanish Navy.
OBJECTIVES OF THE COMBATANTS:
The objective of the Americans was to protect the United States and her forces, and to eliminate the threat of the Spanish Naval Squadron. With the declaration of war, the eastern seaboard experienced great anxiety. Some feared that Spain would steam west and shell coastal cities as the English had done in 1812. Therefore the �New Navy� would be required to protect the entire East Coast of the United States from Maine to Texas. In addition to this, troops were being assembled at Tampa, Florida, with the intent of supporting the insurrection and attacking the Spanish Army in Cuba. If the Spanish Navy could be contained, the United States would be able to land an almost unlimited amount of troops and supplies at will. If the Spanish Navy could not be contained, the United States might be prevented from landing anything at all.
And, to be sure, the United States Navy was looking to make a name for itself. The powerful Union Navy of the American Civil War had rotted away. It was not until the 1890s that these ships and guns that were considered �museum pieces� by other navies were beginning to be replaced by modern vessels. The Navy finally had strong advocates, and it was now time to prove what was called �The New Navy� could do. Commodore Dewey had already secured a dramatic victory in the Pacific at Manila Bay . Now it would be up to the most powerful elements of the United States Navy to deploy against Spain in the Atlantic.
The Spaniards did not want a war at all, much less a clash between the two Navies. After the destruction of the Maine, the Spanish rescued and cared for the American wounded. When popular pressure arose for the United States to place demands upon Spain, virtually all of them short of Cuban independence were granted, in the hopes of averting a war. But despite the efforts of the Spanish government, the United States did declare war, and now the Spanish had to think about protecting their possessions in the Caribbean, as well as to defending their honor.
THE SHIPS:
On paper at least, the United States Navy seemed more than a match for the forces that the Spanish had available to deploy. At the head of the fleet were four brand-new battleships, designed to conform to the latest in international naval thinking. Conceived as �coast defense battleships� they sat a little low in the water to tackle heavy seas, and they were not particularly fast, although they were not terribly slow either. In terms of armament and armor protection, they were formidable.
The Indiana , Massachusetts and Oregon were all built to the same specifications. Moving at a top speed of fifteen-and-a-half knots, these ships were protected by belt armor of the new extra-hard Krupp steel that was eighteen inches thick. These three battleships boasted a main battery of four 13-inch guns in double turrets fore and aft. Since the big guns took a long time to reload, the battleships also had a wide assortment of smaller, though still powerful, weapons to use against an enemy. A total of eight guns with an 8-inch bore were mounted in twin turrets placed at each of the four corners; four 6-inch guns were mounted on the sides; twenty 6-pounder guns were scattered about the ships; and there were also smaller 1-pounders and Gatling guns fitted as well.
The Iowa was newer and represented the next step in American battleship design. She was larger and heavier, and could travel a knot faster than the three sisters of the Indiana class. She was also protected by the hardened Krupp armor, up to fifteen inches thick. Her main battery consisted of four 12-inch guns, slightly smaller than the 13-inchers on the other three battleships. She had a similar arrangement of eight 8-inch guns mounted at the corners, and she mounted six 4-inch guns versus four 6-inch guns of the earlier design. She mounted the same twenty guns of the 6-pounder size, and also featured a variety of smaller guns as well.
In addition to these was the old �second class battleship� the Texas . Like the Maine , the Texas was powerful when first designed, but the revolution in architecture made her obsolescent by the time that she was to see service. She could travel at seventeen knots, and was fairly well protected behind a foot of armor. She was not as powerfully armed as the modern ships of 1898, mounting a pair of 12-inch guns offset diagonally in an arrangement that seems strange when compared to later battleships, and six 6-inch guns in addition to twelve 6-pounders and assorted other small weapons.
The next class of ship down in size from a battleship was an armored cruiser, and the United States had two powerful units available of this type. The Brooklyn and New York were much faster than battleships, and were able to travel at twenty-one knots. But this speed did not come without a price � these ships had much less armor, mounted fewer guns, and the guns that they did mount were smaller in size. The main batteries of both ships consisted of 8-inch guns, with the Brooklyn mounting eight and the New York mounting six. Both ships mounted 12 guns in the secondary battery, the New York armed with 4-inch quick fire guns while the Brooklyn had the slightly larger 5-inch guns. And, of course, both ships had a variety of 6-pounder and smaller weapons to round out the arsenal.
The Americans also had several �protected� cruisers � lighter and swifter than the armored cruisers, but lacking the armor in their belts as well as in their name. Also available were old monitors � slow, heavily protected shallow-draft vessels with big guns that won fame in the American Civil War performing on America�s rivers. Neither of these types of ships would be see action at Santiago de Cuba.
Finally, to round out the American arsenal were several �Armed Yachts� � small ships sold or donated by individuals and equipped with a few small guns, useful for scouting and patrol duties. Two notable examples of these that would see service at Santiago de Cuba were the Vixen and the Gloucester .
Backing up the warships would be a variety of merchant vessels and support ships. Among them were the collier (coal ship) Merrimac , which plagued the Americans with continuous engine trouble throughout the operation, and several troop transports and supply ships used to transport army units to Cuba, such as the Harvard. A small mine-laying craft named the Resolute would round out the list of participants that played a role in the upcoming battle.
On the Spanish side, their navy was built along slightly different ideas. They possessed only one second-class battleship, the Pelayo . The Spaniards favored swift ships since their empire ranged to the west as far as Central America, and to the east as far as the island of Guam in the Pacific. The Spanish had six large, swift, wide-ranging armored cruisers, although they were gunned less heavily than their American counterparts. These formidable ships were the Princesa de Asturias, Emperador Carlos V , Almirante
Oquendo, Viscaya , Infanta Maria Teresa , and the new Cristobal Colon . All six ships displaced 7,000 tons except the Colon , which was slightly smaller. All six mounted two large guns, 11-inchers throughout, except the Colon , which was to have mounted 10-inch guns. The Colon was so new, however, that the heavy guns had not yet been mounted, nor would installing them be possible before the ship was to sail for Cuba. And all of the cruisers mounted a formidable secondary battery of ten 5.5-inch guns, with the Colon again differing from her sisters in mounting half a dozen 4-inch guns as well. And as was common in all cruisers of the time, these ships mounted 6-pounders (ten each) plus an assortment of smaller guns as well.
A new type of weapon just appearing on the scene was the self-propelled torpedo. Up until this time, what were called �torpedoes� would today be referred to as mines. But by 1898 the earliest modern torpedoes appeared. This new could speed towards an enemy ship underwater, under its own power, and penetrate the hull of even the mighty battleships below the armor belt and below the waterline. The best thing about the torpedoes is that they could be launched from very small craft, knows as �Torpedo Boats� at the time, but gaining more fame in America during the Second World War under the name �Patrol Torpedo� or �PT� boats.
However, any new weapon, once introduced, leads to a new type of defense. And in this case, that new defense would be a totally new class of ship � the �Torpedo Boat Destroyer.� These in later years would simply be called �destroyers.� These ships boasted incredibly high speeds in the neighborhood of thirty knots, to be able to move around the larger, heavier, and slower vessels that they were designed to protect from the annoying little torpedo boats. Since they would only be dealing with these tiny, unarmored, and often wooden enemy ships, they were equipped with only a few very small and rapid-fire guns that were easy to aim at swiftly moving targets. And while the shell from a 6-pounder might disable or destroy a torpedo boat, these little guns had little if any probability of inflicting significant damage on larger, armored ships. Nonetheless, the Spanish had openly embraced the concept of the torpedo boat and the torpedo boat destroyer long before they would gain favor with other navies, and three exceptional early destroyers were available for service in Caribbean. These were the Pluton, Furor and Terror .
PREPARATIONS:
When war with Spain appeared imminent, the United States Navy selected Key West as its base of operations. Less than 100 miles from Havana, it was the perfect place from which to enforce a blockade of that city, in the hopes of starving the Spanish Army garrisoned there into submission.
Acting Rear Admiral William T. Sampson was placed in overall command of all Atlantic operations, as well as personal command of the squadron at Key West. His ships there consisted of the battleships Iowa and Indiana , the armored cruiser New York , four smaller cruisers, three of the big-gunned but painfully slow monitors, and a dozen or so smaller ships such as gunboats, torpedo boats, and armed yachts.
Racing to join him was the battleship Oregon , which had been at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, outside Seattle, Washington. When hostilities seemed imminent, the Oregon steamed south first to San Francisco, then down the West Coast of the United States on a journey that electrified the American people through stories printed in the popular media. But you must remember that this was 1898. The Oregon burned coal, and had to make regular stops all along the way to restock her supply, for when traveling at her maximum speed at sea she burned ten tons of the foul, black substance every hour. And, being 1898, the shortest route from Washington state to Florida involved a route down past Central America, past Peru, past Chile, and then around the southern end of the South American continent. Once in the Atlantic, the journey would involve a voyage north past Argentina, along the entire coast of Brazil, and then northwest into the Caribbean Sea. In the end, the Oregon under the command of Captain Charles F. Clark would perform heroically, completing the unprecedented voyage leaving San Francisco on March 19th to arrive battle-ready at Jupiter Inlet, Florida on 24th of May. The 14,700-nautical mile journey was completed in 67 days at an average speed of twelve knots. This incredible performance leaves one in awe when they stop to think of all the work that had to be performed to accomplish this feat. Burning ten tons of coal an hour, the �black gang� kept feeding the insatiable fireboxes for two straight months, around the clock, using nothing more than shovels. Through her accomplishment, the Oregon made a bold statement to win back the confidence of the American people, both of the battleship as well as the fine crews that served them in the �New Navy.�
But while the Oregon was making her journey, panicky reports continued to pour in stating that �mysterious ships� were seen off the eastern seaboard. The American people wanted protection, and the representatives in Congress of the districts along the coast insisted that the Navy do something to ease their fears. And so, a second squadron was sent to Hampton Roads, Virginia. This was deemed as a safe, central location, whereby a collection of ships could sail north to Maine, or south to Cuba as needed. This was to be known as the �Flying Squadron,� although it was no faster than the forces under Sampson in Key West.
The Flying Squadron was commanded by Commodore Winfield Scott Schley , and consisted of the modern battleship Massachusetts , the old battleship Texas , and the armored cruiser Brooklyn , the protected cruisers Minneapolis and Columbia , and the collier Merrimac , which was to keep the entire squadron well stocked with coal throughout. The Brooklyn served as the Commodore�s flagship.
And so, the American Navy was divided into two forces � one offensive in nature and working to enforce a blockade of Cuba, and one defensive in nature stationed off Virginia (but ready to switch over to offensive operations as soon as a target could be located.)
The Spanish Navy was likewise divided into two forces. The first fleet would consist of the battleship Pelayo and the armored cruisers Emperador Carlos V and Princesa de Asturias along with supporting elements, and was assigned the duties of patrolling the home waters for the duration of the war. But the Almirante Oquendo , Viscaya , Infanta Maria Teresa , and Cristobal Colon were assembled at the Cape Verde Islands along with the Pluton, Furor and Terror, and formed a separate squadron under the finest officer in the Spanish Navy. Admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete was fifty-nine years old, and had spent forty-seven of those years in the Navy. He knew Cuba, as he was assigned to the West Indian Station during the first Cuban revolt of 1868-78, and his career had sent him all the way to the Philippines on the other side of the world as well. He was known to be courageous, gallant and competent, and was well known and universally respected.
Prior to being placed in command of the large cruisers, Admiral Cervera had served as Spain�s Minister of Marine, and it was his duty to inspect the Spanish Navy and make recommendations that would allow the Spanish Navy to be in top fighting trim when it was called upon. He had resigned this position when his colleagues had placed personal political gain ahead of the best interests of Spain and refused to support him on his proposed reforms of the fleet. And now he was placed in command of ships and crews that he knew were not all that they could be, but as a true patriot he accepted the assignment without complaint.
The problem that both navies faced was that if they were to sail across the Atlantic with one of their forces, they would be confronted with the combined and concentrated forces of their opponent in home waters. The United States had no motive to send part of her fleet to Spanish waters � they knew that the Spaniards had to come west to support their army in Cuba and lift the blockade.
Admiral Cervera knew that he must sail west, but he desperately wanted to avoid an immediate rush into the teeth of the American Navy. He figured that if he waited the impatient and hungry-for-war Americans would eventually come east to Spain. He proposed establishing a base in the Canary Islands, and lying there in wait for the American forces that would certainly steam the Atlantic. When they arrived, he would combine with the powerful fleet left in home waters and destroy the tired and far from home units of the United States Navy. He had all of his captains endorse his plan, and he sent it off with great hope to Madrid. Despite the soundness of his thinking, the Spanish government would have no part of it, and they ordered him to steam to Cuba as soon as practicable. His response indicates that he understood the impossibility of the mission before him:
�It is impossible for me to give you an idea of the surprise and consternation experienced by all on the receipt of the order to sail. Indeed, that surprise is well justified, for nothing can be expected of this expedition except the total destruction of the fleet or its hasty and demoralized return.�
Two days later he updated his progress, and informed his superiors:
�I will try to sail tomorrow� With a clear conscience I go to the sacrifice.�
For not only was Cervera terribly outmatched on paper, he knew that his ships were in terrible condition. Three of the four cruisers had defective breech mechanisms and no reliable ammunition for their 5.5-inch guns, the Colon did not have her big guns mounted at all, and the Viscaya, long overdue for a lay-up, had a bottom so fouled that her speed was cut drastically.
The Americans learned of Cervera �s departure from St. Vincent on April 29th. They knew that he was last seen heading west with four armored cruisers and three destroyers. Making the trip would undoubtedly deplete the coal reserves of these ships, and so the Americans knew that when Cervera arrived in the West Indies his first priority would be to restock his coal bunkers. The logical place for him to do this would be at the fortified Spanish port of San Juan, in Puerto Rico.
The Americans feared that Cervera �s squadron might ambush the battleship Oregon , steaming up from South America. While it was true that the Oregon was far superior to all of the Ships, there were nonetheless seven of them, including those pesky and swift torpedo boat destroyers, which were armed with torpedoes themselves. Captain Clark of the Oregon was concerned as well, and he likened the possibility of the potential battle to trying to fight tigers while rattlesnakes scurried about underfoot. And so a decision was made to send Admiral Sampson's squadron off to Puerto Rico, putting to sea on May 4th with the mission of intercepting Cervera �s squadron and destroying it there.
Sampson brought with him everything that he could, including the monitors that could only manage a best speed of six knots on a calm sea, but the sea was not calm. He was forced to tow the monitors like reluctant children behind his bigger ships to get them to the scene of the battle. Sailing along with him were private yachts filled with the media that scurried about between his ships, trying to gain exclusives and also passing along all the spurious rumors that they had received pinpointing the location of the Spanish fleet at a dozen places. To observers on the warships it looked more like a group of pleasure boats out on a picnic than a military formation.
They arrived at San Juan on May 11th, convinced that Cervera was hiding under the guns of the fortified harbor. The big guns of the American ships commenced a bombardment at 5:30 AM. By 7:30 AM it was obvious that there were no ships in the harbor, and so the shelling ceased. And having achieved nothing, Admiral Sampson ordered his fleet to the west and they began the plodding trip back to Key West.
Sampson was forced to ask himself just where his Spanish counterpart could possibly be. On May 15th he got his answer. A navy dispatch boat approached and informed him that the Spaniards had been at Martinique, a French possession on the eastern boundary of the Caribbean in order to secure coal, but finding none there they had then proceeded on to Curacao, a Dutch possession. Sampson was ordered to proceed to Key West with all possible speed, while Schley was ordered south from Virginia to rendezvous with him there. With the exception of Dewey �s forces in the Pacific, virtually every major warship in the United States Navy was near Cuba or on her way.
Sampson and Schley met in Key West on the 18th, and discussed strategy. Cervera was known to be south of Cuba. It was unlikely that he would try to force the blockade of Havana, which was so close to Key West and the concentrated American forces. It was determined that he would look for a fortified port on the southern coast of Cuba, of which there were two. The first was Santiago de Cuba, at the eastern end of the other. The second, Cienfuegos in the west, was deemed the more likely destination since it was connected with Havana via railroad allowing for easier cooperation between the Spanish Army and Navy. Commodore Schley was assigned a formidable force and ordered to move to Cuba�s southern coast, first inspecting Cienfuegos, and if Cervera was proven not to be there to proceed on to Santiago. Meanwhile, Sampson who had raced ahead of rest of the San Juan participants, would wait for the rest of his lumbering forces to finally return to Key West after their �picnic.�
Schley arrived of Cienfuegos on the 22nd, and caught a glimpse of a few masts and smokestacks poking up beyond the view-blocking terrain at the entrance to the harbor. Some of his men were convinced that they were only merchant ships, but Schley was equally convinced that he had found the warships. He waited. The next day he received a dispatch from Sampson informing him to stay on guard at Cienfuegos, even though rumors already had Cervera in Santiago. On the 23rd another dispatch boat arrived, with orders for Schley to proceed to Santiago with all possible speed, unless he was sure that Cervera was at Cienfuegos. Schley read in the wording that there was still some doubt as to the Spaniards� location, and so he stayed where he was. On the 25th, a cruiser arrived carrying a duplicate copy of the prior dispatch ordering him to Santiago. Schley informed the captain of the dispatch boat that he was unsure if Cervera was at Cienfuegos or not. The Captain of the cruiser informed Schley of a pre-arranged signal that was to be used by insurgents on Cuba to report information about the position of the Spanish ships to the Americans offshore; three white lights from a single location on the coast. For the last three nights Schley�s lookouts had seen the lights, but they did not know that this was a signal. Furious that he was uninformed, Schley finally got the information from the locals that Cervera was indeed at Santiago. There was no doubt now.
And so Schley set a leisurely pace for Santiago due to heavy seas and engine trouble on his collier the Merrimac . On May 26th, when within 20 miles of Santiago, Schley met the Minneapolis, Yale, and St. Paul , which reported that they had not seen the Spanish ships, although they were not specifically assigned to look for them. Schley did not bother to check for himself. Instead, in a move that has baffled analysts since 1898, Schley ordered his fleet to sail west away from Santiago de Cuba, heading for Key West, fearing that he was about to run out of coal. While only just beginning his return, he was met by the Harvard carrying orders from the Navy Department to see to it that the Spanish ships did not leave Santiago. His response to these orders is considered outrageous today, but must be considered in a day when naval commanders were used to having considerable latitude to alter orders in the face of actual "field conditions�:
�Much to be regretted, cannot obey orders of Department. Have striven earnestly; forced to proceed for coal to Key West by way of Yucatan passage. Cannot ascertain anything positive respecting enemy.�
Not only was Schley leaving the scene, against orders, he also never personally took a look in the harbor at Santiago de Cuba to confirm if Cervera was or was not positively located. The Secretary of the Navy received Schley �s message and was upset. He sent of a telegram to be delivered to Schley ordering him not to leave the Santiago area, and sent it off �with utmost urgency� written across it. Fortunately for Schley , with the weather calmed and Merrimac repairs complete, he was able to resupply with coal on the 27th at sea. He arrived off the entrance to Santiago de Cuba Bay on the 29th of May, 1898, and now there could be no doubt; for shining in the sun, and moored right across the mouth of the bay was the Cristobal Colon . On the 30th, Schley engaged in a gun battle with the Colon , and although both sides fired with great spirit, there were no hits nor even near misses. All that was accomplished was that the lone Spanish cruiser was inspired to retreat further into the bay to join her sisters, now all relying upon the massive fortifications and hills for protection. Admiral Sampson arrived with his forces on the 31st and took command of the scene.
The only hope for Cervera now was if a storm would scatter the American forces and allow his escape. While it was possible, that was not likely. The entrance to Santiago de Cuba Bay was fortified with a number of big guns. On the western shore were the Socapa Batteries. On the eastern shore were the Morro, Estrella, and Catalina Batteries. And dead ahead on a peninsula looking right down the mouth of the harbor was the Punta Gorda Battery. Just as Cervera was not about to exit the safe haven of the harbor to face the overwhelming American guns, Sampson was not inclined to go into the harbor past the big Spanish guns and among the reported mines to force Cervera out. And so, the solution to the stalemate was obvious; the Army would have a mission in this war at last. General Shafter , in command of United States ground forces, would land near Santiago de Cuba, march overland, capture the city, and drive Admiral Cervera and his ships out, like hounds to the hunters.
The ground campaign is beyond the scope of this article. Suffice it to say that the Army did leave Tampa, arrive east of Santiago de Cuba, march overland, engage the Spanish Army, and succeed in putting pressure on Cervera �s ships forcing him to flee from the bay and into battle with the United States Navy.
THE SCUTTLING OF THE MERRIMAC:
As Admiral Sampson patrolled outside the entrance to Santiago de Cuba Bay, two things were frequently in his vision and upon his mind. The first was the 350-foot width of the channel into the bay. And the second was the old collier Merrimac , 333 feet long and nothing but trouble since the start of the operation. A desire to block the channel to prevent Cervera�s escape, as well as an opportunity to be finally rid of the troublesome collier combined and inspired Admiral Sampson to act.
Onboard the Sampson �s flagship the New York was Navy Lieutenant Richmond Pearson Hobson , a thirty-eight-year-old graduate of Annapolis whose specialty was engineering. He was officially aboard the New York to check the behavior at sea of certain structural alterations in the ship�s design. Best of all, he was bright, reliable, and imaginative. In short, he would be the perfect man to devise a plan to cork the bottle in an effort to keep the genie inside.
Hobson �s plan was that the Merrimac would steam at maximum power towards the entrance of the bay. She would then cut power, and glide silently past the forts, unlit, and hopefully without being noticed. When she got as far as Estrella Point, where the channel was narrowest, she would swing perpendicular to the channel, drop both her bow and stern anchors, open up her sea valves, and set off underwater charges attached to her hull. If all went well, she�d sink in about a minute. Sampson found this plan satisfactory and felt that it even had a reasonable chance for success. And so preparations were made.
The attempt to sink the Merrimac was made on June 2, and resulted in a failure to block the channel. The American press called the mission �heroic� which it certainly was, and �totally successful� which it certainly was not.
THE BATTLE OF SANTIAGO de CUBA:
Prior to July 2nd, Admiral Cervera had sent as many of his sailors as he could equip with rifles ashore to serve alongside the Spanish Army. With the advances of the United States Army being what they were after their landing, Captain General Ramon Blanco y Erenas ordered Cervera to steam his ships out of the harbor immediately. Blanco was the top military commander in Cuba, and Cervera had little choice but to obey his orders.
Admiral Cervera looked at his options; he could sail by day, or sail by night. By day, his ships would be safe navigating the narrow channel, and avoiding the wreckage of the Merrimac . By night, he would run the risk of damaging his ships and perhaps even blocking the channel himself if an accident were to occur in the dark. As for sneaking out undetected under the cover of darkness, this was quite impossible. The American ships had been shining their searchlights on the mouth of the bay every night since they had arrived on station. Therefore, Cervera concluded that a night time escape would add nothing but danger to his breakout. He thought that the best time to sail would be Sunday morning, when the American crews were at religious services and less likely to be manning their stations. So it was set. The breakout would begin at 9:00 AM on Sunday, July 3rd, 1898. Signals were sent out to the sailors serving ashore with the army for them to return to their ships, and Cervera �s squadron was to have a full head of steam by 2:00 on Saturday afternoon.
Lookouts on Commodore Schley �s flagship, the Brooklyn , spotted the smoke rising from behind the hills and the forts. Schley didn�t know what it meant, but he did know that it meant that something was up. He ordered his little armed yacht, the Vixen, to visit each of the ships in the semicircle that formed the blockade and inform them of the peculiar goings on inside the harbor, and to suggest that they stay in as close as possible during the night. Schley also made a point to make sure that Admiral Sampson in the New York at the opposite end of the blockade was fully informed of what he could see from his end of the line.
Sunday morning dawned gray and overcast, but soon the sun burned this away and a beautiful day with very calm seas broke in the Caribbean off Santiago de Cuba Bay. Despite Schley �s intentions, the formation of ships in the blockade was a little disarrayed that morning. The protected cruisers New Orleans and Newark and the tender Suwanee had all sailed to Guantanamo Bay to coal. And, Schley soon discovered that the powerful Massachusetts had gone with them. There was thus a big gap in the line to the west. At 8:45 AM or so, he was further dismayed to see the New York , Admiral Sampson �s flagship, hoist the signal �Disregard the movements of the commander in chief� and promptly sail out of view to the east.
Admiral Sampson had a meeting scheduled with General Shafter in command of the Army forces in Cuba this Sunday morning and he did not wish to be late. It was unfortunate that he would not be present when Cervera made his breakout. But perhaps more unfortunate was the fact that Sampson had used the New York , one of only two ships in the American fleet that was capable of the speeds necessary to catch Cervera if he made his move. Hindsight dictates that he would have been far better served if he had made the trip in a little steam launch on this calm morning, or even hitched a ride on one of the yachts being employed by the press that were constantly scurrying about. But then, hindsight also dictates that it would be better had he not left at all.
At 9:00 AM Cervera made his move, and his began steaming down the bay. By 9:35, his flagship entered the mouth of the bay, dropped off it�s civilian harbor pilot, and began the dash to safety and freedom. The rest of the squadron would follow at approximately seven-minute intervals.
The navigator on the Brooklyn noticed that a plume of smoke behind a hill was moving. He shouted through his megaphone �Report to the commodore and the captain that the enemy ships are coming out!�
Commodore Schley took a look through his binoculars and exclaimed �We�ll give it to them now! We�ll give it to them now!� Schley then informed an ensign to signal �The enemy is escaping� which had already been done, then said �Signal the fleet to clear for action, then!� Schley looked around in vain one last time for the New York , with his superior on board, and it was nowhere to be seen. Commodore Schley , as second in command, then signaled �Close in� and �Follow the flag.�
The Maria Teresa had begun firing, and a 6-pounder on the Iowa cracked a response. The battle had begun, and the rest of the United States vessels joined in. Only the Teresa at the head of the column could fire at the Americans and only with her forward guns, while virtually all of her opponents, arranged in a rough semi-circle, could hit her from all angles with large numbers of their guns. In a matter of moments, the entire scene was covered with smoke from gunfire so thick that nobody could see what was going on. There was no breeze this morning, and so the smoke just hung there as the American ships began to get underway and the Spanish line began its turn.
Seven miles to the east, Admiral Sampson was wearing his spurs and leggings and ready to go ashore for the horseback ride to the conference with General Shafter . An unexpected hail from a lookout in the foretop froze the admiral at the gangway. Sampson secured a pair of binoculars and took a look for himself. At first he couldn�t see any movement at all, only smoke. But then he saw a dark silhouette against a white cloudbank near the shore, and the shape was immediately recognizable as one of Cervera �s big cruisers. Sampson hoped that the Spanish squadron would be heading east. If so, his New York would be in the perfect position to head them off and his detachment from the blockade would be a heaven-sent blessing. He forgot about the meeting with Shafter and ordered his ship to move to the west with all possible speed to intercept the Spaniards. As he looked through his binoculars, he could tell that the big Spanish ships were turning, but at this range it was not obvious if they were turning towards him or away. He remained optimistic for some time, until he determined that the ships had indeed turned to the west, and not only that � they were pulling away. Admiral Sampson , in command of the fleet, was about to miss the ultimate event in the lifetime of an Admiral � leading the fleet into battle. Frustrated and upset, he headed west hoping against hope that he might be able to arrive on the scene before the battle was over.
As the Spanish column emerged from the bay, directly opposite the entrance to the channel was the Texas and Schley �s flagship the Brooklyn . The Texas , like all the American warships, picked up steam and headed west in pursuit of the gallant Spaniards. All other American warships, that is, except one. The Brooklyn began a turn to starboard � to the east. After the battle, Schley was asked about this peculiar maneuver, and over the years he gave several different answers, none of them particularly satisfactory. The turn was considered, by some, to be �a mistake.�
The Texas had begun her big turn to the west, picking up speed and firing along the way, and assumed that the Brooklyn was doing the same up ahead. Captain John W. Philip of the Texas describes it like this:
�The smoke from our guns began to hang so heavily and densely over the ship that for a few minutes we could see nothing. We might as well have had a blanket tied over our heads. Suddenly a whiff of breeze and a lull in the firing lifted the pall, and there, bearing towards us and across our bows, turning on her port helm, with big waves curling over her bows and great clouds of black smoke pouring from her funnels was the Brooklyn . She looked as big as half a dozen Great Easterns and seemed so near that it took our breath away.�
On the Brooklyn , the navigator cried out to the commodore, �Look out for the Texas , sir!� Schley replied, �Damn the Texas ! Let her look out for herself!� The Texas had little choice but to do just that. Backing both engines in an emergency maneuver, the Texas just avoided colliding with the Brooklyn .
On the positive side for the Americans, Schley �s unorthodox maneuver eliminated one of Cervera �s plans. The wily Spanish Admiral knew that only two of the American ships had the speed to catch him � the armored cruisers Brooklyn and New York . As Cervera emerged from the bay, he noticed that the New York was not on station, and dead ahead of him was the Brooklyn . If he could ram the Brooklyn , it would be up to his other ships to simply outrun the slower American battleships. As Cervera headed out of the channel he set a course for the Brooklyn leaning towards the west � his pre-arranged escape route. When Schley turned to the east instead, the ram bow of the Teresa had no target, and so Cervera ordered a more severe turn to the west.
When the Infanta Maria Teresa ventured out into the middle of the American ships it accomplished two things. First, it drew the bulk of the fire from all of the big American guns onto the Teresa . Second, it allowed the next two ships in the column the ability to begin their run to the west relatively unmolested, with the Colon staying close to the shore and the Viscaya a bit further out to protect her. On the Teresa , one of the first hits had struck down Captain Concas, and as the second in command was nowhere to be found, Admiral Cervera assumed command personally.
As the Teresa made the turn to the west, one of her 5.5-inch guns exploded, creating a grisly scene with what at one time had been a gun crew. Big American shells were beginning to find their mark, too � penetrating the hull and starting fires on the wooden deck and superstructure. The entire aft portion of the vessel was a blazing wreck, live steam was being discharged from a broken main, and the ammunition stored there was beginning to explode. �The fire was gaining ground with great rapidity and voracity,� Cervera wrote. �I therefore sent one of my aides to flood the after magazines, but it was impossible to penetrate into the passages owing to the dense clouds of smoke� and the steam escaping from the engine hatch� or to breathe in that suffocating atmosphere.� Cervera knew that it was impossible to continue the fight, and his only decision that could show compassion for his men was to run his ship aground. There was some hope of continuing the fight from the beach, but the without the forward motion of the ship, the flames were now being driven towards the bow by an onshore breeze. Any hope of continued resistance was gone. The Teresa had survived for less than an hour after emerging from the channel, and managed to proceed only half a dozen miles to the west before settling on the beach to burn.
A battleship cannot accelerate at will, and the American ships were not able to keep up with the Spaniards. Only the Oregon had a good head of steam when the Spaniards emerged. What was worse, most of the Americans only had half of their boilers running with the other half totally cold to save coal. Even on the speedy Brooklyn , the engines were decoupled in a fuel saving measure, giving her only half power and limiting her speed to little more than that of the battleships. Recoupling would take twenty minutes, and that was twenty minutes that Commodore Schley did not have, for by now the other three big cruisers were out of the bay and well on their way to escape.
The fourth cruiser in the line was the Almirante Oquendo , and she was following the Viscaya , a little further out to sea than the Colon and providing whatever cover she could to the ship closest to the shore. And so the Oquendo had the misfortune of being closest to the Americans when the Teresa had met her demise, and as a result most of the American fire now concentrated on this cruiser. The fire from all sizes of American guns was having a terrible effect � puncturing the hull with ease, and sometimes even passing through without detonating. Shells that did explode had knocked out most of her guns, and half of her crew (probably 250 men or so) now lay wounded or dead at their stations. Her leadership, too, was falling at an alarming rate. The Oquendo was had not been out of the harbor for fifteen minutes before every man unlucky enough to be in her superstructure was a casualty. Captain Lazaga was struck down early, and his executive officer had just assumed command when a shell from the very next American salvo cut him in two. The third officer took the conn, but was killed when a hit detonated some of the 5.5-inch ammunition stored on board. Within ten minutes, the next three officers in rank were all cut down. The bodies of 130 men were scattered about the deck, draped over ladders, and thrown around the bridge.
The Oquendo �s big guns were not firing with any regularity, and the forward big gun had gotten off only three shots. A messenger sent to investigate the trouble found a bizarre and grisly scene � an 8-inch shell (probably fired by the Brooklyn ) had struck the gunport, where the crew was in the process of loading the gun. The 350 pounds of gunpowder being loaded to fire the big weapon was touched off, and the force of the explosion was directed out of the sighting cupola. As a result, all six men of the gun crew were dead without a mark on them, and the officer who was looking out the sighting cupola had his head torn off by the blast. Captain Lazaga, wounded but forced by the terrible attrition of his command staff to resume command, looked at the floating shambles around him and knew that he too had to head for the shore. He ordered that all remaining torpedoes be launched in the hope that one of them might catch one of the American ships in pursuit, and he ordered oil spread on the decks to ensure that the ship would burn beyond any possibility of salvage by the Americans. The senior officer left alive after the action said, �The men� were determined above all that the enemy should not set foot on the ship.� Captain Lazaga is believed to have been consumed in the fire. The Oquendo ran aground about half past ten, less than a mile further down the shore than the Teresa . By the time that she did so her hull was so badly damaged that she immediately broke in two.
When the little torpedo boat destroyers Pluton and Furor emerged, the equally small yacht Gloucester in close and the more distant gunfire being lobbed from greater range by the American battleships confronted them. None of the small ships had big guns, and they all lacked armor. Unfortunately for the Gloucester , she was caught in the tall columns of geysers that the battleship guns were raising along with the two intended targets. Meanwhile, the three ships pecked away at each other with their smaller weapons.
The end came quickly for the Pluton , who was trying to stay close to shore to escape notice. Lieutenant Cabalerro, her second in command, later recounted: �As we were making a great deal of water, we continued close to the shore to Punta Cabrera, and when we were close to the headland we received a 13-inch projectile, which exploded the forward group of boilers, blowing up the whole deck. The ship veered to starboard and struck on the headland, tearing off a great part of her bow� I jumped into the water and reached the shore.�
The Furor was still in the water, although steaming in lazy circles as the result of a grisly accident. Lieutenant Bustamente, who was on deck at the time, recalled, �A shell struck boatswain Duenas, cutting him in two. One part fell between the tiller ropes and it was necessary to take it out in pieces. Another shell destroyed the engine and servomotor, so that the ship could neither proceed nor maneuver.� Bustamente abandoned ship with a few others just moments before another shell struck her in the engine room and blew her to pieces. And in an instant, the Furor was gone � the only one of Cervera �s ships to not make it to the beach. Despite their great speed, neither the Pluton nor Furor would make it more than a few miles down the coast; they did not even make it as far as the Teresa or Oquendo .
At this point, neither Sampson nor Schley was aware of the great victory that they had already achieved. Sampson was too far to the rear to know much of anything that was going on ahead, and Schley was convinced that his casualties were going to be terrible � after all, you couldn�t expect to slug it out like this with the enemy without losing a lot of men. It was now past 10:30, and of the six Spanish ships that steamed out of the bay that morning, only two remained afloat. The swift Cristobol Colon was still maintaining her preferred path close to the shore, and by now had drawn even with the Viscaya which started out of the bay ahead of her. And, once again the Americans concentrated on the closest ship, which at this time was the Viscaya .
The Americans had only three big ships in hot pursuit � the Brooklyn in the lead, with the Texas and the Oregon bringing up the rear. The Iowa and Gloucester were staying in close to shore doing what they could to assist survivors of the Spanish ships in the water, and the Indiana had developed engine trouble so she stayed behind to assist. The most savage fighting was between the Viscaya and Brooklyn , steaming side by side, a little more than half a mile apart.
In capabilities, the two ships were fairly evenly matched. The Viscaya had much heavier armor, and so could withstand the shells from the Brooklyn �s guns. The Brooklyn had more guns, but they had to deal with all of that armor. But the fates of battle and the training of the crews can change the impact of statistics on paper. While the Spanish believed in rapid, mechanical firing at regular intervals, the American officers repeatedly told their crews to take their time and make every shot count. The Americans also had the luxury of having enough ammunition to practice at regular intervals � the Spaniards often fired their guns only once per year. Although the marksmanship of the Americans would be considered terrible by later standards, it was having its effect. Shell after shell slammed into the Viscaya , while virtually all of the shells fired by the Spaniards flew harmlessly overhead beyond the Americans. One of the American gunners complained that he could no longer see the splashes coming up when he fired his gun. �You damn fool,� said the turret-captain, �when you don�t see them drop in the water, you know they�re hitting.�
As the battle raged on, Schley felt the deck jump beneath his feet from a grinding smash. �They�ve landed something on us,� he said, and ordered an apprentice boy below to see how many men were gone. The boy returned and said that a big shell had hit, but it missed everybody. Schley , annoyed, told the boy to keep his wits about him this time and go check again. The boy returned and the same answer came back � two men only slightly wounded. Favor had smiled on the Americans up until now, but their luck had just run out. Chief Yeoman George Ellis had moved to an observation spot ahead of the conning tower to spot the fall of shells fired by the Brooklyn . As he was in this exposed position, a large shell (most likely fired by the Viscaya ) struck him in the head. He was decapitated and killed instantly.
The Viscaya made a slight turn to the south, in what appeared to be an attempt to set up a ramming course on the Brooklyn . Soon thereafter, a massive explosion tore off her bow � either a big shell from the Oregon to the rear or from the Brooklyn had touched off the warhead in the torpedo in her forward tube. Captain Eulate, wounded in the head and shoulder, recounted: �Almost faint from the loss of blood I resigned my command to the executive officer with clear and positive instructions not to surrender the ship but rather to beach and burn her. In the sick bay I met Ensign Luis Fajardo, who was having a serious wound dressed. When I asked him what was the matter with him he answered that they had wounded him in one arm but he still had one left for his country. I immediately convened the officers who were nearest� and asked them whether there was anyone among them who thought we could do anything more in the defense of our country and our honor, and the unanimous reply was that nothing more could be done.�
As the Viscaya headed for the shore, the Brooklyn and Texas stopped firing on her. The Texas moved in for a closer look to see if anything could be done for the survivors. Flames were leaping from the deck as high as the funnel tops, and from where he was Captain Philip could hear the shrieks of the sailors caught in the fire. Panic-stricken seamen, some with their uniforms ablaze, were throwing themselves into the water, or crawling to the side and rolling overboard. Others could find no escape from the flames. As was traditional, the crew of the Texas let out a victory cheer, but Captain Philip stopped it at once, saying, �Don�t cheer, boys! Those poor devils are dying!�
By the time the Viscaya had run aground the Iowa was approaching, and Captain Evans saw a new threat to the Spanish sailors emerge. �The Cuban insurgents had opened fire on them from the shore, and with a glass I could plainly see the bullets snipping up the water around them. The sharks, made ravenous from the blood of the wounded were attacking them from the outside.� Evans sent a boat to the shore, warning the rebels to stop firing or to be themselves fired upon � by the big guns of the battleship. The Iowa stayed on the scene and rescued 200 officers and crew from the Viscaya .
That left only the Cristobol Colon. She held a six-mile lead over the Brooklyn with her uncoupled engines and the Oregon , which was showing phenomenal speed for a battleship of her day. The Texas was still in the hunt as well. The chase would continue for a couple of hours, and run for sixty miles. Schley ordered the Oregon to cease fire, so that he could study his maps. And when he saw that the Cuban coast took a turn to the south, he knew that he had the Spaniards at last. Like a football defensive back who �has the angle� on a wide receiver, Schley knew that he could prevent the touchdown. He just had to be patient until the Spaniard made the turn to follow the coast.
He didn�t have to wait quite that long. At half past noon the Colon had exhausted all of her good Spanish coal, and switched over to the inferior grade that they had obtained locally at Santiago. The Colon began to lose speed. As the Oregon began to close, Schley signaled to her �Try one of your railroad trains on her,� and a moment later the big guns in the forward turret of the battleship spoke and sent over a ton of projectiles on their way. They fell short five times. On the sixth firing, a shell was seen to land ahead of the Colon . The game was up. Another shot fell just off the stern of the Spanish cruiser, causing massive concussion damage, and a steam line burst. Commander Mason who had been watching the Colon through the ship�s telescope said, �She�s hauled down her colors and fired a lee gun.�
�What does that mean?� Schley asked.The surprised Mason replied, �Why, it means that she�s struck [surrendered].��I�m damned glad that I didn�t have to surrender,� Schley laughed. �I wouldn�t have known how.�
On the way to the rocks, the Spaniards had opened up the sea valves so that the Colon would be sunk and denied to the Americans. She was aground, and any attempt to move her off as a prize would only sink her. Only now did the commander in chief, Admiral Sampson arrive on the scene. The fight was over, and he had missed it all. Schley signaled, �A glorious victory has been achieved. Details later.� There was no response from the New York. Schley signaled again, �This is a great day for our country.� It was, but not for Admiral Sampson . His cold reply was, �Report your casualties.� Schley then sent signals of congratulations to the Oregon , who with her big guns had saved the day; to the Texas with which he nearly collided earlier; and to the little Vixen, which had come along for the entire length of the chase. With each signal, the receiving ship cheered. The New York remained cold and silent. The seeds that would separate Sampson and Schley in later years had been sown.
When all seemed calm, the little boat Resolute approached at speed and reported that a large Spanish battleship was approaching from the east. Sampson sent Schley and the Brooklyn to investigate. The approaching ship was quickly sighted, and Schley had the Brooklyn ready her portside guns, since only the starboard guns had been engaged during the prior chase. Through the glass Captain Cook could see that the approaching vessel had forward gun turrets. This could not possibly be the Pelayo , unless she had seen a major rebuild or the reference data in Jane�s was terribly out of touch with reality. But there was the flag with the unmistakable red bars hanging from her masthead. A line of signal flags appeared, illuminated by searchlights that illuminated the Americans as well. �This is an Austrian ship,� they read, �Please do not fire.� The Americans had mistaken the red/white/red flag of Austria for the red/yellow/red flag of Spain. The ship was looking for a place to spend the night, and thought that Santiago de Cuba looked like a good port on the map. The Americans asked them instead to anchor at least 20 miles out to sea, as it had been a busy day. The Austrians anchored 40 miles out, just to be sure there was no more confusion. Ironically, the Austrian ship bore the name Maria Theresa.
Shortly after Admiral Cervera was rescued from the water and issued dry clothing, the Iowa rescued Captain Eulate of the Viscaya as well. He was covered with blood from three wounds, and a grisly handkerchief was wrapped around his head. As he hobbled to the door of Captain Evans � cabin to be tended to, he turned and looked at his former command now run aground. Captain Eulate saluted his burning ship, �Adios, Viscaya !� Just then, flames reached the forward magazine, and the Viscaya exploded in reply with dramatic effect, sending a pillar of black smoke high into the sky.
Bachrach, Deborah; �The Spanish-American War�, San Diego: Lucent Books, 1991.
Carter, Alden R.; �The Spanish-American War�, New York: Franklin Watts, Inc.,, 1992.
Chidsey, Donald Barr; �The Spanish-American War � A Behind-the-Scenes Account of the War in Cuba�, New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1971.
Dierks, Jack Cameron; �A Leap to Arms � The Cuban Campaign of 1898�, Philadelphia & New York: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1970.
Friedman, Norman; �U.S. Battleships � An Illustrated Design History�, Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1985.
Hagan, Kenneth J.; �This People�s Navy � The Making of American Sea Power�, New York: The Free Press, 1991.
Hailey, Foster and Lancelot, Milton; �Clear for Action�, New York: Bonanza Books, 1964.
Keller, Allan; �The Spanish-American War � A Compact History�, New York: Hawthorn Books, Inc., 1969.
Lawson, Don; �The United States in the Spanish-American War�, New York: Abelard-Schuman, Inc., 1976.
Leckie, Robert; �The Wars of America � Vol. I: From 1600 to 1900�, New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1968.
Marshall, S.L.A., Brig. General USAR (ret); �The War to Free Cuba�, New York: Franklin Watts, Inc., 1966.
Miller, Nathan; �The U.S. Navy � An Illustrated History�, New York: The American Heritage Publishing Co. and Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1977.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Battle of Santiago de Cuba
Illustration of the July 1898 battle
Date
2 destroyers Casualties and losses 1 dead
~10 wounded,
1 auxiliary cruiser damaged 474 dead or wounded,
1 armoured cruisers sunk,
1 destroyer grounded
Cuban Campaign
The Battle of Santiago de Cuba, fought between Spain and the United States on July 3, 1898, was the largest naval engagement of the Spanish-American War and resulted in the destruction of the Spanish Caribbean Squadron.
Contents
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Spanish Fleet
The Spanish realized that the war could be made or broken by the campaign in Cuba. Even before the opening of hostilities, Admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete had been dispatched from Spain with the ultimate destination of Cuba . At best, the Spanish hoped to show the flag in their largest remaining New World colony; at worst, the Spanish hoped to have a force prepared to meet the powerful U.S. Navy .
There were striking contrasts between Cervera's squadron and the squadron lost by Admiral Patricio Montojo y Pasarón at the Battle of Manila Bay in the Philippine Islands on May 1, 1898. Montojo's squadron had been composed of relics meant for revenue collection. Cervera's squadron was composed of many modern warships, all of which were only a few years old at the time of this battle. Montojo's squadron had virtually no torpedo-launching capability; Cervera brought with him the destroyers Pluton , Terror and Furor , three of the most feared torpedo-armed warships in the world at the time. This flotilla was commanded by Captain Fernando Villaamil , well-known by having been the destroyer concept designer. Montojo's squadron was almost entirely unarmored; nearly all of Cervera's vessels were protected by armor of some kind.
c.1897 Fernando Villaamil portrait
However, it is evident from the records of the time and from Cervera's own writings that the Spanish admiral had the feeling that he was sailing to his doom. The breech mechanisms in many of the Spanish guns were dangerously faulty, causing jams and other mishaps; many of the naval boilers were in desperate need of repair; some ships, such as the respected armored cruiser Vizcaya , desperately needed a bottom-cleaning and were suffering from extra drag. Worse yet, some of the gunners were long out of practice, having little experience with firing live rounds due to naval budgets cut since 1893 incidents in Spanish Rif and priority given to the Spanish Army . The most well-protected ship in Cervera's fleet, the second generation armored cruiser Cristóbal Colón , had not even had her main battery installed and carried wooden dummy guns instead.
Early in the year, Cervera had attempted to convince the Ministerio de Marina, a bureaucratic body responsible for governing Spain's admiralty, that the best strategy lay in resisting the Americans near the Canary Islands . Here, the fleet could be repainted, recoaled, and overhauled. It would then lie within range of the vast reserves of ammunition established in Spain and the firepower of the "Home Squadron". Cervera argued that he could then meet the U.S. fleet and destroy it. This strategy was endorsed by every officer under his command and many in the "Home Squadron", but was rejected by the Admiralty . Cervera's own misgivings reveal the seriousness of the situation faced:
It is impossible for me to give you an idea of the surprise and consternation experienced by all on the receipt of the order to sail. Indeed, that surprise is well justified, for nothing can be expected of this expedition except the total destruction of the fleet or its hasty and demoralized return.
Cristóbal Colón
On April 30, 1898, Cervera set steam from Cape Verde , and panic gripped the U.S. populace, who did not know what his ships might do: attack the largely undefended East Coast while the fleet sailed about in an effort to engage him, prey upon American shipping, or perhaps sail up the Potomac and set fire to Washington, D.C. .
Cervera managed to evade the U.S. fleet for several weeks, confounding his American counterparts and managing to re-coal in the process. Meanwhile Villaamil, who was in disagreement with both the Spanish Government's shaky war direction and Cervera's rather passive strategy, advocated trying to offset the superiority of the American forces by scattering the fleet and taking the initiative through quick and dispersed actions; he even volunteered to lead an diversionary attack to New York with his destroyers, but his proposals were not accepted.
Finally, on May 29, 1898, after several misadventures, Cristóbal Colón was spotted in the harbor at Santiago de Cuba by an American squadron.
American Fleet
With the exception of Commodore George Dewey 's squadron in the Pacific , nearly every warship in the U.S. Navy was near or on its way to Cuba. Only a handful of reactivated American Civil War era monitors and cutters of the United States Revenue Cutter Service remained to defend the U.S. coastline.
The primary elements of the U.S. force in Cuban waters were divided between two men: Rear Admiral William T. Sampson of the Atlantic Squadron and Commodore Winfield Scott Schley and the "Flying Squadron" .
On the morning of May 29, 1898, Cervera's squadron was sighted inside the safety of Santiago Bay, Cuba , by elements of the "Flying Squadron". On May 31, 1898, Schley was joined by Sampson, who took command of the situation and instructed a general blockade .
Stand-off in Santiago Harbor
So long as Cervera remained within Santiago Harbor, his fleet was relatively safe. The guns of the city were quite sufficient to make up for deficiencies in his own, and the area was well defended with sea mines , torpedoes and other obstructions. Nevertheless, Cervera was terribly outmatched. Though his ships were modern, they were too few, and their technical problems compounded his worries. The failure of Cuba's governor to assist with the repairs of the vessels in Cervera's squadron made the situation all the more desperate.
For more than a month, the two fleets faced off, with only a few inconclusive skirmishes resulting. For his part, Cervera was content to wait, hoping for bad weather to scatter the Americans so that he could make a run to a position more favorable for engaging the enemy. However, U.S. land forces began to drive on Santiago de Cuba, and by the end of June 1898, Cervera found himself unable to remain safely in the harbor. He would have to break out immediately if the fleet was to be saved.
The breakout was planned for 9:00 am on Sunday, July 3, 1898. This seemed the most logical time: the Americans would be at religious services, and waiting until night would only serve to make the escape that much more treacherous. By noon on Saturday, July 2, 1898, the fleet had a full head of steam and had fallen into position for the breakout.
USS Brooklyn
At about 08:45, just as his ships had slipped their moorings, Admiral Sampson and two ships of his command, his flagship , the armored cruiser New York , and the torpedo boat Ericsson had left their positions for a trip to Siboney and a meeting with Major General William Shafter of the U.S. Army . This opened a gap in the western portion of the American blockade line, leaving a window for Cervera. Sampson's New York was one of only two ships in the squadron fast enough to catch Cervera if he managed to break through the blockade. Further, the battleship Massachusetts had left that morning to coal. With the departure of Admiral Sampson, who had signaled "Disregard movements of flagship," immediate command devolved to Commodore Schley in Brooklyn , which now became the "de facto" flagship of the U.S. blockade.
Thus, the American blockade formation that morning consisted of Schley's Brooklyn, followed by the battleships Texas , Oregon , Iowa and Indiana with the armed yachts Vixen and Gloucester .
At 09:35 am, the navigator of Commodore Shley's armored cruiser Brooklyn sighted a plume of smoke coming from the mouth of the port. He anxiously signaled the rest of the fleet:
The Enemy is coming out!
Battle
Infanta Maria Teresa at São Vicente ,
Cristobal Colon (left) and Vizcaya
Almirante Oquendo at São Vicente in the latter half of April 1898.
The Spanish ships began their race from the mouth of Santiago Bay at about 09:45 am, traveling in a rough line ahead formation . In the lead was Cervera's flagship, the armored cruiser Infanta Maria Teresa , followed by the armored cruisers Vizcaya, Cristóbal Colón, and Almirante Oquendo , and finally the torpedo-boat destroyers Furor and Pluton . The four cruisers immediately cut in a southwest direction, attempting to break into the open sea before the U.S. blockading force, could respond.
The battle commenced almost immediately, the first shots being fired by Cervera's Infanta Maria Teresa as she strove to gain the western gap in the blockade line before Brooklyn could close it. While the Spanish had taken the initiative by beginning the engagement, two factors slowed their escape. The first was the continuing problem experienced in maintaining proper speed by Vizcaya; the second was the poor quality of most of the coal in the Spanish holds. An expected re-supply of high-quality Cardiff coal from Britain had been captured, along with its transport , by the American cruiser St. Paul on May 25, 1898.
Destroyer Furor
Upon sighting the emerging Spanish ships, the American blockaders had to turn to the south since they had all been facing towards the harbor entrance. The Brooklyn headed nearly straight for the Infanta Maria Teresa at first, but when it appeared that she would be surrounded by all four of the Spanish cruisers, Commodore Schley ordered a "retrograde loop" that pulled her away, and then alongside, the line of Spanish ships fleeing southwest. This maneuver has been controversial ever since, because it seemed to threaten Texas with collision and forced her to stop engines for some moments. The Texas then swung behind Brooklyn. Oregon, initially to the rear of the action but the fastest ship in the U.S. fleet, soon raced past the Indiana, which had an engine problem and could make only 9 knots (17 km/h) at the time of the battle. Iowa had started from a disadvantaged position and was passed by Infanta Maria Teresa but hit her with two 12-inch (300 mm) rounds from 2,600 yards (2,400 m) and swung into the chase. As Iowa was passed in turn by Cristóbal Colón, the Spanish ship hit her with two shots from her secondary battery. One of these, struck near the waterline and caused Iowa to slow and she therefore engaged the Almirante Oquendo, bringing up the rear of Cervera's four cruisers.
Rather than expose the entirety of his fleet to the American battle line, Cervera had signaled his other ships to continue to the southwest while he attempted to cover their escape, directly engaging Brooklyn, his nearest enemy. Though Brooklyn was hit more than twenty times in the battle, she suffered only two casualties, while her return fire resulted in the deaths of most of Cervera's bridge crew and grave damage to the ship generally. Under this brutal punishment, Infanta Maria Teresa began to burn furiously. Cervera ordered her aground in shallows along the Cuban coast, by which time she was completely wrecked and aflame. Admiral Cervera survived and was rescued, picked up near Punta Cabrera by the crew of the armed yacht Gloucester.
Furor chased by Iowa, Indiana and New York
The rest of the Spanish fleet continued its race for the open sea. Almirante Oquendo was hit repeatedly by Iowa and driven out of the battle by the premature detonation of a shell stuck in a defective breech-block mechanism of an 11-inch (280 mm) turret . A boiler explosion finished her, and she was ordered scuttled by her mortally wounded Captain Lazaga. The two small torpedo boat destroyers, Pluton and Furor, made a dash in a direction opposite the rest of the Spanish squadron. At first taken under light fire by the Gloucester and then, fatally, by shelling from the battleships Iowa, Indiana, and eventually New York, commanded by Rear Admiral Sampson who had turned his flagship around and was racing to join the fight. Furor was sunk before making the beach, with the lifeless body of her commander Villaamil and several of his sea-fellows; Pluton succeeded in grounding herself but blew up.
Vizcaya, was locked in a running gun duel for nearly an hour with Brooklyn. Despite steaming side-by-side with Schley's flagship at about 1,200 yards (1,100 m) and even with some good shooting which knocked out a secondary gun aboard Brooklyn, almost none of the Spaniards' nearly three hundred shots caused significant damage, while Brooklyn pounded Vizcaya with effectiveness. Subsequent claims by Admiral Cervera, and later research by historians, have suggested that nearly eighty-five percent of the Spanish ammunition at Santiago was utterly useless, either defective or simply filled with sawdust as a cost-saving measure for practice firing. The American ammunition had no such issues of lethality. Vizcaya continued the fight until overwhelmed, and by the end of the engagement she had been struck as many as two hundred times by the fire from the Brooklyn and Texas. Brooklyn had closed to within 950 yards (870 m) when she finally delivered a 8-inch (200 mm) round which, according to witnesses, may have detonated a torpedo being prepared for launch. A huge explosion ensued, Vizcaya ceased to be militarily effective, and fires raged out of control. She hauled down her flag and turned toward the beach to ground herself.
Within a little more than an hour, five of the six ships of the Spanish Caribbean Squadron had been destroyed or forced aground. Only one vessel, the speedy new armored cruiser Cristóbal Colón, still survived, steaming as fast as she could for the west and freedom. Though modern in every respect and possibly the fastest ship in either fleet, Cristóbal Colón had one serious problem: She had been only recently purchased from Italy , and her main 10-inch (250 mm) armament was not yet installed because of a contractural issue with the British firm of Armstrong . She therefore sailed with empty main turrets, albeit retaining her ten 6-inch (150 mm) secondary battery. This day, speed was her primary defense.
At her best rate of nearly 20 knots (37 km/h), Cristóbal Colón slowly distanced herself from the pursuing U.S. fleet. Her closest antagonist, USS Brooklyn, had begun the battle with just two of her four engines coupled, because of her long stay on the blockade line and could manage barely 16 knots (30 km/h) while building steam. As Brooklyn helplessly tossed 8-inch (200 mm) rounds at the rapidly disappearing Cristóbal Colón, there was only one ship in the U.S. fleet with a chance of maintaining the pursuit. Only the Oregon, now inexorably moving up through the pack, had the speed to overhaul Cristóbal Colón.
Wreck of the Vizcaya
At the start of the war, the Oregon was anchored in San Francisco Bay . In this age before the Panama Canal , she had taken 67 days to come 15,000 miles (24,000 km) at maximum speed, all the way around South America and through the violent Strait of Magellan , to join the U.S. fleet off Santiago de Cuba. An epic journey in itself, this voyage was now to be capped by a deadly race which no other American warship in the fight could have won.
For sixty-five minutes, the Oregon pursued the Cristóbal Colón. The Cristóbal Colón had to hug the coast and was unable to turn toward the open sea because the Oregon was standing out about a mile and a half (2 km) from Cristóbal Colón's course and would have been able to fatally close the gap had Cristóbal Colón turned to a more southerly course.
Finally, three factors converged to end the chase: First, Cristóbal Colón had run through her supply of high-quality Cardiff coal and was forced to begin using an inferior grade obtained from Spanish reserves in Cuba. Second, a peninsula jutting out from the coastline would soon force her to turn south, across Oregon's path. And third, on the flagship Brooklyn, Commodore Schley signaled Oregon's Captain Charles Clark to open fire. Despite the immense range still separating Oregon and Cristóbal Colón, Oregon's forward turret launched a pair of 13-inch (330 mm) shells which bracketed Cristóbal Colón's wake just astern of the ship.
Vizcaya explodes
Captain Emilio Diaz Moreu, humanely declining to see his crew killed to no purpose, abruptly turned the undamaged Cristóbal Colón toward the mouth of the Tarquino River and ordered the scuttle valves opened and the colors struck as she grounded. His descending flag marked the end of Spain's naval power in the New World.
As the ships of the U.S. fleet pushed through the carnage, rescuing as many Spanish survivors as possible, an officer was fished out by sailors of the Iowa. At first unrecognizable under a bloody bandage and covered in oil and soot, this man proved to be Captain Don Antonio Eulate of the Vizcaya. Standing shakily on the deck of the Iowa, he thanked his rescuers and gravely presented his sword to Captain Robley Evans , who handed it back as a notion of chivalry . Eulate then turned to look out at the burning wreck of his ship and saluted her.
Adios, Vizcaya!
At his words, the fires raging onboard Vizcaya reached her magazines, and she exploded.
Aftermath
The battle was the end of any noteworthy Spanish naval presence in the New World. It forced Spain to re-assess its strategy in Cuba and resulted in an ever-tightening blockade of the island. While fighting continued until August, when the Treaty of Paris was signed, all surviving Spanish capital ships were now husbanded to defend their homeland leaving only isolated units of auxiliary vessels to defend the coast. Uncontested U.S. control of the seas around Cuba made resupply of the Spanish garrison impossible and its surrender inevitable.
Spanish Navy POWs at Seavey's Island
The sunken Reina Mercedes in the channel at Santiago de Cuba .
The U.S. ships at Santiago, for their part, suffered many hits in the battle but very little serious damage. The small armed yacht Vixen was nearly sunk, but casualties on the American side of the affair were remarkably light; only one man was killed, Yeoman George H. Ellis of the Brooklyn. Spanish casualties numbered nearly 500, including Captain Villaamil of the Furor, the highest-ranking Spanish officer to lose his life in the battle. All six vessels of the Spanish squadron were lost. The 1,612 Spanish sailors rescued, including Admiral Cervera, were sent to Seavey's Island at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine , where they were confined at Camp Long from July 11, 1898 until mid-September 1898.
In the aftermath of the battle, General Chambers McKibbin, originally of Chambersburg , Pennsylvania, was selected as Military Governor of the City of Santiago de Cuba.. [1]
Two of the Spanish ships, Infanta Maria Teresa and Cristóbal Colón, were later re-floated and taken over by the United States. Both eventually foundered and were lost. The Reina Mercedes , abandoned in Santiago Bay because of engine troubles, was an unprotected cruiser captured by the U.S. Navy and used as a receiving ship until 1957 as the USS Reina Mercedes .
All of the various flags, warship pennants, national combat flags, the royal standard, admirals' flags and so on retrieved from the Spanish ships in the days following the battle, are part of the United States Navy Trophy Flag Collection at the United States Naval Academy Museum in Annapolis, Maryland . The collection was given to the care of the U.S. Naval Academy by an act of Congress in 1849. [2] In 1998, in recognition of the hundredth anniversary of the battle and the Spanish-American War, the U.S. Secretary of the Navy authorized the return of the National Combat Flag from the Spanish flagship Infanta Maria Teresa to the Spanish Navy via their Chief of Staff , who was to meet with the U.S. Navy Chief of Naval Operations in Newport, Rhode Island . However, the return of the flag was aborted when the curator of the Naval Academy Museum, citing the congressional language from 1849, refused to surrender the banner due to politics. [3]
Notes
^ Hart, Charles. Former U.S. Naval Attache' to Spain. Interview. 10 Jun 2009
References
Most of the details were taken with the permission of the author from A Dirty Little War by A. Bagosy.
Nofi, Albert A. The Spanish American War, 1898. Conshohocken, Pennsylvania: Combined Books, 1996. ISBN 0938289578
Works by Mahan and Cervera were also referenced.
Craig L. Symonds/ William J. Clipson: The Naval Institute Historical Atlas of the U.S. Navy. Naval Institute Press 2001, ISBN 9781557509840, p. 114 ( restricted online copy at Google Books )
Donald M. Goldstein/ Katherine V. Dillon/ J. Michael Wenger/ Robert J. Cressman: The Spanish-American War: The Story and Photographs. Brassey's 2001, ISBN 9781574883039, p. 121-136 ( restricted online copy at Google Books )
External links
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Which was the first of Jane Austen's novels completed for publication? | Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen · OverDrive: eBooks, audiobooks and videos for libraries
Classic Literature Fiction
"Northanger Abbey" was the first of Jane Austen's novels to be completed for publication, though she had previously made a start on "Sense and Sensibility" and "Pride and Prejudice". According to Cassandra Austen's "Memorandum, Susan" (as it was first called) was written circa 1798–99. It was revised by Austen for the press in 1803, and sold in the same year for £10 to a London bookseller, Crosby & Co., who decided against publishing. In the spring of 1816, the bookseller was content to sell it back to the novelist's brother, Henry Austen, for the exact sum—£10—that he had paid for it at the beginning, not knowing that the writer was by then the author of four popular novels. The novel was further revised by Austen in 1816/17, with the intention of having it published. Among other changes, the lead character's name was changed from Susan to Catherine, and Austen retitled the book "Catherine" as a result. Austen died in July 1817. "Northanger Abbey" (as the novel was now called) was brought out posthumously in late December 1817 (1818 given on the title page), as the first two volumes of a four-volume set that also featured another previously unpublished Austen novel, "Persuasion". Neither novel was published under the title Jane Austen had given it; the title "Northanger Abbey" is presumed to have been the invention of Henry Austen, who had arranged for the book's publication.
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Who was the female lead in John Wayne's last film, 'The Shootist'? | Order of Jane Austen Books - OrderOfBooks.com
Home | Characters | Authors
Order of Jane Austen Books
Jane Austen (1775-1817) was an English author of romantic fiction, best known for classics including Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice. Her works are full of social commentary that made her historically significant and kept her name alive almost two hundred years after her death. Not much is known about Jane as a person; even though she wrote 3,000 letters, only 160 still exist.
During her relatively short lifetime, Jane only had four novels published, along with a short story called Lady Susan, poems, letters, prayers and juvenilia that she wrote as a youth. Following her death, two novels – Northanger Abbey and Persuasion – were published. She also left two unfinished novels behind that have been finished many times over by fans. Below is a list of Jane Austen’s published works in order of when they were originally published:
Publication Order of Standalone Novels
The Watsons
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If, as is almost impossible now, you had variola, which disease would you have? | Smallpox - Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, San Francisco Department of Public Health
Smallpox
What is Smallpox and How do People Get it?
Smallpox disease is a serious, highly contagious, and often life-threatening infection marked by a rash of round pox (blisters) on the face, arms, and legs. It is caused by the Variola virus.
The last case of smallpox in the United States was in 1949. The last case in the world was in Somalia in 1977. Worldwide vaccine campaigns have wiped out smallpox everywhere. Since the disease no longer occurs naturally anywhere in the world, smallpox vaccination for the general public was stopped because it was no longer necessary. Today, smallpox virus is kept in two approved laboratories in the USA and Russia.
Historically, people got smallpox by touching or breathing in the smallpox virus. This is called being exposed to smallpox. Not everybody who is exposed to smallpox will get sick. But many will, and as the smallpox viruses multiply inside the body, they can cause serious illness.
Smallpox is not spread by insects or animals. There is no naturally-occurring smallpox. Terrorists could use smallpox virus to hurt people on purpose by releasing the virus in public places. If people start to get sick from smallpox, others can be exposed to the virus through:
Breathing in the virus from a cough, sneeze, or saliva (spit) of someone with smallpox
Touching skin that has smallpox skin blisters
Touching contaminated body fluids or objects such as bedding or clothing
Breathing in the virus in a room, bus, or train shared with someone who has smallpox
Sharing a razor, tableware, or a toothbrush with someone who has smallpox
What if there is a Smallpox Emergency in San Francisco?
The San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) has a plan to respond quickly to a smallpox emergency. SFDPH will evaluate the smallpox situation and may recommend ways for people to keep themselves and their family safe. Recommendations may include smallpox vaccine for people who have been exposed and are at risk of illness, and steps to take to minimize the risk of being exposed to smallpox
like staying at home or away from crowds of people. SFDPH will also participate in efforts to provide needed medical support and treatment, and to reduce any ongoing sources of smallpox virus.
How can I keep from Getting Smallpox?
To lower your risk of getting sick if terrorists release smallpox virus on purpose:
Stay informed. Listen to the news to learn how the emergency is affecting your community and what actions SFDPH recommends people take.
If you were exposed to a suspicious substance or if you were in an area thought to containsmallpox virus, it may help to wash your skin and hair thoroughly with soap and water. It may also help to change and wash your clothing, or if you cannot wash your clothes immediately, to put them in a plastic bag to keep them separate from your other things.
Stay away from, and keep your children away from, anyone who might have smallpox.
Avoid being in enclosed areas with others who may be sick, such as buses and trains.
Do not touch the skin area where someone had a smallpox vaccine placed.
Wash your hands regularly and avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
Is there a Medicine or Vaccine (shot) to Prevent Smallpox disease?
There is no medicine to prevent smallpox. However, the smallpox vaccine (shot) is helpful. Vaccine given within 4-7 days after someone is exposed to smallpox virus will prevent or lessen the disease in most people. Protection against smallpox lasts for about 5 to 10 years. It is not clear whether vaccinations received more than 30 years ago (for example in the early 1970's when smallpox vaccination was routine) would help. Although timely vaccine can prevent smallpox, it can also cause serious side effects in some people. If you have a weakened immune system (from cancer, AIDS, daily steroid use, heart disease, or other drug use that weakens your immune system), if you have eczema or another skin condition, if you are pregnant, or if you are allergic to certain antibiotics (polymixin b or neomycin), the smallpox vaccine can have serious side effects and may not be recommended.
Can I Get a Smallpox Vaccine (shot) Now?
No. The vaccine is not normally available to the general public. If there is a smallpox emergency, vaccine may be released to be given to exposed persons and people at highest risk for exposure including members of the public.
Can I Catch Smallpox from Someone?
Yes. Smallpox is highly contagious (spread from person to person). A person with smallpox is most contagious when the smallpox rash is present, but may also be contagious before the rash appears, when the only sign is fever.
What are the Signs of Smallpox disease?
After exposure to the smallpox virus, it usually takes 7-17 days until illness begins. Smallpox generally begins with fever, headaches, body aches, and weakness on day 1. Then:
Day 2-3: small, round pox (blisters) appear and spread on the face, arms, legs, and inside the mouth
Day 7: the pox turn into bigger blisters and fill with pus
Day 12: the blisters crust over; stomach pain and confusion can also occur
Week 3-4: the blisters turn into scabs and fall off, leaving pitted scars on the skin
Long-term effects of smallpox include scars, blindness, and deformed hands and feet.
Call your doctor right away if you are having the signs listed above and think you may have been exposed to smallpox. You may need medical treatment.
Is there Treatment for Smallpox disease?
There is no proven treatment for smallpox once the rash appears, but research is underway to find an effective anti-viral medication. Those who are ill with smallpox may benefit from supportive care in a hospital setting.
How can I Find Information during a Smallpox Emergency?
Check the SFDPH website www.sfdph.org/cdcp . Local media such as newspapers, TV stations and radio will carry emergency instructions. Emergency radio stations include: KCBS 740 AM and KGO 810 AM.
What can I do Now if I am worried about Smallpox?
Read about smallpox at www.sfdph.org/cdcp and at the CDC page www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/smallpox .
Go to www.72hours.org to learn about steps you can take now to prepare for all disasters.
Keep a card in your wallet with a list of your health problems, the names and doses of medicines you take, and any medicines you are allergic to.
Additional Information
| Smallpox |
What flower was traditionally the symbol of secrecy? | Smallpox | Define Smallpox at Dictionary.com
smallpox
noun, Pathology.
1.
an acute, highly contagious, febrile disease, caused by the variola virus, and characterized by a pustular eruption that often leaves permanent pits or scars: eradicated worldwide by vaccination programs.
Origin of smallpox
Examples from the Web for smallpox
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Contemporary Examples
And I certainly hope the geopolitical catastrophe of a single case of smallpox is something nobody ever lives to witness.
Social Transformations of the Victorian Age T. H. S. (Thomas Hay Sweet) Escott
Colonel Clarke, who was suffering from the results of smallpox, was too feeble to lead them.
Stories Of Georgia Joel Chandler Harris
Then she cried that she had got the smallpox—her back ached, her eyes ached—she must have the doctor.
Medical Essays Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
If this law were faithfully carried out, smallpox would entirely disappear from the state within a few years.
Rural Hygiene Henry N. Ogden
British Dictionary definitions for smallpox
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noun
1.
an acute highly contagious viral disease characterized by high fever, severe prostration, and a pinkish rash changing in form from papules to pustules, which dry up and form scabs that are cast off, leaving pitted depressions Technical name variola, related adjective variolous
Word Origin
C16: from small + pox. So called to distinguish it from the Great Pox, an archaic name for syphilis
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for smallpox
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n.
acute, highly contagious disease, 1510s, small pokkes, as distinguished from great pox "syphillis;" from small-pock "pustule caused by smallpox" (mid-15c.); see small (adj.) + pox . Cf. French petite vérole. Fatal in a quarter to a third of unvaccinated cases.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
smallpox
(smôl'pŏks')
A highly infectious and often fatal disease caused by the variola virus of the genus Orthopoxvirus and characterized by fever, headache, and severely inflamed skin sores that result in extensive scarring. Once a dreaded killer of children that caused the deaths of millions of Native Americans after the arrival of European settlers in the Americas, smallpox was declared eradicated in 1980 following a worldwide vaccination campaign. Samples of the virus have been preserved in laboratories in the United States and Russia. Also called variola. See Note at Jenner .
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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smallpox definition
An acute and infectious disease caused by a virus and now almost completely eradicated. Smallpox was characterized by high fever and large sores on the body that leave scars.
Note: A surface with many blemishes is sometimes said to be “pockmarked” because it resembles the skin of a smallpox sufferer.
Note: Smallpox is the first disease of humans to be completely eradicated by a worldwide campaign of inoculation .
Note: Today, the smallpox virus exists only in laboratories.
Note: The use of smallpox is a major concern in the area of bioterrorism .
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Which herb did the Romans eat with the intention of preventing drunkenness? | History of Spices - McCormick Science Institute
History of Spices
History of Spices
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Abundant anecdotal information documents the historical use of herbs and spices for their health benefits (1). Early documentation suggests that hunters and gatherers wrapped meat in the leaves of bushes, accidentally discovering that this process enhanced the taste of the meat, as did certain nuts, seeds, berries, and bark. Over the years, spices and herbs were used for medicinal purposes. Spices and herbs were also used as a way to mask unpleasant tastes and odors of food, and later, to keep food fresh (2). Ancient civilizations did not distinguish between those spices and herbs used for flavoring from those used for medicinal purposes. When leaves, seeds, roots, or gums had a pleasant taste or agreeable odor, it became in demand and gradually became a norm for that culture as a condiment.
Spices were also valuable as items of exchange and trade. For example, the Bible mentions that in 1000 BC, Queen Sheba visited King Solomon in Jerusalem and offered him "120 measures of gold, many spices, and precious stones." (2)
Ancient Egypt
Historically, culinary spices and herbs have been used as food preservatives and for their health- enhancing properties. Papyri from Ancient Egypt in1555 BC classified coriander, fennel, juniper, cumin, garlic and thyme as health promoting spices (3). Records from that time also note that laborers who constructed the Great Pyramid of Cheops consumed onion and garlic as a means to promote health.
Early Chinese influence
According to ancient myths, Shen Nung likely wrote “Pen Ts’ao Ching” or “The Classic Herbal” around 2700 BC. The early publication mentioned more than a hundred medicinal plants including the spice cassia, which is similar to cinnamon (called “kwei”). A later, more comprehensive Chinese herbal, “Pen Ts’ao Kang Mu” was published in 1596 by Li Shih Chen. Other historical evidence suggested that cassia was an important spice in south China when the province "Kweilin," meaning "Cassia Forest," was founded around 216 BC.
Early on, nutmeg and cloves from Moluccas were brought to China. Anecdotal evidence suggests that Chinese courtiers in the 3rd century BC carried cloves in their mouths so their breath was sweet when addressing the emperor. During the 5th century, ginger plants were grown in pots and carried on long sea voyages between China and Southeast Asia to provide fresh food and to prevent scurvy.
Ancient Mesopotamia
Ancient cuneiform records noted spice and herb use in Mesopotamia in the fertile Tigris and Euphrates valleys, where many aromatic plants were known. Sumerian clay tablets of medical literature dating from the 3rd millennium BC mention various odoriferous plants, including thyme (5-7) A scroll of cuneiform writing, established by King Ashurbanipal of Assyria (668-633 BC), records a long list of aromatic plants, such as thyme, sesame, cardamom, turmeric, saffron, poppy, garlic, cumin, anise, coriander, silphium, dill, and myrrh. The Ancient Assyrians also used sesame as a vegetable oil.
King Merodach-baladan II (721-710 BC) of Babylonia grew 64 different species of plants in his royal garden. He kept records on how to cultivate many spices and herbs (e.g., cardamom coriander, garlic, thyme, saffron, and turmeric). The magic religion of Babylonia involved an ancient medical god of the moon, who controlled medicinal plants. Potent parts of herbs were not allowed sun exposure and were harvested by moonlight.
Onions, garlic, and shallots became popular condiments in Persia by the 6th century BC. Records from King Cyrus (559-529 BC) noted a wholesale purchase of 395,000 bunches of garlic. Persians also produced essential oils from roses, lilies, coriander, and saffron.
Indian origins
Spices and herbs (e.g., black pepper, cinnamon, turmeric, cardamom) have been used by Indians for thousands of years for both culinary and health purposes. Spices indigenous to India (e.g. cardamom and turmeric) were cultivated as early as the 8th century BC in the gardens of Babylon (Sinha, 2003; Tapsell, 2006).
Susruta, an ancient surgeon (around 4th century BC) used white mustard and other aromatic plants in bed sheets to ward off malignant spirits. He also applied a poultice from sesame to post operation wounds which may have acted as an antiseptic.
Medical writings of Charaka (1st century) and Susruta II (2nd century) referenced spices and herbs. Susruta II also used spices and herbs such as cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, turmeric, and pepper for healing purposes. Spices such as cardamom, ginger, black pepper, cumin, and mustard seed were included in ancient herbal medicines for different types of health benefits. In Ayurvedic medicine, spices such as cloves and cardamom were wrapped in betel-nut leaves and chewed after meals to increase the flow of saliva and aid digestion.
Greece and Rome (331 BC to 641)
Ancient Greeks imported Eastern spices (pepper, cassia, cinnamon, and ginger) to the Mediterranean area; they also consumed many herbs produced in neighboring countries. Examples include caraway and poppy seeds for bread, fennel for vinegar sauces, coriander as a condiment in food and wine, and mint as a flavoring in meat sauces. Garlic was widely used by the country people in much of their cooking. Ancient Greeks wore parsley and marjoram as a crown at their feasts in an attempt to prevent drunkenness.
Spices and herbs played an important role in ancient Greek medical science. Hippocrates (460-377 BC), wrote about spices and herbs, including saffron, cinnamon, thyme, coriander, mint, and marjoram. He noted that great care should be given to the preparation of herbs for medical use. Of the 400 herbal remedies utilized by Hippocrates, at least half are in use today (3). Roughly 500 years later, Theophrastus (372-287 BC), sometimes called the "Father of Botany," wrote 2 books that summarized the knowledge of over 600 spices and herbs.
Dioscorides, a Greek Physician of the 1st century, wrote De Materia Medica, which was used for botany and medicinal knowledge in both the East and the West for over 1500 years. The remedies were based on an extensive catalogue of spices and herbs and were more systematic than his predecessors (who based the remedies on magic and superstition).
The Romans were extravagant users of spices and herbs. Spice-flavored wines were used in ancient Rome and spice-scented balms and oils were popular for use after the bath. Since spices were considered to have health properties, they were also used in poultices and healing plasters.
When the Roman Empire extended to the northern side of the Alps, the Goths, Vandals, and Huns of those regions were introduced to pepper and other spices from the East. These cultures were familiar with caraway, onions, rosemary, and thyme and gradually became attracted to the Eastern spices.
Arab and Muslim role in spices and herbs (ancient times to 1096)
Early on, spices were used as a source of trading. During the ancient Roman Empire, trading largely came from Arabia. Traders supplied cassia, cinnamon, and other spices and deliberately kept the source of their products secret. The intent was to have a monopoly on the spice trade and the Arabians spun great tales about the how they obtained the spices in order to keep their resource value high. They continued to keep the origins secret for several centuries from both Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman civilizations (Rosgarten, McCormick) until about the 1st century, AD, when the Roman scholar Pliny made the connection between the Arabian stories and the inflation of spices and herbs.
Mohammed (570-632), who established the principles of Islam in the Koran, also co-owned a shop that stocked myrrh, frankincense, and Asian spices. For 4 centuries following the death of Mohammed, his followers (Mohammedans) created a flourishing civilization. The Mohammedans were outstanding scientists for their time. They advanced the process of extracting flower scents from blossoms and herbs and created distillation techniques to distill essential oils from aromatic plants. Later (around the 9th century), Arab physicians used spices and herbs to formulate syrups and flavoring extracts.
Spices and herbs in Europe during the Middle Ages (about 600 to 1200)
In the Early part of the middle ages (before the Crusades), Asian Spices in Europe were costly and mainly used by the wealthy. A pound of saffron cost the same as a horse; a pound of ginger, as much as a sheep; 2 pounds of mace as much as a cow. A German price table of 1393 lists a pound of nutmeg as worth 7 fat oxen.
Pepper, as well as other spices and herbs, was commonly used as a monetary source. Eastern Europeans paid 10 pounds of pepper in order to gain access to trading with London merchants. Throughout Europe, peppercorns were accepted as a substitute for money (some landlords would get paid as a “peppercorn rent” (2). Peppercorns, counted out one by one, were accepted as currency to pay taxes, tolls, and rents (partly because of a coin shortage). Many European towns kept their accounts in pepper. Wealthy brides received pepper as a dowry.
With the coming of the Crusades (1096), international exchange of goods became common. Gradually, Asian spices (pepper, nutmeg, cloves, and cardamom) became less expensive and more widely available. Spices were used to camouflage bad flavors and odors, and for their health benefits. Spiced wines were also popular.
European apothecaries used Asian spices (e.g., ginger, pepper, nutmegs, cinnamon, saffron, cardamom) as well as garden herbs in their remedies and elixirs. The remedies were largely based on the Arabian medical teachings (see above).
An important person in developing and growing local herbs was the King of France and Emperor of the West, Charlemagne (742-814). He was the first leader to have farmers plant an abundance of culinary herbs (e.g., anise, fennel, fenugreek, and sage, thyme, parsley, and coriander).
European cultivation of spices and herbs was largely controlled by the church during this period. Religious herb and spice feasts were common. Some ancient customs and superstitions (e.g., tying bundles of herbs to stable doors to keep the witches out) were also continued
In 1180, King Henry II founded a pepperer’s guild of wholesale merchants, which was a predecessor for a modern day grocery store. The guild included spice trade management, which included cleaning and preparing the spices for sale. The original spicers and pepperers helped launch the apothecaries and later became medical practitioners. Some common medical practices included placing sponges soaked with cinnamon and clove extracts under patients noses, sterilizing rooms with sage smoke, and prescribing saffron, garlic soup, and juniper wine for health benefits.
Age of spice discovery (1300 to 1500)
Marco Polo mentioned spices frequently in his travel memoirs (about 1298). He described the flavor of the sesame oil of Afghanistan and the plants of ginger and cassia of Kain-du (the city of Peking), where people drank a flavorful wine of rice and spices. He reported that the wealthy in Karazan ate meat pickled in salt and flavored with spices, while the poor had to be content with hash steeped in garlic. He mentioned in Hangchow, 10,000 pounds of pepper were brought into that heavily populated city every day. Polo also described vast plantings of pepper, nutmegs, cloves, and other, valuable spices he had seen growing in Java and in the islands of the China Sea, and the abundance of cinnamon, pepper, and ginger on the Malabar Coast of India. Some anecdotal evidence suggests that Polo’s accounts led to an increased international spice trade during the 13th and early 14th centuries.
When Christopher Columbus set out on his second voyage (1493), he brought the Spanish physician Diego Chanca, who helped to discover the spices capsaicin (red pepper) and allspice for Spanish cuisine.
King Manual had a large influence on bringing spices to Portugal. Several sea voyages helped establish a trade route to India. In 1501, the port of Lisbon, Portugal had large quantities of Indian spices such as cinnamon, cassia, ginger, pepper, nutmeg, mace, and cloves. King Manuel sent trade missions to develop new markets for his spices throughout Europe, especially in Germany. As the spice wealth poured into Lisbon, the Portuguese crown monopolized the lucrative but risky pepper trade. Cargoes of East Indian vessels were sold at high prices by the king of Portugal to large European syndicates. As in medieval times, the price of pepper served as a barometer for European business in general.
American history (1600 to 1861)
Western medicine is rooted in plant based medicine. The United States used plants as the primary source of medicine from the time of the Mayflower (1620) until after World War I (1930) (Mahady, 2001). Modern medicines, such as aspirin from the willow bark are rooted in plant based medicine.
When tea drinking became unpatriotic in Colonial America, spices and herbs were used to replace traditional tea. Sassafras bark, chamomile flowers, spearmint leaves, lemon balm leaves, raspberry leaves, loosestrife, goldenrod, dittany, blackberry leaves sage and many others were often used as a beverage(4).
Toward the end of the 18th century, the United States entered the world spice trade. The British taxes and trade restrictions of colonial days no longer obstructed American commerce. They traded American salmon, codfish, tobacco, snuff, flour, soap, candles, butter, cheese and beef, for spices (pepper, cassia, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger).
Between 1797 and 1846 Salem, Massachusetts enjoyed a flourishing Sumatra pepper trade and profited immensely from taxation and sales. Most of the enormous quantities of pepper were re-exported to European ports (Stockholm, Gothenburg, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Antwerp) or were transshipped to Philadelphia, Boston, and Baltimore for processing and distribution by other American merchants and exporters. The largest single cargo on record for one of the Salem pepper fleet was of just over 1 million pounds (500 tons) of pepper, brought from Sumatra to Salem in 1806 by the Eliza, a sailing ship of 512 tons. After 1846, an overproduction of spices brought a gradual decline in its economic importance until the final demise of the Salem pepper trade following the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861.
Modern spice usage
Unlike earlier times when monopolies dominated the spice trade, commerce in spices is now relatively decentralized. Throughout the world, spices and herbs are frequently used in cuisine, largely to improve flavor and to provide new tastes.
Today, people are increasingly interested in enjoying spices and herbs for health benefits. As research is progressing, more evidence is supporting some of the anecdotal information supplied by our ancestors.
References and Notes
Unless otherwise noted, material adapted from F. Rosengarten, Jr. 1969. The Book of Spices, p. 23-96, Jove Publ., Inc., New York.
Rosengarten Jr, Frederic. "The Book of spices." The Book of Spices. (1969).
Tapsell LC, Hemphill I, Cobiac L, Patch CS, Sullivan DR, Fenech M, Roodenrys S, Keogh JB, Clifton PM, Williams PG, Fazio VA, Inge KE. Health benefits of herbs and spices: the past, the present, the future. Med J Aust. 2006 Aug 21;185(4 Suppl):S4-24. 4. History Online. Medicinal Uses of Herbs and Spices.
Boston Tea Party Ship: Liberty Tea of Colonial Boston. http://www.bostonteapartyship.com/tea-blog/liberty-teas-of-colonial-boston .
Bellamy D, Pfister A. World medicine: plants, patients and people. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1992.
Block E. Antithrombotic agent of garlic: a lesson from 5000 years of folk medicine. In: Steiner RP, editor. Folk medicine, the art and the science. Washington DC: American Chemical Society, 1986:125-137.
Chevallier A. The encyclopedia of medicinal plants. London: Dorling Kindersley, 1996.
More about these spices
Show All
The McCormick Science Institute (MSI) provides the information on this website for the sole purpose of educating visitors on the current body of scientific findings on the health benefits of culinary spices and herbs. In many cases, this information reflects preliminary scientific research and additional studies are needed to determine what, if any, effect a spice or herb will have on a health related condition. The findings, views, and opinions of scientists, health professionals and others expressed on this website are theirs alone. MSI does not endorse or provide any advice about prevention, diagnosis, treatment, or curing of any health-related condition.
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In Western tradition, Emerald is a birth stone for which month? | History of Spices - McCormick Science Institute
History of Spices
History of Spices
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Abundant anecdotal information documents the historical use of herbs and spices for their health benefits (1). Early documentation suggests that hunters and gatherers wrapped meat in the leaves of bushes, accidentally discovering that this process enhanced the taste of the meat, as did certain nuts, seeds, berries, and bark. Over the years, spices and herbs were used for medicinal purposes. Spices and herbs were also used as a way to mask unpleasant tastes and odors of food, and later, to keep food fresh (2). Ancient civilizations did not distinguish between those spices and herbs used for flavoring from those used for medicinal purposes. When leaves, seeds, roots, or gums had a pleasant taste or agreeable odor, it became in demand and gradually became a norm for that culture as a condiment.
Spices were also valuable as items of exchange and trade. For example, the Bible mentions that in 1000 BC, Queen Sheba visited King Solomon in Jerusalem and offered him "120 measures of gold, many spices, and precious stones." (2)
Ancient Egypt
Historically, culinary spices and herbs have been used as food preservatives and for their health- enhancing properties. Papyri from Ancient Egypt in1555 BC classified coriander, fennel, juniper, cumin, garlic and thyme as health promoting spices (3). Records from that time also note that laborers who constructed the Great Pyramid of Cheops consumed onion and garlic as a means to promote health.
Early Chinese influence
According to ancient myths, Shen Nung likely wrote “Pen Ts’ao Ching” or “The Classic Herbal” around 2700 BC. The early publication mentioned more than a hundred medicinal plants including the spice cassia, which is similar to cinnamon (called “kwei”). A later, more comprehensive Chinese herbal, “Pen Ts’ao Kang Mu” was published in 1596 by Li Shih Chen. Other historical evidence suggested that cassia was an important spice in south China when the province "Kweilin," meaning "Cassia Forest," was founded around 216 BC.
Early on, nutmeg and cloves from Moluccas were brought to China. Anecdotal evidence suggests that Chinese courtiers in the 3rd century BC carried cloves in their mouths so their breath was sweet when addressing the emperor. During the 5th century, ginger plants were grown in pots and carried on long sea voyages between China and Southeast Asia to provide fresh food and to prevent scurvy.
Ancient Mesopotamia
Ancient cuneiform records noted spice and herb use in Mesopotamia in the fertile Tigris and Euphrates valleys, where many aromatic plants were known. Sumerian clay tablets of medical literature dating from the 3rd millennium BC mention various odoriferous plants, including thyme (5-7) A scroll of cuneiform writing, established by King Ashurbanipal of Assyria (668-633 BC), records a long list of aromatic plants, such as thyme, sesame, cardamom, turmeric, saffron, poppy, garlic, cumin, anise, coriander, silphium, dill, and myrrh. The Ancient Assyrians also used sesame as a vegetable oil.
King Merodach-baladan II (721-710 BC) of Babylonia grew 64 different species of plants in his royal garden. He kept records on how to cultivate many spices and herbs (e.g., cardamom coriander, garlic, thyme, saffron, and turmeric). The magic religion of Babylonia involved an ancient medical god of the moon, who controlled medicinal plants. Potent parts of herbs were not allowed sun exposure and were harvested by moonlight.
Onions, garlic, and shallots became popular condiments in Persia by the 6th century BC. Records from King Cyrus (559-529 BC) noted a wholesale purchase of 395,000 bunches of garlic. Persians also produced essential oils from roses, lilies, coriander, and saffron.
Indian origins
Spices and herbs (e.g., black pepper, cinnamon, turmeric, cardamom) have been used by Indians for thousands of years for both culinary and health purposes. Spices indigenous to India (e.g. cardamom and turmeric) were cultivated as early as the 8th century BC in the gardens of Babylon (Sinha, 2003; Tapsell, 2006).
Susruta, an ancient surgeon (around 4th century BC) used white mustard and other aromatic plants in bed sheets to ward off malignant spirits. He also applied a poultice from sesame to post operation wounds which may have acted as an antiseptic.
Medical writings of Charaka (1st century) and Susruta II (2nd century) referenced spices and herbs. Susruta II also used spices and herbs such as cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, turmeric, and pepper for healing purposes. Spices such as cardamom, ginger, black pepper, cumin, and mustard seed were included in ancient herbal medicines for different types of health benefits. In Ayurvedic medicine, spices such as cloves and cardamom were wrapped in betel-nut leaves and chewed after meals to increase the flow of saliva and aid digestion.
Greece and Rome (331 BC to 641)
Ancient Greeks imported Eastern spices (pepper, cassia, cinnamon, and ginger) to the Mediterranean area; they also consumed many herbs produced in neighboring countries. Examples include caraway and poppy seeds for bread, fennel for vinegar sauces, coriander as a condiment in food and wine, and mint as a flavoring in meat sauces. Garlic was widely used by the country people in much of their cooking. Ancient Greeks wore parsley and marjoram as a crown at their feasts in an attempt to prevent drunkenness.
Spices and herbs played an important role in ancient Greek medical science. Hippocrates (460-377 BC), wrote about spices and herbs, including saffron, cinnamon, thyme, coriander, mint, and marjoram. He noted that great care should be given to the preparation of herbs for medical use. Of the 400 herbal remedies utilized by Hippocrates, at least half are in use today (3). Roughly 500 years later, Theophrastus (372-287 BC), sometimes called the "Father of Botany," wrote 2 books that summarized the knowledge of over 600 spices and herbs.
Dioscorides, a Greek Physician of the 1st century, wrote De Materia Medica, which was used for botany and medicinal knowledge in both the East and the West for over 1500 years. The remedies were based on an extensive catalogue of spices and herbs and were more systematic than his predecessors (who based the remedies on magic and superstition).
The Romans were extravagant users of spices and herbs. Spice-flavored wines were used in ancient Rome and spice-scented balms and oils were popular for use after the bath. Since spices were considered to have health properties, they were also used in poultices and healing plasters.
When the Roman Empire extended to the northern side of the Alps, the Goths, Vandals, and Huns of those regions were introduced to pepper and other spices from the East. These cultures were familiar with caraway, onions, rosemary, and thyme and gradually became attracted to the Eastern spices.
Arab and Muslim role in spices and herbs (ancient times to 1096)
Early on, spices were used as a source of trading. During the ancient Roman Empire, trading largely came from Arabia. Traders supplied cassia, cinnamon, and other spices and deliberately kept the source of their products secret. The intent was to have a monopoly on the spice trade and the Arabians spun great tales about the how they obtained the spices in order to keep their resource value high. They continued to keep the origins secret for several centuries from both Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman civilizations (Rosgarten, McCormick) until about the 1st century, AD, when the Roman scholar Pliny made the connection between the Arabian stories and the inflation of spices and herbs.
Mohammed (570-632), who established the principles of Islam in the Koran, also co-owned a shop that stocked myrrh, frankincense, and Asian spices. For 4 centuries following the death of Mohammed, his followers (Mohammedans) created a flourishing civilization. The Mohammedans were outstanding scientists for their time. They advanced the process of extracting flower scents from blossoms and herbs and created distillation techniques to distill essential oils from aromatic plants. Later (around the 9th century), Arab physicians used spices and herbs to formulate syrups and flavoring extracts.
Spices and herbs in Europe during the Middle Ages (about 600 to 1200)
In the Early part of the middle ages (before the Crusades), Asian Spices in Europe were costly and mainly used by the wealthy. A pound of saffron cost the same as a horse; a pound of ginger, as much as a sheep; 2 pounds of mace as much as a cow. A German price table of 1393 lists a pound of nutmeg as worth 7 fat oxen.
Pepper, as well as other spices and herbs, was commonly used as a monetary source. Eastern Europeans paid 10 pounds of pepper in order to gain access to trading with London merchants. Throughout Europe, peppercorns were accepted as a substitute for money (some landlords would get paid as a “peppercorn rent” (2). Peppercorns, counted out one by one, were accepted as currency to pay taxes, tolls, and rents (partly because of a coin shortage). Many European towns kept their accounts in pepper. Wealthy brides received pepper as a dowry.
With the coming of the Crusades (1096), international exchange of goods became common. Gradually, Asian spices (pepper, nutmeg, cloves, and cardamom) became less expensive and more widely available. Spices were used to camouflage bad flavors and odors, and for their health benefits. Spiced wines were also popular.
European apothecaries used Asian spices (e.g., ginger, pepper, nutmegs, cinnamon, saffron, cardamom) as well as garden herbs in their remedies and elixirs. The remedies were largely based on the Arabian medical teachings (see above).
An important person in developing and growing local herbs was the King of France and Emperor of the West, Charlemagne (742-814). He was the first leader to have farmers plant an abundance of culinary herbs (e.g., anise, fennel, fenugreek, and sage, thyme, parsley, and coriander).
European cultivation of spices and herbs was largely controlled by the church during this period. Religious herb and spice feasts were common. Some ancient customs and superstitions (e.g., tying bundles of herbs to stable doors to keep the witches out) were also continued
In 1180, King Henry II founded a pepperer’s guild of wholesale merchants, which was a predecessor for a modern day grocery store. The guild included spice trade management, which included cleaning and preparing the spices for sale. The original spicers and pepperers helped launch the apothecaries and later became medical practitioners. Some common medical practices included placing sponges soaked with cinnamon and clove extracts under patients noses, sterilizing rooms with sage smoke, and prescribing saffron, garlic soup, and juniper wine for health benefits.
Age of spice discovery (1300 to 1500)
Marco Polo mentioned spices frequently in his travel memoirs (about 1298). He described the flavor of the sesame oil of Afghanistan and the plants of ginger and cassia of Kain-du (the city of Peking), where people drank a flavorful wine of rice and spices. He reported that the wealthy in Karazan ate meat pickled in salt and flavored with spices, while the poor had to be content with hash steeped in garlic. He mentioned in Hangchow, 10,000 pounds of pepper were brought into that heavily populated city every day. Polo also described vast plantings of pepper, nutmegs, cloves, and other, valuable spices he had seen growing in Java and in the islands of the China Sea, and the abundance of cinnamon, pepper, and ginger on the Malabar Coast of India. Some anecdotal evidence suggests that Polo’s accounts led to an increased international spice trade during the 13th and early 14th centuries.
When Christopher Columbus set out on his second voyage (1493), he brought the Spanish physician Diego Chanca, who helped to discover the spices capsaicin (red pepper) and allspice for Spanish cuisine.
King Manual had a large influence on bringing spices to Portugal. Several sea voyages helped establish a trade route to India. In 1501, the port of Lisbon, Portugal had large quantities of Indian spices such as cinnamon, cassia, ginger, pepper, nutmeg, mace, and cloves. King Manuel sent trade missions to develop new markets for his spices throughout Europe, especially in Germany. As the spice wealth poured into Lisbon, the Portuguese crown monopolized the lucrative but risky pepper trade. Cargoes of East Indian vessels were sold at high prices by the king of Portugal to large European syndicates. As in medieval times, the price of pepper served as a barometer for European business in general.
American history (1600 to 1861)
Western medicine is rooted in plant based medicine. The United States used plants as the primary source of medicine from the time of the Mayflower (1620) until after World War I (1930) (Mahady, 2001). Modern medicines, such as aspirin from the willow bark are rooted in plant based medicine.
When tea drinking became unpatriotic in Colonial America, spices and herbs were used to replace traditional tea. Sassafras bark, chamomile flowers, spearmint leaves, lemon balm leaves, raspberry leaves, loosestrife, goldenrod, dittany, blackberry leaves sage and many others were often used as a beverage(4).
Toward the end of the 18th century, the United States entered the world spice trade. The British taxes and trade restrictions of colonial days no longer obstructed American commerce. They traded American salmon, codfish, tobacco, snuff, flour, soap, candles, butter, cheese and beef, for spices (pepper, cassia, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger).
Between 1797 and 1846 Salem, Massachusetts enjoyed a flourishing Sumatra pepper trade and profited immensely from taxation and sales. Most of the enormous quantities of pepper were re-exported to European ports (Stockholm, Gothenburg, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Antwerp) or were transshipped to Philadelphia, Boston, and Baltimore for processing and distribution by other American merchants and exporters. The largest single cargo on record for one of the Salem pepper fleet was of just over 1 million pounds (500 tons) of pepper, brought from Sumatra to Salem in 1806 by the Eliza, a sailing ship of 512 tons. After 1846, an overproduction of spices brought a gradual decline in its economic importance until the final demise of the Salem pepper trade following the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861.
Modern spice usage
Unlike earlier times when monopolies dominated the spice trade, commerce in spices is now relatively decentralized. Throughout the world, spices and herbs are frequently used in cuisine, largely to improve flavor and to provide new tastes.
Today, people are increasingly interested in enjoying spices and herbs for health benefits. As research is progressing, more evidence is supporting some of the anecdotal information supplied by our ancestors.
References and Notes
Unless otherwise noted, material adapted from F. Rosengarten, Jr. 1969. The Book of Spices, p. 23-96, Jove Publ., Inc., New York.
Rosengarten Jr, Frederic. "The Book of spices." The Book of Spices. (1969).
Tapsell LC, Hemphill I, Cobiac L, Patch CS, Sullivan DR, Fenech M, Roodenrys S, Keogh JB, Clifton PM, Williams PG, Fazio VA, Inge KE. Health benefits of herbs and spices: the past, the present, the future. Med J Aust. 2006 Aug 21;185(4 Suppl):S4-24. 4. History Online. Medicinal Uses of Herbs and Spices.
Boston Tea Party Ship: Liberty Tea of Colonial Boston. http://www.bostonteapartyship.com/tea-blog/liberty-teas-of-colonial-boston .
Bellamy D, Pfister A. World medicine: plants, patients and people. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1992.
Block E. Antithrombotic agent of garlic: a lesson from 5000 years of folk medicine. In: Steiner RP, editor. Folk medicine, the art and the science. Washington DC: American Chemical Society, 1986:125-137.
Chevallier A. The encyclopedia of medicinal plants. London: Dorling Kindersley, 1996.
More about these spices
Show All
The McCormick Science Institute (MSI) provides the information on this website for the sole purpose of educating visitors on the current body of scientific findings on the health benefits of culinary spices and herbs. In many cases, this information reflects preliminary scientific research and additional studies are needed to determine what, if any, effect a spice or herb will have on a health related condition. The findings, views, and opinions of scientists, health professionals and others expressed on this website are theirs alone. MSI does not endorse or provide any advice about prevention, diagnosis, treatment, or curing of any health-related condition.
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What collective description is used by most of the people we mistakenly call 'Eskimos'? | Native American name controversy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Native American name controversy
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The Native American name controversy is an ongoing dispute over the acceptable ways to refer to the indigenous peoples of the Americas and to broad subsets thereof, such as those living in a specific country or sharing certain cultural attributes. Once-common terms like "Indian" remain around, despite political correctness having preferred "Native American" since the 1980s. Much has to do with connotations more than with the meanings of the words. (The naming of individual ethnic groups, such as the Navajo , the Haida , the Cherokee , or the Yanomami , is discussed in their respective articles.) The ongoing debate can provide a useful forum for raising awareness.
Many English terms have been used or considered for such purposes, such as American Indians (or simply Indians), Native Americans , First Nations , Indigenous Peoples of America, Amerindians , Amerinds , and more. However, none have found universal acceptance. Typical reasons for contesting a name are:
ambiguity or accepted multiple meanings of the words used, like American or indigenous;
prior use for a different set of people, as in the case of Indian;
existence of unrelated common meanings, like native;
conflict with prior legal definitions, like Aboriginal;
sentimental attachment to a previous name;
that the term is quaint or pejorative , as for Eskimo ;
resentment about having a name imposed by outsiders;
presumed political implications of the name, as with Native;
reluctance of individual groups to be referred to by a collective name;
and several others. Further complications arise when translating names between different languages, since even words that are closely related linguistically may have very different cultural loads in the respective speaker communities. "The People", "First Men" and "Original People" are the most common translations for various Indigenous American tribes. [1]
In some countries, certain broad names have been defined by law, such as First Nations and Aboriginal Peoples in Canada . Even in those cases, there may be lingering debates on whether certain groups fit the legal definition or not, or whether the name or its definition are adequate.
Contents
11 Further reading
[ edit ] Endonyms and exonyms
Where controversy exists over the naming of a group of people, one solution is to use the name preferred by the people in question themselves. However, this principle applies poorly to large multi-ethnic groups, since different sub-groups often have incompatible preferences. Moreover, every natural language has traditionally ignored this principle, exerting its privilege to invent its own ethnic terms for other peoples. English is no exception, and uses German, Dutch, and Albanian, disregarding the self-appellations and preferences of those subjects. Not surprisingly, English names for the pre-Columbian Americans are largely assigned by tradition, and are not always accepted by the peoples themselves.
[ edit ] Meanings of basic terms
This article or section may be confusing or unclear for some readers,
and should be edited to rectify this.
Please improve the article, or discuss the issue on the talk page .
A major source of confusion and controversy is that many of the words that are or could be used in naming those peoples are inherently ambiguous or inappropriate.
Peter d'Errico of the Legal Studies Department, University of Massachusetts has an insightful and revealing essay that both overarching names, Native American and American Indian, can be useful for perspective on history and culture. [2] d'Errico interviewed Charles Mann , author of 1491 , in the course of which Mann pointed out a crucial change with respect to history, of which naming is something of a bellweather : that until the 1970s Indians were effectively seen as lacking agency , in social science terms. Indians do act, for better and for worse, in all the range of human and social behavior, in a sophisticated history. Indians are who they say they are, as well as the analyses of historians and scientists. [3]
[ edit ] Indian
The term Indian is commonly thought to have been born of the misconception by Christopher Columbus that the Caribbean islands were the islands in Southeast Asia known to Europeans as the Indies , which he had hoped to reach by sailing west across the Atlantic [ citation needed ]. Even though Columbus' mistake was soon recognized, the name stuck, and for centuries the native people of the Americas were collectively called Indians.[ citation needed ] Like the word origin, much of the use of the word has to do with connotation more than definition.
2. Of or pertaining to the aborigines, or Indians, of America; as, Indian wars; the Indian tomahawk. [1913 Webster]
2. One of the aboriginal inhabitants of America; — so called originally from the supposed identity of America with India. [1913 Webster] [4]
WordNet defines Indian with respect to the Americas as:
1: of or pertaining to American Indians or their culture orlanguages; "Native American religions"; "Indian arrowheads" [syn: {Amerind}, {Amerindic}, {native American}] and n 1: a member of the race of people living in North America when Europeans arrived [syn: {North American Indian}, {American Indian}, {Red Indian}]
3: any of the languages spoken by Amerindians [syn: {Amerind}, {Amerindian language}, {American-Indian language}, {American Indian}] [5]
The American Heritage Dictionary begins clearly enough that the word is "of or relating to any of the Native American peoples except the Eskimos, Aleuts, and Inuits", then adds a dense paragraph of "usage note", further referring to notes at American Indian, First Nation, and Native American, which, all together, are along the lines of this article. [6] [5]
Merriam-Webster adds to the WordNet definition that this often excepts the Eskimos (often referred to as the Inuit), adds that the word is especially an American Indian of North America and especially the U.S. (but therefore not exclusively), and urges comparison with Native American. [7]
Some believe that the name has fallen out of use in the dominant culture of the West in the last few decades;[ citation needed ] partly because it belongs naturally to the peoples or nationals of India , and so its other use was inherently ambiguous.[ citation needed ] Other reasons, specific to North America, are discussed in a later section. All this said, however, the terms "Indian" and "American Indian" are used by the U.S. government as the standard descriptors. There is a Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), for example, rather than a Bureau of Native American Affairs. Similarly, the Smithsonian's new National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC (2004), uses the older term, as does its quarterly full-color publication, American Indian. [8]
[ edit ] American
The meaning of American has two common meanings: while it may refer to the Americas in general (meaning 1), it often refers specifically (therefore not exclusively) to the United States of America and its territories (meaning 2). [4] Further,
A native of America; — originally applied to the aboriginal inhabitants, but now applied to the descendants of Europeans born in America, and especially to the citizens of the United States. [1913 Webster] [4]
WordNet gives the primary meaning as the U.S., the secondary as the language, and the tertiary as the Americas. [5]
Merriam-Webster gives (1) an American Indian of the Americas; (2) an inhabitant of the Americas, native or not; (3) a U.S. citizen; and (4) the language. [7] The American Heritage Dictionary gives three meanings as Merriam-Webster, without "an American Indian". [6]
[ edit ] Native
The word native has often been applied to ethnic groups to mean "a group who lived in some place before the arrival of other groups"; in this context, specifically, "before the arrival of the Europeans".
However, a more specific meaning of "native" is "born in", and thus the term native American or native of the Americas could be equally applicable to anyone born in the Americas or in United States. The word probably acquired the other (ethno-historical) sense in the early years of European naval exploration and colonial expansion, when the "natives"—the people "born in" the foreign countries—were indeed non-Europeans.
Expressions such as native-born may be used to further qualify that the intended meaning is the common one (i.e., "born in or originating from a given place"), and not the formal, specific designation (i.e., "Native" in the sense of belonging to an identified indigenous group), if the context does not otherwise make this distinction clear.
Furthermore, in the United States the expression Native American has acquired a specific technical and legal meaning, which is discussed in a later section. In principle this narrower sense is indicated by capitalizing the word native. However, one must be aware that this typographical detail is easily lost on readers, and of course ineffective in speech.
The word native is also problematic because of its political implications, since "native" ethnic groups sometimes claim to have more rights—to natural resources, political offices, indemnities, cultural prestige, etc.—than the "non-native" groups who arrived later; the implication being that the "non-natives" are "aliens", "foreigners", "usurpers", etc.—even if their ancestors have lived in the place for many generations.[ citation needed ] "Many" is relative. Native Americans have lived and travelled their "usual and accustomed grounds" (a common treaty term) [9] since the end of the last glacial period (c. 8,000 B.C.E.—10,000 years ago), [10] along the northern tier of what is now the United States, definitively at least 4,000 years B.P. (before present) in what is now Seattle , for one example. [11] Native Americans have lived elsewhere in the Americas far longer. When the people of the Norte Chico were building at least seven large-scale settlements on the Peruvian coast between 3200 and 2500 B.C.E., there was only one other urban complex on the planet: Sumer, in the Tigris-Euphrates valley. [12]
Such claims (or the possibility thereof) may lead to rejection of the label by the "non-natives". These may argue, e.g., that the "natives" themselves were invaders to even earlier inhabitants; or that they are no longer residing on their "native" land; or that there is insufficient historical evidence of their native status; and so on. The issue boils down to the undecidable question of how long a group should reside in a place before it deserves the label "native". This reaction has actually occurred in the US, for example, against the term Native Americans.[ citation needed ]
Indigenous
Even though the term indigenous may sound similar to "Indian", the two are quite unrelated. The term comes from Latin indigena, "native", formed from indu "in" and gen- "beget".
Indigenous in the strict sense means typically found, living, or originating in a specific place. Thus, Italians are indigenous to Italy.
Aboriginal and Aborigine
The English adjective aboriginal and the noun aborigine come from a Latin phrase meaning "from the origin", which was first applied to native peoples of central Italy who were contemporaries of the ancient Romans .
According to this etymology, therefore, it could be used for ethnic groups who "were there since the beginning", i.e. the first to arrive in a region, or those who can be identified the earliest historical or archaeological records. Indeed, it has been occasionally used in this sense in English, at least 19th century , for indigenous populations all over the world, including the Americas.[ citation needed ]
Aboriginal may imply a more direct or ancient link to the past (especially one that predates recorded history) than indigenous, but there is considerable overlap in meaning between the two terms.
However, this general use has been largely preempted by narrower legal or common usage definitions that it has received in some countries. Throughout most of the English-speaking world, it is commonly understood to refer to the Indigenous Australians . It has also special legal status in Canada (see below).
[ edit ] Names for United States native peoples
In the United States, Native American and American Indian are commonly used to denote the indigenous peoples in the United States . Both terms are almost exclusively used to describe the natives of the continental United States, usually excluding the indigenous peoples of Hawaii and the Aleut , Inuit , and Yupik peoples of the far north.
The terms Alaska Natives is used for the indigenous peoples in Alaska (including the Inuit, Yupik, and Aleut), and Native Hawaiians is used for those of Hawaii.[ citation needed ]
[ edit ] Indian and American Indian
In North America the name Indian (and hence American Indian) came to be negatively loaded and considered an offensive ethnic slur by many Native Americans[ citation needed ], if only because it is a name that was imposed on them by their historical oppressors. The Indian stereotype that prevailed in Western movies until the 1970s is thought to have contributed to this situation.[ citation needed ]
The spelling Injun is considered even more offensive. For that reason, non-Natives have generally avoided it since the 1980s. On the other hand, according to a recent survey, many Natives actually prefer Indian or American Indian to Native Americans, and use the three terms interchangeably. [13]
A possible justification for the use of American Indian or Indian is the theory that the prehistoric ancestors of the indigenous peoples reached the North American mainland from Asia by crossing the Bering Strait during pre-Columbian times (see Models of migration to the New World#Land Bridge Theory ). However, scientists do not agree on any form of relationship between the indigenous peoples and the present-day inhabitants of Asia.
The term American Indian is often shortened to Indian when the context allows, e.g. in the name of the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs .
[ edit ] Native American
The term Native American was introduced in the United States by anthropologists who hoped it would be more accurate than Indian and free from its negative stereotypes. It can be taken to mean the same as the older term, that is encompassing all Indian in the Americas but not Inuit or Native Hawaiians. Others restrict its usage to ethnic groups indigenous to pre-Columbian America who are presently living in the United States while some U.S. laws define it as including Indians, Eskimos (Inuits), Aleuts, Hawaiians and native Pacific Islanders (Native American Languages Act of 1990).
The phrase Native American, intended in this sense, is usually capitalized, in order to reduce confusion with the common sense of native ("someone who is born in a place").
The name has been contested by some non-Native US citizens, especially in the 1970s and 1980s ; both for the perception that the name diminished their own status or rights, and also as part of the general backlash against " political correctness ", for which the term was often cited as an example.
The term is sometimes used to refer to all indigenous peoples of all of the Americas, including the US and Canada but sometimes not including Mexico or further south. However, people from those countries, especially from Canada, object to this usage as incorrect, or even somewhat "imperialistic."[ citation needed ]
WordNet dictionary defines Native American concisely as, "n: any member of the peoples living in North or South America before the Europeans arrived [syn: {Amerindian}]" [5] The American Heritage Dictionary begins clearly enough as the WordNet definition, adding that scientists generally consider their ancestors as having entered the Americas from Asia across the Bering Strait during the last glacial period —and then continues with dense paragraphs of "usage note". [6]
Merriam-Webster adds to the WordNet definition, using aboriginal peoples, that this is especially a Native American of North America and especially the U.S. (but therefore not exclusively), and urges compararison with American Indian. [7]
Some American Indians in the U.S. have misgivings about the term Native American. For instance, Russell Means , a famous American Indian activist, opposes the term because he believes it was imposed by the government without the consent of American Indians. [14] Furthermore, some American Indians question the term Native American because, they argue, it serves to ease the conscience of "white America" with regard to past injustices done to American Indians by effectively eliminating "Indians" from the present.
Another objection that has been raised to this term is that it seems to imply that the other indigenous peoples of (or in) the United States which are excluded from its scope, such as those of Hawaii and the Aleut, Inuit, and Yupik, are not "natives" to the Continent. In the same context, Inuit are not "Indian", nor are the mixed-race but legally aboriginal Métis people of Canada.
Finally, the previously mentioned Carlin essay characterizes the phrase as "an inventory term" applied by the Department of the Interior in the early 1970s. [15]
Some of the confusion over the use of the terms "Indian," "American Indian" and "Native American" may be traced to the context of their use. Each term has a specific meaning in its individual context.
Indian "Indian" is informal. Its origins, as noted earlier, may have been from a misunderstanding of geography and a lack of understanding of the cultural difference between Asia and the Western Hemisphere. Though it may be incorrect it is a term that has been used for at least 500 years to describe the indigenous people of the western half of the planet. It is a term that is familiar to both European descendants and Native people of the west. It is common and most Native American people accept the term in informal situations.
American Indian "American Indian" has become a Legal term. It is the phrase used to describe indigenous people of the western hemisphere in United States Federal as well as many state and local laws. Most treaties refer to "American Indians" of a particular tribe. It makes sense to refer to "American Indians" when referencing legal issues. (I.e. The United States signed treaties with more than 800 "American Indian" tribes.)
Native American "Native American" is the term most widely accepted in academic settings. It parallels terms like "Asian-American" or "Italian-American," and avoids the confusing and inaccurate implication that the indigenous peoples of the Americas have some connection to India . Being born in the western hemisphere may mean a person is an "American native," but unless the individual has a family history in the western hemisphere for at least 1000 years that person is not a "Native American." This is the term that is becoming most accepted by the indigenous people of the United States.[ citation needed ]
Savage
The term Savage is universally considered derogatory and bigoted. While some racist groups find it acceptable in the U.S., most people have come to reject such archaic descriptions of human beings.[ citation needed ]
Alaska Native
In Alaska , the term Alaska Native predominates, because of its legal use in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act ( ANSCA ) and because it includes the Aleut, Inuit and Yupik peoples, the three groups of native Alaskan peoples.
Eskimos was once used for those groups, but this term is in disfavor because it is perceived by many of them as derogatory. This is further complicated by the fact that the term Inuit is sometimes used to refer to any of the groups, leading non-Inuits (particularly amongst the Yupik peoples) to actually prefer Eskimo, comparatively speaking.[ citation needed ] Inuit are "a people inhabiting the Arctic (northern Canada or Greenland or Alaska or eastern Siberia); the Algonquians called them Eskimo ('eaters of raw flesh') but they call themselves the Inuit (`the people') [syn: {Esquimau}, {Eskimo}]" [5]
[ edit ] Amerind
The term Amerind is a blended form of American Indigenous. However, this term also has its share of the contoversy because it might be thought of as a blended form of American Indian.
[ edit ] Redskin
The name redskin was a derogatory term for Native Americans and one of the color metaphors for race used in North America and Europe throughout history. It is often considered a pejorative. As with any term perceived to be discriminatory, different individuals may hold differing opinions of the term's appropriateness. Its use was not restricted to the United States or North America; it was in use throughout the English-speaking world and, in equivalent transliterations, in Europe throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as a common term of reference for indigenous Americans. [ citation needed ] For example, the French translation peaux-rouges was used in Arthur Rimbaud 's Le Bateau ivre and several of the travelogues of Jean Raspail .
[ edit ] Names for Canadian native peoples
In Canada, the term Aboriginal peoples in Canada is used for all indigenous peoples established in the country, including the Inuit and Inuvialuit , as well as the Métis . The usual U.S. usage is "Native American" or "Indian".
The term First Nations is used in a more restricted sense, for all the indigenous peoples in Canada except the Inuit, Inuvialuit, and Métis.
[ edit ] First Nations
In Canada, the term " First Nations " (most often used in the plural) has come into general use for the Indigenous peoples of North America located in what is now Canada, and their descendants, who are neither Inuit or Métis . The singular commonly used on culturally politicized reserves is the awkward "First Nations person" (when gender-specific, First Nations man or First Nations woman). A more recent trend is for members of various nations to refer to themselves by their tribal/national identity only, e.g. "I'm Haida", "we're Kwantlens", in recognition of the distinctiveness and diversity of First Nations ethnicities.
However, some tribal governments of Canada also use the term First Nations to refer to any indigenous, tribal or nomadic society. In this usage, the Roma , Sinti , Saami , Māori , Hmong , and the Australian Aborigines are also considered "First Nations".
[ edit ] Canadian Indians
The term Indians was once used to refer to the peoples now called First Nations, but it has fallen largely in disuse. However, it is still relevant in many legal and administrative contexts.
The Canadian Indian Act , which defines the rights of recognized First Nations, does refer to them as Indians. The federal government department in charge of First Nations affairs is the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs headed by the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development . People officially recognized by the Indian Register under that act are commonly known as "Status Indians", although "Registered Indian" is the official term. Land set aside for the use of First Nations are known as Indian reserves .
The term Indian is also used in the official names of many First Nations governments .
[ edit ] Aboriginal Peoples in Canada
The term Aboriginal is defined in the Canadian Constitution to include "all Indian, Inuit, and Métis peoples of Canada" (Constitution Act, 1982, Subsection 35(2). The term is understood to include also the Inuvialuit.
The term is also used in the U.S., though much less frequently. It is occasionally used in the UK The term Aborigines is not used in Canada to refer to indigenous American peoples.
The alternative term Indigenous Peoples (or Tribes, or Nations) has been used as equivalent to Aboriginal Peoples.
Native Canadians
"Native" or "Native Canadian" is an ambiguous term, but it is often used in conversation or informal writing. However, First Nations and Aboriginal Peoples seem to be more widely used.
Anishinaabe
The Algonquin term for "Original People", Anishinaabe or Anishinabe, is used as a cross tribal term in Algonquian majority areas such as "Anishnabe Health" and "Anishnabe Education and Training Circle".
Canadian French nomenclature
In Canadian French , the terms are première(s) nation(s) for "First Nations" and autochtone instead of "Aboriginal" (used both as a noun and adjective).
The term indien or indienne is used in the legislation, although the preferred term is now amérindien. The term indigène is not used as it is seen as having negative connotations because of its similarity to the French equivalent of "indigent", i.e. "lazy". The old French term sauvage (meaning "wild") is no longer used either, as it is considered racist.
Chinook Jargon nomenclature
The Chinook Jargon , the old trade language of the Pacific Northwest, uses siwash—an adaptation of the French sauvage—to mean Indian/Native American/First Nation, either as adjective or noun. While normally meaning a male native, it is used in certain combinations, e.g. siwash cosho, meaning a seal, but literally "Indian pig" or "Indian pork".
Like sauvage, siwash has come to have negative connotations in many native communities, while it remains in common parlance in others. When used by non-natives it is considered entirely derogatory except in placenames and certain other usages. In the creolized form of Chinook Jargon spoken at the Grand Ronde Agency in Oregon, a distinction is made between siwash and sawash. The accent in the latter is on the second syllable, resembling the French original, and is used in Grand Ronde Jargon with the benign meaning of "anything native/Indian", while siwash is considered defamatory.
The Chinook Jargon term for a native woman is klootchman, an originally Nootkan word which became commonplace in regional English to mean a native woman, or (as in the Jargon), all women and also anything female. Hyas klootchman tyee, "queen", klootchman cosho, "sow"; klootchman tenas or tenas klootchman, girl or little girl. Generally when used by itself in regional English klootchman means a native woman only, and did not acquire a derisive context as has siwash or squaw. The short form klootch, encountered only in English-Chinook hybrid phrasings, is often derisive, however, especially with modifiers (e.g. "blue-eyed klootch"). .
[ edit ] Names for native peoples in North America
North American Native
There is no accepted special name for all indigenous peoples in North America as a whole, although Native American is sometimes used. The term North American Indian is often used for a member of the more restricted group comprising the First Nations in Canada together with the Native Americans in the US. This term is usually understood to exclude the Alaskan Natives and the Inuit and Métis of Canada, and the indigenous peoples of Mexico.
[ edit ] Names for native peoples in Latin America
Indigenous Peoples and Indians
In Latin America , the preferred expression is Indigenous Peoples (pueblos indígenas in Spanish , povos indígenas in Portuguese ). However, Indians (indios, índios) is often used too, even by indigenous peoples themselves.
In Mexico , Brazil , and several other countries, these names are normally applied only to the ethnic groups that have maintained their identity and, to a some extent, their original way of life. In those countries there is also a large segment of the population with mixed native and European ancestry, who are largely integrated in mainstream society, and no longer identify themselves with their ancestral native groups. There are also Ladinos who do not have significant European ancestry, but have adopted the culture of the White and Mestizo population. These people were originally called mestizos in Mexico, caboclos in Brazil; however, those terms have largely fallen in disuse as they that segment has came to predominate among the population.
Aborigines
The Spanish aborigen, cognate of English Aborigene, is also used in Spanish America, particularly in Chile and Argentina . The corresponding Portuguese term, aborígenas, is almost never used in Brazil.
Pre-Columbian and Pre-Cabraline Peoples
The term "Pre-Columbian Peoples" (Sp. pueblos precolombinos, Pt. povos pré-colombianhos) is used to refer to the ethnic groups that existed before the arrival of the Europeans, but not for their modern descendants. The term, of course, refers to Columbus , who landed in Hispaniola in 1492 .
In Brazil, Pre-Columbian is often replaced by "Pre-Cabraline" (Pt. pré-cabralinhos), after Cabral who landed in Brazil in 1500 .
[ edit ] Names for natives of both Americas
For the natives of the Americas as a whole, the phrase indigenous peoples of the Americas can be considered self-defined by the accepted meanings of " indigenous peoples " and " Americas ", and seems to be the current preferred term in some anthropological and linguistic circles.
Still, its precise meaning can be disputed. For example, it is debatable whether it includes the indigenous people of Hawaii and other US territories outside the Americas. While those peoples have no known historical, cultural, or genetic connection with the indigenous peoples of the Americas, from a political and legal viewpoint they should arguably be considered "indigenous peoples" of their respective countries.
Other names that have been used or proposed for the indigenous peoples of both continents include:
Indian
As discussed above ( # Indian and American Indian ), this term has much precedence in the United States, but is considered offensive by some. But, older generations of Native Americans call themselves that.
American Indian
Given the ambiguity of Indian, it was often necessary to use American Indian in order to distinguish those peoples from the natives of the East Indies, or the West Indies. However, as noted above, American itself is ambiguous.
Red Indian
In Britain and some other English-speaking countries outside the Americas, the term Red Indian is still used to differentiate the American natives from the "East Indians". However, in North America the term is now considered an offensive racial slur, and is rarely if ever used.[ citation needed ]
Amerindian
In the French -speaking world, the term Amérindien was coined for the same purpose. The term was imported into English as Amerindian, sometimes abbreviated Amerind. This term gained some popularity among linguists, anthropologists, and other social scientists. The term is officially used by The World Almanac .
However, in scientific circles the term Amerind is often restricted to a subset of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, mostly from South and Central America, Mexico and the Southern United States. The peoples in this group share many genetic and cultural features that set them apart from the Na-Dene peoples , which comprise the majority of the U.S. and southern Canada indigenous peoples, and from the Eskimo peoples in Alaska and the Canadian Arctic : ( Inuit , Yupik , and Aleut ). Many anthropologists believe that these Amerind peoples are the descendants of the first immigrant wave from Siberia (15,000–10,000 years ago).[ citation needed ]
Native American or American Native
At face value, Native American and American Native could be taken to mean indigenous peoples of the Americas. This meaning is used in this article; however, some restrict its meaning to refer specifically for peoples in the United States, as discussed above, ( # Meanings of basic terms ). This term is also regarded as offensive by some, as discussed above, ( # Indian and American Indian ).
[ edit ] See also
Abya Yala , a proposed native (from the Panama Kunas ) name for the Americas, avoiding the mention of Amerigo Vespucci .
[ edit ] Notes and references
^
([1974] 1993) The World of the American Indian. Washington D.C.: National Geographic Society, [ citation needed ]. ISBN 0870449729 (reg. ed.), ISBN 0870449737 (deluxe ed.). Retrieved on not recorded .
Series: Story of man library
1st ed. 1974, ISBN 0870441515 ; rev. ed. 1993; 1997 edition not found, 06 August 2006
^ d'Errico (2005-07-11)
| Inuit |
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Native American name controversy
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The Native American name controversy is an ongoing dispute over the acceptable ways to refer to the indigenous peoples of the Americas and to broad subsets thereof, such as those living in a specific country or sharing certain cultural attributes. Once-common terms like "Indian" remain around, despite political correctness having preferred "Native American" since the 1980s. Much has to do with connotations more than with the meanings of the words. (The naming of individual ethnic groups, such as the Navajo , the Haida , the Cherokee , or the Yanomami , is discussed in their respective articles.) The ongoing debate can provide a useful forum for raising awareness.
Many English terms have been used or considered for such purposes, such as American Indians (or simply Indians), Native Americans , First Nations , Indigenous Peoples of America, Amerindians , Amerinds , and more. However, none have found universal acceptance. Typical reasons for contesting a name are:
ambiguity or accepted multiple meanings of the words used, like American or indigenous;
prior use for a different set of people, as in the case of Indian;
existence of unrelated common meanings, like native;
conflict with prior legal definitions, like Aboriginal;
sentimental attachment to a previous name;
that the term is quaint or pejorative , as for Eskimo ;
resentment about having a name imposed by outsiders;
presumed political implications of the name, as with Native;
reluctance of individual groups to be referred to by a collective name;
and several others. Further complications arise when translating names between different languages, since even words that are closely related linguistically may have very different cultural loads in the respective speaker communities. "The People", "First Men" and "Original People" are the most common translations for various Indigenous American tribes. [1]
In some countries, certain broad names have been defined by law, such as First Nations and Aboriginal Peoples in Canada . Even in those cases, there may be lingering debates on whether certain groups fit the legal definition or not, or whether the name or its definition are adequate.
Contents
11 Further reading
[ edit ] Endonyms and exonyms
Where controversy exists over the naming of a group of people, one solution is to use the name preferred by the people in question themselves. However, this principle applies poorly to large multi-ethnic groups, since different sub-groups often have incompatible preferences. Moreover, every natural language has traditionally ignored this principle, exerting its privilege to invent its own ethnic terms for other peoples. English is no exception, and uses German, Dutch, and Albanian, disregarding the self-appellations and preferences of those subjects. Not surprisingly, English names for the pre-Columbian Americans are largely assigned by tradition, and are not always accepted by the peoples themselves.
[ edit ] Meanings of basic terms
This article or section may be confusing or unclear for some readers,
and should be edited to rectify this.
Please improve the article, or discuss the issue on the talk page .
A major source of confusion and controversy is that many of the words that are or could be used in naming those peoples are inherently ambiguous or inappropriate.
Peter d'Errico of the Legal Studies Department, University of Massachusetts has an insightful and revealing essay that both overarching names, Native American and American Indian, can be useful for perspective on history and culture. [2] d'Errico interviewed Charles Mann , author of 1491 , in the course of which Mann pointed out a crucial change with respect to history, of which naming is something of a bellweather : that until the 1970s Indians were effectively seen as lacking agency , in social science terms. Indians do act, for better and for worse, in all the range of human and social behavior, in a sophisticated history. Indians are who they say they are, as well as the analyses of historians and scientists. [3]
[ edit ] Indian
The term Indian is commonly thought to have been born of the misconception by Christopher Columbus that the Caribbean islands were the islands in Southeast Asia known to Europeans as the Indies , which he had hoped to reach by sailing west across the Atlantic [ citation needed ]. Even though Columbus' mistake was soon recognized, the name stuck, and for centuries the native people of the Americas were collectively called Indians.[ citation needed ] Like the word origin, much of the use of the word has to do with connotation more than definition.
2. Of or pertaining to the aborigines, or Indians, of America; as, Indian wars; the Indian tomahawk. [1913 Webster]
2. One of the aboriginal inhabitants of America; — so called originally from the supposed identity of America with India. [1913 Webster] [4]
WordNet defines Indian with respect to the Americas as:
1: of or pertaining to American Indians or their culture orlanguages; "Native American religions"; "Indian arrowheads" [syn: {Amerind}, {Amerindic}, {native American}] and n 1: a member of the race of people living in North America when Europeans arrived [syn: {North American Indian}, {American Indian}, {Red Indian}]
3: any of the languages spoken by Amerindians [syn: {Amerind}, {Amerindian language}, {American-Indian language}, {American Indian}] [5]
The American Heritage Dictionary begins clearly enough that the word is "of or relating to any of the Native American peoples except the Eskimos, Aleuts, and Inuits", then adds a dense paragraph of "usage note", further referring to notes at American Indian, First Nation, and Native American, which, all together, are along the lines of this article. [6] [5]
Merriam-Webster adds to the WordNet definition that this often excepts the Eskimos (often referred to as the Inuit), adds that the word is especially an American Indian of North America and especially the U.S. (but therefore not exclusively), and urges comparison with Native American. [7]
Some believe that the name has fallen out of use in the dominant culture of the West in the last few decades;[ citation needed ] partly because it belongs naturally to the peoples or nationals of India , and so its other use was inherently ambiguous.[ citation needed ] Other reasons, specific to North America, are discussed in a later section. All this said, however, the terms "Indian" and "American Indian" are used by the U.S. government as the standard descriptors. There is a Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), for example, rather than a Bureau of Native American Affairs. Similarly, the Smithsonian's new National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC (2004), uses the older term, as does its quarterly full-color publication, American Indian. [8]
[ edit ] American
The meaning of American has two common meanings: while it may refer to the Americas in general (meaning 1), it often refers specifically (therefore not exclusively) to the United States of America and its territories (meaning 2). [4] Further,
A native of America; — originally applied to the aboriginal inhabitants, but now applied to the descendants of Europeans born in America, and especially to the citizens of the United States. [1913 Webster] [4]
WordNet gives the primary meaning as the U.S., the secondary as the language, and the tertiary as the Americas. [5]
Merriam-Webster gives (1) an American Indian of the Americas; (2) an inhabitant of the Americas, native or not; (3) a U.S. citizen; and (4) the language. [7] The American Heritage Dictionary gives three meanings as Merriam-Webster, without "an American Indian". [6]
[ edit ] Native
The word native has often been applied to ethnic groups to mean "a group who lived in some place before the arrival of other groups"; in this context, specifically, "before the arrival of the Europeans".
However, a more specific meaning of "native" is "born in", and thus the term native American or native of the Americas could be equally applicable to anyone born in the Americas or in United States. The word probably acquired the other (ethno-historical) sense in the early years of European naval exploration and colonial expansion, when the "natives"—the people "born in" the foreign countries—were indeed non-Europeans.
Expressions such as native-born may be used to further qualify that the intended meaning is the common one (i.e., "born in or originating from a given place"), and not the formal, specific designation (i.e., "Native" in the sense of belonging to an identified indigenous group), if the context does not otherwise make this distinction clear.
Furthermore, in the United States the expression Native American has acquired a specific technical and legal meaning, which is discussed in a later section. In principle this narrower sense is indicated by capitalizing the word native. However, one must be aware that this typographical detail is easily lost on readers, and of course ineffective in speech.
The word native is also problematic because of its political implications, since "native" ethnic groups sometimes claim to have more rights—to natural resources, political offices, indemnities, cultural prestige, etc.—than the "non-native" groups who arrived later; the implication being that the "non-natives" are "aliens", "foreigners", "usurpers", etc.—even if their ancestors have lived in the place for many generations.[ citation needed ] "Many" is relative. Native Americans have lived and travelled their "usual and accustomed grounds" (a common treaty term) [9] since the end of the last glacial period (c. 8,000 B.C.E.—10,000 years ago), [10] along the northern tier of what is now the United States, definitively at least 4,000 years B.P. (before present) in what is now Seattle , for one example. [11] Native Americans have lived elsewhere in the Americas far longer. When the people of the Norte Chico were building at least seven large-scale settlements on the Peruvian coast between 3200 and 2500 B.C.E., there was only one other urban complex on the planet: Sumer, in the Tigris-Euphrates valley. [12]
Such claims (or the possibility thereof) may lead to rejection of the label by the "non-natives". These may argue, e.g., that the "natives" themselves were invaders to even earlier inhabitants; or that they are no longer residing on their "native" land; or that there is insufficient historical evidence of their native status; and so on. The issue boils down to the undecidable question of how long a group should reside in a place before it deserves the label "native". This reaction has actually occurred in the US, for example, against the term Native Americans.[ citation needed ]
Indigenous
Even though the term indigenous may sound similar to "Indian", the two are quite unrelated. The term comes from Latin indigena, "native", formed from indu "in" and gen- "beget".
Indigenous in the strict sense means typically found, living, or originating in a specific place. Thus, Italians are indigenous to Italy.
Aboriginal and Aborigine
The English adjective aboriginal and the noun aborigine come from a Latin phrase meaning "from the origin", which was first applied to native peoples of central Italy who were contemporaries of the ancient Romans .
According to this etymology, therefore, it could be used for ethnic groups who "were there since the beginning", i.e. the first to arrive in a region, or those who can be identified the earliest historical or archaeological records. Indeed, it has been occasionally used in this sense in English, at least 19th century , for indigenous populations all over the world, including the Americas.[ citation needed ]
Aboriginal may imply a more direct or ancient link to the past (especially one that predates recorded history) than indigenous, but there is considerable overlap in meaning between the two terms.
However, this general use has been largely preempted by narrower legal or common usage definitions that it has received in some countries. Throughout most of the English-speaking world, it is commonly understood to refer to the Indigenous Australians . It has also special legal status in Canada (see below).
[ edit ] Names for United States native peoples
In the United States, Native American and American Indian are commonly used to denote the indigenous peoples in the United States . Both terms are almost exclusively used to describe the natives of the continental United States, usually excluding the indigenous peoples of Hawaii and the Aleut , Inuit , and Yupik peoples of the far north.
The terms Alaska Natives is used for the indigenous peoples in Alaska (including the Inuit, Yupik, and Aleut), and Native Hawaiians is used for those of Hawaii.[ citation needed ]
[ edit ] Indian and American Indian
In North America the name Indian (and hence American Indian) came to be negatively loaded and considered an offensive ethnic slur by many Native Americans[ citation needed ], if only because it is a name that was imposed on them by their historical oppressors. The Indian stereotype that prevailed in Western movies until the 1970s is thought to have contributed to this situation.[ citation needed ]
The spelling Injun is considered even more offensive. For that reason, non-Natives have generally avoided it since the 1980s. On the other hand, according to a recent survey, many Natives actually prefer Indian or American Indian to Native Americans, and use the three terms interchangeably. [13]
A possible justification for the use of American Indian or Indian is the theory that the prehistoric ancestors of the indigenous peoples reached the North American mainland from Asia by crossing the Bering Strait during pre-Columbian times (see Models of migration to the New World#Land Bridge Theory ). However, scientists do not agree on any form of relationship between the indigenous peoples and the present-day inhabitants of Asia.
The term American Indian is often shortened to Indian when the context allows, e.g. in the name of the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs .
[ edit ] Native American
The term Native American was introduced in the United States by anthropologists who hoped it would be more accurate than Indian and free from its negative stereotypes. It can be taken to mean the same as the older term, that is encompassing all Indian in the Americas but not Inuit or Native Hawaiians. Others restrict its usage to ethnic groups indigenous to pre-Columbian America who are presently living in the United States while some U.S. laws define it as including Indians, Eskimos (Inuits), Aleuts, Hawaiians and native Pacific Islanders (Native American Languages Act of 1990).
The phrase Native American, intended in this sense, is usually capitalized, in order to reduce confusion with the common sense of native ("someone who is born in a place").
The name has been contested by some non-Native US citizens, especially in the 1970s and 1980s ; both for the perception that the name diminished their own status or rights, and also as part of the general backlash against " political correctness ", for which the term was often cited as an example.
The term is sometimes used to refer to all indigenous peoples of all of the Americas, including the US and Canada but sometimes not including Mexico or further south. However, people from those countries, especially from Canada, object to this usage as incorrect, or even somewhat "imperialistic."[ citation needed ]
WordNet dictionary defines Native American concisely as, "n: any member of the peoples living in North or South America before the Europeans arrived [syn: {Amerindian}]" [5] The American Heritage Dictionary begins clearly enough as the WordNet definition, adding that scientists generally consider their ancestors as having entered the Americas from Asia across the Bering Strait during the last glacial period —and then continues with dense paragraphs of "usage note". [6]
Merriam-Webster adds to the WordNet definition, using aboriginal peoples, that this is especially a Native American of North America and especially the U.S. (but therefore not exclusively), and urges compararison with American Indian. [7]
Some American Indians in the U.S. have misgivings about the term Native American. For instance, Russell Means , a famous American Indian activist, opposes the term because he believes it was imposed by the government without the consent of American Indians. [14] Furthermore, some American Indians question the term Native American because, they argue, it serves to ease the conscience of "white America" with regard to past injustices done to American Indians by effectively eliminating "Indians" from the present.
Another objection that has been raised to this term is that it seems to imply that the other indigenous peoples of (or in) the United States which are excluded from its scope, such as those of Hawaii and the Aleut, Inuit, and Yupik, are not "natives" to the Continent. In the same context, Inuit are not "Indian", nor are the mixed-race but legally aboriginal Métis people of Canada.
Finally, the previously mentioned Carlin essay characterizes the phrase as "an inventory term" applied by the Department of the Interior in the early 1970s. [15]
Some of the confusion over the use of the terms "Indian," "American Indian" and "Native American" may be traced to the context of their use. Each term has a specific meaning in its individual context.
Indian "Indian" is informal. Its origins, as noted earlier, may have been from a misunderstanding of geography and a lack of understanding of the cultural difference between Asia and the Western Hemisphere. Though it may be incorrect it is a term that has been used for at least 500 years to describe the indigenous people of the western half of the planet. It is a term that is familiar to both European descendants and Native people of the west. It is common and most Native American people accept the term in informal situations.
American Indian "American Indian" has become a Legal term. It is the phrase used to describe indigenous people of the western hemisphere in United States Federal as well as many state and local laws. Most treaties refer to "American Indians" of a particular tribe. It makes sense to refer to "American Indians" when referencing legal issues. (I.e. The United States signed treaties with more than 800 "American Indian" tribes.)
Native American "Native American" is the term most widely accepted in academic settings. It parallels terms like "Asian-American" or "Italian-American," and avoids the confusing and inaccurate implication that the indigenous peoples of the Americas have some connection to India . Being born in the western hemisphere may mean a person is an "American native," but unless the individual has a family history in the western hemisphere for at least 1000 years that person is not a "Native American." This is the term that is becoming most accepted by the indigenous people of the United States.[ citation needed ]
Savage
The term Savage is universally considered derogatory and bigoted. While some racist groups find it acceptable in the U.S., most people have come to reject such archaic descriptions of human beings.[ citation needed ]
Alaska Native
In Alaska , the term Alaska Native predominates, because of its legal use in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act ( ANSCA ) and because it includes the Aleut, Inuit and Yupik peoples, the three groups of native Alaskan peoples.
Eskimos was once used for those groups, but this term is in disfavor because it is perceived by many of them as derogatory. This is further complicated by the fact that the term Inuit is sometimes used to refer to any of the groups, leading non-Inuits (particularly amongst the Yupik peoples) to actually prefer Eskimo, comparatively speaking.[ citation needed ] Inuit are "a people inhabiting the Arctic (northern Canada or Greenland or Alaska or eastern Siberia); the Algonquians called them Eskimo ('eaters of raw flesh') but they call themselves the Inuit (`the people') [syn: {Esquimau}, {Eskimo}]" [5]
[ edit ] Amerind
The term Amerind is a blended form of American Indigenous. However, this term also has its share of the contoversy because it might be thought of as a blended form of American Indian.
[ edit ] Redskin
The name redskin was a derogatory term for Native Americans and one of the color metaphors for race used in North America and Europe throughout history. It is often considered a pejorative. As with any term perceived to be discriminatory, different individuals may hold differing opinions of the term's appropriateness. Its use was not restricted to the United States or North America; it was in use throughout the English-speaking world and, in equivalent transliterations, in Europe throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as a common term of reference for indigenous Americans. [ citation needed ] For example, the French translation peaux-rouges was used in Arthur Rimbaud 's Le Bateau ivre and several of the travelogues of Jean Raspail .
[ edit ] Names for Canadian native peoples
In Canada, the term Aboriginal peoples in Canada is used for all indigenous peoples established in the country, including the Inuit and Inuvialuit , as well as the Métis . The usual U.S. usage is "Native American" or "Indian".
The term First Nations is used in a more restricted sense, for all the indigenous peoples in Canada except the Inuit, Inuvialuit, and Métis.
[ edit ] First Nations
In Canada, the term " First Nations " (most often used in the plural) has come into general use for the Indigenous peoples of North America located in what is now Canada, and their descendants, who are neither Inuit or Métis . The singular commonly used on culturally politicized reserves is the awkward "First Nations person" (when gender-specific, First Nations man or First Nations woman). A more recent trend is for members of various nations to refer to themselves by their tribal/national identity only, e.g. "I'm Haida", "we're Kwantlens", in recognition of the distinctiveness and diversity of First Nations ethnicities.
However, some tribal governments of Canada also use the term First Nations to refer to any indigenous, tribal or nomadic society. In this usage, the Roma , Sinti , Saami , Māori , Hmong , and the Australian Aborigines are also considered "First Nations".
[ edit ] Canadian Indians
The term Indians was once used to refer to the peoples now called First Nations, but it has fallen largely in disuse. However, it is still relevant in many legal and administrative contexts.
The Canadian Indian Act , which defines the rights of recognized First Nations, does refer to them as Indians. The federal government department in charge of First Nations affairs is the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs headed by the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development . People officially recognized by the Indian Register under that act are commonly known as "Status Indians", although "Registered Indian" is the official term. Land set aside for the use of First Nations are known as Indian reserves .
The term Indian is also used in the official names of many First Nations governments .
[ edit ] Aboriginal Peoples in Canada
The term Aboriginal is defined in the Canadian Constitution to include "all Indian, Inuit, and Métis peoples of Canada" (Constitution Act, 1982, Subsection 35(2). The term is understood to include also the Inuvialuit.
The term is also used in the U.S., though much less frequently. It is occasionally used in the UK The term Aborigines is not used in Canada to refer to indigenous American peoples.
The alternative term Indigenous Peoples (or Tribes, or Nations) has been used as equivalent to Aboriginal Peoples.
Native Canadians
"Native" or "Native Canadian" is an ambiguous term, but it is often used in conversation or informal writing. However, First Nations and Aboriginal Peoples seem to be more widely used.
Anishinaabe
The Algonquin term for "Original People", Anishinaabe or Anishinabe, is used as a cross tribal term in Algonquian majority areas such as "Anishnabe Health" and "Anishnabe Education and Training Circle".
Canadian French nomenclature
In Canadian French , the terms are première(s) nation(s) for "First Nations" and autochtone instead of "Aboriginal" (used both as a noun and adjective).
The term indien or indienne is used in the legislation, although the preferred term is now amérindien. The term indigène is not used as it is seen as having negative connotations because of its similarity to the French equivalent of "indigent", i.e. "lazy". The old French term sauvage (meaning "wild") is no longer used either, as it is considered racist.
Chinook Jargon nomenclature
The Chinook Jargon , the old trade language of the Pacific Northwest, uses siwash—an adaptation of the French sauvage—to mean Indian/Native American/First Nation, either as adjective or noun. While normally meaning a male native, it is used in certain combinations, e.g. siwash cosho, meaning a seal, but literally "Indian pig" or "Indian pork".
Like sauvage, siwash has come to have negative connotations in many native communities, while it remains in common parlance in others. When used by non-natives it is considered entirely derogatory except in placenames and certain other usages. In the creolized form of Chinook Jargon spoken at the Grand Ronde Agency in Oregon, a distinction is made between siwash and sawash. The accent in the latter is on the second syllable, resembling the French original, and is used in Grand Ronde Jargon with the benign meaning of "anything native/Indian", while siwash is considered defamatory.
The Chinook Jargon term for a native woman is klootchman, an originally Nootkan word which became commonplace in regional English to mean a native woman, or (as in the Jargon), all women and also anything female. Hyas klootchman tyee, "queen", klootchman cosho, "sow"; klootchman tenas or tenas klootchman, girl or little girl. Generally when used by itself in regional English klootchman means a native woman only, and did not acquire a derisive context as has siwash or squaw. The short form klootch, encountered only in English-Chinook hybrid phrasings, is often derisive, however, especially with modifiers (e.g. "blue-eyed klootch"). .
[ edit ] Names for native peoples in North America
North American Native
There is no accepted special name for all indigenous peoples in North America as a whole, although Native American is sometimes used. The term North American Indian is often used for a member of the more restricted group comprising the First Nations in Canada together with the Native Americans in the US. This term is usually understood to exclude the Alaskan Natives and the Inuit and Métis of Canada, and the indigenous peoples of Mexico.
[ edit ] Names for native peoples in Latin America
Indigenous Peoples and Indians
In Latin America , the preferred expression is Indigenous Peoples (pueblos indígenas in Spanish , povos indígenas in Portuguese ). However, Indians (indios, índios) is often used too, even by indigenous peoples themselves.
In Mexico , Brazil , and several other countries, these names are normally applied only to the ethnic groups that have maintained their identity and, to a some extent, their original way of life. In those countries there is also a large segment of the population with mixed native and European ancestry, who are largely integrated in mainstream society, and no longer identify themselves with their ancestral native groups. There are also Ladinos who do not have significant European ancestry, but have adopted the culture of the White and Mestizo population. These people were originally called mestizos in Mexico, caboclos in Brazil; however, those terms have largely fallen in disuse as they that segment has came to predominate among the population.
Aborigines
The Spanish aborigen, cognate of English Aborigene, is also used in Spanish America, particularly in Chile and Argentina . The corresponding Portuguese term, aborígenas, is almost never used in Brazil.
Pre-Columbian and Pre-Cabraline Peoples
The term "Pre-Columbian Peoples" (Sp. pueblos precolombinos, Pt. povos pré-colombianhos) is used to refer to the ethnic groups that existed before the arrival of the Europeans, but not for their modern descendants. The term, of course, refers to Columbus , who landed in Hispaniola in 1492 .
In Brazil, Pre-Columbian is often replaced by "Pre-Cabraline" (Pt. pré-cabralinhos), after Cabral who landed in Brazil in 1500 .
[ edit ] Names for natives of both Americas
For the natives of the Americas as a whole, the phrase indigenous peoples of the Americas can be considered self-defined by the accepted meanings of " indigenous peoples " and " Americas ", and seems to be the current preferred term in some anthropological and linguistic circles.
Still, its precise meaning can be disputed. For example, it is debatable whether it includes the indigenous people of Hawaii and other US territories outside the Americas. While those peoples have no known historical, cultural, or genetic connection with the indigenous peoples of the Americas, from a political and legal viewpoint they should arguably be considered "indigenous peoples" of their respective countries.
Other names that have been used or proposed for the indigenous peoples of both continents include:
Indian
As discussed above ( # Indian and American Indian ), this term has much precedence in the United States, but is considered offensive by some. But, older generations of Native Americans call themselves that.
American Indian
Given the ambiguity of Indian, it was often necessary to use American Indian in order to distinguish those peoples from the natives of the East Indies, or the West Indies. However, as noted above, American itself is ambiguous.
Red Indian
In Britain and some other English-speaking countries outside the Americas, the term Red Indian is still used to differentiate the American natives from the "East Indians". However, in North America the term is now considered an offensive racial slur, and is rarely if ever used.[ citation needed ]
Amerindian
In the French -speaking world, the term Amérindien was coined for the same purpose. The term was imported into English as Amerindian, sometimes abbreviated Amerind. This term gained some popularity among linguists, anthropologists, and other social scientists. The term is officially used by The World Almanac .
However, in scientific circles the term Amerind is often restricted to a subset of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, mostly from South and Central America, Mexico and the Southern United States. The peoples in this group share many genetic and cultural features that set them apart from the Na-Dene peoples , which comprise the majority of the U.S. and southern Canada indigenous peoples, and from the Eskimo peoples in Alaska and the Canadian Arctic : ( Inuit , Yupik , and Aleut ). Many anthropologists believe that these Amerind peoples are the descendants of the first immigrant wave from Siberia (15,000–10,000 years ago).[ citation needed ]
Native American or American Native
At face value, Native American and American Native could be taken to mean indigenous peoples of the Americas. This meaning is used in this article; however, some restrict its meaning to refer specifically for peoples in the United States, as discussed above, ( # Meanings of basic terms ). This term is also regarded as offensive by some, as discussed above, ( # Indian and American Indian ).
[ edit ] See also
Abya Yala , a proposed native (from the Panama Kunas ) name for the Americas, avoiding the mention of Amerigo Vespucci .
[ edit ] Notes and references
^
([1974] 1993) The World of the American Indian. Washington D.C.: National Geographic Society, [ citation needed ]. ISBN 0870449729 (reg. ed.), ISBN 0870449737 (deluxe ed.). Retrieved on not recorded .
Series: Story of man library
1st ed. 1974, ISBN 0870441515 ; rev. ed. 1993; 1997 edition not found, 06 August 2006
^ d'Errico (2005-07-11)
| i don't know |
Ending humiliatingly for Italy, which country did Mussolini try to invade in October 1940? | Brief History of Mussolini & Fascists in WW2
History of the Rise and Fall of Mussolini
Rise of Mussolini
Benito Mussolini came to power in 1922 during a time of corruption, economic depression and labor disputes. After making himself known, he was practically invited by the King to step into the position of Prime Minister. Mussolini used his first years as Prime Minister to establish control of the government and begin improvements within the country. He implemented changes in agriculture by draining swamp lands and building canals. He also ensured the rail system worked.
After a series of riots in 1922, the king appointed Benito Mussolini as prime minister in an attempt to prevent a communist revolution in Italy. Mussolini headed a coalition of fascists and nationalists and parliamentary government continued until the murder of the socialist leader, Giacomo Matteotti in 1924. Critics view King Emmanuel as a puppet ruler of the Fascists. His early actions indicated he was pro-democracy but he allowed Mussolini and the Fascists to take over the country. In 1920s, the monarchy, the church, the political elite and the voters, for different reasons, felt Mussolini and his regime would provide a political and financial stability that was needed for their country.
Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany on January 30, 1933. Hitler's national socialism closely paralled Italy's fascism. He built his Nazi Brownshirts along the military lines of the Fascists Blackshirts. They had a lot in common. Both men had read Machiavelli. Both used the fear of Communism to gain power and control. The Nazis used violence and threats to silence any opposition.
However, Mussolini still did not trust Hitler, especially when it came to the question of Austria's independance. Mussolini did not want to share a border with Germany. He regarded Austria's chancellor, Englebert Dollfuss, as his personal friend and Italy was considered an ally of Austria. Hitler asked Mussolini if they could meet to discuss "international policy". They met at Venice on 14 June, 1934. This was their first meeting and, upon the urging of his advisors, Hitler traveled to Italy in civilian clothes, wearing a floppy felt hat and a wrinkled raincoat. Mussolini met him in all his military regalia which left Hitler a little embarrassed; vowing to never do that again. At this meeting the two leaders discussed the fate of Austria and persecution of the Jews. Talking incessantly, Hitler dominated their talks as Mussolini tried to keep pace with his German. The meeting ended with both leaders thinking the other had compromised to their position.
Fifteen days after this meeting, on 25 June, Nazi thugs entered Chancellor Dollfuss's office and shot him at his desk. This infuriated Mussolini. He immediately mobilized his troops on the Austrian border and he wired the Austrian government that Italy would defend Austrian independence. Italy received no support from France or England but it was enough to cause Hitler to stand down. The world press portrayed Mussolini as a world hero. With his popularity its peak in Italy and in the world's press, Mussolini took the first step towards ending the uneasy peace.
Italy's Colonialism
Mussolini began to focus national attention to the small independant monarchy of Abyssinia on Africa's eastern coast. Mussolini may have been influenced by Germany's expanionist policies. Maybe his personal ego was challenged by Hitler's rise to power. Italy still ranked highest in unemployment, poverty, illiteracy and disease. But Italians felt it was their destiny to make Abyssinia as a colony. They also wanted revenge for their defeat there in 1896.
Italy had a small colony in Eritrea, adjacent to Abyssinia. Mussolini made claims that Haile Selassie was about to invade Eritrea. Troops were mobilized. Then on 5 December 1934, a border incident provided justification for invading Abyssinia. Italian troops were eager to join up and fulfill Italian's destiny. After the rainy season was over, Mussolini addressed a crowd in Rome on 2 Ocoter 1935 in a firey speech. The next day, Italy invaded Abyssinia with their 100,000 infantry supported by armor, aircraft and gas attacks against a force that were largely armed with old rifles and spears. Within 4 months, Abyssinia had fallen and King Selassie had fled the country. On 9 May, Mussolini again stood on the balcony of Palazzo Venezia in Rome and proclaimed that the defeat of Adowa(1896) had been avenged. He was drowned out by thunderous cheers: "Duce! Duce! Duce!". This marked the peak of Mussolini's popularity with his countrymen. He eventually merged Ethiopia, Eritrea and Italian Somaliland into one state; the Italian East Africa (AOI - Africa Orientale Italiana).
Francisco Franco was a right-wing army general who initiated an over-throw of the democratic republic of Spain. Franco had the backing of the aristocrats, the Catholic Church who feared right-wing liberals and the support of Italy. On 18 July, 1936, a civil war erupted in Spain. Mussolini immediately, but secretly, loaned 12 aircraft to protect Franco's troops ships arriving from Spanish Morocco. When one aircraft was forced to land in French Morocco, the world and his own Italy learned of their alliance. Volunteer troops were sent to Spain but were more of a handicap than an aide.
Meanwhile, Hitler did nothing. Hitler hoped that the more that Italy stood with Franco, the more that he would distance himself with western democracies and Russia, who sided with the Republic. And this would bring Italy and Germany into a stronger alliance. Hitler's ploy worked and he began to send his troops to aide Franco. By the end of 1937, Italy had sent every aicraft he could spare and 37,000 troops, much to the indetrement of Italy's economy.
On a personal level, Mussolini was attracted to a new mistress. A beautiful, vivacious woman, Clara Petacci was young enough to be his daughter. While distracted by his mistress and these other events, Hitler made his move.
Hitler; an alter ego
Hitler extended an inviation for Mussolini to visit Germany. Count Galeazzo Ciano, Mussolini's son-in-law and minister of Foriegn Affairs, cleared the way for a meeting and signed a secret pact promising Italian cooperation on many diplomatic issues. Mussolini accepted the invitation and spoke of a Berlin-Rome "axis". On 23 September, 1937, Mussolini boarded a train for his 5-day trip to Italy. This time he was greeted by a uniformed Fuherer and a parade through Berlin that was decorated with bunting in the Italian national colors. Mussolini witnessed mass parades, a military exercise, a tour of Krupp munitions factory and speeches before 800,000 citizens. Mussolini left a changed man with a new respect for the Fuherer. From this moment, Mussolini became the student; Hitler the wizard of warfare.
As soon as he returned home, he tried to introduce the "goose step" for military parades. He began preparations for a reciprical visit by Hitler. Three weeks later, the Nazi ambassador, Joachim von Ribbentrop, arrived to obtain Mussolini's signature on an anti-Russian pact that was already approved by Japan. On 11 December, Italy pulled out of the League of Nations. Then Hitler pressured the Austrian chancellor into signing a pact that surrendered Austrian's independence without a complaint from Mussolini. The Austrian chancellor called for a referendum vote that was set for 13 March 1938. The day before the election, German tanks rolled into Austria with the purpose of "restoring order". Mussolini could do nothing but endorse the invasion.
The reaction of the Italian citizens and also of England caused some concern with Mussolini. He flipped his alliance again and tried to improve relations with England. He even withdrew his aid from the Spanish civil war. Meanwhile, the time arrived in May for Hitler's visit. When Hitler arrived in Rome, he was greeted by King Emmanuel. No one explained to him that only the King could receive visiting heads of state. After the official parades and naval exercises, Mussolini was allowed to host a banquet at the Palazzo Venezia. During his speech, Hitler vowed never to violate the Italian border.
The visit lacked any discussion of the future plans of the Axis Alliance. There was very little mention of Czechoslovakia. Mussolini explained how his army had been weakened from years of fighting in Africa and in Spain. He asked for 3 years to build up his resources and re-equip his army. Italy wanted peace and their family home. In a later meeting, minister von Ribbentrop promised no military action would be taken until 1941. Hitler again brought up the subject of removing the Jews from Italy. With a Jewish population of only 37,000, this was of little concern to Mussolini. Just the same, 2 months later, Mussolini issued a manifesto that limited the freedoms of the Jews.
By the summer of 1938, Germany and Czechoslovakia began to quarrel over the disputed border area of the Sudetenland. War was imminent and Mussolini was seen as a warmonger with Hitler. Relief came from the prime minister of England, Neville Chamberlain, who proposed a conference to settle the crises. The conference was held in Munich on 29 & 30 September and Czechslovakia was not invited. Mussolini played a dynamic role as negotiator as well as interpreter. The result was that England and France gave away Czechslovakia to obtain peace. Germany went home with a more land and Mussolini went home as an international peace maker.
Albania
On 28 March 1939, Franco's forces occupied Madrid and ended the Spanish Civil War. Finally, after 3 years, the Italian troops could come home. Once again, Mussolini wanted to expand his control on the Mediterranean. He set his eyes on Albania. Albania was self-ruled but it depended on Italy for protection. So annexing it would be a "family matter" that was only symbolic. On 7 April, 1939, Italy invaded Albania, which proved to be a difficult campaign that emphazied the weakness of their army.
This was followed by a meeting between the German and Italian ministers in May 1939. Ribbentrop made a surprise annoncement that German wanted a nonaggression pact with Russia. Mussolini saw this as a way to dampen Hitler's military ambitions and signed the pact on 22 May, 1939. Italy ordered 6 battleships and additional munitions factories. The Nazis promised 3 years of peace.
Germany immediately began to make threats against Poland. Minister Ciano attempted to negotiate a settlement but Ribbentrop stated "We want war." Ciano tried to convince Mussolini to break the pact. Mussolini still had hopes that he would reap benefits of the fruits of war. If he broke the pact, then what would keep Germany from invading Italy? Hitler wrote Mussolini a letter explaining his actions and the reason for his pact with Russia. Mussolini saw an opportunity to get aid from Germany. He wrote Hitler that he would be willing to support a small war but he needed raw materials and arms to support a prolonged, major war. He requested 2M tons of steel, 6M tons of coal, 7M tons of oil, and a list of 13 other raw materials plus 150 anti-aircraft guns. Hitler promised aid from Germany in due time.
Alligiance with Germany
On 1 September 1939, Germany opened up WW2 with the "blitz-krieg" invastion of Poland. Mussolini again waivered between neutrality and total war. He knew that international opinion would turn against him if Germany invaded Belgium and Holland. He allowed Ciano to make anti-German speeches, while he wrote a long letter to Hitler condeming his treatment of Polish citizens. This 4,000-word letter arrived at a time when he was suffering from attacks of indigestion and attacks by British on his ships. Mussolini flipped his opinion one more time and agreed to go to war with Germany. He requested a meeting with Hitler at the Brenner Pass. They met on 18 March and again, Hitler did most of the talking. He asked for Italy's help to distract France and England but did not require Italy to attack across France's border.
By 9 April, Germany launched an attack against Norway and Denmark. By the end of the month, Germany was ready to invade France. Belgium surrendered on 28 May. Ignoring a final appeal from England, Mussolini decided that he did not want to miss out on the fruits of war and was ready to invade France. Hitler gleefully received this news but asked that he wait until France's air force could be destroyed by the German Luftwaffe. On June 10, Mussolini gave another speech to annouce that Italy was joing the fight. But still no support from Hitler. German troops entered Paris on 14th June. Mussolini ordered the invasion of France to start on the 18th but his general Badoglio could not move his troops to the border in time. The invasion finally began and the Italians captured two small French towns, when after only only 4 days, France had surrendered to Germany. At the Munich conference, Italy asked for land from southern France and Tunisia but got nothing.
Border conflicts had been increasing in North Africa over the months between Italy's old colony of Somaliland and neighboring British Somililand. On 3 August the Italians launched their invasion of British Somaliland with 40,000 men from Ethiopia. Within 4 days, they had cut off the capitol from escape to friendly French Somaliland.
The British turned their attention to retaining control of the Suez Canal. In December 1940, the Italian High Command abandon their claim on Sudan and focus on defending Ethiopia. British Major Orde Wingate lead a hit and run raids from Sudan against the Italians. The British were reinforced and on January 18, 1941, the 4th and 5th Indian Divisions launched an attack on Eritea. On the southern front, South African troops under British commander Cunningham attacked Italian Somaliland. In March, the British Royal Navy launched attacks to recapture British Somaliland.
Hitler was trying to negotiate a treaty with England so he could carry out his secret plans to invade Russian and capture the oil fields of Rumania. Mussolini was growing impatient and made plans for an invasion of either Yugoslavia, Greece or Egypt. The defeat of France by Germany, neutralized the western countries to the west of Libya.
Mussolini ordered an invasion of Egypt on June 28 but the Italian army in Libya did not attack across the border until September 13th. In four days they had pushed the British army back 60 miles. When he offered some planes and armor at an conference in October, Mussolini refused any aid until they were close to the final stages of conquering Egypt.
To Hitler's surpirse and annoyance, Mussolini launched an attack on Greece in response to Hitler's occupation of Rumania. Italian troops in Albania crossed the border of Greece on 28 October, 1940. Hitler was returning from a visit with Franco and learned of the invasion when he arrived at the train station at Florence. When Hitler met with the jubilient Mussolini, he could not speak of the invasion but gave false predictions that Spain would join the Axis alliance.
Campaign in Greece & Balkans
The invasion of Greece was a disaster. Soon the Greek armies were putting the Italians into retreat. The British sent their navy to occupy islands in the Aegean Sea. The Italian navy was not prepared to battle this mighty power. On 11th November, a British carrier force struck the Italian fleet anchored in Taranto harbor on the southern end of Italy. This aerial attack pre-dated the attack of Pearl Harbor by 13 months.
By early December 1940, Mussolini sent a special ambassador to Berlin to ask for aid. Hitler offered to send troop transport plans to assist in Greece. Could Germany assist in North Africa? Hitler's answer was conditional; he would send troops only if Italy would provide manpower for German factories and fields. Mussolini turned to his "ally", Russia, to obtain raw materials he would need for his army. Hitler told Mussolini to break off these talks immediately. He implied that German troops were being sent to the east. Mussolini assumed this was for the campaign against Greece and Yugoslavia; he had no clue of the forthcoming invasion of Russia.
On April 6, 1941, German troops crossed through Bulgaria and invaded Greece and Yugoslavia. Blegrade fell within a week. On April 23, the Greek army surrendered, thus relieving Mussolini of futher embarassement of loses on this front. Germany sent General Erwin Rommel to North Africa. At the same time, German troops began moving through the Brenner Pass into Italy. The Italian citizens resented this move and felt that Italy was slowly being bullied by their ally. The aerial bombardments by the RAF continued in the northern industrial cities. Prices rose and so did unemployment as less raw materials became scarce. Use of private autos were banned which lead to many resturants and areas of entertainment to close early. Mussolini was slow ration food and clothing. Thus the troops in Albania were freezing for lack of shoes and clothing but the products were still sold in shop windows in Rome.
By June 1941, everyone suspected that Hitler was about to invade Russia; everyone except Mussolini. A German diplomat woke Ciano at 3am to deliver the news. Mussolini offered to send Italian troops at once. Hitler accepted with some reluctance. The offensive was going well at all fronts. Hitler invited Mussolini to tour the front lines on August 25. On 7th August, Bruno Mussolini (18), the 2nd son of Il Duce, was killed when a new bomber he was testing crashed at Pisa. The two leaders met and announced a "New Order" for Europe. However, Mussolini was becoming skeptical. His offer of more troops was rejected by Hitler. He began to hear reports of mistreatment of Italian workers in Germany.
Battle for North Africa
When France surrendered, Mussolini ordered an invasion of Egypt on June 28 but the Italian army in Libya took 6 weeks for preparations. Italy's Army in Libya consisted of 236,000 men, including colonial troops. The British had 31,000 men in Egypt. The Italian 5th Army was placed at the eastern border of Lybia to reinforce the 10th Army. The attack was finally launched on 13 September and by the 20th, four Italian divisions and with 200 tanks had pushed 65 miles into Egypt. Marshal Rodolfo Graziani began requesting more supplies and armor. Hitler considered providing a division but refained from sending support pending his invasion of Russia. The British waited to see what would become of the campaign in Greece.
The Italians built a string of 7 major strongpoints that stretched 15 miles from the coast. During this lull of the desert war, the British sent 150 tanks to Egypt. On December 7, General Wavell moved the British 7th Armored Division and supplies to a weak point of the defenses. The attack hit the Italian between a gap in the out posts and began striking each one by one and routing the Italians. The British pushed into Bardia, then Tobruk, Derna and Benghazi. By 9 February 1941, they had advanced 500 miles and captured 130,000 prisoners, including 22 generals. The cost to the British was only 500 dead, 1373 wounded and 56 missing.
Hitler realized a defeat of the Italians would be demoralizing to his ally and provide the British with complete control of the region. After the fall of Bardia on 9 January 1941, he ordered units to be formed for service in North Africa. The 5th Light Divison was formed, which was later strengthened with a panzer regiment and this eventually grew into the Deutsches Afrika Korps (DAK). The Luftwaffe was allowed to fly more bombing missions in support of the Italian. The Germans had no experience in desert warfare. However, their 80 Mark III and IV tanks would prove far superior to the Italian armor and to much of the British armor.
On 12 February 1941, Lt-General Erwin Rommel arrived with the advance units of the Deutsches Afrika Korps. Even though he was placed under the Command of the Italian General Italo Gariboldi, General Rommel made prepartions to attack the British. His assault pushed the British back to Egypt and captured Tobruk, Libya. They only stopped due to the invasion of Russia. The British attempted to re-take Tobruk in June but failed. Both sides had a change of command: General Wavel is replaced by General Auchinleck. German Field Marshal Albert Kesselring is appointed the Supreme Commander of all of Mediterranean, including the Italians.
The British launched an offensive on 18th November, which resulted in driving Rommel out of Egypt and re-capturing Tobruk on 29th. However, in January 1941, Axis naval and air forces begin arriving in Libya as some of the British Commonwealth troops are pulled out and sent to fight the Japanese. The German-Italian slowly advances across the desert and re-take Tobruk from the South Aficans. The British 8th Army forms a defensive line around El Alamein on 30 June. In September Rommel was recalled to Germany because of his health. On 30 August, the Axis attacks the El Alamein lines and fails.
On 23 October, the British attack the Axis defense lines around El Alamein. The British have a strength of 195,000 men, 1029 tanks and 2,311 guns. The Axis forces have 104,000 troops (the majority Italian), 489 tanks (259 inferior Italian) and 1,219 guns. The British destroyed 5 of the 7 Italian divisions in North Africa, and captured 130,000 Italian prisoners and 700 guns. Rommel lost 33,000 men and ordered a general retreat.
Then on 7 December 1941, Japan attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor and Italy and Germany declared the United States as their enemy.
On June 21, 1942, the Axis forces captured Tobruk and 33,000 British soldiers.
On June 23, 1942, Mussolini's health improved enough for him to attend a cabinet meeting. To silence the dissidents, he reorganized the government and the cabinet members were replaced. Ciano was moved to the office of ambassador to the Vatican. Mussolini placed himself as head of the Foriegn Office. On 29th of June, Mussolini visited North Africa in hopes of celebrating the removal of the British from Egypt. Rommel did not bother to pay respects to the Italian dictator. Adding further insult, Hitler promoted Rommel to Field Marshal, thus making him the high ranking commander over the Italians. But Rommel had to halt his advance. The Axis desert forces would never again take on the offensive. After waiting for victory and planning how he would control Egypt, Mussolini returned home on 21 July.
Back in Italy, Mussolini became physically ill with stomach pains in September and October, 1942. Doctors believed an acute case of dysentery had reactivated an old ulcer. He was restricted to the bed and lost 40 pounds. He had periods of depression and inactivity. Mussolini retreated to the Adriatic coastal resort of Riccione with his mistress, Clare Petacci. Later X-rays diagnosed his problem as rheumatic localization in the spinal column. Rumors began to circulate about Mussolini's health and the King Victor Emmanuel began to cast around for his successor. The war for Italy went badly. Sea convoys trying to resupply the desert army were under constant attack by British Navy and Royal Air Force. The Germans were anxious to know more of the status of their ally, so SS commander Heinrich Himmler visited Rome on 11 October. Himmler stayed for a few days to collect intelligience. He reported back to Hitler that Italy would remain an ally as long as Mussolini remained alive.
On November 7, 1942, the American forces landed at Morrocco and Algiers. After dealing with the Vichy French government, they began to move east to engage the Germans desert army. Hitler responded immediately by landing 250,000 German and Italian troops in Tunis, Tunisia, on 11th November. The Axis army now had to fight a two-front war: General Bradley's 7th Army, spearheaded by General Patton's II Corps, from the west and General Montgomery's 8th Army on the east.
November 8th 1942- Battle of El Alamein. British forces were 230,000 men and the Axis forces totaled 108,000 men; 42 out of the 70 battalions were Italian. The losses at El Alamein were heavy for both sides: Rommel lost 25,000 dead and wounded and 30,000 captured; Montgomery lost 4,610 dead and missing and 8,950 wounded. The bulk of Rommel's 17,000 casualties were Italian.
The Axis losses during the Campaign in North Africa since June 1940 totaled 975,000 men, 7,600 aircraft, 6,200 guns, 2,550 tanks, and some 600 ships of all sizes.
On November 30th, Reichsmarshal Herman Goering made an unannounced visit to Rome after a previous cancellation due to sickness. The Italians were offended by Goering blaming all of Germany's troubles on Italy and his talk of his art collection that he had accumulated. The fashion conscience Italians were even offended by the full-length fur coat that Goering wore.
Fall from Power
Since Mussolini was on a strict diet of rice and milk and submitting to an electrotherapeutic treatment, he decided to send Count Ciano to Germany on December 18 to urge a peace settlement with Russia. Ciano found the German high command in turmoil and gloom over the news from the Russian front. The German VI Army was surrounded at Stalingrad. Peace was a major topic in Italy. Mussolini and King Emanuel discussed transferring the High Command out of Rome in order to protect it from Allied bombings.
The Allies landed in Sicily in July 1943 and had pushed the German and Italian defenders off the island by the end of August.
Over the years, Mussolini had taken total control of the government. He made all the decisions and relegated the Fascist grand council to little more than a rubber-stamp approval. There arose dissidents within the Council who demanded peace. The disidents were lead by former Foriegn Minister Dino Grandi and Duce's son-in-law, Count Galeazzo Ciano. At a tense meeting on 16 July, 15 of the Fascist leaders asked Mussolini to cede some of his powers so the country could run more efficent. He agreed to have a meeting of the Gran Council, which had little power left.
Five days later, he learned that Grandi was circulating a resolution to restore the authority of the Grand Council and other government agencies. Hitler summoned Mussolini to meet him at Feltre on July 19th, but the Italian delegation did not get a chance to express their need for peace. At a private meeting, Hitler continued to sway Mussolini with promises of new weapons that would win the war. During this meeting, 500 Allied bombers dropped bombs on Rome, causing 1400 dead and 6,000 injured. This was the greatest single event that pushed King Emmanuel and the Italian citizens over to the side of peace. The King had decided that he would use the Grand Council meeting to remove Mussolini as dictator and replace him with Marshal Pietro Badoglio.
Count Dino Grandi
Saturday, 24 July 1943, Fascits Party Secretary Carlo Scorza opened the meeting by leading a cry of "Saluto al Duce!". Then Mussolini opened with a 2-hour lecture, which was usual for these meetings, and was followed by a round of debate. When Ciano announced his support of the motion to remove Duce, Mussolini went into a rage. After 9 hours of debates, Mussolini demaned a roll-call vote of the 26 members. Grandi's resolution won with 19 votes. The meeting was adjourned at 2:40am. Mussolini requested an audience with King Emmanuel on Sunday afternoon, instead of the usual Monday. The private meeting was arranged. The King made special arrangements for security and plans to arrest Mussolini. The meeting was short and the King was to the point. Mussolini accepted his fate and walked out in custody of the carabinieri.
A few Fascists leaders were arrested but most had fled Rome. At 10:45pm, the Italian radio interrupted programming to annouce the change of government. Citizens began to celebrate. Many began to strip down the emblems of Fascism. Badoglio took steps to restore order and began the process to get Italy out of the war.
Puppet of Hitler
On 3rd September, British 8th Army landed at the tip of the "boot" of Italy, followed by a US 5th Army landing at Salerno the 9th. The Badoglio government had been in negotiating with the Allies on an honorable surrender that would allow them to join the Allies. The British did not want anything but an unconditional surrender as a defeated enemy. There was even secret discusstion of dropping the US 82nd Airborne Division into Rome in order to ensure the capitol would not fall into German hands. The day before the landings at Salerno, the Badoglio government announced an unconditional surrender. The German response was Operation ASCHE that aggressively disarmed all the Italian army. Badoglio immediately fled the capitol and the Germans occupied it as an open city.
The new Italian government tried to exile the ex-dictator to the island of Ponza. Later, they moved him to the Gran Sasso mountain fortress. Hitler called for SS-General Otto Skorzeny to make a daring raid to rescue Mussolini from the fortress and return him to Germany. Eventually Mussolini was set-up as the new commander of the new Salo Republic on 28 October 1943, exactly 19 years from the time he first came to power. His new residence was the Villa Feltrinelli located in Gargnano on the western shore of Lake Garda where he was under the guard of the Germans. Clara Petacci resided in the Villa Fiodaliso at Gardone Riviera.
For the next 18 months, Mussolini powers were totatally under the control of the German command. He made very few public appearances or speeches. Mussolini had a government but nothing to govern. The Germans began rounding up men for their labor camps. The provinces of Trieste, Bolzano and other regions taken from Austria in WW1, was occupied as "enemy territory". Any Italian soldiers found in those "operational zones" were sent to Germany as prisoners of war. The reaction to this force was the creation of partisan groups all over northern Italy.
On January 8, 1944, Ciano and five other of the "traitors" were put on trial for conspiracy for their actions at the Grand Council vote. Hitler wanted vengence from the puppet government for Italy's breaking of their treaty but his main focus was on "that anti-German, Ciano". Mussolini thought the trail would help unify the Fascist party but he was torn by family ties. His wife, Rachele, even favored the trial because she could not forgive her son for voting Mussolini out of office. The six were found guilty and condemned to death: Emilio de Bono, Carlo Pareschi, Tullio Cianetti, Luciano Gottardi and Giovanni Marinelli, who was deaf. They were taken to a shooting range at Forte San Porcolo, a suburb of Verona. The condemned were seated in chairs with their backs to a German firing squad. The execution was a family tragedy. In Rome, the men were regarded as martyrs; Ciano was praised as a hero. Mussolini was pictured as a butcher. However, Count Ciano had the last word. He compiled his journal that he had kept since 1939 and with the help of his wife, Edna, ---yes, Mussolini's own daughter----was able to smuggle them out to the free press.
Mussolini requested a talk with Hitler to discuss the expansion of the Salo Republic's authority. He met Hitler on April, 22, 1944 and delivered a long explanation of how he wanted to return control back to the Italians and restore morale to the people. After listening to him, Hitler responded with insults and accusations. He stressed the importance of controlling the partisans and ended with a few words of goodwill. The only good part of this trip was they Mussolini was able to give a speech to the Italian soldiers being trained in Germany.
Back at his Lake Gordo residence, the news from the front was worse. Rome fell. Allies landed in Normandy coast. Partisans were growing stronger and more bold. A thousand partisans entered Milan unopposed. After the partisans attacked a German truck, the Nazis executed 15 political prisoners in a main square of Milan, Piazalle Loreto. The rule of the Salo Republic was confined to the Po Valley.
Mussolini left Italy on July 15th on a special train to speak to his troops and visit Hitler, again. Only few hours before they were to confer, Hitler went into a conference at his Wolf's Lair where he was the target of an assassaniation attempt. He kicked a briefcase behind the leg of the table which deflected the blast when it exploded. Hitler was still visible shaken and held one arm stiff when he greeted Mussolini at the train station.
By August 1944, the Allies were in Paris and had landed a force in southern France. Florence was captured, thus establishing a front line only 150 miles from his residence. The Salo government would soon have to retreat. Without asking permission, Mussolini announced an important even for Milan on 15 December. Here he gave his last public speech before a selected Fascist audience.
Final Days
For details of the last days of Mussolini, including his escape from Milan, his capture and execution, go to
| Greece |
Angela Ahrendts is CEO of which UK outfitter and clothing manufacturer loved by 'Chavs'? | David Irving : Hitler's War, Germany 1939-45, ch 10
David Irving
HITLERS WAR
Molotov
The six weeks preceding the doom-charged visit of Vyacheslav Molotov to Berlin in November 1940 are a period when Hitlers foreign policy becomes almost impossible to disentangle. With the direct assault on the British Isles all but abandoned and the Luftwaffes murderous bombardment producing no visible collapse, he took counsel with the Spanish and Italians on ways of striking the British Empire at the periphery ; he brought Japan into the Axis in a Tripartite Pact ostensibly designed to warn the United States against intervention, and he even pawed over the possibility of an alliance with France. This much is clear. But what are we to make of his more determined attempts to lure the Soviet Union into joining the Tripartite Pact as well ? Was it a realistic alternative to inflicting military defeat on her, or was it a cynical attempt to force Britain to give way and enable Hitler to concentrate his undivided effort in the east ?
The impulse towards a peripheral solution was provided by Admiral Raederand perhaps by G�ring too, although the date of his often-mentioned threehour argument with Hitler, urging against a Russian campaign is still obscure. Early in September Raeder had examined with Hitler the strategic options open to Germany ; by the twenty-sixth, when he came for a long private talk on the same subject, he was convinced there were ways of pacifying Russia more elegant than brute force. Germany should throw the British out of the Mediterranean that winter, before the United States was roused ; it should provide assistance to Italy for the capture of the Suez Canal and then advance through Palestine to Syria. Turkey would then be at Germanys mercy. Then the Russian problem would assume a very different aspect. Russia is basically frightened of Germanya point on which Hitler agreed. It is unlikely that any attack on Russia in the north would then be necessary. Hitler appeared to like this plan : they could then invite Russia to turn toward Persia and Indiaagain on the British peripherywhich were far more important to her than the Baltic. After the admiral left, the F�hrer mentioned to his naval adjutant, Puttkamer, that the interview had been enlightening, as it had checked with his own views and he could see how far he was right.
The key to any peripheral strategy was, however, Italy, and Italy was ruled by a vain Mussolini whose reach far exceeded his grasp. The Italians had haughtily declined Hitlers offer of an armored corps for the attack on Egypt : the attack had opened on September 13 and petered out four days later. Hitlers plan for France to join in a coalition war against Britain by fighting in the defense of North Africaa plan inspired by Vichys determined repulse later that month of the powerful British naval force that attempted to land General Charles de Gaulles Free French troops at Dakarwould also depend on the extent to which Italys distrustfulness could be overcome. North Africa was in her sphere of interest, and the Italians were reluctant to moderate their demands for the disarmament of French forces there or to allow the French fleet units stationed at Toulon to put to sea.
The most intractable barrier to Franco-German cooperation was the interest both Italy and Spain were declaring in substantial portions of Frances African territories : Spain expected to be given the whole of French Morocco in return for declaring war on Britain. In other respects as well, the talks conducted in Berlin and Rome by Francos future foreign minister, Ramon Serrano Sufier, remained unproductive. Hitler postponed reaching a final decision on problems affecting Spain and France until he could meet their leaders and Mussolini. Small wonder that the High Commands exasperated war diarist lamented : Our command policy of late seems to be dictated only by regard for the feelings of the Reichsmarschall and the Italians.
One thing Hitler was certain of by late September 1940 : it would be impossible to gratify the territorial dreams of Italy, France, and Spain simultaneously. If Spain were to join the war and seize Gibraltar, and if France were also to be encouraged to join the grand coalition, he must resort to fraud on a grand scale, as he disarmingly put it to Ribbentrop : each aspirant would have to be left in the happy belief that his wishes would be largely fulfilled. The first claimant to be deceived was Hitlers senior partner, Benito Mussolini, whom he met on the Brenner frontier between Italy and Germany at midday on October 4. Hitler cunningly suggested that they lure Spain into the war by promising to deal with her colonial demands in the final peace treaty with France ; in return for the loss of part of Morocco to Spain, France could have a slice of British Nigeria and the honor of defending her remaining colonies and reconquering those she had forfeitedto say nothing of the privilege of permitting Germany to establish bases in West Africa. Mussolini was promised Nice, Corsica, and Tunis. There would be something for everybody in the coalition.
On leaving the Brenner frontier, Hitlers train immediately headed for Berchtesgaden. By 9 P.M. he was back at the Berghof. For three days he idled in the autumn sunshine, reflecting on the implications of his new political strategy. His timetable was clearly mapped out : he would first like to see the former French ambassador, Andre Fran�ois-Poncet (whom he liked) in Berlin ; then he would embark on a grand tour, seeing Marshal P�tain in France and next General Franco in Spain, before returning to France to settle with P�tain the terms of their future collaboration. First, however, he would write to Stalin to tempt him with a share of Britains legacy in return for Russias participation in the coalition. If we manage that, Brauchitsch was told, we can go all out for Britain. The alternative of coursewar with Russiawas already being quietly prepared, and with increasing reason, for there was a steady trickle of reliable Intelligence that behind her well-disposed if occasionally frosty facade the Soviet Union was contemplating carrying the world revolution further to the west. Hitler instructed G�ring to ensure that all the Russian contracts with German industry were punctiliously fulfilled so that Stalin would have no cause for complaint on that score ; but he also authorized the Luftwaffe to start extensive high-altitude photographic reconnaissance missions far into Russia.
On October 9, Hitler was back in the Chancellery in Berlin. Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria were all showing a willingness to join the Tripartite Pact ; Spain, he decided upon reflection, seemed so torn by internal malaise as to be valuelessGermany might have to take Gibraltar without Spains aid ; Italys value as an ally was mitigated by her generals sloth and Count Cianos latent hostility. This was how Hitler apparently summarized the position to Field Marshal von Brauchitsch.
In conversation with Ribbentrop, Hitler debated the best approach to Moscow. Ribbentrop suggested a summit meeting between Stalin and the F�hrer, but Hitler pointed out that Stalin would not leave his country. Hitler himself dictated a lengthy letter to Stalin on the thirteenth inviting Molotov to visit them very shortly in Berlin. The letter bore all Hitlers familiar trademarksthe inveighing against Britains duplicity, the portrayal of her leaders as conscienceless political dilettantes who dragged one reluctant country after another into battle on Britains behalf and then abandoned them in their hour of need ; he reminded Stalin of the captured Allied documents which revealed plans to bomb the Soviet oil fields, and he soughtthough unconvincinglyto explain Germanys guarantee to Romania and her military mission there as a necessary safeguard in case of British sabotage or invasion. If Molotov came to Berlin, the letter concluded, Hitler would be able to put to him his concrete ideas on the joint aims they could pursue.
On October 12, Hitler had issued a secret message to the services formally canceling all invasion preparations against Britain. The army units would be needed for other purposes ; the tugs and fishing boats were to be returned to the civilian economy. G�rings bombers alone would continue the war against the British people. As Hitler gloated to a visiting Italian minister on the fourteenth : Let the British announce what they willthe situation in London must be horrific. Recently an American newspaper triumphantly claimed the Luftwaffe cannot have inflicted all that much damage, because of eighty-two American firms only eight have been completely destroyed and another seventeen damaged ; but I am completely satisfied with such figures, even if the American newspaper isnt. It is far more than I expected. Lets wait and see what London looks like two or three months from now. If I cannot invade them, at least I can destroy the whole of their industry ! The aerial photographs his bomber crews brought back proved the extent of the damage done to Britain night after night. Churchill announced that over eight thousand Britons had been killed by the Luftwaffe.
What perplexed Hitler was the total lack of plan and purpose behind the British bombing offensive. Germany had feared an attempt to paralyze her transport system or, even worse, a ceaseless onslaught on her oil refineriesoil was Germanys Achilles heelyet Churchill was making the fundamental error of attacking Germanys civilians and inflicting only negligible damage on her war effort in the process. Nevertheless, Hitler had ordered Reichsleiter von Schirach to organize the evacuation of children from the biggest cities, and he had increased the antiaircraft batteries around Berlin from nineteen to thirty. He had also sent for Fritz Todt and commanded that air raid shelters be built. The blackout was perfected, blue lights were installed in streetcars, trains, and hospitals, and the whole civil defense organization was handed over to Field Marshal Milch.
The uncomfortable realization that as yet there was no defense against the enemy night-bomber confronted Hitler with a host of new problems. If only one aircraft approached Berlin, should the entire city be sent scurrying for the air raid shelters by sirens ? How long before the all clear could be sounded ? On the night of October 14 a typical episode angered Hitler : first an enemy bomber arrived without any advance warning ; then there was an all clear followed by a fresh alert as more enemy bombers were spotted approaching over Magdeburg. The injured and sick in Berlins hospitals were twice forced to trek down into their sheltersthis was not a burden he had planned to inflict on the German population at all. He sent for Milch the next day and ordered him to sort the matter out. Hitler was glad he was leaving Berlin for the tranquility of the Berghof that night.
In Berchtesgaden, his only engagement of consequence was a private visit from the Italian Crown Princess Maria-Jose, the elegant spouse of Crown Prince Umberto and sister of King Leopold of Belgium. Hitler entertained her at afternoon tea on the seventeenth in the mountaintop Eagles Nest. The tea party started wellHitlers majordomo Artur Kannenberg had as usual prepared it exquisitely. (Hitler would never hear a word said against the obese and sycophantic Kannenberg ; whether softly playing an accordion in the background while the F�hrer and Eva Braun warmed themselves on a sofa before a crackling log fire, or organizing the great state banquets that passed flawlessly and without incident, Kannenberg had become indispensable.) A number of Hitlers most presentable womenfolk were also invited to meet the princessamong them Henriette von Schirach and the dazzlingly attractive wife of Robert Ley. While white jacketed servants ministered to their needs, the princess haltingly begged Hitler to allow her brother to come and meet with him secretly. She assured Hitler of Leopolds loyalty, despite the domestic troubles caused by the food shortage in Belgium and Hitlers unwillingness to release the rest of the Belgian prisoners. When Hitler refused, she steadfastly repeated her request and then pleaded for the release of at least the more ailing prisoners. Hitler was impressed by her plucky manner with what was after all now the most powerful man in Europe. After the princess left his mountain, he joked feebly with his staff : She is the only real man in the House of Savoy !
In the special train Amerika, Hitler left Bavaria toward midnight on October 20, 1940, on the first leg of a rail journey that was to cover over four thousand miles within the next week. Every hundred yards or so sentries patroled to the right and left of the railroad track ; the Luftwaffe had provided exceptional air cover, too. The French leaders were still unaware that Hitler was coming to them.
Hitler had eventually abandoned his desire to meet Fran�ois-Poncet, the former French ambassador, again. He had always warmed toward this Frenchman and believed he had won him over, but Ribbentrop had recently reeducated him by brandishing quantities of captured French diplomatic papers in which the former ambassadors confidential pronouncements were more pithy and colorful than either the Forschungsamt had succeeded in decoding or the French had published after war broke out. Fran�ois-Poncet had no real sympathy for the spirit of National Socialism, for all his recognition of the injustices of Versailles and the wayward genius of the F�hrer ; Hitler, warned the ambassador, was bent only on securing for Germany a hegemony in Central Europe. But the remarks he [Fran�ois-Poncet] occasionally drops about the F�hrer and other leading Reich figures are often so pointed and spiteful as to be incompatible with an even moderately loyal attitude. As far as I am concerned, the ambassador had written in July 1937, this mistrust has never left me. I am too well aware of the Third Reich leaders powers of hypocrisy, mendacity, and cynicism to discard this mistrust one instant whatever the smiles and the amiability I outwardly adopt.
Hitlers train pulled into the little railroad station at Montoire, somewhere in occupied France, at 6:30 P.M. on October 22. Ribbentrops train, Heinrich, was already there. The station area had been freshly graveled and a thick red carpet had been rolled out. Antiaircraft batteries had been stationed on the surrounding hills. At seven, the short, stocky Pierre Laval, French deputy premier, sporting the familiar Gallic moustache and white tie, arrived by car. He had learned only a few minutes earlier that he was about to meet the F�hrer himself. In the dining car Hitler briefly indicated his wish to speak with P�tain in person on the lines Frances future collaboration with Germany might take. The defeat of Britain was inevitable, he prophesied, and Laval earnestly assured him that he too desired this defeat, as must every red-blooded Frenchman. Britain, said Laval, had dragged France into an unwanted war, abandoned her, and then besmirched her honor at Mers el-Kebir and more recently at Dakar. That the French had not wanted the war was shown by the two million troops who had allowed themselves to be taken prisoner. (1) Hitler emphasized that he was determined to mobilize every conceivable force necessary to defeat Britain. Perhaps the immediate future would prove this was no empty phrasea hint at his intention of drawing Russia into the Tripartite Pact. Laval, who had scribbled notes throughout the interview, promised to return with P�tain in two days time.
At 4 A.M. Hitlers train left for the Spanish frontier. Upon General Francos willingness to enter the war, and the consequent claims Hitler would have to support against Frances colonial possessions, would depend the tenor of the main approach to Petain. By 4 P.M. his train had reached the frontier town of Hendaye. A guard of honor was drawn up on the platform. Francos train was half an hour late, but at four-thirty it drew alongside on another platform, where the Spanish-gauge railway ended. Hitler invited the Caudillo to inspect the guard of honor. Then the hard business of the day began in the drawing room of Hitlers train.
The argument that followed was to haunt Hitler to the end of his life. He later told Mussolini, I would rather have three or four teeth extracted than go through that again. In vain he tried to persuade the plump, swarthy Spanish dictator to enter into an immediate alliance and allow German troops to capture Gibraltar. Twice during the summer Admiral Canaris had visited Spain in this connection, and mountain troops were already conducting experiments on the cliffs and caves of the C�te dAzur in Francetrying out various projectiles, explosives, and drilling techniques. Franco refused to rise to Hitlers bait. It was clear he doubted the likelihood of an Axis victory. Hours of argument brought Hitler no closer to his goal. He barely controlled his fury when Francos foreign minister several times interrupted in a tactless way that Ribbentrop would certainly never have dared with his chiefusually at the precise moment when Hitler believed Franco was on the point of accepting the German terms. Once he stood up abruptly and said there was little point in talking any longer, but talk on he did until dinner was served in his dining car. The Spanish leaders were scheduled to leave immediately afterward, but Hitler tackled Franco again, arguing with him about Spains requirements of guns, gasoline, and foodstuffs until far into the night. When at 2:15 A.M. the Spanish leaders train left the little frontier station to the strains of the Spanish national anthem, General Franco was no nearer to joining the Axis. It was clear to all who crossed Hitlers path in these hours of his jolting journey back to Montoire that he was furious. He mouthed phrases about Jesuit swinereferring to Spains Foreign Minister Serrano Sunerand the Spaniards misplaced sense of pride. Over the next weeks, his anger at having been cold-shouldered turned to contempt. With me, Franco would not even have become a minor Party official, he scoffed to Jodls staff, and he sneered at the quirk of fortune that had made a man like Franco head of state. (Another general had started the Spanish uprising in 1936, only to meet his death in an air accident.) But history was to prove that General Franco was wise enough to outlive by twenty years the Axis that now was wooing him.
At three-thirty the next afternoon, October 24, Hitler arrived back at Montoire. Ribbentrop and his staff had stayed behind for one more round of talks with the Spanish and so returned by planethe foreign minister seething with anger at the fresh snub he had that morning been dealt by Serrano Suner, who had failed to appear at the meeting they had arranged, and had sent only a junior official in his place. A secret protocol drawn up between the three governmentsof which only Hitler, Mussolini, and the foreign ministers were to learnwas the only tangible product of the journey to Hendaye. But Franco was rightly suspicious of the vagueness of the territorial offers it contained, and his suspicions grew stronger as Hitlers demands grew shriller in the months to come.
Hitler now set much greater store in persuading Marshal P�tain to bring France into the continental bloc he was organizing against Britain. Spains territorial claims could now safely be ignored. Hitler nervously left his train after lunch to make sure that a proper guard of honor was awaiting the French leaders, and he placed Field Marshal Keitel in front of the guard of honor to greet the victor of Verdun as his car drew up shortly before 6 P.M. P�tain stepped out wearing a long French military greatcoat and a generals red cap, beneath which gleamed his silver hair. Laval followed. P�tain was evidently gratified at the dignity of the German welcome, but he avoided inspecting the guard of honor. Hitler conducted him to his drawing room and repeated the impressive catalog of German arms, stressing the certainty of the Axis victory.
But when he asked P�tain for his response, the latter answered evasively that he must consult his government. The marshal would go no further than to confirm in principle his countrys readiness to collaborate with Germany. Nonetheless, Hitler was pleased with the outcome. P�tains military bearing, and even his reserve, had enhanced his admiration for him. He afterward said in Schaubs hearing, France should be proud to have such a leader, a man who wants only the best for his own country. Although he suspected P�tain would meet with opposition from his government, he believed the Montoire conferences had accomplished all he had set out to achieve, and this was echoed in the first paragraph of the next directive he issued to the forces :
It is the aim of my policy toward France to collaborate with that country in the most effective possible way to fight Britain in the future. For the time being there will fall to France the role of a nonbelligerent obliged to tolerate military steps taken by the German war command in her territories, and particularly in the African colonies, and to support those steps where necessary by operations of her own defensive forces. The most urgent duty of the French is the defenseboth by defensive and offensive meansof their possessions in West and Equatorial Africa against Britain and de Gaulles movement. From this duty there can flow Frances wholehearted participation in the war against Britain.
Petains meeting with Hitler had ended at 7:45 P.M. on October 24, a Thursday. Hitler accompanied the marshal back to his car while a guard of honor presented arms ; then the marshal was driven away, never to be seen by him again.
Hitlers special train remained overnight at the Montoire station. He had planned to return to Berlin to prepare for Molotovs visitthe Russians had secretly accepted the invitation two days beforebut now something unexpected occurred. Hewel brought him a long, jealous letter from Mussolini which had just arrived via the OKWs coded-teleprinter service. The letter, dated five days before, contained an impassioned appeal by the Duce to the F�hrer to set aside his dangerous flirtation with the French. Mussolini warned that he had information that the Vichy government was in secret touch with London via Lisbon ; the French would always hate the Axis, and certainly no less now that they were in defeat. As for his own plans, Mussolini again mentioned that the British menace looming over Greece was comparable with that which Hitler had so successfully forestalled in Norway. As far as Greece is concerned, Mussolini noted, I am determined to act without hesitationin fact to act very rapidly indeed.
After reading this, Hitler took fright and instructed Ribbentrop to arrange a meeting with Mussolini in a few days time in Upper Italy. The lack of greater urgency suggests that the Duces reference to attacking Greece was only of secondary importance to Hitlers concern to assuage Mussolinis fears about the approaches to France. Surely the Italians would not attack Greece now, with the autumn rains and winter snows almost upon them ? That would be downright madnessit would be an open invitation to the British to occupy Crete and other Greek islands well within bomber range of the Romanian oil fields. Ribbentrop telephoned his Italian counterpart from the first railroad station inside the German frontier, and in the small hours of Friday morning Hewel brought the F�hrer a teletyped note from Ribbentrops train, Heinrich : I just spoke with Count Ciano on the phone and told him the F�hrer would very much like to speak with the Duce early next week. Count Ciano put this to the Duce and replied latter would be happy to welcome the F�hrer and Reich Chancellor on Monday in Florence.Ribbentrop.
During his Brenner meeting with Mussolini, on October 4, Hitler had probably given theoretical support for an Italian occupation of Greece ifand only ifnecessary to forestall a British invasion. Admittedly the Abwehr had reported rumors of an Italian attack on Greece some days earlier ; during Friday October 25 the German military attach� in Rome cabled that Marshal Badoglio himself had informed him that they now had information that the British intended to occupy Greek territory and that the Italians had for their part taken all necessary precautions to intervene the moment the first Briton sets foot on Greek soil. But he had reassured him : I will inform you if it comes to that.
Hitler heard no more until Monday morning. His train reached Munich eventually late on Saturday, and he spent the next day killing time there. Ribbentrops foreign ministry remained placidly unperturbed by the multiplying reports of Italian preparations in Albania, which Italy had occupied in April 1939. The two key dispatches from Rome that Sunday eveningthe military attach�s discovery that Italy was going to attack Greece next morning, and the ambassadors report on Cianos communication to the same effect at 9 P.M.were not deciphered by their Berlin recipients until Monday morning and had certainly not reached Hitler, whose train left Munich punctually at 6 A.M. for Florence ; so punctually indeed that Field Marshal Keitel, who had flown down from Berlin, had to leap onto the train as it was pulling away from the platform.
Mussolinis troops had invaded Greece at five-thirty that morning. The stunning news reached Hitlers train at Bologna, fifty miles north of Florence. Mussolini had obviously withheld his plan from him, to pay him in his own coin for Norwayand more pertinently for sending German troops into Romania, of which Mussolini was joint guarantor. Hitlers purpose until now had been at least to persuade the Duce not to attack Greece until after the American presidential elections, which were one week away. Hitler also wanted to be in a position to give his friend his expert advice on the best thrust direction for the offensive, and to mount a German airborne assault on Crete by divisions first moved to North African soil. Possession of Crete was after all the key to the command of the eastern Mediterranean. By the time Hitlers train steamed into Florence an hour later, 11 A.M., however, he had pocketed his intense disappointment at his allys rash and thoughtless move, though he was hard put to control his anger when Mussolini strutted up to him and announced in German : F�hrerwir marschieren ! We are on the march !
Seven hours of discussions followed. At one stage Mussolini hinted incoherently at his real motive for attacking Greece. You see, I trust my soldiers ; but not my generals. They cant be trusted. But Hitlers mistrust extended to all Italians from now on. Why had they not given expression to their military aspirations by completing their assault on Egypt ? The capture of the British naval base at Alexandria would have had immense consequences for their Mediterranean position. The Italians were comparing their Greek campaign with the German campaign in Norway, but they had left Crete and the Peleponnesian Islands unmolested ; had Hitler shown no interest in Trondheim or Narvik in April ? There was nobody on Hitlers staff who did not see this Greek adventure as a strategic error of the first magnitude, although Mussolini was optimistic that it would soon all be over. One of Hitlers adjutants noted that Hitler swore at all German liaison staffs and attach�s who knew their way around the best restaurants but were the worlds worst spies, and hinted that this was going to spoil many a scheme he was hatching himself.
All his fears proved only too well founded. Italy had not committed enough strength to the campaign. On the day after the Florence meeting, British ground and air forces landed on Crete. On November 3 the first British army units landed on the Greek mainland near Athens. Mussolinis invading divisions were thrown back. A member of Jodls staff noted on October 29 : At present no participation in Greece is planned ; nor is anything being undertaken with regard to Crete for the time being. But within a week Hitler had been forced to order the Wehrmacht to prepare an offensive against Greece to take the pressure off his harassed and headstrong ally. Out of this plan emerged perforce the need to invade Yugoslavia as well, and the schedule for spring 1941already crowded with possible major operations in east and westwas finally thrown out of joint. On this day in October 1940 was sown the first seed of later defeat. There is no doubt about it, the F�hrer was to lament as the shadows of that defeat began to fall across him, we have had no luck with the Latin races ! While I was occupied, first in Montoire, buttoning up a futile policy of collaboration with France, and then in Hendaye, where I had to submit to receiving gaudy honors at the hands of a false friend, a third Latinand this time one who really was a friendtook advantage of my preoccupation to set in motion his disastrous campaign against Greece.
Nevertheless, the signs had been there to see, had Hitler not been so afflicted with blind trust in Mussolini ; nor can Ribbentrop escape his share of the blame. Hitlers naval adjutant, Puttkamer, has stated that his chief refused to take the warning signals seriously. On October 18 Jodls staff had first heard rumors that Italy was planning to hurl up to ten divisions at Greece at the end of the month. On the seventeenth a colonel on the Italian General Staff had confidentially told a German liaison officer in Rome that the Italian attack would begin eight or nine days later. A senior official of the foreign ministry had then drafted a telegram to the German ambassador in Rome directing him to deliver a stern demarche to the Italian government, but Ribbentrop had prevented the dispatch of this telegram, saying that its tone was too strong and that the ambassador should merely direct a friendly inquiry to Count Ciano. Almost simultaneously Hitler was shown a telegram in which his ambassador in Rome referred to the Italian plans against Greece, and not long afterward he saw a full report by the ambassador on a conversation with Ciano. In this exchange, the Italian foreign minister pointed out : Italy has complete freedom of action over Greece. The F�hrer has conceded this to the Ducewords which caused Ribbentrop to telephone his ministry and stop even the telegram about the friendly inquiry. The whole matter must be decided by the F�hrer, said Ribbentrop ; and Hitlers decision was that Italy must be trusted, and that no inquiry was to be sent to Rome.
Hitler returned to Berlin. For the next two weeksending with Molotovs arrival from Moscowhe lost the initiative, thanks to Mussolinis untimely attack on Greece. He unenthusiastically examined one peripheral project after another : the capture of Gibraltar, support for the Italians in Egypt, the mining of the Suez Canal, and even the occupation of various Atlantic islands as bases for a possible future war with the United States. Now he began to regret that he had not invaded Britain, and the diaries of his staff show him repeating years later that the navy had smart-talked him out of it. Julius Schaub recalled, The F�hrer told me afterward, So long as I acted on instinct I acted rightly ; the moment I allowed myself to be persuaded, things went wrongas with the invasion of Britain.
During this period of indecision, only the Luftwaffe bombingwhich had now killed fourteen thousand people in Britainand the U-boat blockade continued. Meanwhile, Mussolinis humiliation by the Greeks restored British morale. For a time Hitler considered the possibility of seeking an armistice with Britain at the expense of Italy or France ; but his instinct was against that, and he told G�ringas chief of the Four-Year Planto prepare the war economy for a long fight. Some time before, on returning through France from his meeting with Franco, he had cabled Admiral Karl D�nitz, the wiry commander of the German U-boat fleet, to join his train ; he had ordered him to build huge concrete shelters to protect the U-boats from enemy air attacks on new submarine bases in western France. The navy had not thought them really necessary, but on his return to Berlin now Hitler sent for Fritz Todt and showed him precisely what he wanted. By Easter 1941 the first U-boat pens were readya good example of Hitlers foresight.
The Axis alliance as such had again reached low ebb. Throughout the summer the German army had encouraged Hitler to offer Italy armored units to ensure victory in Egypt, but the Italians had proudly snubbed this offer. At the Brenner meeting early in October, however, the Duce had hinted that he could use German tanks after all, and throughout that month Hitler had prepared to send his 3rd Panzer Division to help the Italians capture Marsa Matruh ; the army had sent a panzer general to carry out an on-the-spot investigation in North Africa. By the time the general reported to Hitler at the beginning of November, the F�hrer had determined to let the Italians stew in their own juice all winter. He would, instead, use the spare troops to invade Greece from Bulgaria and thus secure an outlet to the Aegean Sea ; and he also planned a simultaneous attack on Gibraltar together with Spain but without Italy, since he could meet Spains territorial demands at Italys expense. He told his army adjutant he was so angry with Italy that he was minded to send no troops to North Africa and none either to Albaniainto which Italian attack divisions had retreated after a Greek counterattack.
The panzer generals report from North Africa was the last straw : the Italians were highly unready to resume their offensive ; their army commanders were inadequate, the water supplies for the attacking troops were insecure, and German mechanized units would be adversely affected by engine breakdowns under desert conditions. Hitler forthwith wrote off all idea of sending troops to North Africa ; he ordered the planning to continue on a purely caretaker basis only. Ironically, it was to General Rommel that the F�hrer now bluntly proclaimed, Not one man and not one pfennig will I send to North Africa. A few days later the disgrace of the Italians was complete. They had kept their battle fleet in harbor rather than risk it in an assault on Crete ; now a handful of British torpedo planes attacked the warships in Taranto harbor and crippled three battleships, including Mussolinis most modern battleship. Schadenfreude in Berlin was tempered by the realization that the strategic balance in the Mediterranean had been ominously tilted.
Hitlers lack of strategic purpose was most clearly expressed in his rambling discussion with his supreme commanders on November 4 and in the resulting Wehrmacht directive issued a week later. General Franco had just personally written to Hitler that he took his oral promises very seriouslywhich meant that he intended to declare war on Britain. Hitler now told his commanders that he wanted to speed up Spains entry into the war and tackle Gibraltarthe key to the western Mediterraneanas soon as the political negotiations were out of the way. A wing of Junkers 88 dive-bombers would fly from French airfields, wipe out the British warships sheltering in Gibraltar, and land in Spain ; at the same time powerful German ground forces would cross into Spain and invest the British fortress. Since the British would probably covet the Canaries or Portugals Cape Verde Islands once Gibraltar had fallen, the Germans must occupy those Atlantic islands, too. The political talks were to start at once.
In the Balkans, an operation for the occupation of northern Greece (Macedonia and Thrace) was to be planned should need arise. That Hitler desired the Dardanelles to come under German control is also evident, though this would eventually mean war with Turkey. However, on November 4 he commented to General Halder : We cannot go on down to the Dardanelles until we have defeated Russia. Russia remained the one great area where Hitler could take a bold initiative, and it came higher in his list of priorities than invading Britain. At the end of October, a member of Jodls staff had noted that even though the Soviet Union had just occupied still more Romanian territorythree islands in the Danube estuary, on the pretext that they were part of Bessarabiathis encroachment was for the present being played down. No orders of any kind have been issued for Case East, nor are any as yet to be expected. And in the admiralty it was optimistically believed that Case East is no longer considered likely as things are going at present. But, on November 4, Hitler said to Halder that Russia remained the nub of Europes problems : Everything must be done so that we are ready for the final showdown.
What triggered Hitlers remark ? From the Forschungsamt reports Hitler now knew that in Moscow Molotov had recently discussed Russias interest in the Dardanelles with Sir Stafford Cripps and had even demanded a naval base there. The ultimate clash between Germany and the USSR seemed inevitable if Hitler could not deflect Moscows interests toward the Persian Gulf and India. But the Nazi party also seems to have reminded Hitler where his real mission lay. On the last day of October, the ruthless Gauleiter of Posen, Arthur Greiser, lunched with Hitler and Bormann at the Chancellery and complained at the way the eyes of the German people were currently turned west instead of east. The conquests in the west had brought Germany a bigger population to feed, and this was the very opposite of the Lebensraum policies Hitler had preached to the Party : Lebensraum could only be assured by conquests in the east. The F�hrer agreed that this opinion was a correct one, noted Bormann, and emphasized that when peace is concluded absolutely every young and capable civil servant aspiring to promotion will have to serve a number of years in the eastern territories.
On the eve of Molotovs arrival in Berlin, Hitler visited Field Marshal von Bock, his formidable new Commander in Chief in the east. Bock wrote :
The F�hrer called, sat half an hour at my bedside, and was very friendly and concerned. The overall situation was covered in detail. He is furious at Italys escapade in Greece ; not only did Italy keep it secret from us, she actually denied it when we taxed her with it. The F�hrer described how he tried to prevent the mischief by going down to Florence, or at least to keep things on ice long enough for us to lend a helping hand ; but in vainMussolini had announced he could no longer call off the operation that had begun. The ultimateand highly undesirableoutcome is that the Romanian oil fields will be threatened by the British air force units from Salonika. This danger is so great that it may oblige us to take countermeasures.... What will transpire in the east is still an open question ; circumstances may force us to step in to forestall any more dangerous developments.
The outcome of Molotovs visit would determine whether or not Hitler would attack the Soviet Union. In the secret directive he circulated to his service commanders on November 12 after a week of drafting and redrafting, Hitler approved this wording : Russia. Political discussions have been initiated with the aim of establishing what Russias posture will be over the coming period. Irrespective of the outcome of these discussions, all the preparations orally ordered for the east are to continue. Directives thereon will follow as soon as the armys basic operational plan has been submitted to and approved by me.
Molotov had his first encounter with Hitler at three oclock that day.
The Soviet foreign minister arrived at Anhalt station with a big bodyguard. Ribbentrops state secretary, Weizs�cker, described them as good gangster types for a filmhe found it depressing that 130 million Russians were being represented by such a shabby bunch. The station building was brilliant with fresh greenery and flowers, Russian flags waved, and a military band greeted the delegation. Every member seemed to be under his neighbors surveillance. Molotov had even had to radio Moscow for permission to eat in the German dining car. He was accompanied by a young official, ostensibly an interpreter, though he spoke not one word to the Germans. Weizs�cker wrote in his diary : Molotov seems to be a thorough worker. His men are timid. All are obviously afraid of us. Many of them quote Bismarck and his concept of a German-Russian collaboration.... From our viewpoint too a cooling off in the east is worthwhile. This summer it has become � la mode to wish for war with Russia or regard it as necessary. And in an entry he added some days later : Why not let them stew in their own stupid bolshevism ? So long as the country is ruled by officials like those we have seen here, its less to be feared than when the czars were in power !
Not since his talks with the British before Munich, in 1938, had Adolf Hitler heard such tough language as Molotov used on November 12 and 13. Hitler had always contended that the Soviet Union and the Reich were two different worlds, but might try to live together. As Ribbentrop had done before him, he harangued the Russian minister as though he were at a Party rally. He put it to Molotov candidly that it was in their interests to stand back to back, rather than try to outstare one another. If Russia wanted to share in the booty as the British Empire fell apart, then now was the time to declare Soviet solidarity with the Tripartite Pact powers. He was not asking for an outright military alliance from Russia ; he sympathized, he said, with Russias desire for an outlet to the high seas and suggested she should expand southward from Batum and Baku toward the Persian Gulf and India ; Germany would expand into Africa. As for Russias interest in the Dardanelles, Hitler restated his willingness to call for the renegotiation of the 1936 Montreux Convention, which governed the straits, to bring it into line with Moscows defensive interests.
Molotovone year younger than Hitler, a stocky, nondescript figure who reminded Weizs�cker of a schoolmaster typeitemized with an occasional frosty smile the price demanded by the Soviet Union for any explicit alignment with the Axis. Stalin himself had dictated these points to him before he left, he said. Russia wanted another stab at Finlandshe intended to occupy and annex the whole country, which had, after all, been assigned her by the 1939 pact Molotov had signed with Ribbentrop in Moscow. But Hitler was adamant that there must be no fresh war in the Baltic ; he was at war, and he needed Finlands nickel and timber supplies. When Molotov complainedcrudely, as he himself apologetically notedthat Hitlers recent guarantee to Romania and the troops he had just sent there could only be directed against Russia, Hitler acidly reminded him that Romania had herself asked for them. And when Molotov announced Russias intention of inviting Bulgaria to sign a nonaggression pact which would permit the establishment of a Soviet base near the Dardanelles and would guarantee the safety of King Boris, Hitler ironically inquired whether Bulgaria too had asked for such assistance ; pressed later by Molotov for a reply to Soviet terms, Hitler evasively answered that he must consult Mussolini !
Molotov was unconvinced : he was unconvinced that Hitler was serious in his offer of partnership ; since Italys crippling reverses in Greece and at Taranto, he was unconvinced of Axis supremacy ; above all he was unconvinced that Britains days were numbered. Each of his conferences with Hitler was terminated by the warning of approaching British aircraft, and his dinner at the Soviet embassy on the thirteenth ended abruptly for the same reason. Ribbentrop invited him to the concrete shelter at his home and herewho will ever know what prompted Molotovs untimely candor ?the Soviet foreign minister revealed that Moscows long-range interests extended far beyond the Balkansas though that was not ominous enough ! Molotov asked Ribbentrop whether Germany really was interested in preserving Swedens neutrality, and he declared that Russia could never entirely forego an interest in the western approaches to the Baltic eitherthe Kattegat and Skagerrak.
When Ribbentrop told the F�hrer of Molotovs revelations in the shelter, Hitler was stunned. Like Italy, the Soviet Union had suffered only military disgracesmost recently in Finlandwhile Hitlers Wehrmacht had crushed the resistance of one country after another. Yet Molotov had made immense demands. He demanded that we give him military bases on Danish soil on the outlets to the North Sea, Hitler was to recall in the last week of his life. He had already staked a claim to them. He demanded Constantinople, Romania, Bulgaria, and Finlandand we were supposed to be the victors ! While the public was deliberately fed the impression that the formal discussions had been harmonious and successful, within the OKW and Hitlers Chancellery there was no doubt that the parting of the ways had come. Keitels adjutant recalled that when he entered the F�hrers daily war conference the next day it was like entering the house of a dying man : a funereal aura clouded the proceedings. One of Hitlers own adjutants wrote : [The F�hrer] says he never had expected much from it all. The discussions have shown, he says, which way the Russians plans are lying : M[olotov] has let the cat out of the bag. He (the F�hrer) is vastly relieved, this wont even have to remain a mariage de convenance.
Irrevocable and terrible in its finality, the decision Adolf Hitler now took was one he never regretted, even in the jaws of ultimate defeat.
1 In fact the maximum number of French prisoners in German hands was 1,538,000.
Notes
p. 165 G�ringhis staff under interrogation testified to this tooargued for a German attack on Gibraltar, the occupation of French North Africa and Dakar, and the sealing-off of the Mediterranean instead of a Russian campaign ; he also wanted the navy to invade the Azores as a German Atlantic base.
p. 166 Hitlers phrase fraud on a grand scale is quoted by Weizs�cker and appears in the notes of Etzdorf, Halder, and Tippelskirch as well at this time.
p. 167 The Finnish military attach� in Moscow quoted to his German counterparts information that the Russians were beginning to spread anti-German propaganda in the factories (T77/1027/0207).
p. 172 Although Mussolinis letter to Hitler is dated October 19, 1940, Hewels receipt for it, signed in Hitlers train at Montoire, shows it did not arrive until the 24th (AA files, B�ro RAM). The original teletype from Ribbentrops train Heinrich is in Hewels private papers.
p. 173 The available documents suggest thatperhaps on October 4, 1940Hitler had given Mussolini a free hand against Greece, but in the distant future and only if unavoidable. On October 21 Weizs�cker noted (diary): Toward Italy we are right respectful. Were not restraining the Italian intention of dropping on Greece soon. Axis loyalty. On October 23 the OKW diary noted Jodls suspicion that the F�hrer had agreed without telling his closer staff. This was echoed by the naval staff diary on the 25th, while Weizs�cker noted that day that Mussolini announces hell intervene in Greece simultaneously with next offensive against Egypt. See the naval staff file PG/33316, Tippelskirchs diarywith its minute-by-minute account of October 28and Badoglios memoirs, Italien im Zweiten Weltkrieg (Munich) pages 51 et seq., and Karl Ritters memo of November 7, 1940 (NG-3303)
p. 174 The adjutant was Engel. Tippelskirch wrote on November 1, 1940 : F�hrer in filthy temper about Greece. [Italians are] just amateurs, getting nowhere. Duce complains about his generals, if only he had some like ours.
p. 174 I have quoted the F�hrers lament with some reluctance from M. Bormanns notes on Hitlers last Table Talk conversationsthat on February 20, 1945. These notes have survived only in French translation, upon which British and German (!) translations have since been based.
p. 175 Etzdorf analyzed the divergence of German and Italian policy on November 14, 1940, in these words : Italians want to state their claims [on French territories] right now. F�hrer against this as France would then drift away, as she wouldnt swallow [loss of] Corsica and Tunisia. Hitler wants to play it cool, theres still time yet, forbids [Ribbentrop] to let Ciano raise the matter if he meets Laval and Ciano. Question : Peace with Britain at Frances or Italys expense ?
p. 180 I suspect that Hitler deliberately allowed some of his ministers to spread the impression that the Molotov talks had gone harmoniously. (Evidence of this is in Raeders files, PG/31762c ; in naval staff diary, November 16, 1940 ; in Weizs�ckers circular to diplomatic missions, November 15 ; in the diaries of Halder and Tippelskirch). Goebbelss press directive of November 14 was unctuous and oily in its tone. But Heinrich Himmler was more succinct in his secret speech to Party district leaders on November 28, 1940. Upshot is : all treaties and economic agreements are to be exploited to the full ; then shaken off the moment they become a burden after the war and lose their importance.
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Which late Englishman has most often won the accolade 'British Designer of the Year'? | BIOGRAPHY: John Galliano Lifetime
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BIOGRAPHY
John Galliano was born to a Spanish mother and Gibraltarian father, and Spanish heritage remains an integral part of Galliano’s life and work.
He spent the first six years of his life submerged in a sensuous wonderland: Mediterranean colour and swirling, woven textile surrounded him at every turn. Such an environment kindled a love of textiles and design in Galliano from an early age, and Latin influences are prevalent in his later work.
In 1966, Galliano and his family moved to London. A massive culture shock awaited Galliano, as he was removed from his more vibrant former surroundings. His family prided itself immensely on appearance and each time he left the house as a child, Galliano was immaculately turned out. These standards of dressing, especially when he compared himself with his more slovenly English schoolmates, made him stand out and taught him important standards of dress, which he would require later in life.
However, he was not considered an outstanding student. It was not until Galliano reached design school and was around people more like himself that he began to flourish.
Once Galliano had graduated from City and East London College, he enrolled at Central Saint Martins, where he made a remarkable impact. His graduation collection, titled ‘Les Incroyables’, made brilliant by his romantic flair and diligence, received huge approval. Indeed, his whole line was hastily snapped up and put into the window of Browns boutique. Galliano left Central Saint Martins in 1983 with a first class degree and a healthy stockpile of critical acclaim.
In 1984, Galliano unleashed his own label. More critical approval followed. His daring reinvention of romantic themes and delicate, superbly tailored garments were his trademarks.
In 1987, he received the ‘British Designer of the Year’ award. However, critical success was not matched by major financial success. He lost backers and did not have enough money to show for several seasons. In frustration, he quit London for Paris in the early 1990s. This was not an immediate solution. Several times Galliano was almost forced to declare bankruptcy. This was made all the more bitter by the fact that, while he struggled for money, his critical praise continued unabated.
Fortunately, the admiration of the fashion community allowed him to continue. Fashion editors and critics were always busy trying to get work for Galliano, and models, like Kate Moss, worked for him out of friendship rather than money.
In 1995, Galliano finally got the break he so richly deserved: he became the first Englishman to head a French couture house, when he was put in charge of Givenchy. Immersing himself in the role, he went on to present his first couture show at the helm of the company at the beginning of 1996, impressing those who attended the event at the Stade Francais. The collection was well received, with adulation and praise for his creative genius coming from critics and the fashion media.
Impressed by this success and others, luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, which owned Givenchy, had Galliano transferred to Christian Dior less than two years later, where he replaced Italian designer Gianfranco Ferre.
He staged his first couture show for the luxury brand in January 1997, the same time the label was celebrating its 50th anniversary. The same year also saw Galliano gain recognition after being declared British Designer of the Year, although he had to share the award with Alexander McQueen, his successor at Givenchy. This was the fourth time he had won the accolade, having triumphed in 1987, 1994 and 1995.
His knack for taking themes and styles, often Latin or romantic, from the past, and somehow making them contemporary and edgy, was astonishing. Perhaps just as remarkable was the perseverance and conviction of the man. He managed to keep his talent undiluted through difficult times and emerged with glory and success.
In 1996, Galliano moved to Christian Dior, unveiling his first couture collection for them on January 20th 1997 to coincide with the fashion house's 50th anniversary.
Galliano won the British Designer of the Year award again in 1994 and 1995. In addition he shared the award in 1997 with the late Alexander McQueen. In 2001, the designer was awarded a CBE in the Queen's birthday honours list.
However, Galliano hit the headlines for all of the wrong reasons in 2011 when a video emerged of him allegedly making anti-sematic remarks to Italian tourists in a Paris bar. Actress Natalie Portman, who is the face of the Miss Dior Cherie fragrance and is of Jewish ancestry, said she was disgusted by the comments.
After suspending the designer in February 2011, Dior announced in March 2011 that it has begun proceedings to permanently dismiss Galliano. Dior chief executive Sidney Toledano said he "firmly" condemned the remarks made by the fashion designer.
However, he has made public attempts to attone for his mistakes and has returned to designing.
| Alexander McQueen |
Besides Uranium, which extremely radioactive element is extracted from Pitchblende? | Kim Kardashian steals the show at Glamour Women of the Year awards | Daily Mail Online
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She's one of the most glamorous stars around, and regularly makes headlines on both sides of the Atlantic thanks to her fashion sense.
So it was no wonder Kim Kardashian was the star of the show as she arrived at the Glamour Women of the Year awards last night wearing a figure-hugging black number.
The corseted Dolce & Gabbana dress clung to Kim's curves and drew attention to her famous posterior as she posed for photographers outside the event in London's Berkeley Square Gardens.
Figure-hugging: Kim Kardashian wore a black corseted Dolce & Gabbana dress which clung to her curves as she arrived at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards
Perfect from every angle: The dress highlighted Kim's curves and drew attention to her famous posterior
However, perhaps Kim could have rethought her hair choice for the evening, as her slicked back 'do looked slightly too severe for her womanly outfit.
She also teamed the outfit with a pair of long Lorraine Schwartz earrings and several bracelets, as well as her huge $2million engagement ring.
Before the event, Kim tweeted: 'Lorraine Schwartz oughtta do! Its big ballin' baby"....at the Glamour Awards!'
Calm down! Awards host James Corden looks enamoured with Kim as she accepts her Entrepreneur Of The Year accolade
Baby got back: Kim receives applause from Corden and award presenter Peter Jones as she makes her way off the stage
Jetsetters: Kristen Stewart, in Balmain, and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley wearing Stella McCartney, had flown in from Los Angeles for the event
Colourful: Katherine Jenkins in Victoria Beckham, Fearne Cotton in Miu Miu and Rachel Stevens stood out from the crowd in their outfits
Sticking to black: Both Gemma Arterton, in Gucci, and Louise Redknapp, in Antonio Beradi, stuck to trusty LBDs on the red carpet
The 30-year-old star was just one of the stunning celebrities at the annual awards ceremony, but Kim didn't stick around for the after-party where guests were treated to Disaronno and Cointreau cocktails.
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Other U.S.-based stars to have flown in for the occasion included Rosie Huntington-Whitetely, who looked stunning in a nude Stella McCartney dress, and Kristen Stewart, who showed off her slender figure in a tight strapless Balmain minidress.
Stewart arrived in London yesterday after a brief reunion with boyfriend Robert Pattinson at the MTV Movie Awards over the weekend.
Brights are best: New X Factor judge Tulisa Contostavlos, in fuchsia Antonio Berardi, and model Daisy Lowe, wearing Versace, looked colourful in their bright dresses
Stunning: Girl group The Saturdays (left to right) Una Healy, Frankie Sandford, Vanessa White, Mollie King and Rochelle Wiseman, in Paule Ka, Black Carpet looked glamorous as they posed for photographers
Excitement: The group were thrilled to pick up the Best Band accolade, which was presented to them by rapper Dizzee Rascal
The Twilight couple managed to spend some quality time together at the awards show and at an after party together, but were soon torn apart again due to filming schedules.
While Stewart is in London, Pattinson arrived in Toronto to continue filming on his upcoming new movie Cosmopolis.
One of the first celebrities to arrive was Fearne Cotton, looking summery in a bright yellow Miu Miu dress, who attended the event with her mother Linda, having recently split from fiancé Jesse Jenkins.
Full-length glamour: Tess Daly and Kirsty Gallacher both went for maxi dresses, albeit very different colours
Glamour girl: Jessie J, who sported long hair extensions, was virtually unrecognisable in her black sequinned Dolce & Gabbana dress
Rachel Stevens also stood out from the crowd in a pretty leopard-print asymmetric dress, while Katherine Jenkins wowed in a full-length red and black Victoria Beckham dress.
Tess Daly shone in a pleated nude dress, with a sci-fi style necklace, while Ellie Goulding went for monochrome in a black Jonathan Saunders dress with sheer white top.
New X Factor judge Tulisa showed she is a fashion force to be reckoned with as she stood out from the crowd in a fuchsia Antonio Berardi number, teamed with gladiator style shoe boots, while Kirsty Gallacher also adopted the 'bright is best' mantra in a green full-length number.
Not a good look: Alexandra Burke's Dolce & Gabbana dress swamped her petite figure
What are you wearing? Paloma Faith and Pixie Geldof, in House Of Holland, also missed the fashion mark in their outfits
Talking about her upcoming role on X Factor, Tulisa told MailOnline: 'I'm really enjoying it so far. I'm looking someone who's going to completely blow me away.
'It has been a nerve-wracking experience but people know what to expect of me and I'm absolutely loving it.'
Daisy Lowe also went for a colourful outfit in a bodycon Versace number which showed off her toned curves.
Pop starlets: Ellie Goulding in Jonathan Saunders, Eliza Doolittle and Diana Vickers, in Tata Naka, all made an appearance at the awards and all looked amazing
And the winner is: Boy band JLS presented Comedy Actress Of The Year to Miranda Hart
Eliza Doolittle opted against her usual fashion choice in a pretty cut-out dress which suited her figure, while new Xtra Factor host Caroline Flack showed off her enviable pins in a pair of black shorts and white top.
Fashion disasters of the evening, however, were led by Alexandra Burke, who completely swamped her petite figure in a tent-like Dolce & Gabbana dress.
Date night: Rod Stewart attended with wife Penny Lancaster, while Davina McCall was accompanied by husband Matthew Robertson
Short and sweet: (Left to right) Caroline Flack, Lenora Crichlow and Jameela Jamil, in Ada Zanditon, all showed off their legs in short outfits
At the awards, Dannii Minogue was crowned TV Personality of the Year - despite her exit from The X Factor.
The Australian judge, 39, had to quit the ITV1 show after learning that the auditions schedule clashed with her work on Australia's Got Talent.
The mother-of-one, who recently played down rumours of a split from boyfriend Kris Smith, accepted the honour in a video acceptance speech from Australia.
Sticking to black: Dawn French, Lorraine Kelly and Stevie Nicks on the red carpet at the awards
Last night's bash, hosted by Gavin and Stacey star James Corden, also saw Sarah Burton, who created the ivory wedding gown worn by the Duchess of Cambridge at April's royal wedding, win Designer of the Year.
Burton, who is Alexander McQueen's creative director, also created Pippa Middleton's dress, which prompted admiration for the maid of honour's slinky silhouette, particularly her posterior.
Big Brother-turned-Million Pound Drop host Davina McCall won Presenter of the Year, with the award presented to her by Dermot O'Leary.
Happy faces: Fearne Cotton with her Radio Personality of the Year award and Jessica Ennis with her Sportswoman of the Year award
Girls just wanna have fun: The Saturdays after collected their Band of the Year award
Celebrate: JLS pose for photographs with comedienne Miranda Hart after presenting her with the Comedy Actress of the Year award
Singer Adele, who has dominated both the US and British charts with her new album 21, was named UK Solo Artist of the Year.
Pregnant singer-turned-fashion designer Victoria Beckham was named Accessory Designer of the Year.
Film Actress of the Year went to former Bond girl Gemma Arterton while Jonathan Ross's wife, screenwriter and producer Jane Goldman, took Filmmaker of the Year.
Excited: Kim Kardashian with her Entrepeneur of the Year award and Ellie Goulding with her Pandora Breakthrough of the Year award
Comedians united: Michael McIntyre presented Dawn French with the Writer of the Year award
Outstanding Contribution went to Fleetwood Mac frontwoman Stevie Nicks, singer Jessie J was crowned Woman of Tomorrow, Kim Kardashian was Entrepreneur of the Year, and Miranda Hart was Comedy Actress of the Year.
Pandora Breakthrough of the Year was won by Ellie Goulding, Writer of the Year went to actress, writer and comedienne Dawn French, and Band of the Year was The Saturdays.
GLAMOUR WOMEN OF THE YEAR AWARDS, FULL LIST OF WINNERS:
Presenter of the Year - Davina McCall
Designer of the Year - Sarah Burton
Filmmaker of the Year - Jane Goldman
Theatre Actress of the Year - Naomie Harris
TV Personality of the Year - Dannii Minogue
Pandora Breakthrough of the Year - Ellie Goulding
Writer of the Year - Dawn French
Sportswoman of the Year - Jessica Ennis
Band of the Year - The Saturdays
Accessory Designer of the Year - Victoria Beckham
Radio Personality of the Year - Fearne Cotton
TV Actress of the Year - Lenora Crichlow
Comedy Actress of the Year - Miranda Hart
Entrepreneur of the Year - Kim Kardashian
UK Solo Artist of the Year - Adele Adkins
Film Actress of the Year - Gemma Arterton
Woman of Tomorrow - Jessie J
Editor's Special Award - Rosie Huntington Whiteley
Man of the Year - Garrett Hedlund
Outstanding Contribution - Stevie Nicks
| i don't know |
What is the SI unit of electrical current? | Current definitions of the SI units
Unit of mass
kilogram
The kilogram is the unit of mass; it is equal to the mass of the international prototype of the kilogram.
Unit of time
The second is the duration of
9 192 631 770
periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the cesium 133 atom.
Unit of
electric current
ampere
The ampere is that constant current which, if maintained in two straight parallel conductors of infinite length, of negligible circular cross-section, and placed 1 meter apart in vacuum, would produce between these conductors a force equal to
2 x 10-7 newton
| Ampere |
What building was home to novelist Mary Fisher in 'The Life and Loves of a She-Devil'? | Base unit definitions: Ampere
Unit of electric current (ampere)
Abbreviations : CGPM, CIPM, BIPM
Electric units, called "international," for current and resistance were introduced by the International Electrical Congress held in Chicago in 1893, and the definitions of the "international" ampere and the "international" ohm were confirmed by the International Conference of London in 1908.
Although it was already obvious on the occasion of the 8th CGPM (1933) that there was a unanimous desire to replace those "international" units by so-called "absolute" units, the official decision to abolish them was only taken by the 9th CGPM (1948), which adopted the ampere for the unit of electric current, following a definition proposed by the CIPM in 1946:
The ampere is that constant current which, if maintained in two straight parallel conductors of infinite length, of negligible circular cross section, and placed 1 meter apart in vacuum, would produce between these conductors a force equal to 2 x 10-7 newton per meter of length.
The expression "MKS unit of force" which occurs in the original text has been replaced here by "newton," the name adopted for this unit by the 9th CGPM (1948). Note that the effect of this definition is to fix the magnetic constant (permeability of vacuum) at exactly
4
| i don't know |
Which drama featured Michael Pallin, Robert Lindsay, & Julie Walters as Lindsay's mum? | Lindsay Duncan - First thoughts about
Lindsay Duncan
Lindsay Vere Duncan, CBE (born ) is a Scottish stage, television and film actress. On stage she has won two Olivier Awards, a Tony Award for her performance in Private Lives, and another Tony Award nomination for her role in Les Liaisons Dangereuses.
Write here your first thoughts about Lindsay Duncan ...
13 Dec 2016 23:22
//Is it sad I actually liked Beth's TDA win more than Duncan's? Like Brady came and loved her, Lindsay supported her it was great
13 Dec 2016 20:35
If someone said I had enough money and I could take six months of...
12 Dec 2016 19:58
I want to have the career that is my choice - what interests me, what...
11 Dec 2016 21:00
We feel exactly the same way every time we sink our teeth into our delicious biscuits. ð¸: IG: lindsay_duncan
11 Dec 2016 05:47
A certain amount of anger doesn't make us less empathetic, less human...
10 Dec 2016 05:27
My head hurts. Ahmunna go think about how nice Lindsay Duncan looks in 19th century costumes.
10 Dec 2016 04:24
I just rewatched Alice Through the Looking Glass and I think I'm in lahv with Lindsay Duncanð help
10 Dec 2016 03:28
Recently I made the mistake of opening a bundle of reviews that so...
09 Dec 2016 23:55
You're not cast because you're like someone or because you're sym...
09 Dec 2016 17:25
My parents' generation was definitely pre-telly, and they knew *** ..
09 Dec 2016 12:37
I do feel almost violent when I'm watching things that I don't th...
08 Dec 2016 21:56
Lindsay Duncan's Agent: " Hello Darling ! .Fancy a bit of 'Money for Old Rope' " ??
08 Dec 2016 21:25
Close to the Enemy: why does Callum (Jim Sturgess) have this phoney American accent ? Lindsay Duncan - what is she doing ? It's all barmy
08 Dec 2016 20:58
Right Ms Lindsay Duncan on now. Stop what you're doing
08 Dec 2016 17:18
You always remember the delicacy of the work you do on a new play...
08 Dec 2016 06:43
Agreed. I loved his voice. Had the good fortune to see himnin Private Lives with Lindsay Duncan
08 Dec 2016 01:40
I was the suburban kid of Scottish parents, and the idea of an ac...
07 Dec 2016 19:05
That kind of creaming off the pretty postcard image of the past, I t...
07 Dec 2016 08:01
... Lindsay Duncan one of my fave actresses and just so happens to be Scottisâ¦
05 Dec 2016 08:57
I don't perform well in private. Socially, I mean. And I didn't as...
05 Dec 2016 07:19
VCC skip Lindsay Hudyma qualifies for BC Scotties, Jan. 17-22 in Duncan, with a last-end steal in Vernon qualifier.
04 Dec 2016 13:02
I'm perfectly gregarious, but I can also be really happy left to m...
23 Jun 2016 00:33
I'm *this close* to jumping into a fountain in a mess of meltdown a la Lindsay Duncan in Under the Tuscan Sun.
04 Jun 2016 21:13
Since Shooting the Past, Sherlock and Hayfever and a chance, post Grimes encounter at J Sheekey's I have loved Lindsay Duncan
03 Jun 2016 19:43
I've been listening to a new band called Wolf Alice, courtesy of my so...
03 Jun 2016 19:30
Lindsay Duncan quit her job as a banker to start boho clothing line.
03 Jun 2016 12:31
It should b the jazz dance by Jim Broadbent & Lindsay Duncan in Le Week-end (2013) on C 4 last night - brilliant
03 Jun 2016 12:23
Deep down, I think I would be utterly miserable in Hollywood.
02 Jun 2016 22:16
Watching has only reinforced my lack of belief in the institution of marriage. Fab cast though, love Lindsay Duncan
02 Jun 2016 21:53
We watched le Weekend with Lindsay Duncan, Jim Broadbent and Jeff Goldblum a super film, if you missed it sad sad
02 Jun 2016 21:46
When I grow up I want to be Lindsay Duncan
02 Jun 2016 21:34
'Le Week-End' on Loving Lindsay Duncan and Jim Broadbent . Music I believe, by the lovely Jeremy Sams! :)
02 Jun 2016 21:15
Lindsay Duncan is rocking my world in right now.
02 Jun 2016 21:07
Giving a shot on channel 4+1. Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan.
02 Jun 2016 20:35
I love few more than Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan but I'm struggling with Should I stick with it?
02 Jun 2016 20:08
Entertaining looking film just starting on C4 with Lindsay Duncan and Jim Broadbent Le Weekend
02 Jun 2016 17:20
2002 Lindsay Duncan won Best Performance by a Leading Actress in â Private Lives â
02 Jun 2016 15:42
Before Le Week-End on at 9pm, read our interview w/ Jim Broadbent & Lindsay Duncan:
02 Jun 2016 15:25
with Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan. It looks good.
02 Jun 2016 10:23
I suppose because I do and can work in the theatre, I don't see work a...
02 Jun 2016 09:55
This looks interesting with Lindsay Duncan & Jim Broadbent , so I expect some decent acting & it's on tonight @ 9.00pm GMT(21.00) C4
02 Jun 2016 07:43
TV Film of the Day: Broadbent and Duncan crumble in Paris in the gentle, melancholy Le Week-end (9pm
01 Jun 2016 22:43
I have done some wonderful television, but you know, there's not as mu...
01 Jun 2016 17:38
top 4's gonna be Gwen, Duncan, Heather, and some random 4th. maybe Lindsay lol
31 May 2016 11:16
Premiere alert! On this Thursday, Jim Broadbent & Lindsay Duncan are off to Paris in Le Week-End.
30 May 2016 02:51
lethal turns from Lindsay Duncan and Polly Walker , too
29 May 2016 11:30
My background is really being a writer's actor - that seems to be the ...
28 May 2016 19:38
us as a family in and Lindsay Duncan. http:â¦
27 May 2016 20:14
Every actor in Poliakoff's Shooting the Past would make a good Doctor: Cunningham, Tim Spall, Lindsay Duncan, Billie Whitelaw
27 May 2016 19:25
I've always had not just an affection but a real love for the theater ...
07 May 2016 03:35
I don't have any desire to be better known.
06 May 2016 18:27
This was all because got the two names mixed up and said Seymour is the English Fonda. Turns out he meant Lindsay Duncan! ð
05 May 2016 13:04
Can relate to Jon's response to Occupied- watching Black Mirror S 1 E 1. What a waste of Lindsay Duncan!! # TVWithoutBorders
04 May 2016 21:28
I would rather give up acting than become world famous, because I think you...
04 May 2016 18:28
There's a lot of dignity about the way Lindsay Duncan works,that's definitely something I aspire to.
04 May 2016 08:06
Lindsay Duncan buying groceries one lunchtime in the Waitrose under John Lewis, Oxford Street.
03 May 2016 21:47
I know I'll always work. In what form, it really doesn't matter.
03 May 2016 18:20
Can't figure out why this song and vid only has 27k views...it's a beaut. Lindsay Duncan
30 Apr 2016 14:28
I know I'm late to the party on this one but was amazing. Stellar acting all round, especially from Lindsay Duncan ðâ¤ï¸
19 Apr 2016 22:57
I was gonna say Lindsay Duncan in my next one! Anna Chancellor, Charlotte Rampling, and I really love Tea Leoni's voice too
09 Apr 2016 18:48
Check out what I found. Doctor Who Magazine. No 415. David Tennant Lindsay Duncan Waters of Mars cover via
09 Apr 2016 18:40
I'm a diehard Juliet Stevenson fan for my audiobook needs. Except for P&P. Lindsay Duncan is *brilliant* for P&P.
08 Apr 2016 23:43
. Lindsay 15. Collinsville 0. Congratulations Coach Duncan & home run hitters for the night, Garrett Martin & Andy Dieter!
08 Apr 2016 21:45
On the CON, we have Van Duncan, Buncombe County Sheriff, and Lindsay Carver Stockman, Buncombe County Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator
07 Apr 2016 15:57
Must admit, idea that EV-9D9 meant to be female never occurred to me. TC-14 is played by Lindsay Duncan though.
07 Apr 2016 12:20
Wait, is Mon Mothma Lindsay Duncan? Sure sounds like her. Because how good would that be.
07 Apr 2016 06:36
It's an important point to make that people can't just be invalidated, erad...
06 Apr 2016 14:18
Congrats to our Give Away to Getaway winners, Chris Duncan & Lindsay Swaim! Enjoy your prize from Schlitterbahn.
05 Apr 2016 21:49
CARIBBEAN GOSPEL ARTIST KOEN DUNCAN, RELEASES "REBEL OF A DIFFERENT NATURE!" Read the full story by clicking on... httâ¦
01 Apr 2016 18:39
Well said. A disgrace. And again reminiscent of grubby local politics with Robert Lindsay & Lindsey Duncan GBH 1991
01 Apr 2016 15:01
Ãaaa y est got it. Lindsay Duncan - Adelaide Brooke dans The Waters from Mars
12 Mar 2016 00:37
Churchill's Secret Hordes of brilliant actors headed by Michael Gambon , Lindsay Duncan and Romola Garai. Nice stuff.
28 Feb 2016 15:43
Churchill's Secret on ITV1 tonight with Michael Gambon as Winston Churchill, Lindsay Duncan as wife Clementine...
28 Feb 2016 09:29
Period costume BALLERS! Lindsay 'the dream' Duncan and Bill 'the *** Patterson alâ¦
28 Feb 2016 08:08
I've always been a material-based actor. That's what I've done, the choices...
27 Feb 2016 11:48
lovely interview by Graham with Lindsay Duncan. They are obviously having fun. âº
27 Feb 2016 11:12
Lindsay Duncan coming up on about the superb Churchillâs Secret
27 Feb 2016 09:45
10:00 Graham Norton: Graham talks to actors Lindsay Duncan and Sian Phillips, plus the UK entry for Eurovision.
27 Feb 2016 00:01
I love Arielle Dombasle forever but I especially love the "what if Lindsay Duncan and Alex Borstein had a band in '96" aesthetic
26 Feb 2016 23:50
Don't forget morning with Lindsay Duncan tomorrow (Saturday) at 8:45am at
26 Feb 2016 23:44
Saw this on TV in UK 20+ yrs ago: utterly unique. Fabulous performances by Viggo Mortensen and Lindsay Duncan.
26 Feb 2016 19:23
Duncan such s good interview with Murray loved it
26 Feb 2016 18:30
Lindsay Duncan did a great i/v on this morning. Looking forward to hearing more from her. Such a great voice.
26 Feb 2016 11:49
The wonderful Lindsay Duncan on Woman's Hour talking about Churchill's Secret
26 Feb 2016 10:26
Lindsay Duncan on playing Clementine on - for full story read brilliant biog of Clemmie, First Lady!
26 Feb 2016 09:45
10:00 Woman's Hour: Lindsay Duncan, the Savile review and Aoife Duffin at the Young Vic.
25 Feb 2016 18:29
Rickey criticizing the Lindsay Duncan scene (just played): You shouldn't say you'll destroy a person before you see their work.
25 Feb 2016 01:05
Join and Lindsay Duncan for a morning yoga class Saturday at 8:45am!
06 Feb 2016 22:32
Next Saturday 13th I will be playing The Music Hall, Aberdeen with the amazing ð. .
03 Feb 2016 16:32
GAMEDAY go for 3rd Straight Win 7:30 at Duncan vs Lindsay 1st of another 3 in 3
03 Feb 2016 13:11
Not an easy or pleasant character at all for me, but Lindsay Duncan's performance is extraordinary
03 Feb 2016 12:25
The excitement of stepping onto a stage - there's nothing quite like it.
03 Feb 2016 12:23
Didn't realise Lindsay Duncan was in it! I should really make the effort and finally watch this.
02 Feb 2016 14:42
I have the highest regard for Meryl Streep as an actress and think she's a ...
31 Jan 2016 17:26
Finally got round to watching About Time - not a classic, but very sweet. Lindsay Duncan manages to be majestic with minimal screentime. B+.
31 Jan 2016 02:12
I desperately wanted to play the part of Darth Vader's mother - I think she...
16 Jan 2016 02:22
Lindsay Duncan and Alan Rickman in the stage production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses . RIP Mr. Rickman.
15 Jan 2016 16:20
Lindsay Duncan - Alan Rickman - the set was incredibly beautiful too
10 Jan 2016 17:25
I am watching *the* campest episode of Marple. Lindsay Duncan, Will Young, Julia McKenzie, Nigel Harman, Sam Barnett all absurdly exquisite.
18 Dec 2015 11:19
Would love 2go back 2the Abbey . Last show I saw there - amazing . Starred Alan Rickman , Fiona Shaw , Lindsay Duncan
19 Nov 2015 03:56
I have a very vivid memory of Lindsay Duncan but I couldn't place the movie, so I scanned all her work and it's not there. What's this mean.
18 Nov 2015 20:32
I loved that play and loved Lindsay Duncan even more than Alan...ðð
18 Nov 2015 14:47
first Lindsay Duncan in BIRDMAN and now this
17 Nov 2015 11:16
come and meet Duncan and Lindsay on stand 27 to discuss our exciting and innovative qualifications
16 Nov 2015 23:55
"""can bob Duncan exterminate arzaylea""" -Brenna
12 Nov 2015 23:35
Congrats Duncan & Lindsay!Thanks for calling me to sell your home.
12 Nov 2015 22:51
ð· alanprickman: Alan Rickman and Lindsay Duncan in the play Les Liaisons Dangereuses [1985-1987]
12 Nov 2015 22:01
Our favourite sassy lassie has a new album out. Check out Lindsay Duncan's review ð¤ð¼ð
11 Nov 2015 15:57
Oh, Tilda Swinton as the Doctor? Amazing! What do you think about Miranda Richardson? Or get Lindsay Duncan back as the Doc.
11 Nov 2015 08:01
Les Liaisons Dangereuses review â Alan Rickman is a cat who knows the way to the cream
10 Nov 2015 09:56
(2/2) us anywhere; it merely indicates a closed mind. - Lindsay Duncan (Actress).
24 Sep 2015 18:45
Congrats to John M. Jackson!!! He just booked Fox Searchlight's "Gifted" opposite Chris Evans and Lindsay Duncan!
25 Aug 2015 17:18
Feeling lucky to be working on 'Our Sea' with the amazing Lindsay Duncan & Stephen Rea for
24 Aug 2015 16:06
Duncan Lindsay! We salute you! Where would we be without you? Hopefully not as long a break this time! x
23 Aug 2015 07:00
Dougray Scott. Lindsay Duncan. A train. Last Passenger is now on Netflix UK.
23 Aug 2015 03:39
Lindsay Duncan is a treasure in Episode One.
20 Aug 2015 04:04
Lindsay Duncan was great, strong as him. Funny enough, one of my favourite parts about The End of Time is Wilfred as companion.
19 Aug 2015 19:17
thanks for sharing Duncan Lindsay, have a great Wednesday :) (insight by
17 Aug 2015 22:23
Somewhat tangential but reminds me of Lindsay Duncan @ Rickman
01 Aug 2015 00:44
sadly willing to bet this is neither the worst Duncan's said nor the worst Lindsay's heard.
31 Jul 2015 23:13
Why do people not talk about Lindsay Lohan's contour in her mugshot? LOOK AT IT
31 Jul 2015 18:02
The cherry on the cake of a good day was seeing Dame Magna Lindsay Duncan on St John St as I cycled home. I know would approve.
29 Jul 2015 21:08
Basically writing this movie for Lindsay Duncan, so if anyone knows her, she can have my number.
29 Jul 2015 00:34
(Here's where I'd post a clip of her wonderful scene with Lindsay Duncan in "About Time" if I could find it.)
28 Jul 2015 21:07
I subscribed to Charles Trippy & Danny Duncan again. & Charles is fun to watch now, surprisingly. but Danny is kinda boring bc him & Lindsay
27 Jul 2015 18:00
Thanks Lindsay Duncan for your support tobring to the stage
27 Jul 2015 14:46
Thanks Lindsay Duncan & for your support to bring to the stage
27 Jul 2015 14:31
Check out the campaign and Lindsay Duncan's support for heroic women
27 Jul 2015 13:06
"Lindsay Duncan backs campaign to save our Can you help too? http:â¦
25 Jun 2015 03:34
Gwen, Duncan, Heather and Lindsay still being on Total Drama Island 5 seasons later shows how iconic they are
24 Jun 2015 18:30
We're today for Churchill's Secret w Michael Gambon & Lindsay Duncan-Coming Soon 2016!
24 Jun 2015 16:11
Also it's fun to look at this shot of our Analogue Gallery set by Eldie Photography's Lindsay Duncan!
24 Jun 2015 10:07
Duncan Lindsay has listed the 8 fears every 1st time Dad will experience. Did your other half fear anything? X
24 Jun 2015 09:49
Come and meet Lindsay, Duncan and our lead EV Lynn this weekend to discuss all things We look forward to meeting you!
23 Jun 2015 19:20
You don't just walk into the living room of the Lindsay and poke the beast Duncan!
22 Jun 2015 22:26
Remember that time I saw Lindsay Duncan and Olivia Colman and didn't stage door
22 Jun 2015 22:23
oh, nice! now I'm the jealous one, Lindsay Duncan's so gorgeous
22 Jun 2015 19:43
I love that play, I saw Lindsay Duncan do it a couple of years ago
22 Jun 2015 17:00
I added a video to a playlist from OLD TIME (1970) by Harold Pinter: Alan Rickman - Lindsay Duncan -
22 Jun 2015 14:25
Churchill's Secret - casting announcement to join Michael Gambon and Lindsay Duncan in the feature length film
22 Jun 2015 13:01
I hope that Becky has a part like Lindsay Duncan's in His Last Vow, if she's credited as some 'Lady' something.
22 Jun 2015 10:55
Just got to the "Hang on, is that Lindsay Duncan?" bit in Birdman. And no, I dont know if I actually like it yet.
21 Jun 2015 22:15
She totally is. Unfit to wear the face of a young Lindsay Duncan!!!
19 Jun 2015 19:59
I don't know what herb you smoking, . or you might be on that Lindsay Lohan
18 Jun 2015 00:05
They're not all on here but huge thanks to Duncan McKenzie and Jamie Lindsay for all the help â¦
28 May 2015 09:18
Derek Hatton good for one thing, he led to Alan Bleasdale's fabulous GBH.. Robert Lindsay, Lindsay Duncan, Michael Palin, Julie Walters..
07 May 2015 17:03
. Any hope to ever have Polly Walker , James Purefoy, Lindsay Duncan and Simon Woods in The Originals ?
09 Mar 2015 02:36
I'm always about to say that I saw her in Hay Fever and then remember that it was Lindsay Duncan.
08 Mar 2015 23:12
"La Weekend" is on Prime & it is on our list Lindsay Duncan & Jim Broadbent no Queen Margot on P
08 Mar 2015 22:45
It's amazing in its own weird way. I also never say no to Lindsay Duncan being all HBIC.
08 Mar 2015 01:18
Maybe it's time to watch Rome again. Everytime I see Lindsay Duncan on stage I think "Atia of the Julii, I call for justice."
06 Mar 2015 16:39
Arthur Edelhoff and his fiancee Lindsay Duncan, of Corrales, New Mexico, were joined by the bride-to-beâs seven-year-old son Gatlin, their
06 Mar 2015 03:20
âThis is amazing. Hats off to Duncan Keith .
06 Mar 2015 00:14
Listening to Pride and Prejudice narrated by Lindsay Duncan who is wonderful! But I want to punch Wickham for his wicked LIES to Lizzy!
03 Mar 2015 06:52
Servilia (played by Lindsay Duncan was Brutus' mum, Caesar's lover, and Atia's enemy.
02 Mar 2015 14:30
14:45 Book of the Week: Lindsay Duncan reads from Hilary Spurling's biography of American writer Pearl Buck.
02 Mar 2015 10:21
Wait I got confuzzled, it was Lindsay Duncan. IT'S FINE, I LOVE HER TOO!
02 Mar 2015 00:21
Norton WAS birdman. Brilliant. Lindsay duncan too though. Lindsay Duncan! But y'know, I didn't love it. (Don't hate me). X
25 Jan 2015 09:31
Critics are getting a taste of their own medicine on stage and screen Ahron R. Foster Betty Gilpin and Reed Birney in Atlantic Theater Companyâs âIâm Gonna Pray for You So Hardâ by Halley Feiffer; critics are hit hard in the play. Itâs open season on critics. The new corrosive Off-Broadway comedy âIâm Gonna Pray for You So Hardâ puts theater critics squarely in the crosshairs. And it comes out guns blazing. Others are also taking aim. At the Critics Choice Awards a week and a half ago, Judd Apatow lobbed his own snarky little grenade at, well, critics. âYou know, thereâs an after-party,â Apatow said to the starry nominees and guests while presenting a prize. âYou gonna go to the after-party? These critics, they will hang out with you if you want to⦠Theyâll talk to you all night⦠tell you all their opinions about all sorts of s-.â Talk about love-hate â and biting the hand that invites you to their shindig. So it goes. Fox Searchlight Pictures Michael Keaton is an actor w ...
25 Jan 2015 08:49
Le Week-End, the word-of-mouth hit film about ageing love, is a new high point in Lindsay Duncanâs distinguished acting career
23 Jan 2015 05:10
"A Timeline of the Tamir Rice Shooting" by Haeyoun Park and Robin Lindsay via NYT
23 Jan 2015 00:35
The brilliant Lindsay Duncan agrees. We can do it if we want to! is OVER.
22 Jan 2015 21:28
Really enjoyed watching Michael Keaton in The world of movies & theater. And Lindsay Duncan is in it. What's not to love?
22 Jan 2015 09:07
Keenly scripted; Inarritu's fragile and miraculous spot Lindsay Duncan in her finery too.
21 Jan 2015 05:08
Okay, BG peeps! My girl, Lindsay Duncan Hall,is having her Amèo Oils Business Launch party THIS SUNDAY at her...
20 Jan 2015 22:20
I thought a critic character couldn't be more egomanically hateful than Lindsay Duncan in Birdman...then along comes T Stamp in Big Eyes
20 Jan 2015 20:26
Lindsay Duncan is also a fan of Amy Adams in Big Eyes, where Amy plays a lady painter whose husband is mean.
20 Jan 2015 13:53
Stephen Daldry, Hugh Bonneville and Lindsay Duncan on My Night With Reg, âthe perfect West End playâ
19 Jan 2015 18:27
Also loved Lindsay Duncan's & Naomi Watts' characters, but they weren't featured enough to my liking in Birdman, unfortunately.
19 Jan 2015 13:59
That being said, I wasn't sure how I felt about the last third: the scene with Lindsay Duncan's critic was very off-putting to me.
19 Jan 2015 04:49
Because of I was reading about the great stage actress Lindsay Duncan. Learned she voiced a robot in The Phantom Menace. Random.
18 Jan 2015 09:23
Lindsay Duncan always delivers thank you goodbye.
18 Jan 2015 01:52
I had to look on IMDb. Lindsay Duncan.
16 Jan 2015 01:35
Bit of a Lindsay Duncan double bill this week. On stage in "A delicate balance" (with Glen Close); and again in Birdman. Brilliant actress.
06 Jan 2015 22:43
Yeah right me Lindsay and beth were about to get rid of Duncan but Lindsay voted herself off
06 Jan 2015 22:33
Lindsay Duncan was fab as the critic hewn from volcanic rock, loved her in Stephen Poliakoff's BBC dramas.
06 Jan 2015 16:51
.and engagement should be celebrated (quietly) not criticised. My post here:
06 Jan 2015 16:47
I've also written a piece on the judgemental mob out in force re engagement: find it here!
06 Jan 2015 06:01
did you see how happy I was to see her and becky this morning?!??!!!
06 Jan 2015 03:50
Great to see Lindsay Duncan in Birdman , haven't really seen her since Rome
06 Jan 2015 02:49
"I say he's already too funny, too nice, too talented. He needs no further encouragement." Lindsay Duncan on Timothy Spall.
06 Jan 2015 00:05
I want to say WELCOME to the Zija Team, Lindsay Duncan Hall! Lindsay, pictured here with her daughter, is an...
05 Jan 2015 22:12
A further note about Birdman. Lindsay Duncan is bloody wonderful in it.
05 Jan 2015 19:05
I was happy to see Lindsay Duncan in it though. She should be in more stuff. And by more I mean everything.
05 Jan 2015 09:55
Though if being a human chilblain means I get to look like Lindsay Duncan, well... that's a toughie...
04 Jan 2015 23:23
Yup. My first thought watching Lindsay Duncan's scene in Birdman.
04 Jan 2015 11:30
Lindsay Duncan is in Birdman .she's one of the best but I wonder how many people know her ... Private Lives with Alan Rickman was GOLD !
04 Jan 2015 11:02
Fictional critic of the week - Lindsay Duncan in Birdman, or in The Archers? FIGHT!!!
04 Jan 2015 05:15
I adore Lindsay Duncan and even that couldn't make me buy a ticket!
04 Jan 2015 04:49
Lindsay Duncan, who played that role, was pretty funny. It is the showiest role.
03 Jan 2015 22:39
Some really clever commentary there and a little publicised appearance from Lindsay Duncan who is always great
03 Jan 2015 22:01
Can't decide who I love more: Emma Stone ð or Ed Norton ð (Lindsay Duncan pretty great too)
02 Jan 2015 21:34
Sharp, funny. Brilliant moments from Keaton & Norton. Lindsay Duncan great as vitriolic critic. Ace flying scene. 8/10
02 Jan 2015 11:11
And to you, Mike. If you fancy a theatre outing at any point, just give me a shout. I'm not like Lindsay Duncan...!
02 Jan 2015 10:50
2015 is year of revenge on the critics. Lindsay Duncan is brutal thesp in Birdman while Terence Stamp's art critic chews scenery in Big Eyes
02 Jan 2015 03:33
I agree that a BIRDMAN lady should be nominated for best supporting actress: LINDSAY DUNCAN.
02 Jan 2015 01:49
Saw last night - 2 of my faves Ed Norton & Michael Keaton star - also pleasant surprise to see Lindsay Duncan - recommend
01 Jan 2015 21:16
We should all aspire to bring as much side-eye to 2015 as Lindsay Duncan's character in Birdman. Sass personified.
01 Jan 2015 05:24
I think I'm still annoyed that 11 only had 2 companions, when 10 had 3, plus Sally Sparrow, Lindsay Duncan, Christina, et al!
31 Dec 2014 20:56
Celebrating the end of the year with Jeff in Times Square! And John Lithgow , Glenn Close , Lindsay Duncan...
31 Dec 2014 18:17
SO happy decided to watch Le Week-End - Jim Broadbent & Lindsay Duncan give 2 of the years smartest, funniest & most engaging performances
31 Dec 2014 14:50
No 2 as Christopher Jefferies proves that false allegations DO occur:
31 Dec 2014 14:45
No 5 Is the backlash against by justifed?
28 Dec 2014 11:09
Just watched Beautiful film with great performances by Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan.
24 Dec 2014 12:44
Watching Le Weekend...Paris as I last remember it: "It's not love; it's like being arrested." Lindsay Duncan & Jim Broadbent are perfect
23 Dec 2014 15:14
Just watched le week-end, what a wonderful little film. Lindsay Duncan and Jim Broadbent are simply brilliant.
11 Dec 2014 18:39
"All great drama is about family" Glenn Close , John Lithgow and Lindsay Duncan discuss Edward Albee âs Edward Albee âs
10 Dec 2014 17:46
Poor Lindsay Duncan, left of of BIRDMAN's ensemble nomination at SAG for stupid, unfair rules.
10 Dec 2014 11:00
Lindsay Sharp with an unstoppable Duncan Donald with the vid!
09 Dec 2014 16:51
Lindsay Duncan and Lesley Manville should play sisters in something, preferably a movie about Elizabethan scientist/wizards.
08 Dec 2014 21:54
it took me until Lindsay Duncan's third scene in Birdman for me to realise it was her! and I love her.
08 Dec 2014 21:39
You like imagining Lindsay Duncan saying a lot of things.
08 Dec 2014 21:34
i like imagining lindsay duncan reading the script like, "Uhh, Alejandro?" "Yes, Linds?" "Oh, never mind."
08 Dec 2014 20:01
No Ant & Dec tonight - might even have to talk to Lindsay Duncan ;!
08 Dec 2014 16:48
I just backed restoration of "Theresa Duncan CD-ROMs: Visionary Videogames for Girls" on
08 Dec 2014 02:25
Lindsay Duncan has just been in everything recently.
07 Dec 2014 19:09
.Wow, thought Lindsay Duncan and Amy Ryan were much stronger in just a handful of scenes...
07 Dec 2014 03:33
not yet but planning to...I've heard a bit about Lindsay Duncan's perf but eager to see movie for myself.
07 Dec 2014 03:22
Watching an Irish comedian slay this crowd of senior citizens while I sit mute. Feeling very "Lindsay Duncan in BIRDMAN" at the moment.
06 Dec 2014 22:11
Duncan is taking lazy Saturday to a whole new level
05 Dec 2014 16:28
" well i think bob Duncan's pretty cute ". -lindsay
05 Dec 2014 15:44
Lindsay Duncan continues to be a wonder. Her voice!
04 Dec 2014 17:41
I'm overruling you and giving it to Lindsay Duncan.
14 Nov 2014 18:45
John Lithgow and Lindsay Duncan discuss the high-wire humor of Edward Albee 's 'A Delicate Balance'
14 Nov 2014 03:08
'A Delicate Balance' and the High-Wire Humor of Edward Albee : John Lithgow and Lindsay Duncan discuss executin...
13 Nov 2014 04:53
A Delicate Balance is for people who love theatre. Glen Close, John Lithgow , and the superb Lindsay Duncan shine; the whole cast does. GO!
04 Oct 2014 19:50
Hermione Norris is giving me shades of Lindsay Duncan in The Waters of Mars. Great stuff.
09 Sep 2014 06:23
is that the epic Lindsay Duncan I see?
09 Sep 2014 05:40
Can't believe I forgot how funny pride and prejudice is. Lindsay Duncan does the voices really well.
08 Sep 2014 18:55
Join Lolë Halifax for This week at 5pm, Lindsay Duncan and free yoga!
07 Sep 2014 15:30
Lindsay Duncan sure is one of a kind. Pwetty!
06 Sep 2014 16:09
// Good, I've made lots of Lindsay edits today. :3
06 Sep 2014 13:39
Queen Annis. played by Lindsay Duncan. Since the death of her husband, King Caerleon, Queen Annis has ruled her kingdom with courage
03 Sep 2014 23:07
Glenn Close Returns to Broadway in âA Delicate Balanceâ Didn't Lindsay Duncan play the lead in London?
02 Sep 2014 14:05
"Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best." -- Tim Duncan
01 Sep 2014 18:16
Candy Duncan McClain Lindsay McClain and myself have spent the last year drinking and working *** ..
01 Sep 2014 13:49
And some great lines. Like Lindsay Duncan's final one to Stephen Rea . 'Democracy. Good luck with that.' Peach.
21 Aug 2014 04:42
Congrats to Lindsay and Duncan! I can't believe that baby Tucker is finally here!
12 Aug 2014 02:21
NO! You're probably the stupidest person I've ever met! You make Lindsay look smart! {he kept glaring.}
11 Aug 2014 19:35
the 1997 miniseries one. an amazing cast (Brian Blessed, Lindsay Duncan, Frances de la Tour etc.)
11 Aug 2014 19:10
I think Lindsay Duncan would make a wonderful Gertrude.
11 Aug 2014 17:02
Lindsay Duncan is so unf. just unf.
11 Aug 2014 14:35
2nd time I've seen people fancast both Roger Allam and Lindsay Duncan for Bless. In an ideal world that would happen.
11 Aug 2014 14:15
Talkies Community Cinema Le Weekend tomorrow at the Dugdale - Jim Broadbent & Lindsay Duncan
10 Aug 2014 16:36
Had a great family ski this morning with Lindsay Duncan and Alfie . Cruising down the main slope together. Alfie...
09 Aug 2014 18:02
We will work on my name later Lindsay.
09 Aug 2014 12:26
Howard Davies is to direct Lindsay Duncan in Coward's Hay Fever,
09 Aug 2014 02:20
The wondrous Cate Blanchett may just be one of the most vivid of all stage actresses; like a younger Lindsay Duncan in her prime.
08 Aug 2014 23:21
Lindsay Duncan is criminally underused in The Honourable Woman. Time for someone to repeat GBH!
08 Aug 2014 05:07
That *** is in there! [He panted, pushing on the door with no budge] Hes got Lindsay wrapped around his finger with lies!
07 Aug 2014 21:07
But I see there's going to be two more episodes. Which is good, because it means more Eve Best and Lindsay Duncan on my screen!
07 Aug 2014 05:26
Watching Britcom, "You, Me, and Them" with delightfully mad Lindsay Duncan and lovely Eve Myles. Funniest thing I've come actress in years.
07 Aug 2014 01:09
*texts {Duncan tried having a sleepover with Gwen, Kait, Lindsay and Chelsea. It failed.}
06 Aug 2014 09:15
'A thing of beauty is a joy forever.' Dr Lindsay Duncan's quilts:
14 Jul 2014 19:44
Finally watching Le Week-end. It is very good. I want to be Lindsay Duncan/marry Jim Broadbent .
14 Jul 2014 18:45
Tickets on sale: Glenn Close in A DELICATE BALANCE on Broadway with John Lithgow , Lindsay Duncan and Martha Plimpton
07 Jul 2014 17:55
Don't like Action Films? How about a Romantic Comedy, "Le Weekend" starring Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan.
04 Jul 2014 12:19
Janet McTeer, Lindsay Duncan, Maggie Gyllenhaal , Eve Best ... all in one series!
04 Jul 2014 09:06
What my colleagues get up to. But shouldn't it be "eat your heart out Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan"
03 Jul 2014 14:00
Thursday July 3rd David's TV Choice The Honourable Woman BBC2 from 9:00pm to 10:00pm The Honourable Woman, Episode 1: The Empty Chair A gripping eight-part drama series from writer/director Hugo Blick (The Shadow Line) about a woman caught up in the struggle for peace in the Middle East . Anglo-Israeli Nessa Stein inherits her father's business and, along with her brother Ephra, switches its purpose from procuring arms to laying high-spec data cabling networks between Israel and the West Bank. But following her appointment as a life peer, apparently for her work promoting reconciliation, everything is changed by a sinister chain of events including the death of a Palestinian businessman and a kidnapping. With Maggie Gyllenhaal , Lubna Azabal, Eve Best , Andrew Buchan, and Lindsay Duncan.
03 Jul 2014 07:21
Another Heads Up from me...(let me know if I Post too much...and I will refrain) Series on BBC 2 which is getting good reviews. The Honourable Woman Series 1. Episode 1/8: The Empty Chair: New series. As a young girl, Nessa Stein witnessed the assassination of her Zionist arms dealer father by the Palestinian Liberation Organisation. Now in her thirties, she is at the forefront of the Middle East peace process, but when her company awards a lucrative contract to a Palestinian businessman who is later found dead, she and her brother Ephra find themselves under the close scrutiny of Whitehall and MI6. Political thriller written and directed by The Shadow Line creator Hugo Blick, starring Maggie Gyllenhaal , Stephen Rea , Eve Best , Lindsay Duncan and Andrew Buchan With Lubna Azabal, Tobias Menzies, Igal Naor, Genevieve O'Reilly, Katherine Parkinson, Alex Afia, Oliver Bodur, Stephen Boxer, Reeve Fletcher, George Georgiou, Martin Hutson and Nicole Lopes. SUB AD HD Today at 21:00 on BBC 2
02 Jul 2014 23:35
Rich, visceral performances from Lindsay Duncan and Jim Broadbent in with great support from Jeff Goldblum and Olly Alexander.
24 Jun 2014 00:15
Remember Paris. Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan star in Le Week-End, on DVD this week. Review:
16 Jun 2014 20:28
Glenn Close , John Lithgow , Lindsay Duncan, Bob Balaban , Clare Higgins , and Martha Plimpton will star in a new Broadway production of Edward Albee âs A Delicate B
10 Jun 2014 20:12
This week @ The Regal... Friday the 13th Movie Night - ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE (M) A darkly wry tale of a suicidal vampire living in Detroit. Languorous, laconic, atmospheric, beautiful. A vampire movie for grown ups. Stars Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston & Mia Wasikowska PLUS Short Film 'Ultimatum' a zombie musical by Newcastle director, Joshua Ballico. 7.30pm - Complimentary Magaritas for the first 25 arrivals. Blood popsicles for all! Saturday 14 June 12 - Midday FRENCH HIGH TEA with LE WEEKEND In this magically buoyant and bittersweet film, Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan offer a sophisticated, well-acted portrait of late life struggles and long term marriage. Join us for Twinnings Tea, Filtered Coffee, Sandwiches and Cake! All Tickets just $7 from 11.30am. 3pm - BELLE (PG) A lavish 18th century true story about an illegitimate mixed race daughter of a Royal Navy Admiral who is raised by her aristocratic great uncle. 'Jane Austen would be thrilled' - The New Yorker. 7.30pm - THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (M) ...
30 May 2014 10:36
Ben Whishaw in a burka, Lindsay Duncan as a brothel madam, Billie Piper & Alice Sanders as crap kidnappers. Thank you
23 May 2014 09:15
 After months of waiting, I've finally seen everything on my "Must See" list of last year. Every Oscar nominee, top grossing blockbuster, buzzed-about independent film and foreign-language standout has been made available to me, and I've sat through hours of great stuff in the year. In fact, I'd go as far to say that every movie on this list is at least a quality 3 out of 4 stars; rarely does a year have 40 really good movies. I'm happy to say I got a chance to watch all these, and in fact I own over half of them on Blu-Ray. Here we go with another Groovy Top 40... Man 3 Director: Shane Black Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pierce, Ben Kingsley Probably the worst of the IRON MAN films, but still entertaining nonetheless. Ben Kingsley is always awesome. Time Director: Richard Curtis Stars: Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams , Bill Nighy, Lindsay Duncan, Lydia Wilson Cute romantic comedy (with a bit of time travel) written and directed by one of the best of the genre. Book Thief ...
22 May 2014 20:18
Tonight is your last chance to see Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan in LE WEEKEND. MUPPETS MOST WANTED begins Friday.
20 May 2014 20:56
saw Fiona Shaw with Alan Rickman and Lindsay Duncan in John Gabriel Borkman. Amazing actress.
16 May 2014 02:19
This cast intimidates me already. LOL So nice to have Lindsay Duncan again.
15 May 2014 22:42
Glenn Close , John Lithgow , Lindsay Duncan and coming to Broadway in Edward Albee 's A DELICATE BALANCE htâ¦
15 May 2014 20:11
The cast is set for the Broadway revival of Edward Albee âs A Delicate Balance. Tony winner John Lithgow and nominee Martha Plimpton will join the previously speculated three-time Tony winner Glenn Close in the Pam MacKinnon-helmed project. They will be joined by Tony winner Lindsay Duncan, Bob Balabâ¦
14 May 2014 16:48
Only two more days to catch Lindsay Duncan, Jim Broadbent , and Jeff Goldblum dancing like Godard's BAND OF OUTSIDERS. LE WEEK-END -- Showing through Thursday in Rhinebeck.
10 May 2014 17:30
Congrats to Lindsay Duncan for winning Best Actress at the British Independent Film Awards for her role in Le Week-end! Plays @ 1:30 & 4:00
10 May 2014 13:30
So a movie about a father who tells his son that they can time travel. Has Bill Nighy, Lindsay Duncan, Rachel McAdams , and Domhnall Gleeson as principal cast. I thought would be a quaint and well crafted English story-and it is. Totally recommend it; but I ended up in tears! Total tear jerker for me!
07 Apr 2014 23:56
Loved "Le Weekend" -- a must-see for the 60 somethings among us who think romance in a marriage has faded. Fabulous performances by Lindsay Duncan and Jim Broadbent , and yes-- Jeff Goldblum !
07 Apr 2014 23:46
campers that mean allot to me Cody Gwen DJ Leshawna Lindsay Geoff Bridgette Tyler Trent and yes even Duncan
Donald Trump Alan Thicke Rogue One Kanye West Star Wars Rex Tillerson Trump Tower Star Wars Story Hillary Clinton White House Electoral College Bill Gates Felicity Jones Robin Thicke Rick Perry Harry Potter John Glenn Pep Guardiola Daniel Craig Meghan Markle Middle East Ryan Zinke Saudi Arabia President Obama Islamic State Bridget Jones Golden Globe Richard Sherman Daily News South Pole Mutual Fund Derrick Rose Harrison Ford Watch Bill Murray New Jersey Rohingya Muslims Human Rights Watch Wells Fargo Taylor Swift Everything You Need Silicon Valley First Test Jim Brown Phil Jackson Bob Dylan New Years Eve Great Britain Forest Hill Ashley Williams Mayor Rahm Emanuel Los Angeles Mark Zuckerberg Federal Reserve Melania Trump Democratic National Committee Quest Diagnostics Paul Ryan Hilary Duff Boris Johnson Dolly Parton Chris Pratt Real Estate San Francisco Jonathan Lipnicki Southern Rail Prince Harry Michael Jordan World Health Organization Free World David Ayer Rillington Place Exxon Mobil Golden Globes Margot Robbie Las Vegas Premier League Santa Claus Cameron Park Zoo Bill Murray Dylann Roof Manchester United Manchester City New Year Jurgen Klopp National Statistics Goodison Park Good Morning Britain Good Food Gemma Cairney Geordie Shore Hong Kong James Arthur Jeremy McConnell Nathan Ake National Assembly Jane Danson James Corden Jamie Vardy Fort William Norwich City
© 2016
| GBH |
What term is given to a buyer of new shares expecting the market will push the price up? | Lindsay Duncan - First thoughts about
Lindsay Duncan
Lindsay Vere Duncan, CBE (born ) is a Scottish stage, television and film actress. On stage she has won two Olivier Awards, a Tony Award for her performance in Private Lives, and another Tony Award nomination for her role in Les Liaisons Dangereuses.
Write here your first thoughts about Lindsay Duncan ...
13 Dec 2016 23:22
//Is it sad I actually liked Beth's TDA win more than Duncan's? Like Brady came and loved her, Lindsay supported her it was great
13 Dec 2016 20:35
If someone said I had enough money and I could take six months of...
12 Dec 2016 19:58
I want to have the career that is my choice - what interests me, what...
11 Dec 2016 21:00
We feel exactly the same way every time we sink our teeth into our delicious biscuits. ð¸: IG: lindsay_duncan
11 Dec 2016 05:47
A certain amount of anger doesn't make us less empathetic, less human...
10 Dec 2016 05:27
My head hurts. Ahmunna go think about how nice Lindsay Duncan looks in 19th century costumes.
10 Dec 2016 04:24
I just rewatched Alice Through the Looking Glass and I think I'm in lahv with Lindsay Duncanð help
10 Dec 2016 03:28
Recently I made the mistake of opening a bundle of reviews that so...
09 Dec 2016 23:55
You're not cast because you're like someone or because you're sym...
09 Dec 2016 17:25
My parents' generation was definitely pre-telly, and they knew *** ..
09 Dec 2016 12:37
I do feel almost violent when I'm watching things that I don't th...
08 Dec 2016 21:56
Lindsay Duncan's Agent: " Hello Darling ! .Fancy a bit of 'Money for Old Rope' " ??
08 Dec 2016 21:25
Close to the Enemy: why does Callum (Jim Sturgess) have this phoney American accent ? Lindsay Duncan - what is she doing ? It's all barmy
08 Dec 2016 20:58
Right Ms Lindsay Duncan on now. Stop what you're doing
08 Dec 2016 17:18
You always remember the delicacy of the work you do on a new play...
08 Dec 2016 06:43
Agreed. I loved his voice. Had the good fortune to see himnin Private Lives with Lindsay Duncan
08 Dec 2016 01:40
I was the suburban kid of Scottish parents, and the idea of an ac...
07 Dec 2016 19:05
That kind of creaming off the pretty postcard image of the past, I t...
07 Dec 2016 08:01
... Lindsay Duncan one of my fave actresses and just so happens to be Scottisâ¦
05 Dec 2016 08:57
I don't perform well in private. Socially, I mean. And I didn't as...
05 Dec 2016 07:19
VCC skip Lindsay Hudyma qualifies for BC Scotties, Jan. 17-22 in Duncan, with a last-end steal in Vernon qualifier.
04 Dec 2016 13:02
I'm perfectly gregarious, but I can also be really happy left to m...
23 Jun 2016 00:33
I'm *this close* to jumping into a fountain in a mess of meltdown a la Lindsay Duncan in Under the Tuscan Sun.
04 Jun 2016 21:13
Since Shooting the Past, Sherlock and Hayfever and a chance, post Grimes encounter at J Sheekey's I have loved Lindsay Duncan
03 Jun 2016 19:43
I've been listening to a new band called Wolf Alice, courtesy of my so...
03 Jun 2016 19:30
Lindsay Duncan quit her job as a banker to start boho clothing line.
03 Jun 2016 12:31
It should b the jazz dance by Jim Broadbent & Lindsay Duncan in Le Week-end (2013) on C 4 last night - brilliant
03 Jun 2016 12:23
Deep down, I think I would be utterly miserable in Hollywood.
02 Jun 2016 22:16
Watching has only reinforced my lack of belief in the institution of marriage. Fab cast though, love Lindsay Duncan
02 Jun 2016 21:53
We watched le Weekend with Lindsay Duncan, Jim Broadbent and Jeff Goldblum a super film, if you missed it sad sad
02 Jun 2016 21:46
When I grow up I want to be Lindsay Duncan
02 Jun 2016 21:34
'Le Week-End' on Loving Lindsay Duncan and Jim Broadbent . Music I believe, by the lovely Jeremy Sams! :)
02 Jun 2016 21:15
Lindsay Duncan is rocking my world in right now.
02 Jun 2016 21:07
Giving a shot on channel 4+1. Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan.
02 Jun 2016 20:35
I love few more than Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan but I'm struggling with Should I stick with it?
02 Jun 2016 20:08
Entertaining looking film just starting on C4 with Lindsay Duncan and Jim Broadbent Le Weekend
02 Jun 2016 17:20
2002 Lindsay Duncan won Best Performance by a Leading Actress in â Private Lives â
02 Jun 2016 15:42
Before Le Week-End on at 9pm, read our interview w/ Jim Broadbent & Lindsay Duncan:
02 Jun 2016 15:25
with Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan. It looks good.
02 Jun 2016 10:23
I suppose because I do and can work in the theatre, I don't see work a...
02 Jun 2016 09:55
This looks interesting with Lindsay Duncan & Jim Broadbent , so I expect some decent acting & it's on tonight @ 9.00pm GMT(21.00) C4
02 Jun 2016 07:43
TV Film of the Day: Broadbent and Duncan crumble in Paris in the gentle, melancholy Le Week-end (9pm
01 Jun 2016 22:43
I have done some wonderful television, but you know, there's not as mu...
01 Jun 2016 17:38
top 4's gonna be Gwen, Duncan, Heather, and some random 4th. maybe Lindsay lol
31 May 2016 11:16
Premiere alert! On this Thursday, Jim Broadbent & Lindsay Duncan are off to Paris in Le Week-End.
30 May 2016 02:51
lethal turns from Lindsay Duncan and Polly Walker , too
29 May 2016 11:30
My background is really being a writer's actor - that seems to be the ...
28 May 2016 19:38
us as a family in and Lindsay Duncan. http:â¦
27 May 2016 20:14
Every actor in Poliakoff's Shooting the Past would make a good Doctor: Cunningham, Tim Spall, Lindsay Duncan, Billie Whitelaw
27 May 2016 19:25
I've always had not just an affection but a real love for the theater ...
07 May 2016 03:35
I don't have any desire to be better known.
06 May 2016 18:27
This was all because got the two names mixed up and said Seymour is the English Fonda. Turns out he meant Lindsay Duncan! ð
05 May 2016 13:04
Can relate to Jon's response to Occupied- watching Black Mirror S 1 E 1. What a waste of Lindsay Duncan!! # TVWithoutBorders
04 May 2016 21:28
I would rather give up acting than become world famous, because I think you...
04 May 2016 18:28
There's a lot of dignity about the way Lindsay Duncan works,that's definitely something I aspire to.
04 May 2016 08:06
Lindsay Duncan buying groceries one lunchtime in the Waitrose under John Lewis, Oxford Street.
03 May 2016 21:47
I know I'll always work. In what form, it really doesn't matter.
03 May 2016 18:20
Can't figure out why this song and vid only has 27k views...it's a beaut. Lindsay Duncan
30 Apr 2016 14:28
I know I'm late to the party on this one but was amazing. Stellar acting all round, especially from Lindsay Duncan ðâ¤ï¸
19 Apr 2016 22:57
I was gonna say Lindsay Duncan in my next one! Anna Chancellor, Charlotte Rampling, and I really love Tea Leoni's voice too
09 Apr 2016 18:48
Check out what I found. Doctor Who Magazine. No 415. David Tennant Lindsay Duncan Waters of Mars cover via
09 Apr 2016 18:40
I'm a diehard Juliet Stevenson fan for my audiobook needs. Except for P&P. Lindsay Duncan is *brilliant* for P&P.
08 Apr 2016 23:43
. Lindsay 15. Collinsville 0. Congratulations Coach Duncan & home run hitters for the night, Garrett Martin & Andy Dieter!
08 Apr 2016 21:45
On the CON, we have Van Duncan, Buncombe County Sheriff, and Lindsay Carver Stockman, Buncombe County Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator
07 Apr 2016 15:57
Must admit, idea that EV-9D9 meant to be female never occurred to me. TC-14 is played by Lindsay Duncan though.
07 Apr 2016 12:20
Wait, is Mon Mothma Lindsay Duncan? Sure sounds like her. Because how good would that be.
07 Apr 2016 06:36
It's an important point to make that people can't just be invalidated, erad...
06 Apr 2016 14:18
Congrats to our Give Away to Getaway winners, Chris Duncan & Lindsay Swaim! Enjoy your prize from Schlitterbahn.
05 Apr 2016 21:49
CARIBBEAN GOSPEL ARTIST KOEN DUNCAN, RELEASES "REBEL OF A DIFFERENT NATURE!" Read the full story by clicking on... httâ¦
01 Apr 2016 18:39
Well said. A disgrace. And again reminiscent of grubby local politics with Robert Lindsay & Lindsey Duncan GBH 1991
01 Apr 2016 15:01
Ãaaa y est got it. Lindsay Duncan - Adelaide Brooke dans The Waters from Mars
12 Mar 2016 00:37
Churchill's Secret Hordes of brilliant actors headed by Michael Gambon , Lindsay Duncan and Romola Garai. Nice stuff.
28 Feb 2016 15:43
Churchill's Secret on ITV1 tonight with Michael Gambon as Winston Churchill, Lindsay Duncan as wife Clementine...
28 Feb 2016 09:29
Period costume BALLERS! Lindsay 'the dream' Duncan and Bill 'the *** Patterson alâ¦
28 Feb 2016 08:08
I've always been a material-based actor. That's what I've done, the choices...
27 Feb 2016 11:48
lovely interview by Graham with Lindsay Duncan. They are obviously having fun. âº
27 Feb 2016 11:12
Lindsay Duncan coming up on about the superb Churchillâs Secret
27 Feb 2016 09:45
10:00 Graham Norton: Graham talks to actors Lindsay Duncan and Sian Phillips, plus the UK entry for Eurovision.
27 Feb 2016 00:01
I love Arielle Dombasle forever but I especially love the "what if Lindsay Duncan and Alex Borstein had a band in '96" aesthetic
26 Feb 2016 23:50
Don't forget morning with Lindsay Duncan tomorrow (Saturday) at 8:45am at
26 Feb 2016 23:44
Saw this on TV in UK 20+ yrs ago: utterly unique. Fabulous performances by Viggo Mortensen and Lindsay Duncan.
26 Feb 2016 19:23
Duncan such s good interview with Murray loved it
26 Feb 2016 18:30
Lindsay Duncan did a great i/v on this morning. Looking forward to hearing more from her. Such a great voice.
26 Feb 2016 11:49
The wonderful Lindsay Duncan on Woman's Hour talking about Churchill's Secret
26 Feb 2016 10:26
Lindsay Duncan on playing Clementine on - for full story read brilliant biog of Clemmie, First Lady!
26 Feb 2016 09:45
10:00 Woman's Hour: Lindsay Duncan, the Savile review and Aoife Duffin at the Young Vic.
25 Feb 2016 18:29
Rickey criticizing the Lindsay Duncan scene (just played): You shouldn't say you'll destroy a person before you see their work.
25 Feb 2016 01:05
Join and Lindsay Duncan for a morning yoga class Saturday at 8:45am!
06 Feb 2016 22:32
Next Saturday 13th I will be playing The Music Hall, Aberdeen with the amazing ð. .
03 Feb 2016 16:32
GAMEDAY go for 3rd Straight Win 7:30 at Duncan vs Lindsay 1st of another 3 in 3
03 Feb 2016 13:11
Not an easy or pleasant character at all for me, but Lindsay Duncan's performance is extraordinary
03 Feb 2016 12:25
The excitement of stepping onto a stage - there's nothing quite like it.
03 Feb 2016 12:23
Didn't realise Lindsay Duncan was in it! I should really make the effort and finally watch this.
02 Feb 2016 14:42
I have the highest regard for Meryl Streep as an actress and think she's a ...
31 Jan 2016 17:26
Finally got round to watching About Time - not a classic, but very sweet. Lindsay Duncan manages to be majestic with minimal screentime. B+.
31 Jan 2016 02:12
I desperately wanted to play the part of Darth Vader's mother - I think she...
16 Jan 2016 02:22
Lindsay Duncan and Alan Rickman in the stage production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses . RIP Mr. Rickman.
15 Jan 2016 16:20
Lindsay Duncan - Alan Rickman - the set was incredibly beautiful too
10 Jan 2016 17:25
I am watching *the* campest episode of Marple. Lindsay Duncan, Will Young, Julia McKenzie, Nigel Harman, Sam Barnett all absurdly exquisite.
18 Dec 2015 11:19
Would love 2go back 2the Abbey . Last show I saw there - amazing . Starred Alan Rickman , Fiona Shaw , Lindsay Duncan
19 Nov 2015 03:56
I have a very vivid memory of Lindsay Duncan but I couldn't place the movie, so I scanned all her work and it's not there. What's this mean.
18 Nov 2015 20:32
I loved that play and loved Lindsay Duncan even more than Alan...ðð
18 Nov 2015 14:47
first Lindsay Duncan in BIRDMAN and now this
17 Nov 2015 11:16
come and meet Duncan and Lindsay on stand 27 to discuss our exciting and innovative qualifications
16 Nov 2015 23:55
"""can bob Duncan exterminate arzaylea""" -Brenna
12 Nov 2015 23:35
Congrats Duncan & Lindsay!Thanks for calling me to sell your home.
12 Nov 2015 22:51
ð· alanprickman: Alan Rickman and Lindsay Duncan in the play Les Liaisons Dangereuses [1985-1987]
12 Nov 2015 22:01
Our favourite sassy lassie has a new album out. Check out Lindsay Duncan's review ð¤ð¼ð
11 Nov 2015 15:57
Oh, Tilda Swinton as the Doctor? Amazing! What do you think about Miranda Richardson? Or get Lindsay Duncan back as the Doc.
11 Nov 2015 08:01
Les Liaisons Dangereuses review â Alan Rickman is a cat who knows the way to the cream
10 Nov 2015 09:56
(2/2) us anywhere; it merely indicates a closed mind. - Lindsay Duncan (Actress).
24 Sep 2015 18:45
Congrats to John M. Jackson!!! He just booked Fox Searchlight's "Gifted" opposite Chris Evans and Lindsay Duncan!
25 Aug 2015 17:18
Feeling lucky to be working on 'Our Sea' with the amazing Lindsay Duncan & Stephen Rea for
24 Aug 2015 16:06
Duncan Lindsay! We salute you! Where would we be without you? Hopefully not as long a break this time! x
23 Aug 2015 07:00
Dougray Scott. Lindsay Duncan. A train. Last Passenger is now on Netflix UK.
23 Aug 2015 03:39
Lindsay Duncan is a treasure in Episode One.
20 Aug 2015 04:04
Lindsay Duncan was great, strong as him. Funny enough, one of my favourite parts about The End of Time is Wilfred as companion.
19 Aug 2015 19:17
thanks for sharing Duncan Lindsay, have a great Wednesday :) (insight by
17 Aug 2015 22:23
Somewhat tangential but reminds me of Lindsay Duncan @ Rickman
01 Aug 2015 00:44
sadly willing to bet this is neither the worst Duncan's said nor the worst Lindsay's heard.
31 Jul 2015 23:13
Why do people not talk about Lindsay Lohan's contour in her mugshot? LOOK AT IT
31 Jul 2015 18:02
The cherry on the cake of a good day was seeing Dame Magna Lindsay Duncan on St John St as I cycled home. I know would approve.
29 Jul 2015 21:08
Basically writing this movie for Lindsay Duncan, so if anyone knows her, she can have my number.
29 Jul 2015 00:34
(Here's where I'd post a clip of her wonderful scene with Lindsay Duncan in "About Time" if I could find it.)
28 Jul 2015 21:07
I subscribed to Charles Trippy & Danny Duncan again. & Charles is fun to watch now, surprisingly. but Danny is kinda boring bc him & Lindsay
27 Jul 2015 18:00
Thanks Lindsay Duncan for your support tobring to the stage
27 Jul 2015 14:46
Thanks Lindsay Duncan & for your support to bring to the stage
27 Jul 2015 14:31
Check out the campaign and Lindsay Duncan's support for heroic women
27 Jul 2015 13:06
"Lindsay Duncan backs campaign to save our Can you help too? http:â¦
25 Jun 2015 03:34
Gwen, Duncan, Heather and Lindsay still being on Total Drama Island 5 seasons later shows how iconic they are
24 Jun 2015 18:30
We're today for Churchill's Secret w Michael Gambon & Lindsay Duncan-Coming Soon 2016!
24 Jun 2015 16:11
Also it's fun to look at this shot of our Analogue Gallery set by Eldie Photography's Lindsay Duncan!
24 Jun 2015 10:07
Duncan Lindsay has listed the 8 fears every 1st time Dad will experience. Did your other half fear anything? X
24 Jun 2015 09:49
Come and meet Lindsay, Duncan and our lead EV Lynn this weekend to discuss all things We look forward to meeting you!
23 Jun 2015 19:20
You don't just walk into the living room of the Lindsay and poke the beast Duncan!
22 Jun 2015 22:26
Remember that time I saw Lindsay Duncan and Olivia Colman and didn't stage door
22 Jun 2015 22:23
oh, nice! now I'm the jealous one, Lindsay Duncan's so gorgeous
22 Jun 2015 19:43
I love that play, I saw Lindsay Duncan do it a couple of years ago
22 Jun 2015 17:00
I added a video to a playlist from OLD TIME (1970) by Harold Pinter: Alan Rickman - Lindsay Duncan -
22 Jun 2015 14:25
Churchill's Secret - casting announcement to join Michael Gambon and Lindsay Duncan in the feature length film
22 Jun 2015 13:01
I hope that Becky has a part like Lindsay Duncan's in His Last Vow, if she's credited as some 'Lady' something.
22 Jun 2015 10:55
Just got to the "Hang on, is that Lindsay Duncan?" bit in Birdman. And no, I dont know if I actually like it yet.
21 Jun 2015 22:15
She totally is. Unfit to wear the face of a young Lindsay Duncan!!!
19 Jun 2015 19:59
I don't know what herb you smoking, . or you might be on that Lindsay Lohan
18 Jun 2015 00:05
They're not all on here but huge thanks to Duncan McKenzie and Jamie Lindsay for all the help â¦
28 May 2015 09:18
Derek Hatton good for one thing, he led to Alan Bleasdale's fabulous GBH.. Robert Lindsay, Lindsay Duncan, Michael Palin, Julie Walters..
07 May 2015 17:03
. Any hope to ever have Polly Walker , James Purefoy, Lindsay Duncan and Simon Woods in The Originals ?
09 Mar 2015 02:36
I'm always about to say that I saw her in Hay Fever and then remember that it was Lindsay Duncan.
08 Mar 2015 23:12
"La Weekend" is on Prime & it is on our list Lindsay Duncan & Jim Broadbent no Queen Margot on P
08 Mar 2015 22:45
It's amazing in its own weird way. I also never say no to Lindsay Duncan being all HBIC.
08 Mar 2015 01:18
Maybe it's time to watch Rome again. Everytime I see Lindsay Duncan on stage I think "Atia of the Julii, I call for justice."
06 Mar 2015 16:39
Arthur Edelhoff and his fiancee Lindsay Duncan, of Corrales, New Mexico, were joined by the bride-to-beâs seven-year-old son Gatlin, their
06 Mar 2015 03:20
âThis is amazing. Hats off to Duncan Keith .
06 Mar 2015 00:14
Listening to Pride and Prejudice narrated by Lindsay Duncan who is wonderful! But I want to punch Wickham for his wicked LIES to Lizzy!
03 Mar 2015 06:52
Servilia (played by Lindsay Duncan was Brutus' mum, Caesar's lover, and Atia's enemy.
02 Mar 2015 14:30
14:45 Book of the Week: Lindsay Duncan reads from Hilary Spurling's biography of American writer Pearl Buck.
02 Mar 2015 10:21
Wait I got confuzzled, it was Lindsay Duncan. IT'S FINE, I LOVE HER TOO!
02 Mar 2015 00:21
Norton WAS birdman. Brilliant. Lindsay duncan too though. Lindsay Duncan! But y'know, I didn't love it. (Don't hate me). X
25 Jan 2015 09:31
Critics are getting a taste of their own medicine on stage and screen Ahron R. Foster Betty Gilpin and Reed Birney in Atlantic Theater Companyâs âIâm Gonna Pray for You So Hardâ by Halley Feiffer; critics are hit hard in the play. Itâs open season on critics. The new corrosive Off-Broadway comedy âIâm Gonna Pray for You So Hardâ puts theater critics squarely in the crosshairs. And it comes out guns blazing. Others are also taking aim. At the Critics Choice Awards a week and a half ago, Judd Apatow lobbed his own snarky little grenade at, well, critics. âYou know, thereâs an after-party,â Apatow said to the starry nominees and guests while presenting a prize. âYou gonna go to the after-party? These critics, they will hang out with you if you want to⦠Theyâll talk to you all night⦠tell you all their opinions about all sorts of s-.â Talk about love-hate â and biting the hand that invites you to their shindig. So it goes. Fox Searchlight Pictures Michael Keaton is an actor w ...
25 Jan 2015 08:49
Le Week-End, the word-of-mouth hit film about ageing love, is a new high point in Lindsay Duncanâs distinguished acting career
23 Jan 2015 05:10
"A Timeline of the Tamir Rice Shooting" by Haeyoun Park and Robin Lindsay via NYT
23 Jan 2015 00:35
The brilliant Lindsay Duncan agrees. We can do it if we want to! is OVER.
22 Jan 2015 21:28
Really enjoyed watching Michael Keaton in The world of movies & theater. And Lindsay Duncan is in it. What's not to love?
22 Jan 2015 09:07
Keenly scripted; Inarritu's fragile and miraculous spot Lindsay Duncan in her finery too.
21 Jan 2015 05:08
Okay, BG peeps! My girl, Lindsay Duncan Hall,is having her Amèo Oils Business Launch party THIS SUNDAY at her...
20 Jan 2015 22:20
I thought a critic character couldn't be more egomanically hateful than Lindsay Duncan in Birdman...then along comes T Stamp in Big Eyes
20 Jan 2015 20:26
Lindsay Duncan is also a fan of Amy Adams in Big Eyes, where Amy plays a lady painter whose husband is mean.
20 Jan 2015 13:53
Stephen Daldry, Hugh Bonneville and Lindsay Duncan on My Night With Reg, âthe perfect West End playâ
19 Jan 2015 18:27
Also loved Lindsay Duncan's & Naomi Watts' characters, but they weren't featured enough to my liking in Birdman, unfortunately.
19 Jan 2015 13:59
That being said, I wasn't sure how I felt about the last third: the scene with Lindsay Duncan's critic was very off-putting to me.
19 Jan 2015 04:49
Because of I was reading about the great stage actress Lindsay Duncan. Learned she voiced a robot in The Phantom Menace. Random.
18 Jan 2015 09:23
Lindsay Duncan always delivers thank you goodbye.
18 Jan 2015 01:52
I had to look on IMDb. Lindsay Duncan.
16 Jan 2015 01:35
Bit of a Lindsay Duncan double bill this week. On stage in "A delicate balance" (with Glen Close); and again in Birdman. Brilliant actress.
06 Jan 2015 22:43
Yeah right me Lindsay and beth were about to get rid of Duncan but Lindsay voted herself off
06 Jan 2015 22:33
Lindsay Duncan was fab as the critic hewn from volcanic rock, loved her in Stephen Poliakoff's BBC dramas.
06 Jan 2015 16:51
.and engagement should be celebrated (quietly) not criticised. My post here:
06 Jan 2015 16:47
I've also written a piece on the judgemental mob out in force re engagement: find it here!
06 Jan 2015 06:01
did you see how happy I was to see her and becky this morning?!??!!!
06 Jan 2015 03:50
Great to see Lindsay Duncan in Birdman , haven't really seen her since Rome
06 Jan 2015 02:49
"I say he's already too funny, too nice, too talented. He needs no further encouragement." Lindsay Duncan on Timothy Spall.
06 Jan 2015 00:05
I want to say WELCOME to the Zija Team, Lindsay Duncan Hall! Lindsay, pictured here with her daughter, is an...
05 Jan 2015 22:12
A further note about Birdman. Lindsay Duncan is bloody wonderful in it.
05 Jan 2015 19:05
I was happy to see Lindsay Duncan in it though. She should be in more stuff. And by more I mean everything.
05 Jan 2015 09:55
Though if being a human chilblain means I get to look like Lindsay Duncan, well... that's a toughie...
04 Jan 2015 23:23
Yup. My first thought watching Lindsay Duncan's scene in Birdman.
04 Jan 2015 11:30
Lindsay Duncan is in Birdman .she's one of the best but I wonder how many people know her ... Private Lives with Alan Rickman was GOLD !
04 Jan 2015 11:02
Fictional critic of the week - Lindsay Duncan in Birdman, or in The Archers? FIGHT!!!
04 Jan 2015 05:15
I adore Lindsay Duncan and even that couldn't make me buy a ticket!
04 Jan 2015 04:49
Lindsay Duncan, who played that role, was pretty funny. It is the showiest role.
03 Jan 2015 22:39
Some really clever commentary there and a little publicised appearance from Lindsay Duncan who is always great
03 Jan 2015 22:01
Can't decide who I love more: Emma Stone ð or Ed Norton ð (Lindsay Duncan pretty great too)
02 Jan 2015 21:34
Sharp, funny. Brilliant moments from Keaton & Norton. Lindsay Duncan great as vitriolic critic. Ace flying scene. 8/10
02 Jan 2015 11:11
And to you, Mike. If you fancy a theatre outing at any point, just give me a shout. I'm not like Lindsay Duncan...!
02 Jan 2015 10:50
2015 is year of revenge on the critics. Lindsay Duncan is brutal thesp in Birdman while Terence Stamp's art critic chews scenery in Big Eyes
02 Jan 2015 03:33
I agree that a BIRDMAN lady should be nominated for best supporting actress: LINDSAY DUNCAN.
02 Jan 2015 01:49
Saw last night - 2 of my faves Ed Norton & Michael Keaton star - also pleasant surprise to see Lindsay Duncan - recommend
01 Jan 2015 21:16
We should all aspire to bring as much side-eye to 2015 as Lindsay Duncan's character in Birdman. Sass personified.
01 Jan 2015 05:24
I think I'm still annoyed that 11 only had 2 companions, when 10 had 3, plus Sally Sparrow, Lindsay Duncan, Christina, et al!
31 Dec 2014 20:56
Celebrating the end of the year with Jeff in Times Square! And John Lithgow , Glenn Close , Lindsay Duncan...
31 Dec 2014 18:17
SO happy decided to watch Le Week-End - Jim Broadbent & Lindsay Duncan give 2 of the years smartest, funniest & most engaging performances
31 Dec 2014 14:50
No 2 as Christopher Jefferies proves that false allegations DO occur:
31 Dec 2014 14:45
No 5 Is the backlash against by justifed?
28 Dec 2014 11:09
Just watched Beautiful film with great performances by Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan.
24 Dec 2014 12:44
Watching Le Weekend...Paris as I last remember it: "It's not love; it's like being arrested." Lindsay Duncan & Jim Broadbent are perfect
23 Dec 2014 15:14
Just watched le week-end, what a wonderful little film. Lindsay Duncan and Jim Broadbent are simply brilliant.
11 Dec 2014 18:39
"All great drama is about family" Glenn Close , John Lithgow and Lindsay Duncan discuss Edward Albee âs Edward Albee âs
10 Dec 2014 17:46
Poor Lindsay Duncan, left of of BIRDMAN's ensemble nomination at SAG for stupid, unfair rules.
10 Dec 2014 11:00
Lindsay Sharp with an unstoppable Duncan Donald with the vid!
09 Dec 2014 16:51
Lindsay Duncan and Lesley Manville should play sisters in something, preferably a movie about Elizabethan scientist/wizards.
08 Dec 2014 21:54
it took me until Lindsay Duncan's third scene in Birdman for me to realise it was her! and I love her.
08 Dec 2014 21:39
You like imagining Lindsay Duncan saying a lot of things.
08 Dec 2014 21:34
i like imagining lindsay duncan reading the script like, "Uhh, Alejandro?" "Yes, Linds?" "Oh, never mind."
08 Dec 2014 20:01
No Ant & Dec tonight - might even have to talk to Lindsay Duncan ;!
08 Dec 2014 16:48
I just backed restoration of "Theresa Duncan CD-ROMs: Visionary Videogames for Girls" on
08 Dec 2014 02:25
Lindsay Duncan has just been in everything recently.
07 Dec 2014 19:09
.Wow, thought Lindsay Duncan and Amy Ryan were much stronger in just a handful of scenes...
07 Dec 2014 03:33
not yet but planning to...I've heard a bit about Lindsay Duncan's perf but eager to see movie for myself.
07 Dec 2014 03:22
Watching an Irish comedian slay this crowd of senior citizens while I sit mute. Feeling very "Lindsay Duncan in BIRDMAN" at the moment.
06 Dec 2014 22:11
Duncan is taking lazy Saturday to a whole new level
05 Dec 2014 16:28
" well i think bob Duncan's pretty cute ". -lindsay
05 Dec 2014 15:44
Lindsay Duncan continues to be a wonder. Her voice!
04 Dec 2014 17:41
I'm overruling you and giving it to Lindsay Duncan.
14 Nov 2014 18:45
John Lithgow and Lindsay Duncan discuss the high-wire humor of Edward Albee 's 'A Delicate Balance'
14 Nov 2014 03:08
'A Delicate Balance' and the High-Wire Humor of Edward Albee : John Lithgow and Lindsay Duncan discuss executin...
13 Nov 2014 04:53
A Delicate Balance is for people who love theatre. Glen Close, John Lithgow , and the superb Lindsay Duncan shine; the whole cast does. GO!
04 Oct 2014 19:50
Hermione Norris is giving me shades of Lindsay Duncan in The Waters of Mars. Great stuff.
09 Sep 2014 06:23
is that the epic Lindsay Duncan I see?
09 Sep 2014 05:40
Can't believe I forgot how funny pride and prejudice is. Lindsay Duncan does the voices really well.
08 Sep 2014 18:55
Join Lolë Halifax for This week at 5pm, Lindsay Duncan and free yoga!
07 Sep 2014 15:30
Lindsay Duncan sure is one of a kind. Pwetty!
06 Sep 2014 16:09
// Good, I've made lots of Lindsay edits today. :3
06 Sep 2014 13:39
Queen Annis. played by Lindsay Duncan. Since the death of her husband, King Caerleon, Queen Annis has ruled her kingdom with courage
03 Sep 2014 23:07
Glenn Close Returns to Broadway in âA Delicate Balanceâ Didn't Lindsay Duncan play the lead in London?
02 Sep 2014 14:05
"Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best." -- Tim Duncan
01 Sep 2014 18:16
Candy Duncan McClain Lindsay McClain and myself have spent the last year drinking and working *** ..
01 Sep 2014 13:49
And some great lines. Like Lindsay Duncan's final one to Stephen Rea . 'Democracy. Good luck with that.' Peach.
21 Aug 2014 04:42
Congrats to Lindsay and Duncan! I can't believe that baby Tucker is finally here!
12 Aug 2014 02:21
NO! You're probably the stupidest person I've ever met! You make Lindsay look smart! {he kept glaring.}
11 Aug 2014 19:35
the 1997 miniseries one. an amazing cast (Brian Blessed, Lindsay Duncan, Frances de la Tour etc.)
11 Aug 2014 19:10
I think Lindsay Duncan would make a wonderful Gertrude.
11 Aug 2014 17:02
Lindsay Duncan is so unf. just unf.
11 Aug 2014 14:35
2nd time I've seen people fancast both Roger Allam and Lindsay Duncan for Bless. In an ideal world that would happen.
11 Aug 2014 14:15
Talkies Community Cinema Le Weekend tomorrow at the Dugdale - Jim Broadbent & Lindsay Duncan
10 Aug 2014 16:36
Had a great family ski this morning with Lindsay Duncan and Alfie . Cruising down the main slope together. Alfie...
09 Aug 2014 18:02
We will work on my name later Lindsay.
09 Aug 2014 12:26
Howard Davies is to direct Lindsay Duncan in Coward's Hay Fever,
09 Aug 2014 02:20
The wondrous Cate Blanchett may just be one of the most vivid of all stage actresses; like a younger Lindsay Duncan in her prime.
08 Aug 2014 23:21
Lindsay Duncan is criminally underused in The Honourable Woman. Time for someone to repeat GBH!
08 Aug 2014 05:07
That *** is in there! [He panted, pushing on the door with no budge] Hes got Lindsay wrapped around his finger with lies!
07 Aug 2014 21:07
But I see there's going to be two more episodes. Which is good, because it means more Eve Best and Lindsay Duncan on my screen!
07 Aug 2014 05:26
Watching Britcom, "You, Me, and Them" with delightfully mad Lindsay Duncan and lovely Eve Myles. Funniest thing I've come actress in years.
07 Aug 2014 01:09
*texts {Duncan tried having a sleepover with Gwen, Kait, Lindsay and Chelsea. It failed.}
06 Aug 2014 09:15
'A thing of beauty is a joy forever.' Dr Lindsay Duncan's quilts:
14 Jul 2014 19:44
Finally watching Le Week-end. It is very good. I want to be Lindsay Duncan/marry Jim Broadbent .
14 Jul 2014 18:45
Tickets on sale: Glenn Close in A DELICATE BALANCE on Broadway with John Lithgow , Lindsay Duncan and Martha Plimpton
07 Jul 2014 17:55
Don't like Action Films? How about a Romantic Comedy, "Le Weekend" starring Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan.
04 Jul 2014 12:19
Janet McTeer, Lindsay Duncan, Maggie Gyllenhaal , Eve Best ... all in one series!
04 Jul 2014 09:06
What my colleagues get up to. But shouldn't it be "eat your heart out Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan"
03 Jul 2014 14:00
Thursday July 3rd David's TV Choice The Honourable Woman BBC2 from 9:00pm to 10:00pm The Honourable Woman, Episode 1: The Empty Chair A gripping eight-part drama series from writer/director Hugo Blick (The Shadow Line) about a woman caught up in the struggle for peace in the Middle East . Anglo-Israeli Nessa Stein inherits her father's business and, along with her brother Ephra, switches its purpose from procuring arms to laying high-spec data cabling networks between Israel and the West Bank. But following her appointment as a life peer, apparently for her work promoting reconciliation, everything is changed by a sinister chain of events including the death of a Palestinian businessman and a kidnapping. With Maggie Gyllenhaal , Lubna Azabal, Eve Best , Andrew Buchan, and Lindsay Duncan.
03 Jul 2014 07:21
Another Heads Up from me...(let me know if I Post too much...and I will refrain) Series on BBC 2 which is getting good reviews. The Honourable Woman Series 1. Episode 1/8: The Empty Chair: New series. As a young girl, Nessa Stein witnessed the assassination of her Zionist arms dealer father by the Palestinian Liberation Organisation. Now in her thirties, she is at the forefront of the Middle East peace process, but when her company awards a lucrative contract to a Palestinian businessman who is later found dead, she and her brother Ephra find themselves under the close scrutiny of Whitehall and MI6. Political thriller written and directed by The Shadow Line creator Hugo Blick, starring Maggie Gyllenhaal , Stephen Rea , Eve Best , Lindsay Duncan and Andrew Buchan With Lubna Azabal, Tobias Menzies, Igal Naor, Genevieve O'Reilly, Katherine Parkinson, Alex Afia, Oliver Bodur, Stephen Boxer, Reeve Fletcher, George Georgiou, Martin Hutson and Nicole Lopes. SUB AD HD Today at 21:00 on BBC 2
02 Jul 2014 23:35
Rich, visceral performances from Lindsay Duncan and Jim Broadbent in with great support from Jeff Goldblum and Olly Alexander.
24 Jun 2014 00:15
Remember Paris. Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan star in Le Week-End, on DVD this week. Review:
16 Jun 2014 20:28
Glenn Close , John Lithgow , Lindsay Duncan, Bob Balaban , Clare Higgins , and Martha Plimpton will star in a new Broadway production of Edward Albee âs A Delicate B
10 Jun 2014 20:12
This week @ The Regal... Friday the 13th Movie Night - ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE (M) A darkly wry tale of a suicidal vampire living in Detroit. Languorous, laconic, atmospheric, beautiful. A vampire movie for grown ups. Stars Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston & Mia Wasikowska PLUS Short Film 'Ultimatum' a zombie musical by Newcastle director, Joshua Ballico. 7.30pm - Complimentary Magaritas for the first 25 arrivals. Blood popsicles for all! Saturday 14 June 12 - Midday FRENCH HIGH TEA with LE WEEKEND In this magically buoyant and bittersweet film, Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan offer a sophisticated, well-acted portrait of late life struggles and long term marriage. Join us for Twinnings Tea, Filtered Coffee, Sandwiches and Cake! All Tickets just $7 from 11.30am. 3pm - BELLE (PG) A lavish 18th century true story about an illegitimate mixed race daughter of a Royal Navy Admiral who is raised by her aristocratic great uncle. 'Jane Austen would be thrilled' - The New Yorker. 7.30pm - THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (M) ...
30 May 2014 10:36
Ben Whishaw in a burka, Lindsay Duncan as a brothel madam, Billie Piper & Alice Sanders as crap kidnappers. Thank you
23 May 2014 09:15
 After months of waiting, I've finally seen everything on my "Must See" list of last year. Every Oscar nominee, top grossing blockbuster, buzzed-about independent film and foreign-language standout has been made available to me, and I've sat through hours of great stuff in the year. In fact, I'd go as far to say that every movie on this list is at least a quality 3 out of 4 stars; rarely does a year have 40 really good movies. I'm happy to say I got a chance to watch all these, and in fact I own over half of them on Blu-Ray. Here we go with another Groovy Top 40... Man 3 Director: Shane Black Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pierce, Ben Kingsley Probably the worst of the IRON MAN films, but still entertaining nonetheless. Ben Kingsley is always awesome. Time Director: Richard Curtis Stars: Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams , Bill Nighy, Lindsay Duncan, Lydia Wilson Cute romantic comedy (with a bit of time travel) written and directed by one of the best of the genre. Book Thief ...
22 May 2014 20:18
Tonight is your last chance to see Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan in LE WEEKEND. MUPPETS MOST WANTED begins Friday.
20 May 2014 20:56
saw Fiona Shaw with Alan Rickman and Lindsay Duncan in John Gabriel Borkman. Amazing actress.
16 May 2014 02:19
This cast intimidates me already. LOL So nice to have Lindsay Duncan again.
15 May 2014 22:42
Glenn Close , John Lithgow , Lindsay Duncan and coming to Broadway in Edward Albee 's A DELICATE BALANCE htâ¦
15 May 2014 20:11
The cast is set for the Broadway revival of Edward Albee âs A Delicate Balance. Tony winner John Lithgow and nominee Martha Plimpton will join the previously speculated three-time Tony winner Glenn Close in the Pam MacKinnon-helmed project. They will be joined by Tony winner Lindsay Duncan, Bob Balabâ¦
14 May 2014 16:48
Only two more days to catch Lindsay Duncan, Jim Broadbent , and Jeff Goldblum dancing like Godard's BAND OF OUTSIDERS. LE WEEK-END -- Showing through Thursday in Rhinebeck.
10 May 2014 17:30
Congrats to Lindsay Duncan for winning Best Actress at the British Independent Film Awards for her role in Le Week-end! Plays @ 1:30 & 4:00
10 May 2014 13:30
So a movie about a father who tells his son that they can time travel. Has Bill Nighy, Lindsay Duncan, Rachel McAdams , and Domhnall Gleeson as principal cast. I thought would be a quaint and well crafted English story-and it is. Totally recommend it; but I ended up in tears! Total tear jerker for me!
07 Apr 2014 23:56
Loved "Le Weekend" -- a must-see for the 60 somethings among us who think romance in a marriage has faded. Fabulous performances by Lindsay Duncan and Jim Broadbent , and yes-- Jeff Goldblum !
07 Apr 2014 23:46
campers that mean allot to me Cody Gwen DJ Leshawna Lindsay Geoff Bridgette Tyler Trent and yes even Duncan
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What does the Latin 'Caveat Emptor' mean? | What Does 'Caveat Emptor' Mean? - FindLaw
What Does 'Caveat Emptor' Mean?
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Caveat emptor is a Latin term that means "let the buyer beware." Similar to the phrase "sold as is," this term means that the buyer assumes the risk that a product may fail to meet expectations or have defects. In other words, the principle of caveat emptor serves as a warning that buyers have no recourse with the seller if the product does not meet their expectations.
The term is actually part of a longer statement: Caveat emptor, quia ignorare non debuit quod jus alienum emit ("Let a purchaser beware, for he ought not to be ignorant of the nature of the property which he is buying from another party.") The assumption is that buyers will inspect and otherwise ensure that they are confident with the integrity of the product (or land, to which it often refers) before completing a transaction. This does not, however, give sellers the green light to actively engage in fraudulent transactions .
Caveat Emptor in Practice
Under the principle of caveat emptor, for example, a consumer who purchases a coffee mug and later discovers that it has a leak is stuck with the defective product . Had they inspected the mug prior to the sale, they may have changed their mind.
A more common example is a used car transaction between two private parties (as opposed to a dealership, in which the sale is subject to an implied warranty). The buyer must take on the responsibility of thoroughly researching and inspecting the car—perhaps taking it to a mechanic for a closer look—before finalizing the sale. If something comes up after the sale, maybe a transmission failure, it is not the seller's responsibility. Garage sales offer another example of caveat emptor, in which all sales are final and nothing is guaranteed.
The Modern Rule: Caveat Venditor
Caveat emptor was the rule for most purchases and land sales prior to the Industrial Revolution, although sellers assume much more responsibility for the integrity of their goods in the present day. People consumed far fewer goods and usually from local sources prior to the 18th Century, resulting in very few consumer protection laws (mostly limited to weights and measures). See " Product Liability: Background " for more historical information about the principle of caveat emptor.
Today, most sales in the U.S. fall under the principle of caveat venditor, which means "let the seller beware," by which goods are covered by an implied warranty of merchantability. Unless otherwise advertised (for example, "sold as is") or negotiated with the buyer, nearly all consumer products are guaranteed to work if used for their intended purpose.
For example, a consumer who purchases a coffee grinder that lacks the power to grind coffee beans may return the product for a full refund under an implied warranty of merchantability. But if the same buyer purchased a used coffee grinder at a thrift shop marked "sold as is," returning the product later may prove difficult. While caveat emptor is no longer the rule for consumer transactions, it's important to know when the exception applies.
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| Caveat emptor |
Which world famous beer originated in the Philippines - not Spain as you might expect? | Buyer beware legal definition of Buyer beware
Buyer beware legal definition of Buyer beware
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Buyer+beware
Related to Buyer beware: Caveat venditor
Caveat Emptor
[Latin, Let the buyer beware.] A warning that notifies a buyer that the goods he or she is buying are "as is," or subject to all defects.
When a sale is subject to this warning the purchaser assumes the risk that the product might be either defective or unsuitable to his or her needs.This rule is not designed to shield sellers who engage in Fraud or bad faith dealing by making false or misleading representations about the quality or condition of a particular product. It merely summarizes the concept that a purchaser must examine, judge, and test a product considered for purchase himself or herself.
The modern trend in laws protecting consumers, however, has minimized the importance of this rule. Although the buyer is still required to make a reasonable inspection of goods upon purchase, increased responsibilities have been placed upon the seller, and the doctrine of caveat venditor (Latin for "let the seller beware") has become more prevalent. Generally, there is a legal presumption that a seller makes certain warranties unless the buyer and the seller agree otherwise. One such Warranty is the Implied Warranty of merchantability. If a person buys soap, for example, there is an implied warranty that it will clean; if a person buys skis, there is an implied warranty that they will be safe to use on the slopes.
A seller who is in the business of regularly selling a particular type of goods has still greater responsibilities in dealing with an average customer. A person purchasing antiques from an antique dealer, or jewelry from a jeweler, is justified in his or her reliance on the expertise of the seller.
If both the buyer and the seller are negotiating from equal bargaining positions, however, the doctrine of caveat emptor would apply.
Cross-references
Consumer Protection ; Sales Law .
caveat emptor
(kah-vee-ott emptor) Latin for "let the buyer beware." The basic premise that the buyer buys at his/her own risk and therefore should examine and test a product himself/herself for obvious defects and imperfections. Caveat emptor still applies even if the purchase is "as is" or when a defect is obvious upon reasonable inspection before purchase. Since implied warranties (assumed quality of goods) and consumer protections have come upon the legal landscape, the seller is held to a higher standard of disclosure than "buyer beware" and has responsibility for defects which could not be noted by casual inspection (particularly since modern devices cannot be tested except by use, and so many products are pre-packaged). (See: consumer protection laws )
caveat emptor
noun at one's own risk, purchase without a guaranty , purchase without a warranty , purrhased at one's risk, unassured purchase , unendorsed purchase , unguaranteed purchase , unwarranted purchase
caveat emptor
‘let the buyer beware’, no longer an accurate statement of the law unless very fully qualified. In relation to immoveable or heritable property, it is still a guiding general principle, the terms of the contract between the parties tending to resolve many common problems. In relation to the sale of moveable corporeal property or goods, there are implied terms that in some cases cannot be excluded even by the agreement of the parties and others that may be excluded only if it is fair and reasonable to do so. See e.g. QUALITY .
CAVEAT EMPTOR. Let the purchaser take heed; that is, let him see to it, that the title he is buying is good. This is a rule of the common law, applicable to the sale and purchase of lands and other real estate. If the purchaser pay the consideration money, he cannot, as a general rule, recover it back after the deed has been executed; except in cases of fraud, or by force of some covenant in the deed which has been broken. The purchaser,if he fears a defect of title, has it in his power to protect himself by proper covenants, and if he fails to do so, the law provides for him no remedy. Cro. Jac. 197; 1 Salk. 211 Doug. 630, 654; 1 Serg. & R. 52, 53, 445. This rule is discussed with ability in Rawle on Covenants for Title, p. 458, et seq. c. 13, and the leading authorities collected. See also 2 Kent, Com. Lect. 39, p. 478; 2 Bl. Com. 451; 1 Stor, Eq. Sec. 212 6 Ves. 678; 10 Ves. 505; 3 Cranch, 270; 2 Day, R. 128; Sugd. Vend. 221 1 Bouv. Inst. n. 954-5.
2. This rule has been severely assailed, as being the instrument of falsehood and fraud; but it is too well established to be disregarded. Coop., Just. 611, n. See 8 Watts, 308, 309.
Caveat emptor. Let the purchaser beware.
| i don't know |
Responsible for 1/3 of all tonnage; which country produces more olives than any other? | Olive Oil from Farmhouse B&B near Malaga
"Olive Oil from Andalucia"
Special Olive Oil from a Special Place
Spain is the world largest producer of Olive Oil and in Andalucia we produce 80% of Spanish total production. With over 230 varieties of Olive trees, 3 methods of oil extraction, and 5 major categories of oil, consumers have a bewildering range of choice and understandably there are many misconceptions and misunderstandings about Olive oil.
After 5 years of research and trials we have commissioned Cortijo Garay to produce a very Special Oil for Cortijo Valverde. Our Olive Oil delivers the strong flavour, low acidity and is produced by people who are as passionate about quality food as we are.
Olive oil production is an ancient tradition that has been passed down from generation to generation. However, not all olive oils are the same and not all production methods are equal, despite the common references to Extra Virgin, Virgin, etc. Our olive oil is produced using traditional production methods whilst delpoying modern technology to enhance the quality of oil wherever possible.
How to make a very Special Olive Oil.
In order to produce olive oil of highest quality you need to consider many factors including tree variety, pressing method, processing method and also attention to small details that make a vast difference in the quality of the final product. Tree Variety - Breeding Matters!
There are many elements that affect the quality of olive and olive oil production. According to research by the University of Cordoba the tree variety accounts for 45% of the final product's flavour, acidity and quality. Each of the over 230 varieties of olive trees have their own unique characteristics. Just like grape verities that produce wine with different character, each type of olive tree has its own unique characteristic and not all types of olive trees are suitable for oil production.
In order to achieve balance, intensity and unforgettable flavour, only 3 varieties (Arbequina, Hojiblanca, Picual) of Olive trees are used in the production of our oil.
Pressing Method - When “Olive Oil” is not so virgin?!
Whilst most people recognise that “Extra Virgin” and “Virgin” are the product of the “first press”, not many people know that the label does not quite tell the full story. The way that the paste is treated can make a significant difference in the quality, flavour, intensity, and acidity of the oil. There are 3 types of oil extraction methods:
Cold Press (Virgin)
In order to produce “Virgin Olive” oil you must first crush the olives into a paste (Malaxation). The paste is then slowly turned for 1-1.5 hours. Olive oil can only be called Virgin if mechanical pressing has been used for making the paste (Malaxation) of the fruit without any chemicals.
Warm Press (Virgin!)
You can still call your process “Virgin” even if you heat the paste. In order to reduce costs and increase production many volume producers heat the paste to extract higher levels of oil from the paste. By heating the paste, producers can increase the oil yield by 100%. It is only logical to assume that the higher the volume of oil extracted from a given weight of paste, the lower the intensity of the flavour or quality. Think of it as a trade off between volume and flavour. There is only so much flavour to go around, so you can dilute it to create larger volume or you can reduce the volume to intensify the flavour.
Refined
It is possible to extract more oil from the paste by adding chemicals as well as heating. Usually the cheaper oil is the product of second press, namely once the producer has extracted as much oil as possible from the first press, the paste is passed through chemicals and additional heat is applied to extract more oil from the same paste.
Cortijo Valverde extra virgin olive oil is produced at temperatures below 20C (cold press), which is considered to be the optimum for production of quality “Extra Virgin” oil. No chemical extraction or heat is applied to the paste therefore you get the natural intensity of oil just as Mother Nature intended it.
Olive Oil Variety
Olive Oil Variety or the Label refers to the quality, intensity of flavour and characteristics of the oil therefore providing guideline for its use.
Extra Virgin
Extra Virgin oil must be produced using “Virgin” method so mechanical pressing and first press is mandatory. You can call your oil Extra Virgin regardless of whether it was produced by “Cold Press” or “Warm Press” (but no chemical use) so long as the oil has acidity of less than 0.8%. With only 10% of world production qualifying as Extra Virgin, it is more expensive, has higher flavour intensity and therefore it is used for salads, garnish or for simply dipping your bread instead of using butter or other spreads.
Virgin (oil variety not pressing method!)
Virgin oil is product of Virgin extraction method (cold press or warm press). Virgin oil acidity can be up to 2% and therefore does not have the intensity of Extra Virgin oil making it suitable for cooking, dressing, etc.
Refined (oil variety not pressing method!)
Refined oil is usually derived from Virgin oil with high acidity by using chemical the acidity can be reduced down to as low as 0.3%. Refined oil does not have the intensity of flavour of either Virgin or Extra Virgin oil even when it matches the low acidity of Virgin oil.
Pure Olive Oil
Pure Olive Oil (or sometimes simply labelled Olive Oil) is a blend of Virgin and Refined oil. The blend is made to specific acidity and flavour defined by the manufacturer in order to obtain consistency in the production line.
Cortijo Valverde Extra Virgin Olive oils is made from the First Press only, using Cold Press method and is certified “Extra Virgin” (less than .08% acidity). No chemicals, filtering process or blending is used in any part of the production cycle. Attention to Detail
Finally it is the attention to details that makes our oil such a Special Oil. These are not the details you usually find on labels nor would many oil manufacturers would want you to know!
Field-to-Ferment in 3 hours! One of the reasons making our olive oil so special is the amazingly short time between harvesting and production line of just 3 hours. Yes it takes just 3 hours from the fruit falling off the tree and it ending up in the crusher! This means fruit is not ripening (or over-ripening) in plastic or rubber bags for days before arrival at the mill. This uncontrolled storage of olive fruit can cause significant degradation as well as cross contamination by use of such materials as rubber bags.
Hanging Fruit Only - In order to maximise production many commercial producers use olives that have already fallen on the ground. Good quality olive oil cannot be produced from fruit that has fallen to the ground due to it being over-ripe and having lain on mud for an unknown length of time.
No Fruit Storage - Most high volume production farms use rubber bags to store the olives until there is sufficient volume for the mill. Rubber emits vapour and an aroma, which contaminates the olives during storage. This influences the taste and aroma of the final olive oil product.
No Bagging - Olives that have been stored before being sent to the mill start to ferment. This fermentation adversely impacts on the colour, taste and aroma. The only way to avoid this is to transport the olives immediately from the farm to the mill, so as to minimise the storage time and deny olives the opportunity to ferment.
Clean Steel Only - Steel vaults help retain the flavour, colour and taste of olive oil. Unlike wine, introduction of external flavour and aroma such as oak barrels is unwelcome in olive oil production.
Freshness - The secret key along the entire production cycle including storage and bottling is freshness. By using only the current year’s production, we ensure freshness from the field to the table. Olive oil is stored in Stainless Steel vats filled with inert gas to prevent rusting or chemical reaction between the metal and the oil. Olive oil is only bottled when a batch is ready for shipment and never before. This means the oil in the bottle is as fresh as possible and practical.
When selecting our Olive oil we were determined to bring the best to our customers, ensuring the best combination of traditional and modern methods. Order your Olive oil by using our contact page, call us, or email us your requirements.( click here to send an e-mail)
| Spain |
Which N.W. club were thrown out of the FA Cup in 2006 for fielding an ineligible player? | Olive Oil from Farmhouse B&B near Malaga
"Olive Oil from Andalucia"
Special Olive Oil from a Special Place
Spain is the world largest producer of Olive Oil and in Andalucia we produce 80% of Spanish total production. With over 230 varieties of Olive trees, 3 methods of oil extraction, and 5 major categories of oil, consumers have a bewildering range of choice and understandably there are many misconceptions and misunderstandings about Olive oil.
After 5 years of research and trials we have commissioned Cortijo Garay to produce a very Special Oil for Cortijo Valverde. Our Olive Oil delivers the strong flavour, low acidity and is produced by people who are as passionate about quality food as we are.
Olive oil production is an ancient tradition that has been passed down from generation to generation. However, not all olive oils are the same and not all production methods are equal, despite the common references to Extra Virgin, Virgin, etc. Our olive oil is produced using traditional production methods whilst delpoying modern technology to enhance the quality of oil wherever possible.
How to make a very Special Olive Oil.
In order to produce olive oil of highest quality you need to consider many factors including tree variety, pressing method, processing method and also attention to small details that make a vast difference in the quality of the final product. Tree Variety - Breeding Matters!
There are many elements that affect the quality of olive and olive oil production. According to research by the University of Cordoba the tree variety accounts for 45% of the final product's flavour, acidity and quality. Each of the over 230 varieties of olive trees have their own unique characteristics. Just like grape verities that produce wine with different character, each type of olive tree has its own unique characteristic and not all types of olive trees are suitable for oil production.
In order to achieve balance, intensity and unforgettable flavour, only 3 varieties (Arbequina, Hojiblanca, Picual) of Olive trees are used in the production of our oil.
Pressing Method - When “Olive Oil” is not so virgin?!
Whilst most people recognise that “Extra Virgin” and “Virgin” are the product of the “first press”, not many people know that the label does not quite tell the full story. The way that the paste is treated can make a significant difference in the quality, flavour, intensity, and acidity of the oil. There are 3 types of oil extraction methods:
Cold Press (Virgin)
In order to produce “Virgin Olive” oil you must first crush the olives into a paste (Malaxation). The paste is then slowly turned for 1-1.5 hours. Olive oil can only be called Virgin if mechanical pressing has been used for making the paste (Malaxation) of the fruit without any chemicals.
Warm Press (Virgin!)
You can still call your process “Virgin” even if you heat the paste. In order to reduce costs and increase production many volume producers heat the paste to extract higher levels of oil from the paste. By heating the paste, producers can increase the oil yield by 100%. It is only logical to assume that the higher the volume of oil extracted from a given weight of paste, the lower the intensity of the flavour or quality. Think of it as a trade off between volume and flavour. There is only so much flavour to go around, so you can dilute it to create larger volume or you can reduce the volume to intensify the flavour.
Refined
It is possible to extract more oil from the paste by adding chemicals as well as heating. Usually the cheaper oil is the product of second press, namely once the producer has extracted as much oil as possible from the first press, the paste is passed through chemicals and additional heat is applied to extract more oil from the same paste.
Cortijo Valverde extra virgin olive oil is produced at temperatures below 20C (cold press), which is considered to be the optimum for production of quality “Extra Virgin” oil. No chemical extraction or heat is applied to the paste therefore you get the natural intensity of oil just as Mother Nature intended it.
Olive Oil Variety
Olive Oil Variety or the Label refers to the quality, intensity of flavour and characteristics of the oil therefore providing guideline for its use.
Extra Virgin
Extra Virgin oil must be produced using “Virgin” method so mechanical pressing and first press is mandatory. You can call your oil Extra Virgin regardless of whether it was produced by “Cold Press” or “Warm Press” (but no chemical use) so long as the oil has acidity of less than 0.8%. With only 10% of world production qualifying as Extra Virgin, it is more expensive, has higher flavour intensity and therefore it is used for salads, garnish or for simply dipping your bread instead of using butter or other spreads.
Virgin (oil variety not pressing method!)
Virgin oil is product of Virgin extraction method (cold press or warm press). Virgin oil acidity can be up to 2% and therefore does not have the intensity of Extra Virgin oil making it suitable for cooking, dressing, etc.
Refined (oil variety not pressing method!)
Refined oil is usually derived from Virgin oil with high acidity by using chemical the acidity can be reduced down to as low as 0.3%. Refined oil does not have the intensity of flavour of either Virgin or Extra Virgin oil even when it matches the low acidity of Virgin oil.
Pure Olive Oil
Pure Olive Oil (or sometimes simply labelled Olive Oil) is a blend of Virgin and Refined oil. The blend is made to specific acidity and flavour defined by the manufacturer in order to obtain consistency in the production line.
Cortijo Valverde Extra Virgin Olive oils is made from the First Press only, using Cold Press method and is certified “Extra Virgin” (less than .08% acidity). No chemicals, filtering process or blending is used in any part of the production cycle. Attention to Detail
Finally it is the attention to details that makes our oil such a Special Oil. These are not the details you usually find on labels nor would many oil manufacturers would want you to know!
Field-to-Ferment in 3 hours! One of the reasons making our olive oil so special is the amazingly short time between harvesting and production line of just 3 hours. Yes it takes just 3 hours from the fruit falling off the tree and it ending up in the crusher! This means fruit is not ripening (or over-ripening) in plastic or rubber bags for days before arrival at the mill. This uncontrolled storage of olive fruit can cause significant degradation as well as cross contamination by use of such materials as rubber bags.
Hanging Fruit Only - In order to maximise production many commercial producers use olives that have already fallen on the ground. Good quality olive oil cannot be produced from fruit that has fallen to the ground due to it being over-ripe and having lain on mud for an unknown length of time.
No Fruit Storage - Most high volume production farms use rubber bags to store the olives until there is sufficient volume for the mill. Rubber emits vapour and an aroma, which contaminates the olives during storage. This influences the taste and aroma of the final olive oil product.
No Bagging - Olives that have been stored before being sent to the mill start to ferment. This fermentation adversely impacts on the colour, taste and aroma. The only way to avoid this is to transport the olives immediately from the farm to the mill, so as to minimise the storage time and deny olives the opportunity to ferment.
Clean Steel Only - Steel vaults help retain the flavour, colour and taste of olive oil. Unlike wine, introduction of external flavour and aroma such as oak barrels is unwelcome in olive oil production.
Freshness - The secret key along the entire production cycle including storage and bottling is freshness. By using only the current year’s production, we ensure freshness from the field to the table. Olive oil is stored in Stainless Steel vats filled with inert gas to prevent rusting or chemical reaction between the metal and the oil. Olive oil is only bottled when a batch is ready for shipment and never before. This means the oil in the bottle is as fresh as possible and practical.
When selecting our Olive oil we were determined to bring the best to our customers, ensuring the best combination of traditional and modern methods. Order your Olive oil by using our contact page, call us, or email us your requirements.( click here to send an e-mail)
| i don't know |
Which legendary race horse was the subject of a major feature film in 2003? | Famous Race Horses
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Famous Race Horses
Here you will find online histories, biographies, and tributes to famous race horses from around the world. If a horse you like isn't listed here and also doean't appear on any of the multi-horse sites listed below, that probably means nobody has done a website for him/her. Updated 10/16/2007.
North America
Multi-horse Sites - check these if your favorite isn't listed
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame - bios and photos of Canadian champions and hall of famers, many entries here are not on other sites. Has thoroughbreds, standardbreds, jockeys, drivers, and more.
Directory of Thoroughbred Race Horses - an extensive listing of champion horses with short notes about each and a link to bios for many of them.
Gallery of Greats - from Thoroughbred Champions with photos and history of many past greats
Hall of Fame Inductees - the equine members of the Racing Hall of Fame
The Horses of Calumet Farm - from the International Museum of the horse includes all their greats from 1932 to 1982 in alphabetical order from Alydar to Wistful
Unofficial Thoroughbred Hall of Fame - has a ton of bios for other horses not listed below, many with photos
Affirmed
Affirmed - the 1978 Triple Crown winner with photos
Affirmed - from Thoroughbred Champions
Affirmed vs. Alydar - all about their famous rivalry
Affirmed Breyer Model Horse - a new 12" model with his markings copied exactly.
Affirmed and Alydar: Thoroughbred Legends - a book by Timothy Capps
Afleet Alex
Afleet Alex Preakness Winner - photos from the win plus lots of info about Alex and his connections
Afleet Alex Belmont Winner - photos from the win plus more of info about Alex and his connections
Afleet Alex at Gainesway - photos from his first appearance after retiring to Gainesway for his stud career
Afleet Alex Profile - his connections, birthdate, pedigree, and lots of links to other info from my Triple Crown special.
Afleet Alex - his official site
Alydar
Alydar - from the Unofficial Hall of Fame
Alydar - from Thoroughbred Champions
Affirmed and Alydar: Thoroughbred Legends - a book by Timothy Capps
Alysheba dead - The 1987 Kentucky Derby winner and 1988 Horse of the Year had to be euthanized on March 27 due to injuries from a fall in his stall at the Kentucky Horse Park. Here is a look at his career and a few photos.
Assault
Assault - the Texas bred Triple Crown winner with some very good photos from King Ranch
Assault - the 1946 Triple Crown winner with photos
Assault - from Thoroughbred Champions
Barbaro
Barbaro Tribute - A collection of 20 photos from his career, including a few you probably haven't seen before.
Barbaro Update - All the news about his injury, treatment, and eventual demise.
Kentucky Derby Winner Barbaro - Lots of photos from his big day plus stats and info about his connections.
Barbaro News - from the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary Hospital with their latest news and a photo album.
Barbaro Beanie Baby - a portion of the proceeds go to the Barbaro Fund.
Kentucky Derby 132 Review - featuring 116 photos from Barbaro's Kentucky Derby win
Barbaro: A Nation's Love Story - by Pamela K. Brodowsky and Tom Philbin out the end of February
Barbaro: The Horse Who Captured America's Heart - by Sean Clancy coming out in May
Barbaro: America's Horse - by Shelley Mickle for kids coming out in March
Barbaro - A Legacy of Hope - a beautiful new Fred Stone hand signed and numbered limited edition print
Best Pal - from his owners Golden Eagle Farm. Unfortunately they have taken it down so I am linking to an archived version so the photos may not work.
Black Gold
Black Gold - from the Hall of Fame
Black Gold - from the Unofficial Hall of Fame
1924 Kentucky Derby - detailed story from Thoroughbred Times
Black Gold - from the Fair Grounds Hall of Fame. His grave in the infield at the Fair Grounds. Sadly, since Churchill Downs bought the Fair Grounds they have removed the Hall of Fame from online so this link to a web archive copy is all that remains now.
Black Gold - from Thoroughbred Champions
Black Gold - a book by Marguerite Henry
Bold Forbes - a memorial to the 1976 Kentucky Derby winner from the Kentucky Horse Park where he lived after being pensioned.
Bold Ruler
Bold Ruler - from the Hall of Fame
Bold Ruler from the Unofficial Hall of Fame
Bull Lea - classic Stallion Galler page from Thoroughbred Times
Bold Ruler - sire record with a photo from Diamond J Farms
Bold Ruler - a summary of his career with some photos from MarKim Farms.
Bold Ruler - a bio from Wikipedia
Bold Ruler - a book by Edward L. Bowen
Bull Lea
The Horses of Calumet Farm - Bull Lea is about half way down.
Bull Lea - classic Stallion Galler page from Thoroughbred Times
Bull Lea - a postcard showing him in front of Calumet Farm
Bull Lea - a photo postcard
Busher - the champion filly of the 1940's
Cam Fella - 1982 and 1983 harness racing horse of the year and very influential sire of 12 $1 million winners who lives at the Kentucky Horse Park
Cigar
Cigar - his bio from the Hall of Champions at the Kentucky Horse Park
Cigar - history, photos, and merchandising of the famous racer
Cigar at Turfway Park - on March 25, 2000, Cigar was brought to Turfway Park and paraded for the fans on Spiral Stakes day. This was his first and only appearance at a track since his retirement.
Cigar at the Pacific Classic - lots of photos from his trip to Del Mar where he lost to Dare and Go
Cigar - from Thoroughbred Champions
Cigar - a bio, race record, and more from Thoroughbred Greats
Cigar Breyer Model Horse - a 12" model done to exactly match his markings.
Cigar: America's Horse - a book by Jay Hovdey
Citation
Citation - history and photos of the 1948 Triple Crown winner
Citation - more about him from Ron Hale
Citation - the 1948 Triple Crown winner with photos
Citation - from Thoroughbred Champions
Citation - from the Unofficial Hall of Fame
Citation - a book by Pohla Smith
Citation: In a Class by Himself - a book by Phil Georgeff
Colin - from the Unofficial Hall of Fame
Count Fleet
Count Fleet - history of the 1943 Triple Crown winner by Ron Hale
Count Fleet - the 1943 Triple Crown winner with photos
Count Fleet - from Thoroughbred Champions
Count Fleet - from the Unofficial Hall of Fame
Count Fleet - a nice bio from Wikipedia
Da Hoss - his bio and photo from the Hall of Champions at the Kentucky Horse Park where he lives.
Dan Patch
Dan Patch - history of the famous Standardbred pacer, excellent site
The Great Dan Patch - a book by Fred Sasse. Out of print so you may have more luck finding it at abebooks.com
The Great Dan Patch - a classic movie from 1949 about his life on DVD
Dancer's Image
Dancer's tainted image - a Portsmouth Herald article about the only Kentucky Derby winner ever disqualified
Dancer's Image: true story of a gallant Kentucky Derby winner - a book by Rosie Labrie. Out of print so you may have more luck finding it at abebooks.com
Dr. Fager
Dr. Fager - from Thoroughbred Champions
Dr. Fager - from the Unofficial Hall of Fame
Dr. Fager - a book by Steve Haskin
Easy Goer
Easy Goer - from Thoroughbred Champions
Eight Belles Tribute - A photo tribute to the gallant filly Eight Belles. She will be missed by many. Online postcards also available.
Exterminator
Exterminator - Old Bones the wonder horse from the 1930's
Exterminator - from Thoroughbred Champions
Exterminator - from Equine Heroes
Kentucky Derby Champion - a book by Mildred Mastin Pace, previously titled "Old Bones the Wonder Horse"
Exterminator - a book by Eva Jolene Boyd
Forego
Forego - a memorial to the great gelding from the kentucky Horse Park where he lived until his death in 1997.
Forego and Suburban linked forever - a nice article from MSNBC
Forego - from Thoroughbred Champions
Forego - from the Unofficial Hall of Fame
Forego - from Equine Heroes
Forego - a book by Bill Heller
Fourstardave
Fourstardave - a fan favorite famous for winning at least one race at Saratoga for eight consecutive years. He passed away at age 17 in 2002 while at Belmont Park preparing to lead the post parade for New York Showcase Day.
Fourstardave - a nice bio with several photos from Thoroughbred Champions
Funny Cide
Funny Cide - his official website
Funny Cide Profile - his connections, birthdate, pedigree, and lots of links to other info from my Breeders' Cup special.
Funny Cide - a book by Sally Jenkins
Gallant Fox
Gallant Fox - from Thoroughbred Champions
Gallorette - another great filly from the 1940's
Genuine Risk - the oldest living Kentucky Derby winner
Genuine Risk photos - several photos from 2002 and 2004
America's Sweetheart - an nice article from the Courier-Journal from 2005 about her plus a gallery of "A Day with Genuine Risk"
Go For Wand - from Thoroughbred Champions
Genuine Risk - a book by Hallie McEvoy
Giacomo - photos from his Kentucky Derby win plus lots of info about his connections
Go For Wand
Go For Wand Tribute - lots of photos and info about her including a link to the Sports Illustrated article with photos of her breakdown.
Go For Wand - poetic eulogy to the deceased champion by Dale McClare
Go For Wand - a book by Bill Heller
Greyhound - the great gray trotter, from Equine Heroes
Hallowed Dreams - about the Louisiana bred filly who loves to win
John Henry
John Henry 1995-2007 - an obituary for the old champion who had to be euthanized due to poor health at age 32
John Henry - a short history of the great gelding with photos
John Henry - his bio from the Hall of Champions at the Kentucky Horse Park
John Henry - from Thoroughbred Champions
John Henry - a book by Steve Haskin (paperback)
John Henry - a book by Steve Haskin (hardcover)
Kelso
Kelso - photos and history of the 5 time horse of the year
Kelso - from Thoroughbred Champions
Kelso - from the Unofficial Hall of Fame
Kelso - a book by Steve Haskin
Extra Sugar for Kelso - a book by Landon Manning. Out of print so you may have more luck finding it at abebooks.com
Man O'War
Man O'War vs. Secretariat - who do you think was best?
Man O'War - lots of info and some photos of the great champion
Man O'War - more about him from Ron Hale
Man O'War - from Thoroughbred Champions
Man O'War - from the Unofficial Hall of Fame
Man O'War - from Equine Heroes
Man O'War Photo Collection - a series of rare photos now made available by Secretariat.com
Man O'War Merchandise - shirts, sweats, mousepad, and more with my painting of Man O'War or my photo of his statue.
Man O'War - a book by Page Cooper and Roger L. Treat. This is the best book about him with lots of photos and was written shortly after his death and recently re-released.
Man O'War - a book by Edward Bowen
Man O'War - a book by Walter Farley
Mariah's Storm - the inspiration behind "Dreamer" - Here is some more info plus the true story of Mariah's Storm which provided the idea for the horse racing movie "Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story"
Nashua
Nashua - from the Unofficial Hall of Fame
Nashua - a photo from his days at stud
Nashua - a book by Edward Bowen
Nasrullah
Nasrullah - photo with sire record from Diamond J Farms
Nasrullah - classic stallion directory page from Thoroughbred Times in PDF format with a photo
Nasrullah - from the history of Claiborne Farm with a photo
Native Dancer
Native Dancer - from Thorughbred Champions
Native Dancer - from the Unofficial Hall of Fame
Native Dancer - a book by Eva Jolene Boyd
Native Dancer: The Grey Ghost Hero of a Golden Age - a new book by John Eisenberg
Native Diver
Native Diver - California's incomparable star of the 60's from SecondRunning.com
Native Diver - from the Hall of Fame
Native Diver - from Thoroughbred Champions
Native Diver - from the Unofficial Hall of Fame
Nearctic
Niatross - lots of stats and photos of the great champion pacer
Niatross - nice bio with photo from Odds On Racing
Northern Dancer
Northern Dancer dies - from CBC Archives with video
Northern Dancer - from the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
Northern Dancer - from Thoroughbred Times
Northern Dancer Matchles Monarch of Race and Stud from government of Canada
Northern Dancer - a book by Muriel Lennox
Omaha - the 1935 Triple Crown winner with photos
Omaha - from Thoroughbred Champions
Personal Ensign - from Thoroughbred Champions
Personal Ensign - a book by Bill Heller
Peteski - the racing and breeding careers of the late Canadian champion
Point Given - all about his career with lots of photos
Rambling Willie
Ruffian - bio from the Hall of Fame
Ruffian - from Thoroughbred Champions
Ruffian - from the Unofficial Hall of Fame
Ruffian - from Equine Heroes
Ruffian: Burning from the Start - a book by Jane Schwartz
Ruffian, Queen of the Fillies - a book by Edward Claflin. Out of print but copies are usually available at abebooks.com
Salvator - a great champion from the late 1800's
Seabiscuit - from the Racing Hall of Fame
Seabiscuit - from Thoroughbred Champions
Seabiscuit - from the Unofficial Thoroughbred Hall of Fame
Seabiscuit vs. War Admiral - a bit about each plus their big match race
Seabiscuit postcards - a selection of 6 different photos to send to online friends as postcards
Seabiscuit Clip Art - a selection of my original Seabiscuit clip art to use on your website or in your signature
Seabiscuit wallpaper - this one is 800x600 with his statue in the middle and 4 smaller old photos around it. Also available is the statue alone in 800x600 or 1024x768 . These are large images and will be slow to download. Once you see them, you can right click on the image to set it as your wallpaper.
Seabiscuit Art - photos and art prints from Art.com
Seabiscuit Breyer Ornament - a small size model to use as a Christmas ornament or to display anytime.
American Experience: Seabiscuit - great site for the PBS special with lots of photos, radio race calls, track tour, etc.
Seabiscuit Video - if you missed the PBS special, you can get it here on VHS for $14.23. Also available on DVD which is has lots of extras on it for $7.99. Review .
The True Story of Seabiscuit - a 50 minute documentary from A&E on DVD.
Seabiscuit Movie - official site for the Universal Pictures movie to be released in 2003. You can also purchase the official movie poster and several different photographs from the movie here
Seabiscuit and Red Pollard Reel Faces - compares the movie version of Seabiscuit and his connections lives and the true story that they were based on from Chasing the Frog. Rather interesting really.
Seabiscuit - deluxe collectors edition DVD for $23.99 with 2 discs and lots of extras. Also available in a regular DVD version for only $10.99 or on VHS .
The Story of Seabiscuit - the movie from 1949 in VHS format. Also available now in DVD format .
Seabiscuit Online - official site of Laura Hillenbrand and the Seabiscuit book
Seabiscuit - a timeless legend - shirts, mugs, mousepads, license plate frames, etc. for Seabiscuit.
Seabiscuit - 1940 Santa Anita Handicap - a limited edition giclee art print or open edition by Thomas Allen Pauly
Seabiscuit: The Saga of a Great Champion - the book by B.K. Beckwith. This is a reprint of the original 1940 book that was a major source for Laura Hillenbrand's book.
Letters to Seabiscuit - the book by Barbara Howard. An excellent collection of fan mail sent to Seabiscuit during his career. Read the book review .
Seabiscuit: An American Legend - the book by Laura Hillenbrand. Read the book review .
The Seabiscuit Story - a new book with photos and stories collected from the Blood Horse by John McEvoy
Seabiscuit vs. War Admiral - a new illustrated book for kids by Kat Shehata and Jo McElvee.
Man O'War vs. Secretariat - who do you think was best?
Secretariat.com - Lots of official clothes, collectibles, bobbleheads, art, photos, and more. Also has lots of info about Secretariat including his lifetime past performances here .
Official Secretariat Beanie Baby - with the right markings and wearing his blinkers and 1A saddle cloth from the Kentucky Derby.
Secretariat Breyer Ornament - a small size model to use as a Christmas ornament or to display anytime.
Secretariat - the 1973 Triple Crown winner with photos
Secretariat Remains No. 1 - a SportsCentury biography from ESPN with video
Secretariat - Pure Heart - a very moving story about the death of Secretariat by William Nack
Secretariat Trivia - fan page with Derby trivia questions about Big Red
Secretariat - from Thoroughbred Champions
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In which Winter Olympics city did John Curry win gold in 1976? | Race Horse 2003 For Sale | Bicycle
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What was the gangster George Nelson's best known nickname? | Baby Face Nelson | American gangster | Britannica.com
American gangster
Alternative Titles: George Nelson, Lester Gillis
Baby Face Nelson
near Fox River Grove, Illinois
Related Biographies
Baby Face Nelson, byname of George Nelson, original name Lester Gillis (born 1908, Chicago , Illinois , U.S.—died November 27, 1934, near Fox River Grove, Illinois), American gunman and bank robber noted for his vicious killings and youthful looks.
FBI mug shots of Baby Face Nelson, 1931.
FBI
From petty crime Nelson graduated into labour racketeering, working for Al Capone (1929–31) and other bootleg bosses; he was let go, however, proving too violent even for them. He then turned to bank robberies, joining with John Dillinger on two occasions (1934). Listed as Public Enemy Number One by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), he was killed in a wild shoot-out with FBI agents.
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Article Title: Baby Face Nelson
Website Name: Encyclopædia Britannica
Date Published: January 27, 2012
URL: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Baby-Face-Nelson-American-gangster
Access Date: January 19, 2017
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| Babyface |
Which American owned a yacht called 'Honey Fitz'? | Baby Face Nelson
Baby Face Nelson
Cause of death: Justifiable Homicide
Remains: Buried, St. Joseph's Cemetery, River Grove, IL
Gender: Male
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Public Enemy Number One
Bank robber and murderer Lester Gillis was called "George" by his family and "Baby Face" by the members of his first gang in his mid-teens, due to his childlike appearance and shortness. The Nelson surname was an alibi. He started his criminal career as a petty shoplifter and car thief, then graduated to armed robbery and deadly gunfights. His known associates included Al Capone in the late 1920s and early 1930s, John Dillinger in the 1930s, and smuggler and bootlegger John Paul Chase, who was his best friend and sidekick. After Dillinger's death on 22 July 1934, Nelson was listed as the FBI's Public Enemy #1. He was involved in murders in Minneapolis, Reno, South Bend, Chicago, and small towns in Illinois and Wisconsin, and his victims included three FBI agents, including two killed in the shootout that left Nelson dead on 27 November 1934. His body, reportedly riddled with 17 bullets, was dumped in a cemetery near the small town of Niles Center, Illinois, presumably by his wife or his friend Chase. Nelson was said to have hated the nickname "Baby Face", and though he stood only five feet four inches tall, he preferred to be called "Big George".
Father: Joseph Gillis (tanner, d. 1922 suicide)
Mother: Mary Gillis
Sister: Juliette Gillis Fitzsimmons (b. 1911, d. 1987)
Wife: Helen Wawzynak Gillis (m. 1929, d. 1987)
Son: Robert Gillis (b. 4-Apr-1930)
Daughter: Darlene Gillis (b. 1932)
Escaped from Prison Illinois State Penitentiary (17-Feb-1932)
Inmate Illinois State Penitentiary, Joliet, Illinois (1931-32)
Murder Barrington, IL (two FBI agents)
Murder Rhinelander, WI (FBI agent, 22-Apr-1934)
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Which god in Greek myth, the son of Poseidon and Amphitrite, is messenger of the sea? | AMPHITRITE - Greek Goddess & Nereid Queen of the Sea
Amphitrite
Encircling Third
Poseidon and Amphitrite, Greco-Roman mosaic C4th A.D., Musée du Louvre
AMPHITRITE was the goddess-queen of the sea, wife of Poseidon, and eldest of the fifty Nereides . She was the female personification of the sea--the loud-moaning mother of fish, seals and dolphins.
When Poseidon first sought Amphitrite's hand in marriage, she fled his advances, and hid herself away near Atlas in the Ocean stream at the far ends of the earth. The dolphin-god Delphin eventually tracked her down and persuaded her to return to wed the sea-king.
Amphitrite was depicted in Greek vase painting as a young woman, often raising her hand in a pinching gesture. Sometimes she was shown holding a fish. In mosaic art the goddess usually rides beside her husband in a chariot drawn by fish-tailed horses or hippokampoi . Sometimes her hair is enclosed with a net and her brow adorned with a pair of crab-claw "horns".
Her name is probably derived from the Greek words amphis and tris, "the surrounding third." Her son Tritôn was similarly named "of the third." Clearly "the third" is the sea, although the reason for the term is obscure. Amphitrite was essentially the same as the primordial sea-goddess Thalassa . Her Roman equivalent was Salacia whose name means "the salty one."
FAMILY OF AMPHITRITE
[2.1] OKEANOS & TETHYS (Apollodorus 1.8)
OFFSPRING
[2.1] RHODE (by Poseidon ) (Apollodorus 1.28)
[3.1] KYMOPOLEIA (by Poseidon ) (Hesiod Theogony 817)
[4.1] BENTHESIKYME (by Poseidon ) (Apollodorus 3.201)
[5.1] SEALS, DOLPHINS, FISH, SHELLFISH (Homer Odyssey 4.404 & 5.440, Aelian On Animals 12.45, Athenaeus Deip. 3.92d, Oppian Halieutica 1.1)
ENCYCLOPEDIA
AMPHITRI′TE (Amphitritê), according to Hesiod (Theog. 243) and Apollodorus (i. 2. § 7) a Nereid, though in other places Apollodorus (i. 2. § 2, i. 4. § 6) calls her an Oceanid. She is represented as the wife of Poseidon and the goddess of the sea (the Mediterranean), and she is therefore a kind of female Poseidon. In the Homeric poems she does not occur as a goddess, and Amphitrite is merely the name of the sea. The most ancient passages in which she occurs as a real goddess is that of Hesiod above referred to and the Homeric hymn on the Delian Apollo (94), where she is represented as having been present at the birth of Apollo. When Poseidon sued for her hand, she fled to Atlas, but her lover sent spies after her, and among them one Delphinus, who brought about the marriage between her and Poseidon, and the grateful god rewarded his service by placing him among the stars. (Eratosth. Catast. 31; Hygin. Poet. Astr. ii. 17.) When afterwards Poseidon shewed some attachment to Scylla, Amphitrite's jealousy was excited to such a degree, that she threw some magic herbs into the well in which Scylla used to bathe, and thereby changed her rival into a monster with six heads and twelve feet. (Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 45, 649.) She became by Poseidon the mother of Triton, Rhode, or Rhodos, and Benthesicyme. (Hesiod. Theog. 930, &c.; Apollod. i. 4. § 6; iii. 15. § 4.) Later poets regard Amphitrite as the goddess of the sea in general, or the ocean. (Eurip. Cycl. 702; Ov. Met. i. 14.) Amphitrite was frequently represented in ancient works of art; her figure resembled that of Aphrodite, but she was usually distinguished from her by a sort of net which kept her hair together, and by the claws of a crab on her forehead. She was sometimes represented as riding on marine animals, and sometimes as drawn by them. The temple of Poseidon on the Corinthian isthmus contained a statue of Amphitrite (Paus. ii. 1. § 7), and her figure appeared among the relief ornaments of the temple of Apollo at Amyclae (iii. 19. § 4). on the throne of the Olympian Zeus, and in other places. (v. 2. § 3, comp. i. 17. § 3, v. 26. § 2.) We still possess a considerable number of representations of Amphitrite. A colossal statue of her exists in the Villa Albani, and she frequently appears on coins of Syracuse. The most beautiful specimen extant is that on the arch of Augustus at Rimini.
Halosydne (Halosudnê), that is, "the seafed," or the sea born goddess, occurs as a surname of Amphitrite and Thetys. (Hom. Od. iv. 404, Il. xx. 207.)
Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
CLASSICAL LITERATURE QUOTES
Poseidon-Neptune and Amphitrite, Greco-Roman mosaic from Herculaneum C1st A.D., Naples National Archaeological Museum
Hesiod, Theogony 240 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or C7th B.C.) :
"To Nereus and rich-haired Doris, daughter of Okeanos (Oceanus), there were born in the barren sea daughters greatly beautiful even among goddesses: Ploto and Eukrante (Eucrante) and Amphitrite [the first three of the fifty listed] . . . Kymodoke (Cymodoce) who, with Kymatolege (Cymatolege) and Amphitrite, light of foot, on the misty face of the open water easily stills the water and hushes the winds in their blowing . . . These were the daughters born to irreproachable Nereus, fifty in all, and the actions they know are beyond reproach."
Hesiod, Theogony 930 ff :
"And of Amphitrite and the loud-roaring Earth-Shaker [Poseidon] was born great, wide-ruling Triton, and he owns the depths of the sea, living with his dear mother and the lord his father in their golden house, an awful god."
Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 1. 11 (trans. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"Nereus and Doris were parents of the Nereides, whose names were Kymothoe (Cymothoe) . . . Amphitrite [in a list of forty-five names]."
Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 1. 28 :
"Poseidon married Amphitrite, and had as children Triton and Rhode."
Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 3. 201 :
"His [Poseidon's] and Amphitrite's daughter Benthesikyme (Benthesicyme, Deep-Waves)."
Pseudo-Hyginus, Preface (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"From Neptunus [Poseidon] and Amphitrite [was born] : Triton."
Colluthus, Rape of Helen 21 (trans. Mair) (Greek poem C5th A.D.) :
"[Thetis] the white-armed bride, own sister of Amphitrite."
MARRIAGE OF POSEIDON & AMPHITRITE
Pseudo-Hyginus, Astronomica 2. 17 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"Constellation Delphin. Eratosthenes [Hellenistic poet C3rd B.C.] and others give the following reason for the dolphin's being among the stars. Amphitrite, when Neptunus [Poseidon] desired to wed her and she preferred to keep her virginity, fled to Atlas. Neptunus sent many to seek her out, among them a certain Delphin, who, in his wandering s among the islands, came at last to the maiden, persuaded her to marry Neptunus, and himself took charge of the wedding. In return for this service, Neptunus put the form of a dolphin among the constellations."
Virgil, Georgics 1. 29 ff (trans. Fairclough) (Roman bucolic C1st B.C.) :
"You [Caesar praised as if he were Neptunus (Poseidon)] come as god of the boundless sea and sailors worship your deity alone, while farthest Thule owns your lordship and Tethys with the dowry of all her waves buys you to wed her daughter [Amphitrite]."
Oppian, Halieutica 1. 38 ff (trans. Mair) (Greek poet C3rd A.D.) :
"The Dophins : Poseidon loves them exceedingly, inasmuch as when he was seeking Amphitrite the dark-eyed daughter of Nereus who fled from his embraces, Delphines (the Dolphins) marked her hiding in the halls of Okeanos (Oceanus) and told Poseidon; and the god of the dark hair straightway carried off the maiden and overcame her against her will. Her he made his bride, queen of the sea, and for their tidings he commended his kindly attendants and bestowed on them exceeding honour for their portion."
CHARIOT OF POSEIDON & AMPHITRITE
Theseus and Amphitrite, Athenian red-figure kylix C5th B.C., Metropolitan Museum of Art
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 4. 1353 ff (trans. Rieu) (Greek epic C3rd B.C.) :
"[Jason addresses the Argonauts whose ship is beached in the Libyan desert :] ‘They [the Libyan Nymphai (Nymphs)] said that when Amphitrite had unyoked the horses from Poseidon's rolling chariot we were to recompense our mother [the ship Argo] amply for what she had suffered all the long time she bore us in her womb. Now I admit that the meaning of this oracle eludes me . . .’
The Minyai (Minyae) [Argonauts] listened with amazement to his tale. It was followed by the most astounding prodigy. A great horse came bounding out of the sea, a monstrous animal, with his golden mane waving in the air. He shook himself, tossing off the spray in showers. Then, fast as the wind, he galloped away. Peleus was overjoyed and at once explained the portent to the others. ‘It is clear to me,’ he said, ‘that Poseidon's loving wife has just unyoked his team. As for our mother, I take her to be none but the ship herself. Argo carried us in her womb; we have often heard her groaning in her pain. Now, we will carry her. We will hoist her on our shoulders, and never resting , never tiring, carry her across the sandy waste in the track of the galloping horse. He will not disappear inland. I am sure that his hoofprints will lead us to some bay that overlooks the sea.’"
AMPHITRITE & THESEUS
Bacchylides, Fragment 17 (trans. Campbell, Vol. Greek Lyric IV) (Greek lyric C5th B.C.) :
"But sea-dwelling dolphins were swiftly carrying great Theseus to the house of his father [Poseidon], god of horses, and he reached the hall of the gods. There he was awe-struck at the glorious daughters of blessed Nereus, for from their splendid limbs shone a gleam as of fire, and round their hair were twirled gold-braided ribbons; and they were delighting in their hearts by dancing with liquid feet. And he saw his father's dear wife, august ox-eyed Amphitite, in the lovely house; she put a purple cloak about him and set on his thick hair the faultless garland which once at her marriage guileful Aphrodite had given her, dark with roses [presumably as a wedding gift]. Nothing that the gods wish is beyond the belief of sane mortals: he [Theseus] appeared beside the slender-sterned ship. In what thoughts did he check the Knossian (Cnossian) commander [Minos] when he came unwet from the sea, a miracle for all, and the gods' gifts shone on his limbs."
Pausanias, Description of Greece 1. 17. 3 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"[Minos king of Krete (Crete)] hurled insults at him [Theseus] and denied that he was a son of Poseidon, since he could not recover for him the signet-ring, which he happened to be wearing, if he threw it into the sea. With these words Minos it is said to have thrown the ring, but they say that Theseus came up from the sea with that ring and also with a gold crown that Amphitrite had given him."
Pseudo-Hyginus, Astronomica 2. 5 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"Minos is said to have drawn a gold ring from his finger and cast it into the sea. He bade Theseus bring it back, if he wanted him to believe he was a son of Neptunus [Poseidon] . . . Theseus, without any invoking of his father or obligation of an oath, cast himself into the sea. And at once a great swarm of dolphins, tumbling forward over the sea, led him through gently swelling waves to the Nereides. From them he brought back the ring of Minos and a crown, bright with many gems, from Thetis, which she had received at her wedding as a gift from Venus [Aphrodite]. Others say that the crown came from the wife [Amphitrite] of Neptunus, and Theseus is said to have given it to Ariadne as a gift, when on account of his valor and courage she was given to him in marriage."
Amphitrite, Poseidon and Hippocamps, Greco-Roman mosaic from Utica, Bardo National Museum
AMPHITRITE GODDESS OF THE SEA POETIC MISCELLANY
Homer, Odyssey 3. 99 (trans. Shewring) (Greek epic C8th B.C.) :
"Drowned at sea amid Amphitrite's billows."
Homer, Odyssey 4. 404 :
"A throng of seals, the brood (phôkoi nepodes) of lovely Halosydne [Amphitrite]."
Homer, Odyssey 5. 421 ff :
"[Odysseus adrift at sea :] ‘I fear that . . . some god may send out against me, from the brine, a Ketos, one of the swarming strange huge creatures in the breeding grounds of Amphitrite.’"
Homer, Odyssey 12. 60 ff :
"On the one side are overshadowing rocks against which dash the mighty billows of the Amphitrite, the goddess of blue-glancing seas (kyanôpis). The blessed gods call these rocks the Planktai (Planctae, Wanderers)."
Hesiod, Theogony 252 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or C7th B.C.) :
"[The Nereides] Kymodoke (Cymodoce) who, with Kymatolege (Cymatolege) and Amphitrite, light of foot, on the misty face of the open water easily stills the water and hushes the winds in their blowing."
Homeric Hymn 3 to Delian Apollo 89 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C7th - 4th B.C.) :
"Leto [on the island of Delos] was racked nine days and nine nights with pangs beyond wont. And there were with her all the chiefest of the goddesses, Dione and Rheia and Ikhnaie (Ichnaea) and Themis and loud-moaning Amphitrite and the other deathless goddesses. Then the child leaped forth to the light, and all the goddesses raised a cry. Straightway, great Phoibos (Phoebus) [Apollon], the goddesses washed you purely and cleanly with sweet water, and swathed you in a white garment of fine texture, new-woven, and fastened a golden band about you."
[N.B. The "chiefest of the goddesses" are the Titanides (Titanesses). Amphitrite stands in place of Tethys, Dione is equivalent to Phoibe, and Ikhnaie "the tracing goddess" is Theia.]
Pindar, Olympian Ode 6. 105 ff (trans. Conway) (Greek lyric C5th B.C.) :
"Great god of the sea [Poseidon], husband of Amphitrite, goddess of the gold spindle."
Timotheus, Fragment 79 (trans. Campbell, Vol. Greek Lyric V) (Greek lyric C5th to C4th B.C.) :
"The barbarian naval host was driven back in confusion on the fish-wreathed bosom of Amphitrite with its gleaming folds."
Greek Lyric V Anonymous, Fragment 939 (from Aelian, On Animals) (trans. Campbell) :
"Highest of gods, gold-tridented Poseidon of the sea, earth-shaker amid the teeming brine, with their fins swimming beasts dance round you in a ring, bounding lightly with nimble flingings of their feet, snub-nosed bristle-necked swift-racing pups, the music-loving dolphins, sea nurslings of the young goddesses the Nereides, whom Amphitrite bore [i.e. Amphitrite was the mother of dolphins]: you brought me [Arion] to the cape of Tainaron (Taenarum) in Pelops' land when I drifted the Sikelian (Sicilian) Sea, carrying me on your humped backs, cleaving the furrows of Nereus' plain, a path untrodden, when treacherous men had thrown me from the sea-sailing hollow ship into the sea-purple swell of the ocean."
Pausanias, Description of Greece 10. 37. 6 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"[The author quotes an oracle of the Pythian priestess :] The wave of blue-eyed Amphitrite, roaring over the wine-dark sea."
Quintus Smyrnaeus, Fall of Troy 8. 62 ff (trans. Way) (Greek epic C4th A.D.) :
"A ruining storm maddens along the wide gulfs of the deep, and moans Amphitrite (the Sea-queen) with her anguished waves which sweep from every hand, uptowering like precipiced mountains, while the bitter squall, ceaselessly veering, shrieks across the sea."
Amphitrite, Athenian red-figure stamnos C5th B.C., Toledo Museum of Art
Aelian, On Animals 12. 45 (trans. Scholfield) (Greek natural history C2nd A.D.) :
"Arion [the poet rescued by a dolphin] wrote a hymn of thanks to Poseidon . . .: ‘Music-loving dolphins, sea-nurslings of the Nereis maids divine, whom Amphitrite bore.’"
Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae 3. 92d (trans. Gullick) (Greek rhetorician C2nd to C3rd A.D.) :
"Nikandros of Kolophon (Nicander of Colophon) in the Georgics : ‘And all the shell-fish which feed at the bottom of the ocean--sea snails, conchs, giant clams, and mussels, slimy offspring of Halosydne [Amphitrite].’"
Oppian, Cynegetica 1. 77 (trans. Mair) (Greek poet C3rd A.D.) :
[Invocation of Oppian to the sea-gods at the beginning of his poem on hunting and fishing:]
"Thou, Nereus, and ye gods (daimones) of Amphitrite . . . grant me your grace!"
Oppian, Halieutica 1. 1 :
"The tribes of the sea and the far scattered ranks of all manner of fishes, the swimming brood of Amphitrite."
Callistratus, Descriptions 14 (trans. Fairbanks) (Greek rhetorician C4th A.D.) :
"[From a description of an ancient Greek painting depicting the leap of Ino into the sea and her reception by the sea-gods :]The figure of Ino was hastening towards the promontory of Skeiron (Sciron) and the sea at the foot of the mountain, and the breakers that were wont to surge in billows were spreading out in a hollow to receive her . . . And sea-dolphins were sporting near by, coursing through the waves in the painting . . . At the outer edges of the painting an Amphitrite rose from the depths, a creature of savage and terrifying aspect who flashed from her eyes a bright radiance. And round about her stood Nereides; these were dainty and bright to look upon, distilling love's desire from their eyes; and circling in their dance over crests of the sea's waves, they amazed the spectator. About them flowed Okeanos, (Oceanus) the motion of his stream being well-nigh like the billows of the sea."
Ovid, Fasti 5. 731 (trans.Boyle) (Roman poetry C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) :
"Amphitrite's rich waters welcome the day."
Apuleius, The Golden Ass 4. 31 ff (trans. Walsh) (Roman novel C2nd A.D.) :
"Nereus' daughters appeared in singing chorus . . . and Salacia [Amphitrite], the folds of her garment sagging with fish."
Suidas s.v. Alkyonides (trans. Suda On Line) (Byzantine Greek Lexicon C10th A.D.) :
"After the death of their [the Alkyonides' (Alcyonides')] father [Alkyoneus (Alcyoneus)] they threw themselves into the sea from Kanastraion (Canastraeum), which is the peak of Pellene, but Amphitrite made them birds, and they were called Alkyones from their father. Windless days with a calm sea are called Alkyonides."
CULT OF AMPHITRITE
Amphitrite was often depicted in the artistic decorations of Poseidon's temples. Presumably she was honoured alongside the god.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2. 1. 7 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"[The temple of Poseidon at Korinthos (Corinth) on the Isthmos :] The offerings inside were dedicated in our time by Herodes the Athenian, four horses, gilded except the hoofs, which are of ivory, and two gold Tritones beside the horses, with the parts below the waist of ivory. On the car stand Amphitrite and Poseidon and there the boy Palaimon (Palaemon) upright upon a dolphin. These too are made of ivory and gold."
Pausanias, Description of Greece 3. 19. 3- 5 :
"On the altar [of Apollon at Amyklai in Lakonia] are wrought in relief, here an image of Biris, there Amphitrite and Poseidon."
Pausanias, Description of Greece 5. 26. 2 - 3 :
"The offerings of Mikythos (Micythus) I found [at Olympia] were numerous and not together . . . [statues of] Amphitrite, Poseidon and Hestia."
Pausanias, Description of Greece 5. 11. 8 :
"[Reliefs on the throne in the temple of Zeus at Olympia :] There are also reliefs of . . . Amphitrite and Poseidon."
POETIC TITLES & EPITHETS
Amphitrite had a number of poetic titles and epithets.
Greek Name
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Which American state produces the most potatoes? | Poseidon • Facts and Information on Greek God Poseidon
Poseidon
Greek God of the Sea
Poseidon was god of the sea, earthquakes, storms, and horses and is considered one of the most bad-tempered, moody and greedy Olympian gods. He was known to be vengeful when insulted – for example when he brutally blinded the Cyclops Polyphemus because his father, Odysseus, had insulted him.
He is the son of Cronus and Rhea and was swallowed by his father along with Hades , Demeter , Hestia and Hera . However, in some folklore stories it is believed that Poseidon, like Zeus , was not swallowed by Cronus because his mother Rhea who concealed him among a flock of lambs and pretended to have given birth to a colt, which was devoured by Cronos instead.
After the gods defeated the Titans, the world was divided into three and Zeus, Hades and Poseidon drew straws to decide which they would rule. Zeus drew the skies, Hades the underworld, and Poseidon the seas. There is only one reference to this divide, by Home in the Iliad.
Facts about Poseidon
Poseidon was most notably the God of the sea and the protector of all waters; sailors relied upon him for safe passage.
Poseidon was allotted his dominion after the fall of the Titans.
Zeus and Hades were his brothers.
It stands to reason that, because of his influence on the waters, he was worshipped in connection with navigation.
Poseidon was worshipped as a fertility god.
His name is Greek for “husband.”
He wielded the trident or three-pronged spear, and this image of him is reflected in art.
Poseidon could strike the ground with his trident to produce an earthquake. This earned him the nickname “Earth-shaker.”
Poseidon possessed a palace, made of gems and coral, located on the ocean floor. He was at Mount Olympus more often than his palace.
Poseidon was moody by nature: his temperament was unstable at best, and his emotional fluctuations often resulted in violence.
He was similar to Zeus in that he liked to exert power over women and flaunt his rugged masculinity. At times, however, his efforts were appreciated. Poseidon saved Amymone from a satyr.
His primary means of transportation was a chariot pulled by horses.
Poseidon assisted the Greeks in the Trojan war. However, Zeus commanded him to withdraw from the battlefield, and he reluctantly obeyed.
His grudge against Odysseus is one theme in the Odyssey.
Poseidon was the husband of Amphitrite, a Nereid. Their union produced Triton, who was half-human, half-fish.
He and Medusa conceived the flying horse, Pegasus – one of many mythological creatures .
He was also the biological father of Orion, Polyphemus, Pelias, and many others.
One of his most notable dalliances involved his sister Demeter. She refused his advances by turning herself into a mare. He then transformed into a stallion and pursued her. Their relations produced a horse, Arion.
He and Athena competed for possession of the city of Athens. To sway the people in his favor, Poseidon made it spring at the Acropolis. Athena, on the other hand, gave them the olive tree. With it, she won the contest.
Despite Poseidon’s connection to chariots and ships, Athena was the first to make one of each.
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Poseidon, Greek God of the Sea
POSEIDON FACTS
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On which Island did many of the mutineers from HMS Bounty famously settle? | The Bounty, Pitcairn Island, and Fletcher Christian's Descendants
The Bounty, Pitcairn Island, and Fletcher Christian's Descendants
April 28 marks the anniversary of the world's most famous mutiny
by Borgna Brunner
Phrases in the Pitcairnese Dialect
I starten. – I'm going.
Bou yo gwen? – Where are you going?
I gwen down Farder's morla. – I'm going down to Father's place tomorrow.
Bou yo bin? – Where have you been?
I gwen out yenna fer porpay. – I'm going out yonder for red guavas.
Foot yawly come yah? – Why did you come here?
Up a side, Tom'sa roll. – Up at that place, Tom fell down.
Source: Ray and Eileen Young, New Zealand residents descended from Midshipmen Edward Young of the Bounty. Courtesy of the Pitcairn Island Web site.
It is not surprising that the most famous of all mutinies , that of the British HMS Bounty , has become ideal fodder for popular history and legend. The mutiny has generated five films (who can think of Fletcher Christian without picturing Marlon Brando ?) as well as countless books (including a historical novel by Mark Twain , The Great Revolution in Pitcairn).
Set in the paradisiacal islands of the South Seas, the mutiny involved a host of colorful characters, including the tyrannical Captain Bligh , the aristocratic Fletcher Christian (a distant relation of William Wordsworth's ), numerous uninhibited Tahitian women, and a pack of sailors made up of cockney orphans and ruffian adverturers.
Anglo-Tahitian Culture Preserved
What has also helped to perpetuate the romantic fascination with the mutiny is the existence of a small community on Pitcairn Island directly descended from the mutineers and their Tahitian wives.
Living on a 1.75 square mile volcanic speck in the South Pacific that is surely one of the most isolated places on Earth, the contemporary Pitcairn Islanders still bear the surnames of the eighteenth century mutineers (Tom Christian, for example, is the great-great-great-grandson of Fletcher). The islanders speak a dialect that is a hybrid of Tahitian and eighteenth-century English. It is as if history had been preserved in a petri dish (another admittedly romantic notion about an already widely romanticized past).
Paradise
The Bounty left England on Dec. 23, 1787, and reached Tahiti in 1788. It was sent to collect a cargo of breadfruit saplings, which was then to be transported to Jamaica where the breadfruit would serve as food for slaves working on the plantations. After sailing 27,000 miles over ten months, the crew spent a sybaritic idyll on Tahiti, where they reveled in the subtropical climate, lush surroundings, and overwhelming warmth and hospitality of the Tahitians.
A scientist of the time, gladly abandoning reason for passion, claimed that the Tahitians knew "no other god but love; every day is consecrated to it, the whole island is its temple, all the women are its idols, all the men its worshippers." Many of the men found Tahitian companions, and Fletcher Christian and a Tahitian named Maimiti fell deeply in love and later married. For Christian, Maimiti had the face that launched one mutinous ship.
Breadfruit Bligh
On April 4, 1789, the Bounty embarked on the second leg of its journey with a cargo of a thousand breadfruit saplings aboard. A little more than three weeks later, near the island of Tonga , the crew, led by first mate Fletcher Christian, staged a mutiny against Captain William Bligh, under whom they claimed to suffer inhuman treatment.
Bligh and eighteen loyal sailors were set adrift in a 23-foot open boat. According to Captain Bligh's diary, the mutineers threw breadfruit after him as he was forced off the Bounty, and yelled, "There goes the Bounty bastard, breadfruit Bligh!" Miraculously, Bligh and his loyalists survived the seven-week, 3,600-mile voyage in the cramped boat, finally reaching the island of Timor .
Discovering Pitcairn
Pitcairn's coordinates are 25 04 S, 130 06 W.
After the mutiny, Christian and his sailors returned to Tahiti, where sixteen of the twenty-five men decided to remain for good. Christian, along with eight others, their women, and a handful of Tahitian men then scoured the South Pacific for a safe haven, eventually settling on Pitcairn on January 23, 1790.
An isolated volcanic island 1,350 miles southeast of Tahiti, it was named after British midshipman Robert Pitcairn, who first sighted the island on July 2, 1767. Its location had been incorrectly charted by the explorer Carteret , who missed the mark by 200 miles, and was therefore the ideal refuge for the mutineers. Although a British ship spent three months searching for them, the mutineers eluded detection. Those who had remained on Tahiti were not so lucky. They were swiftly captured and brought to trial in England, where seven were exonerated and three were hanged.
Psychoanalyzing Captain Bligh
The circumstances leading to the mutiny remain unclear. History has alternately presented William Bligh as horrifically cruel or as a disciplined captain merely running a tight ship. Scenes from movies in which he keel-hauled sailors or gave their water rations to the breadfruit plants have no historical basis, but diplomacy and compassion were clearly not his strong suits. In short, the captain is believed to have been a foul-tempered, highly critical authoritarian with a superiority complex.
Bligh himself contended that the mutineers "had assured themselves of a more happy life among the Otaheitans [Tahitians] than they could possibly have in England, which, joined to some female connections, has most likely been the leading cause of the whole business."
Bligh Climbs the Naval Ladder Rather than Walking the Plank
Certainly the stark contrast between the pleasures of Tahiti and the bleak life aboard the Bounty played a role in igniting the mutiny, but the blame seems to rest largely on Bligh's failings as a captain. The fact that Bligh was later involved in yet another mutiny and again accused of "oppressive behavior" makes the occasional attempts to rehabilitate his reputation unconvincing. In 1805 he was appointed governor of New South Wales, Britain's colony of Australia. The colonists, well accustomed to harsh leaders and conditions, found Bligh's rule intolerable. Within three years, they mutineed; Bligh was imprisoned and sent back to England.
Ironically, having two mutinies on his record did not stymie Bligh's career–he was eventually promoted to Vice Admiral. Although he was arrogant and cruel, he was also courageous and intelligent, as well as an excellent navigator, astronomer, and cartographer–he could never have survived the seven-week, 3,600-mile post-mutiny voyage otherwise.
The Ebb & Flow
2014: 48
* Pitcairn's population dropped to zero when all the inhabitants emigrated to Norfolk Island.
Landing on Pitcairn Island in 1790, the mutineers and Tahitians remained invisible to the world for eighteen years. Despite the fledgling society's opportunity to invent itself from scratch, island culture more closely resembled Lord of the Flies than a Rousseauvian utopia. When an American whaler discovered the island in 1808, murder and suicide had left eight of the nine mutineers dead.
Pitcairn Joins the Commonwealth
Pitcairn flourished under the leadership of the last surviving mutineer, John Adams, a Cockney orphan who had joined the Bounty under the pseudonym Alexander Smith. He reverted to his real name on Pitcairn–apparently deciding it was the sort of place where he could let his hair down. Adamstown, the capital, is named after him.
Despite his former hard-drinking days and near illiteracy, Adams emphasized the importance of religion and education to the Bounty's second generation–which included Fletcher Christian's son, Thursday October Christian, the first child born on the island.
In 1825, a British ship arrived and formally granted Adams amnesty, and on November 30, 1838, the Pitcairn Islands (which also include three uninhabited islands–Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno) were incorporated into the British Empire .
Emigration to Norfolk Island
By 1855, the population had grown to nearly 200, and the tiny island, with only 88 acres of flat land, could no longer sustain its people. As a result, Queen Victoria bequeathed them Norfolk Island , a former penal colony more than 3,700 miles to the west.
On May 3, 1856, the entire population of 194 people reluctantly abandoned Pitcairn. Within 18 months, however, seventeen of the immigrants returned to Pitcairn, followed by another four families in 1864. Contemporary Norfolk has approximately 1000 Bounty descendants–about half its population–and celebrates Bounty Day (the day the Pitcairners first arrived) on June 8.
Contemporary Pitcairn
Languages: English (official); Anglo-Tahitian dialect
Chief Occupations: subsistence farming and fishing
Agriculture: citrus fruits, sugarcane, watermelons, bananas, yams, and beans.
Average Temperature: 55°-90°F
Major source of revenue: postage stamps and handicrafts
Currency: New Zealand dollar
Area: 1.75 square miles
Today about 50 people live on Pitcairn. All but a handful–a pastor, the schoolteacher, and others–are direct descendants of the mutineers. The only way to reach the island is by ship, but storms and Pitcairn's dangerous harbor have sometimes prevented landings. In recent years one of Pitcairn's thrice-annual supply ships ran aground on a reef on its way from Norfolk to Pitcairn.
Mail service takes approximately three months, and for medical attention, Pitcairners must wait for a ship to transport them to New Zealand, several thousand miles to the west. All are Seventh-Day Adventists who converted sometime after 1886, when an American missionary arrived on the island.
The islanders support themselves by producing postage stamps and making handicrafts, which they sell primarily to visitors on passing ships. Their meager revenue does not cover the enormous costs incurred in keeping the remote island running–electricity, among other things, is exhorbitant and cargo costs several thousand dollars per ton to transport. Great Britain has until now subsidized the island, but it is uncertain whether it will continue to underwrite the expenses of its tiny but costly colony.
World Wide Web Brings the Wide World to Pitcairn
There are individuals and organizations around the world devoted to the Pitcairners, their genealogy, and the history of the mutiny (the genealogical tree extends to 7,500 known descendants throughout the world). Friends of the Pitcairn Islanders have even launched the island into cyberspace–the Pitcairn Island online portal , and Norfolk Island has its own site . It is now even possible to buy Pitcairn Island handicrafts through the Pitcairn Island Online Shop !
Pitcairn has also recently begun to sell its Internet domain name–".pn"–to those needing a unique URL. "Yahoo.com" may be out of the question, but "Yahoo.pn" just might be up for grabs. Islander Tom Christian originally sold the rights to the ".pn" domain to a British Internet company. When the cash-strapped islanders realized they were seeing no financial reward they fought for and eventually took back control of their domain name.
Pitcairn Island. Courtesy of the Pitcairn Island Web Site.
Paradise Lost
In recent years, however, a sexual abuse scandal has cast a deep shadow over the island. Accounts of the victimization of women and young girls on Pitcairn began surfacing in 1999. Seven men–more than half the adult male population of the island–were charged with 96 counts of abuse, including rape and sexual assault. Some of the charges dated back four decades. Subject to British law, the accused faced trial in October 2004 on Pitcairn. Three judges, a number of lawyers, and legal staff members made the 3,000-mile journey to Pitcairn from New Zealand. Eight women, all former Pitcairn Islanders, testified by video link from Auckland, New Zealand.
On Oct. 29, 2004, four men were convicted of multiple sex offenses and received jail sentences of up to six years; two others were sentenced to community service. Jay Warren, the island's magistrate, was found innocent. The appeals of all four men were dismissed, and they are currently being jailed on Pitcairn and guarded by a prison staff from New Zealand.
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Who wrote the music for the ballets 'The Firebird' and 'The Rite of Spring'? | Mutiny on the Bounty - The Official Globe Trekker Website
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Mutiny on the Bounty
In May 28th 1789 Captain Bligh, an experienced mariner who had been on James Cook's voyages to the Pacific of the HMS Bounty was set adrift in a small boat by his own crew mates led by Fletcher Christian.
Ian Wright in a HMS Bounty re-enactment
In May 28th 1789 Captain Bligh, an experienced mariner who had been on James Cook’s voyages to the Pacific of the HMS Bounty was set adrift in a small boat by his own crew mates led by Fletcher Christian. His fate – certain death in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in a sea with terrible storms and Islands teeming with hungry cannibals.
Captain Bligh and his men survived 40 days adrift at sea. The mutineers went in search of a place to land in the South Pacific. The first stop was on the island of Tubuai. His survival became the most famous story to come out of Tahiti: Mutiny on the Bounty. Their voyage was to research the breadfruit plants; after many problems the mission was delayed by 5 months awaiting breadfruit to seed and the crew integrated into the wild Polynesian life and took lovers ashore. The mutineers sank Bounty near a rocky bay off Pitcairn Island, it’s remains are still in the sea.
The mutineers attempts to settle in Tubuai was met by local opposition and 12 Polynesians were killed by the English. Some of the mutineers and a small group of Polynesians settled in Pitcairn. Their final fate was gory, when 12 years after settling one of the mutineers took one of the Polynesians’ women as replacement for his dead mate. Jealousies between the English and the Polynesian men became inflamed and led to a massacre between the two groups in which 5 mutineers including Fletcher Christian were murdered, another commited suicide and another died of asthma and another was killed by his remaining crew mates. Their descendants still live in Pitcairn today.
Every two years on the island of Tubuai, the locals reinact the arrival of the mutineers led by Fletcher Christian on the shore where they landed, called Bloody Bay. The first part of the reinactment shows the mutineers being greeted by the 3 chiefs of the island and their daughters. The crew also bought gifts of domestic animals that the islanders had never seen before.
In May 1791 HMS Pandora from England approached the island of Tahiti to capture the mutineers. Certain sailors of Bounty, in particular those not having taken share with the mutiny, delivered themselves in order to prove their good faith. The others 14 were captured. All, without exception, were placed in a cage of 15 square meters, called “the Pandora’s box“, without contact with the crew.
On a coral barrier in the strait of Torres a terrifying storm threw Pandora on August 28. The following day, in spite of the efforts of the crew, the ship could not be saved. The captain ordered the abandonment of the ship, but refused to release the prisoners. At the very last moment the fencing master, in spite of the orders of his commander, gave the keys to the prisoners trapped in Pandora’s Box. 10 of the prisoners were saved, but four of them did not have a chance to escape and perished drowned, still connected to their cages.
In 1792 the remaining mutineers were captured, and three of the 10 were hanged.
BOOK:
Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff, James N. Hall
The story of Fletcher Christian’s mutiny against Captain Bligh, as told by Midshipman Roger Byam
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Who composed the 'Brandenburg Concertos'? | Brandenburg Concertos | compositions by Bach | Britannica.com
compositions by Bach
concerto grosso
Brandenburg Concertos, six concerti grossi by Johann Sebastian Bach , considered masterful examples of balance between assorted groups of soloists and a small orchestra. The collection was composed circa 1711–20 and dedicated in 1721 to Christian Ludwig, the margrave ( marquess ) of Brandenburg and the younger brother of King Frederick I of Prussia.
About 1719, when Bach traveled to Berlin to order a new harpsichord , he performed for Christian Ludwig, who was quite impressed and soon commissioned several works. Two years passed, however, before Bach delivered the so-called Brandenburg Concertos. Such royal requests could be quite lucrative for a composer, but the margrave never paid for Bach’s work, for reasons that remain unclear. It may be that Christian Ludwig knew the pieces were neither newly created nor written specifically for him; rather, they were revisions of works Bach had composed some years earlier for the court at Köthen.
Johann Sebastian Bach, oil on canvas by Elias Gottlieb (Gottlob) Haussmann, 1746; in the …
© Photos.com/Jupiterimages
The Brandenburg Concertos represent a popular music genre of the Baroque era—the concerto grosso—in which a group of soloists plays together with a small orchestra. The word grosso simply means “large,” for there are more soloists than was customary at the time, and the music tends to be more expansive. In the case of the Brandenburg Concerto No. 1, the soloists are so numerous that the work is virtually symphonic. At various points in the composition , Bach crafted solo roles for one violin , three oboes , one bassoon , and two horns —nearly as many musicians as might constitute a small orchestra. The second concerto of the set has a perilously high trumpet solo as well as solos for recorder (or flute ), oboe, and violin. Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 features three each of violins, violas , and cellos . Soloists in the fourth concerto include two flutes and a violin and in the fifth a flute, a violin, and a harpsichord. Brandenburg Concerto No. 6, the only piece in the collection to include no violins whatsoever, spotlights the lower strings, supplemented, as always, by the harpsichord.
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Which classical composer wrote the 19 'Hungarian Rhapsodies' for piano? | Johann Sebastian Bach. Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 (Full) - YouTube
Johann Sebastian Bach. Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 (Full)
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Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F Major BWV 1047.
I. Allegro
II. Andante
III. Allegro assai
Concerto for strings, violin solo, flute, oboe, trumpet and continuo. Brandenburg concertos are a collection of six concertos composed for different instrumental groups and evident virtuosistic gifts required for interpreters. This is one of the most singular of the collection. It was composed for violin, recorder, oboe and trumpet, the last instrument is the protagonist in the concerto (except the slow movement). Bach wrote this concerto in three traditional movements unlike the first one. The first movement Allegro is vigorous and the trumpet leads practically the rest of the ensemble. Andante assai just violin, oboe and flute expose a languid melody in D minor which it finishes in D major chord. In the finale, the atmosphere of the beginning is taken up until the brilliant coda by trumpet and strings.
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What was invented by James Dewer in 1872? | What was invented by James Dewer in 1872 Vacuum or thermos - MBA - 217
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Who invented the first mass-produced toothbrush in 1780? | No Questions Quiz 3 Answers - Shareware Notice
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Murdoch Sopwith
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85 Viticulture is the growing of what plants Vines
86 In 1953 what was first successfully transmitted in the USA Colour Television
87 Who wrote the Thin Man in 1934 (both names) Dashiell Hammett
88 Angel falls Venezuela Highest but where second Highest Yosemite USA
89 Whitcome Judson in 1891 invented what for fastening shoes Zip Fastener
90 Who sold Louisiana to the USA in 1803 Napoleon
91 Gregory Pincus, John Rock, Gerhart Domangk developed what Oral Contraceptive
92 The Gloucester E 28/39 first flew in 1941 - what was unusual Whittle Jet Engine
93 Women compete between USA and UK in Wightman Cup - Sport Tennis
94 Woolworth's - the 5 /10 cent store started in which us state 1979 Lancaster
Pennsylvania
95 Which actress starred in the original King Kong in 1933 (both) Fay Wray
96 Except Australia 1 New Zealand 1 USA all since 1870 want? America's Cup
97 What's missing from ale that’s included in beer Hops
98 Until 1971 what was the name of Zaire Congo
99 Karl Lienstater discovered which medical breakthrough in 1901 ABO Blood Groups
100 Who is the only American president elected unopposed George Washington
1798 1792
No Questions Quiz 4 Answers
1 Which countries men use the most deodorant Japan
2 Who played Billy the Kid in The Left Handed Gun Paul Newman
3 What was the first credit card Diners Club
4 What links Humphry Davie, Michael Faraday, Madam Curie Poisoned by
chemicals work
5 Hippophagic society members support what Eating horsemeat
6 What did Britain swap Havana for with Spain in 1763 Florida
7 What is the crime of embracery Jury Bribing
8 Which country made the worlds first feature film in 1906 Australia Story of
Kelly gang
9 Who wrote Gentlemen Prefer Blonds Anita Loos
10 What was Norman Bates hobby in Psycho Stuffing birds
11 What was Casanovas day job Librarian
12 Where is the worlds largest gold depository Federal reserve bank
Manhattan
13 Why did the state of Indiana ban Robin Hood in 1953 Communist – rob rich
14 Angelo Scicilano better know as who Charles Atlas
15 How did George II die Fell off toilet
16 What did Marlon Brando and George C Scott refuse Oscars
17 Why was convict 2599 unusual in Pen State prison 1924 Dog doing life for
killing cat
18 What is 6 inches bigger in Summer Eiffel tower
19 What two ingredients make the dish angels on horseback Oysters - wrapped in
Bacon
20 What was Charles Dickens last (unfinished) novel Mystery of Edwin
Drood
21 Which sea on Earth has no beaches Sargasso sea
22 Reuben Tice died trying to invent a machine to do what Dewrinkle prunes
23 De Witt Wallace founded what Readers Digest
24 Who is the Patron Saint of thieves St Nicholas
25 According to his business card what job did Al Capone do Sell second hand
furniture
26 Humans are 10,000 times more sexually active that what animal Rabbits
27 Shirley Schrift became famous as which actress Shelly Winters
28 In Kansas what can a waiter not do in a teacup (legally) Serve wine
29 Which country has the smallest birth rate Vatican City
30 Which 1956 film caused riots in cinemas Rock around the clock
31 Who did the USA buy the Virgin islands from Denmark
32 Who played the scarecrow in the Wiz (all black wiz of oz) Michael Jackson
33 What was or is a Waltzing Mathilda Swagman’s Knapsack
34 Which country was the first to introduce old age pensions Germany
35 Which hats became popular with children in 1956 Davy Crocket
36 Malden Serkiovitch famous as which actor Karl Malden
37 What is it illegal to pawn in New York American flag
38 What hospital did Dr Kildare work at Blaire General
39 Collective nouns - a smuck of what Jellyfish
40 Who was Cleopatra's first husband Ptolemy Dionysus –
her brother
41 Who was John Dawkins better known as Artful Dodger
42 Which film star has his statue in Leicester Square Charlie Chaplin
43 Virginia McMath became famous as which actress Ginger Rodgers
44 What is the name of Captain Ahab's ship Peaquod
45 Roosevelt won the 1932 election - who lost it Herbert Hoover
46 Who wrote The History of Mr Polly H G Wells
47 What is the first day of Lent Ash Wednesday
48 Mr Chips said goodbye - from which fictional school Brookfield
49 Who buried the treasure on Treasure Island Captain Flint
50 Which TV series was narrated by Walter Winchell The Untouchables
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In 1871, Whitcome Judson created what - originally used for fastening shoes? | Zipper History - Invention of the Zipper
Invention:
zipper in 1913
Function: noun / zip-per / Originally a trademark. Definition: A fastening device consisting of parallel rows of metal, plastic, or nylon teeth on adjacent edges of an opening that are interlocked by a sliding tab. Patent: 1,060,378 (US) issued April 29,1913
Inventor:
Criteria; First to patent. Modern prototype. . Birth: 1880 Death: June 21, 1954 Nationality: Swedish Milestones:
1851 Patent # 8,540 issued Nov. 25, automatic, continuous clothing closure, Elias Howe,
1893 Patent # 504,037 issued Aug. 25, shoe fastener, hook-and-eye, Whitcomb L. Judson,
1894 Universal Fastener Company formed
1904 Automatic Hook and Eye Company
1905 C-urity, Whitcomb L. Judson,
1913 hookless fastener, Otto Frederick Gideon Sundback,
1917 Patent # 1,219,881 (US) issued Mar. 20, 1917, Talon, separable fastener, Gideon Sundback,
1925 Zipper name, B. F. Goodrich Company,
1928 Hookless Fastener Comapny renamed Talon, Inc.
1934 zipper manufacturing, YKK group,
zipper, clothing, fastening device, apparel, Sundback, Gideon Sundback, Elias Howe, Whitcomb L. Judson, B. F. Goodrich Company, history, invention, facts, inventor, biography. The Story:
After a slow birth and years of rejection, the zipper found its way into everything from plastic pencil cases to sophisticated space suits and countless "fly" jokes. The zippers used today are little different then the Gideon Sundback design of 1917.
An early device similar to the zipper, "an Automatic, Continuous Clothing Closure", was patented by Elias Howe in 1851, but did not reach the market. Howe was preoccupied with the sewing machine that he had patented in 1846.
Whitcomb L. Judson loved machines and experimented with many different kinds of gadgets. He invented a number of labor-saving items, including the zipper. It came about because of a friends stiff back. The problem was that his friend could not do up his shoes. Judson came up with a slide fastener that could be opened or closed with one hand. This was an absolutely new idea, and in a few weeks Judson had a working model. On August 29, 1893, he patented his new "clasp locker." The earliest "clasp locker" fasteners were being used in the apparel industry by 1905, but they weren't considered practical.
The design used today, based on interlocking teeth, was invented by an employee of Whitcomb Judson's, Swedish born scientist Gideon Sundback. In 1913 and patented as the "Hookless Fastener" and after more improvements patented in 1917 as the "Separable Fastener". Only after Gideon Sundbach, had remodeled Judson's fastener into a more streamlined and reliable form, was the fastener a success. One of its first customers was the US Army. It applied zippers to the clothing and gear of the troops of World War I;
When the B. F. Goodrich Company decided to market galoshes with Sundback's fasteners, the product became popular. These new galoshes could be fastened with a single zip of the hand. A Goodrich executive is said to have slid the fastener up and down on the boot and exclaimed, �Zip 'er up,� echoing the sound made by this clever device and the fasteners came to be called "zippers." Registered in 1925, zipper was originally a B.F. Goodrich trademark for overshoes with fasteners. As the fastener that �zipped� came to be used in other articles, its name was used as well. B.F. Goodrich sued to protect its trademark but was allowed to retain proprietary rights only over Zipper Boots. Zipper itself had moved into the world of common nouns
Today the YKK Group is most famous for making zippers, although it also does business in other fastening products, architectural products, and industrial machinery.
When you see YKK, you think of zippers, because we have manufactured zippers since 1934.. The name YKK was first registered as a trademark in 1946. Over the years, the letters "YKK" were stamped onto the zippers' pull tabs, and thus YKK became known as the Company's trademark.
TO LEARN MORE
| Zipper (ride) |
Which country contains provinces called Bihar and Kerela? | Zipper
Zipper
a fastening device consisting of two parallel tracks of teeth or coils that can be interlocked by pulling a sliding piece
The first device remotely resembling today's zipper was the "Automatic Continuous Clothing Closure," patented by Elias Howe in 1851. Howe never marketed his device, however, as he was too busy working on his sewing machine at the time.
The next man to work on a closure system for clothing was Whitcomb L. Judson, an engineer from Chicago, who invented a "Clasp Locker or Unlocker for Shoes" in 1890. This device had a slider that ran over a row of boot hooks, drawing them together. The slide could then be removed, turned around, and used to pull the clasps open. Judson applied for a patent on November 7, 1891, and it was finally granted on August 29, 1893. Judson first exhibited his "Clasp Locker" at the Chicago World's Fair , where it was received with little fanfare. In 1894 he established the Universal Fastener Company in Chicago to manufacture and market the device, but the fastener proved too cumbersome and unreliable and was never successful.
By 1904 Judson had simplified his design into two rows of hooks and eyes, with each row attached to cloth tape. In 1905 he established the Automatic Hook and Eye Company in Hoboken, New Jersey, to market the "C-curity Fastener" to women, hoping they would use it on their skirts and dresses. Unfortunately, the "C-curity Fastener" was no more successful than the "Clasp Locker" had been. Judson died in 1909, before seeing his invention get improved enough to finally gain public acclaim.
The zipper as we now know it was developed by Gideon Sundback, a Swedish-American engineer employed by the Automatic Hook and Eye Company. Sundback first improved Judson's "C-curity Fastener" by changing the hook and eye mating to make the closure more secure. The "Plako Fastener," as he called it, was initially targeted at dressmakers, but was also used for men's trousers. Although a definite improvement, the device was still unreliable because it wasn't flexible enough to remain closed when bent or twisted.
Sundback continued to work on his design, and eventually came up with his "Hookless #1," which used the slide to force one side of the fastener, made of cloth tape with a beaded edge, into metal clamps on the other side. Unfortunately, the cloth tape proved to be a weak point of the device because it tended to tear after only a few uses.
The real breakthrough in zipper history came in 1913, when Sundback came up with the idea to fasten two rows of "scoop-shaped" teeth on opposing cloth tapes. It took him a few more years to develop a practical sliding mechanism, but he finally patented the "Separable Fastener" on March 20, 1917. After developing the machines needed to mass-produce the device, he established the Hookless Fastener Company, based in Meadville, New Jersey. The first orders for the "Separable Fastener" came from the U.S. Army Air Service and the U.S. Navy. It first came to the public's attention in 1921, when the B.F. Goodrich company used them on a line of rubber galoshes, which were marketed as "Zipper Boots."
Zippers were used primarily on boots and tobacco pouches for the first twenty years or so of their existence, but in the 1930's a sales campaign began for children's clothing featuring zippers, praising them for promoting self-reliance in children by making it possible for them to dress themselves.
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What is the capitol of Morocco? | What is the Capital of Morocco? - Capital-of.com
Dates of religious and Civil
holidays around the world.
www.when-is.com
Capital of Morocco
The Capital City of Morocco (officially named Kingdom of Morocco) is the city of Rabat. The population of Rabat in the year 2008 was 31,352,000.
Morocco, formerly known as French Morocco, is an Arabic speaking country on the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, Strait of Gibraltar and the Mediterranean Sea.
Additional Information
| Rabat |
Which country was formerly called Northern Rhodesia? | What does capital of Morocco mean? definition, meaning and pronunciation (Free English Language Dictionary)
national capital (the capital city of a nation)
Holonyms ("capital of Morocco" is a part of...):
Al-Magrib ; Kingdom of Morocco ; Maroc ; Marruecos ; Morocco (a kingdom (constitutional monarchy) in northwestern Africa with a largely Muslim population; achieved independence from France in 1956)
Learn English with... Proverbs of the week
"All cats love fish but hate to get their paws wet." (English proverb)
"The wolf has a thick neck because it has fast legs." (Albanian proverb)
"If you're a liar, then have a good memory." (Arabic proverb)
"To make an elephant out of a mosquito." (Dutch proverb)
CAPITAL OF MOROCCO: related words searches
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Which 2 surnames are linked to a ‘60s terrorist group that became the Red Army Faction? | Baader-Meinhof.com
The Gun Still Speaks: interview with Richard Huffman
Originally appeared in The Eye magazine, 1999
By Sam Gaines
In the late-'60s and '70s an underground revolutionary group existed in Germany known as the Baader-Meinhof Gang. Decades later, on September 16, 1999, Austrian police killed Baader-Meinhof member Horst Ludwig Meyer in a Vienna shoot-out that started when he and his wife, Andrea Martina Klump, disarmed a Viennese policewoman. His wife was taken into custody. Were these the last two remaining members of the gang? Both were fugitives in hiding believed to be involved in assassinations and bombings-Klump herself is linked to the 1989 murder of Deutsche Bank executive Alfred Herrhausen.The shoot-out that led to Horst Ludwig Meyer's demise transpired a year and a half AFTER the Baader-Meinhof Gang announced, via fax to Reuters, the formal dissolution of the organization and its mission. But whether Left Wing or Right Wing, terrorism never really goes away.
This year, author Richard Huffman will publish The Gun Speaks, the first definitive history of the Baader-Meinhof Gang written in English. Huffman's research is exhaustive, but his first encounter with the group was as a boy in Berlin, where his father headed the U.S. Army's very busy Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit.
The story of Horst Meyer's death and the capture of his wife, both 43 at the time, received worldwide media coverage since both were reputed members of the Red Army Faction (RAF), one of the most notorious terrorist organizations of the 20th century. But the German press pegged a misnomer onto the organization back in the early '70s-the Baader-Meinhof Gang (BMG)-and the name still sticks today.
For three decades, the Baader-Meinhof Gang stood at the vanguard of a war of terror against the powers that be. Industrialists, corporate heads, and government officials were their primary targets, but many of their victims were ordinary citizens and American soldiers. More than 30 people were killed by Baader-Meinhof bombs and bullets, with millions of dollars' worth of property destroyed.
Author Richard Huffman's strange engagement with Baader-Meinhof began long before the group's last official statement in April 1998. His father, U.S. Army Col. Chuck Huffman, headed up the Berlin Brigade's Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit at a time when explosive ordnance detonation was a regular occurrence in Germany. The pending publication of Richard Huffman's book, The Gun Speaks: the Baader-Meinhof Gang and the Postwar German Decade of Terror, will tell the story of the organization's reign of terror, and one man's remarkable intersection with one of this century's most fascinating-and violent-underground organizations.
In the spring of 1972, 3-year-old Richard Huffman was whiling away his morning in Berlin's Kinder Keller ("Children's Cellar") as his mother attended an officer's club social at Harnack House. Mrs. Huffman and approximately 50 other officers' wives were in the midst of their meals when a man approached the ranking officer's wife and whispered into her ear: a bomb threat. Within moments, the women coolly filed out of the club. On her way out, Mrs. Huffman passed her husband, who was leading his bomb disposal unit in. Huffman's unit was among the elite; only the British bomb disposal units, then very busy in Northern Ireland, ranked alongside.
Chuck Huffman's unit defused the bomb-later attributed to Fritz Teufel's radical Movement 2 June faction-with just 15 minutes remaining on the egg timer. All in a day's work for the ordnance expert, to be sure, but it was the germinating seed for his son's obsession with a tumultuous period of German history.
The roots of that interest took hold many years later, however, when Richard was an adult. What awaited his discovery-and in some ways, rediscovery-was a tormented period in German and European sociopolitical history. It was a time when "revolution" was more than a slogan and a bandwagon-it was a commitment, a gun, a bomb, and an all-too-real war against society. And it all started with the accidental 1967 death of Benno Ohnesorg, a very unfortunate young student.
In early 2000, Huffman will revisit Germany with his father with an eye toward continuing his research. I spoke with Richard about his research, his obsessions, and his impressions of the radical organization that continues to wield influence over his life.
Interview with Richard Huffman
Do you remember when your fascination with RAF/Baader Meinhof began?
Richard Huffman
I remember the exact instant. I happened to visit my father on his lunch break at work. He was having a conversation with a coworker about FBI efforts to catch the Unabomber. He made some disparaging remarks about the FBI bomb squad; I felt I had to take him to task. Who was he to call the FBI poorly trained? So he tells me and his friend about defusing Baader-Meinhof bombs in Berlin. I was only vaguely aware of Baader-Meinhof, but I looked into it, delving deeper and deeper, and I haven't seen light for going on four years now.
Sam Gaines/Eye Magazine
The detail of your research is remarkable. How long has it taken you to gather all this together?
Richard Huffman
The vast majority of my research was conducted over a two-year period beginning about three and a half years ago. Here's something that surprises many people: My German is pretty weak. I had the odd fortune of falling in love with a subject that was just narrow enough to allow me to read ALL of the English language documentation. It's a lot of reading, but entirely doable in, say, two years. Two things conspire to make source documents from that era very tough to read. One is that the German language is very formal and patrician. Every noun is capitalized. One semi-ridiculous by-product of the German student movement of the '60s was a movement against the patrician German punctuation. Students, and later terrorists, would write their tracts without capital letters anywhere. Ulrike Meinhof's famous magazine konkret is the most obvious example. Anyway, this abhorrence of capital letters, coupled with stilted self-analysis "dialogue"-style communiqués, made reading the work of the terrorists tough for Germans. Imagine how tough it is for me while I am just learning the language.
Sam Gaines/Eye Magazine
The gang's leader, Andreas Baader, was a violent, yet strangely compelling figure-a petty criminal, yet an opportunist who became a charismatic leader. Is there any analogy to be made from a "cult of personality" standpoint-say, similar to the role Charles Manson developed with his "Family"? Also, continuing with this probably unwieldy analogy-Manson and his Family are rightly reviled for their brutal deeds. Is the BMG similarly held in contempt in their native land, or has a certain romanticized notion of revolution colored perceptions of their legacy?
Richard Huffman
I wouldn't compare him to Charlie Manson other than in very broad ways. Baader was unquestionably the leader of the group, but there were other strong leaders as well, particularly his girlfriend Gudrun Ensslin. What attracted people to the BMG was partially based on a true interest in some form of revolution based on real thinking. The only people in Germany who have romanticized notions of revolution were born after 1965. Most of the people who lived through the times and were old enough to understand them have not changed their tune about the BMG. If they were conservative, they hated them and continue to do so. If they were moderate to mildly liberal, they hated them because they were counterproductive. If they were radical, they probably supported them, and today still find ways to excuse their murders.
Sam Gaines/Eye Magazine
At your site, you mention that your father holds an "it-was-my-job" attitude toward his extraordinary presence-and courage-in Berlin at the time as head of bomb disposal for the army. How did he react when you brought up the idea of visiting Berlin together next year?
Richard Huffman
My dad is an interesting guy. The Army definitely picked the right guy when they gave him the super-security clearance that they gave him; my dad just did his job and didn't seem interested in talking about it. He would laugh if I described his job as "courageous." He is very interested in going back to Berlin with me, mostly to see his old haunts. I told him that I fully plan to introduce him to the guys who tried to kill him (and tried to kill my mom and me, too). His reaction was basically a shrug. I suspect that he thinks, "OK, that'll take an afternoon, leaving me enough time to visit the Brandenburg Gate."
My mom and brother both seem to love what I am doing. My mom will be joining me in Berlin as well next year; she's more talkative and I suspect that she'll fill me in on more background detail than my dad.
Sam Gaines/Eye Magazine
Let's talk about the BMW success story you discuss on your site that could be linked to Baader-Meinhof. Supposedly, when the Gang started hot-wiring BMW 2002s, the "BMW" acronym became known as the Baader-Meinhof Wagen, and sales for the cars exploded. Eventually, the gang became so widely known for their 2002 hijacks, that they had to move on to different auto makes. Has the BMW company ever made any mention of it?
Richard Huffman
Well, no. I have looked into it carefully and think I make a good case. The company WAS faltering through the late-'60s. It's cars WERE considered staid. After the Baader-Meinhof Wagen connection came about, the company DID acquire a new cachet. To be fair, no one else seems to make this connection and the numerous BMW 2002 fanatics who e-mail me seem to believe that it was their own personal faith in the Bayerische Motoren Werke that rescued the company and made BMWs cool. Who am I to argue with them? When I am in Munich next I plan to take the obligatory tour of the BMW factory, and I intend on cornering at least one official and hammering on him until he tells me that I am in fact correct, or begs for mercy, or both.
Sam Gaines/Eye Magazine
Regarding the June 1970 training of Red Army Faction members in a Palestinian military camp: was the inevitable culture clash a culprit in cutting the camp short, or were RAF'ers behaving badly?
Richard Huffman
Both. The Palestinians weren't really into "training" Germans or any of the other visitors to their Jordan camps. They basically would give their visitors the summer camp version of the training regimen-let them shoot some Kalis, throw some grenades, crawl under some barbed wire-and then send them home. It was hoped that the visitors would go home and get their friends to support the Palestinian cause both financially and emotionally. Well, Baader and his cadre would have none of this. They had "proven" themselves by burning down a department store, escaping from jail, injuring an elderly man-there was no way they were going to settle for the summer camp version. The exasperated Palestinians reluctantly agreed to give them real training. It is ironic that the Israelis were so frightened of the Palestinian terrorists; had they followed Baader's lead and set about to annoy the Palestinians into submission, the entire Palestinian people would have probably packed up and moved to South America. Anyway, Baader and his cohort had absolutely no respect for their hosts. When the Palestinians grew tired of the group firing hundreds of rounds into the desert each day, they put the German proto-terrorists on ammo rations. The Germans retaliated by going on "strike." Which was fine with the Palestinians, except the German women would then sunbathe naked on the roofs of their living quarters in full sight of shocked Palestinians. You can imagine how this went over. Much of the history of the Baader-Meinhof Gang describes a very lucky group of Germans. They managed to escape from situations through sheer bald luck and blind stupidity, and Jordan was no exception. Had the Germans not behaved so badly, they probably would have not been forced to leave by the Palestinians. Had they stayed, they certainly would have been killed the following month when King Hussein mowed over the training camps in what came to be know as Black September (the Black September terrorists of Munich 1972 were named after this).
Sam Gaines/Eye Magazine
Was there a quality of personal obsession to Horst Herold's hunt for RAF and other terrorist groups? Was he something of a J. Edgar Hoover for the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA)?
Richard Huffman
Horst Herold could be compared to J. Edgar Hoover in that he was the driving force behind the BKA becoming a centralized police force similar to the FBI. He certainly developed an odd obsession with Baader, going so far as to claim that "Baader is the only man who has ever really understood me, and I am the only man who has ever really understood him." In retirement, Herold lived in a heavily guarded house as he was assumed to be the No. 1 target of terrorists. He would often compare his "imprisonment" to the imprisonment of the BMG terrorists in Stammheim-Stuttgart prison. No reports of him wearing women's clothing though.
Sam Gaines/Eye Magazine
The relationship between the RAF and the media is fascinating. The conservative Springer Press seems at least partly responsible for spreading misinformation about Baader-Meinhof's involvement in some violent incidents. Do you think this may have ironically enhanced the group's image? Conversely, might coverage of Baader-Meinhof and other radical terrorist groups have aided the Springer Press' publishing prominence (and, of course, their sales)?
Richard Huffman
They absolutely, unequivocally fed on each other. The Springer papers were already prominent before the decade of terror, but Baader et al provided a perfect bogeyman to continue to stir up the public. The whole Springer coverage looks a lot different in hindsight than it must have looked in the early '70s. Looking back, it is clear that it was actually quite accurate, if over zealous. In fact, the Springer papers did themselves a tremendous disservice often by taking their stories one step further than necessary, because it made them easy target of influential liberal critics. The most famous instance occurred just before Christmas 1971 when the Köln edition of Bild ran the headline "Baader-Meinhof Murders On." Bild assumed that a recent murder of a cop during a bank raid was done by Baader-Meinhof Gang members, and ran the headline as such. It was clearly a wrong thing to do, as Heinrich Böll pointed out two weeks later in Der Spiegel, because all of the evidence had not been gathered yet. But forgotten in this story is that Bild was later proven correct: the death WAS at the hands of Baader-Meinhof members. Because of the Springer Press's own zeal, intellectuals like Böll were able to turn terrorists like the Baader-Meinhof Gang into martyrs for civil rights abuses.
Sam Gaines/Eye Magazine
Was the 1998 announcement from Germany's FBI, BKA, via Reuters that the RAF was finally disbanding considered an inevitability, the culmination of an organization in decline, or was there an element of surprise in reactions to the announcement?
Richard Huffman
I think the only surprise on anyone's part was that the RAF actually went to the trouble of making an announcement. Save for one very large bombing in 1994, the group had essentially been defunct for almost a decade. But for a group who followed up everything, EVERYTHING, with a communiqué, should we have been surprised to see an 8-page single-spaced self-serving fax float across Reuters' fax machine?
Sam Gaines/Eye Magazine
I want to talk about the dynamic by which the peaceful student protests of 1967-8 became the violent terrorist organizations of a year later. Did that transformation occur because opportunists like Andreas Baader seized upon the frustrations of disillusioned student leftists? What role did the martyrdom of Benno Ohnesorg play? And do some combination of those and other factors explain that evolution of peaceful student organizations into well-armed terrorists?
Richard Huffman
You are bringing up one of the most common misconceptions of the narrative. Though the student protest movement and the terrorist groups are inexorably linked, it is a little unfair to say that the terror groups were directly transformed from the student groups. If you look at the makeup of the Baader-Meinhof Group you'll see a diverse group of people: Baader never completed high school, Meinhof was out of school for 10 years, Ensign was sometimes a student, and then there were a bunch of followers who were more often than not NOT students. Their attraction to the Group was probably equal parts sexual intrigue, a desire to defy social norms, a desire to party, and a vague commitment to radical causes. Benno Ohnesorg's death was quite simply the catalyst of the terrorist movement. It was as important as the Kent State massacre, but with more insidious effects. You could actually tie the entire terrorist movement to that fateful night on June 2, 1967, when the Berlin police decided that the Shah of Iran didn't need to see German kids protest his presence. A young German girl, Gudrun Ensslin, witnessed the killing. She wandered into the SDS (a German student union unrelated to the American SDS) headquarters the following night. She screamed that the people who killed Ohnesorg-her parents' generation-"were the Auschwitz generation! You cannot argue with them! Violence must be met with violence!" It was Gudrun's passion that would later inspire a talented German journalist named Ulrike Meinhof to give up the bourgeois trappings that she felt so guilty about and become a terrorist (Meinhof was out shopping for furniture for her fashionable Hamburg home while Ohnesorg was lying in a street, blood pooled around his head). It was Gudrun's passion that would prompt the big-talking Andreas Baader to actually turn his talk into action; it was either put up or shut up.
Sam Gaines/Eye Magazine
A few innocent persons were killed by police in pursuit of Baader-Meinhof. Were there any legal, legislative, or political repercussions to these accidents?
Richard Huffman
Generally, no. One notorious case involved, I believe, a young Scottish businessman. The police burst into his apartment, acting on a tip, and ended up shooting and killing him. They later claimed that he was somehow connected to the BMG, but they never actually said in what way. And since he was dead, he never had a trial to prove his innocence. In legislative terms, the German government progressively clamped down on what Americans would consider basic civil rights. It is important to note that most Germans were quite comfortable with these efforts. After all, they were "stopping the terrorists."
Sam Gaines/Eye Magazine
Some of the penalties meted out to some members of Movement 2 June and RAF for violent crimes seem rather light, given the gravity of their crimes and their stated commitment to violent revolution. Was German criminal law fairly liberal in its sentencing at the time?
Richard Huffman
Yes and no. Generally German sentences were light compared to American sentences, but then America has the most stringent sentencing laws of any Western nation. What's more intriguing is how so many prisoners were given early releases in exchange for vague statements "renouncing" terrorism. To me what this actually did was constantly put the limelight on the terrorists, well beyond the time when they would have otherwise been forgotten. When Irmgard Möller, who killed three American servicemen in Heidelberg, was let out of prison in 1994 after 22 years in prison, she was the longest-serving German woman in any German prison. To many Americans, 22 years seemed awfully brief for three lives. For many Germans, it seemed about right. Go figure.
Sam Gaines/Eye Magazine
What was the relationship between the cultural radical Left and the political/militant radical Left?
Richard Huffman
So many of the bourgeois left-derisively called the Schikeria [Chic Left] or the "Raspberry Reich"-lived vicariously through the actions of the terrorists. They simply could not turn down requests for help from the terrorists, and after fulfilling a seemingly innocent request, found themselves forced to fulfill more and more dangerous and illegal requests, or be turned in to the police for consorting with terrorists-in other words, blackmail.
Sam Gaines/Eye Magazine
You note on the web site the Spiegel article about bringing the children of key German Leftists back to the site of the June 2, 1967, Benno Ohnesorg killing for the 30th anniversary of that event. Do you know what became of the children of Ensslin, Meinhof, or any of the other RAF, 2 June, or RZ members?
Richard Huffman
Ensslin had one son with the semi-famous writer Bernward Vesper (who committed suicide in the early '70s). Felix Vesper, or a fictional representation of him, was a major character in the Von Trotta film Die Blierne Zeit, which was the lightly fictionalized account of Gudrun Ensslin and her sister. At the end of the film someone horribly burns Vesper, presumably because of his terrorist lineage. The film never makes clear if this was a true event or not. If it was, it is truly a despicable act. Someone e-mailed me claiming that Felix Vesper was running for some form of a government post last year on the Greens' ticket. But he never e-mailed me back with supporting info. One of Meinhof's twin daughters wrote a book about her mother five years ago. They're around and I hope to interview them next year (hopefully their English is better than my German!) Most of the other RAF, M2J and RZ members have faded into ordinariness
Fritz Teufel is probably the saddest to me. Here was this guy who was a prominent student leader at Berlin's Free University, which was ground zero of the German student movement. He was a leader of Kommune I, the notorious commune that was constantly in the press in 1967-1969. He later became a terrorist with Movement 2 June (and tried to kill my dad!), and would have probably been the most famous terrorist in Germany had Meinhof not lent her famous name to the BM cause (Teufel's name, which means "Devil" would have helped too). So what is 55-year-old Teufel doing now? Riding around as a bike messenger. It's kind of sad.
Sam Gaines/Eye Magazine
Recently there's been news of renewed terrorism by the Red Brigade in Italy (the murder of a governmental labor advisor, if memory serves), and possibly similar violent actions in Greece. Is radical terrorism of one form or another "here to stay" in Europe? Why hasn't it taken hold in the United States to the same extent-or do you think it might?
Richard Huffman
I assume that you are referring to radical left-wing terrorism. Yes, I think that some form of radical terrorism will always exist; it is the last bastion of political discourse and it can make six people seem as powerful as six million. That said, terrorism clearly comes on a pendulum. It swings back and forth between right-wing and left-wing. It seems we are now seeing the tail end of the right-wing terrorism in some European countries, and with the rise of globalization of corporations, a whole new evil has arisen for unempowered young people to hate. So maybe we are about to see a new era of left-wing terrorism. But I might be wrong. I was pretty certain that the Seattle Mariners were going all the way last year. As for why terrorism like the European flavor hasn't taken hold in America, well, I think a lot of it boils down to effective police forces, and a political and economic system that is more open than in these other countries. I am basically a true Lefty, so I always feel weird saying this, but America is just plain freer.
©1997-2009 Richard Huffman | all images are property of their respective copyright holders
1999 interview with Richard Huffman
This interview with Sam Gaines originally appeared in The Eye Magazine.
Reading this article almost a decade after it originally appeared, I am struck by my innocent final thoughts about the inherent "freedom" of the United States as a dominant deciding factor in why terror groups like the Baader-Meinhof Gang haven't had success in modern America. While I still do not see groups like the Baader-Meinhof Gang ever taking hold in the United States, I certainly don't chalk it up anymore to our inherent" freedoms.
It's both quaint and embarrassing to read those original words in this post-9/11, post-George Bush world.
| Red Army Faction |
In which country did the world's first human heart transplant take place? | Rev SM 14: Terrorism
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Terrorism is the use of violence, usually against civilian targets, as a means of intimidation or social control
Terrorism is the use of violence usually by nongovt groups to achieve political ends
Terrorism is the use of terrorizing methods to produce a state of fear & submission
Terrorism is the use or threat of violence to create fear & alarm, & or to inflict harm Terrorists murder and kidnap people, set off bombs, hijack airplanes, set fires, and commit other serious crimes But the goals of terrorists differ from those of ordinary criminals in that most criminals want money or some other form of personal gain But most terrorists commit crimes to support political causes The word terrorism first appeared during the French Revolution (1789-1799)
The term terrorism came into use in the modern sense during the Reign of Terror in France & also in Russia to describe a political party who aimed at the demoralization of the govt by terror
Some of the revolutionaries who seized power in France adopted a policy of violence against their enemies The period of the rule of Fr Revolutionaries became known as the Reign of Terror
See Also: The History of Terrorism Terrorism can be committed either by clandestine orgs or by govts, or by the two in cooperation
Clandestine orgs that commit terrorism are usually associated w/ insurgent groups, militant & highly ideological protest groups that are generally revolutionary
See Also: Rationality & Collective Behavior
Clauswitz ( 1780-1831 ) held that war is "nothing but a continuation of political intercourse w/ an admixture of other means;" i.e. war is politics by other means, or war is an extension of politics
In the Clauswitzian sense, terrorism is war by other means; terrorism is politics by other means
While in many cases the line btwn behaviors that are labeled as terrorism or war is clearly understood by all, there are nearly as many cases where it is not
Often the labeling of a behavior as war or terrorism is drawn by the more powerful, the victor
For Clauswitz, "War is thus an act of force to compel our adversary to do our will." Force, "that is to say physical forces, [is the] means; to impose our will upon the enemy is the object."
The goals of war & terrorism are often the same, thus the causes of war are often similar in form to the causes of terrorism
The participants in war are often different than the participants in terrorism because war is by definition, conflict conducted by states, & while some terrorism is conducted by states, it is often conducted by nongovt orgs
Terrorism is often used as an alternative to war since terrorists have no state resources & few other resources w/ which to conduct war
States & terrorists sometimes use terrorist tactics when their primary objective is intimidation or fear because they believe war would be ineffective or possibly too costly
International terrorists are generally well educated rebels, & not poor, who act on behalf of an ideology, are "true believers," are "ideological purists," & see their own view as "correct" & see those who disagree w/ them as being in need of "education"
Terrorists groups often form among ethnic or religious separatists or nationalists who seek to create their own state apart form the larger society in which they live
Osama Bin Laden's Al Queda network is based on fundamentalist Islamic nationalism French speaking separatists in Quebec, Canada are united by their common heritage Basque separatists in Spain are an ethnic group Palestinians in the Mideast share a common religion & nationalistic group In general, domestic terrorists in the US such as the Ku Klux Klan, various neo Nazi & "skinhead" groups, radical environmentalists groups such as the ELF, & radical animal rights groups are linked less by religion & ethnicity than by ideology Domestic terrorists in the US tend to be poor & relatively uneducated although their leaders probably have more ed Counter mvmt terrorists in the US include antiabortionists & the Ku Klux Klan Terror Tactics: Terrorists tend to specialize in one or a few types of violence such as bombings, assassinations, armed assaults, kidnapping, hostage taking, hijackings, etc., however, terrorists may also use crimes of opportunity such as bioterrorism, nuclear terrorism, chemical terrorism, using airliners as missiles, etc.
Outline on Terrorists & Freedom Fighters: Terrorism & War
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Collective violence is any violence done by groups of people to advance or impede the goal of social change The types of collective violence include: war, riots, revolution, terrorism, lynching, & vigilantism Terrorism is the use of violence & threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes
Terrorism is the use of unexpected violence to intimidate or coerce people in the pursuit of political or social objectives (Ted Robert Gurr, 1989b, p. 201)
War is conflict carried on by force of arms, as btwn states or btwn parties w/in a state; war is a general conflict Lao Tsu said that war is politics by other means Terrorism is war by other means War first developed as total war: a war among armies & the "innocent public," who was killed when possible There were no "rules of war;" mass slaughter, rape, torture, burning towns to the ground, etc. was common Over the ages, some rules of war developed among some nations or even for just one battle War evolved into gentlemen's war in the Europe in the middle ages, where the major nations all followed strict codes of honor Guerilla war evolved at the end of the middle ages & was seen as unhonorable War evolved back into total war & included civilians in WW 2 in that both side relentlessly bombed & fire bombed civilian targets such as cities The industrialization of war created the capacity for genocide against the Jews et al, & for the mass destruction of civilians, cities & countrysides Today international law allows for warring parties to destroy each others civilian population Many scholars & ethicists ask, "Is the bombing of Dresden or Hiroshima, Bosnia, N Vietnam, etc. terrorism?" The concept of terrorism highlights the fact that anyone, including innocent people, are often the target of terrorists Philosopher Loren E. Lomasky (1991, p. 107) observes that terrorists, unlike Robin Hood, typically don't distinguish btwn the guilty & the innocent; btwn justifiable victims & unjustifiable victims Lomasky notes that, "The enemy is only incidentally particular individuals who cross the terrorist's path; more fundamentally it is the civil order." One major reason for the confusion btwn terrorism & war is that the media often offers a simplistic or unexamined view of the nature of terrorism
Govts, the US govt & many other govts, often offer a simplistic definition or depiction of terrorism that serves their own political interests & denies the interests of other groups, & paints terrorism as being something other than war
Terrorism is often confused w/ "terror" & terrorize" which connote the threat of the violence & stems from the Latin "to frighten"
The term "terrorism" originated from the Reign of Terror that characterized the French Revolution
The origins of the concept of terrorism thus lie in the vicious acts of a common criminal against a terrorized victim:
- a violent street gang terrorized a whole neighborhood
- a stalker forces a woman to live in terror of attack
These acts involve the common, tragic acts that involve the fear that terror & terrorism connote, but they do not involve the essential political activity that lies at the heart of most definitions of terrorism
But some analysts would include terrorism as being political acts, but w/o a state Terrorism often is synonymous w/ hideous, irrational acts of violence committed by slovenly, immoral individuals in an attempt to de-politicize it
The major difference btwn war & terrorism is that the latter focuses on killing civilians while the former focuses on killing military personnel & civilians
One persons terrorist is another's freedom fighter
Many people in Northern Ireland & many Irish American in the US view the IRA as heroes struggling against the British govt
Others see the IRA's bombings & other tactics as illegal, immoral terrorism
Many in the mid East view the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) & other groups as freedom fighters
The US & Israel as view the PLO as terrorists
Grant Wardlaw (1989) summarizes these definitional problems by saying that terrorism is, at heart, a "moral problem"
By labeling certain behaviors as terrorism & the people who commit them as terrorist, we implicitly condemn both the acts & the actors
By not labeling certain, similar behaviors as terrorism / terrorists, we implicitly condone both the acts & the actors Terrorism includes acts of violence that are more random than war, war is more systematic than terrorism Jack P. Gibbs (1989, p. 329) holds that any definition of terrorism "may reflect ideological or political bias" Terrorism encompasses the act or the threat of violence, fear & political change The term political terrorism is redundant, but does emphasize the political nature of terrorism Are workplace, school shootings, wilding, etc. political? Are they terrorism? 2001: President GW Bush denies the terrorist/freedom fighter dichotomy by saying that nations are either on the side of terrorism or on the side against terrorism This "Bush Doctrine" has been criticized by Republicans in his own party in that Bush still negotiates w/ terrorists such as the PLO's Yasser Arafat Terrorism is difficult to define because there are many types of terrorism
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What is now considered to be terrorist behavior is as old as humanity, though these acts were considered neither terrorist nor abnormal
Terrorist tactics have been used for millennia In the early days, the customs of armies depended on might, rather than right & there were no laws of war as we know them today Prisoners of war were slain or made slaves & captured towns & cities were sacked, ravished, & burned & the conqueror's will was supreme Over the centuries, civilization brought ameliorating changes & proper treatment of prisoners, the sick & wounded, & the civil population became recognized sometimes by special agreement or conventions btwn belligerents or local commanders, sometimes because of a more civilized influence of the victory Ancient Greek, Assyrian, & Roman soldiers used carcasses of animals that had died of anthrax to poison wells
Sparticus pillaged the Roman countryside & slaughtered 10's of thousands of solders who had surrendered & Rome responded in kind & then crucified over 6,000 of the insurgents
Atilla the Hun would command a city to surrender, & if they did not he would have everyone killed
When laying siege to a castle or city, attackers would catapult anthrax bearing animals, or diseased human over the walls to infect the population
Political assassination, ambushes, guerilla warfare, torture, mass murder, etc. all were common
It was not until the middle ages when some limited rules of war were developed that some behaviors became unacceptable
It was not until the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution, 1789, that the term terrorism came to have its modern meaning as a crime, a war crime
The US revolutionary army including the Minute Men all who utilized guerilla war tactics were considered terrorists by the British who preferred the "field of honor" battlefield
During the Indian wars, British & Am soldiers & intentionally infected Native Americans w/ measles
The Molly McGuires were inspired by a group of insurgent terrorists in Ireland in the 1840s who in the 1860s & later engaged in terrorism in the coal fields to win worker rights
The coal companies responded in kind & all the Mollies were killed or executed
See Also: Molly Maguires An Am grp, the Ku Klux Klan, used violence to terrorize blacks & their sympathizers in the late 1800s & the 1900s For many, slavery itself, as well as the methods used to maintain it are a form of terrorism From 1885 to 1900, over 2,500 lynchings of blacks occurred
In 1886 the Haymarket Square riot was instigated by a terrorist bomb
The perpetrator of the Haymarket bombing will be forever one of history's mysteries but he/she was either a low level Labor advocate, an anarchist, or some official (of the police or govt) who wanted to instigate trouble in order to blame Labor or the anarchists
In 1910, union activists bombed the Los Angeles Times newspaper, killing 21
In 1914, a Serbian national assassinated the Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, providing the spark that started WW 1
In the 1930's, the dictators Adolf Hitler of Germany, BenitoMussolini of Italy, and Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union used state terrorism to discourage opposition to their governments
After centuries of conflict w/ Britain, in 1920, Ireland was divided into Ireland & Northern Ireland, & guerilla war broke out
Terrorist bombing by Irish Catholics, & military domination by British soldiers continues today, but in the 2000s there has been a lengthy truce
Operations of war by civilized countries are governed by rules known as the Laws of War
Some of the Laws of War, like the British or Am common law, are unwritten, although generally recognized while others are set in treaties & conventions to which many nations are parties
The bases of the laws of war are military necessity, humanity, & chivalry
Many of the important written laws of war are contained in the Hague conventions of 1899 & 1907 which deal w/ the opening of hostilities, the laws & customs of war on land, the duties & rights of neutrals, submarine mines, bombardment by naval forces, & projectiles from balloons, & the Geneva conventions of 1929 on the treatment of prisoners
Violations of the Hague & Geneva conventions by sneak attacks & other terrorist methodologies are considered to be war crimes
During WW 2, the fire bombing of London, Dresden, Germany, Tokyo, etc. were considered by some to be terrorist acts since they were attacks on civilian centers, while others maintained that since civilians were now an integral part of the Military Industrial Congressional Complex, such attacks were justified
After WW 2, the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg was composed of one Am, Brit, Fr, & Russian judge
Nuremberg confirmed older policies that there is a distinction btwn just & unjust war in that the unjust war is a war of aggression or a war which violates a peace treaty while just war is one that defends or responds to an attack on an ally
Nuremberg also developed the concept of crimes against humanity which include murder, extermination, deportation, torture, & other mass atrocities, persecutions of entire racial, religious, & political groups provided such crimes are committed w/ crimes against peace, i.e. during a war of aggression
Nuremberg thus left open the question of whether the complicity of govt against entire groups of its own population constitutes a crime against humanity
Many terrorist acts can be considered war crimes as in crimes against peace & the more massive terrorist attacks could be considered as crimes against humanity Before the independence of Israel in 1948, a Jewish group used terror to speed the end of British rule in Palestine and create a Jewish homeland
As recently as the 1950s, terrorism in the form of lynchings of Blacks continued in the US
Another wave of terrorism began in the 1960's which had operations in many western nations & was politically inspired Terrorist groups included the Red Brigades in Italy, which was active until the late 1980's, and the Red Army Faction in West Germany, which was active until the early 1990's Both the Italian Red Brigade & the German Red Army Faction sought the destruction of the political & econ systems in their home countries & the development of new systems Since 1960, Palestinian groups, including Hamas & Hezbollah, have carried out campaigns of terrorism aimed at establishing an independent Palestinian state
In 1972, Palestinian terrorists murdered Israeli Olympians
Since the inception of Israel, terrorism has become a method of war of Arab groups against Israelis
In the 1970s, "DB Cooper" developed the innovation of airline hijacking & since then it has become an important terrorist weapon
Recent Terrorist Acts Against the US: 198?: Bomb in German nightclub kills Am servicemen 198?: Truck bomb in Lebanon against Am barracks 1993: Bombing of Airliner over Lockerbee, Scotland 1993: Truck Bomb attack on the WTC by Mideasterners. A bomb exploded in the parking garage of the World Trade Center in New York City. The next year, a federal court convicted four men, including two Palestinians, of planning the bombing 1995: Truck bomb attack on the Murrah Fed building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma by Am anti federalists, w/ 168 fatalities 1995: Members of Aum Shinrikyo kill 12 Japanese w/ a release of sarin gas on a subway 1996: Package bomb attack at Atlanta's Olympic Centennial Park by an Am 1996: Khonar Towers in Saudi Arabia are bombed, killing 19 US service members & 1 Saudi 1998: Bombing of a US embassy in Kenya & Tanzania, Africa, w/ 224 fatalities 2000: Small boat, suicide bomb on the USS Cole in Yemen by Mideasterners 2001: Airliner attacks succeed against the WTC & Pentagon, fail against the Capital Bldg, by Mideasterners, w/ over 3,000 fatalities Khonar Towers in Saudi Arabia
the Sarin release in the Tokyo Subway
TERRORIST ATTACKS AGAINST THE US OR US PERSONNEL
1886, The Haymarket Square Bombing & Riot killed 7 police & 4 workers & over 100 were injured On April 18, 1983 a car bomb at the US Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, kills 17
On October 23, 1983 the bombing of the US Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, kills 241 On September 20, 1984 a bombing at the US Embassy annex in Beirut, Lebanon, kills 16 & injures the US ambassador On June 14, 1985 Shiite Muslim gunmen hijack a TWA jet carrying 153 passengers & crew, mostly Americans, shortly after takeoff from Athens, Greece. A US serviceman, Robert Dean Stethem, 23, was killed & his body was thrown on the tarmac at the airport in Beirut, Lebanon & thirty nine others were held hostage for 17 days before being released On September 5, 1986 hijackers take over a Pan Am jet at Karachi Airport in Pakistan where twenty people are killed when security forces storm the plane
On December 21, 1988: The bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, kills 270, mostly Americans
On February 26, 1993: Terrorist bombers strike the World Trade Center, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000 others During 1993- 2007 there were more than 20 terrorist acts against abortion clinics, including murders, bombings, threats, etc.
On April 19, 1995 a truck bomb at the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, kills 168 & wounds more than 500 others On November 13, 1995 a bomb at US military headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, kills five US service personnel On 1996, a bomb at the Atlanta, Olympic Centential Park Bombing killed 2 & injured 111 to protest abortion
On June 1996 a bomb at the US barracks at the Khobar Tower Hotel in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, kills 19 Americans & injures 500 people
On August 7, 1998 the twin bombings at the US embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, & Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, kill 224 people & wound thousands of others
On October 12, 2000 a suicide bomb attack on the USS Cole in Yemen's Aden harbor kills 17 American sailors & wounds 39 others
On 2001, Sept 9, aka 9 / 11, airplanes flow by suicide attacker crash into the WTC in NYC & the Pentagon in Washington DC killing almost 3,000 CNN: America Under Attack: Recent terrorism attacks targeting the United States, Sept. 2001 OTHER TERRORIST ATTACKS During the 1789 French Revolution thousands are executed during the Reign of Terror: In 1972 during the Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage by the Palestinian militant group Black September, a group with ties to Yasser Arafat�s Fatah organization, killing 11 Israilis & 1 W German police officer & the attackers In 1996 in Japan a subway is attacked w/ sarin gas killing 12 wounding 50 In 2004 in Madrid, Spain a train bombing killed 191 & wounded 2,050, aka Spains 3 - 11
In 2005 London train & buses are bombed In 2007, in the UK, Glasgow Scotland, a car bomb kills no one but the bombers
Outline on the Haymarket Square Bombing & Riot May 4th, 1886
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The strike that precipitated the Haymarket Square bombing & riot was at the McCormick Harvester plant strike which took place in Chicago, IL
The strike that precipitated the Haymarket Square bombing & riot was taking place w/in the militant Chicago movement for an 8 hour working day The 8 Hour Movement was frequently accompanied by conflict btwn strikers & police In protest against the shooting of several workmen, August Spies, editor of the semi anarchist Arbeiter Zeitung, issued circulars demanding revenge & announcing a mass meeting the Haymarket The police expected trouble & so had a large presence Mayor Harrison attended & found the Haymarket protest to be innocent enough Despite his advice, 180 police advanced on the meeting at Haymarket Square & ordered the crowd to disperse As the peaceful meeting dispersed, a bomb was thrown into the police The Haymarket Square Riot involved a bombing for which no one was conclusively determined to be responsible 7 police & 4 workers were killed; over 100 were injured
The Knights of Labor (KOL) were blamed for the Haymarket Square bombing & ensuing riot, though history has since vindicated them
Fears of a general anarchist plot made an impartial investigation impossible Many believe anarchists to be responsible
The investigation & trial ordered seven to be hanged, & one imprisoned, but only four were hanged, & historical review indicates they were all innocent of the bombing & drawn into the ensuing riot
Governor Altgeld pardoned the three surviving prisoners in 1893, declaring the trial a farce, charging the press w/ poisoning public opinion, praising organized Labor The Haymarket Square bombing & riot still one of "history's mysteries" in that conclusive evidence as to the causes of the bombing are largely unknown, though it is clear that those convicted were innocent
The aftermath of the Haymarket Square decimated unions & the Labor Mvmt in general because the publicity had such an anti union bias
The 8 Hour Mvmt collapsed, & the KOL lost influence & also eventually failed
Lebanon was Phoenician, Assyrian, etc. until the rise of Christianity circa the 300s, AD
Muslims converted & conquered Christians circa 600 AD & today about 90% of the people are Arab, about 60 % are Muslim, about 40 % are Christian
The Muslims are Sunni or Shiah & the Christians are Maronite, which is an Eastern Catholic Church
In 1922, France took over Lebanon's political affairs & started to prepare Lebanon for independence
The French united the Christians in the Mount Lebanon & the Muslims along the coast under one govt & also helped write Lebanon's Constitution
Lebanon became completely independent in 1943 when Christian & Muslim leaders agreed to share power in the govt
Following independence, Lebanon prospered more than ever as a center of trade & finance & retained strong ties w/ the West
The country remained peaceful until 1958, when some Lebanese, largely Muslims, rebelled against the govt
In July 1958, the US sent thousands of marines to Lebanon at the request of the country's president helping restore peace, & leaving in October
In 1969, the activities of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) led to fighting in Lebanon
The PLO, whose chief goal is to establish a Palestinian state for the Arab people of Palestine, raided targets in Israel from bases in southern Lebanon. & the Israelis, in turn, attacked PLO forces in Lebanon
In the 1970s, conflict btwn Lebanese Christian & Muslim groups flared up because the Christians opposed, & the Muslims supported, the presence of armed PLO members in the country
In 1975, a civil war broke out btwn Christians & the Muslim-PLO alliance & full scale fighting in Lebanon ended in late 1976 The UN sent a peacekeeping force to Lebanon in 1978, but fighting continued to break out However, periodic fighting took place btwn Christians & the Muslim-PLO alliance & also, both Christian groups & Muslim groups began fighting among themselves Battles also broke out btwn Christians & Syrian troops in Lebanon In 1979, large scale fighting broke out btwn Christians & Syrians in Beirut & resulted in extensive damage to the city. In June 1982, a large Israeli force invaded Lebanon & drove the PLO forces out Israeli forces were aware that members of the Lebanese Christian militia killed hundreds of unarmed Palestinian & Lebanese civilians in the Sabra & Shatila refugee camps in the Israeli occupied part of western Beirut & yet the Israelis chose not to intervene The Israelis were positioned to totally wipe out the PLO & Arafat, but because such a much would have launched the entire middle east into war, the US, France, & Italy sent troops to Lebanon to help ensure that the PLO forces could leave the country safely In late 1983, foreign troops in Lebanon became victims of terrorist bombings On Oct 23, a suicide terrorist crashed a truck loaded w/ explosives into US Marine headquarters at the Beirut airport killing 241 US troops At about the same time, a similar attack killed 54 French troops in a nearby building On Nov 4, an attack at the Israeli military headquarters in Tyre killed 28 Israelis In early Feb 1984, Druse forces & Shiite Muslims, members of the Shiah branch of Islam, took control of part of Beirut from the Lebanese govt The US, the UK, France, & Italy removed their troops from Lebanon following this take over In 1985, Israel withdrew its troops from all of Lebanon except a security zone along the country's Israeli border Conflict, terrorism, war have continued in Lebanon, but today it is essentially so weak, & so isolated that it is not considered a threat to any nation, unless it becomes a haven for terrorists or a platform for launching terrorist attacks The US & other nations attempted to retaliate, but had no clear course of action against the indigenous, terrorist groups who were fighting for their own national interests
The Marines barracks bombing was considered one of the great failures of the Reagan administration & it caused the US to w/draw its troops, making it appear as a victory to US foes throughout the Mideast The bombing of the Marine barracks is an example of indigenous people responding to foreign forces in their country
Outline on the Pan Am Flight 103 Bombing, 1988
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- Supplement: CIA Confident Iran Behind Jet Bombing. by David B. Ottaway & Laura Parker. Washington Post Staff Writers. Thursday, May 11, 1989; Page A01
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Summary: In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was blown up over Lockerbie Scotland by Libyan intelligence operatives as retaliation for the US bombing of Libya
The Berbers are believed to be the earliest inhabitants of Libya. In the 600s BC, Greek colonists settled in the northeastern part of the region The Romans destroyed Carthage in 146 BC, & Tripolitania became part of the Roman province of Africa Nova A Germanic tribe called the Vandals captured the region in AD 431, but in the 500s, Byzantine forces conquered the region Rebellions by Berber tribes created instability that aided Arab entry into the region in the 600s, spreading their new religion of Islam, entering Cyrenaica in 642 & occupying Tripoli in 643 In 1551, the Ottomans captured Tripoli & from the 1500s to the early 1800s, private ships commanded by Barbary corsairs (sea raiders) preyed on European & US shipping in the Mediterranean The US fought a war against the corsairs in the early 1800s inspiring the founding of the US Marines Italy invaded the coastal regions in 1911 & took control of the three provinces in 1912 During World War II, members of the Sanusi brotherhood cooperated w/ the British in Egypt against Italy, their common enemy In 1942, the UK estbed a military administration in the north & the French forces took control of the Fezzan In Dec 1951, the UN called for the independence of all of Libya A federal state came into being, w/ Muhammad Idris al Mahdi as-Sanusi, leader of the Sanusi resistance, as king The discovery of oil in Libya in 1959 transformed the country from a poverty stricken nation into one of the wealthiest in the world, but widespread discontent resulted, because the ruling class controlled the wealth QADHAFI & CONFLICT W/ THE WEST In Sept 1969, a group of officers known as the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) overthrew King Idris & seized power Colonel Muammar Muhammad al-Qadhafi, who led the revolution, became the head of Libya's govt & took control of most economic activities Qadhafi tried to forge unions w/ a number of Arab states, but none of these efforts succeeded for more than a brief period Libya supported a number of political mvmts throughout the world, particularly the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) & the Polisario Front, in W Sahara Libya backed a rebellion in Chad & also supported Iran's declaration of an Islamic republic in 1979 The leaders of many nations have denounced Qadhafi for interfering in the affairs of other nations During the 1980s, bitter antagonism surfaced btwn Libya & the US The US accused Qadhafi of aiding terrorists & Libya, in turn, charged that the US was attempting to overthrow its govt In Jan 1986, US Pres Reagan broke all economic ties w/ Libya & in March, Libya fired missiles on US military aircraft over the Gulf of Sidra In 1986 it was suspected that Libyan operatives had bombed a Berlin night club, killing 2 US soldiers Reagan claimed to have evidence that linked Libya to the bombing of a West Berlin nightclub, in which an Am serviceman was killed & many were injured Pres Reagan ordered a bombing raid on Libya in response to the bombing of the Berlin night club In April, Reagan ordered US planes to bomb military installations at Tripoli & Benghazi The US bombing raid almost killed Kadafi, & did kill some of his children Conflict again erupted in early 1989, when two Am aircraft downed two Libyan jets over the Mediterranean who the American airmen claimed were armed & aggressively heading toward them THE PAN AM BOMBING It is believed that the Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed over Lockerbee, Scotland in retaliation for Reagan bombing Libya Flight 103 was a 747 flying from Europe to NYC In December of 1988 Pan American Flight 103 was blown up over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 259 passengers, crew (189 Americans), & 11 people on the ground as it crashed into a school Reagan was President & Bush Sr. was President Elect A bomb was smuggled in by the girlfriend of a terrorist & authorities believe that she did not know she was carrying the bomb: blind mule This is where the question at airports began "Have you had control of your bags at all times? Has anyone asked you to carry anything on the airplane for them?" AFTERMATH Libyan agents are also suspected of a 1989 bombing of a French plane over Niger, killing 171 people The US & Britain accused to Libyan intelligence agents In April 1992 & December 1993, the UN imposed sanctions on Libya for refusing to turn over Libyans suspected of placing bombs aboard an American civilian airliner that exploded over Scotland in 1988 & a French civilian airliner that blew up over West Africa in 1989 Sanctions included the cancellation of intl air service to Libya, the suspension of military sales, & the reduction of Libya's diplomatic corps abroad In 1999, Libya turned over to UN officials two men suspected of planting the bomb on the Am airliner The UN suspended its sanctions on Libya after the men were in custody In May 2000, a special Scottish court set up in the Netherlands began its trial of the two suspects The court announced its verdicts in Jan 2001, convicting one of the suspects, Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, of murder & sentenced him to life imprisonment while acquitting the other suspect, Lamen Khalifa Fhimah
Outline on the World Trade Center Bombing, 1993
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Summary: In 1993, radical Arab Muslims drove a truck bomb into the basement parking garage of the World Trade Center (WTC) in NYC killing 6, injuring 1,000 & destroying many floors
Ramzi Yousef, born in Kuwait, began in 1991 to plan a bombing attack w/in the US Yousef entered the US w/ a false Iraqi passport in 1992 but since his travel partner had bomb making instructions in his luggage both were arrested; however Yousef was released because he claimed political asylum & the INS cells were full Yousef set up residence in Jersey City, NJ, traveled around NYC & New Jersey & called Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman When one of the Sheikh's confidants killed another, dozens of Arabic bomb making manuals & documents related to terrorist plots were found in his apartment, w/ manuals from Army Special Warfare Center at Fort Bragg, NC, secret memos linked to Joint Chiefs of Staff, & 1440 rounds of ammunition
In Feb, 1993, a propane truck bomb destroyed several of the basement floors of the WTC in NYC
6 people were killed & over 1,000 were injured & caused more than $300 million in damage to the WTC
The propane truck bomb was intended to devastate the foundation of the North Tower, causing it to collapse onto its twin During the trial, the WTC's architect testified that if the van had been left closer to the poured concrete foundations, the plan would have succeeded & the tower would have toppled The WTC bombing was the work of radical Arab, Muslims
It is believed that most of the perpetrators to the 1993 WTC bombing are now in custody
Four men, including Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, an Egyptian Muslim cleric, were convicted of the bombing & sent to prison
In Oct 1995, the militant Islamist & blind cleric Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, was sentenced to life imprisonment for masterminding the bombing. . In 1998, Ramzi Yousef was convicted of "seditious conspiracy" to bomb the towers
In all, ten militant Islamist conspirators were convicted for their part in the bombing, each receiving prison sentences of a maximum of 240 years
The WTC bombing & the terrorist acts planned for Oct were in retaliation against US policy in the Mid East
According to the journalist Steve Coll, Yousef mailed letters to various NYC newspapers in which he claimed he belonged to the 'Liberation Army, Fifth Battalion' which made 3 demands, including: - an end to all US aid to Israel - an end to US diplomatic relations w/ Israel - a demand for a pledge by the US to end interference w/ any of the Middle East country's interior affairs Yousef believed the WTC bombing was an act of terrorism, but that this was justified because of the terrorist act that Israel practices, which America supports
These groups had plotted to assassinate political leaders, bomb the UN, the GW Bridge, the Lincoln & Holland tunnels, & more
Outline on the Oklahoma City Bombing, 1995
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Summary: In 1995 two white, Americans of European descent, who were anti federalist radicals, truck bombed the Murrah Federal Bldg in OK City because they feared the growing power of the Federal govt
On April 19, 1995 a rental truck was loaded w/ a home-made bomb, primarily w/ the fertilizer ammonium nitrate
One or more terrorists put a bomb in a truck in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in the downtown area & set it off The bomb killed 168 people, including 19 children at the Murrah Federal Bldg in OK City & destroyed the building
Before 9 / 11, the OK City Bombing was by far the worst act of terrorism on US soil in US history
This was considered a terrorist act in that the perpetrators did not know the victims, they held no personal grudge against them
The Ok City Bombing is believed to be the work of radical White, American, anti federalist militia types: one, who was executed & the other, who is in prison
At first many American jumped to the conclusion that radical Muslims has perpetrated the act
Many people believe that the Fed Govt attack on the Branch Davidean Complex in Waco, TX on April 19, 1993 was a precipitating event for the two terrorists
Charges were made against the two men who made the bomb, & that one brought the truck to the building & set off the bomb
It was noted at the trial that the two men had expressed strong opposition to the fed govt
A third male American citizen was charged w/ aiding the first two
The third man plead guilty, agreed to be a witness in the trials of the two other men, & was sentenced to 23 years in prison
The first terrorist was convicted of murder & conspiracy & sentenced to death while the second was convicted of conspiracy & involuntary manslaughter, & he was sentenced to life in prison w/o parole
In 2004, because of the work of the Ok City Survivors Group, the second terrorist was being tried in state court w/ the chance that he might get the death penalty
The Oklahoma City National Memorial, on the site of the destroyed building, was dedicated in 2000
- Bibliography
FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO 9-11 BEGAN IN THE COLD WAR ERA, CIRCA 1970s, WHEN THE CIA & OTHER WESTERN GOVTS CHOOSE TO USE EXTREMISTS & CRIMINALS TO OPPOSE THE SOVIET UNION
In 1976 the CIA & other intelligence agencies use the Bank of Credit & Commerce Intl (BCCI) to control & manipulate criminals & terrorists worldwide From 1977-1981 the Nationalities Working Group in the NSA advocates using militant Islam against the Soviet Union In 1977 Zbigniew Brzezinski, as President Carter�s National Security Adviser, forms the Nationalities Working Group (NWG) dedicated to the idea of weakening the Soviet Union by inflaming its ethnic tensions The CIA begins covert action against the Communist govt in Afghanistan in 1978
US BEGINS POLICY OF USING EXTREMISTS & CRIMINALS TO OPPOSE THE SOVIET UNION BY TRAINING SUCH ELEMENTS IN AFGHANISTAN IN THE 1980s In 1980 Afghan fighters begin training in the US From 1980 to 1989, $600 million for the Afghan war passes through Bin Laden charity fronts & the CIA & the British train the Mujaheddin in Afghanistan & help arm Bin Laden In the 1980s much of the US & Saudi aid meant for Afghan fighters goes to the Pakistan secret service, ie the ISI & the AQ Khan network, ie the 'father' of the Paki atomic bomb From 1982 to 1989 the US turns a blind eye to BCCI & Pakistani govt involvement in the heroin trade On Feb 11, 1982 the CIA is given the green light to take part in illegal drug trade in Afghanistan In Nov & Dec 1982 Rep. Charlie Wilson pushes for the expansion of US support for anti Soviet forces in Afghanistan During 1984 &1985 the US & Pakistan begin training Afghans to attack inside the Soviet Union �American emissaries are understood to have traveled to Pakistan for meetings w/ mujaheddin leaders� [A former CIA official] even suggests the US emissaries met directly w/ bin Laden, & that it was bin Laden, acting on advice from his friends in Saudi intelligence, who first suggested the mujaheddin should be given Stingers.� [Reeve, 1999, pp. 167, 176] Radical Muslim leader Sheikh Omar Abdul-Rahman obtains his first US visa via the CIA & then begins the plot resulting in the 1993 bombing of the WTC Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (KSM), the lead strategist behind the 9-11 attacks, fights & works in Afghanistan for a CIA favored warlord & gets to know bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, & many other future al-Qaeda leaders Near the end of the Soviet Afghan war in the late 1980s & into the early 1990s, the radical mujaheddin heavily funded by the CIA & Saudi Arabia kill moderate Afghans by the thousands By the late 80s, the Taliban, w/ US support, have defeated the Russian advances in Afghanistan & they w/draw, some say setting the stage for the eventual breakup of the Soviet Union into Russia & other states The Soviet w/draw the last of their soldiers on February 15, 1989 In March 13, 1994 a report indicates that violence, drugs, & militant training camps are rife in Afghanistan The Taliban soon take over Afghanistan, establishing an extremist theocracy, oppressing human rights & allowing al Qaeda to estb training camps IN 1998 US EMBASSIES IN AFRICA ARE BOMBED BY FACTIONS RELATED TO GROUPS TRAINED IN AFGHANISTAN IN THE 80s; US RESPONDS W/ CRUISE MISSILE ATTACKS ON AL QAEDA CAMPS IN AFGHANISTAN On August 7, 1988 suicide bombers in trucks laden w/ explosives parked outside the embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania & Nairobi, Kenya & almost simultaneously detonated In Nairobi, approximately 212 people were killed, & an estimated 4,000 wounded; in Dar es Salaam, the attack killed at least 11 & wounded 85 The bombings are widely believed to have been revenge for American involvement in the extradition, & alleged torture, of four members of Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) who had been arrested in Albania in the two months prior to the explosions & extradited to Egypt Bin Laden initially said that the sites had been targeted because of the 'invasion' of Somalia; then he described an American plan to partition Sudan, which he said was hatched in the embassy in Nairobi. He also told his followers that the genocide in Rwanda had been planned inside the two American embassies." Wright concludes that bin Laden's actual goal was "to lure the US into Afghanistan, which had long been called 'The Graveyard of Empires." In response to the bombings, U.S. President Bill Clinton ordered Operation Infinite Reach, a series of cruise missile strikes on targets in Sudan & Afghanistan on August 20, 1998, announcing the planned strike in a prime time address on American television. In Sudan, the missiles destroyed the Al Shifa pharmaceutical factory, where 50% of Sudan's medications for both people & animals were manufactured The Clinton Administration claimed that there was ample evidence to prove that the plant produced chem weapons, but a thorough investigation after the missile strikes revealed that the intelligence was unreliable Ali Mohamed pleads guilty to five counts of conspiracy to kill nationals of the US in connection w/ the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya & Tanzania The neoconservative think tank Project for the New American Century writes a "blueprint" for the "creation of a 'global Pax Americana'" (see June 3, 1997). The document, titled Rebuilding America's Defenses: Strategies, Forces & Resources for a New Century, was written for the George W. Bush team even before the 2000 presidential election The plan for a global Pax Americana shows that the Bush team intends to take military control of Persian Gulf oil whether or not Saddam Hussein was in power & should retain control of the region even if there is no threat Bush's plan for US dominion says: "The United States has for decades sought to play a more permanent role in Gulf regional security" Bush's plan for US dominion says: "While the unresolved conflict w/ Iraq provides the immediate justification, the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein"
IN 2000 THE USS COLE IN THE SO. ARABIAN PENINSULA IS BOMBED BY FACTIONS RELATED TO GROUPS TRAINED IN AFGHANISTAN IN THE 80s Shortly after the USS Cole bombing (see October 12, 2000), the US supposedly obtains intelligence that prompts President Clinton to consider another missile strike on bin Laden The US presidential election is in early November & later author Lawrence Wright will write, "Clinton maintains that, despite the awkward political timing, his administration came close to launching another missile attack� but at the last minute the CIA recommended calling it off because [bin Laden's] presence at the site was not completely certain" [Wright, 2006, pp. 244] Fahad al-Quso, a Yemeni & known associate of Osama bin Laden, turns himself in to the Yemeni govt after some of his relatives are questioned in the wake of the USS Cole bombing (see October 12, 2000). [New Yorker, 7/10/2006 pdf file] The associate of bin Laden admits that he & one of the two Cole suicide bombers went to Bangkok, Thailand, & gave several thousand dollars to a man known as Khallad, who is identified as one of the masterminds of the Cole bombing In 1999, Kabir Mohabbat, an Afghan American businessman, had initiated conversations about bin Laden btwn the US govt & the Taliban According to Mohabbat, the Taliban were ready to hand bin Laden over to a third country, or the International Court of Justice, in exchange for having the US led sanctions against Afghanistan lifted. (Elmar Brok, a German member of the European Parliament, later confirms that he helps Mohabbat make contact w/ the US govt in 1999.) In Nov 7, 2000 plans to target Bin Laden delayed pending 2000 Election says a former senior Clinton aide, �If we had done anything, say, two weeks before the election, we'd be accused of helping [presidential candidate] Al Gore.� Based on info from interviews of suspects detained during the USS Cole bombings (see Late October Late November 2000), the FBI finds that one of the lead bombers was Khallad bin Attash, an operative also involved in the 1998 East African embassy bombings About late October Late November 2000, the FBI asks the CIA for info about al-Qaeda leader Khallad bin Attash & a possible al-Qaeda meeting in Southeast Asia in early 2000, but the CIA w/holds the info BUSH ADMIN SUCCEEDS CLINTON ADMIN & ESTB POLICY TO DOMINATE MID EAST / GLOBE CIA Director Tenet & other top CIA officials brief President elect Bush, Vice President elect Cheney, future National Security Adviser Rice, & other incoming national security officials on al Qaeda & covert action programs in Afghanistan Deputy Director for Operations James Pavitt recalls conveying that bin Laden is one of the gravest threats to the country Bush asks whether killing bin Laden would end the problem & Pavitt says he answers that killing bin Laden would have an impact but not stop the threat The CIA recommends the most important action to combat al Qaeda is to arm the Predator drone & use it over Afghanistan. [9/11 Commission, 3/24/2004; Reuters, 3/24/2004] However, while the drone is soon armed, Bush never gives the order to use it in Afghanistan until after 9/11 (see September 4, 2001) A federal panel chaired by former Virginia Governor James Gilmore (R) warns President elect Bush that the US in vulnerable to terrorist attack & urges him to bolster US preparedness w/in one year President Clinton & President Elect Bush meet for their "exit interview," & in a two hour meeting [CNN, 12/19/2000], Clinton gives Bush his list of his top five priorities. where at the top of the list is dealing w/ Osama bin Laden Bush shakes Clinton's hand after Clinton wraps up his presentation, & says, "Thanks for your advice, Mr. President, but I think you've got your priorities wrong. I'm putting Saddam at the top of the list." Al Qaeda has had pilots in training in the US & around the globe for a decade The US intelligence community has been monitoring al-Qaeda telephone communications to & from a communications hub in Yemen since the late 1990s (see Late August 1998) & the CIA intercepts an al-Qaeda operative say in a monitored phone call that bin Laden is planning a �Hiroshima type event� against the US The French intelligence agency, DGSE, publishes 9 intelligence reports btwn these dates on the subject of al Qaeda threats against the US Over three hundred pages of classified DGSE reports on al Qaeda from July 2000 to October 2001 will be leaked to a French reporter in 2007 One of the 9 reports on attacks against the US, dated Jan 5, 2001, will be detailed in a 2007 French newspaper article (see January 5, 2001), but the contents of the other eight remain unknown DGSE officials will later claim that such reports would have certainly been passed on to the CIA. None of the contents of any of these French reports will be mentioned in the 2004 9/11 Commission report September 11, 2001 4 airliners are hijacked & 2 are crashed into each of the WTC towers, 1 hits the Pentagon, & 1 crashes in a field in PN The US response is the "War on Terrorism," specifically via a clean up action in Afghanistan & the War in Iraq An opportunity to capture or kill bin Laden in Afghanistan is missed early on in Afghanistan because US resources are transferred to the Iraq theater of war
ENGL & IRELAND FOUGHT FOR CENTURIES & IN THE 1600s THE ENGL PROTESTANTS CONQUERED & COLONIZED CATHOLIC IRELAND
The history of Northern Ireland can be traced back to the 17th century, when the English subdued the island
The Protestants colonized & settled lands on the northern side of the island
Protestant colonization set Ulster somewhat apart from the rest of Ireland, which was predominantly Catholic
As industry rose in the north, this created a rift economically from the rest of Ireland
The Irish Catholics felt oppressed by the increasing ties to Britain
With the Act of Union passing in 1800, this created the union of Ireland & England, & later, an independent Irish govt was set up
By passing the Govt of Ireland Act 1920, the island of Ireland was separated, thus creating Ireland & Northern Ireland
The northern counties accepted the act, but factions in the south fought British troops (Spindlove & Simonsen, 2010)
The southern counties were composed primarily of Irish, who were called Republicans while the Protestants who were in the north of Northern Ireland were known as the Loyalists
Certain historical differences separated Northern Ireland from Ireland, esp the fact that Ireland is mainly Catholic while Northern Ireland is Protestant
Religion separates people today just as it did in the past in these two areas of Ireland & No Ireland
Some Northern Ireland Catholics identify only w/ each other & not Irish Catholics due to differences based on their rule of govt & social experiences through the years
The political landscape in Northern Ireland was set up to limit the power of the Catholic minority While never legally segregating the Irish community, the power structure was set up in such a way as to keep the status quo, that being the Protestant majority in control Laws were created from the beginning which would fight the emerging Republican paramilitary presence (Katz & Tushaus, 2008) With Protestant control of the govt came the control of the court systems & the police
Jurors favored the Protestants & made up the voter lists & some of the greatest depravations of rights occurred during legislative acts
The Special Powers Act was passed to fight against the Republican para militaries, fighting to succeed from Britain (Kats & Tushaus, 2008) This law gave great power to the Police to intern individuals w/o a trial for unspecified periods of time which included the broad powers of warrantless search & seizure & powers of censorship The two peoples never integrated; the Catholics see themselves as native to Ireland & they view the Protestants as squatters & robbers of their lands The Protestants viewed the Irish as uncivilized due to their different culture & language As the two groups grew, the Protestants grew politically & economically They were able to subdue the Irish politically & economically w/ England supporting them THE IRA IS A PARA MILITARY TERRORIST GROUP WHO AIMS TO ELIMINATE UK & PROTESTANT RULE OF IRELAND Sein Fein is the political arm of the IRA much like the PLO is the political arm of al Fatah & Hamas The IRA was formed in 1919 as an unofficial military force that aimed to gain independence for Ireland. At that time, present day Ireland & Northern Ireland made up a single country ruled by the British The British govt had proposed that Ireland remain united w/ the UK but take control of its own domestic affairs. Most of the Protestants in the northeastern province of Ulster opposed the plan for Irish rule because they did not want to be a minority in a Catholic nation In 1919, the IRA began a guerrilla war for independence from British rule & harassed the police & military w/ ambushes & sudden raids In 1920, the British govt passed the Govt of Ireland Act which divided Ireland into two states, each w/ limited powers of self govt Under the Govt of Ireland Act, the six northeastern counties were separated from the rest of Ireland & became Northern Ireland while the southern Catholic majority rejected the act & demanded a single, united Irish republic The guerrilla war continued until July 1921, when British & Irish leaders declared a truce & agreed to the Anglo Irish Treaty which was signed on Dec. 6, 1921, making southern Ireland a dominion, that is, a self governing country, called the Irish Free State, owing allegiance to the British Crown THE IRA SPLINTERED INTO TWO GROUPS AS A RESULT OF DISAGREEMENT OVER LEVELS OF INDEPENDENCE & SELF GOVERNANCE FROM THE UK The Anglo Irish treaty split the IRA wherein one group, led by Michael Collins, accepted the treaty & became part of the army of the Irish Free State while the other group, led by Eamon de Valera & called the Irregulars, rejected the treaty because it did not provide complete independence from the UK & union w/ Northern Ireland. Early in 1922, civil war broke out & the Irregulars were defeated in 1923 but continued as an underground org In 1937, the Irish Free State adopted a new constitution & changed its name to Eire In 1949, Eire renounced its dominion status & declared itself an independent republic called Ireland Northern Ireland remained united w/ the UK & from 1956 to 1962, the IRA periodically raided British installations in Northern Ireland, trying to reunite Ireland & Northern Ireland & embarrass both the British & the Irish govts In the late 1960's, Catholics in Northern Ireland began to protest against discrimination by the Protestant govt & fighting broke out between Catholics & Protestants, & the IRA took up the cause of the Catholics During the 60s Catholic Protestant skirmishes, the UK sent troops to restore order, & the IRA & British soldiers were soon fighting each other THE IRA SPLINTERED OVER STRAT & TACTICS; W/ SOME FAVORING MORE VIOLENCE WHILE OTHERS FAVORED NEGOTIATIONS During 1969 & 1970, another deep split developed w/in the IRA over strategy & tactics. The dominant group was called the Provisional IRA while the other group became known as the Official IRA The Provisional IRA has young, aggressive members. The Provisionals have carried out many bombings, ambushes, & assassinations in Ireland & the UK The Official IRA consists of nonviolent older members chiefly committed to social change PEACE BEGAN TO TAKE HOLD IN THE LATE 90s & CONTINUES TO THE PRESENT EXCEPT FOR SPORADIC VIOLENCE FROM SPLINTER GRPS In July 1997, the IRA declared a cease-fire, & then in Sept of that year, peace talks on Northern Ireland began in which all parties were represented, including Sinn Fein The 1967 talks concluded in an agreement that was approved by voters in Ireland & Northern Ireland The agreement committed the parties to using peaceful means to resolve political differences Implementation of the accord required many months of negotiations between the IRA & the Protestant Ulster Unionists In 1998, following a ceasefire by the Provisional IRA and multi-party talks, the Belfast Agreement was concluded and ratified by referendum across the entire island. Full implementation began at the end of 1999 & in early 2000, however, the agreement was suspended when the Protestants w/drew to protest a lack of disarmament by the IRA Negotiations on the issues of self govt & disarmament continued & another peace accord was singed in 2005 The Agreement restored self government to Northern Ireland on the basis of power sharing between the two communities. Violence decreased greatly after the signing of the accord and in 2005 the Provisional IRA announced the end of its armed campaign and an independent commission supervised its disarmament The power sharing assembly was suspended several times but was restored again in 2007 In that year, the British government officially ended its military support of the police in Northern Ireland and began withdrawing troops This peace agreement has largely held, but there have been sporadic bombings & attacks by splinters of the old IRA The Irish British peace agreement indicates that in relation to war & terrorism: a. European Westerners have fought each other for millennia just as people have across the globe
b. despite millennia of conflict, people can overcome ancient animosities & find peace
Terrorist acts are committed for various reasons
Most terrorist grps are small & they believe the threat or use of violence to create fear is the best way to gain publicity & support for their causes
Common victims of terrorist linked kidnappings & assassinations include diplomats, business executives, political leaders, police, & judges
Terrorists also attack churches, mosques, & synagogues, as well as oil refineries & govt offices, or any public venue including transportation centers, significant bldgs, etc.
At other times, terrorists choose any target certain to attract media coverage
Some terrorists hijack airplanes & then they hold the passengers hostage & make demands to further their cause
They often threaten to kill the hostages if their demands are not met
Bombings make up about half of all terrorist acts
Most terrorist groups fail to achieve their long range political goals Govts fight terrorism by refusing to accept terrorist demands & by increasing security at airports & other likely targets Some countries train special military units to rescue hostages Of all the purposes of terrorism & the various methods of terrorism, there are FOUR basic types, including vigilante, insurgent, transnational, & state terrorism
Generally, terrorists attack people who oppose their cause or objects that symbolize such opposition, & these may be any of the four types of terrorists
Some individuals & groups that use terrorism support a particular political philosophy
Some individuals & groups represent minority groups seeking liberation from govts in power
c. Transnational Terrorism
Terrorism may cross national boundaries as a quarrel in one nation may produce terrorist attacks in several other countries
All terrorist acts are crimes under international law
d. State Terrorism
Some govts secretly support certain terrorist groups by providing weapons, training, & money for attacks in other countries
Dictators & totalitarian govts also use violence to frighten or eliminate their opponents thought many democratic states have also employed "surrogate" terrorist groups to achieve their states' goals Example of US state supported terrorist include the death squads in El Salvador in the 1980s & al Qaeda who we supported in the fight against the Soviets in Afghanistan
Outline on the Vigilante Terrorism
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Vigilante terrorism is committed by private citizens against other private citizens to express hatred or to resist social change
Vigilante terrorism is the most common form of terrorism in US history, but state terrorism has killed more people
Many of the ugliest moments in US history are incidents of vigilante terrorism
Vigilante terrorism has been systematically committed against native Americans, blacks, labor leaders, immigrants, religious leaders ethnic groups, gays, & others
VIGILANTE TERRORISM AGAINST NATIVE AMERICANS Europeans terrorized native Americans shortly after they arrived in the New World in the 1600s, peaked during the Indian Wars which culminated w/ the infamous massacre of over 300 Sioux men, women, & children at Wounded Knee, SD, in 1890, & continues to today
Vigilante terrorism is often combined w/ state terrorism
For native Americans, vigilante terrorism was combined w/ state terrorism
Vigilante terrorism against native Americans was part of a larger pattern of broken treaties, unkept promises, & the slaughter of defenseless women & children
Vigilante terrorism & the state terrorism resulted in the 1 mm native Americans being reduced to 240,000 & losing all of their No American empire
LYNCHING The Klu Klux Klan is perhaps the most notorious practitioner of vigilante terrorism in the US
Whether perpetrated by an organized group like the KKK or by an unruly mob, lynching was one of the most notorious & common methods of vigilante terrorism
Lynching usually means the killing, generally by hanging, of a person by a mob in defiance of law & order
Victims of a lynching do not have a chance to defend themselves because the mob assumes its victims are guilty, whether or not the victims have had a trial
Lynch mobs not only promote disrespect for law, order, & basic human rights, but they also encourage mass brutality
Most states have attempted to stop lynchings by laws
Some states prosecute under the laws against homicide, riot, & assault while other states have specific lynch laws but legal controls have not succeeded in preventing lynchings One of the problems in getting a conviction against lynching is the difficulty in picking out the leaders of the mob Another problem in getting a conviction against lynching is the lack of jury convictions, even w/ evidence The decline in lynching in the US is due primarily to increased public opinion against mob violence The term lynching probably originated w/ Charles Lynch, a planter who lived in VA during the 1700s Lynch & his neighbors took the law into their own hands & punished the Tories (British sympathizers) & others who plundered their property The term came to be applied to physical punishment, such as whipping, tarring, feathering, etc. In pioneer communities on the far western frontier, many lynch mobs punished people for horse stealing, highway robbery, or murder Lynchings began to take the form of hangings People took the law into their own hands because there was no duly established legal authority With the estb of law & order throughout the US, lynch mobs began to act in opposition to the law, instead of supporting it INSTANCES OF VIGILANTE TERRORISM Before 1890, most lynching victims were white; since then, most lynchings have occurred in the South, & most of the victims have been blacks About 4,800 known lynchings occurred from 1882 to 1968, of those, about 25 percent were against whites & about 70 percent were against blacks The peak year for these killings was 1892, w/ about 230 victims, but from 1957 to 1968, there were seven lynchings, & there have been few recorded lynchings since 1968 A gay man was beat to death in WY in the 90s by 3 white men, & a grp of white men in TX beat & drug a black man behind a pick up, which resulted in his death in the 90s, & there have been other cases While much vigilante terrorism is done by mobs of citizens or orgs such as the KKK the state, esp local police & sheriffs are sometimes complicit in either their outright encouragement or their tolerance for such collective violence Some law enforcement officers encouraged or participated in assaults on blacks, but lawless groups carried out most attacks One of the largest vigilante grps, the Ku Klux Klan, was organized in 1865 or 1866 in Pulaski, TN Bands of hooded Klansmen rode at night & beat & murdered many blacks & their white sympathizers The Klan did much to deny blacks their civil & human rights throughout Reconstruction even while the fed govt tried to maintain the rights of African Americans In 1870 & 1871, Congress passed laws authorizing the use of fed troops to enforce the voting rights of blacks These laws were known as the Enforcement Acts or the Ku Klux Klan Acts In addition, President Ulysses S. Grant signed a proclamation demanding respect for the civil rights of all Americans The Ku Klux Klan also attempted to keep blacks from voting through an increased use of threats, beatings, & killings More than 3,000 blacks had been lynched during the late 1800s, & the Klan & members of similar groups lynched hundreds more throughout the South during the early 1900s POST WW 1 VIGILANTE TERRORISM After World War I, race relations grew increasingly tense in the Northern cities The hostility in the North partly reflected the growing competition for jobs & housing btwn blacks & whites In addition, many African American veterans, after fighting for democracy, returned home w/ expectations of justice & equality The mounting tension helped the Ku Klux Klan recruit thousands of members in the North In the summer of 1918, 10 people were killed & 60 were injured in racial disturbances in Chester & Philadelphia, PA A series of riots erupted in the summer of 1919 & by the end of the year, 25 race riots had broken out across the country where at least 100 people died & many more were injured in the riots
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The Klu Klux Klan (KKK) is perhaps the most notorious practitioner of vigilante terrorism in the US
The KKK was so integrated into the fabric of American life, that they may be considered as part of state terrorism The KKK is a grp of white secret societies who oppose the advancement of blacks, Jews, & other minority groups The KKK, also called the Klan, is active in the US & in Canada but has no real impact around the world The KKK often uses violence to achieve its aims & Klan members wear robes & hoods, & burn crosses at their outdoor meetings & they also burn crosses to frighten nonmembers There are FOUR major periods of Klan activity
1. THE RECONSTRUCTION ERA OF THE KKK The 1st Era of the KKK was the Reconstruction Era, the mid 1860s to the early 1870s
The KKK was formed as a social club by a group of Confederate Army veterans in Pulaski, TN., in 1865 or 1866 The KKK was formed in 1865 by a small group of confederate Army officers in TN by a Colonel Nathaniel Bedford Forest who became the leader, the Grand Wizard
The KKK is named after the Greek word kyklos, or circle & the English word, clan
The KKK was powerful force in opposing Reconstruction, terrorizing blacks & whites w/ beatings, torture, lynchings, & murder
The early Klan under Forest was more concerned w/ preventing domination by the North, & opposing reconstruction & less focused on race based vigilante terrorism After Forest the Klan became primarily an instrument of maintaining racial segregation & inequality Klan members, who believed in the superiority of whites, soon began to terrorize blacks to keep them from voting or exercising the other rights they had gained during Reconstruction, the period following the end of the American Civil War in 1865 The Klan threatened, beat, & murdered many blacks & their white sympathizers in the So The KKK spread rapidly throughout the So US & became known as the Invisible Empire & its attacks helped drive blacks out of So political life Lynch mob violence became an integral part of the post Reconstruction system of So white supremacy But from 1882 to 1930 there were over 3,000 lynchings of So blacks In 1871, Congress passed the Force Bill, which gave the President the authority to use fed troops against the Klan The KKK was weakened when fed troops arrested hundreds of members, & the KKK nearly disappeared
2. THE ANTI IMMIGRATION ERA OF THE KKK The 2nd Era of the KKK was the Anti Immigration Era, 1915 to 1944 In 1915, William J. Simmons, a former Methodist clergyman, organized a new Klan in Atlanta, GA, as a patriotic, Protestant fraternal society The KKK was revived in 1915 & grew in response to growing anti immigration sentiment & the mvmt of rural Southern blacks to Northern cities
The KKK's anti immigration violence during the 1920 reflected a trend of anti immigration or Nativist mvmt in the US The Klan targeted its activities against grps it considered un-American, including blacks, immigrants, Jews, & particularly Roman Catholics A great wave of immigration began in the 1820s when over 3 mm immigrants, mostly Catholic, came to the US The American Party formed into a strong nativist Party
The KKK grew rapidly & by the mid 1920s had more than 2 million members throughout the country Mob violence occurred against Roman Catholics & other immigrants btwn 1850 & 1880
American Party members frequently answered "I don't know" when asked about nativist policies & attacks & thus became known as "The Know Nothing Party" Some Klan members burned crosses & whipped, tortured, & murdered people whose activities angered them, but most relied on peaceful means By electing public officials, the Klan became a powerful political force throughout the South & also in many No & Western states, including CO, IN, Kansas, ME, OH, & OR However, public criticism of Klan violence & quarrels among Klan leaders weakened the organization By the 1930s, only local Klan grps in the So remained strong & the org died out again in 1944 3. THE DESEGREGATION / CIVIL RIGHTS ERA OF THE KKK The 3rd Era of the KKK was the Desegregation / Civil Rights Era, the late 1940s to the early 1970s
Samuel Green, an Atlanta physician, revived the Klan in 1946 Green died in 1949, & the Klan then split into many competing groups; however, all of the groups opposed racial integration The KKK faded in the 1930s but revived after the Brown v. Board of Ed Decision, 1954, banned school segregation For the next decade the KKK attacked many So blacks & civil rights activists Increased civil rights activities during the 1960s brought a new wave of Klan violence Klan members were involved in many terrorist attacks, including the killing of three civil rights workers in Mississippi, & the bombing of a Birmingham, AL, church in which four black girls were killed President Lyndon B. Johnson used the FBI to probe the Klan Some members were sent to prison, & membership fell to about 5,000 by the early 1970s 4. THE POST CIVIL RIGHTS ERA OF THE KKK The 4th Era of the KKK is the Post Civil Rights Era, since the mid 1970s
Beginning in the mid 1970s, new leaders tried to give a more respectable image to competing Klan grps Some accepted women as members & set up youth grps The KKK especially appealed to whites who resented both special programs designed to help blacks & job competition from blacks & recent immigrants Also in the 1970s, it largely abandoned its opposition to Roman Catholics In 1979, Klan members & their supporters killed five anti Klan demonstrators in Greensboro, North Carolina The KKK had somewhat of a revival w/ the deindustrialization of the 80s
Klan membership rose to about 10,000 by 1980 The KKK still attracted people w/ extreme views who often used violence Klan members murdered a black youth in Mobile, AL, in 1981 The militia mvmt grew ( not all are racist ) & found common interest w/ the KKK Since then, declining interest in the Klan & some prosecutions for illegal activities have reduced KKK membership to about 6,000 & most of these members live in the So Today, vigilantism takes the form of hate crime Over 100 people died of hate crimes from 1990 to 1995 Modern vigilantism focuses on blacks, other people of color, Jews, gays, freedom of choice advocates, anti-gun advocates, govt officials, etc.
Insurgent terrorism is private citizens committing terrorism against their govt to win political goals
Single issue terrorism is committed by an individual or small group to pressure the govt to change a specific policy
Separatist terrorism aims to help an ethnic group secede from a state
Social revolutionary terrorism aims to overthrow the govt & bring about dramatic economic, political, & social change
Examples of insurgent terrorism include US colonists, racist groups, labor strife, revolutionary groups, etc. There have been many groups who committed insurgent terrorism including the KKK, the Black Panthers, the SLA, the IRA, etc. The US colonies' revolt against Britain was insurgent terrorism
Colonists would tar & feather Tories, i.e. British sympathizers & many tories were also lynched
Lynching got its name from Colonel Charles Lynch who presided over illegal trials of the Tories
Labor strife can also take the form of insurgent terrorism
Labor committed acts of violence against company property, personnel & scabs (company sympathizers) & tried to get govt to recognize labor rights Companies committed acts of violence against company property, (to frame Labor) personnel & scabs (company sympathizers) & tried to prevent the govt from recognizing labor rights Often the workers were no more violent than were the companies themselves
The US has had the bloodiest & most violent labor history of any industrial nation in the world
The Molly Maguires were a secret organization of Irish American miners
THe AFL blew up the LA Times building w/ dynamite in 1910
10 yrs later another bomb ripped apart a Wall Street bank owned by financier JP Morgan, killing more than 30 & injuring more than 200
In the 1960s & the 1970s Black Militants, White Revolutionaries, & Puerto Rican nationalists have been active
Black Militant violence peaked from 1968 to 1974 after a decade of civil rights activism reached its peak
The Black Power Mvmt rejected the nonviolent tactics of MLK The FBI, the police & other social control agents often fomented violence w/ black militants & other radical groups The Black Liberation Army (BLA) formed in NYC in 1971 by former Panthers & ex-convicts They targeted police & banks, killing about 26 police from 1970 - 1974 The Weather Underground carried out a series of bombings beginning in 1970 The New World Liberation Front bombed large corporations beginning in the mid 1970s The Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) murdered a school superintendent in 1972, kidnapped Patty Hearst in 1974, & robbed banks Puerto Rican Nationalists tried to kill Truman in 1950 & they shot 5 members of Congress in 1954 From 1970 - 1980s Puerto Rican Nationalists are thought to have committed over 300 bombings & other acts In the last 15 yrs, insurgent terrorism has taken on a more right wing philosophy as compared to many earlier left wing philosophies These groups are often white militias & white supremacist groups An example of the rise of white, right wind insurgency is the 1995 OK City bombing Right wing terrorism now poses the most serious internal threat in the US while radical mid easterners pose the greatest external terrorist threat In Europe, the best known terrorist groups are the Irish Republican Army IRA & its affiliates, though Europe has had many more instances of terrorism than the US In August of 1969, they split into the Provisional IRA & the Official IRA Protestant terrorist groups were established to fight the IRA Since 1960 more than 3,000 have died in terrorist acts & violent clashes among the IRA, the Protestant groups & British troops The Red Army was formed by student activists in W. Germany in 1968 & has committed numerous bombing, assassination attempts & bank robberies The Red Army has attacked US military personnel in Germany The Red Brigades began in 1970 in Italy, setting off bombs & murdering the Italian prime minister They have waned under the efforts of the Italian police The PLO & its affiliates have been active in the Mideast for decades Their purpose is to gain a Palestinian nation & to destroy Israel, though at various times they have renounced the latter goal In 1972 Black September killed 2 Israeli athletes & took nine other hostage during the Munich Olympics In South America most govts have been repressive, right wing dictatorships supported by the US Most of the So American terrorism there has been state terrorism Rebel groups have often used terrorism in response The People's Revolutionary Army in El Salvador formed in the 1970s In Japan in 1995 the Om Shinricoio cult launched a poison gas attack in a subway in Tokyo that kill 12 & made 5,500 ill
They formed to deal w/ intolerable working conditions in PN coal mines
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The working conditions for miners were such that they were typically overworked, underpaid, & unsafe
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Coal mining conditions were intolerable
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Wages often did not cover expenses, as charged by the company: "Workin' in the coal mine & what do you get? Another day older & deeper in debt."
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The Molly Maguires used terrorist tactics
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The Molly Maguires assassinated company officials & committed other acts of terrorism
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The Molly Maguires were chastised by Church, owners, govt, media, but respected by miners
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The Molly Maguires used their power for the benefit of members & intimidated or murdered recalcitrant mine bosses & colliery superintendents
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1874, at height of their power, Franklin B. Gowen, President of the Philadelphia Coal & Iron Co. & Reading Railroad hired the Pinkerton Detective Agency
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The Molly Maguires were infiltrated by James McParlan, a Pinkerton, who was is some sense sympathetic, but wanted a better life
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After a particularly outrageous murder in 1875, one assassin was condemned to death
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This was the first capital conviction of a Molly
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McParlan was suspected by the Mollies
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McParlan evaded one plot to murder him, then w/drew
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1877 trial based on McParlan's testimony crushed the Molly Maguires forever & as a result 10 hung & 14 were jailed
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Transnational terrorism (TT) is perpetrated by terrorists living in one nation against the people, govt or general society of another nation
TT may also include terrorism that occurs in one's own country against foreign targets or against domestic targets but in the name of an intl cause or on behalf of a foreign govt (Gurr, 1989b)
Transnational terrorism is aka international terrorism, hence GW Bushes International War on Terrorism
Transnational terrorism is relatively uncommon in the US compared to other nations
For example, Mid Eastern related terrorism was spread into Europe: "The battle over the Palestinian question & other Mid Eastern issues had moved beyond the Mid East"
Most terrorism on mid eastern issues are directed against other mid east people, groups, govts, & general society
A key feature of terrorism today is it's transnational character in that many of the most active & notorious terrorists today are transnational, & perhaps more importantly, one of the characteristics that makes them unique is that they are mvmts w/o a country Transnational terrorists today often have no allegiance to their country of origin, no single country from which they draw their resources, & no single nation as a target An example the true transnational character of terrorism today can be seen in Osama bin Laden & al Qaeda who originate in many nations around the world, who draw resources from many people around the world, & who target nations in the 1st, 2nd, & even 3rd worlds The transnationality of terrorism today makes it extremely difficult to combat or guard against It is in the nature of modernity itself that makes transnational terrorism possible Characteristics of modernity that enhance the operation of transnational terrorism include the world transportation system, the global communication system, the increased porosity of borders, the increased immigration & emigration & movement of people, etc. From 1980 to 1985, 233 Mid East terrorist acts occurred in Europe, where
- 60 % of the targets were Arab
- 17 % were Israeli
- 5 % were American
A terrorist group, Abu Nidal, targets moderate Arabs & Israelis Abu Nidal has attacked officials in Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait & Syria & in
- 1985 they hijacked an Egyptian plane, killing 59
- 1985 they shot airport passengers in Rome & Vienna
- 1986 they bombed a synagogue in Turkey, killing 21
Hizbollah is centered in Iran & Lebanon & controls an Islamic Jihad, which is based in Lebanon
Both Abu Nida & Hizbollah have engaged in suicide bombing
Islamic Jihad has killed more than 20 people from Europe & the US, & hundreds of mid easterners
In the 1970s & 80s Omega 7, an anti Castro group is suspected of 50 bombings & assassinations
Most major terrorist events are transnational in character including: - in 1988, the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing over Scotland
- in 1993, the WTC bombing
- in 2000, the USS Cole Bombing
- in 2001, the 9/11 Attack
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State terrorism (ST) is terrorism perpetrated by a govt against its own people, other parts of the govt, general society, or against another nation
State terrorism is aka repressive terrorism
The concept of state terrorism underlines the point that govts often use random violence to terrorize its own citizens in order to stifle dissent
ST can include mass murder, individual assassination, execution, beatings, torture, etc.
ST has killed & injured more people than any other kind of collective violence except war In the 1900s & continuing into the 2000s, more people are killed & injured by state terrorism than by all the other types of terrorism combined
Genocide is the killing of a people because of their race, religion, ethnicity, gender, or national origin
Genocide is the most extreme type of state terrorism
The US has supported state terrorism around the globe to align & support allies in pursuit of its imperialist interests & especially during the Cold War The US has been involved in right wing terrorism in Central & So America: Argentina, Guatemala, Colombia, & other nations
The US has wanted to control these countries & forestall the development of communist or anti US regimes
State terrorism is unique & important because of the number of people affected but more importantly because it is perpetrated by the govt of a nation ST is important because it demystifies the line btwn terrorism as viewed as an illegal, immoral activity, that lies outside of the realm of war & the legal & hence moral acts of govts that are often carried out under the same auspices as war
ST is legal.... in the technical sense that the state is empowered by its citizens to establish & maintain social stability ST is carried out to maintain order A war may be a war perpetrated against citizens & armies, war among armies, war against citizens & armies & ST may also be perpetrated against citizens, armies, or other grps ST is hidden from view while other types of terrorism are held up as immoral State permissiveness is the willingness of state officials to look the other way when violence is committed or even to encourage its use such as the terrorism perpetrated by the KKK
See Also: Structural Causes of Terrorism In the 1800s the US govt & people's genocide against 750, 0000 Native Americans was ST that was both legal & encouraged
In the 1800s & 1900s, the US fed, state & local govts attacked Labor
In 1897, at a PN coal strike, deputies shot peaceful miners, killing 18, & wounding 40 In 1914, in Ludlow, CO, the CO Fuel & Iron Company guards & Nat Guard troops machine gunned mining families in their tent city & set it afire killing 19 including 13 children In 1915, in Turkey, 1 mm Armenians were forced into the desert where they died from thirst, starvation, etc.
The Holocaust during WW2 killed over 6 mm Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, & others
The Stalinist purges & consolidations before & after WW2: 10 mm peasants, intelligentsia, & opposition
In the 1940s, 50s, & 60s, local police & state troops murdered or beat hundreds of black ( & some white ) civil rights activists in the South In Birmingham, AL, police clubbed nonviolent demonstrators, sprayed them w/ fire hoses, & attacked them w/ dogs The Black Panthers were targeted by police w/ lethal violence & Fred Hampton was shot in bed in Dec, 1969 In the 60s & 70s, the US War against Vietnam killed 2 mm Vietnamese soldiers & civilians In the 1970s, the Cambodian govt slaughtered hundreds of thousand of Cambodians to solidify the rule of Pol Pot
In 1989, June, Chinese troops gunned down several thousand unarmed protesters at Tiananmen Square in Beijing In 1994, in Rwandan the govt troops & Hutus slaughtered 1 mm Tutsis
While terrorism is often associated w/ non govt orgs, govts also commit terrorism
Often govt sponsored terrorism takes the form of counter mvmt terrorism which aims to intimidate its opponents
Govt sponsored counter mvmt terrorism is most common in authoritarian & totalitarian govts though some democratic govts also engage is terrorism
Govts engage in terrorism through their police, intelligence, & military, as well as through shadow, non govt groups which they sponsor, encourage, or simply allow to operate w/ impunity
The US supported El Salvador w/ millions of dollars of aid, & extensive military training when it was known that the govt had conducted 37,000 political murders from 1979 to `1984
The most common forms of govt sponsored terrorism are political executions, death squads, torture, imprisonment w/o trial, & military attacks against civilian targets
Govt also assist insurgent groups in other countries as Iran has in Lebanon, Libya & the US have in Afghanistan w/ the Taliban regime, the US in Nicaragua, the US in Cuba, etc.
Govts do not usually participate directly in insurgent terrorism; rather, they assist underground terrorist orgs who carry out the actual attacks
Govts also engage in terrorism when the attempt to intimidate military opponents by bombing entirely civilian targets
Attacks on civilians by govts were common early in history as is documented by Roman attacks against Europeans, Atilla the Hun's decimation of cities, etc.
In the middle ages, war came to be fought almost exclusively btwn armies
During WW2, Germany fire bombed London & the US fire bombed Dresden, Germany, Tokyo, Japan, & more
The US dropped nuclear bombs on the cities of Hiroshima & Nagasaki
Many critics of war believe massive, overwhelming attacks on civilians are terrorism, while other note that civilians today are an integral part of the Military Industrial Congressional Complex
The labeling of who is a terrorist & who is a solder is often done by the more powerful, the victor
Both govts & advocacy groups characterized their opponents as "terrorists" & their supporters as "freedom fighters"
For Farley, it should be behavior & not ideology which defines a terrorist act
For Farley, attacks on civilians are terrorism no matter who commits them
For Farley, Palestinian bombing attacks by undercover, men, women & children on Israeli civilians & Israeli military attacks on Palestinian refugee camps are properly classified as terrorism
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The causes of terrorism parallel those of war, & thus are similar but not the same as the causes of war
Theories of terrorism must be tailored to account for the different groups that practice terrorism, ranging from anarchists to traditional religious groups, as well as the aims they hope to achieve, including revenge, publicity, organizing, social change, etc.
Whatever the causes of war, the aim is to intimidate the enemy & force them to submit to your will, as is the aim of terrorism
If one follows Clauswitzian theory in that 'war is politics by other means,' & build on him to say that 'terrorism is war by other means,' & extending further, that 'terrorism is politics by other means,' then the aim of terrorism is political in nature usually attempting to bend the will of a larger or more powerful force
Terrorism occurs when war is considered to be ineffective because the enemy is superior in size, strength, etc.
The most widely accepted view of terrorism is that it is caused by socio political econ factors in that one party desires to force its society, its way of life on another group
Early theories of war, which may be applied to terrorism, are social psychological in nature as seen in McDougall's (1871-1938) view that tendency to war can be traced to an "instinct of pugnacity," an instinct not triggered by specific stimuli but by the blocking of other instincts
The theory that humanity is inherently aggressive is difficult to prove or disprove & it is not even clear if more or less people are engaged in war & war related activities & it is not clear whether the number of people killed in war as a percentage of the population is going up or down
War & terrorism are influenced by many of the same principles that influence other forms of collective action
Terrorists, people engaged in war, & people engaged in collective action generally have grievances; however, only terrorists & people engaged in war use violence
While the frequency & pervaisiveness of war is not clear, terrorism, social mvmts, & collective action in general are increasing
Terrorism, & social mvmts in general, can more easily occur in democratic, modern, industrial, global societies because freedom allows one to take advantage of the system
Post modernists note that as society has become more fragmented, soc mvmts have become less coherent & structured, thus becoming more expressive & less instrumental or effective
W/ the fragmentation of society, comes the fragmentation of systems of knowledge resulting in people having fundamentally different ways of knowing, ways of interpreting & acting in the world
Terrorism grows when diverse groups hold radically different views of the world
However, it must be noted that it is only in the modern age that humanity has had the hubris to posit one, or even a few ways of knowing, i.e. rationalism, & that historically the fragmentation of systems of knowing is much more common than the harmony of systems of knowing
The causes of terrorism can be understood in light of political economics in that if a system functions to keep particular classes, ethnic groups, religious groups oppressed economically, socially, politically, etc., then it is likely that they will try to change their system
If an oppressive group perceives that there is no legitimate route to change w/in the system, & if they perceive that war is not an option, then the opportunities offered by democratic, modern, industrial society offer the avenue of terrorism through which to pursue social change
Globalization itself is often seen as so oppressive to traditional, or tribalist groups, that it fosters hate toward the engines of globalization, i.e. the core nations & the multinational corps, & the ensuring terrorism
Some terrorists seek equal opportunity in the global competitive system, others are counter mvmts who seek to establish theocracies, still others want one particular govt brought down, others want one policy changed
Political economic solutions are seen as addressing all of these grievances in that equal opportunity allows for the growth of a middle class who to date has always preferred democracy, the separation of church & state, equality for all parties & other core values of the modern system Political economic solutions create the moderate middle class who can serve as a bulwark against radical tribalists, religious mvmts, and so on
Outline on the Psychological & Social Psychological Causes of Terrorism
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Most explanations of terrorism focus on insurgent, transnational, & sometimes vigilante terrorism, & usually ignore state terrorism Most Americans favor a psychological approach instead of a structural one, as they do for most political & ideological explanations because this is a strongly individualist country & because elites & the media seek to mystify real relationships Some approaches point out the extent to which terrorists suffer from psychological abnormalities that lead to a sadistic &/or paranoid personality, i.e. a "terrorist personality" An example of psychological / lifestyle profiling as an explanation of a terrorist is the "Shoe Bomber" who was a male, white, a loner, broke, an outcast, scruffy looking, & was a Brit w/ radical sentiments The traditional profile of a terrorist is one who is male, poor, isolated, lives in or has suffered intolerable social conditions, but it is not known what % of terrorists do or do not fit this profile The problems w/ the psycho pathological view are that: a. the vast majority of people & terrorists do not suffer from a psycho pathology History has repeatedly shown that normal people are capable of committing terrorist acts We like to think that we are not violent, but history, anthropology, sociology, & other social sciences suggest otherwise, though we are quite capable of peaceful existence Violence does not prevent peacefulness from occurring & vice versa b. a social psychological theory can give us important understanding of why people turn to violence, but it cannot explain why people turn to terrorist violence When we look at psychological & structural factors together, we can begin to understand their relationship is constructing causal understandings mirroring the classic dilemma btwn micro & macro explanations, btwn visible & hidden causes of behavior c. the psychological approach mystifies & otherwise obscures the religious, historical, political, sociological, economic & other structural conditions that underlie terrorism & suggests that terrorism is abnormal rather than normal "Indeed, under certain conditions, such as those of the [Nazi] death camps, terrorist acts may become the norm, & the deviant personality may be the one who resists committing acts of terrorism" Peter C. Sederberg, 1998, p. 25 in Barkan & Snowden This is the case in Palestine: at 1st it was the classic profile of the terrorist who committed a suicide bombing, but in 2000 & 2001, it has become the mid class male & female Palestinians who are volunteering Under the social psychological explanations, terrorism is considered as one of many possible relationships to discontent It is then left to the social & political scientist to determine the structural causes, but it is left to the social psychologists to determine how people will react to them based on alienation, relative deprivation & rising expectations Terrorism is unlikely to occur unless individuals adopt ideologies that justify the use of extreme violence to achieve political goals Ideologies that justify violence & terrorism, or any ideology for that matter, expand through friendship networks & by other means Soc psyc explanations that take ideologies into acct have been used to explain Nazi state terrorism which developed an ideology, based on social Darwinism, which held that Aryan superiority & the structural conditions after WW1 lead to the rise of Hitler & his political party Soc psyc explanations that take ideologies into acct can explain vigilante terrorism wherein a southern racist ideology is combined w/ poor structural conditions
Outline on the Structural Causes of Terrorism
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Structural explanations of terrorism see terrorist activity as rational (if desperate) responses to structural conditions, especially economic, political, & social conditions Collective violence, terrorism, protests, etc. are simply "politics by other means" (Gamson, 1990) that are invoked when the affected group perceives threats & sees violence as the optimal alternative Thus much insurgent & transnational terrorism is a response to govtl, etc. oppression, just as the colonialists revolted against England because of "a long train of abuses & usurpations" as written in the US Declaration of Independence Thus the difference btwn the IRA, the PLO & the Am colonists is one of methods while they are similar in the fact that they are responding to, in their view, oppression The primary difference in the social labeling of an act as terrorism or not is whether it can be justified or not on the basis of oppression & inequality Afghanis fighting the Russians, Afghanis fighting Americans, Afghanis fighting Afghanis are all examples of people engaging in collective violence, whether it is called war or terrorism, to, in their view, escape oppression & inequality Note that the structural explanations can also explain state terrorism Southern lynchings increases when the economy worsened, when the price of cotton was falling & inflation was rising Lynchings decreased when the economy improved Another factor in collective violence is population destiny as seen in the social fact that there were less lynchings in counties w/ a majority of blacks State permissiveness is the willingness of state official to look the other way when violence is committed or even to encourage its use The amt of state permissiveness is a structural factor that impacts the type & amt of col violence such as terrorism in general & / or state terrorism
See Also: State Terrorism
Structural causes represent long term causes of terrorism in that they take a long time, even centuries, to develop, & just as long a time to dissipate
Threshold events are often an immediate cause, & are aka as a precipitating event in the study of collective behavior The general public tends to focus on the threshold events of a terrorist act & is often ignorant of, or confused about structural causes In fact many people will go so far as to deny the validity of a structural cause & instead believe the event is caused by individualistic factors including threshold events, psychological causes, religion, or even individualistic or personal factors such as meanness or evilness Terrorism often does not need a threshold event, since the accumulation of structural causes create deprivation, hence frustration, hence aggression A threshold event, real or imagined, provides the immediate justification for violent action directed at a target group
In most nations in which state terrorism exists, the govt largely or totally controls the media
In countries like the US, while the media is widely attacked as being liberal, most news is infotainment, & uniform, & middle of the road
Nonstate terrorists do not control the media to the extent that the state may, but they count on the media coverage to spread fear & their goals
Today terrorist events are designed to get maximum media exposure
The media plays an unwitting role in facilitating terrorism & in helping it to succeed
The "media provides the 'oxygen of publicity' on which terrorism thrives" Kidder, 1998, p. 149
In 1985 during a TWA hijacking in Beirut, Lebanon, terrorists offered TV networks interviews for $12,500 each
The British media refused to cover the TWA hijacking in Beirut, Lebanon while the Am media covered it non-stop
There is concrete evidence that media coverage of any violent event increases worry, fear, even panic: i.e. the UFO sightings reported in newspapers, the War of the Worlds, anthrax poisoning, etc.
There is little evidence that media coverage increases the wider public's support for terrorists' goal, & more likely it decrease such support
However, media publicity does "energize the base;" i.e. publicizing terrorist acts & airing their goals & ideologies does win approval & supporters from those who are sympathetic to the group or their general ideology to begin w/ Thus in many ways terrorist acts are designed to "preach to the choir" Another effect of media coverage is that it serves to intimidate or instill fear in those who are attacked or may be attacked A terrorist act which is widely publicized has a much larger effect than one which is not publicized in both rallying the faithful & threatening the general populace Thus media terrorists today seek to design their actions to gain as much publicity as possible Terrorist use or manipulate the general media such as TV news, but they also have become adept at employing the new, alternate media, esp the internet to broadcast their activities & ideologies, & of course the mainstream media does cover terrorist & other 'media events' that occur on the internet
The media generally ignores the structural reasons for terrorist violence & depict it negatively
The media today recognizes the dilemma they are in in that on the one hand they believe that it is their role in society to publish the news whether it be terrorist acts, publicity seeking murderers, or those that break the law in order to have their "15 seconds of fame'" etc. & on the other hand they recognize that such publicity aids The other side of the media's dilemma is that when they are simply doing their job of reporting the news, they recognize that they are aiding those who perpetrate violence
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Terrorism has generally been a male activity though women have always been an integral part of the process
For the first time in history, a woman carried out a suicide bombing in Spring of 2002
The first suicide attack by a woman was against Israel, & it has since been followed by another
Early studies in gender differences focused on biological explanations
Socialization & opportunity are thought to be more important in establishing gender roles
American women have been involved in terrorism since the 1960s in groups such as the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA)
Women have historically committed less crime & much less violent crime than men, though the growth rate of female perpetrated crime is much greater than it is for males
Women have become soldiers in significant numbers only in the past few decades, reversing a millennial old tradition
However, in general women are as hawkish & support war as much as men do Women's motivation for suicide bombing is believed to be less nationalistic & more familialistic as it is for many men In the month & yrs after the 9 - 11 attacks women were more hawkish on security than were men & thus pollsters re - nicknamed this segment of women from soccer moms to security moms In patriarchal societies the motivation for male suicide bombers is to sacrifice less for the nationalistic cause & more to support their wives, mothers, & families The male role to sacrifice for the female & the family is one that is socialized in by culture & social structure & is even seen in the animal kingdom & thus is believed to have some roots in both social & natural factors Sociologists have recognized the social fact that for decades one of the major categories of male suicides includes those men who obtain an insurance policy, & then kill themselves leaving the money to their wife & / or family The econ structure around the world creates the situation where the family is often better off when the male head of household is a dead soldier, dead suicide bomber, or even a dead insurance holder Patriarchal societies augment the male sense of sacrifice for the family while non patriarchal societies do not Terrorists & those who recruit men & boys for the military tap into patriarchal / familial sentiments to motivate suicide bombers & soldiers to join up by offering:
a. money
b. support for the family
c. respect in the community Thus even in the western industrialized nations the role of male sacrifice can be seen in the fact that soldiers are more likely to come from the lower classes, who can significantly benefit their families by joining up Upper class males are less likely to join up to the military because they have less need to sacrifice in this form for the family benefit because they already have secured econ wellbeing for the family The money for suicide bombers is often not great by western standards but is essentially a lifetime stipend for a family in the 3rd world Support for the the family of a suicide bomber, in addition to the money, is realized in the form of the nearest male taking the important role of head of the family, since a family w/o a male head, even if they have money, is often severely weakened & at a social disadvantage Conversely if the suicide bomber somehow botches or does not go through w/ the attack, the entire family is ostracized Respect in the community raises the status of every family member making the marriageable women & men more appealing & making the women & men more generally respected As societies around the world become less patriarchal & as women become more involved in the econ sector & in supporting the family economically, women are becoming more likely to make the ultimate sacrifice as a soldier, suicide bomber, or even an insurance holder However, today boys as young as 10 are still much more likely to take on roles in collective violence activities than women Boy suicide bombers are much more common than women bombers & boy soldiers are common in some third world country where entire units of boys headed by a man operate
MILITARY SOLUTIONS Almost all of the work on counter terrorism focuses on insurgent & transnational terrorism & typically ignores vigilante & state terrorism
There cannot be an all purpose solution to terrorism because there is no unified terrorist thereat & because of the diversity of objectives (short & long term)
Law enforcement & military approaches discourage attacks, stop attacks, & respond to attacks & while their actions are important, we must look to other sources for a more comprehensive view
Target hardening includes making targets more secure & safe
The law & the legal system may discourage attacks, but more importantly, it has the ability to defuse the structural causes of terrorism
The effectiveness of pre emptive strikes is in doubt since they often cause more animosity
The Israeli invasion of the West Bank in 2002 destroyed some bomb factories & capturing some leaders, but history will tell whether it is radicalizing an entire generation of Arabs
Is the American attack against Afghanistan in 2001-2002 effective?
The US bombings in Afghanistan & Africa in retaliation to the bombing of the USS Cole are generally thought to be counter effective
The US bombing of Libya in response to the Berlin attacks is thought to have caused the Flight 103 bombing
Counter terrorism poses a threat to our civil liberties though the implementation of such policy options as
- the universal ID
- treasury surveillance of all of our financial transactions ( begun in 2004 )
- lax restrictions of wire tapes, surveillance, incarceration, etc. in the name of national security
ECONOMIC & SOCIAL SOLUTIONS If inequality, oppression, & other social problems lie at the heart of terrorism, then this is where the solution lies
Rubenstein argues that terrorism derives from US imperialism & that an end to US involvement in other nations would do much to end terrorism
Most experts on globalization agree that economic & social conditions around the world are worsening
Amnesty International documents the worst examples of govt violence There is always the question of whether terrorists can be assuaged or where they desire the downfall of western society Many social analysts including significant actors in the political & military sectors of western society recognize that law enforcement & military solutions to terrorism, war & other forms of collective violence are merely addressing symptoms of collective violence Reducing poverty, exploitation, & oppression is the ultimate solution to terrorism & war However, law enforcement & military solutions are easier in that social solutions are less developed & much more complex Social solutions to poverty, exploitation, & oppression on a global scale have only been developed in the last few decades through orgs such as the UN, the Peace Corp, & other such efforts as the program to establish free nations in the Balkans after the Balkan war of the 1990s, & Iraq in the 2000s And nation building in Iraq certainly focused more on a military solution than a nation building solution, at least in the beginning It is not clear how to establish a nation in Iraq at this time Perhaps when nations spend as much money on their equivalent of the State Department, focusing on diplomatic & economic development, as on the Department of Defense, nation building will be as viable & effective a solution as military domination & war It is important to note that in general the economic elite of the world both benefit from war because supplying the military industrial complex is highly profitable, & because they have a secured grip on the wider economy Because the world elite classes would lose their advantages of the profitability of the military industrial complex & the wider economy if solutions to poverty, if exploitation, & oppression were to be eliminated, some social analysts view the elite as actively working to preserve their interests & inflame war & conflict, while other social analysts disagree RELIGIOUS SOLUTIONS While some maintain that religious radicalism is also a root cause to terrorism, war & other forms of collective violence, this has not been conclusively demonstrated Throughout history, in nations throughout the world, radical, violent religious sentiments have lessened as economic & social justice have expanded An example of the lessening of radical & violent tendencies of religion can be seen in the development of Christianity which in the Middle Ages & the Early Industrial Era was a factor in centuries of warfare around the world but now is not generally seen as an important factor Radical, violent religious sentiments increase under conditions of social & economic oppression & lessen under favorable social & economic conditions The role of religion in collective violence is often confused because religious, race, & ethnic lines often parallel class lines The parallel of religious, race, & ethnic lines w/ class lines can be seen in the situation of Northern Ireland where the Protestant British upper class exploited & militarily dominated the Catholic Irish in their own nation of Ireland This Protestant - Catholic war which has raged & cooled over centuries has on the surface appeared as a religious war when it has as much to do w/ economic & social exploitation of a poor nation by a powerful one in order to be able to economically exploit the conflicted territory The Arab - Israeli conflict in the middle east appears as a Islamic - Jewish religious war when it has has as much to do w/ economic & social exploitation While there is no doubt that ideologies of religious & moral tolerance are an important part of ending collective violence, most social analysts believe that these messages must be combined w/ economic & social solutions
The End
| i don't know |
In which region of Germany was the notorious Dachau concentration camp? | Dachau Concentration Camp - Dachau - TracesOfWar.com
Dachau Concentration Camp
( Germany - Bayern - Dachau )
Even sixty years after the collapse of the Third Reich the name of the city of Dachau still recalls the memory off the notorious concentration camp (Konzentrationslager (KZ) Dachau) which was established here during the period 1933-1945. Prisoners of more than thirty different nationalities were housed in this camp. Many died owing to the bad living conditions. Also a large number of Dutch were housed in the camp because they had committed acts of resistance against the German occupier.
In September 1948 the concentration camp was handed over to the Bayern authorities. The camp was then used as a refugee camp for a considerable time. The SS-barracks remained in use by the American army up to 1972 and ware later used as a police station. In 1960 the crematory building was set up as a provisional museum and five years later the concentration camp was appointed as Gedenkst�tte or memory centre. A new museum was opened at the same time.
Nowadays the concentration camp is still open for visitors. A large part of the camp, among which the Jourhaus, the watchtowers and the crematory, is still in its original state. The old huts have disappeared, but two have been reconstructed to give an impression of how it was. In the old main building is a permanent exhibition and a film room.
For the Wirtschaftsgeba�de, on the former roll-call, the international Dachau monument, which has been designed by the Yugoslavian artist Glid Nandor, can be found.
Further information on the history of Kz-Dachau in Dutch: KZ-Dachau
For current visiting hours, please visit the website of the museum.
Source
| Bavaria |
Which European country introduced the world's first diesel locomotive in 1912? | Dachau Concentration Camp - Dachau - TracesOfWar.com
Dachau Concentration Camp
( Germany - Bayern - Dachau )
Even sixty years after the collapse of the Third Reich the name of the city of Dachau still recalls the memory off the notorious concentration camp (Konzentrationslager (KZ) Dachau) which was established here during the period 1933-1945. Prisoners of more than thirty different nationalities were housed in this camp. Many died owing to the bad living conditions. Also a large number of Dutch were housed in the camp because they had committed acts of resistance against the German occupier.
In September 1948 the concentration camp was handed over to the Bayern authorities. The camp was then used as a refugee camp for a considerable time. The SS-barracks remained in use by the American army up to 1972 and ware later used as a police station. In 1960 the crematory building was set up as a provisional museum and five years later the concentration camp was appointed as Gedenkst�tte or memory centre. A new museum was opened at the same time.
Nowadays the concentration camp is still open for visitors. A large part of the camp, among which the Jourhaus, the watchtowers and the crematory, is still in its original state. The old huts have disappeared, but two have been reconstructed to give an impression of how it was. In the old main building is a permanent exhibition and a film room.
For the Wirtschaftsgeba�de, on the former roll-call, the international Dachau monument, which has been designed by the Yugoslavian artist Glid Nandor, can be found.
Further information on the history of Kz-Dachau in Dutch: KZ-Dachau
For current visiting hours, please visit the website of the museum.
Source
| i don't know |
Nicknamed 'Scarlet Speedster', Barry Allen was the alter ego of which comic superhero? | Superheroes: Flash
Back to Biographies
The Flash is a superhero that first appeared in DC Comic's Flash Comics #1 in 1940. He was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert.
What are Flash's powers?
Flash has super-speed. This not only enables him to run fast, but also translates into a number of additional powers. He can think, read, and react at incredible speeds. Also, he can vibrate at such a speed he can walk through walls. Super-speed makes Flash super-powerful!
Who is his alter ego and how did Flash get his powers?
There have actually been several Flash's over the years each with a different alter ego. There are four main alter egos listed here:
Jay Garrick - The original Flash Jay Garrick got his powers by inhaling heavy water vapors after falling asleep in his science lab. He first used his powers to become a star football player. Who can blame him?! Then later he began to use his powers to fight crime.
Barry Allen - Barry Allen is a police scientist. He got his powers when a lightning bolt hit his lab and splashed a number of chemicals on him. Becoming Flash was ironic as Barry was slow, methodical, and often late prior to gaining his powers.
Wally West - Wally got his powers at the young age of ten when he visited his uncle's laboratory (Uncle Barry Allen who was already Flash). He got some chemicals on him and gained the power of super-speed. Maybe we all should check out this lab! Since he was so young he became Kid Flash. Later on he would take over the role of his uncle as Flash.
Bart Allen - Bart is Barry Allen's grandson. He was born with Super-speed, but also fast aging causing him to appear twelve when he was only two years old. Once he got his aging under control he became Impulse. He would later become Kid Flash and finally Flash once he had grown up.
Who are the Flash's main enemies?
The main enemies of the Flash are called The Rogues. They are led by Flash's archenemy, Captain Cold. Captain Cold has a freeze gun that could freeze and, therefore, stop or slow down Flash. Other members of The Rogues include Mirror Master, Pied Piper, The Trickster, Double Down, and Heat Wave.
Fun Facts about Flash
The Flash is good friends with superhero the Green Lantern .
He often races Superman to see who is the fastest. It usually ends up in a tie.
He can move so fast he can travel in time.
His nickname is the Scarlet Speedster.
The Flash is able to pass into other dimensions and parallel worlds.
Part of his powers includes an invisible aura surrounding him that protects him from air friction when traveling at super speeds.
| Flash (comics) |
Who, as you might expect, is the patron Saint of Boy Scouts? | Batman? Superman? Neither. DC Comics Names Its Most Important Character -- The Motley Fool
Batman? Superman? Neither. DC Comics Names Its Most Important Character
An “Arrow” spin-off promises aggressive expansion of the TV and film universe.
Tim Beyers
( TMFMileHigh )
Aug 3, 2013 at 6:30PM
In the race to get TV viewers to tune in to its comic book properties , Time Warner ( NYSE:TWX ) is turning to the fastest man alive.
Earlier this week, Warner unit DC Entertainment told reporters via conference call that the Flash would appear in season 2 of Arrow before spinning off into a new show dedicated the character. Warner also has plans for a live action film. Batman? Superman? Turns out the Flash is the glue that's binding together the DC Cinematic Universe.
The Flash, otherwise known as "the fast man alive.' Source: DC Comics.
"He's obviously been a strong personal favorite of both [DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer] Geoff [Johns] and mine," Newsarama quotes Arrow co-creator Andrew Kreisberg as saying. "So when Greg [Berlanti] approached us and said 'Hey, what would you think if we did the Flash as a spin-off?' all of us lit up!"
They aren't the only ones. Here at Fool.com, we've debated the possibilities for the Flash. A live-action film might follow nicely behind 2015's Batman-Superman team-up in Man of Steel 2.
Meanwhile, putting DC's scarlet speedster on TV first would allow Warner to expand the DC Cinematic Universe while building brand equity for a character that hasn't been on the small screen since 1990. Back then, actor John Wesley Shipp played the Flash and his alter-ego, police scientist Barry Allen. Warner says it's in the process of searching for an actor to play the role in Arrow and the spin-off.
Expect DC's new take on the Flash to be darker than the 1990 TV series. Source: The SF Site.
The news comes on the heels of Walt Disney ( NYSE:DIS ) previewing the entire first episode of its Avengers-themed TV spin-off, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., last month at San Diego Comic-Con. I'm expecting a ratings winner when the show begins airing Tuesday nights this fall.
DC's advantage is that already has a hit in Arrow, and introducing the Flash via spin-off reduces the risk that the new show will bomb. If successful, it would be the third -- or, if Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. also succeeds, the fourth -- current comic book TV adaptation to play well with audiences. AMC Networks' ( NASDAQ:AMCX ) The Walking Dead rated highest among scripted shows airing during the 2012-2013 TV season.
Do DC's plans signal more adaptations from Warner, Disney, and others? Undoubtedly. Hollywood history says executives will push until audiences push back, which means the next prime-time TV idea is probably sitting on the shelves of your local comics shop right now.
Fool contributor Tim Beyers is a member of the Motley Fool Rule Breakers stock-picking team and the Motley Fool Supernova Odyssey I mission. He owned shares of Walt Disney and Time Warner at the time of publication. Check out Tim's Web home and portfolio holdings , or connect with him on Google+ , Tumblr , or Twitter, where he goes by @milehighfool . You can also get his insights delivered directly to your RSS reader .
The Motley Fool recommends AMC Networks and Walt Disney and owns shares of Walt Disney. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days . We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
Author
| i don't know |
Which often embattled city is the supposed resting place of OT patriarch Abraham? | Patriarchs
Patriarchs
Welcome to a study focused on the lives of the Patriarchs: Isaac, Jacob and Joseph who we call “Covenant Keepers.” The Patriarch Abraham’s life is covered in another study I have written.
These Patriarchs of the nation Israel were descendants of Abraham, uniquely called by God to pass on the faith to the next generation of believers in the One True God. They remained faithful to the Covenant, overcoming obstacles and threats of assimilation and annihilation often waiting years for God to fulfill His Promises, in His timing, to them.
This study provides daily questions, audio and/or manuscript teaching, PowerPoint and handouts. It can be used for individual or group settings. A disclaimer: my manuscripts are not word perfect. Instead they are a model for you of what my notes look like when I’ve finished my study. I do not read them as I lecture but I create the manuscript so I can return to them at a later date. Use any and all parts of this material to study and/or teach to others.
My hope and prayer for you as you read and study is that you will see yourself as part of God's great narrative, His Story of Grace and Redemption. You will identify with the ups and downs of these ancient people of faith, learning to trust and believe in the One True God.
Blessings and love, Dianne
Note: The accompanying student study guide for the series may be downloaded to the right. The PowerPoint, Audio, and WordDocs may be downloaded on each page.
/assets/worddocs/patriarchs_study.zip
Genesis
Introduction to the Patriarchs
How was your summer? Was it restful? Did you relax? You say you’ve got to be kidding, my busiest time of year at work, kids at home, company, hot Ok, but did you get your summer projects done? I hear a groan. I almost did. My goal was closets. June I did my clothes closet, skipped July, 3 weeks ago my husband and I, this was really scary, tackled my study closet and the game room. My study took all day, the game room took all weekend. We took everything out, he made shelves and we went to Container store 3 times. By the end everything had a “place”. Need to admit not everything is really organized yet, it just has a place. My photos are in that closet= all are there, but they exist in 3 huge plastic boxes, not organized, but in one place. Next summer= organize them or maybe the Lord will return first? Truthfully, I did get a little “sidetracked” because I started looking at them, reminiscing, remembering special times, people, places. These photos, family albums, are so much more than just pieces of paper, part of my life, witnesses to who I am, where I have come from, that part of the narrative, the story of my life: parents, grandparents, great grandparents, hospital where I was born, siblings, second grade class, college sorority, husband, my children, my grandchildren, my life.
I thought of how the Bible is the photo album of mankind, snapshots of people and events throughout history, epic narrative of us all. From that perspective, I started to get more excited about our study this fall. We are opening up photos from one family, the family of Abraham. If you weren’t part of our study this spring on the Life of Abraham, that is not going to matter, because this is a continuing story that you can jump in at any point, and we’ll do a little review along the way as we look at photos of the Patriarchs and their families.
The burning question we have to ask and answer is “Do these photos that we’re going to look at together, do these life stories, can they say anything really relevant to us today? If they can relate to our lives, if God wants to speak to us thru them, question becomes what will be our response? As we study, will we ask individually the question God what do you have for me, for my life, for right now. You are not the same person you were a year ago, even months ago. The situations of your life are not exactly the same as they were a year ago, and we know they will change tomorrow, life is like that. Today, God what do you have for me today through the study of your Word, promise you if you ask that He will speak to you. Let’s take an overview of what’s ahead for us.
Outline:
I. Family Tree (people) (slide)
II. Family Life (themes)
III. Family Legacy (faith)
I. Family Tree (people) (family tree slide)
Numerous family members over period of approx 260 years from the birth of Isaac to the death of Joseph. These are the sons of Abraham who was called from Ur in Chaldees (MAP) to move to Canaan, Promised Land. God made a covenant with him (slide) promised basically 3 things: Genesis 12:1-3 Land, Nation, Blessing. Genesis 15:6 Abraham was declared righteous because he believed God. Good news, gospel of the OT/same in NT= our righteousness comes through believing God, what He says. (Hebrews 1:2) in these last days he (God) has spoken to us by His Son. Belief in Jesus, trusting Him that is how we are right with God, not because of any good works, deeds that we’ve done, but “by grace through faith that we are saved, gift to us” (Ephesians 2:8,9).
When Abraham was 100 Isaac, the son of the promise, was born.
1.Our study will start in Genesis 25 when Isaac at 60 years old becomes a father, after dealing with infertility for 20 years, many prayers, God gives him twin sons, Esau and Jacob. Even before they were born they were fighting in the womb, pushing and shoving to the point Rebekah, original very pregnant desperate housewife, prays and asks God “what is going on? did I really ask for this?” God tells her, these boys are never get along, live separate lives and by the way the younger is going to be the boss, he’s younger but he’s the chosen one to inherit the covenant, his older brother will serve him. Prophecy comes true. The way is becomes true is through manipulation, taking advantage, favoritism and deception…sounds like a tv show. Jacob acquires both the birthright of the older son and the blessing of the covenant. Esau is left with very little regarding the inheritance but he is left with a great deal of anger, frustration and bitterness to the point of planning his brother’s murder. That probably would have happened if Rebekah had not stepped in and arranged for Jacob to leave home, go back to her family with the pretext of finding a godly wife. Jacob and Esau at this point are about 75 yrs old. Step back just a few years, when Esau, the older, was 40 he married 2 pagan wives, he married outside the faith, these wives “source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah,” NET= “they caused Isaac, Rebekah great anxiety” Esau will just slowly move off the radar of our main story as we follow Jacob to Paddam Aram, Rebekah’s family, to 20 years of joy and misery with his uncle Laban. (Map)
2. Jacob will travel a couple hundred miles to Paddam Arram, one night along the way, he encounters God through a dream, sees a ladder reaching to heaven, angels. God, Himself made the same covenantal promises to him that He had made to Abraham and Isaac, Jacob believes, God becomes real and personal to him. God has no grandchildren, you can’t inherit your faith from your parents, grandparents. You personally yourself have to encounter and embrace God as your God, to inherit, Jacob had to do this too. It is our Parental responsibility is to live their faith authentically in word and deed before our children, teach them God’s truth, God’s ways, words, that’s how we strive to pass on our faith. But ultimately each child, each person must make their own way with God, receive, trust, believe the gospel themselves. Probably at Bethel that Jacob confirmed his trust and faith in Almighty God.
3. He reaches uncle Laban’s house and immediately falls in love with Rachel, the younger daughter and is more than willing to work 7 years in order to marry her. But he had no idea how painfully he would learn “what goes around, comes around.” Uncle Laban pulls a fast one and substitutes the older daughter, Leah, that wedding night for Rachel (never quite figured that one out). Wakes up angry, makes new deal works another 7 years for Rachel and finally wants to go home. Not quite so fast, uncle Laban offers him another deal, stay with me, you can build your own business, right here among the family. Amazing in the next 6 years God so blessed Jacob that his portfolio went sky high, business boomed to the point his brothers in laws got really jealous, started false rumors about him. Tense. During the 14 years of his marriages he also has 11 sons and one daughter. He has himself a big family, lots of flocks and God comes again and says, time to go home, time to leave and return to Canaan. While Laban is out of town, in the middle of the night, pack up and everybody leaves and sneaks out of town. Seem to get away with the escape, but Laban catches up and family confrontation, thanks to a God intervention, they part somewhat friendly. That’s just the first family confrontation, Jacob now begins to fear meeting his brother Esau, because even after 20 years he still may be mad enough to kill. Again, right when he needs God’s presence, his assurance, again, in the middle of the night, God comes, this time, Jacob wrestles and clings and receives a significant name change= he is no longer Jacob, he is Israel, God’s man.
4. As Israel he re-enters the promised land, he meets his brother, peacefully. Sets up an altar, this man needs a vacation, buys some land, from Hamor, the father of Shechem settles down for a while. Whether Jacob was too permissive with his children or just wasn’t watching, daughter Dinah visits the city, alone without her brothers or mother or father. She is raped by Shechem, son of Hamor, pretty prominent family. Shechem wants to marry her asks his father to get permission from Jacob. When her brothers found out, enraged, ready to avenge, their plan involved, (surprise), deception and manipulation. Raid the city, kill all the men, they plundered the city taking the women and children as slaves and confiscating all the wealth for themselves. When we read this and we say with Jacob “What have you done, ruined our reputation, this will make all the others around want to attack us?” God again intervenes says “yes, get out of town” go south, back to Bethel, clean up your family, get rid of idols, take control” After leaving Bethel=south, Jacob suffers first great loss, first great broken heart= the love of his life Rachel dies giving birth to his 12th son, baby Benjamin. There are no words in the scripture here to describe his grief, days ahead would be very hard without her.
5. Our story now shifts to focus on Jacob’s son Joseph who everyone knew was his father’s favorite of all the children, he got special treatment, wore special clothes, clothes dad had made just for him. He was favored which had disastrous implications for the rest of the brothers. They hated him. That’s exactly what happens with favoritism; it breeds resentment, comparison, envy and unfair pressure to the one who is favored. It’s really a “no win” situation, provided the basis for great injustices done to Joseph.
Our story picks up when Joseph is 17 yrs old. Do you remember what that was like? Young, immature, full of life, know it all, world circles around you. At this age, Joseph has some dreams, dreams that would guide him and assure him of God’s purposes, God’s plan for his life, dreams that would encourage him in the darkness.
6. He’s sent to check on his brothers, finds them, they capture him, sell him as a slave, ends up in Egypt. Life for Joseph for the next 13, 14 years are a series of trials, start in Potiphar’s house, forgotten in the jail, all these life circumstances seemingly spiral downward, we wonder why? Why all this suffering for this good man? It is amazing, that through it all, Joseph never became bitter, he never became hard, instead his character and his faith grew stronger as he clung to God and his trust that God was working all things out for good in and through his life both for himself and for others. He had rock solid faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
7. Finally God uses a famine to bring together one of history’s greatest family reunions. While he’s still in prison, God enabled Joseph to help the baker, the butler and eventually Pharaoh by interpreting their dreams. Seems that Pharaoh had a reoccurring dream that really haunted him, No one surrounding him could recount the dream or its meaning. He became so frustrated that he planned to kill everyone, including the butler who finally remembered Joseph back in prison, how Joseph had the ability to interpret dreams. Joseph is brought to Pharaoh, giving glory to God, he interpreted the dream, 7 years of plenty and 7 years of famine, at 30 yrs old was promoted to head the Department of Agriculture, to oversee the coming national disaster. Part of the perks of the job, was given a wife and they started their family, had 2 sons. Finally things are looking up for Joseph. Meanwhile, back at family ranch, Canaan, the famine spreads, people are starting to feel hungry, no food- but the rumor is that there is food in Egypt. So Jacob sends 10 of his sons to get food, but Benjamin, now favored son, stays home. Can’t you imagine the scene when they are brought before Joseph to ask for grain? Joseph devise a plan to discover what kind of men these brothers are now 20 years later, is his father still alive, what about his younger brother, how do they feel toward him? After two difficult trips to Egypt, Joseph reveals his identity to them, weeping, hugging, and kissing beginning with Benjamin, the brothers are reunited at last. Joseph had every reason to hate these men, to punish them but instead he showed grace and forgiveness. His personal relationship with God strengthened his courage/determination to love and show mercy instead of seeking revenge. Does that describe your life too? Does your faith and trust in God and his help point you in the direction Joseph took?
Turn with me to think about Jacob, back home with the women, waiting, hoping, praying for his sons to return. See him pacing outside when he sees the carts, camels, wagons loaded with food pull up and all the sons run up and start talking at once. Overcome with joy and hope, Jacob packs up everything, everyone, heads to Egypt. Can’t wait until we study that chapter, that reunion of Joseph and Jacob. God intended it all for good.
8. Good place to end, but this story is not over. In the last chapters, Jacob passes the blessing and the birthright on to... you have to come back to hear the rest of the story.
II. Family Life (themes)
If you study the Life of Abraham and then the rest of the Patriarchs, you see some familiar, repeated themes, but these themes are seen through new people, who lived totally unique, individual lives, rooted in time, they each have their own story, just like us. However the themes we’ll see are not so unique, in fact they are common to all of us, common to humanity. This “commonness” is part of what makes their lives applicable and relevant to us. We’ve already looked at a few themes: family conflict, favoritism, suffering, lying, deception, but also woven into this story are snapshots of: love: marital love, parental love, love for God. Along with love we’ll see great family loyalty- see how that develops over time. One of the most moving, beautiful monologues you will ever read is Judah’s plea to Joseph: to exchange his life for his brother because he loves his father, he has learned how important the family is to each other. Also going to see great character development as these men learn to trust God and let him shape them. Perhaps most important of all is the legacy of faith they guarded and have passed down to us. They are truly sons of Abraham. As we think of their family legacy of faith..
Family Legacy (faith)
We’ll see how their faith is in God Almighty, the one true God, maker of heaven and earth. Their legacy to us is based on believing and trusting in His Sovereignty and His faithfulness to keep His promises, His covenant, His prophecies, His true Word. Their lives testify to us that in the midst of living in a sinful, self-centered, morally corrupt, power-hungry world, you can believe God’s Words and you can give your life to following Him. You can be that Covenant Keeper and pass the faith to the next generation.
Ie. Dr Campbell. A couple weeks ago I stopped by Starbucks after second service. If you ever do that you will always see Dr Campbell and his wife drinking coffee and reading the Wall Street Journal because they go to first service, he teaches at second and then Starbucks. So I sat down with them for awhile and we caught up and what’s going on in our lives. He shared with me that he’s teaching Psalm 119, verse by verse, he always wanted to slowly go through it and savor all its richness. I asked him, what had God been teaching him as he studied to teach others. He said something like this “I was reminded again how the Word of God is the tool that the Holy Spirit uses to change me, to change my life”. The teacher of teachers is changed by the Word. That’s my challenge to you and to myself. This fall, will you commit to coming and studying with us, will you commit to let the Word change your life? Will you? Prayer
© The Biblical Studies Foundation ( www.bible.org ) Winter 2001
http://feeds.bible.org/dianne_miller/patriarchs/patriarchs_message_intro.mp3
Lesson 1: Genesis 25:19-26:33
Introduction
Can you imagine what it would be like to be a son/daughter of a very famous person? Grow up in their shadow? Whoever you were, whatever talents or gifts you had would always seem “less than” inferior, read you this quote:
For Peter Fonda, being a son of Hollywood royalty wasn't easy. For one thing, he couldn't escape the comparisons; every time Peter went on an audition, it seemed, they wondered why he didn't possess the same natural skill as his dad, the great Henry Fonda. Then there were the other actors and directors who resented him, assuming his surname had given Peter an unfair advantage. And his relationship with his dad was hardly picture-perfect.
“Famous Fathers, Celebrity Sons” by Steve Ryfle Netscape Celebrity
Isaac was like Peter Fonda. For him, his life was somewhat obscured by the more eventful lives of both his father Abraham and his son Jacob. There’s only one chapter that is solely devoted to his life, 26. He did have a miraculous birth, and it seems he willingly submitted to almost a sacrificial death on Mt Moriah and like a fairy tale, he loved the woman God had chosen for him; like his father he is believer in the Covenant. Also like his father he was forced to wait a very long time for his children to be born. Both he and his father became entangled with ruler Abimelech in Gerar and tried to convince others that his wife was his sister.
But Isaac was also very much unlike his father. He never traveled more than a few miles from his birthplace. He had only one wife, only 2 sons. He was never in a battle, his disposition seems to have been more of a follower than a leader. Yet, he is a Patriarch of Israel, Covenant Keeper.
Today we’re going to focus on Isaac.
Outline:
I. Isaac becomes a Father - Genesis 25:19-26
II. Isaac receives Command and Covenant - Genesis 26:1-6
III. Isaac repeats Father’s sin - Genesis 26:7-11
IV. Isaac reveals patience in conflict - Genesis 26:12-22
V. Isaac rewarded by God and Abimelech - Genesis 26:23-33
I. Isaac becomes a Father - Genesis 25:19-26
A. Read Genesis 25:19-21a. I imagine Abraham was a great source of comfort to his son during these 20 years of infertility. Abraham himself had waited 25 years for Isaac’s birth, God seems to have a purpose and a pattern in waiting for his promises, at times unknown to us. Finally Rebekah becomes pregnant, she should be the happiest woman on earth but not quite, in fact she’s miserable, “If it is going to be like this, I’m not so sure I want to be pregnant!”(NET) She asks God why is this happening to me? READ Genesis 25:23. I’m sure she was encouraged by this prophecy. When you’re pregnant all you can think about is giving birth to a healthy baby. Rebekah is told that and much more, she is going to give birth successfully to two boys that would survive, grow up and they too would have families and descendants. There’s a little cloud over this joy, the prophecy says these boys would be separated, older would serve the younger. These boys are to be “two peoples, going their own ways from birth” NEB. I think it’s every parent’s desire that your children love each other, get along, some even hope they’ll be best friends. But that’s not always what happens. Right here, God says before they were born “they’re not going to get along, they won’t live near each other, power play in their relationship, younger is going to dominate”. READ Genesis 25:24-26. Esau’s name means “hairy one” =hairiness in the ancient world indicated an animal-like nature. Jacob’s name means “El will protect” but the Hebrew spelling of Jacob (ya’aaob) is similar to the word “heel” when Jacob grasped Esau’s heel during the birth he got the nickname “heel-holder” sometimes called “deceiver, trickster”. With their births Isaac becomes a father and the Covenant has a new heir, God has kept His promise.
We’re going to skip over the story of the birthright and pick that up next week, stay focused on Isaac. In chapter 26 we’re going to see a series of circumstances which are amazingly similar to what his father Abraham experienced.
II. Isaac receives Command and Covenant - Genesis 26:1-6
A. READ Genesis 26:1. Separate event, nearly 100 yrs later from Abraham’s encounter with Abimelech in chapter 20. There is a famine in the land, Isaac is tested. Every event in our lives also has the potential to be a test for us. Whether it’s feast or famine, life or death, seems good or bad, everything we do/decisions we make, they have the potential for spiritual growth or slipping backwards. God allowed this famine to come at this time to encourage Isaac to trust Him in all things. MAP.
He went to Gerar. He had been living in Beer-lahai-roi (SW of Beersheba, area of Kadesh- Barnea) Semi-arid region. Perhaps Isaac thought he might do better where there was more rainfall, traveled about 50 miles NE to Gerar, closer to the coast. There another Abimelech was ruling, son or grandson of chapter 20. “Abimelech” seems to have been a title like Ceasar or Pharaoh or King. No mention of praying for guidance, seems that Isaac may have temporarily forgotten about relying on God’s direction, or dependent faith in God to provide, protect, instead he decided to act on his own, figure out how to feed his family himself, take control of his own life. He must have been making plans to go to Egypt when God intervenes.
B. READ Genesis 26:2-5 Lord appeared. This is the first time we see the Lord appearing to Isaac alone. God’s command “don’t go to Egypt” is followed by His promise of the Abrahamic Covenant, it now belongs Isaac. It includes the land, to become a great nation, to have and to bring blessings to all the world, this is promised to Isaac. God says “I will be with you and bless you” (Genesis 26:3).Why? Was it some good deed that Isaac had done? No, he was chosen the same way his father was chosen, by the Sovereignty of God. Out of all the people in the world, God chose Abraham- made promises to him and to his descendants – and Isaac was heir to the promises. God chose
C. READ Genesis 26:6 Isaac stayed in Gerar. Isaac obeyed God, stayed in the Promised Land, did not go down to Egypt. This section gives us a glimpse of possibly when the God of Abraham truly became the God of Isaac. Up until now, Isaac had lived in the shadow of his father. Back in chapter 22 on Mt Moriah Isaac had a willing faith and trust, in chapter 24, 25 we see he is a man of prayer. Now we see Isaac relating to God in a personal, one-on-one way. As we said last week, this personal faith, personal encounter with God is the way we all must come to have a saving relationship with God. It wasn’t enough that his father, his mother were believers, wasn’t enough that he was brought up in a godly home, wasn’t enough that he was the son of the promise, Isaac himself had to embrace the faith, he had to put his trust in the Living God, obey him. He did.
Application: What about you? I know some of you have been brought up like Isaac. You mother and father have been strong Christians all your life. You’ve always gone to church, always known of Jesus, He has always been part of your life. If I were to ask you “when did you become a believer?” you might answer “I’ve always gone to church, I grew up in the church.” If you answered that way I’d have to ask you respectfully, No the question is “When did you personally become a believer” You might answer my whole family is Christian. But, when did you decide their faith was your faith? Bible makes it clear, we individually must choose to when we hear the gospel, good news, we must either accept Christ as our Lord/Savior or we reject Him by default. Do you have a personal faith or is it second-hand? Is it your faith or is it the faith of your parents/grandparents that you’re relying on. Is it Your faith or the faith of your spouse, sibling or a close friend?
John 1:12 But to all who have received him - those who believe in his name- he has given the right to become God's children
God of Abraham became the God of Isaac, later we’ll see Jacob too must have a personal encounter with the Living God to become a Covenant Keeper.
Now Isaac has his father’s faith but he also has something else from his father.
III. Isaac repeats Father’s sin - Genesis 26:7-11
A. READ Genesis 26:7. Poor Isaac, like his father, is burdened with a beautiful wife. It seems the men in the city were interested in her, maybe they even came up to Isaac and said “she’s gorgeous, I’d love to date her, who is she, is she related to you?” Isaac, like his father, became fearful for his life. Isaac, like his father, was worried that they might kill him to get Rebekah. And Isaac, like his father, knew lying wasn’t right but Isaac, like his father, thought perhaps in this circumstance it was necessary to save his life. Maybe Isaac was remembering how Dad lied, he got away with it and they didn’t kill him. We’re so disappointed when we read that he just like his father Abraham, too lied about his wife, but I wonder how many of us have restored to lying to get ourselves out of a jam, how many of us have lied to cover-up a mistake, to avoid something unpleasant? STORY. Lying is a sin, it can never truly help us, we can never expect God to bless the circumstance if we’re deceitful. God is gracious, slow to anger, but He doesn’t overlook sin, there will be consequences. What makes this particularly tragic is it is the same lie his father had used. His sin was just a repetition of his father’s sin. The easy way that Isaac repeated Abraham’s sin shows us it is much easier to imitate the weaknesses of our parents than to emulate their virtues. There’s great contrast between the personalities of Abraham and Isaac but they commit the same sin.
B. Back to the story. READ Genesis 26:8 This lie had gone on a long time but Isaac got careless, he was caught. Nothing harder than to live a lie over a lengthy period of time, it affects your whole life. Numbers 32:23 And know that your sin will find you out Why?
Hebrews 4:13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. God said enough lying, no more. How disappointed Abimelech was READ Genesis 26:9,10. Abimelech saw and rightly confronted Isaac, Isaac had to admit what he’s done wrong. OUR SIN AFFECTS OTHERS, but sometimes its consequences are not apparent, at first, and we think we’ve gotten away with it. Isaac didn’t mean to hurt anyone, certainly not the King, but he did. Abimelech basically said, “you didn’t have to lie, you were being unfair to us, you could have hurt us by allowing someone to commit adultery and people are mad at you, you messed up. Instead of retaliating, I’m going to back off and sign a restraining order for your protection (Genesis 26:11) Imagine the humiliation.
TRUTH: Don’t lie, and don’t miss an opportunity to teach your children, grandchildren the personal consequences of sin, starting with your own sin.
Application. Why is that so difficult for us? Why do we have to learn how to be transparent, vulnerable and honest with others? Perhaps it’s because most of us are so concerned about other’s think of us we can’t risk being see as “less than perfect, or good, or righteous.” I wonder if Abraham ever said “Son, I had to learn a hard lesson about lying when I was afraid, I made a terrible mistake, I put your mother in great danger, and when the lie was exposed I felt awful, God forgave me, but I was so embarrassed that I let God down, I embarrassed the family, I pray you never have to go through that, it’s was too painful, learn from my mistake.”
Have you ever had a conversation with your children like that? With a loved one? We are not perfect, we do sin, and we need confession and forgiveness and we need to help others avoid repeating our sins.
Has this story spoken to you? Is there a habit, behavior, some language you see in your children that makes you cringe because it a mirror, you see yourself in them. How are you handling it?
IV. Isaac reveals patience in conflict - Genesis 26:12-22
A. Isaac stays in the area, must have acquired some land because the text says he planted crops and within one year they multiplied 100x because the Lord blessed him, rich, wealthy. Wait a minute, didn’t we just read he lied and now God is blessing him? Why? Glimpse of the mercy, grace, forgiveness, faithfulness of God Psalms 130:1-5 (LB) O Lord, from the depths of despair I cry for your help: “Hear me! Answer! Help me!” Lord, if you keep in mind our sins then who can ever get an answer to his prayers? But you forgive! What an awesome thing this is! That is why I wait expectantly, trusting God to help, for he has promised. What did God promise Isaac READ Psalm 130:3 (to bless him). God is faithful, God keeps His promises, even when we do not. Isaac was blessed because God said He was going to bless him.
B. With this blessing comes conflict READ Genesis 26:13,14 As long as mankind is human the prosperity of one will be the envy of another. Envy= displeasure with God and His way of dividing up His resources. Do you ever struggle with envy? I do, I love nice things, nice houses, cars, trips. My great grandmother used to say “there’s nothing shameful in being poor, it’s just terribly inconvenient” We all would rather be rich and not be inconvenienced! This is convicting, the opposite of envy is contentment! But Isaac’s neighbors are envious, it may have seemed a surprise to Isaac but they are determined to ruin his life. They start by stopping up an old well (Genesis 26:15) Adequate water was necessary to live- needed it for his herds, crops and his family. Complaints must have reached the court, Abimelech gets involved and says “Go away, too powerful”. Moves away but not far enough. Begins again, he re-digs old wells his father had dug, finds fresh water, as soon as the well was discovered the Philistines claimed territorial rights. This happened several times (Genesis 26:17-22). Isaac had to come to grips with how to handle this conflict. Bible says rather than argue, fight over the disputed rights, he decided to move on. Decided he wouldn’t “power up” and fight. Don’t misunderstand, Isaac is not sweeping these problems under the rug- the names he gives the wells (Genesis 26:20,21) prove he is fully aware of the problem, his choices (Esek=dispute; Sitnah=opposition) Isaac is choosing, as Abraham did with Lot, to give up his own rights for the sake of peaceful relations. He is going to trust God’s care and promise to protect, bless and give him the land in His way, His timing.
We have conflicts in our lives too. There are times when we must confront wrongs, when we can’t overlook. Share some questions we can ask, making the decision to overlook or confront:
When and How should you go and confront someone? (Peacemakers Ministry)
When someone has something against you (Matthew 5:21-24)
When someone’s sins are too serious to overlook (Matthew 18:15)
Questions to ask yourself=
Is it dishonoring God? (Romans 2:21-24)
Is it damaging your relationship?
Is it hurting others? (Luke 17:2-3)
Is it hurting the offender? (James 5:19-20)
Isaac is a man in search of peace, decision to move on. These are wells, why go to war over a well when we can move a mile or two and dig another. It’s not worth it. There are always 2 ways to handle conflict: God’s Way and your way. God’s way may mean getting godly advice, it may take longer and it be harder but God will lead and guide and help.
Application: Is there a conflict over “rights” in your home that you’re struggling with? Would gentleness describe the way you’re reacting? Listening to radio, “strange lack of civility” today, convicted me along with this lesson, trait of Isaac I want to develop is manifesting peace, actions, language, opinions. Are you living in peace? In your family? With your neighbors, even at personal sacrifice? Ours is a “don’t get mad, get even” world= but is your life different? Or are you right now jeopardizing your testimony over some personal right or thing? Isaac was a peacemaker who was rewarded by God and surprisingly also by Abimelech.
V. Isaac rewarded by God and Abimelech - Genesis 26:23-33
A. Isaac moves on to Beersheba, very same night after he puts up the tents, unpacking boxes, God comes to him. This is the second and last recorded time that God appears to personally to Isaac. READ Genesis 26:23 Don’t be afraid I am with you. Wonder what Isaac had been fearing? Was it that there would be enough water in Beersheba? Crops and herds continue to produce enough food? Would they be in personal danger there? God comes and says “don’t be afraid, you are my chosen one, you are the heir of my promises” Just like his father Isaac responded by building an altar and worshipping God revealing he is a Covenant keeper to a watching world, not long after
B. Abimelech and 2 leading men in his court visit Isaac to make a treaty with him. Isaac asks a great question “why after you kicked me out have you come to see me”? READ Genesis 26:28 God is with you, you are a man of faith, you can be trusted, we want to be at peace with you. They saw his prosperity and rightly attributed to God’s blessing and they were impressed with the way he handled conflict
TRUTH: When we go through difficult times, there will always be people watching us. We will make an impression, whether good or bad. We will have a witness, either of faith or unbelief.
Isaac was not his father, he was his own unique person, entrusted with the responsibility as heir of the Promises of God, entrusted to live his faith before a watching world, set apart to trust God’s provisions and to worship Him openly, he was challenged to resolve conflict as a godly peacemaker. Though he was not perfect, Isaac was called to be a Covenant Keeper. May God grant us the grace and strength to also be God’s covenant keepers.
© The Biblical Studies Foundation ( www.bible.org ) Winter 2001
http://feeds.bible.org/dianne_miller/patriarchs/patriarchs_message1.mp3
Lesson 2: Genesis 25:27-34; 27:1-28:22
Introduction= video clip: Favoritism
Do you have a favorite in the family? Favorite child, grandchild, sister, nephew?
Play video. Isaac’s family had favorites and we’ll see how that played out in their story.
Outline:
I. Birthright sold to Jacob - Genesis 25:27-34
II. Blessing stolen by Jacob - Genesis 27:1-46
III. Blessing is given by Isaac - Genesis 28:1-9
IV. Blessing is confirmed by God - Genesis 28:10-22
I. Birthright sold
A. Favorites READ Genesis 25:27-28. Last week we looked at their birth, scripture seems to skip over their childhood, pick up the story when they are young men. By this time, Esau is an outdoorsman, loves to fish, hunt, shops at Bass Pro and REI while Jacob is a homebody, like to cook and read books, orders on line from Williams Sonoma and Amazon. These men are vastly different, and isn’t that way with your children, nieces, nephews, so different. That’s the uniqueness of each of us but tragic problems in this family stem from the fact that Isaac and Rebekah each favored one child over another.
The parents fail to provide the background of justice on which all true community and family life must be founded. They each champion a favourite; they allow the boys to divide them. As a result they further divide the boys and break apart what they are meant to unite.
Ronald S. Wallace 1
This favoritism will result in marital discord, sibling rivalry, hatred, distrust. Sadly this learned trait will be passed on to the next generation.
If you have ever taken favoritism lightly, laughed at it in your family, I encourage you to re-examine the potentially disastrous consequences on everyone. If you have been the favored or the non-favored in a family, I want to remind you that God loves us all equally, that is so comforting.
Act 10:34 Then Peter started speaking: “I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism in dealing with people,
Romans 2:11 For God does not show favoritism
God chooses people for certain callings, he places us in different families for His purposes, but He loves all His creation, sent his Son for all to be saved.
I Timothy 2:5,6 There is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men…
Knowing that family tension between the two sons, let’s look at the story of the birthright. Picture the scene: Imagine Jacob in the kitchen, smell the bacon and onions cooking, lentil stew is simmering, corn bread and butter. In walks Esau who hasn’t eaten anything all day. READ Genesis 25:30-34. You read in your lesson the significance of the birthright. It was basically the inheritance rights of the eldest son: headship of the family, major share of the family’s property, and the right to the parental blessing. But Esau was hungry! Starving! Also very foolish. This casual attitude and lack of respect for the birthright shows how little Esau valued the Covenant. They had grown up knowing about the blessing, twins were 15 years old when Abraham died, so there were probably many years of grandparenting/parenting, of investing in these boys, of telling them about the Promises of God, sharing his experiences with God. It would seem that Jacob somewhat understood the value of this Covenant but Esau did not. Esau later regretted his decision, he even tries to put all the blame on Jacob but in fact he had a choice, he chose instant gratification over spiritual blessings.
Truth: Our choices reveal what our hearts treasure.
Application: We have a birthright too if we have trusted Christ as our Lord and Savior. We have been promised eternal security that begins now and is forever. We also have the reality of our inheritance right now through the person of the indwelling Holy Spirit. New Covenant is written on our hearts. Are you making any “Esau choices” right now? How did you answer that question? Is there an area of your spiritual inheritance that you’re neglecting or ignoring? Are you making wise decisions regarding your spiritual health? How awake is your soul? In this story we are warned: watch out what choices you’re making, they reveal your heart’s treasure.
The Birthright is sold to Jacob and sometime later The Blessing is stolen by Jacob
II. Blessing stolen by Jacob - Genesis 27:1-46
A. Isaac’s decision. READ Genesis 27:1-4. Isaac is approx 137 yrs, boys are 77. Perhaps Isaac is thinking of his older half brother Ishmael who had died at 137. Seems his thoughts were full of his own death, decided to take care of his will=for him was the Patriarchal blessing. It was customary for his time/place, in basically an nonliterate world, to give this orally, an oral blessing, legally binding. Isaac is ready but he has a problem. He wanted to give the blessing to Esau, his favorite son, but he knew God’s will was to have Jacob the heir through the prophecy given to Rachel. Maybe he didn’t know that Esau had sold the birthright, he did know about the pagan wives Esau had foolishly chosen. How could this blessing be passed on to Esau? Only one way, secretly. It was also customary to gather all the family together for the blessing to be transferred (Genesis 49). Isaac knew that if he told the household of his intention of blessing Esau there would be a great uproar. Rebekah would loudly protest, nag him about the prophecy, probably make him feel guilty and miserable- only way to avoid that would be to secretly, hurriedly arrange the blessing just between Esau and himself. Isaac determines to give the blessing to the wrong son.
Truth: Self-will, doing things our way for what we want, can cause you to circumvent God’s will.
Application: Do you ever see yourself doing that? I remember a time in my life where I said to myself “I want this so bad, it’s a good thing, I’m sure God would want it for me too” and I can’t truly say I ever asked “God is this what You want for me?” Consequences of that are sometimes God will give you what you want, and it’s not at all good, not really want you wanted. Psalm 106:15 Israelites in the wilderness craved food, grumbling, I want what I want, God gave them “overgave” them, caused “leanness of their soul” “wasting disease”
B. Rebekah’s been listening READ Genesis 27:5-10. She devises a daring plan instructing Jacob to impersonate Esau to get the blessing. Rebekah is the instigator, Jacob is the accomplice.
He’s not thrilled about the plan, objects READ Genesis 27:11-13. So Jacob leaves and gets the meat and Rebekah makes stew, while it’s cooking she goes in Esau’s closet, gets his best clothes, still smell like outdoors, dresses Jacob in them, disguises him, gets the tray ready and sends him in to Isaac, who by now probably has cataracts so bad he can hardly see anything, certainly nothing clearly.
C. READ Genesis 27:18 Jacob tells one lie after another, last is the worst. READ v19-20 I succeeded because God helped me. Wonder if he didn’t worry that thunder and lightning might strike him. Tension builds, Isaac still has some doubts and wants to examine him, come over and let me touch you. “At this point” says Martin Luther, (if I were Jacob) I would have let the dish fall and would have run” but Bishop Hall responds and says no doubt Rebekah was standing at the door, and wouldn’t have wanted to run into her, stays let’s dad touch him, voice almost gives him away. He has one last opportunity to make things right READ Genesis 27:24. Lies again. Isaac eats and gives the
D. Blessing Genesis 27:27-29 to Jacob. a. Material Genesis 27:28 dew, grain, wine. b. Spiritual Genesis 27:29 Jacob will be lord over his brethren and the nations, God’s blessings are upon him. God’s choice is blessed but the consequences of this deception are tragic.
Truth: Don’t scheme to get God’s will because “the fruit of deception always turns bitter in the mouth” 2 points about scheming:
1. The motivation for scheming was unbelief. Rebekah panicked when she heard about Isaac’s plans. She believed the promise but she didn’t believe that God could accomplish it without her help. Impatient, didn’t pray, took matters into her own hands.
2. The ends never justify the means. God will not bless you for doing wrong to achieve good. God’s covenantal blessing of Jacob was because He sovereignly chose him to inherit the promises but there were great severe tragic consequences from this deception.
Proverbs 19:5 A false witness will not go unpunished, and the one who spouts out lies will not escape punishment.
The whole family suffered in the strife it brought the household, Rebekah suffered-as far as we know she never saw her son again, she was burdened with daughter-in-laws who gave her great grief. Jacob had to leave home, deal for 20 years with Laban who abused and cheated him, Jacob ultimately was deceived by his own sons, all the consequences of not trusting God to work out His promises His way
Application: Deception is one of the repeated generational sins in this family. Is it in yours? Can you see where it shows up? Is unbelief in God’s promise to take care of you, meet your needs, provide for you, is that causing you to run ahead of Him? Have you ever panicked like Rebekah thinking God is not coming through for me, I need to do something!
Jacob leaves, Esau enters. Hey dad, sit up, just got home from hunting, made your favorite stew, let’s eat and you can bless me. ”Who are you” What do you mean, I’m Esau.
E. Isaac’s discovery READ Genesis 27:33. Isaac trembled violently, shook all over, Turning point in the story, in the life of Isaac. Isaac realizes he’s been up against the will of God, he can’t revoke Jacob’s blessing, not culturally allowed. Esau is crushed and begs his father for some kind of blessing.
F. Esau’s determination is a warning to us.
a. READ Genesis 27:34 bitter cry= angry and mad b. blames others Genesis 27:36 doesn’t see his own part, own wrong choices c. demanding, badgers dad “do something for me too” Genesis 27:38 bless me too..weeps. We might feel some sympathy for him but his tears were simply frustrated selfishness. READ Hebrews Genesis 27:39-40.
Esau and his descendants would live in the mountains of Edom, some of the most desolate and barren places on earth, southeast of the Dead Sea. MAP and picture of area.
Esau held a grudge that turned into a murder plot.
G. Rebekah heard about it, determined to protect Jacob at all costs, calls for him. Jacob, dear, your brother’s angry, in fact I’ve heard he wants to kill you, so go away for a few days until he gets over it. In that culture, she didn’t have the authority to send him away, the head of the household would have to make that decision, there would be a formal send-off, so she needed a reason. Again, she uses deception and goes to Isaac says “now look, Jacob’s not getting any younger, needs a wife, we don’t want any more Canaanite girls, godly wife, send Jacob back to my relatives for a god-fearing girl. Why? Commentators: 1. foreshadowing of OT LAW Exodus 34:16; Deuteronomy 7:3. 2. marriage w/in a clan was culturally favored custom of the time. 3. stay within own ethnic group. She discreetly doesn’t say anything about the death threats on Jacob’s life. I wonder how much Isaac really knew of Rebekah’s part in the deception, he doesn’t seem to get angry with her, agrees with her suggestion about seeking a godly wife. Although he may have been mad at Jacob, he recognizes and affirms God’s preference for him as heir of the Covenant. Family gathers together, Jacob’s bags are packed, ready to go.
III. Blessing is given by Isaac - Genesis 28:1-9
READ Genesis 28:1-5 Isaac confirms the Covenantal Promises given to Abraham, blessings, great nation, land, these promises are for Jacob. What Isaac wanted for his child is what all believers want for theirs: he wanted Jacob married to a fellow believer who walks with God and values spiritual truths. Isn’t that what you want for your loved ones? Whether or not they have a lot of money, a great education, social standing, it all pales in comparison to their spiritual walk with God, doesn’t it? Question becomes: If that’s what we want, is that the message we are sending out to our family? Is that the way we live our lives? Does our spiritual life, our walk with God, is it real? Is that what we are known to value most of all? Ie story: lunch “does anyone want to talk about what God is doing in their lives?”
IV. Blessing is confirmed by God (through a dream) Genesis 28:10-22
A. Jacob leaves, gone about 45 miles north of Beersheba, 45 miles from home, night, alone, homesick, fearful (what would keep Esau from following him) robbers, wild animals, perhaps he was thinking of his past: what a mess, feel like a failure, hate what I did. Perhaps thinking of his present: what am I doing here? basically running away from home when I’m supposed to be the heir, what if dad dies while I’m gone? Maybe thinking of his future: long journey ahead, could be hazardous, how am I going to find a wife, what if I don’t like her? How long am I going to be away from home? Whatever his thoughts were as he went to sleep, God knew his needs, he needed a word from God.
God does that for us too, when we’re at the end of ourselves, when we’re facing something new, when we have no strength left, God comes.
B. Dream Genesis 28:12-15 READ
Well-known story. Ladder,stairway=“sullam” Hebrew only occurs here, unique appearing of God, first of 7 times recorded God appears to Jacob (Genesis 31:3; Genesis 32:1,2,24-30;Genesis 35:1,9-13;Genesis 46:1-4). God reaffirms the Covenant, we wonder what does this unique ladder, stairway with angels going up/down mean? Clue=v15 God says “I am with you” “I’m here in everything that happens to you, with you” No matter what mess you’ve gotten yourself in, no matter what consequences you’re living with because of your own choices, no matter how fearful you might be, no matter what, I am with you, going to take care of you and accomplish My purposes for your life.
Truth: Regardless of your present life’s circumstances, it’s possible to experience the presence of the living God.
Hebrews 13:5; Matthew 28:20 I am with you always
Application: There may be times that God seems to be far off; those are the times we walk by faith and not by sight, but if we are determined to trust, follow even in the darkness- one day you, like Jacob, you’ll probably wake up, look back and say “surely the Lord is in this place” Genesis 28:16. I know God is with me, God has been here even when I didn’t see Him. Jacob’s response is worship and a vow, commentators differ interpreting these verses, I personally don’t think Jacob is bargaining here, I think he’s taking his first steps with God, testing out if this faith thing is really real. Ie My conversion story. Here the God of Abraham and Isaac becomes the God of Jacob.
Application: In our story, who do you identify with?
If I were honest= Esau, really want what I want when I want it, don’t like to wait.
Isaac= I want what I want too, I want my favorite things, favorite people, my way, ok it may mean I have to be a little secretive but who’s going to know?
Rebekah= I too want what you want, my favorites too and by the way I know what is best, I know how to get it even if I have to tell a little white lie, re-arrange circumstances, I don’t want anyone to be hurt, but really, haven’t you read the statistics: nobody tells the truth all the time.
Jacob= times I just go along to get what I want: lie, deception, I don’t want to get in trouble but I do want what I want
Truth: God’s will, not ours, will ultimately prevail. God rules and overrules.
Our struggle is not so much discovering the will of God but in doing it. It is NOT God’s Will that we have favoritism, deception, manipulation, hatred, lying in our lives, they come with unavoidable consequences. It IS His Will that we listen, obey and follow His leading, His Words. Learn these lessons, choose to be a Covenant Keeper.
© The Biblical Studies Foundation ( www.bible.org ) Winter 2001
1 Ronald S. Wallace, Isaac and Jacob (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982) 30.
http://feeds.bible.org/dianne_miller/patriarchs/patriarchs_message2.mp3
Lesson 3: Genesis 29, 30, 31
Introduction
I love Broadway musicals don’t you? One of my all-time favorites is Annie, life of little orphan Annie, one of my favorite songs is it’s a “Hard Knock Life” describing the misery of growing up in an orphanage. WATCH VIDEO Without the song and dance, if we were going to describe this period in the life of Jacob, it would be his “hard knocks”
Scriptures tell us Jeremiah 18/Romans 9 that we are like clay in God the potter’s hands. He can mold us, make us, refine us as He chooses, “shaping as seemed best to him”
Last week we saw Jacob’s deception, his scheming, his manipulating to get the Blessing but even in those wrong methods God saw the potential in Jacob that never seemed to be in Esau, the potential to value the spiritual and yet God also saw in Jacob the strong will that was bent on doing things his way. It was that strong will that God took and put back on the potter’s wheel and through a series of hard knock life lessons, difficult circumstances, God is refining Jacob, God is using the 20 years of hard knocks in Laban’s household to prepare him to return home, to fulfill His purposes for this man.
Outline:
I. Jacob deceived has double wedding - Genesis 29:1-30
II. Jacob divided has children - Genesis 29:31 -30:24
III. Jacob dealing bargains for wages - Genesis 30:25-43
IV. Jacob determined flees from Laban - Genesis 31:1-55
I. Wedding - Genesis 29:1-30
A. Meeting family Genesis 29:1-14
Jacob finally reaches Paddam Aram (MAP) sees a well, sheep, shepherds waiting around to water the animals. To him this is unusual, thirsty animals and a covered up well, so he starts a conversation, where you from= Haran. do you know my relatives= yes, here comes his daughter Rachel. why aren’t you watering the animals= we can’t yet, whether the well belonged to Laban or it was the custom to wait until all the herds were there we don’t know but Rachel finally gets to the well, the first thing Jacob does is roll the top off the well and water her flocks and then READ Genesis 29:11 insight into Jacob’s character, tender and affectionate man, looking at Rachel perhaps thinking this is my mother’s family, this is my cousin, here is my uncle Laban, hugs, kisses but in about a month the party over.
B. Matchmaking READ Genesis 29:15
Sounds generous of Laban but actually saying “if you’re going to stay here, you’re going to need to work” Jacob was used to hard work but it was in the position of being the wealthy son of Isaac, now he would be the servant of Laban, his hard knock life begins.
Jacob came w/nothing, says he’ll work 7 yrs for Rachel. Laban has 2 daughters Genesis 29:16,17. Oldest Leah, weak eyes=poor vision(nearsighted), pale eyes, light colored= in a culture that valued dark, fiery oriental eyes, eyes were best feature compared to her beautiful sister, Rachel had a great figure( how could you tell under all those clothes?) Willing to work 7 yrs= seems incredible in our instant gratification culture to wait, for anything that long, but he does because READ Genesis 29:18-20 this should be a foreshadowing, he has to remind Laban, time’s up, I want to get married.
C. Wedding night Jacob is going to learn a lesson in the school of hard knocks. “Reap what you sow” READ Genesis 29:22-25. Poor Jacob has the wrong wife and we’re still wondering why he didn’t figure this out until morning, maybe she was about the same size, dressed in some of Rachel’s clothes, a lot of perfume, veils, still don’t get it…my only conclusion is “we know how observant men are” ie cartilage earring. Why did you deceive me? Genesis 29:25 it’s our custom, older daughter marries first, Jacob is trapped, Laban’s new deal: wait a week marry Rachel, work another 7yrs for her.
Truth: You reap what you sow Galatians 6:7-10
Deceiver Jacob was deceived. Tragic that this repeated family sin hangs on with different family members. Biblical truth shows up in so many stories: Pharaoh (Exodus 1:22) has every Hebrew male child drowned, in the end his men were drowned in the Red Sea. Evil King Ahab caused innocent Naboth’s death and “dogs licked up his blood” (I Kings 21:19) when Ahab died in battle, his chariot was brought back to Samaria, when they washed it in the pool “the dogs licked his blood” (I Kings 22:38) Haman prepared gallows for Mordecai was hanged upon them himself (Esther 7:10). Not always do we see the close connection between doing something wrong and its consequences, but God says we will reap what we sow, eventually. Application: What are you sowing right now in your life? What are you reaping from what you sowed earlier? What will 5, 10 years from now look like because of your current behavior? In your family, at work, are you sowing trust, love, encouragement, support, honesty, justice, understanding, peace? Or something else?
II. Children - Genesis 29:31 -30:24
This section records the births of 12 children, should be a time of great happiness, but as we read we’re disappointed w/all the domestic fighting, envying, jealousy. See Leah, wife not loved, does bear children but she frustrated longs for Jacob to love her. Rachel, beautiful, favored wife, barren, jealous of her sister’s ability to have children, complainer. Just like today, all this family infighting left its mark on these children.
A. Leah Genesis 29:31 “not loved”, this is really all the commentary we have about the relationship between Jacob/Leah. Counterpart today=neglected wife, one who is in a “less than perfect” marriage, marriage seems like no marriage at all, going separate ways. In a culture where divorce was not an option, no getting away, Leah’s marriage seemed to drive her to depend on the Lord.
NLT © Psalms 27:10 Even if my father and mother (HUSBAND) abandon me, the Lord will hold me close.
We see her dependence on the Lord in the names she gives her sons, look @progression
Reuben “see a son” Genesis 29:32 Covenant name Yahweh, for Lord has seen, husband will love
Simeon “hearing” Genesis 29:33 Lord heard, how did he hear, thru her prayers,
Levi “attached” Genesis 29:34 not what happens
Judah “praise” Genesis 29:35 possible that Leah has stopped seeing the births as a means to get Jacob’s love, praised God for his gift of her children
Leah had a bad situation, one that God didn’t change, but instead he gave her the grace to live in that situation, her joy came from the Lord and the gifts He gave her. He gave her sons that would become the fathers of the Jewish Tribes of Israel, through her son Levi, priests would come. Judah her son of praise would be the tribe that Messiah Jesus Christ would come. She was definitely a Covenant mother, Covenant Keeper.
B. Rachel-she seems every bit as miserable as Leah, more, couldn’t get pregnant in a society that demanded that of her. Maybe she wondered “would she lose Jacob’s love because she couldn’t give him a child? Would he begin to love Leah more? Her worries led her to acts of despair:
1. Genesis 30:1 demanded children from Jacob: Jacob doesn’t seem to have a problem making babies. Jacob’s response= sees her irrational behavior gets angry READ Genesis 30:2. Comment to all unmarried, engaged getting ready to marry: in every marriage, even the love story of Jacob/Rachel, point when the honeymoon is OVER. Glimpse here of marital fighting.
2. Rachel gives her maid Bilhah. Hard to imagine she didn’t know about Hagar/Ishmael, Jacob did, he should have warned her, wait let’s do it God’s way, let’s pray like my dad did. Jacob goes along, Dan is born “judged” v6; that worked so let’s try it again, Naphtali Genesis 30:8 “my struggle”
C. Leah plays same game Genesis 30:9-13 her maid Zilpah, Gad Genesis 30:11=“good fortune” Asher=Happy.
D. Mandrakes Genesis 30:14-21 story of the mandrakes, seems a strange insert. Reuben, small boy found them=Mandrakes are the fruit of the Mandragora officinarum, a member of the Solanaceae or potato order, closely allied to the Atropa belladonna. It is a common plant all over Israel, flourishing particularly in the spring and ripening about the time of the wheat harvest (Genesis 30:14). The plant has a rosette of handsome dark leaves, dark purple flowers and orange, tomato-like fruit.
‘love apples’ thousands of years regarded as an aphrodisiac. Rachel begs Leah. Insight into these sister wives relationship Genesis 30:15 whatever else was happening Rachel had nothing to do with that, in fact the opposite happened, Leah took Rachel’s husband, but we see how desperate Rachel is to get pregnant, she barters sleeping with Jacob for the mandrake hoping they would solve her problem. Instead ironically Leah gets pregnant with #5 son Issachar Genesis 30:18 “reward”, Zebulun Genesis 30:20 “honor” Leah gives all the credit to God for sons, daughter named Dinah “judgment”
E. light in this darkness for Rachel Genesis 30:22-24. God listened to her prayers, He answered. This birth had nothing to do with mandrakes, nothing to do with manipulation, nothing to do with demands, everything to do with God’s timing, God’s will. Rachel had to stop trying to control her life and turn it over to God.
Truth= God wants us to come to the end of our own efforts to get our own desires and trust Him to dispense His blessings wisely, justly, and compassionately (Constable’s notes NET)
Whether you marry or don’t marry, have children or don’t have children, get that job or don’t, move or stay, STOP striving in your own strength to get your way, give it up holding so tightly and open your hands to receive the good things God has planned.
Application: Basically both Leah and Rachel had to learn the same lesson. Their sufficiency, their happiness could not come from their husband or even their children. Their jealousy, sibling rivalry, bitterness, envy over what they did not have, did not lead to happiness. Only when they saw, at times, that their source of true fulfillment was in Yahweh, the Lord and his blessings did they find peace.
III. Wages - Genesis 30:25-43
A. 14 yrs pass. Jacob wants to be released from contract and permitted to go home. In this culture, it was necessary to get the father’s permission to release his wives/children because they were still technically part of his household. Jacob talks with Laban, stay, I’ll pay you, work out a deal, more lessons in this hard knock life for Jacob.
B. Jacob really needed to think about this. Been there 14yrs working hard, nothing to show for it except 2 wives/2 maids/12 kids. Ie Troy at rehearsal dinner, wife, 3 kids, mortgage
Jacob had a family but didn’t have any money, no flocks, herds of his own, no capital, if he left how could he support them? Negotiates w/Laban, they decide his wages will be the abnormal colored animals that are bred, deviant colored ones. Today as back then, the dominant color of Bedouin sheep is solid white, dominant color of goats is dark brown/black. Spotted, striped are the minority. This agreement seems to favor Laban but Jacob has the blessings of God promised to him. Life lessons to learn:
Protect your integrity. At this point Jacob had been working for 14 yrs to pay off the dowry, no doubt he had opportunity to put away something for himself, didn’t. conscientiously worked as Laban’s servant, no complaining, quietly working hard, honestly, so that he could say Genesis 30:32,33 my integrity will testify for me. No matter who you work for, even if it’s Laban, protect your integrity.
Mature your work ethic. If Jacob had not wanted to work hard he could have found many excuses: Laban cheated me, now he owes me or God promised to bless me so I don’t have to put in too many hours. That wasn’t his attitude READ Genesis 31:38-41.
See your success as from God. Jacob is going to acquire great wealth in these few years, yes he works hard, yes uses unusual to us breeding techniques, but in the end Jacob knows his prosperity is from God. Genesis 31:10-13 I had this dream God told me I see what Laban has been doing to you, remember I’m the God you met at Bethel, remember the promises I made to you, to be with you, to bless you.
Prosperity can have one of two effects on people. Some view their success as a trust from God and put it to good use for him. Others, however see it as a personal accomplishment and the means to personal power. Such an independent, self-sufficient attitude is harmful to the faith, for it robs God of his honor by attributing the prosperity to human ingenuity.
Allen P Ross 1
Finally it’s time to go home
IV. Going Home - Genesis 31
With his prosperity comes conflict, increasing animosity between households of Laban/Jacob.
God comes in a dream, “leave, time to go” Jacob decides to have a family meeting, calls his wives out the field- no wiretaps, no one can listen, secret meeting. Shared his intentions of leaving, reviewed details of his long service to their father, dream, God’s instructions to leave. You can see the estranged relationship these sisters have w/father, no hope of inheritance, they were treated as slaves, felt no love for him, ready to go.
A. Preparations to leave are made, while Laban is away spring sheep shearing, pack up/
Rachel stole father’s idols, Genesis 31:19 easy to do with Laban gone, why? 1. Word “teraphim”=to inquire, w/o them, father couldn’t inquire where they had gone 2. She believed in them 3. Custom of the day=possession of family gods carried w/then inheritance rights, she wanted them for Jacob.
B. Laban heard, raced home, organized search party, that’s when he saw the gods gone. Jacob had children/flocks to slow him down, Laban traveled faster, caught up w/them. Swaggers into camp, Genesis 31:26-29a switch in his speech, perhaps he saw Jacob/his daughter standing staring at him, boasted of his strength, ability to harm Jacob, but God warned him in a dream, leave him alone, so you left, why did you take my idols?
C. must have hit a nerve Genesis 31:31 but we don’t have your idols go ahead and search us, tense scene, we know Rachel did it, but Jacob doesn’t it, when she heard “death penalty” really scared her, needed a plan, amazing kept her composure, at least long enough to hide them under her clothes, so Laban never found them. Now Jacob is really
D. Angry Genesis 31:36-42 accuses his father-in-law of treachery in all their business dealings for the last 20 years, gives all the credit to God for intervening on his behalf Genesis 31:42.
E. Laban is speechless, almost. Knew he was beaten, one last hurrah Genesis 31:43, what can I do? Offers to make a covenant Genesis 31:44-45, nonaggression pact-Laban’s main purpose= keep Jacob from any retaliation in the future, if Jacob would become so powerful, so rich that he would want to return and reclaim Laban’s estate. Jacob didn’t want to return, but he also didn’t want Laban to follow him. Gathered stones, made a pile, as a testimony to their pact. Laban used the Aramaic =Jegar; Jacob used Hebrew= Galeed. They swore by names of God. Laban Genesis 31:53 Jacob=Fear of father Isaac=his designation for Yahweh. Last we hear of Laban.
It’s been a hard knock life for Jacob for 20 years, living with Laban, learning life lessons, learning to depend and trust on the God of Abraham, Isaac. God was preparing him to return home, return and live as heir of the promise. Return and live following God. These 20 years were hard knocks- there was deception, dishonesty, fear, distrust, jealousy, through it all, God was with him, God kept his promises, God was bringing him home, a different man, a man who through adversity was learning to be a Covenant Keeper.
Application: God uses hard knocks in our lives too for similar purpose= Covenant Keeper
© The Biblical Studies Foundation ( www.bible.org ) Winter 2001
1 Allen P. Ross, Genesis (Grand Rapids, MI:Baker Books, 1988) p. 517.
http://feeds.bible.org/dianne_miller/patriarchs/patriarchs_message3.mp3
Lesson 4: Genesis 32, 33
Note: There is no message available for Lesson Four.
Passage:
Lesson 5: Genesis 34, 35, 36
Introduction
Have you been to the movies lately? So few worth seeing, many have the themes of
Seduction, rape, revenge, defenseless killing. Sounds like a R-rated movie doesn’t it? Surprise, it’s just Jacob’s dysfunctional family right here in the bible. Did you wonder? Why is this depressing story even in the bible? What purpose could God have for including it? Why all this tragedy? Life of Jacob certainly seems to have great swings of highs and lows. In Genesis 34 we’re definitely swinging low with injustice, rape and murder- but then in Genesis 35 we swing up, with new beginnings, we see that with God, His amazing grace, we can all start all over- when we’re repentant. Then we swing down again, in a totally different way, we see Jacob deal with 3 deaths of loved family members. Our lives are also like these swings, things that we experience seem to take us up and down. Throughout these swings: highs and lows; there is one constant: God’s love for us, His grace towards us, His commitment to keep His promises to us. This lesson wraps up our emphasis on Jacob-ending “Jacob stories” next week we’ll see that in the rest of Genesis our focus will be on the sons of Jacob, in particular, Joseph.
Outline:
I. Jacob’s Family Scandal - Genesis 34:1-31
II. Jacob’s Family at Bethel - Genesis 35:1-15
III. Jacob’s Family Sorrows - Genesis 35:16-29
I. Jacob’s Family Scandal - Genesis 34
A. Seduction Genesis 34:1-4. READ. Why did this happen? Who was responsible?
1. Dinah? Most likely she was a teenager, curious, wanting to act grown up, go places, have fun, they lived close to the city of Shechem. We know she had 11 brothers, no mention of a sister, perhaps she just wanted to be w/other girls. We don’t know any details like: had she been told to stay out of the city? Had she been told not to go anywhere alone? Did she have any restrictions? We do know she ended up in the wrong place, wrong time, unsupervised.
2. Brothers? Oriental society, eldest son in the household was responsible for the younger ones. Remember the story of Abraham’s servant sent to find a bride for Isaac? He negotiated the Rebekah’s father Bethuel and with the eldest brother Laban. Dinah’s brothers shared some responsibility for her protection but Genesis 34:7 tells us they were out in the field working.
3. Shechem, son of Hamor, Hivite, people group related to the Hurrians of Northern Mesopotamia, pagans, as we’ll see they didn’t practice the rite of circumcision. The fact that he raped Dinah, a virgin girl, is shocking but the fact that there is an utter neglect of any wrong doing reveals the low moral standards of this community. There’s no confession, no apology, no asking to make restitution v4 Get me this girl sends his father
4. Jacob First question: why are you even living in Shechem? You made a vow to God 20 years earlier at Bethel, to return there, then God came to you in Paddam Aram (Genesis 31:3) and said “return to the land of your fathers, your relatives” you don’t have any relatives in Shechem. Why are you here? And you’re head of the family, what kind of advice and protection did you give Dinah? Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had 3 teenagers, I know he could have been the very best parent and Dinah could have still slipped out and gotten raped. Genesis 34:5 bothers me. How could a loving, caring, protective parent keep silent? I have a hard time understanding his lack of action, his lack of outrage?
In a culture today that seems just as permissive as Shechem: what a call to us as parents, grandparents to protect our children, to chaperone them well, to question their activities, to know where they are.
Hamor, the father, meets with Jacob, the father and while they’re meeting. READ Genesis 34:7
B. Brothers’ reaction Genesis 34:7. Seething w/anger, righteously indignant over the wrong done to their sister, to their family “in Israel, such a thing that should not be done”. These very words are said later in Israel’s history by Tamar when her half brother Amon tries to rape her she begs him to ask their father for permission to marry her first “such a thing should not be done in Israel” (2 Samuel 13:12)
C. Hamor pleads with the sons, he loves her, we can become one big happy family, intermarry, do business together, form a power alliance, this can be a win-win. Shechem adds (Genesis 34:11,12) I’ll pay whatever price you ask.
D. Before Jacob can respond the sons take over the negotiations. We wonder who demonstrates the greater evil in this chapter? Shechem or the sons of Jacob? Shechem did wrong, he raped Dinah, but seemed to truly love her and offered a proper dowry, and father Hamor held out a hand of friendship suggesting their peoples join together. It’s this openness and generosity that is the basis for the brother’s plan of revenge and what’s worse they use the Covenant to deceive. READ Genesis 34:13 , “deceitfully” this is the same word used in Genesis 27:35 Jacob deceived his father Isaac. READ Genesis 34:14-17 Hamor, Shechem agree, it seems a cheap price to pay for the advantages to be gained. Unaware of the brother’s hidden agenda, they focused persuading their people to accept the arrangement and don’t you know that would take some convincing. Ultimately it was a business deal, sold the community on the benefits of becoming assimilated with Jacob’s family, so they were circumcised Genesis 34:24.
E. Three days later while all the men were still in pain, Simeon and Levi massacred the city. Perhaps we could understand if Dinah’s brothers plotted to kill Shechem, but the whole city? All the men? Truly barbaric. Other brothers didn’t seem to participate in the killing but they were ready to sack the city READ Genesis 34:27-29, looted, took captives, violence of the sword, violence of the scavengers, these are the people of God?
F. Jacob stood in horror over their behavior and when they got home he gave them a scolding (use that word because the rebuke he gives his sons seems to be so lacking in comparison to what they have done) READ Genesis 34:30. They massacred and plundered an entire city and Jacob says “you’ve embarrassed me, ruined my reputation, put our family in danger- what about their sin, horrible act of murdering innocent people? Why is there no confrontation about that?
G. Self-defense Genesis 34:31 Their reply shows no regret for what they had done, instead of repenting, they just wanted to justify themselves, they saw sin in the rape but none if themselves. Their sense of justice was right but their methods to avenge were cruel and excessive.
Truth: Revenge is always a wrong response to injustice.
NET © I Thessalonians 5:15 See that no one pays back evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all.
NET © Hebrews 10:30 For we know the one who said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”
NET Romans12:17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil; consider what is good before all people. 12:18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all people. 12:19 Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God’s wrath, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” says the Lord (Deutoronomy 32:35)
Application: Is there someone who has wronged you, or you have a second hand offense, someone has hurt your husband, your child, your parents? Are you planning to get back in some way? So many ways to get revenge: maybe your method =covertly undercover, quiet, nurse the hurt inwardly, build a wall, close down a relationship, shut them out, OR maybe overtly aggressive = try to harm them in some way, their reputation, their job, their relationships. You can see the damage revenge does in this story, do you see it in your life? Your relationships? Work, family, friends?
II. Jacob’s Family at Bethel - Genesis 35:1-15
Can you imagine the tension in this family right now? Dinah is shamed, alone, seen the carnage. Her brothers Simeon, Levi still angry, defiant no matter what dad says. Leah, mother/wife, wonder what her reaction was to what her sons have done. Jacob, embarrassed, fearful, uncertain of their future, again right when things seem the darkest, God comes, reminds Jacob of his unfulfilled vow to return to his father’s house.
A. READ Genesis 35:1. Go up to Bethel, map it’s 20 miles south, but higher in elevation 1,000ft. Remember Bethel? Place where God had come personally to Jacob in a dream, Bethel was a holy place. Genesis 12:8 Abraham built an altar when he arrived in land; after his trip to Egypt he returned to Bethel (Genesis 13:3). Bible seems to infer that “Bethel” is a type of a place we go to dedicate, rededicate ourselves to the Lord. Application: for me, my daily Bethel, is my blue chair upstairs where I start the day, quietness, prayer, reading the bible. Weekly, my Bethel is here, church, with you, I worship, confess my sins, reaffirm my faith, strengthen by you, your presence, your faith. Jacob/family needed Bethel.
B. READ Genesis 35:2-4. Preparation Jacob calls his family together, prepares them for the trip.
Truth: With God, it’s never too late to start over.
Even if you’ve wasted many good years, even if you’ve messed up terribly, even if you feel like a failure, it’s never too late with God. Jacob has some instructions:
1. Put away foreign gods Does this surprise you? Does he now know about Rachel’s stolen gods? Did any of the sons bring along some gods from Shechem? Jacob knew all had to go because if you truly want spiritual revival, renewal in your life, really want to start over, you have to get rid of anything that competes with God being first, God has no rivals, as we see in the first of the 10 commandments “You shall have no other gods before me”, God demands single loyalty. We talk about getting rid of the idols in our lives, they are so often like Jacob’s family hidden, secret. We don’t carry around wooden statutes, we don’t worship relics, but we do have our own idols, at times they’re so hard at times to see, to identify. Wonder do you know what you’re idol is right now?
2. Purify yourselves –pure heart, pure bodies, our bodies today are temple of God
MSG © II Corinthians 6:16 Who would think of setting up pagan idols in God’s holy Temple? But that is exactly what we are, each of us a temple in whom God lives. God himself put it this way: “I’ll live in them, move into them; I’ll be their God and they’ll be my people.
3. Change your clothes –throughout scripture garments/cloths often symbolize character
“put on the Lord Jesus Christ” Here they are told to change the clothes that had been polluted in Shechem, put on new clothes associated w/holiness.
These gods could not be carried to Bethel, this family had to prepare to meet God. Jacob buries all their foreign gods, charms, pagan jewelry, and they set out.
C. God’s Protection READ Genesis 35:5 Fulfillment of His promise READ Genesis 28:15 I am with you, gets there, builds an altar, this is Bethel=house of God, renames EL Bethel= God of Bethel, the emphasis is not on the place but the God who he met there, reflects a change of heart in Jacob, come to Bethel to worship God.
D. God appears again Genesis 35:9 confirms the name change, Jacob to Israel, meaning God fights or fights with God. God repeats the Abrahamic Covenant this time adding that kings, rulers will come from this lineage. God’s blessings on humanity would come through Jacob and his descendants. Jacob responds to this Word from God by worshipping.
He is in sweet communion with God. Remember: it’s never too late to start over w/God, that’s so good, Jacob is in a good place, but circumstances are going to change, life is going to change as he experiences some deep family losses.
III. Jacob’s Family Sorrows
A. Loss of Deborah Genesis 35:8 along the journey. Deborah left Paddam Aram over 130 yrs earlier w/Jacob’s mother Rebekah, she was Jacob/Esau’s nanny. How did she get in Jacob’s household? Not sure, but this is probably our greatest single indication that Rebekah has died, she was sent to be w/him. Jacob probably loved her like a mother, she helped raise him. Deborah is one of the countless “ordinary people” in the Bible who help others become successful, wonderful servant. There is great sorrow when she dies, place where she is buried was named “oak of weeping” imagine great weeping at this time.
B. Loss of Rachel Genesis 35:16 READ Why did they travel now, 8/9 months pregnant? Travel was rough at best, she was in a cart or on a camel for long hours at a stretch, as they near Bethlehem, she went into labor READ Genesis 35:17-20 Rachel lived long enough to know she had a baby boy- but she knows she’s dying, baby will grow up w/o her, imagine that sorrow, sadness she feels as she names him “Ben-oni” son of my sorrow. Jacob full of grief himself cannot bear such a mark on this baby, though the one true love of his life is dying, he renames him “Benjamin”= son of my right hand, honored position. We’ll see how true this becomes, as Jacob keeps him close to him, as both father and mother to him. When you go to the Holy Land, hopefully you can see the area where she is buried
C. Lust of Reuben
Just when it seems like Jacob has more than enough to bear, we READ Genesis 35:21,22. Bilhad was Rachel’s, who had just died, maid. Rachel’s maid that she gave to Jacob to have children by her and Reuben was a half-brother to Dan, Naphtali- he slept with their mother, also Jacob’s concubine, this is incest. How could he defile one of his father’s wives, his brothers’ mother? It lacked all common decency. Seems that Jacob was stunned, numbed he failed to do anything, but he never forgot. Genesis 49 = Reuben lost the birthright of the eldest son because of this lack of self-control.
Truth: Remember every choice comes wrapped up in its own consequences.
D. Last days with father Isaac - Genesis 35:27-29 map
There are about 10 years between this reunion of father/son and Isaac’s death. Most commentators believe Isaac was still alive to console Jacob when Joseph is reported missing, but his death is inserted here to mark the transition from his family leadership to Jacob. Interesting to note that both Esau and Jacob are there together to bury him, it must have been comforting to Isaac to know his sons, on some level, had reconciled.
So why are these dramatic, tragic stories included in our bible? What purpose?
In the ups and downs of our lives, when God gives and takes away in our lives like Jacob’s there r lessons to learn so that we can become the women of faith God intends:
Parents, grandparents, families, protect the children, provide emotional, physical, spiritual protection they need.
Allow God to right wrongs, don’t plan revenge. Jesus said instead repay evil with good= that will define your life as a Christian, that’s different than the way our human nature is wired, repaying evil with good looks like Jesus to others
Clean house= spiritual house-cleaning, getting rid of bad habits, wrong attitudes, refusing addictions, rededicating ourselves to Christ, choosing Him, His ways.
In the ups and downs:
God is present with you… always
PRAYER
© The Biblical Studies Foundation ( www.bible.org ) Winter 2001
http://feeds.bible.org/dianne_miller/patriarchs/patriarchs_message5.mp3
Lesson 6: Genesis 37, 38
Introduction
Are you a MAC or are you a PC? Both computers, both can take you to the internet but there are differences, and loyal owners can tell you every detailed one of them. Interesting that in advertising MAC has boldly represented a MAC owner compared to a PC and just let that visible comparison of the two men sell the product. When you look at the two which one do you want to be?
Scripture writers use that technique too, they position a chapter, a story right next to another story or they sandwich in a story between bookends that they want the reader notice, to compare and contrast and see the difference.
We see that comparison in our lesson today with Genesis 37 and Genesis 38, really includes Genesis 39 which we’ll study next week. Two sons of Jacob, two different stories of separation.
We’re introduced to young man Joseph in Genesis 37 and it’s interesting that God gives more details about his life than any other biblical character. Barnhouse says “in Joseph’s life we find one of the few characters in the Bible about whom nothing bad is reported. He had an Adamic nature, but there is no record of it. In the life of Joseph we find incidents that remind us of Christ, of whom he is a type.” 1 Joseph faces separation from his family/temptation. In contrast, in Chapter 38 we meet Judah, 3rd son of Leah. He too becomes separated from his family and after a time he faces temptation, but his responses are radically different from his brother. God is at work in both their lives:
Outline:
I. Joseph is hated by his brothers - Genesis 37:1-11
II. Joseph is sold into slavery - Genesis 37:12-36
III. Judah is married to a Canaanite - Genesis 38:1-11
IV. Tamar gives birth to twins - Genesis 38:12-30
I. Joseph is hated - Genesis 37:1-11
A. Hebron. Genesis 37:14. Family is now settled in Hebron. MAP. Where his father Isaac had lived, where Abraham had lived with Sarah, where the family cemetery is. Settled in Hebron, but “settled” is hardly the right word to describe this family. There is confusion, disorder, sibling rivalry, hatred and amazingly Jacob seems unaware of the tension brewing. 10 against one. Why did the brothers have so much hatred for Joseph?
1. Bad reports. READ Genesis 37:2. Phrase “bad report” =when out in fields w/brothers he brought back to his dad reports that revealed their evil deeds, wrong doings. Not sure what they were, perhaps the brothers had mistreated the animals, or they disobeyed their father’s instructions, whatever he reported reflected poorly on his brothers. No doubt they were true but this had to add to their negative feelings toward him.
2. Favorite son. READ Genesis 37:3a. First born to the favored wife. He was younger than most of the brothers, Jacob loved him most, everyone knew it. Favortism is a reoccurring theme in this family. We’ve seen its devastating effects between Isaac and Rebekah, Esau and Jacob, here its repeated again, evidenced by READ Genesis 37:3b.
3. Richly ornamented robe we don’t know exactly what it looked like, Hebrew= kethoneth=tunic followed by passim=ankles or wrists Jewish Study Bible translates it as “ornamental robe” or “a coat of many colors” I personally like the idea of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”
Whatever it was it looked like a sign of nobility and it spoke volumes to the other brothers. Perhaps the kind of coat worn by those who don’t do physical labor, a coat worn by the heir, the one who was marked as inheriting the birthright, the power. When the brothers saw the coat it screamed to them Joseph was loved more, valued more and hated him. Ie. TIME magazine Oct 3, 2011 READ
We wonder why did Jacob do this? Didn’t he remember what favoritism had cost him in his childhood relationship with his brother? Or in the tension between his wives?
Why was Joseph hated? Not only did he bring his father bad reports, wear a gorgeous robe, he also had a couple of dreams that were clearly understood by everyone.
4. Symbolic dreams =predictions of his destiny
1. First dream. READ Genesis 37:6-8. No doubt Joseph cemented the brothers feelings toward him by sharing this dream. In this dream Joseph saw the harvest field and all the bundles of grain, suddenly his bundle stood up, erect, and all the brothers’ bundles bowed down to his. Meaning is obvious. This was a dream of Joseph’s power, position, dominance over them.
2. Second dream. READ Genesis 37:9, 10. This time not only the brothers but his mother (probably speaking of stepmother Leah) and father would bow down, Joseph would rule over the whole family of Israel. Little did they know how literally these dreams would come true, but the predictable results of sharing these dreams were: Genesis 37:8 they hated him even more Genesis 37:11 jealous of him. Ask: Should he have told them? Should he have shared these dreams with him? There’s no evidence that he bragged or boasted, he just told them, perhaps he was naïve in sharing with brothers who already hated him but these dreams reveal a destiny of greatness ahead for Joe. Already the scriptures present him as a very unusual young man, with strong moral character and faithfulness to his father
When we see him bring back a “bad report” it’s because he sees evil and tells, he’s honest. Whistleblower. The only people who hate whistleblowers are those who are guilty, the rest of us are really glad when someone blows the whistle on people/companies like Enron’s and Bernie Madoff’s. When someone stands up and reports wrong. We live in a society where we are trying hard to teach the children that truth-telling is not being a snitch or a tattletale, but truth-telling is about stopping the wrong. There’s no evidence that Joseph’s motivation for the bad reports was revenge or any kind of payback, he told because he saw wrong and couldn’t keep silent.
Ie At the beach, kids hitting birds, told the parents. There were no retaliatory consequences for me but for Joseph, his truth-telling resulted in his brother’s hatred.
Truth: Be ready to pay the price because sometimes truth-telling is painfully costly.
Application: is there a truth you need to tell but you’re holding back because you’re afraid of the consequences? Is there a situation you need to confront because it’s wrong?
II. Joseph is sold into slavery Genesis 37:12-36
A. Sent by father. READ Genesis 37:12-17. Probably the sons had traveled back north toward Shechem for better grazing lands (do you remember Genesis 35 what happened in this city) this was familiar land to them, lived in this area, Jacob owned land in this area. But they were gone so long Jacob became concerned for them, so he sent Joseph to check on their safety. Jacob should have known the emotional temperature of this family, should have known that if he sent out the boy to his brothers they might try to harm him, teach him a lesson. Joseph is instructed to go and he obeys. Not only does he go to Shechem he goes 20 miles north to Dothan in search of them MAP He is faithful to his father’s desires, this is an obedient son, does what his father has asked him to do.
B. Seen by his brothers. READ Genesis 37:18-23. At a distance the brothers see him, perhaps long before they see his face they see his coat “Guess who’s coming? Daddy’s favorite little boy, the dreamer, I just can’t stand him” full of envy and hatred toward him, plan to kill him. No surprise, we’ve seen these brothers kill and plunder now it’s directed toward their own brother. At this point Reuben steps up and suggests let’s not kill him but let’s sell him. We want to admire him for this, but he’s the eldest he knew the whole plan was wrong (Genesis 37:22) planning to rescue Joseph. Why didn’t he stand up to the rest of them, forget it, it’s our brother, why did he try instead to compromise? They go along with him; strip Joseph of his coat and throw him into a pit and…
C. Sit down to eat. READ Genesis 37:25. Can you believe their callous attitude? Eating when their brother is crying out to them (Genesis 42:21) for his life, save me, get me out of here, please help me. The cistern was empty of water, but it was deep, dark, impossible to climb out without help. Perhaps Joseph had visions of a slow, tortuous death, keeps crying. While they’re eating lunch, caravan in the distance. Judah now takes charge tries to save his life
D. Sell him as a slave. READ Genesis 37:26-27. In Dothan they were on one of the main trade routes to Egypt. The terms Ishamelites and Midianites refer to the members of the caravan, two people groups who were both sons of Abraham. Judah says look really we only want this boy out of our lives, if we sell him we can make some money, they receive 20 shekels of silver, price of a young boy. We see how envy and jealousy can lead to selling a brother, selling their own flesh and blood.
F. Reuben returns Genesis 37:29 and looks in the pit and is surprised/ horrified to find Joseph gone “rent, tore his clothes” literal tearing is a way of showing grief or sadness, what am I supposed to do now? Likely they said something like “shut up Reuben, you wanted him gone just like the rest of us, here take this money, your share, we sold him, that’s better than killing him right? He’s on his way to Egypt and we’ll never see him again, so let’s think up a plan to tell dad”
G. Showed the coat to Jacob READ Genesis 37:31-35
They deceived him with the blood of a goat, ironic that Jacob years before had deceived his father Isaac with the skins of a goat. Repeated family sin of deception cycles again Can you imagine the guilt they must have felt when they heard Jacob crying, totally given over to grief and sadness, sobbing days on end and no one could comfort him. This guilt would be suppressed and carried for the next 20 years, covered up the truth
H. Meanwhile Genesis 37:36 Joseph arrives in Egypt and is sold to a prominent Egyptian official named Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officers. Interesting how he is placed in a prominent household, he is not out in the fields, but he is no longer the favored son, he is a slave in a foreign land. At this point Joseph has to make a choice. He’s at the crossroads where most of us have been or will be someday. Crossroads of response to unfair treatment. One road leads to bitterness, anger, frustration with God and with whoever has hurt you. The other road looks beyond your suffering to God’s purposes, says I don’t understand but God you have allowed it for my good, I trust you God, show me how can I grow through this pain? How can I learn to trust you more? We know this is the road Joseph took when we read the rest of the story. Again, as we look at Joseph, his character, his choices, if we want to handle injustice like Joseph we need to learn that..
Truth: Trusting God’s power and purposes enable us to endure suffering while refusing bitterness and anger. ( I Peter 2:20-23)
Application: Has something happened to you that has broken your heart? Have you been unjustly picked on? What’s your attitude? What are you doing about it? In times of suffering it’s hard to hear God loves you because what you’re going through doesn’t feel like love, feels hard, difficult. God is Sovereign, He has allowed it for your good, wonder in times like this would you be willing to pray: God use this in my life for good, show me Your presence, help me to find my strength, my sufficiency in You alone
III. Judah is married to a Canaanite - Genesis 38:1-11
A. Purposes for including this account. We’ve just begun the Joseph stories and we’re interrupted by a story in the life of Judah. Why is it here? Already said this story will be in Contrast to Joseph’s story in Genesis 37,39 but are perhaps other reasons.
1. It accounts for the three families of the tribe of Judah (Numbers 26:20; Shelah, Perez, Zereh)
2. It contributes to our knowledge of the ancestry of David and ultimately Jesus Christ who came through Perez. Judah’s prophesied messianic lineage continues through this relationship w/Tamar (Matthew 1:3)
3. It reveals the established practice of the levirate marriage (Deuteronomy 25:5-10)
A man was to marry a deceased brother’s widow to preserve his line.
4. It shows the likelihood of future Hebrew marriages with Canaanite women, other pagan people groups, possibility of assimilation of the Hebrews into other cultures, other faiths if they remained in Palestine. Ultimately the Abrahamic covenant was threatened by his intermarriage. God knew this might happen and prophesied in Gen 15:13-16 a temporary 400 year move from Canaan to Egypt, where we’ll see the Hebrews live very separate lives in Goshen with very little intermarriage, there the tribes stay intact. So perhaps we see in this story the need to go to Egypt.
B. Marriage READ Genesis 38:1. Remember Joseph sold into slavery, father is miserable, perhaps Judah just thought he had to get away. He “left” his brothers and went to stay in Addullum pagan city 13 SW of Bethlehem.He married a local girl:three sons, Er/ Onan Shelah.
C. Sons grow up and Judah finds a wife, Tamar, for the eldest. Bible is not clear here, but Er is evil and God kills him. Second son Onan refused to father a child by Tamar knowing the child would become his brother’s heir, killed by God, not so much for the sexual act of spilling his seed on the ground, but the evil in his heart. This left Shelah, last boy. Judah feared somehow Tamar was jinxed and if she married Shelah, he would die too, leave Judah w/o an heir. Sends her back to her father, until he says Shelah grows up. Perhaps hoping she’ll get tired of waiting and want to marry someone else,
IV. Tamar gives birth to twins - Genesis 38:12-30
..not so
A. Years roll by, Shelah is older, he is not given to Tamar, Judah does not keep his promise. Judah’s wife dies, after a period of mourning, old friend shows up and says what you need is to get out of the house, let’s go sheep shearing, word gets out that Judah is going to Timnah, Tamar finds out. She knows her father in law has no intention of keeping his promise to her, so she dresses up as a prostitute to deceive Judah sleep with him so that she could conceive his child. She positions herself to be right in his path, I still don’t get it, why didn’t he recognize her, maybe the veil, all the clothes, drinking champagne at the sheep shearing party. Sex, to pay her, isn’t it interesting he promises her a goat, goats are involved in all the deceptive scenes, gives her his seal and staff as a pledge. When he finds out she’s pregnant and he orders her to be burned to death she proves he’s the father by producing the pledge. To his credit he doesn’t try to cover up his sin, he admits it and says READ Genesis 38:26 she’s more righteous than I. I have a hard time calling her righteous but one commentator said Judah is at least saying Tamar was more in the right than he because he did not fulfill his responsibilities to her. 2 Babies were born, Perez and Zerah, Don’t condone his sin, do admire his response.
Truth: Repentance is revealed when we are quick to acknowledge our sin and to take full responsibility for its consequences.
It would seem that because Judah humbled himself, God blessed him and raised him to be the head of the house of Israel and blessed his children. God loves a repentant heart. ENDING: 2stories 2 brothers, one God working His plan, His purposes in their lives.
© The Biblical Studies Foundation ( www.bible.org ) Winter 2001
1 Donald Grey Barnhouse, “Genesis” (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1970) 155.
2 Allen P. Ross, “Creation and Blessing” (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 1996) 618.
http://feeds.bible.org/dianne_miller/patriarchs/patriarchs_message6.mp3
Lesson 7: Genesis 39, 40, 41
Introduction
Have you read any good books lately? If you’re looking, read Bonhoeffer biography of
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) is known for writings on theology and ethics, his leadership role in the Confessing Church, efforts on behalf of peace and justice, opposition to antisemitism, and to Hitler. He was hanged by the Nazis on April 6, 1945 in the Flossenburg concentration camp weeks before the end of WWII. Those last few years, when he choose to stay in Germany rather than leave, when he spoke out when others were silent, all that he taught, believed about being a Christ follower was tested and proven authentic. He wrote from prison=
You have granted me many blessings; let me also accept what is hard from your hand.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer - Prayers from Prison
These are words Joseph could also have written. We’ve seen him in his father’s house as a young man of integrity and honesty but the Question is “will he stay virtuous outside his father’s protection, when he’s a long way from home? What will he do when he can sin and perhaps get away with it? How will he handle continued injustices and discouragement? Because we don’t really know who we until we’re tested, God allows Joseph to be tempted, mistreated and forgotten for the next 13 years, refining and developing him into the godly man and leader needed for such a time as this in history.
Outline:
I. Joseph in Potiphar’s house is unjustly accused - Genesis 39
II. Joseph in prison interprets two dreams - Genesis 40
III. Joseph in the palace interprets Pharaoh’s dreams - Genesis 41
I. Joseph in Potiphar’s house - Genesis 39
A. Joseph’s success. READ Genesis 39:1-4. This phrase “the LORD was with Joseph” is repeated 4x (Genesis 39:2,3,21,23) and seems to explain why Joseph prospers, this is no ordinary prospering: unexpected, surprising, even Potiphar is impressed and gives the credit to Joseph’s God, Yahweh. Potiphar is not only impressed, he trusts Joseph, makes him his assistant delegating to him everything except probably his personal affairs. And then we read this little phrase READ Genesis 39:6c “well built and handsome” same Hebrew expression used to describe his mother Rachel, (Genesis 29) he got her good looks, he’s gorgeous, that sets up the central plot of our story:
B. Joseph’s temptation and resistance. READ Genesis 39:7-10
One commentator said he’s in a “no win” situation, he is a slave supposed to obey her, but he’s a loyal, moral servant to her husband. Tough situation repeatedly refuses her, his explanation = to sleep with her would be a sin against God
People cannot defiantly sin against what they know to be God’s righteous will when they are on the verge of becoming what God wants them to be. One cannot willfully sin against God and continue to enjoy his presence and his blessing.
Allen P Ross 1
Even at his young age, Joseph knows this truth, you can’t sin and expect God to bless you, so he tries his best to avoid her.
C. Joseph accused. READ Genesis 39:11-12. One day she cornered him alone, and when she grabbed his clothes he took off. His response is exactly what the scriptures tell us to do when faced with any sexual temptation: I Corithians 6:18
NIV © 6:18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.
NLT © 6:18 Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body.
Ie story: friend had an affair with another church member, respective spouses got together and they all agreed to forgive and put it behind and decided to stay in the church, live out their redemption. When she told me this, I said that’s a nice thought, sounds spiritual, not realistic, the scriptures are wise “flee immorality”- get away from temptation, can’t play around with it. Another friend who caught her husband having an emotional affair with someone at work, came to me for advice, somebody has to leave that workplace, that’s where you start, we have to run away from sexual sin.
Application: Do you hold your own personal purity with the same high esteem that Joseph did? Are you tempted to compromise or indulge in some sexual sin in thought or action? Are you flirting w/temptation or are you fleeing? You can’t be holy and be involved w/some sexual sin.
No doubt Potiphar’s wife is humiliated, embarrassed, and furious over the rejection “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” She first screams to the servants that he raped her and then when Potiphar came home she showed his clothes and repeated the false accusation. READ Genesis 39:19,20. Some have suggested that since his punishment was not the usual death sentence and he was put in the king’s prison perhaps Potiphar didn’t fully believe his wife’s story. What we do know is God protected him and God was allowing him to go through these trials, God is molding his character: this is the second time Joseph suffers for being faithful to his authority. Another lesson:
Truth: Choosing to be righteous and resisting temptation does not always receive immediate reward.
Application: Joseph suffered for doing the right thing and we may too, there may be a cost to our choosing righteousness. That’s the cost of discipleship, following God. Tertullian, early church father, story illustrates this. A man came to him and was struggling because his business interests were conflicting w/his faith in Christ, tempted to compromise, didn’t see a way out and keep his job, he said “What can I do, I must live” Tertullian replied “must you, must you live?” For Tertullian if it came to choice between righteousness and resisting temptation and making a living, Tertullian expected a believer to choose righteousness. 2
Discipleship is not an offer that man makes to Christ.” Bonhoeffer it’s what Christ requires of us..
D. Joseph in prison. READ Genesis 39:20b-23
Again we see the LORD was with Joseph giving him success, promoted, over all the other inmates, but he’s still in prison. The next chapter tells the story of the cupbearer and the baker; their dreams and what happens to them. Sets the stage for Joseph to ultimately see the fulfillment of his dreams but for the immediate next few years Genesis 40 is all about being forgotten.
II. Joseph in prison interprets two dreams - Genesis 40
A. Cup bearer and baker jailed. READ Genesis 40:1-4. After Joseph had been in prison for some time and had earned the trust of the warden, two new prisoners were assigned to him-the king’s cupbearer and baker. Cupbearers were usually trusted confidants of the king, their responsibility was to check the wine to see if it was poisoned before the king drank it. Chief baker would be responsible for the king’s food. We’re told king is angry not sure why throws them in prison and one night they each have a dream, each think it’s an important dream but they’re sad because they can’t find anyone to interpret the dreams.
Joseph says READ Genesis 40:8b what he’s saying is that God will use me (Joseph) to interpret for you. Cupbearer goes first and Joseph says it meant that in 3 days Pharaoh would restore him to his former job and he adds when that happens remember me READ Genesis 40:14.
The baker hearing the good news says tell me what my dream means too but his news was not good, in 3 days he would leave the prison but instead of going back to the kitchen, he would be impaled and hung on a tree. Sure enough 3 days later both dreams were fulfilled just as Joseph had predicted. It was certainly sad for the baker, but the fact that the predictions had come true must have encouraged Joseph’s faith, affirmed his God-given ability to interpret dreams, reminded him of his own dreams yet to be fulfilled. But then we read
C. Forgotten. READ Genesis 40:23. Probably in his relief at being restored to his job and his family he just forgot all about Joseph back in prison. Surely Joseph’s high hopes of getting out soon were dashed, he was forgotten. From a human perspective it seems so unfair to let Joseph just sit in prison, such a waste, but from a divine perspective we can be confident that God is working in his life for good, God has not forgotten him, God is continuing to develop him into this man, the leader that He needs for such time as this.
Truth: God is looking for faith that will not be destroyed by circumstances
NIV © 24:10 If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength. Proverbs 24:10
MSG © 24:10 If you fall to pieces in a crisis, there wasn't much to you in the first place.
Application: Are the circumstances of your life destroying your faith? Destroying is a harsh word, but is your faith weakening or growing right now? Are you looking at your life from a human perspective or can you see with spiritual eyes God wanting to do something good? Is it your health, job, finances, family? We look with admiration at Joseph not because he was this supernatural saint, but because he was convinced that there was a God in heaven who loved him, had good plans for his life, so he believed and trusted despite his on-going difficult circumstances. TWO YEARS GO BY…
III. Joseph in the palace interprets Pharaoh’s dreams - Genesis 41
A. Pharaoh’s dreams Genesis 41:1-14
Joseph is still in prison forgotten by all but God. One night Pharaoh has two dreams. The first: Pharaoh is standing by the Nile watching the cows as he often must have done. Cows in Egypt were not out in fields, Egypt doesn’t have meadows like we do, the cows were grazing among the reeds along the water bank. Dream had a twist-he saw 7 fat, healthy cows and then 7 malnourished cows come up out of the Nile and devour the healthy ones. Startled he woke up, then went back to sleep. Second dream had a similar twist. This time the dream was about 7 heads of grain on a single stalk that were plump and good, they were devoured by 7 thin ears, withered and scorched by the desert wind. How strange, what could it mean? He called in his wise men, they couldn’t help. At that crucial moment- Genesis 41:9 chief cupbearer remembered his own dream, nice-looking Hebrew slave – what was his name?
Truth: Even though we don’t always understand, we know God’s timing is always perfect.
God has been timing the circumstances of Pharoah’s need for a dream interpreter and the cupbearer’s remembrance of Joseph. If the cupbearer had remembered Joseph two years earlier perhaps the king would have ignored him, but the king now needs him.
Word gets to Joseph, quick, get out of those clothes, get cleaned up, Pharaoh wants to see you. READ Genesis 41:14. John Phillips commentary= Pharaoh was essentially a priest-king proposed to be a god, functioning as both the political and religious ruler of the nation. He wore long, fluted skirt made of Egyptian linen, gold sandals, on his head he wore a double crown that for 1000 years symbolized the union of Upper and Lower Egypt. In one hand he carried a crook symbolizing Upper and in the other a flail for Lower. Imagine how awesome he looked to Joseph, this powerful world leader, then he spoke.
B. Joseph gives God the glory. READ Genesis 41:15,16. This is remarkable, standing before this powerful man, Joseph corrects him and gives God the glory for interpreting dreams.
He uses the word “God”: Joseph began, “God may give Pharaoh a favorable answer,” not I. He goes from the prison to the throne of the king, and this is his first word. This speech is as pious as it is frank. He who is aware of God, is humble and fearless at the same time. Even a king is nothing compared to God…Joseph begins his interpretations with God (verse 25) and ends with God (verse 28) he emphasizes this once more by twice using “God” in verse 32. Benno Jacob 3
C. Joseph interprets dream. Genesis 41:25-36
Pharaoh repeats his dreams to Joseph who then interprets: there will be 7 years of plenty and then 7 years of great famine, worldwide, and then Joseph gives Pharaoh a business plan on how to handle this upcoming disaster, put a wise man in charge, delegate some responsibility to overseers, collect and save 20% of food supply during good years to take care of the people during the famine years.
D. Joseph promoted. Genesis 41:37-57
Plan pleased the king, proceeded to install Joseph as the Prime Minister, second in command, heads up FEMA whatever their National Disaster Relief Program. Promoted because of 2 rare qualities Pharaoh saw 1) His character Genesis 41:39. 2) His countenance Genesis 41:38.
Genesis 41:40-57 describe Joseph’s new life as a ruler in Egypt. Think for 13 years he was a slave, all during those tough times he looked to God and found the strength to overcome and trust= now he’s exalted, but even now=he continues to look to God for strength for a new beginning where God has placed him. We see this in the naming of his sons, note: these are Hebrew names, not Egyptian: READ Genesis 41:51,52. Because God continues to be his strength and focus he handles well the challenge of success. Sudden reversals are difficult for the most of us- the reason is perhaps we’re not as focused on God’s sovereignty, involvement in our lives, as Joseph was. If our sudden reversal is for the worse- get depressed, sad, angry, say God has abandoned us. Or if it’s for the better- get proud, arrogant, taking credit for how smart we are. Promotions often ruin people. You may have known people that have gotten promoted w/more job responsibility, more perks, but have less time for God, less time for being with God’s people. Joseph was different, he was able to give God the glory with his life because his relationship w/God was his priority no matter circumstance. Paul would learn this too. READ Philippians 4:11-13.
Application: How have you handled the reversals of your life? Financial, career, relationships, moves, additions or subtractions of our lives? God gives and takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord, learning contentment no matter what the circumstances of our lives help us to live with inner peace, calm no matter what or where our path leads.
Ending:
So, in reality, none of us really know who we are until we’re tested. We don’t know how strong our faith is until we go through trials. What an example Joseph is for us. We met a young man who was given a dream, glimpse of what God planned for his life, then we’ve seen him repeatedly mistreated, suffering greatly for doing what’s right, all the while he was learning long-term trusting and long-term believing, and finally being rewarded for his faithfulness, finally ready to lead others, finally ready to fulfill his destiny. I’m convinced the trials of our lives are only potentially preparing us for the next place God wants to take us. Are we willing to stay faithful?
© The Biblical Studies Foundation ( www.bible.org ) Winter 2001
1 Allen P. Ross, “Creation and Blessing” (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 1996) 626.
2 James Montgomery Boice, “Genesis” (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1987) 78.
3 Benno Jacob, “First Book of the Bible” (New York:Ktav,1974) 280-81.
http://feeds.bible.org/dianne_miller/patriarchs/patriarchs_message7.mp3
Lesson 8: Genesis 42:1-47:12
Introduction
How do you usually do on POP QUIZS? Student-hated them, always felt unprepared as a Teacher-liked them, tell me really where the class was in learning the material. I have a pop quiz for you today, let’s see if done lesson, also like working as a team, you can take this quiz together. 2 questions. Pretend you are one of the brothers:
When confronted with the pain I have brought others, I:
a. Am embarrassed
b. Pretend it didn’t happen
c. Seek their forgiveness
d. Fear I will be punished
Now, pretend you are Joseph:
When I have the opportunity to forgive others, I:
a. Avoid the issue
b. Make sure they knew how badly I was hurt
c. Feel relieved to get it off my chest
d. Enjoy getting back together
Our lesson is about Testings and Changes. In a certain sense the story of Joseph shifts here to become largely the story of the 10 brothers as God works to awaken their nearly dead consciences and bring them to repentance and ultimately to family reconciliation. God uses Joseph to test them. Tests for guilty conscience; tests for jealousy; tests for family loyalty; tests for family love. 20 years have past. Are they the same men or are they different? We need to know. Thru these tests, we’re also going to learn about Joseph’s heart, how does he feel now about these brothers who sold him into slavery? To help us work through this story, point out seven ways God uses to touch their hearts, to bring them to repentance: Question is: Through these tests would they in any way demonstrate that they had changed?
Outline:
I. Joseph is reunited with Brothers - Genesis 42-45
A. Testing brings repentance - Genesis 42-44
B. Forgiveness brings reconciliation - Genesis 45
II. Jacob travels to Egypt - Genesis 46:1 -47:12
A. Meeting God at Beersheba - Genesis 46:1-27
B. Meeting Joseph in Goshen - Genesis 46:28-30
C. Meeting Pharaoh - Genesis 46:31 -47:12
I. Joseph is reunited
A. Testing
1. Need - Famine. READ Genesis 41:57. Jacob heard there was food in Egypt, boys you need to go down to Egypt, very strange sentence. READ Genesis 42:1 “keep staring”, we the reader, have an idea why. Read Genesis 42:2 “Egypt” – may have been a buzz word among them, they couldn’t have forgotten, last time they saw Joseph was on his way to Egypt, their family secret, kept quiet 20 yrs. But there was nowhere else to go, only food was is in Egypt, they had a great need for food. 10 brothers went, Benjamin stayed home. Arrived in Egypt presented before Joseph, bowed down before him (Genesis 42:6) - we see the beginning of the fulfillment of Joseph’s dreams.
2. Injustice - (Genesis 42:7-14) Joseph speaking harshly accuses them of being spies, words were used to shock the brothers, these were hard men, remember their history, they murdered innocent people at Shechem, Judah had an incestuous affair with Tamar, they had so much hatred, jealousy they sold their brother for money. When Joseph said “you are spies” perhaps that’s what they had said to Joseph, “You’re just a spy for dad, telling him bad reports about us” Words Joseph used were carefully calculated for them to feel what it’s like to suffer injustice, to be wrongly accused, to be punished when there was no wrong done.
3. Solitude READ Genesis 42:17 They were put in prison, loss of freedom, forced time to think, reflect back on their lives, gave them time for their consciences to be awaken. Then on 3rd day Joseph has them released and says he would let them go home, but one had to stay behind as a guarantee they would return w/their youngest brother who would verify their story. FIRST CHANGE: admission of personal guilt READ Genesis 42:21,22. Now they would talk about it, now they would admit what they had done, they are beginning to see what was happening to them was a consequence of their own sin. They remembered the pain, distress they had caused Joseph. When they said this, Joseph turned and wept. It would seem his tears were not for his own pain, but because the testing of his brothers was beginning to fulfill its purpose. Simeon is taken, rest prepare to depart.
4. Unexplained Circumstances Genesis 42:25-28
Left Joseph likely the capital was Memphis (10 miles south of Cairo)-250 miles to Hebron. 3 week journey. On way home, probably discussing what are we going to tell dad about Simeon? Come to the first resting stop, one opens his sack, heart dropped, there was all his money. How did it get there, they had paid for the grain? Response READ Genesis 42:28. “God is remembering our sin, God has seen it, God is doing something in our lives” Take notice, this is the first time the brothers mention God. Go home, we see the SECOND CHANGE: beginning honesty w/their father, tell him what happened in Egypt, omit the truth about selling Joseph, but they’re honest about their experience in Egypt. Jacob is overwhelmed when hears that Benjamin must return to release Simeon. READ Genesis 42:36. THIRD CHANGE: Heart attitude change in Reuben who somewhat foolishly offers his own sons if he goes to Egypt and doesn’t return with Simeon and Benjamin. This is the man who humiliated his father when he slept w/his concubine; he now puts himself and his own family on the line for the sake of Benjamin. Jacob refuses the offer, no way is Benjamin going, if he were to die it would kill me, stays.
5. Continuing Need READ Genesis 43:1 The food that had been brought up from Egypt ran out, Jacob ordered the brothers to go get more. Judah steps up “But dad we can’t go back w/o Benjamin, remember what we told you- he said, don’t come back w/o him” FOURTH CHANGE: Guarantee of Judah. Genesis 43:8-10. Similar to Reuben’s offer, Judah =carry the blame if anything happens, this too shows a change of heart in Judah who was basically saying- dad your happiness is more important than my own, I will be responsible, count on me dad. This change and continuing need cause the FIFTH CHANGE: change in Jacob’s attitude. READ Genesis 43:11-13. Maybe he’d been thinking, I’m old, if all the boys leave, something happens to them, I’ll be totally alone, how could I live without Benjamin, he’s all I have left. This Continuing need for food was also a test for him too- would he trust the God who had promised him the blessings of Abraham and Isaac? Would he trust God to give him descendants like the dust of the earth? What if all his descendants die? Would he trust God to take care of all of his sons? Would he trust God to keep His promises? Ends us saying “yes” “May El Shaddai” v14 grant you mercy, may my God take care of you, and whatever happens, happens. They pack up gifts, $ and all leave, including Benjamin., sometime later, they arrive in Egypt, and are presented to Joseph and we see God now works through the..
6. Power of true love- Genesis 43:16. Through an invitation to lunch that God shows amazing grace to these brothers. When they understand they’re invited to eat w/Joseph, they’re really afraid, go to the steward, tell him their story of finding the money, offer to pay it back, but he reassures them not to worry. READ Genesis 43:23. Simeon joins them, everything seems to be going nicely, water to wash their feet, food for animals, look in dining room, prepared meal for them, treated like friends, not spies. Genesis 43:26 Joseph comes in the room, touching moment when he sees his little brother Benjamin, son of his mother-breaks down, has to leave the room. Comes back and has another test for them: seated according birth order, Benjamin is given 5 times more of everything than the rest- 5 steaks, 5 baked potatoes, 5 pieces chocolate cake. SIXTH CHANGE: No resentment Joseph was testing them for jealousy, were they as envious of Benjamin as they had been of him, did they treat him harshly? Lunch proved No, they weren’t resentful, they just “feasted, shared, drank freely” (Genesis 43:34). There’s One more test, would they abandon the favored son?
Time to go home, they left Joseph in great spirits, probably congratulating themselves on how well they’d done, gotten a great meal, grain, all 11 were going home, when God suddenly struck like lightning and completely, literally turned the course of their lives, used a hidden cup in one of sacks to
7. Stripping their self-confidence READ Genesis 43:4,5
Even though they had lived with a lie for 20 years they told Joseph Genesis 42:11 “we are honest men” Here when the steward accused them of stealing Joseph’s cup, they say “no way, not us, we’d never do that, in fact if anyone here is found with it, let them die, we’ll all be your slaves” (Genesis 44:7-9) Then to everyone’s surprise they find the cup in Benjamin’s sack, return to Joseph, he asks what have you done? SEVENTH CHANGE: open admission of guilt/family loyalty. READ Genesis 44:16. These men are broken, ready to become slaves, one more test. READ Genesis 44:17 only Benjamin stays, rest of you go home, Judah steps up to the plate, hits grand slam of brotherly love
READ Genesis 44:18-30 Judah’s plea
B. Forgiveness brings reconciliation - Genesis 45
The room that had been so quiet you could hear a pin drop, now is filled with shouts “Out, out, everybody out” and crying, so loudly that you could hear it 2 blocks away. READ Genesis 45:3.
I am Joseph, brothers are speechless, terrified, they knew they had done a horrific wrong to one who now had absolute power. Where the average person would have done some kind of payback, tried to humiliate his brothers in some way, Joseph offered pardon, forgiveness and love because Joseph has a “God perspective on life”. READ Genesis 45:5-8
He understood that a Sovereign God saw the future, saw the needs of the world, chose him to help solve the famine problem. God had a great purpose for his life even though they had meant it for evil.
Offers them Complete forgiveness READ Genesis 45:14,15. Being reconciled with Joseph meant that the brothers could be fully reconciled with Jacob, the long family secret could be revealed and forgiven. Joseph says “Go get dad” Genesis 45:9 Pharaoh gives his help Genesis 45:16-20. They set off donkeys and with wagons full of food, clothes, money, this family will be reunited again.
Application: As you have worked through this lesson, listened to the story I wonder has God been speaking to you personally? Is there an old sin, perhaps it too is linked w/your family, parents, siblings, children, or not w/them but w/others; neighbors, past co-workers; maybe it’s a sin against God, pushed it as far away as you can, this week you’ve had a hard time not thinking about it. Has God given you a need, on-going need, a famine to bring you back into fellowship w/them and Him? Maybe you’ve recently experienced an injustice God is allowing you to experience what it’s like to be on the receiving end of suffering to see your own sin. Are you facing solitude prison of sorts, loneliness, illness, God wants you to grow closer to Him, escape the slavery to things, people, places, depend only on Him. Maybe you’ve gone through something recently that has really shaken you self-confidence, you feel weak, discouraged, God wants you in the depth of your being to find confidence in Him, His ways alone. Tough times are not always proof of past sin, wrong theology. But if tough times have come into your life, God has allowed it- He has a purpose. Maybe it’s to cause you to look back, examine your heart, is there some hidden sin you’re guilty of- maybe you have been like Judah, Reuben, brothers- God is awakening your conscience- Confess it, repent, don’t carry it any longer. Or Perhaps you’ve been wronged like Joseph, ask have you fully forgiven? Not enough to say “I forgive you” saw the 4 promises in your lesson: (list them). What acts of kindness have you shown to that person who wronged you?
God’s aim for our families, us is the same-reconciliation, restoration, devotion, love. Bible is realistic:
NIV © Romans 12:18 - If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
The brothers return home, tell Jacob about Joseph, he is convinced and packs up to go see his son, regardless of cost
II. Jacob travels to Egypt. Genesis 46:1 -47:12
A. Meets with God Genesis 46:1-27
Jacob stops in Beersheba to worship God, this is as far south as you can go within the Promised Land, boundary line, also family history here, Abraham, Isaac lived here, worshiped here. In the night God comes to Jacob READ Genesis 46:3,4 For anyone on the verge of a major decision, it’s good to go to Beersheba, seek God’s will, His direction, remember God will be w/you not only in your Egypt but wherever He send
You don’t have to be afraid either, because
Truth: Security is not the absence of danger but it’s in the Will of God. John 11:9
B. Meets with Joseph. READ Genesis 46:28
I love airport meetings, I love to watch people reunite, embrace, weepy too, especially seeing our service men/women come home, this is the best airport meeting ever, Jacob and his son Joseph after 20 years READ Genesis 46:29,30. For Jacob this reunion was the impossible dream he had, the dream of seeing Joseph alive again. For Joseph this is was the one person who had always loved him unconditionally one person always count on. This was more than a family reunion, it was proof that God’s revealed plans and purposes would come true in the family of the covenant. This story reminds us of a family reunion awaiting us. We don’t know exactly when it will happen but Paul tells us there is coming a day when all believers who have ever lived throughout time will be reunited w/Christ when he comes for us. READ I Thessalonians 4:13-18.
Just as there is a list of 70 names of family members who are reunited in Egypt, there is a list of names of all God’s family who will be at the heavenly reunion, Book of Life = Rev 20:12-15. Are you sure your name is written on that list? If not, talk, call me, Peggy.
C. Meets with Pharaoh
Before they could get settled in Goshen, Joseph’s relatives had to be formally presented to Pharaoh. Picture the scene, relatively uncultured nomadic shepherds being introduced at the White House. Joseph prepares them the best he can, Pharaoh is so gracious to them receives Jacob’s blessing.
READ Genesis 47:11,12…just as God had planned…
Ending: Whether God gives you a little pop quiz or a long end of the year final exam I pray that you will trust His good plans for you, believe His love for you, allow Him to change your life too.
© The Biblical Studies Foundation ( www.bible.org ) Winter 2001
http://feeds.bible.org/dianne_miller/patriarchs/patriarchs_message8.mp3
Lesson 9: Genesis 47:28-50:26
Dr. Peggy Banks, Minister to Women and Bible teacher at Northwest Bible Church substitute teaches for Dianne Miller in Lesson Nine. Her audio is included in the study.
Introduction
Last words, last words that people say before they die are usually remembered because they are so precious, so special. My mother’s last words to us as she went into triple by-pass surgery was “no stroke”. Her greatest fear, especially as a nurse, was to be paralyzed, we’re grateful God granted that request, no stroke but she died 6 days later, always remember her last words.
This last week, we’re looking at LAST WORDS…Jacob’s and Joseph’s. Encouraging to read that their last words were filled with HOPE and Faith in the Covenant=covenant keepers
Outline:
I. Jacob blesses Joseph’s sons - Genesis 48
II. Jacob blesses his twelve sons - Genesis 49:1-28
III. Jacob dies and is buried in Canaan - Genesis 49:29 -50:14
IV. Joseph forgives brothers - Genesis 50:15-21
V. Joseph dies with faith in Covenant - Genesis 50:22-26
I. Jacob blesses Joseph’s sons - Genesis 48
A. Jacob sick. Genesis 48:1,2. One day news came to Joseph “your dad is sick”. READ Genesis 48:1,2. Dad don’t sit up, you’re too weak, I’ll help you lie back down, Jacob is determined to sit up, he’s in the process of dying but while he was alive he would act as head of the family, God’s covenantal blessings needed to be passed to the next generation. This is the scene recorded in Hebrew 11:21.
B. Jacob reviews covenant. Genesis 48:3,4. His body is wearing out, but there is no problem with his memory, he reviews the past “sovereign, in control of all things, God appeared to me at Bethel, and the God of Abraham, Isaac became my God too and He gave me the Covenantal blessing”
C. Jacob no doubt at the end of his life is looking forward to the time when his sons would be multiplied, into tribes, proceeded to adopt Joseph’s two sons as his own, READ Genesis 48:5,6 on par with Reuben, Simeon and the rest. Reuben’s birthright, which was normally given to the eldest son, is now given to the two sons of Joseph= Joseph becomes a collective noun in Genesis 48:15,21. The two tribes, Ephraim/Manasseh would reflect that double portion, this explains why Joseph did not become head of a tribe, but his sons did.
D. Rachel. READ Genesis 48:7
Genesis 48:7 has long puzzled biblical interpreters. Why the mention of Rachel at this point in the narrative, and why the mention of her burial site? If we relate the verse to what precedes, then the mention of Rachel could be prompted by the fact that just as she had borne Jacob “two sons” at a time when he was about to enter the land, so also Joseph gave Jacob “two sons” just at the time when he was about to enter Egypt” 1
Or it’s possible that something in Joseph’s face, his mannerisms, reminded him of her, and his mind wandered to think about her, the love of his life, remembered that sorrowful time of her death, never forgot that moment.
E. Jacob turned his head, saw shadow of Joseph’s sons. READ Genesis 48:8,9. His old eyes were failing, cataracts, macular degeneration? Arms wrapped around them, kissed them, turned to Joseph remembered the long painful years when he thought he was dead READ Genesis 48:11. Boys were brought close for the blessing, Joseph positioned them by birth order but with prophetic insight Jacob crossed his hands, so that his right hand was on the head of the younger, and the left hand on the elder. READ Genesis 48:15,16 the blessing. This is the first of many biblical accounts of “laying on of hands” to bless or dedicate someone. This is the fourth consecutive generation of Abraham’s descendants to reverse the birth order in the blessing. How often God reverses our order, our plans of doing things. God is many things but one He is not= predictable. God and His ways will not be put in a box, He will not be described by a formula, His ways are not our ways.
Why was this blessing so important that the book of Hebrews included it? These boys belonged to Jacob, yes they were born in Egypt, educated there, but they were to be Hebrews, God’s chosen people, they needed their grandfather’s testimony, to know their grandfather’s God. Same today w/our children, our grandchildren must be taught the truths of our faith, so that one day the baton can be passed on to them and then on to their children…responsibility of all who are part of the community of faith. Application: what are you doing to pass on the faith?
F. Request. READ Genesis 48:21,22. Speaking to Joseph directly he gives the “ridge of land” mountain slope, area of Shechem that he had won in a battle from the Amorites that’s not recorded in Scripture. We’ll see some 400 years later, that’s where Joseph’s bones are buried.
II. Jacob blesses his twelve sons - Genesis 49:1-28
A. READ Genesis 49:1,2. Likely that this scene was immediately following Jacob’s blessing the grandsons. When Joseph saw how sick his father was, word was sent to all the brothers to come quickly, as they arrived, Jacob was sitting up in bed waiting for them. As Jacob looked around the room at his sons he knew them well, he had observed their strengths, weaknesses, their character. Now with the enabling of the Holy Spirit he would predict their futures as Tribes of the nation Israel. It seems each son’s life is reviewed then rebuked or rewarded. NOTE: Jacob’s style of speech is not the normative narration, and the sons were probably shocked to hear their father speak in poetic form. Sons are grouped according to their mothers, Leah, concubines, then Rachel.
1. Reuben: KEY word= instability Genesis 49:3,4 there were great hopes as the first born but he became unstable and uncontrollable and forfeited his position and birthright.
2,3. Simeon and Levi: Disgrace of Treachery Genesis 49:5,6 instead of standing together for GOOD they stood for wickedness, seemingly encouraging a violent streak in each other. Like Reuben they forfeited their family position because of sin, massacre at Shechem. I will scatter them=Simeon’s land was actually inside Judah’s territory. Levi’s scattering was very different, example of the mercy of God. God turned this curse into a blessing after the Levites opposed idolatry, stood w/Moses, they became the priests and were scattered through 48 cities in Israel.
4. Judah: Blessing of Sovereignty Genesis 49:8-12 He was the 4th son of Leah, already heard his father’s stern rebuke of his 3 older brothers, tremble when he heard his name for he had sinned too, slept w/his daughter-in law, suggested selling Joseph, amazingly instead of judgment he heard praise, pre-eminence, power, prosperity in his descendants’ future
His very name means Praise, Judah would be the family leader and his would be the royal tribe as the Lion was the king of the beasts, the Lion of the tribe of Judah would be King of Israel. Both Jews and Christians look at these verses as being messianic, referring to the Jewish Messiah. But Jacob could not have known himself that one day Jesus Christ would be called in Revelation 5:5 “lion of the Tribe of Judah”
Genesis 49:11,12 are Hebrew idioms describing a time of abundance, When Judah’s lion comes to reign the land would be so productive, so fruitful, vines would grow abundantly, wines presses would be full, a land of milk and honey. This prosperity is God’s doing, not based on merit but the sovereignty of God, His plan. If I were choosing the son through whom Messiah would come, I’d vote on Joseph. God chose Judah.
5. Zebulun: Position of Opportunity. Genesis 49:13. Positioned well for trade, merchant tribe.
6. Issachar: Weakness of Contentment. Genesis 49:14,15. Image of a strong donkey, useful, capable of hard work, yet docile, lazy, complacent. Later we see that while other tribes are fighting for possession of their land, Issachar is not mentioned.
Now Jacob comes to the sons of the concubines. The culture allowed them to be sons but would Jacob count them in the inheritance? Would they be included? Even though their prophecies are short, Jacob does include them, there is no distinction made between the children of the wives and the sons of the concubines.
7. Dan: Poison of Criticism. Genesis 49:16,17. Dan was evidently very shrewd, analytical and intellectually gifted. A family of Judges comes from Dan, most famous = Samson. But like a serpent, Dan could be sharp and critical, biting rather than helping.
8. Gad: Victory. Genesis 49:19. His name means to overcome, he chose his inheritance of the far side of the Jordan, but also fought with his brothers for their land. Gad stood with David during his time of rejection (I Chronicles 12). Captains in David’s army came from Gad.
9. Asher: Privilege of Prosperity. Genesis 49:20. They inherited a fertile strip of land along the Mediterranean coast, the breadbasket area, out of Asher, food for the kings were supplied. His lot was the good life, prosperity, abundance, affluence.
10. Naphtali: Gifts. Genesis 49:21. Picture a beautiful female deer, swift, graceful, sensitive, artistic that speaks beautiful words, reproducing herself in others.
11. Joseph: Joy of Fruitfulness. Genesis 49:22-26. Through his 2 sons Joseph would receive a double inheritance, although he was attacked and persecuted he remained strong in his faith because he relied on His God “The Mighty One of Jacob, the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, the God of his father” that’s who strengthened him. Joseph would be blessed by God with material blessings and spiritual blessings. Deborah, Joshua, Samuel, Gideon were all his descendants.
12. Benjamin: Possibility of Change. Genesis 49:27. After Joseph’s blessing this blessing seems insignificant, seems strange to give a beloved son this prophecy. He calls him a wolf, largest of all canines, powerful predator, fierce, ready to fight, whose strength could turn to cruelty and it did (Judges 20) in the Benjamite wars. His land was small, rugged but strategically close to Jerusalem. When the 10 tribes rebelled and split, Benjamin remained with Judah. Through Benjamin God gives the encouragement that w/ Him there is always the possibility of change. Saul, a Benjamite, became Paul the apostle.
III. Jacob dies and is buried in Canaan - Genesis 49:29-50:14
A. Dying request. READ Genesis 49:29-32. Jacob’s final words are filled with hope and faith in the Covenant that had been passed to him from his father Isaac. He wanted to be back in the Promised Land.
B. Death. READ Genesis 49:33. For Jacob death was not the end, it was a going home to be with his family, His God. It has always been true for Covenant Keepers, believers.
II Corinthians 5:8 NLT © 5:8 Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. Absent from the body and present with the Lord.
For the believer, for Jacob, there is no sting of death, only the sorrow of temporary separation for those left behind.
Jacob, this man who names mean trickster, supplanter, deceived his father for the blessing, walked life in his own strength in his own ability until he met God personally at Bethel, learned to worship, learned to trust, then 20 years later, as he faced another crisis in his life he met the Lord face to face, wrestled to the point of being broken, learned then to cling to God, Jacob became Israel, prince of God. His warnings and prophecies were all intended to bring these 12 sons to a new individual commitment to God so that he could pass the baton of faith to the NATION of Israel. Convinced that he had finished his race, done his part, gets back in bed, puts down his staff, lies back and gives up his spirit to be gathered to his people, not death, but a homecoming celebration. Application: will that be true for you?
C. Burial READ Genesis 50:1-3 Hebrews did not embalm bodies, normally buried the deceased the same day but Egyptians did embalm, at least the upper-class. Embalming would be necessary to transport Jacob’s body on the long trip back to Canaan. To honor his father’s request, Jacob gets permission from Pharaoh to travel. READ Genesis 50:7 it would seem over 100 people: family, brothers, wives, servants, soldiers left children, flocks and herds and traveled to Hebron. What an impact on the Egyptians this must have had. If Joseph had not grieved- he didn’t care. If all he did was grieve-his religion was no different than theirs. The trip back to Canaan was a sermon in itself, an opportunity to tell others of the true God and His promises made to His people. They grieved, but they grieved with hope of an eternity with God, with the Covenantal promises that were made forever.
IV. Joseph forgives brothers 50:15-21
A. Fear. Their father is dead, they’ve had elaborate funeral arrangements, buried the body in Canaan now they’ve come home, back to their routines, brothers start whispering to each other “Now that dad’s gone, what’s to prevent Joseph from getting revenge, he could have us arrested, even killed, or make us slaves like we did to him” They have reason to fear, they had committed a horrendous crime, but their fears were unnecessary, why? READ Genesis 50:17b
B. Forgiveness. Joseph wept because they were confessing a sin that was already forgiven, forgotten. What an arrow of hurt their suspicions must have been to him. Think of all the kindnesses he had shown them, how could they have doubted his love?
C. Foresight of God. Joseph again told them READ Genesis 50:19-21. What gave Joseph the ability to speak these powerful words? He knew God, He knew God’s ways, He knew God’s purposes. Two things specifically he trusted in 1. God is Sovereign- nothing happens by accident, God is in control. 2. God is good- He desires what is best for us always. On the surface it looked bad for Joseph, sold into slavery, forgotten, abandoned but God was preparing him, setting the stage for him to be ready to be God’s spokesman, God administrator “to preserve many people alive” both in Egypt and the world.
V. Joseph dies with faith in Covenant 50:22-26
Between Genesis 50:21 and 22 more than 50 years pass.
Joseph spends the rest of his life being involved with his family, his children, 3rd generation, means he saw his great-great grandchildren. What a wonderful “Papa” he must have been, exciting stories, little surprises in his pockets, telling them about God’s creation, Adam, Eve, the Flood, Noah, how their great-great…grandfather Abraham had visited Egypt, offering of Isaac on Mt Moriah, how God provided, Jacob, lots of stories about him, of a ladder reaching up to heaven, and all the other stories that Moses would write in the book we call Genesis. I think that’s why God created grandparents, to form a living link not just with the past but with the eternal future.
We don’t know how many of the eleven other brothers were still alive, but they gathered around him READ Genesis 50:24-26. He had been Prime Minister, he could have been buried in a pyramid but his last desire was that his bones return to the Promised Land because he believed in the Covenant. He believed in the Promises of God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Desire was fulfilled Moses (Exodus 13:19) “took the bones of Joseph with him” when they left Egypt, Moses carried them across the sands of Sinai (Joshua 24:32) Joshua buried Joseph’s bones in Shechem.
Pictures of Truth
God is Sovereign, He will accomplish His plans for us.
God’s plans are not our plans, He is in control and nothing takes Him by surprise.
God blesses His children each uniquely and individually.
ENDING: Wonder what will my/your last words be? Pray they will be filled with hope /faith.
© The Biblical Studies Foundation ( www.bible.org ) Winter 2001
| Hebron |
Galway is a county within which Irish province? | Patriarchs
Patriarchs
Welcome to a study focused on the lives of the Patriarchs: Isaac, Jacob and Joseph who we call “Covenant Keepers.” The Patriarch Abraham’s life is covered in another study I have written.
These Patriarchs of the nation Israel were descendants of Abraham, uniquely called by God to pass on the faith to the next generation of believers in the One True God. They remained faithful to the Covenant, overcoming obstacles and threats of assimilation and annihilation often waiting years for God to fulfill His Promises, in His timing, to them.
This study provides daily questions, audio and/or manuscript teaching, PowerPoint and handouts. It can be used for individual or group settings. A disclaimer: my manuscripts are not word perfect. Instead they are a model for you of what my notes look like when I’ve finished my study. I do not read them as I lecture but I create the manuscript so I can return to them at a later date. Use any and all parts of this material to study and/or teach to others.
My hope and prayer for you as you read and study is that you will see yourself as part of God's great narrative, His Story of Grace and Redemption. You will identify with the ups and downs of these ancient people of faith, learning to trust and believe in the One True God.
Blessings and love, Dianne
Note: The accompanying student study guide for the series may be downloaded to the right. The PowerPoint, Audio, and WordDocs may be downloaded on each page.
/assets/worddocs/patriarchs_study.zip
Genesis
Introduction to the Patriarchs
How was your summer? Was it restful? Did you relax? You say you’ve got to be kidding, my busiest time of year at work, kids at home, company, hot Ok, but did you get your summer projects done? I hear a groan. I almost did. My goal was closets. June I did my clothes closet, skipped July, 3 weeks ago my husband and I, this was really scary, tackled my study closet and the game room. My study took all day, the game room took all weekend. We took everything out, he made shelves and we went to Container store 3 times. By the end everything had a “place”. Need to admit not everything is really organized yet, it just has a place. My photos are in that closet= all are there, but they exist in 3 huge plastic boxes, not organized, but in one place. Next summer= organize them or maybe the Lord will return first? Truthfully, I did get a little “sidetracked” because I started looking at them, reminiscing, remembering special times, people, places. These photos, family albums, are so much more than just pieces of paper, part of my life, witnesses to who I am, where I have come from, that part of the narrative, the story of my life: parents, grandparents, great grandparents, hospital where I was born, siblings, second grade class, college sorority, husband, my children, my grandchildren, my life.
I thought of how the Bible is the photo album of mankind, snapshots of people and events throughout history, epic narrative of us all. From that perspective, I started to get more excited about our study this fall. We are opening up photos from one family, the family of Abraham. If you weren’t part of our study this spring on the Life of Abraham, that is not going to matter, because this is a continuing story that you can jump in at any point, and we’ll do a little review along the way as we look at photos of the Patriarchs and their families.
The burning question we have to ask and answer is “Do these photos that we’re going to look at together, do these life stories, can they say anything really relevant to us today? If they can relate to our lives, if God wants to speak to us thru them, question becomes what will be our response? As we study, will we ask individually the question God what do you have for me, for my life, for right now. You are not the same person you were a year ago, even months ago. The situations of your life are not exactly the same as they were a year ago, and we know they will change tomorrow, life is like that. Today, God what do you have for me today through the study of your Word, promise you if you ask that He will speak to you. Let’s take an overview of what’s ahead for us.
Outline:
I. Family Tree (people) (slide)
II. Family Life (themes)
III. Family Legacy (faith)
I. Family Tree (people) (family tree slide)
Numerous family members over period of approx 260 years from the birth of Isaac to the death of Joseph. These are the sons of Abraham who was called from Ur in Chaldees (MAP) to move to Canaan, Promised Land. God made a covenant with him (slide) promised basically 3 things: Genesis 12:1-3 Land, Nation, Blessing. Genesis 15:6 Abraham was declared righteous because he believed God. Good news, gospel of the OT/same in NT= our righteousness comes through believing God, what He says. (Hebrews 1:2) in these last days he (God) has spoken to us by His Son. Belief in Jesus, trusting Him that is how we are right with God, not because of any good works, deeds that we’ve done, but “by grace through faith that we are saved, gift to us” (Ephesians 2:8,9).
When Abraham was 100 Isaac, the son of the promise, was born.
1.Our study will start in Genesis 25 when Isaac at 60 years old becomes a father, after dealing with infertility for 20 years, many prayers, God gives him twin sons, Esau and Jacob. Even before they were born they were fighting in the womb, pushing and shoving to the point Rebekah, original very pregnant desperate housewife, prays and asks God “what is going on? did I really ask for this?” God tells her, these boys are never get along, live separate lives and by the way the younger is going to be the boss, he’s younger but he’s the chosen one to inherit the covenant, his older brother will serve him. Prophecy comes true. The way is becomes true is through manipulation, taking advantage, favoritism and deception…sounds like a tv show. Jacob acquires both the birthright of the older son and the blessing of the covenant. Esau is left with very little regarding the inheritance but he is left with a great deal of anger, frustration and bitterness to the point of planning his brother’s murder. That probably would have happened if Rebekah had not stepped in and arranged for Jacob to leave home, go back to her family with the pretext of finding a godly wife. Jacob and Esau at this point are about 75 yrs old. Step back just a few years, when Esau, the older, was 40 he married 2 pagan wives, he married outside the faith, these wives “source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah,” NET= “they caused Isaac, Rebekah great anxiety” Esau will just slowly move off the radar of our main story as we follow Jacob to Paddam Aram, Rebekah’s family, to 20 years of joy and misery with his uncle Laban. (Map)
2. Jacob will travel a couple hundred miles to Paddam Arram, one night along the way, he encounters God through a dream, sees a ladder reaching to heaven, angels. God, Himself made the same covenantal promises to him that He had made to Abraham and Isaac, Jacob believes, God becomes real and personal to him. God has no grandchildren, you can’t inherit your faith from your parents, grandparents. You personally yourself have to encounter and embrace God as your God, to inherit, Jacob had to do this too. It is our Parental responsibility is to live their faith authentically in word and deed before our children, teach them God’s truth, God’s ways, words, that’s how we strive to pass on our faith. But ultimately each child, each person must make their own way with God, receive, trust, believe the gospel themselves. Probably at Bethel that Jacob confirmed his trust and faith in Almighty God.
3. He reaches uncle Laban’s house and immediately falls in love with Rachel, the younger daughter and is more than willing to work 7 years in order to marry her. But he had no idea how painfully he would learn “what goes around, comes around.” Uncle Laban pulls a fast one and substitutes the older daughter, Leah, that wedding night for Rachel (never quite figured that one out). Wakes up angry, makes new deal works another 7 years for Rachel and finally wants to go home. Not quite so fast, uncle Laban offers him another deal, stay with me, you can build your own business, right here among the family. Amazing in the next 6 years God so blessed Jacob that his portfolio went sky high, business boomed to the point his brothers in laws got really jealous, started false rumors about him. Tense. During the 14 years of his marriages he also has 11 sons and one daughter. He has himself a big family, lots of flocks and God comes again and says, time to go home, time to leave and return to Canaan. While Laban is out of town, in the middle of the night, pack up and everybody leaves and sneaks out of town. Seem to get away with the escape, but Laban catches up and family confrontation, thanks to a God intervention, they part somewhat friendly. That’s just the first family confrontation, Jacob now begins to fear meeting his brother Esau, because even after 20 years he still may be mad enough to kill. Again, right when he needs God’s presence, his assurance, again, in the middle of the night, God comes, this time, Jacob wrestles and clings and receives a significant name change= he is no longer Jacob, he is Israel, God’s man.
4. As Israel he re-enters the promised land, he meets his brother, peacefully. Sets up an altar, this man needs a vacation, buys some land, from Hamor, the father of Shechem settles down for a while. Whether Jacob was too permissive with his children or just wasn’t watching, daughter Dinah visits the city, alone without her brothers or mother or father. She is raped by Shechem, son of Hamor, pretty prominent family. Shechem wants to marry her asks his father to get permission from Jacob. When her brothers found out, enraged, ready to avenge, their plan involved, (surprise), deception and manipulation. Raid the city, kill all the men, they plundered the city taking the women and children as slaves and confiscating all the wealth for themselves. When we read this and we say with Jacob “What have you done, ruined our reputation, this will make all the others around want to attack us?” God again intervenes says “yes, get out of town” go south, back to Bethel, clean up your family, get rid of idols, take control” After leaving Bethel=south, Jacob suffers first great loss, first great broken heart= the love of his life Rachel dies giving birth to his 12th son, baby Benjamin. There are no words in the scripture here to describe his grief, days ahead would be very hard without her.
5. Our story now shifts to focus on Jacob’s son Joseph who everyone knew was his father’s favorite of all the children, he got special treatment, wore special clothes, clothes dad had made just for him. He was favored which had disastrous implications for the rest of the brothers. They hated him. That’s exactly what happens with favoritism; it breeds resentment, comparison, envy and unfair pressure to the one who is favored. It’s really a “no win” situation, provided the basis for great injustices done to Joseph.
Our story picks up when Joseph is 17 yrs old. Do you remember what that was like? Young, immature, full of life, know it all, world circles around you. At this age, Joseph has some dreams, dreams that would guide him and assure him of God’s purposes, God’s plan for his life, dreams that would encourage him in the darkness.
6. He’s sent to check on his brothers, finds them, they capture him, sell him as a slave, ends up in Egypt. Life for Joseph for the next 13, 14 years are a series of trials, start in Potiphar’s house, forgotten in the jail, all these life circumstances seemingly spiral downward, we wonder why? Why all this suffering for this good man? It is amazing, that through it all, Joseph never became bitter, he never became hard, instead his character and his faith grew stronger as he clung to God and his trust that God was working all things out for good in and through his life both for himself and for others. He had rock solid faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
7. Finally God uses a famine to bring together one of history’s greatest family reunions. While he’s still in prison, God enabled Joseph to help the baker, the butler and eventually Pharaoh by interpreting their dreams. Seems that Pharaoh had a reoccurring dream that really haunted him, No one surrounding him could recount the dream or its meaning. He became so frustrated that he planned to kill everyone, including the butler who finally remembered Joseph back in prison, how Joseph had the ability to interpret dreams. Joseph is brought to Pharaoh, giving glory to God, he interpreted the dream, 7 years of plenty and 7 years of famine, at 30 yrs old was promoted to head the Department of Agriculture, to oversee the coming national disaster. Part of the perks of the job, was given a wife and they started their family, had 2 sons. Finally things are looking up for Joseph. Meanwhile, back at family ranch, Canaan, the famine spreads, people are starting to feel hungry, no food- but the rumor is that there is food in Egypt. So Jacob sends 10 of his sons to get food, but Benjamin, now favored son, stays home. Can’t you imagine the scene when they are brought before Joseph to ask for grain? Joseph devise a plan to discover what kind of men these brothers are now 20 years later, is his father still alive, what about his younger brother, how do they feel toward him? After two difficult trips to Egypt, Joseph reveals his identity to them, weeping, hugging, and kissing beginning with Benjamin, the brothers are reunited at last. Joseph had every reason to hate these men, to punish them but instead he showed grace and forgiveness. His personal relationship with God strengthened his courage/determination to love and show mercy instead of seeking revenge. Does that describe your life too? Does your faith and trust in God and his help point you in the direction Joseph took?
Turn with me to think about Jacob, back home with the women, waiting, hoping, praying for his sons to return. See him pacing outside when he sees the carts, camels, wagons loaded with food pull up and all the sons run up and start talking at once. Overcome with joy and hope, Jacob packs up everything, everyone, heads to Egypt. Can’t wait until we study that chapter, that reunion of Joseph and Jacob. God intended it all for good.
8. Good place to end, but this story is not over. In the last chapters, Jacob passes the blessing and the birthright on to... you have to come back to hear the rest of the story.
II. Family Life (themes)
If you study the Life of Abraham and then the rest of the Patriarchs, you see some familiar, repeated themes, but these themes are seen through new people, who lived totally unique, individual lives, rooted in time, they each have their own story, just like us. However the themes we’ll see are not so unique, in fact they are common to all of us, common to humanity. This “commonness” is part of what makes their lives applicable and relevant to us. We’ve already looked at a few themes: family conflict, favoritism, suffering, lying, deception, but also woven into this story are snapshots of: love: marital love, parental love, love for God. Along with love we’ll see great family loyalty- see how that develops over time. One of the most moving, beautiful monologues you will ever read is Judah’s plea to Joseph: to exchange his life for his brother because he loves his father, he has learned how important the family is to each other. Also going to see great character development as these men learn to trust God and let him shape them. Perhaps most important of all is the legacy of faith they guarded and have passed down to us. They are truly sons of Abraham. As we think of their family legacy of faith..
Family Legacy (faith)
We’ll see how their faith is in God Almighty, the one true God, maker of heaven and earth. Their legacy to us is based on believing and trusting in His Sovereignty and His faithfulness to keep His promises, His covenant, His prophecies, His true Word. Their lives testify to us that in the midst of living in a sinful, self-centered, morally corrupt, power-hungry world, you can believe God’s Words and you can give your life to following Him. You can be that Covenant Keeper and pass the faith to the next generation.
Ie. Dr Campbell. A couple weeks ago I stopped by Starbucks after second service. If you ever do that you will always see Dr Campbell and his wife drinking coffee and reading the Wall Street Journal because they go to first service, he teaches at second and then Starbucks. So I sat down with them for awhile and we caught up and what’s going on in our lives. He shared with me that he’s teaching Psalm 119, verse by verse, he always wanted to slowly go through it and savor all its richness. I asked him, what had God been teaching him as he studied to teach others. He said something like this “I was reminded again how the Word of God is the tool that the Holy Spirit uses to change me, to change my life”. The teacher of teachers is changed by the Word. That’s my challenge to you and to myself. This fall, will you commit to coming and studying with us, will you commit to let the Word change your life? Will you? Prayer
© The Biblical Studies Foundation ( www.bible.org ) Winter 2001
http://feeds.bible.org/dianne_miller/patriarchs/patriarchs_message_intro.mp3
Lesson 1: Genesis 25:19-26:33
Introduction
Can you imagine what it would be like to be a son/daughter of a very famous person? Grow up in their shadow? Whoever you were, whatever talents or gifts you had would always seem “less than” inferior, read you this quote:
For Peter Fonda, being a son of Hollywood royalty wasn't easy. For one thing, he couldn't escape the comparisons; every time Peter went on an audition, it seemed, they wondered why he didn't possess the same natural skill as his dad, the great Henry Fonda. Then there were the other actors and directors who resented him, assuming his surname had given Peter an unfair advantage. And his relationship with his dad was hardly picture-perfect.
“Famous Fathers, Celebrity Sons” by Steve Ryfle Netscape Celebrity
Isaac was like Peter Fonda. For him, his life was somewhat obscured by the more eventful lives of both his father Abraham and his son Jacob. There’s only one chapter that is solely devoted to his life, 26. He did have a miraculous birth, and it seems he willingly submitted to almost a sacrificial death on Mt Moriah and like a fairy tale, he loved the woman God had chosen for him; like his father he is believer in the Covenant. Also like his father he was forced to wait a very long time for his children to be born. Both he and his father became entangled with ruler Abimelech in Gerar and tried to convince others that his wife was his sister.
But Isaac was also very much unlike his father. He never traveled more than a few miles from his birthplace. He had only one wife, only 2 sons. He was never in a battle, his disposition seems to have been more of a follower than a leader. Yet, he is a Patriarch of Israel, Covenant Keeper.
Today we’re going to focus on Isaac.
Outline:
I. Isaac becomes a Father - Genesis 25:19-26
II. Isaac receives Command and Covenant - Genesis 26:1-6
III. Isaac repeats Father’s sin - Genesis 26:7-11
IV. Isaac reveals patience in conflict - Genesis 26:12-22
V. Isaac rewarded by God and Abimelech - Genesis 26:23-33
I. Isaac becomes a Father - Genesis 25:19-26
A. Read Genesis 25:19-21a. I imagine Abraham was a great source of comfort to his son during these 20 years of infertility. Abraham himself had waited 25 years for Isaac’s birth, God seems to have a purpose and a pattern in waiting for his promises, at times unknown to us. Finally Rebekah becomes pregnant, she should be the happiest woman on earth but not quite, in fact she’s miserable, “If it is going to be like this, I’m not so sure I want to be pregnant!”(NET) She asks God why is this happening to me? READ Genesis 25:23. I’m sure she was encouraged by this prophecy. When you’re pregnant all you can think about is giving birth to a healthy baby. Rebekah is told that and much more, she is going to give birth successfully to two boys that would survive, grow up and they too would have families and descendants. There’s a little cloud over this joy, the prophecy says these boys would be separated, older would serve the younger. These boys are to be “two peoples, going their own ways from birth” NEB. I think it’s every parent’s desire that your children love each other, get along, some even hope they’ll be best friends. But that’s not always what happens. Right here, God says before they were born “they’re not going to get along, they won’t live near each other, power play in their relationship, younger is going to dominate”. READ Genesis 25:24-26. Esau’s name means “hairy one” =hairiness in the ancient world indicated an animal-like nature. Jacob’s name means “El will protect” but the Hebrew spelling of Jacob (ya’aaob) is similar to the word “heel” when Jacob grasped Esau’s heel during the birth he got the nickname “heel-holder” sometimes called “deceiver, trickster”. With their births Isaac becomes a father and the Covenant has a new heir, God has kept His promise.
We’re going to skip over the story of the birthright and pick that up next week, stay focused on Isaac. In chapter 26 we’re going to see a series of circumstances which are amazingly similar to what his father Abraham experienced.
II. Isaac receives Command and Covenant - Genesis 26:1-6
A. READ Genesis 26:1. Separate event, nearly 100 yrs later from Abraham’s encounter with Abimelech in chapter 20. There is a famine in the land, Isaac is tested. Every event in our lives also has the potential to be a test for us. Whether it’s feast or famine, life or death, seems good or bad, everything we do/decisions we make, they have the potential for spiritual growth or slipping backwards. God allowed this famine to come at this time to encourage Isaac to trust Him in all things. MAP.
He went to Gerar. He had been living in Beer-lahai-roi (SW of Beersheba, area of Kadesh- Barnea) Semi-arid region. Perhaps Isaac thought he might do better where there was more rainfall, traveled about 50 miles NE to Gerar, closer to the coast. There another Abimelech was ruling, son or grandson of chapter 20. “Abimelech” seems to have been a title like Ceasar or Pharaoh or King. No mention of praying for guidance, seems that Isaac may have temporarily forgotten about relying on God’s direction, or dependent faith in God to provide, protect, instead he decided to act on his own, figure out how to feed his family himself, take control of his own life. He must have been making plans to go to Egypt when God intervenes.
B. READ Genesis 26:2-5 Lord appeared. This is the first time we see the Lord appearing to Isaac alone. God’s command “don’t go to Egypt” is followed by His promise of the Abrahamic Covenant, it now belongs Isaac. It includes the land, to become a great nation, to have and to bring blessings to all the world, this is promised to Isaac. God says “I will be with you and bless you” (Genesis 26:3).Why? Was it some good deed that Isaac had done? No, he was chosen the same way his father was chosen, by the Sovereignty of God. Out of all the people in the world, God chose Abraham- made promises to him and to his descendants – and Isaac was heir to the promises. God chose
C. READ Genesis 26:6 Isaac stayed in Gerar. Isaac obeyed God, stayed in the Promised Land, did not go down to Egypt. This section gives us a glimpse of possibly when the God of Abraham truly became the God of Isaac. Up until now, Isaac had lived in the shadow of his father. Back in chapter 22 on Mt Moriah Isaac had a willing faith and trust, in chapter 24, 25 we see he is a man of prayer. Now we see Isaac relating to God in a personal, one-on-one way. As we said last week, this personal faith, personal encounter with God is the way we all must come to have a saving relationship with God. It wasn’t enough that his father, his mother were believers, wasn’t enough that he was brought up in a godly home, wasn’t enough that he was the son of the promise, Isaac himself had to embrace the faith, he had to put his trust in the Living God, obey him. He did.
Application: What about you? I know some of you have been brought up like Isaac. You mother and father have been strong Christians all your life. You’ve always gone to church, always known of Jesus, He has always been part of your life. If I were to ask you “when did you become a believer?” you might answer “I’ve always gone to church, I grew up in the church.” If you answered that way I’d have to ask you respectfully, No the question is “When did you personally become a believer” You might answer my whole family is Christian. But, when did you decide their faith was your faith? Bible makes it clear, we individually must choose to when we hear the gospel, good news, we must either accept Christ as our Lord/Savior or we reject Him by default. Do you have a personal faith or is it second-hand? Is it your faith or is it the faith of your parents/grandparents that you’re relying on. Is it Your faith or the faith of your spouse, sibling or a close friend?
John 1:12 But to all who have received him - those who believe in his name- he has given the right to become God's children
God of Abraham became the God of Isaac, later we’ll see Jacob too must have a personal encounter with the Living God to become a Covenant Keeper.
Now Isaac has his father’s faith but he also has something else from his father.
III. Isaac repeats Father’s sin - Genesis 26:7-11
A. READ Genesis 26:7. Poor Isaac, like his father, is burdened with a beautiful wife. It seems the men in the city were interested in her, maybe they even came up to Isaac and said “she’s gorgeous, I’d love to date her, who is she, is she related to you?” Isaac, like his father, became fearful for his life. Isaac, like his father, was worried that they might kill him to get Rebekah. And Isaac, like his father, knew lying wasn’t right but Isaac, like his father, thought perhaps in this circumstance it was necessary to save his life. Maybe Isaac was remembering how Dad lied, he got away with it and they didn’t kill him. We’re so disappointed when we read that he just like his father Abraham, too lied about his wife, but I wonder how many of us have restored to lying to get ourselves out of a jam, how many of us have lied to cover-up a mistake, to avoid something unpleasant? STORY. Lying is a sin, it can never truly help us, we can never expect God to bless the circumstance if we’re deceitful. God is gracious, slow to anger, but He doesn’t overlook sin, there will be consequences. What makes this particularly tragic is it is the same lie his father had used. His sin was just a repetition of his father’s sin. The easy way that Isaac repeated Abraham’s sin shows us it is much easier to imitate the weaknesses of our parents than to emulate their virtues. There’s great contrast between the personalities of Abraham and Isaac but they commit the same sin.
B. Back to the story. READ Genesis 26:8 This lie had gone on a long time but Isaac got careless, he was caught. Nothing harder than to live a lie over a lengthy period of time, it affects your whole life. Numbers 32:23 And know that your sin will find you out Why?
Hebrews 4:13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. God said enough lying, no more. How disappointed Abimelech was READ Genesis 26:9,10. Abimelech saw and rightly confronted Isaac, Isaac had to admit what he’s done wrong. OUR SIN AFFECTS OTHERS, but sometimes its consequences are not apparent, at first, and we think we’ve gotten away with it. Isaac didn’t mean to hurt anyone, certainly not the King, but he did. Abimelech basically said, “you didn’t have to lie, you were being unfair to us, you could have hurt us by allowing someone to commit adultery and people are mad at you, you messed up. Instead of retaliating, I’m going to back off and sign a restraining order for your protection (Genesis 26:11) Imagine the humiliation.
TRUTH: Don’t lie, and don’t miss an opportunity to teach your children, grandchildren the personal consequences of sin, starting with your own sin.
Application. Why is that so difficult for us? Why do we have to learn how to be transparent, vulnerable and honest with others? Perhaps it’s because most of us are so concerned about other’s think of us we can’t risk being see as “less than perfect, or good, or righteous.” I wonder if Abraham ever said “Son, I had to learn a hard lesson about lying when I was afraid, I made a terrible mistake, I put your mother in great danger, and when the lie was exposed I felt awful, God forgave me, but I was so embarrassed that I let God down, I embarrassed the family, I pray you never have to go through that, it’s was too painful, learn from my mistake.”
Have you ever had a conversation with your children like that? With a loved one? We are not perfect, we do sin, and we need confession and forgiveness and we need to help others avoid repeating our sins.
Has this story spoken to you? Is there a habit, behavior, some language you see in your children that makes you cringe because it a mirror, you see yourself in them. How are you handling it?
IV. Isaac reveals patience in conflict - Genesis 26:12-22
A. Isaac stays in the area, must have acquired some land because the text says he planted crops and within one year they multiplied 100x because the Lord blessed him, rich, wealthy. Wait a minute, didn’t we just read he lied and now God is blessing him? Why? Glimpse of the mercy, grace, forgiveness, faithfulness of God Psalms 130:1-5 (LB) O Lord, from the depths of despair I cry for your help: “Hear me! Answer! Help me!” Lord, if you keep in mind our sins then who can ever get an answer to his prayers? But you forgive! What an awesome thing this is! That is why I wait expectantly, trusting God to help, for he has promised. What did God promise Isaac READ Psalm 130:3 (to bless him). God is faithful, God keeps His promises, even when we do not. Isaac was blessed because God said He was going to bless him.
B. With this blessing comes conflict READ Genesis 26:13,14 As long as mankind is human the prosperity of one will be the envy of another. Envy= displeasure with God and His way of dividing up His resources. Do you ever struggle with envy? I do, I love nice things, nice houses, cars, trips. My great grandmother used to say “there’s nothing shameful in being poor, it’s just terribly inconvenient” We all would rather be rich and not be inconvenienced! This is convicting, the opposite of envy is contentment! But Isaac’s neighbors are envious, it may have seemed a surprise to Isaac but they are determined to ruin his life. They start by stopping up an old well (Genesis 26:15) Adequate water was necessary to live- needed it for his herds, crops and his family. Complaints must have reached the court, Abimelech gets involved and says “Go away, too powerful”. Moves away but not far enough. Begins again, he re-digs old wells his father had dug, finds fresh water, as soon as the well was discovered the Philistines claimed territorial rights. This happened several times (Genesis 26:17-22). Isaac had to come to grips with how to handle this conflict. Bible says rather than argue, fight over the disputed rights, he decided to move on. Decided he wouldn’t “power up” and fight. Don’t misunderstand, Isaac is not sweeping these problems under the rug- the names he gives the wells (Genesis 26:20,21) prove he is fully aware of the problem, his choices (Esek=dispute; Sitnah=opposition) Isaac is choosing, as Abraham did with Lot, to give up his own rights for the sake of peaceful relations. He is going to trust God’s care and promise to protect, bless and give him the land in His way, His timing.
We have conflicts in our lives too. There are times when we must confront wrongs, when we can’t overlook. Share some questions we can ask, making the decision to overlook or confront:
When and How should you go and confront someone? (Peacemakers Ministry)
When someone has something against you (Matthew 5:21-24)
When someone’s sins are too serious to overlook (Matthew 18:15)
Questions to ask yourself=
Is it dishonoring God? (Romans 2:21-24)
Is it damaging your relationship?
Is it hurting others? (Luke 17:2-3)
Is it hurting the offender? (James 5:19-20)
Isaac is a man in search of peace, decision to move on. These are wells, why go to war over a well when we can move a mile or two and dig another. It’s not worth it. There are always 2 ways to handle conflict: God’s Way and your way. God’s way may mean getting godly advice, it may take longer and it be harder but God will lead and guide and help.
Application: Is there a conflict over “rights” in your home that you’re struggling with? Would gentleness describe the way you’re reacting? Listening to radio, “strange lack of civility” today, convicted me along with this lesson, trait of Isaac I want to develop is manifesting peace, actions, language, opinions. Are you living in peace? In your family? With your neighbors, even at personal sacrifice? Ours is a “don’t get mad, get even” world= but is your life different? Or are you right now jeopardizing your testimony over some personal right or thing? Isaac was a peacemaker who was rewarded by God and surprisingly also by Abimelech.
V. Isaac rewarded by God and Abimelech - Genesis 26:23-33
A. Isaac moves on to Beersheba, very same night after he puts up the tents, unpacking boxes, God comes to him. This is the second and last recorded time that God appears to personally to Isaac. READ Genesis 26:23 Don’t be afraid I am with you. Wonder what Isaac had been fearing? Was it that there would be enough water in Beersheba? Crops and herds continue to produce enough food? Would they be in personal danger there? God comes and says “don’t be afraid, you are my chosen one, you are the heir of my promises” Just like his father Isaac responded by building an altar and worshipping God revealing he is a Covenant keeper to a watching world, not long after
B. Abimelech and 2 leading men in his court visit Isaac to make a treaty with him. Isaac asks a great question “why after you kicked me out have you come to see me”? READ Genesis 26:28 God is with you, you are a man of faith, you can be trusted, we want to be at peace with you. They saw his prosperity and rightly attributed to God’s blessing and they were impressed with the way he handled conflict
TRUTH: When we go through difficult times, there will always be people watching us. We will make an impression, whether good or bad. We will have a witness, either of faith or unbelief.
Isaac was not his father, he was his own unique person, entrusted with the responsibility as heir of the Promises of God, entrusted to live his faith before a watching world, set apart to trust God’s provisions and to worship Him openly, he was challenged to resolve conflict as a godly peacemaker. Though he was not perfect, Isaac was called to be a Covenant Keeper. May God grant us the grace and strength to also be God’s covenant keepers.
© The Biblical Studies Foundation ( www.bible.org ) Winter 2001
http://feeds.bible.org/dianne_miller/patriarchs/patriarchs_message1.mp3
Lesson 2: Genesis 25:27-34; 27:1-28:22
Introduction= video clip: Favoritism
Do you have a favorite in the family? Favorite child, grandchild, sister, nephew?
Play video. Isaac’s family had favorites and we’ll see how that played out in their story.
Outline:
I. Birthright sold to Jacob - Genesis 25:27-34
II. Blessing stolen by Jacob - Genesis 27:1-46
III. Blessing is given by Isaac - Genesis 28:1-9
IV. Blessing is confirmed by God - Genesis 28:10-22
I. Birthright sold
A. Favorites READ Genesis 25:27-28. Last week we looked at their birth, scripture seems to skip over their childhood, pick up the story when they are young men. By this time, Esau is an outdoorsman, loves to fish, hunt, shops at Bass Pro and REI while Jacob is a homebody, like to cook and read books, orders on line from Williams Sonoma and Amazon. These men are vastly different, and isn’t that way with your children, nieces, nephews, so different. That’s the uniqueness of each of us but tragic problems in this family stem from the fact that Isaac and Rebekah each favored one child over another.
The parents fail to provide the background of justice on which all true community and family life must be founded. They each champion a favourite; they allow the boys to divide them. As a result they further divide the boys and break apart what they are meant to unite.
Ronald S. Wallace 1
This favoritism will result in marital discord, sibling rivalry, hatred, distrust. Sadly this learned trait will be passed on to the next generation.
If you have ever taken favoritism lightly, laughed at it in your family, I encourage you to re-examine the potentially disastrous consequences on everyone. If you have been the favored or the non-favored in a family, I want to remind you that God loves us all equally, that is so comforting.
Act 10:34 Then Peter started speaking: “I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism in dealing with people,
Romans 2:11 For God does not show favoritism
God chooses people for certain callings, he places us in different families for His purposes, but He loves all His creation, sent his Son for all to be saved.
I Timothy 2:5,6 There is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men…
Knowing that family tension between the two sons, let’s look at the story of the birthright. Picture the scene: Imagine Jacob in the kitchen, smell the bacon and onions cooking, lentil stew is simmering, corn bread and butter. In walks Esau who hasn’t eaten anything all day. READ Genesis 25:30-34. You read in your lesson the significance of the birthright. It was basically the inheritance rights of the eldest son: headship of the family, major share of the family’s property, and the right to the parental blessing. But Esau was hungry! Starving! Also very foolish. This casual attitude and lack of respect for the birthright shows how little Esau valued the Covenant. They had grown up knowing about the blessing, twins were 15 years old when Abraham died, so there were probably many years of grandparenting/parenting, of investing in these boys, of telling them about the Promises of God, sharing his experiences with God. It would seem that Jacob somewhat understood the value of this Covenant but Esau did not. Esau later regretted his decision, he even tries to put all the blame on Jacob but in fact he had a choice, he chose instant gratification over spiritual blessings.
Truth: Our choices reveal what our hearts treasure.
Application: We have a birthright too if we have trusted Christ as our Lord and Savior. We have been promised eternal security that begins now and is forever. We also have the reality of our inheritance right now through the person of the indwelling Holy Spirit. New Covenant is written on our hearts. Are you making any “Esau choices” right now? How did you answer that question? Is there an area of your spiritual inheritance that you’re neglecting or ignoring? Are you making wise decisions regarding your spiritual health? How awake is your soul? In this story we are warned: watch out what choices you’re making, they reveal your heart’s treasure.
The Birthright is sold to Jacob and sometime later The Blessing is stolen by Jacob
II. Blessing stolen by Jacob - Genesis 27:1-46
A. Isaac’s decision. READ Genesis 27:1-4. Isaac is approx 137 yrs, boys are 77. Perhaps Isaac is thinking of his older half brother Ishmael who had died at 137. Seems his thoughts were full of his own death, decided to take care of his will=for him was the Patriarchal blessing. It was customary for his time/place, in basically an nonliterate world, to give this orally, an oral blessing, legally binding. Isaac is ready but he has a problem. He wanted to give the blessing to Esau, his favorite son, but he knew God’s will was to have Jacob the heir through the prophecy given to Rachel. Maybe he didn’t know that Esau had sold the birthright, he did know about the pagan wives Esau had foolishly chosen. How could this blessing be passed on to Esau? Only one way, secretly. It was also customary to gather all the family together for the blessing to be transferred (Genesis 49). Isaac knew that if he told the household of his intention of blessing Esau there would be a great uproar. Rebekah would loudly protest, nag him about the prophecy, probably make him feel guilty and miserable- only way to avoid that would be to secretly, hurriedly arrange the blessing just between Esau and himself. Isaac determines to give the blessing to the wrong son.
Truth: Self-will, doing things our way for what we want, can cause you to circumvent God’s will.
Application: Do you ever see yourself doing that? I remember a time in my life where I said to myself “I want this so bad, it’s a good thing, I’m sure God would want it for me too” and I can’t truly say I ever asked “God is this what You want for me?” Consequences of that are sometimes God will give you what you want, and it’s not at all good, not really want you wanted. Psalm 106:15 Israelites in the wilderness craved food, grumbling, I want what I want, God gave them “overgave” them, caused “leanness of their soul” “wasting disease”
B. Rebekah’s been listening READ Genesis 27:5-10. She devises a daring plan instructing Jacob to impersonate Esau to get the blessing. Rebekah is the instigator, Jacob is the accomplice.
He’s not thrilled about the plan, objects READ Genesis 27:11-13. So Jacob leaves and gets the meat and Rebekah makes stew, while it’s cooking she goes in Esau’s closet, gets his best clothes, still smell like outdoors, dresses Jacob in them, disguises him, gets the tray ready and sends him in to Isaac, who by now probably has cataracts so bad he can hardly see anything, certainly nothing clearly.
C. READ Genesis 27:18 Jacob tells one lie after another, last is the worst. READ v19-20 I succeeded because God helped me. Wonder if he didn’t worry that thunder and lightning might strike him. Tension builds, Isaac still has some doubts and wants to examine him, come over and let me touch you. “At this point” says Martin Luther, (if I were Jacob) I would have let the dish fall and would have run” but Bishop Hall responds and says no doubt Rebekah was standing at the door, and wouldn’t have wanted to run into her, stays let’s dad touch him, voice almost gives him away. He has one last opportunity to make things right READ Genesis 27:24. Lies again. Isaac eats and gives the
D. Blessing Genesis 27:27-29 to Jacob. a. Material Genesis 27:28 dew, grain, wine. b. Spiritual Genesis 27:29 Jacob will be lord over his brethren and the nations, God’s blessings are upon him. God’s choice is blessed but the consequences of this deception are tragic.
Truth: Don’t scheme to get God’s will because “the fruit of deception always turns bitter in the mouth” 2 points about scheming:
1. The motivation for scheming was unbelief. Rebekah panicked when she heard about Isaac’s plans. She believed the promise but she didn’t believe that God could accomplish it without her help. Impatient, didn’t pray, took matters into her own hands.
2. The ends never justify the means. God will not bless you for doing wrong to achieve good. God’s covenantal blessing of Jacob was because He sovereignly chose him to inherit the promises but there were great severe tragic consequences from this deception.
Proverbs 19:5 A false witness will not go unpunished, and the one who spouts out lies will not escape punishment.
The whole family suffered in the strife it brought the household, Rebekah suffered-as far as we know she never saw her son again, she was burdened with daughter-in-laws who gave her great grief. Jacob had to leave home, deal for 20 years with Laban who abused and cheated him, Jacob ultimately was deceived by his own sons, all the consequences of not trusting God to work out His promises His way
Application: Deception is one of the repeated generational sins in this family. Is it in yours? Can you see where it shows up? Is unbelief in God’s promise to take care of you, meet your needs, provide for you, is that causing you to run ahead of Him? Have you ever panicked like Rebekah thinking God is not coming through for me, I need to do something!
Jacob leaves, Esau enters. Hey dad, sit up, just got home from hunting, made your favorite stew, let’s eat and you can bless me. ”Who are you” What do you mean, I’m Esau.
E. Isaac’s discovery READ Genesis 27:33. Isaac trembled violently, shook all over, Turning point in the story, in the life of Isaac. Isaac realizes he’s been up against the will of God, he can’t revoke Jacob’s blessing, not culturally allowed. Esau is crushed and begs his father for some kind of blessing.
F. Esau’s determination is a warning to us.
a. READ Genesis 27:34 bitter cry= angry and mad b. blames others Genesis 27:36 doesn’t see his own part, own wrong choices c. demanding, badgers dad “do something for me too” Genesis 27:38 bless me too..weeps. We might feel some sympathy for him but his tears were simply frustrated selfishness. READ Hebrews Genesis 27:39-40.
Esau and his descendants would live in the mountains of Edom, some of the most desolate and barren places on earth, southeast of the Dead Sea. MAP and picture of area.
Esau held a grudge that turned into a murder plot.
G. Rebekah heard about it, determined to protect Jacob at all costs, calls for him. Jacob, dear, your brother’s angry, in fact I’ve heard he wants to kill you, so go away for a few days until he gets over it. In that culture, she didn’t have the authority to send him away, the head of the household would have to make that decision, there would be a formal send-off, so she needed a reason. Again, she uses deception and goes to Isaac says “now look, Jacob’s not getting any younger, needs a wife, we don’t want any more Canaanite girls, godly wife, send Jacob back to my relatives for a god-fearing girl. Why? Commentators: 1. foreshadowing of OT LAW Exodus 34:16; Deuteronomy 7:3. 2. marriage w/in a clan was culturally favored custom of the time. 3. stay within own ethnic group. She discreetly doesn’t say anything about the death threats on Jacob’s life. I wonder how much Isaac really knew of Rebekah’s part in the deception, he doesn’t seem to get angry with her, agrees with her suggestion about seeking a godly wife. Although he may have been mad at Jacob, he recognizes and affirms God’s preference for him as heir of the Covenant. Family gathers together, Jacob’s bags are packed, ready to go.
III. Blessing is given by Isaac - Genesis 28:1-9
READ Genesis 28:1-5 Isaac confirms the Covenantal Promises given to Abraham, blessings, great nation, land, these promises are for Jacob. What Isaac wanted for his child is what all believers want for theirs: he wanted Jacob married to a fellow believer who walks with God and values spiritual truths. Isn’t that what you want for your loved ones? Whether or not they have a lot of money, a great education, social standing, it all pales in comparison to their spiritual walk with God, doesn’t it? Question becomes: If that’s what we want, is that the message we are sending out to our family? Is that the way we live our lives? Does our spiritual life, our walk with God, is it real? Is that what we are known to value most of all? Ie story: lunch “does anyone want to talk about what God is doing in their lives?”
IV. Blessing is confirmed by God (through a dream) Genesis 28:10-22
A. Jacob leaves, gone about 45 miles north of Beersheba, 45 miles from home, night, alone, homesick, fearful (what would keep Esau from following him) robbers, wild animals, perhaps he was thinking of his past: what a mess, feel like a failure, hate what I did. Perhaps thinking of his present: what am I doing here? basically running away from home when I’m supposed to be the heir, what if dad dies while I’m gone? Maybe thinking of his future: long journey ahead, could be hazardous, how am I going to find a wife, what if I don’t like her? How long am I going to be away from home? Whatever his thoughts were as he went to sleep, God knew his needs, he needed a word from God.
God does that for us too, when we’re at the end of ourselves, when we’re facing something new, when we have no strength left, God comes.
B. Dream Genesis 28:12-15 READ
Well-known story. Ladder,stairway=“sullam” Hebrew only occurs here, unique appearing of God, first of 7 times recorded God appears to Jacob (Genesis 31:3; Genesis 32:1,2,24-30;Genesis 35:1,9-13;Genesis 46:1-4). God reaffirms the Covenant, we wonder what does this unique ladder, stairway with angels going up/down mean? Clue=v15 God says “I am with you” “I’m here in everything that happens to you, with you” No matter what mess you’ve gotten yourself in, no matter what consequences you’re living with because of your own choices, no matter how fearful you might be, no matter what, I am with you, going to take care of you and accomplish My purposes for your life.
Truth: Regardless of your present life’s circumstances, it’s possible to experience the presence of the living God.
Hebrews 13:5; Matthew 28:20 I am with you always
Application: There may be times that God seems to be far off; those are the times we walk by faith and not by sight, but if we are determined to trust, follow even in the darkness- one day you, like Jacob, you’ll probably wake up, look back and say “surely the Lord is in this place” Genesis 28:16. I know God is with me, God has been here even when I didn’t see Him. Jacob’s response is worship and a vow, commentators differ interpreting these verses, I personally don’t think Jacob is bargaining here, I think he’s taking his first steps with God, testing out if this faith thing is really real. Ie My conversion story. Here the God of Abraham and Isaac becomes the God of Jacob.
Application: In our story, who do you identify with?
If I were honest= Esau, really want what I want when I want it, don’t like to wait.
Isaac= I want what I want too, I want my favorite things, favorite people, my way, ok it may mean I have to be a little secretive but who’s going to know?
Rebekah= I too want what you want, my favorites too and by the way I know what is best, I know how to get it even if I have to tell a little white lie, re-arrange circumstances, I don’t want anyone to be hurt, but really, haven’t you read the statistics: nobody tells the truth all the time.
Jacob= times I just go along to get what I want: lie, deception, I don’t want to get in trouble but I do want what I want
Truth: God’s will, not ours, will ultimately prevail. God rules and overrules.
Our struggle is not so much discovering the will of God but in doing it. It is NOT God’s Will that we have favoritism, deception, manipulation, hatred, lying in our lives, they come with unavoidable consequences. It IS His Will that we listen, obey and follow His leading, His Words. Learn these lessons, choose to be a Covenant Keeper.
© The Biblical Studies Foundation ( www.bible.org ) Winter 2001
1 Ronald S. Wallace, Isaac and Jacob (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982) 30.
http://feeds.bible.org/dianne_miller/patriarchs/patriarchs_message2.mp3
Lesson 3: Genesis 29, 30, 31
Introduction
I love Broadway musicals don’t you? One of my all-time favorites is Annie, life of little orphan Annie, one of my favorite songs is it’s a “Hard Knock Life” describing the misery of growing up in an orphanage. WATCH VIDEO Without the song and dance, if we were going to describe this period in the life of Jacob, it would be his “hard knocks”
Scriptures tell us Jeremiah 18/Romans 9 that we are like clay in God the potter’s hands. He can mold us, make us, refine us as He chooses, “shaping as seemed best to him”
Last week we saw Jacob’s deception, his scheming, his manipulating to get the Blessing but even in those wrong methods God saw the potential in Jacob that never seemed to be in Esau, the potential to value the spiritual and yet God also saw in Jacob the strong will that was bent on doing things his way. It was that strong will that God took and put back on the potter’s wheel and through a series of hard knock life lessons, difficult circumstances, God is refining Jacob, God is using the 20 years of hard knocks in Laban’s household to prepare him to return home, to fulfill His purposes for this man.
Outline:
I. Jacob deceived has double wedding - Genesis 29:1-30
II. Jacob divided has children - Genesis 29:31 -30:24
III. Jacob dealing bargains for wages - Genesis 30:25-43
IV. Jacob determined flees from Laban - Genesis 31:1-55
I. Wedding - Genesis 29:1-30
A. Meeting family Genesis 29:1-14
Jacob finally reaches Paddam Aram (MAP) sees a well, sheep, shepherds waiting around to water the animals. To him this is unusual, thirsty animals and a covered up well, so he starts a conversation, where you from= Haran. do you know my relatives= yes, here comes his daughter Rachel. why aren’t you watering the animals= we can’t yet, whether the well belonged to Laban or it was the custom to wait until all the herds were there we don’t know but Rachel finally gets to the well, the first thing Jacob does is roll the top off the well and water her flocks and then READ Genesis 29:11 insight into Jacob’s character, tender and affectionate man, looking at Rachel perhaps thinking this is my mother’s family, this is my cousin, here is my uncle Laban, hugs, kisses but in about a month the party over.
B. Matchmaking READ Genesis 29:15
Sounds generous of Laban but actually saying “if you’re going to stay here, you’re going to need to work” Jacob was used to hard work but it was in the position of being the wealthy son of Isaac, now he would be the servant of Laban, his hard knock life begins.
Jacob came w/nothing, says he’ll work 7 yrs for Rachel. Laban has 2 daughters Genesis 29:16,17. Oldest Leah, weak eyes=poor vision(nearsighted), pale eyes, light colored= in a culture that valued dark, fiery oriental eyes, eyes were best feature compared to her beautiful sister, Rachel had a great figure( how could you tell under all those clothes?) Willing to work 7 yrs= seems incredible in our instant gratification culture to wait, for anything that long, but he does because READ Genesis 29:18-20 this should be a foreshadowing, he has to remind Laban, time’s up, I want to get married.
C. Wedding night Jacob is going to learn a lesson in the school of hard knocks. “Reap what you sow” READ Genesis 29:22-25. Poor Jacob has the wrong wife and we’re still wondering why he didn’t figure this out until morning, maybe she was about the same size, dressed in some of Rachel’s clothes, a lot of perfume, veils, still don’t get it…my only conclusion is “we know how observant men are” ie cartilage earring. Why did you deceive me? Genesis 29:25 it’s our custom, older daughter marries first, Jacob is trapped, Laban’s new deal: wait a week marry Rachel, work another 7yrs for her.
Truth: You reap what you sow Galatians 6:7-10
Deceiver Jacob was deceived. Tragic that this repeated family sin hangs on with different family members. Biblical truth shows up in so many stories: Pharaoh (Exodus 1:22) has every Hebrew male child drowned, in the end his men were drowned in the Red Sea. Evil King Ahab caused innocent Naboth’s death and “dogs licked up his blood” (I Kings 21:19) when Ahab died in battle, his chariot was brought back to Samaria, when they washed it in the pool “the dogs licked his blood” (I Kings 22:38) Haman prepared gallows for Mordecai was hanged upon them himself (Esther 7:10). Not always do we see the close connection between doing something wrong and its consequences, but God says we will reap what we sow, eventually. Application: What are you sowing right now in your life? What are you reaping from what you sowed earlier? What will 5, 10 years from now look like because of your current behavior? In your family, at work, are you sowing trust, love, encouragement, support, honesty, justice, understanding, peace? Or something else?
II. Children - Genesis 29:31 -30:24
This section records the births of 12 children, should be a time of great happiness, but as we read we’re disappointed w/all the domestic fighting, envying, jealousy. See Leah, wife not loved, does bear children but she frustrated longs for Jacob to love her. Rachel, beautiful, favored wife, barren, jealous of her sister’s ability to have children, complainer. Just like today, all this family infighting left its mark on these children.
A. Leah Genesis 29:31 “not loved”, this is really all the commentary we have about the relationship between Jacob/Leah. Counterpart today=neglected wife, one who is in a “less than perfect” marriage, marriage seems like no marriage at all, going separate ways. In a culture where divorce was not an option, no getting away, Leah’s marriage seemed to drive her to depend on the Lord.
NLT © Psalms 27:10 Even if my father and mother (HUSBAND) abandon me, the Lord will hold me close.
We see her dependence on the Lord in the names she gives her sons, look @progression
Reuben “see a son” Genesis 29:32 Covenant name Yahweh, for Lord has seen, husband will love
Simeon “hearing” Genesis 29:33 Lord heard, how did he hear, thru her prayers,
Levi “attached” Genesis 29:34 not what happens
Judah “praise” Genesis 29:35 possible that Leah has stopped seeing the births as a means to get Jacob’s love, praised God for his gift of her children
Leah had a bad situation, one that God didn’t change, but instead he gave her the grace to live in that situation, her joy came from the Lord and the gifts He gave her. He gave her sons that would become the fathers of the Jewish Tribes of Israel, through her son Levi, priests would come. Judah her son of praise would be the tribe that Messiah Jesus Christ would come. She was definitely a Covenant mother, Covenant Keeper.
B. Rachel-she seems every bit as miserable as Leah, more, couldn’t get pregnant in a society that demanded that of her. Maybe she wondered “would she lose Jacob’s love because she couldn’t give him a child? Would he begin to love Leah more? Her worries led her to acts of despair:
1. Genesis 30:1 demanded children from Jacob: Jacob doesn’t seem to have a problem making babies. Jacob’s response= sees her irrational behavior gets angry READ Genesis 30:2. Comment to all unmarried, engaged getting ready to marry: in every marriage, even the love story of Jacob/Rachel, point when the honeymoon is OVER. Glimpse here of marital fighting.
2. Rachel gives her maid Bilhah. Hard to imagine she didn’t know about Hagar/Ishmael, Jacob did, he should have warned her, wait let’s do it God’s way, let’s pray like my dad did. Jacob goes along, Dan is born “judged” v6; that worked so let’s try it again, Naphtali Genesis 30:8 “my struggle”
C. Leah plays same game Genesis 30:9-13 her maid Zilpah, Gad Genesis 30:11=“good fortune” Asher=Happy.
D. Mandrakes Genesis 30:14-21 story of the mandrakes, seems a strange insert. Reuben, small boy found them=Mandrakes are the fruit of the Mandragora officinarum, a member of the Solanaceae or potato order, closely allied to the Atropa belladonna. It is a common plant all over Israel, flourishing particularly in the spring and ripening about the time of the wheat harvest (Genesis 30:14). The plant has a rosette of handsome dark leaves, dark purple flowers and orange, tomato-like fruit.
‘love apples’ thousands of years regarded as an aphrodisiac. Rachel begs Leah. Insight into these sister wives relationship Genesis 30:15 whatever else was happening Rachel had nothing to do with that, in fact the opposite happened, Leah took Rachel’s husband, but we see how desperate Rachel is to get pregnant, she barters sleeping with Jacob for the mandrake hoping they would solve her problem. Instead ironically Leah gets pregnant with #5 son Issachar Genesis 30:18 “reward”, Zebulun Genesis 30:20 “honor” Leah gives all the credit to God for sons, daughter named Dinah “judgment”
E. light in this darkness for Rachel Genesis 30:22-24. God listened to her prayers, He answered. This birth had nothing to do with mandrakes, nothing to do with manipulation, nothing to do with demands, everything to do with God’s timing, God’s will. Rachel had to stop trying to control her life and turn it over to God.
Truth= God wants us to come to the end of our own efforts to get our own desires and trust Him to dispense His blessings wisely, justly, and compassionately (Constable’s notes NET)
Whether you marry or don’t marry, have children or don’t have children, get that job or don’t, move or stay, STOP striving in your own strength to get your way, give it up holding so tightly and open your hands to receive the good things God has planned.
Application: Basically both Leah and Rachel had to learn the same lesson. Their sufficiency, their happiness could not come from their husband or even their children. Their jealousy, sibling rivalry, bitterness, envy over what they did not have, did not lead to happiness. Only when they saw, at times, that their source of true fulfillment was in Yahweh, the Lord and his blessings did they find peace.
III. Wages - Genesis 30:25-43
A. 14 yrs pass. Jacob wants to be released from contract and permitted to go home. In this culture, it was necessary to get the father’s permission to release his wives/children because they were still technically part of his household. Jacob talks with Laban, stay, I’ll pay you, work out a deal, more lessons in this hard knock life for Jacob.
B. Jacob really needed to think about this. Been there 14yrs working hard, nothing to show for it except 2 wives/2 maids/12 kids. Ie Troy at rehearsal dinner, wife, 3 kids, mortgage
Jacob had a family but didn’t have any money, no flocks, herds of his own, no capital, if he left how could he support them? Negotiates w/Laban, they decide his wages will be the abnormal colored animals that are bred, deviant colored ones. Today as back then, the dominant color of Bedouin sheep is solid white, dominant color of goats is dark brown/black. Spotted, striped are the minority. This agreement seems to favor Laban but Jacob has the blessings of God promised to him. Life lessons to learn:
Protect your integrity. At this point Jacob had been working for 14 yrs to pay off the dowry, no doubt he had opportunity to put away something for himself, didn’t. conscientiously worked as Laban’s servant, no complaining, quietly working hard, honestly, so that he could say Genesis 30:32,33 my integrity will testify for me. No matter who you work for, even if it’s Laban, protect your integrity.
Mature your work ethic. If Jacob had not wanted to work hard he could have found many excuses: Laban cheated me, now he owes me or God promised to bless me so I don’t have to put in too many hours. That wasn’t his attitude READ Genesis 31:38-41.
See your success as from God. Jacob is going to acquire great wealth in these few years, yes he works hard, yes uses unusual to us breeding techniques, but in the end Jacob knows his prosperity is from God. Genesis 31:10-13 I had this dream God told me I see what Laban has been doing to you, remember I’m the God you met at Bethel, remember the promises I made to you, to be with you, to bless you.
Prosperity can have one of two effects on people. Some view their success as a trust from God and put it to good use for him. Others, however see it as a personal accomplishment and the means to personal power. Such an independent, self-sufficient attitude is harmful to the faith, for it robs God of his honor by attributing the prosperity to human ingenuity.
Allen P Ross 1
Finally it’s time to go home
IV. Going Home - Genesis 31
With his prosperity comes conflict, increasing animosity between households of Laban/Jacob.
God comes in a dream, “leave, time to go” Jacob decides to have a family meeting, calls his wives out the field- no wiretaps, no one can listen, secret meeting. Shared his intentions of leaving, reviewed details of his long service to their father, dream, God’s instructions to leave. You can see the estranged relationship these sisters have w/father, no hope of inheritance, they were treated as slaves, felt no love for him, ready to go.
A. Preparations to leave are made, while Laban is away spring sheep shearing, pack up/
Rachel stole father’s idols, Genesis 31:19 easy to do with Laban gone, why? 1. Word “teraphim”=to inquire, w/o them, father couldn’t inquire where they had gone 2. She believed in them 3. Custom of the day=possession of family gods carried w/then inheritance rights, she wanted them for Jacob.
B. Laban heard, raced home, organized search party, that’s when he saw the gods gone. Jacob had children/flocks to slow him down, Laban traveled faster, caught up w/them. Swaggers into camp, Genesis 31:26-29a switch in his speech, perhaps he saw Jacob/his daughter standing staring at him, boasted of his strength, ability to harm Jacob, but God warned him in a dream, leave him alone, so you left, why did you take my idols?
C. must have hit a nerve Genesis 31:31 but we don’t have your idols go ahead and search us, tense scene, we know Rachel did it, but Jacob doesn’t it, when she heard “death penalty” really scared her, needed a plan, amazing kept her composure, at least long enough to hide them under her clothes, so Laban never found them. Now Jacob is really
D. Angry Genesis 31:36-42 accuses his father-in-law of treachery in all their business dealings for the last 20 years, gives all the credit to God for intervening on his behalf Genesis 31:42.
E. Laban is speechless, almost. Knew he was beaten, one last hurrah Genesis 31:43, what can I do? Offers to make a covenant Genesis 31:44-45, nonaggression pact-Laban’s main purpose= keep Jacob from any retaliation in the future, if Jacob would become so powerful, so rich that he would want to return and reclaim Laban’s estate. Jacob didn’t want to return, but he also didn’t want Laban to follow him. Gathered stones, made a pile, as a testimony to their pact. Laban used the Aramaic =Jegar; Jacob used Hebrew= Galeed. They swore by names of God. Laban Genesis 31:53 Jacob=Fear of father Isaac=his designation for Yahweh. Last we hear of Laban.
It’s been a hard knock life for Jacob for 20 years, living with Laban, learning life lessons, learning to depend and trust on the God of Abraham, Isaac. God was preparing him to return home, return and live as heir of the promise. Return and live following God. These 20 years were hard knocks- there was deception, dishonesty, fear, distrust, jealousy, through it all, God was with him, God kept his promises, God was bringing him home, a different man, a man who through adversity was learning to be a Covenant Keeper.
Application: God uses hard knocks in our lives too for similar purpose= Covenant Keeper
© The Biblical Studies Foundation ( www.bible.org ) Winter 2001
1 Allen P. Ross, Genesis (Grand Rapids, MI:Baker Books, 1988) p. 517.
http://feeds.bible.org/dianne_miller/patriarchs/patriarchs_message3.mp3
Lesson 4: Genesis 32, 33
Note: There is no message available for Lesson Four.
Passage:
Lesson 5: Genesis 34, 35, 36
Introduction
Have you been to the movies lately? So few worth seeing, many have the themes of
Seduction, rape, revenge, defenseless killing. Sounds like a R-rated movie doesn’t it? Surprise, it’s just Jacob’s dysfunctional family right here in the bible. Did you wonder? Why is this depressing story even in the bible? What purpose could God have for including it? Why all this tragedy? Life of Jacob certainly seems to have great swings of highs and lows. In Genesis 34 we’re definitely swinging low with injustice, rape and murder- but then in Genesis 35 we swing up, with new beginnings, we see that with God, His amazing grace, we can all start all over- when we’re repentant. Then we swing down again, in a totally different way, we see Jacob deal with 3 deaths of loved family members. Our lives are also like these swings, things that we experience seem to take us up and down. Throughout these swings: highs and lows; there is one constant: God’s love for us, His grace towards us, His commitment to keep His promises to us. This lesson wraps up our emphasis on Jacob-ending “Jacob stories” next week we’ll see that in the rest of Genesis our focus will be on the sons of Jacob, in particular, Joseph.
Outline:
I. Jacob’s Family Scandal - Genesis 34:1-31
II. Jacob’s Family at Bethel - Genesis 35:1-15
III. Jacob’s Family Sorrows - Genesis 35:16-29
I. Jacob’s Family Scandal - Genesis 34
A. Seduction Genesis 34:1-4. READ. Why did this happen? Who was responsible?
1. Dinah? Most likely she was a teenager, curious, wanting to act grown up, go places, have fun, they lived close to the city of Shechem. We know she had 11 brothers, no mention of a sister, perhaps she just wanted to be w/other girls. We don’t know any details like: had she been told to stay out of the city? Had she been told not to go anywhere alone? Did she have any restrictions? We do know she ended up in the wrong place, wrong time, unsupervised.
2. Brothers? Oriental society, eldest son in the household was responsible for the younger ones. Remember the story of Abraham’s servant sent to find a bride for Isaac? He negotiated the Rebekah’s father Bethuel and with the eldest brother Laban. Dinah’s brothers shared some responsibility for her protection but Genesis 34:7 tells us they were out in the field working.
3. Shechem, son of Hamor, Hivite, people group related to the Hurrians of Northern Mesopotamia, pagans, as we’ll see they didn’t practice the rite of circumcision. The fact that he raped Dinah, a virgin girl, is shocking but the fact that there is an utter neglect of any wrong doing reveals the low moral standards of this community. There’s no confession, no apology, no asking to make restitution v4 Get me this girl sends his father
4. Jacob First question: why are you even living in Shechem? You made a vow to God 20 years earlier at Bethel, to return there, then God came to you in Paddam Aram (Genesis 31:3) and said “return to the land of your fathers, your relatives” you don’t have any relatives in Shechem. Why are you here? And you’re head of the family, what kind of advice and protection did you give Dinah? Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had 3 teenagers, I know he could have been the very best parent and Dinah could have still slipped out and gotten raped. Genesis 34:5 bothers me. How could a loving, caring, protective parent keep silent? I have a hard time understanding his lack of action, his lack of outrage?
In a culture today that seems just as permissive as Shechem: what a call to us as parents, grandparents to protect our children, to chaperone them well, to question their activities, to know where they are.
Hamor, the father, meets with Jacob, the father and while they’re meeting. READ Genesis 34:7
B. Brothers’ reaction Genesis 34:7. Seething w/anger, righteously indignant over the wrong done to their sister, to their family “in Israel, such a thing that should not be done”. These very words are said later in Israel’s history by Tamar when her half brother Amon tries to rape her she begs him to ask their father for permission to marry her first “such a thing should not be done in Israel” (2 Samuel 13:12)
C. Hamor pleads with the sons, he loves her, we can become one big happy family, intermarry, do business together, form a power alliance, this can be a win-win. Shechem adds (Genesis 34:11,12) I’ll pay whatever price you ask.
D. Before Jacob can respond the sons take over the negotiations. We wonder who demonstrates the greater evil in this chapter? Shechem or the sons of Jacob? Shechem did wrong, he raped Dinah, but seemed to truly love her and offered a proper dowry, and father Hamor held out a hand of friendship suggesting their peoples join together. It’s this openness and generosity that is the basis for the brother’s plan of revenge and what’s worse they use the Covenant to deceive. READ Genesis 34:13 , “deceitfully” this is the same word used in Genesis 27:35 Jacob deceived his father Isaac. READ Genesis 34:14-17 Hamor, Shechem agree, it seems a cheap price to pay for the advantages to be gained. Unaware of the brother’s hidden agenda, they focused persuading their people to accept the arrangement and don’t you know that would take some convincing. Ultimately it was a business deal, sold the community on the benefits of becoming assimilated with Jacob’s family, so they were circumcised Genesis 34:24.
E. Three days later while all the men were still in pain, Simeon and Levi massacred the city. Perhaps we could understand if Dinah’s brothers plotted to kill Shechem, but the whole city? All the men? Truly barbaric. Other brothers didn’t seem to participate in the killing but they were ready to sack the city READ Genesis 34:27-29, looted, took captives, violence of the sword, violence of the scavengers, these are the people of God?
F. Jacob stood in horror over their behavior and when they got home he gave them a scolding (use that word because the rebuke he gives his sons seems to be so lacking in comparison to what they have done) READ Genesis 34:30. They massacred and plundered an entire city and Jacob says “you’ve embarrassed me, ruined my reputation, put our family in danger- what about their sin, horrible act of murdering innocent people? Why is there no confrontation about that?
G. Self-defense Genesis 34:31 Their reply shows no regret for what they had done, instead of repenting, they just wanted to justify themselves, they saw sin in the rape but none if themselves. Their sense of justice was right but their methods to avenge were cruel and excessive.
Truth: Revenge is always a wrong response to injustice.
NET © I Thessalonians 5:15 See that no one pays back evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all.
NET © Hebrews 10:30 For we know the one who said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”
NET Romans12:17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil; consider what is good before all people. 12:18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all people. 12:19 Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God’s wrath, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” says the Lord (Deutoronomy 32:35)
Application: Is there someone who has wronged you, or you have a second hand offense, someone has hurt your husband, your child, your parents? Are you planning to get back in some way? So many ways to get revenge: maybe your method =covertly undercover, quiet, nurse the hurt inwardly, build a wall, close down a relationship, shut them out, OR maybe overtly aggressive = try to harm them in some way, their reputation, their job, their relationships. You can see the damage revenge does in this story, do you see it in your life? Your relationships? Work, family, friends?
II. Jacob’s Family at Bethel - Genesis 35:1-15
Can you imagine the tension in this family right now? Dinah is shamed, alone, seen the carnage. Her brothers Simeon, Levi still angry, defiant no matter what dad says. Leah, mother/wife, wonder what her reaction was to what her sons have done. Jacob, embarrassed, fearful, uncertain of their future, again right when things seem the darkest, God comes, reminds Jacob of his unfulfilled vow to return to his father’s house.
A. READ Genesis 35:1. Go up to Bethel, map it’s 20 miles south, but higher in elevation 1,000ft. Remember Bethel? Place where God had come personally to Jacob in a dream, Bethel was a holy place. Genesis 12:8 Abraham built an altar when he arrived in land; after his trip to Egypt he returned to Bethel (Genesis 13:3). Bible seems to infer that “Bethel” is a type of a place we go to dedicate, rededicate ourselves to the Lord. Application: for me, my daily Bethel, is my blue chair upstairs where I start the day, quietness, prayer, reading the bible. Weekly, my Bethel is here, church, with you, I worship, confess my sins, reaffirm my faith, strengthen by you, your presence, your faith. Jacob/family needed Bethel.
B. READ Genesis 35:2-4. Preparation Jacob calls his family together, prepares them for the trip.
Truth: With God, it’s never too late to start over.
Even if you’ve wasted many good years, even if you’ve messed up terribly, even if you feel like a failure, it’s never too late with God. Jacob has some instructions:
1. Put away foreign gods Does this surprise you? Does he now know about Rachel’s stolen gods? Did any of the sons bring along some gods from Shechem? Jacob knew all had to go because if you truly want spiritual revival, renewal in your life, really want to start over, you have to get rid of anything that competes with God being first, God has no rivals, as we see in the first of the 10 commandments “You shall have no other gods before me”, God demands single loyalty. We talk about getting rid of the idols in our lives, they are so often like Jacob’s family hidden, secret. We don’t carry around wooden statutes, we don’t worship relics, but we do have our own idols, at times they’re so hard at times to see, to identify. Wonder do you know what you’re idol is right now?
2. Purify yourselves –pure heart, pure bodies, our bodies today are temple of God
MSG © II Corinthians 6:16 Who would think of setting up pagan idols in God’s holy Temple? But that is exactly what we are, each of us a temple in whom God lives. God himself put it this way: “I’ll live in them, move into them; I’ll be their God and they’ll be my people.
3. Change your clothes –throughout scripture garments/cloths often symbolize character
“put on the Lord Jesus Christ” Here they are told to change the clothes that had been polluted in Shechem, put on new clothes associated w/holiness.
These gods could not be carried to Bethel, this family had to prepare to meet God. Jacob buries all their foreign gods, charms, pagan jewelry, and they set out.
C. God’s Protection READ Genesis 35:5 Fulfillment of His promise READ Genesis 28:15 I am with you, gets there, builds an altar, this is Bethel=house of God, renames EL Bethel= God of Bethel, the emphasis is not on the place but the God who he met there, reflects a change of heart in Jacob, come to Bethel to worship God.
D. God appears again Genesis 35:9 confirms the name change, Jacob to Israel, meaning God fights or fights with God. God repeats the Abrahamic Covenant this time adding that kings, rulers will come from this lineage. God’s blessings on humanity would come through Jacob and his descendants. Jacob responds to this Word from God by worshipping.
He is in sweet communion with God. Remember: it’s never too late to start over w/God, that’s so good, Jacob is in a good place, but circumstances are going to change, life is going to change as he experiences some deep family losses.
III. Jacob’s Family Sorrows
A. Loss of Deborah Genesis 35:8 along the journey. Deborah left Paddam Aram over 130 yrs earlier w/Jacob’s mother Rebekah, she was Jacob/Esau’s nanny. How did she get in Jacob’s household? Not sure, but this is probably our greatest single indication that Rebekah has died, she was sent to be w/him. Jacob probably loved her like a mother, she helped raise him. Deborah is one of the countless “ordinary people” in the Bible who help others become successful, wonderful servant. There is great sorrow when she dies, place where she is buried was named “oak of weeping” imagine great weeping at this time.
B. Loss of Rachel Genesis 35:16 READ Why did they travel now, 8/9 months pregnant? Travel was rough at best, she was in a cart or on a camel for long hours at a stretch, as they near Bethlehem, she went into labor READ Genesis 35:17-20 Rachel lived long enough to know she had a baby boy- but she knows she’s dying, baby will grow up w/o her, imagine that sorrow, sadness she feels as she names him “Ben-oni” son of my sorrow. Jacob full of grief himself cannot bear such a mark on this baby, though the one true love of his life is dying, he renames him “Benjamin”= son of my right hand, honored position. We’ll see how true this becomes, as Jacob keeps him close to him, as both father and mother to him. When you go to the Holy Land, hopefully you can see the area where she is buried
C. Lust of Reuben
Just when it seems like Jacob has more than enough to bear, we READ Genesis 35:21,22. Bilhad was Rachel’s, who had just died, maid. Rachel’s maid that she gave to Jacob to have children by her and Reuben was a half-brother to Dan, Naphtali- he slept with their mother, also Jacob’s concubine, this is incest. How could he defile one of his father’s wives, his brothers’ mother? It lacked all common decency. Seems that Jacob was stunned, numbed he failed to do anything, but he never forgot. Genesis 49 = Reuben lost the birthright of the eldest son because of this lack of self-control.
Truth: Remember every choice comes wrapped up in its own consequences.
D. Last days with father Isaac - Genesis 35:27-29 map
There are about 10 years between this reunion of father/son and Isaac’s death. Most commentators believe Isaac was still alive to console Jacob when Joseph is reported missing, but his death is inserted here to mark the transition from his family leadership to Jacob. Interesting to note that both Esau and Jacob are there together to bury him, it must have been comforting to Isaac to know his sons, on some level, had reconciled.
So why are these dramatic, tragic stories included in our bible? What purpose?
In the ups and downs of our lives, when God gives and takes away in our lives like Jacob’s there r lessons to learn so that we can become the women of faith God intends:
Parents, grandparents, families, protect the children, provide emotional, physical, spiritual protection they need.
Allow God to right wrongs, don’t plan revenge. Jesus said instead repay evil with good= that will define your life as a Christian, that’s different than the way our human nature is wired, repaying evil with good looks like Jesus to others
Clean house= spiritual house-cleaning, getting rid of bad habits, wrong attitudes, refusing addictions, rededicating ourselves to Christ, choosing Him, His ways.
In the ups and downs:
God is present with you… always
PRAYER
© The Biblical Studies Foundation ( www.bible.org ) Winter 2001
http://feeds.bible.org/dianne_miller/patriarchs/patriarchs_message5.mp3
Lesson 6: Genesis 37, 38
Introduction
Are you a MAC or are you a PC? Both computers, both can take you to the internet but there are differences, and loyal owners can tell you every detailed one of them. Interesting that in advertising MAC has boldly represented a MAC owner compared to a PC and just let that visible comparison of the two men sell the product. When you look at the two which one do you want to be?
Scripture writers use that technique too, they position a chapter, a story right next to another story or they sandwich in a story between bookends that they want the reader notice, to compare and contrast and see the difference.
We see that comparison in our lesson today with Genesis 37 and Genesis 38, really includes Genesis 39 which we’ll study next week. Two sons of Jacob, two different stories of separation.
We’re introduced to young man Joseph in Genesis 37 and it’s interesting that God gives more details about his life than any other biblical character. Barnhouse says “in Joseph’s life we find one of the few characters in the Bible about whom nothing bad is reported. He had an Adamic nature, but there is no record of it. In the life of Joseph we find incidents that remind us of Christ, of whom he is a type.” 1 Joseph faces separation from his family/temptation. In contrast, in Chapter 38 we meet Judah, 3rd son of Leah. He too becomes separated from his family and after a time he faces temptation, but his responses are radically different from his brother. God is at work in both their lives:
Outline:
I. Joseph is hated by his brothers - Genesis 37:1-11
II. Joseph is sold into slavery - Genesis 37:12-36
III. Judah is married to a Canaanite - Genesis 38:1-11
IV. Tamar gives birth to twins - Genesis 38:12-30
I. Joseph is hated - Genesis 37:1-11
A. Hebron. Genesis 37:14. Family is now settled in Hebron. MAP. Where his father Isaac had lived, where Abraham had lived with Sarah, where the family cemetery is. Settled in Hebron, but “settled” is hardly the right word to describe this family. There is confusion, disorder, sibling rivalry, hatred and amazingly Jacob seems unaware of the tension brewing. 10 against one. Why did the brothers have so much hatred for Joseph?
1. Bad reports. READ Genesis 37:2. Phrase “bad report” =when out in fields w/brothers he brought back to his dad reports that revealed their evil deeds, wrong doings. Not sure what they were, perhaps the brothers had mistreated the animals, or they disobeyed their father’s instructions, whatever he reported reflected poorly on his brothers. No doubt they were true but this had to add to their negative feelings toward him.
2. Favorite son. READ Genesis 37:3a. First born to the favored wife. He was younger than most of the brothers, Jacob loved him most, everyone knew it. Favortism is a reoccurring theme in this family. We’ve seen its devastating effects between Isaac and Rebekah, Esau and Jacob, here its repeated again, evidenced by READ Genesis 37:3b.
3. Richly ornamented robe we don’t know exactly what it looked like, Hebrew= kethoneth=tunic followed by passim=ankles or wrists Jewish Study Bible translates it as “ornamental robe” or “a coat of many colors” I personally like the idea of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”
Whatever it was it looked like a sign of nobility and it spoke volumes to the other brothers. Perhaps the kind of coat worn by those who don’t do physical labor, a coat worn by the heir, the one who was marked as inheriting the birthright, the power. When the brothers saw the coat it screamed to them Joseph was loved more, valued more and hated him. Ie. TIME magazine Oct 3, 2011 READ
We wonder why did Jacob do this? Didn’t he remember what favoritism had cost him in his childhood relationship with his brother? Or in the tension between his wives?
Why was Joseph hated? Not only did he bring his father bad reports, wear a gorgeous robe, he also had a couple of dreams that were clearly understood by everyone.
4. Symbolic dreams =predictions of his destiny
1. First dream. READ Genesis 37:6-8. No doubt Joseph cemented the brothers feelings toward him by sharing this dream. In this dream Joseph saw the harvest field and all the bundles of grain, suddenly his bundle stood up, erect, and all the brothers’ bundles bowed down to his. Meaning is obvious. This was a dream of Joseph’s power, position, dominance over them.
2. Second dream. READ Genesis 37:9, 10. This time not only the brothers but his mother (probably speaking of stepmother Leah) and father would bow down, Joseph would rule over the whole family of Israel. Little did they know how literally these dreams would come true, but the predictable results of sharing these dreams were: Genesis 37:8 they hated him even more Genesis 37:11 jealous of him. Ask: Should he have told them? Should he have shared these dreams with him? There’s no evidence that he bragged or boasted, he just told them, perhaps he was naïve in sharing with brothers who already hated him but these dreams reveal a destiny of greatness ahead for Joe. Already the scriptures present him as a very unusual young man, with strong moral character and faithfulness to his father
When we see him bring back a “bad report” it’s because he sees evil and tells, he’s honest. Whistleblower. The only people who hate whistleblowers are those who are guilty, the rest of us are really glad when someone blows the whistle on people/companies like Enron’s and Bernie Madoff’s. When someone stands up and reports wrong. We live in a society where we are trying hard to teach the children that truth-telling is not being a snitch or a tattletale, but truth-telling is about stopping the wrong. There’s no evidence that Joseph’s motivation for the bad reports was revenge or any kind of payback, he told because he saw wrong and couldn’t keep silent.
Ie At the beach, kids hitting birds, told the parents. There were no retaliatory consequences for me but for Joseph, his truth-telling resulted in his brother’s hatred.
Truth: Be ready to pay the price because sometimes truth-telling is painfully costly.
Application: is there a truth you need to tell but you’re holding back because you’re afraid of the consequences? Is there a situation you need to confront because it’s wrong?
II. Joseph is sold into slavery Genesis 37:12-36
A. Sent by father. READ Genesis 37:12-17. Probably the sons had traveled back north toward Shechem for better grazing lands (do you remember Genesis 35 what happened in this city) this was familiar land to them, lived in this area, Jacob owned land in this area. But they were gone so long Jacob became concerned for them, so he sent Joseph to check on their safety. Jacob should have known the emotional temperature of this family, should have known that if he sent out the boy to his brothers they might try to harm him, teach him a lesson. Joseph is instructed to go and he obeys. Not only does he go to Shechem he goes 20 miles north to Dothan in search of them MAP He is faithful to his father’s desires, this is an obedient son, does what his father has asked him to do.
B. Seen by his brothers. READ Genesis 37:18-23. At a distance the brothers see him, perhaps long before they see his face they see his coat “Guess who’s coming? Daddy’s favorite little boy, the dreamer, I just can’t stand him” full of envy and hatred toward him, plan to kill him. No surprise, we’ve seen these brothers kill and plunder now it’s directed toward their own brother. At this point Reuben steps up and suggests let’s not kill him but let’s sell him. We want to admire him for this, but he’s the eldest he knew the whole plan was wrong (Genesis 37:22) planning to rescue Joseph. Why didn’t he stand up to the rest of them, forget it, it’s our brother, why did he try instead to compromise? They go along with him; strip Joseph of his coat and throw him into a pit and…
C. Sit down to eat. READ Genesis 37:25. Can you believe their callous attitude? Eating when their brother is crying out to them (Genesis 42:21) for his life, save me, get me out of here, please help me. The cistern was empty of water, but it was deep, dark, impossible to climb out without help. Perhaps Joseph had visions of a slow, tortuous death, keeps crying. While they’re eating lunch, caravan in the distance. Judah now takes charge tries to save his life
D. Sell him as a slave. READ Genesis 37:26-27. In Dothan they were on one of the main trade routes to Egypt. The terms Ishamelites and Midianites refer to the members of the caravan, two people groups who were both sons of Abraham. Judah says look really we only want this boy out of our lives, if we sell him we can make some money, they receive 20 shekels of silver, price of a young boy. We see how envy and jealousy can lead to selling a brother, selling their own flesh and blood.
F. Reuben returns Genesis 37:29 and looks in the pit and is surprised/ horrified to find Joseph gone “rent, tore his clothes” literal tearing is a way of showing grief or sadness, what am I supposed to do now? Likely they said something like “shut up Reuben, you wanted him gone just like the rest of us, here take this money, your share, we sold him, that’s better than killing him right? He’s on his way to Egypt and we’ll never see him again, so let’s think up a plan to tell dad”
G. Showed the coat to Jacob READ Genesis 37:31-35
They deceived him with the blood of a goat, ironic that Jacob years before had deceived his father Isaac with the skins of a goat. Repeated family sin of deception cycles again Can you imagine the guilt they must have felt when they heard Jacob crying, totally given over to grief and sadness, sobbing days on end and no one could comfort him. This guilt would be suppressed and carried for the next 20 years, covered up the truth
H. Meanwhile Genesis 37:36 Joseph arrives in Egypt and is sold to a prominent Egyptian official named Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officers. Interesting how he is placed in a prominent household, he is not out in the fields, but he is no longer the favored son, he is a slave in a foreign land. At this point Joseph has to make a choice. He’s at the crossroads where most of us have been or will be someday. Crossroads of response to unfair treatment. One road leads to bitterness, anger, frustration with God and with whoever has hurt you. The other road looks beyond your suffering to God’s purposes, says I don’t understand but God you have allowed it for my good, I trust you God, show me how can I grow through this pain? How can I learn to trust you more? We know this is the road Joseph took when we read the rest of the story. Again, as we look at Joseph, his character, his choices, if we want to handle injustice like Joseph we need to learn that..
Truth: Trusting God’s power and purposes enable us to endure suffering while refusing bitterness and anger. ( I Peter 2:20-23)
Application: Has something happened to you that has broken your heart? Have you been unjustly picked on? What’s your attitude? What are you doing about it? In times of suffering it’s hard to hear God loves you because what you’re going through doesn’t feel like love, feels hard, difficult. God is Sovereign, He has allowed it for your good, wonder in times like this would you be willing to pray: God use this in my life for good, show me Your presence, help me to find my strength, my sufficiency in You alone
III. Judah is married to a Canaanite - Genesis 38:1-11
A. Purposes for including this account. We’ve just begun the Joseph stories and we’re interrupted by a story in the life of Judah. Why is it here? Already said this story will be in Contrast to Joseph’s story in Genesis 37,39 but are perhaps other reasons.
1. It accounts for the three families of the tribe of Judah (Numbers 26:20; Shelah, Perez, Zereh)
2. It contributes to our knowledge of the ancestry of David and ultimately Jesus Christ who came through Perez. Judah’s prophesied messianic lineage continues through this relationship w/Tamar (Matthew 1:3)
3. It reveals the established practice of the levirate marriage (Deuteronomy 25:5-10)
A man was to marry a deceased brother’s widow to preserve his line.
4. It shows the likelihood of future Hebrew marriages with Canaanite women, other pagan people groups, possibility of assimilation of the Hebrews into other cultures, other faiths if they remained in Palestine. Ultimately the Abrahamic covenant was threatened by his intermarriage. God knew this might happen and prophesied in Gen 15:13-16 a temporary 400 year move from Canaan to Egypt, where we’ll see the Hebrews live very separate lives in Goshen with very little intermarriage, there the tribes stay intact. So perhaps we see in this story the need to go to Egypt.
B. Marriage READ Genesis 38:1. Remember Joseph sold into slavery, father is miserable, perhaps Judah just thought he had to get away. He “left” his brothers and went to stay in Addullum pagan city 13 SW of Bethlehem.He married a local girl:three sons, Er/ Onan Shelah.
C. Sons grow up and Judah finds a wife, Tamar, for the eldest. Bible is not clear here, but Er is evil and God kills him. Second son Onan refused to father a child by Tamar knowing the child would become his brother’s heir, killed by God, not so much for the sexual act of spilling his seed on the ground, but the evil in his heart. This left Shelah, last boy. Judah feared somehow Tamar was jinxed and if she married Shelah, he would die too, leave Judah w/o an heir. Sends her back to her father, until he says Shelah grows up. Perhaps hoping she’ll get tired of waiting and want to marry someone else,
IV. Tamar gives birth to twins - Genesis 38:12-30
..not so
A. Years roll by, Shelah is older, he is not given to Tamar, Judah does not keep his promise. Judah’s wife dies, after a period of mourning, old friend shows up and says what you need is to get out of the house, let’s go sheep shearing, word gets out that Judah is going to Timnah, Tamar finds out. She knows her father in law has no intention of keeping his promise to her, so she dresses up as a prostitute to deceive Judah sleep with him so that she could conceive his child. She positions herself to be right in his path, I still don’t get it, why didn’t he recognize her, maybe the veil, all the clothes, drinking champagne at the sheep shearing party. Sex, to pay her, isn’t it interesting he promises her a goat, goats are involved in all the deceptive scenes, gives her his seal and staff as a pledge. When he finds out she’s pregnant and he orders her to be burned to death she proves he’s the father by producing the pledge. To his credit he doesn’t try to cover up his sin, he admits it and says READ Genesis 38:26 she’s more righteous than I. I have a hard time calling her righteous but one commentator said Judah is at least saying Tamar was more in the right than he because he did not fulfill his responsibilities to her. 2 Babies were born, Perez and Zerah, Don’t condone his sin, do admire his response.
Truth: Repentance is revealed when we are quick to acknowledge our sin and to take full responsibility for its consequences.
It would seem that because Judah humbled himself, God blessed him and raised him to be the head of the house of Israel and blessed his children. God loves a repentant heart. ENDING: 2stories 2 brothers, one God working His plan, His purposes in their lives.
© The Biblical Studies Foundation ( www.bible.org ) Winter 2001
1 Donald Grey Barnhouse, “Genesis” (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1970) 155.
2 Allen P. Ross, “Creation and Blessing” (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 1996) 618.
http://feeds.bible.org/dianne_miller/patriarchs/patriarchs_message6.mp3
Lesson 7: Genesis 39, 40, 41
Introduction
Have you read any good books lately? If you’re looking, read Bonhoeffer biography of
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) is known for writings on theology and ethics, his leadership role in the Confessing Church, efforts on behalf of peace and justice, opposition to antisemitism, and to Hitler. He was hanged by the Nazis on April 6, 1945 in the Flossenburg concentration camp weeks before the end of WWII. Those last few years, when he choose to stay in Germany rather than leave, when he spoke out when others were silent, all that he taught, believed about being a Christ follower was tested and proven authentic. He wrote from prison=
You have granted me many blessings; let me also accept what is hard from your hand.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer - Prayers from Prison
These are words Joseph could also have written. We’ve seen him in his father’s house as a young man of integrity and honesty but the Question is “will he stay virtuous outside his father’s protection, when he’s a long way from home? What will he do when he can sin and perhaps get away with it? How will he handle continued injustices and discouragement? Because we don’t really know who we until we’re tested, God allows Joseph to be tempted, mistreated and forgotten for the next 13 years, refining and developing him into the godly man and leader needed for such a time as this in history.
Outline:
I. Joseph in Potiphar’s house is unjustly accused - Genesis 39
II. Joseph in prison interprets two dreams - Genesis 40
III. Joseph in the palace interprets Pharaoh’s dreams - Genesis 41
I. Joseph in Potiphar’s house - Genesis 39
A. Joseph’s success. READ Genesis 39:1-4. This phrase “the LORD was with Joseph” is repeated 4x (Genesis 39:2,3,21,23) and seems to explain why Joseph prospers, this is no ordinary prospering: unexpected, surprising, even Potiphar is impressed and gives the credit to Joseph’s God, Yahweh. Potiphar is not only impressed, he trusts Joseph, makes him his assistant delegating to him everything except probably his personal affairs. And then we read this little phrase READ Genesis 39:6c “well built and handsome” same Hebrew expression used to describe his mother Rachel, (Genesis 29) he got her good looks, he’s gorgeous, that sets up the central plot of our story:
B. Joseph’s temptation and resistance. READ Genesis 39:7-10
One commentator said he’s in a “no win” situation, he is a slave supposed to obey her, but he’s a loyal, moral servant to her husband. Tough situation repeatedly refuses her, his explanation = to sleep with her would be a sin against God
People cannot defiantly sin against what they know to be God’s righteous will when they are on the verge of becoming what God wants them to be. One cannot willfully sin against God and continue to enjoy his presence and his blessing.
Allen P Ross 1
Even at his young age, Joseph knows this truth, you can’t sin and expect God to bless you, so he tries his best to avoid her.
C. Joseph accused. READ Genesis 39:11-12. One day she cornered him alone, and when she grabbed his clothes he took off. His response is exactly what the scriptures tell us to do when faced with any sexual temptation: I Corithians 6:18
NIV © 6:18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.
NLT © 6:18 Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body.
Ie story: friend had an affair with another church member, respective spouses got together and they all agreed to forgive and put it behind and decided to stay in the church, live out their redemption. When she told me this, I said that’s a nice thought, sounds spiritual, not realistic, the scriptures are wise “flee immorality”- get away from temptation, can’t play around with it. Another friend who caught her husband having an emotional affair with someone at work, came to me for advice, somebody has to leave that workplace, that’s where you start, we have to run away from sexual sin.
Application: Do you hold your own personal purity with the same high esteem that Joseph did? Are you tempted to compromise or indulge in some sexual sin in thought or action? Are you flirting w/temptation or are you fleeing? You can’t be holy and be involved w/some sexual sin.
No doubt Potiphar’s wife is humiliated, embarrassed, and furious over the rejection “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” She first screams to the servants that he raped her and then when Potiphar came home she showed his clothes and repeated the false accusation. READ Genesis 39:19,20. Some have suggested that since his punishment was not the usual death sentence and he was put in the king’s prison perhaps Potiphar didn’t fully believe his wife’s story. What we do know is God protected him and God was allowing him to go through these trials, God is molding his character: this is the second time Joseph suffers for being faithful to his authority. Another lesson:
Truth: Choosing to be righteous and resisting temptation does not always receive immediate reward.
Application: Joseph suffered for doing the right thing and we may too, there may be a cost to our choosing righteousness. That’s the cost of discipleship, following God. Tertullian, early church father, story illustrates this. A man came to him and was struggling because his business interests were conflicting w/his faith in Christ, tempted to compromise, didn’t see a way out and keep his job, he said “What can I do, I must live” Tertullian replied “must you, must you live?” For Tertullian if it came to choice between righteousness and resisting temptation and making a living, Tertullian expected a believer to choose righteousness. 2
Discipleship is not an offer that man makes to Christ.” Bonhoeffer it’s what Christ requires of us..
D. Joseph in prison. READ Genesis 39:20b-23
Again we see the LORD was with Joseph giving him success, promoted, over all the other inmates, but he’s still in prison. The next chapter tells the story of the cupbearer and the baker; their dreams and what happens to them. Sets the stage for Joseph to ultimately see the fulfillment of his dreams but for the immediate next few years Genesis 40 is all about being forgotten.
II. Joseph in prison interprets two dreams - Genesis 40
A. Cup bearer and baker jailed. READ Genesis 40:1-4. After Joseph had been in prison for some time and had earned the trust of the warden, two new prisoners were assigned to him-the king’s cupbearer and baker. Cupbearers were usually trusted confidants of the king, their responsibility was to check the wine to see if it was poisoned before the king drank it. Chief baker would be responsible for the king’s food. We’re told king is angry not sure why throws them in prison and one night they each have a dream, each think it’s an important dream but they’re sad because they can’t find anyone to interpret the dreams.
Joseph says READ Genesis 40:8b what he’s saying is that God will use me (Joseph) to interpret for you. Cupbearer goes first and Joseph says it meant that in 3 days Pharaoh would restore him to his former job and he adds when that happens remember me READ Genesis 40:14.
The baker hearing the good news says tell me what my dream means too but his news was not good, in 3 days he would leave the prison but instead of going back to the kitchen, he would be impaled and hung on a tree. Sure enough 3 days later both dreams were fulfilled just as Joseph had predicted. It was certainly sad for the baker, but the fact that the predictions had come true must have encouraged Joseph’s faith, affirmed his God-given ability to interpret dreams, reminded him of his own dreams yet to be fulfilled. But then we read
C. Forgotten. READ Genesis 40:23. Probably in his relief at being restored to his job and his family he just forgot all about Joseph back in prison. Surely Joseph’s high hopes of getting out soon were dashed, he was forgotten. From a human perspective it seems so unfair to let Joseph just sit in prison, such a waste, but from a divine perspective we can be confident that God is working in his life for good, God has not forgotten him, God is continuing to develop him into this man, the leader that He needs for such time as this.
Truth: God is looking for faith that will not be destroyed by circumstances
NIV © 24:10 If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength. Proverbs 24:10
MSG © 24:10 If you fall to pieces in a crisis, there wasn't much to you in the first place.
Application: Are the circumstances of your life destroying your faith? Destroying is a harsh word, but is your faith weakening or growing right now? Are you looking at your life from a human perspective or can you see with spiritual eyes God wanting to do something good? Is it your health, job, finances, family? We look with admiration at Joseph not because he was this supernatural saint, but because he was convinced that there was a God in heaven who loved him, had good plans for his life, so he believed and trusted despite his on-going difficult circumstances. TWO YEARS GO BY…
III. Joseph in the palace interprets Pharaoh’s dreams - Genesis 41
A. Pharaoh’s dreams Genesis 41:1-14
Joseph is still in prison forgotten by all but God. One night Pharaoh has two dreams. The first: Pharaoh is standing by the Nile watching the cows as he often must have done. Cows in Egypt were not out in fields, Egypt doesn’t have meadows like we do, the cows were grazing among the reeds along the water bank. Dream had a twist-he saw 7 fat, healthy cows and then 7 malnourished cows come up out of the Nile and devour the healthy ones. Startled he woke up, then went back to sleep. Second dream had a similar twist. This time the dream was about 7 heads of grain on a single stalk that were plump and good, they were devoured by 7 thin ears, withered and scorched by the desert wind. How strange, what could it mean? He called in his wise men, they couldn’t help. At that crucial moment- Genesis 41:9 chief cupbearer remembered his own dream, nice-looking Hebrew slave – what was his name?
Truth: Even though we don’t always understand, we know God’s timing is always perfect.
God has been timing the circumstances of Pharoah’s need for a dream interpreter and the cupbearer’s remembrance of Joseph. If the cupbearer had remembered Joseph two years earlier perhaps the king would have ignored him, but the king now needs him.
Word gets to Joseph, quick, get out of those clothes, get cleaned up, Pharaoh wants to see you. READ Genesis 41:14. John Phillips commentary= Pharaoh was essentially a priest-king proposed to be a god, functioning as both the political and religious ruler of the nation. He wore long, fluted skirt made of Egyptian linen, gold sandals, on his head he wore a double crown that for 1000 years symbolized the union of Upper and Lower Egypt. In one hand he carried a crook symbolizing Upper and in the other a flail for Lower. Imagine how awesome he looked to Joseph, this powerful world leader, then he spoke.
B. Joseph gives God the glory. READ Genesis 41:15,16. This is remarkable, standing before this powerful man, Joseph corrects him and gives God the glory for interpreting dreams.
He uses the word “God”: Joseph began, “God may give Pharaoh a favorable answer,” not I. He goes from the prison to the throne of the king, and this is his first word. This speech is as pious as it is frank. He who is aware of God, is humble and fearless at the same time. Even a king is nothing compared to God…Joseph begins his interpretations with God (verse 25) and ends with God (verse 28) he emphasizes this once more by twice using “God” in verse 32. Benno Jacob 3
C. Joseph interprets dream. Genesis 41:25-36
Pharaoh repeats his dreams to Joseph who then interprets: there will be 7 years of plenty and then 7 years of great famine, worldwide, and then Joseph gives Pharaoh a business plan on how to handle this upcoming disaster, put a wise man in charge, delegate some responsibility to overseers, collect and save 20% of food supply during good years to take care of the people during the famine years.
D. Joseph promoted. Genesis 41:37-57
Plan pleased the king, proceeded to install Joseph as the Prime Minister, second in command, heads up FEMA whatever their National Disaster Relief Program. Promoted because of 2 rare qualities Pharaoh saw 1) His character Genesis 41:39. 2) His countenance Genesis 41:38.
Genesis 41:40-57 describe Joseph’s new life as a ruler in Egypt. Think for 13 years he was a slave, all during those tough times he looked to God and found the strength to overcome and trust= now he’s exalted, but even now=he continues to look to God for strength for a new beginning where God has placed him. We see this in the naming of his sons, note: these are Hebrew names, not Egyptian: READ Genesis 41:51,52. Because God continues to be his strength and focus he handles well the challenge of success. Sudden reversals are difficult for the most of us- the reason is perhaps we’re not as focused on God’s sovereignty, involvement in our lives, as Joseph was. If our sudden reversal is for the worse- get depressed, sad, angry, say God has abandoned us. Or if it’s for the better- get proud, arrogant, taking credit for how smart we are. Promotions often ruin people. You may have known people that have gotten promoted w/more job responsibility, more perks, but have less time for God, less time for being with God’s people. Joseph was different, he was able to give God the glory with his life because his relationship w/God was his priority no matter circumstance. Paul would learn this too. READ Philippians 4:11-13.
Application: How have you handled the reversals of your life? Financial, career, relationships, moves, additions or subtractions of our lives? God gives and takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord, learning contentment no matter what the circumstances of our lives help us to live with inner peace, calm no matter what or where our path leads.
Ending:
So, in reality, none of us really know who we are until we’re tested. We don’t know how strong our faith is until we go through trials. What an example Joseph is for us. We met a young man who was given a dream, glimpse of what God planned for his life, then we’ve seen him repeatedly mistreated, suffering greatly for doing what’s right, all the while he was learning long-term trusting and long-term believing, and finally being rewarded for his faithfulness, finally ready to lead others, finally ready to fulfill his destiny. I’m convinced the trials of our lives are only potentially preparing us for the next place God wants to take us. Are we willing to stay faithful?
© The Biblical Studies Foundation ( www.bible.org ) Winter 2001
1 Allen P. Ross, “Creation and Blessing” (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 1996) 626.
2 James Montgomery Boice, “Genesis” (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1987) 78.
3 Benno Jacob, “First Book of the Bible” (New York:Ktav,1974) 280-81.
http://feeds.bible.org/dianne_miller/patriarchs/patriarchs_message7.mp3
Lesson 8: Genesis 42:1-47:12
Introduction
How do you usually do on POP QUIZS? Student-hated them, always felt unprepared as a Teacher-liked them, tell me really where the class was in learning the material. I have a pop quiz for you today, let’s see if done lesson, also like working as a team, you can take this quiz together. 2 questions. Pretend you are one of the brothers:
When confronted with the pain I have brought others, I:
a. Am embarrassed
b. Pretend it didn’t happen
c. Seek their forgiveness
d. Fear I will be punished
Now, pretend you are Joseph:
When I have the opportunity to forgive others, I:
a. Avoid the issue
b. Make sure they knew how badly I was hurt
c. Feel relieved to get it off my chest
d. Enjoy getting back together
Our lesson is about Testings and Changes. In a certain sense the story of Joseph shifts here to become largely the story of the 10 brothers as God works to awaken their nearly dead consciences and bring them to repentance and ultimately to family reconciliation. God uses Joseph to test them. Tests for guilty conscience; tests for jealousy; tests for family loyalty; tests for family love. 20 years have past. Are they the same men or are they different? We need to know. Thru these tests, we’re also going to learn about Joseph’s heart, how does he feel now about these brothers who sold him into slavery? To help us work through this story, point out seven ways God uses to touch their hearts, to bring them to repentance: Question is: Through these tests would they in any way demonstrate that they had changed?
Outline:
I. Joseph is reunited with Brothers - Genesis 42-45
A. Testing brings repentance - Genesis 42-44
B. Forgiveness brings reconciliation - Genesis 45
II. Jacob travels to Egypt - Genesis 46:1 -47:12
A. Meeting God at Beersheba - Genesis 46:1-27
B. Meeting Joseph in Goshen - Genesis 46:28-30
C. Meeting Pharaoh - Genesis 46:31 -47:12
I. Joseph is reunited
A. Testing
1. Need - Famine. READ Genesis 41:57. Jacob heard there was food in Egypt, boys you need to go down to Egypt, very strange sentence. READ Genesis 42:1 “keep staring”, we the reader, have an idea why. Read Genesis 42:2 “Egypt” – may have been a buzz word among them, they couldn’t have forgotten, last time they saw Joseph was on his way to Egypt, their family secret, kept quiet 20 yrs. But there was nowhere else to go, only food was is in Egypt, they had a great need for food. 10 brothers went, Benjamin stayed home. Arrived in Egypt presented before Joseph, bowed down before him (Genesis 42:6) - we see the beginning of the fulfillment of Joseph’s dreams.
2. Injustice - (Genesis 42:7-14) Joseph speaking harshly accuses them of being spies, words were used to shock the brothers, these were hard men, remember their history, they murdered innocent people at Shechem, Judah had an incestuous affair with Tamar, they had so much hatred, jealousy they sold their brother for money. When Joseph said “you are spies” perhaps that’s what they had said to Joseph, “You’re just a spy for dad, telling him bad reports about us” Words Joseph used were carefully calculated for them to feel what it’s like to suffer injustice, to be wrongly accused, to be punished when there was no wrong done.
3. Solitude READ Genesis 42:17 They were put in prison, loss of freedom, forced time to think, reflect back on their lives, gave them time for their consciences to be awaken. Then on 3rd day Joseph has them released and says he would let them go home, but one had to stay behind as a guarantee they would return w/their youngest brother who would verify their story. FIRST CHANGE: admission of personal guilt READ Genesis 42:21,22. Now they would talk about it, now they would admit what they had done, they are beginning to see what was happening to them was a consequence of their own sin. They remembered the pain, distress they had caused Joseph. When they said this, Joseph turned and wept. It would seem his tears were not for his own pain, but because the testing of his brothers was beginning to fulfill its purpose. Simeon is taken, rest prepare to depart.
4. Unexplained Circumstances Genesis 42:25-28
Left Joseph likely the capital was Memphis (10 miles south of Cairo)-250 miles to Hebron. 3 week journey. On way home, probably discussing what are we going to tell dad about Simeon? Come to the first resting stop, one opens his sack, heart dropped, there was all his money. How did it get there, they had paid for the grain? Response READ Genesis 42:28. “God is remembering our sin, God has seen it, God is doing something in our lives” Take notice, this is the first time the brothers mention God. Go home, we see the SECOND CHANGE: beginning honesty w/their father, tell him what happened in Egypt, omit the truth about selling Joseph, but they’re honest about their experience in Egypt. Jacob is overwhelmed when hears that Benjamin must return to release Simeon. READ Genesis 42:36. THIRD CHANGE: Heart attitude change in Reuben who somewhat foolishly offers his own sons if he goes to Egypt and doesn’t return with Simeon and Benjamin. This is the man who humiliated his father when he slept w/his concubine; he now puts himself and his own family on the line for the sake of Benjamin. Jacob refuses the offer, no way is Benjamin going, if he were to die it would kill me, stays.
5. Continuing Need READ Genesis 43:1 The food that had been brought up from Egypt ran out, Jacob ordered the brothers to go get more. Judah steps up “But dad we can’t go back w/o Benjamin, remember what we told you- he said, don’t come back w/o him” FOURTH CHANGE: Guarantee of Judah. Genesis 43:8-10. Similar to Reuben’s offer, Judah =carry the blame if anything happens, this too shows a change of heart in Judah who was basically saying- dad your happiness is more important than my own, I will be responsible, count on me dad. This change and continuing need cause the FIFTH CHANGE: change in Jacob’s attitude. READ Genesis 43:11-13. Maybe he’d been thinking, I’m old, if all the boys leave, something happens to them, I’ll be totally alone, how could I live without Benjamin, he’s all I have left. This Continuing need for food was also a test for him too- would he trust the God who had promised him the blessings of Abraham and Isaac? Would he trust God to give him descendants like the dust of the earth? What if all his descendants die? Would he trust God to take care of all of his sons? Would he trust God to keep His promises? Ends us saying “yes” “May El Shaddai” v14 grant you mercy, may my God take care of you, and whatever happens, happens. They pack up gifts, $ and all leave, including Benjamin., sometime later, they arrive in Egypt, and are presented to Joseph and we see God now works through the..
6. Power of true love- Genesis 43:16. Through an invitation to lunch that God shows amazing grace to these brothers. When they understand they’re invited to eat w/Joseph, they’re really afraid, go to the steward, tell him their story of finding the money, offer to pay it back, but he reassures them not to worry. READ Genesis 43:23. Simeon joins them, everything seems to be going nicely, water to wash their feet, food for animals, look in dining room, prepared meal for them, treated like friends, not spies. Genesis 43:26 Joseph comes in the room, touching moment when he sees his little brother Benjamin, son of his mother-breaks down, has to leave the room. Comes back and has another test for them: seated according birth order, Benjamin is given 5 times more of everything than the rest- 5 steaks, 5 baked potatoes, 5 pieces chocolate cake. SIXTH CHANGE: No resentment Joseph was testing them for jealousy, were they as envious of Benjamin as they had been of him, did they treat him harshly? Lunch proved No, they weren’t resentful, they just “feasted, shared, drank freely” (Genesis 43:34). There’s One more test, would they abandon the favored son?
Time to go home, they left Joseph in great spirits, probably congratulating themselves on how well they’d done, gotten a great meal, grain, all 11 were going home, when God suddenly struck like lightning and completely, literally turned the course of their lives, used a hidden cup in one of sacks to
7. Stripping their self-confidence READ Genesis 43:4,5
Even though they had lived with a lie for 20 years they told Joseph Genesis 42:11 “we are honest men” Here when the steward accused them of stealing Joseph’s cup, they say “no way, not us, we’d never do that, in fact if anyone here is found with it, let them die, we’ll all be your slaves” (Genesis 44:7-9) Then to everyone’s surprise they find the cup in Benjamin’s sack, return to Joseph, he asks what have you done? SEVENTH CHANGE: open admission of guilt/family loyalty. READ Genesis 44:16. These men are broken, ready to become slaves, one more test. READ Genesis 44:17 only Benjamin stays, rest of you go home, Judah steps up to the plate, hits grand slam of brotherly love
READ Genesis 44:18-30 Judah’s plea
B. Forgiveness brings reconciliation - Genesis 45
The room that had been so quiet you could hear a pin drop, now is filled with shouts “Out, out, everybody out” and crying, so loudly that you could hear it 2 blocks away. READ Genesis 45:3.
I am Joseph, brothers are speechless, terrified, they knew they had done a horrific wrong to one who now had absolute power. Where the average person would have done some kind of payback, tried to humiliate his brothers in some way, Joseph offered pardon, forgiveness and love because Joseph has a “God perspective on life”. READ Genesis 45:5-8
He understood that a Sovereign God saw the future, saw the needs of the world, chose him to help solve the famine problem. God had a great purpose for his life even though they had meant it for evil.
Offers them Complete forgiveness READ Genesis 45:14,15. Being reconciled with Joseph meant that the brothers could be fully reconciled with Jacob, the long family secret could be revealed and forgiven. Joseph says “Go get dad” Genesis 45:9 Pharaoh gives his help Genesis 45:16-20. They set off donkeys and with wagons full of food, clothes, money, this family will be reunited again.
Application: As you have worked through this lesson, listened to the story I wonder has God been speaking to you personally? Is there an old sin, perhaps it too is linked w/your family, parents, siblings, children, or not w/them but w/others; neighbors, past co-workers; maybe it’s a sin against God, pushed it as far away as you can, this week you’ve had a hard time not thinking about it. Has God given you a need, on-going need, a famine to bring you back into fellowship w/them and Him? Maybe you’ve recently experienced an injustice God is allowing you to experience what it’s like to be on the receiving end of suffering to see your own sin. Are you facing solitude prison of sorts, loneliness, illness, God wants you to grow closer to Him, escape the slavery to things, people, places, depend only on Him. Maybe you’ve gone through something recently that has really shaken you self-confidence, you feel weak, discouraged, God wants you in the depth of your being to find confidence in Him, His ways alone. Tough times are not always proof of past sin, wrong theology. But if tough times have come into your life, God has allowed it- He has a purpose. Maybe it’s to cause you to look back, examine your heart, is there some hidden sin you’re guilty of- maybe you have been like Judah, Reuben, brothers- God is awakening your conscience- Confess it, repent, don’t carry it any longer. Or Perhaps you’ve been wronged like Joseph, ask have you fully forgiven? Not enough to say “I forgive you” saw the 4 promises in your lesson: (list them). What acts of kindness have you shown to that person who wronged you?
God’s aim for our families, us is the same-reconciliation, restoration, devotion, love. Bible is realistic:
NIV © Romans 12:18 - If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
The brothers return home, tell Jacob about Joseph, he is convinced and packs up to go see his son, regardless of cost
II. Jacob travels to Egypt. Genesis 46:1 -47:12
A. Meets with God Genesis 46:1-27
Jacob stops in Beersheba to worship God, this is as far south as you can go within the Promised Land, boundary line, also family history here, Abraham, Isaac lived here, worshiped here. In the night God comes to Jacob READ Genesis 46:3,4 For anyone on the verge of a major decision, it’s good to go to Beersheba, seek God’s will, His direction, remember God will be w/you not only in your Egypt but wherever He send
You don’t have to be afraid either, because
Truth: Security is not the absence of danger but it’s in the Will of God. John 11:9
B. Meets with Joseph. READ Genesis 46:28
I love airport meetings, I love to watch people reunite, embrace, weepy too, especially seeing our service men/women come home, this is the best airport meeting ever, Jacob and his son Joseph after 20 years READ Genesis 46:29,30. For Jacob this reunion was the impossible dream he had, the dream of seeing Joseph alive again. For Joseph this is was the one person who had always loved him unconditionally one person always count on. This was more than a family reunion, it was proof that God’s revealed plans and purposes would come true in the family of the covenant. This story reminds us of a family reunion awaiting us. We don’t know exactly when it will happen but Paul tells us there is coming a day when all believers who have ever lived throughout time will be reunited w/Christ when he comes for us. READ I Thessalonians 4:13-18.
Just as there is a list of 70 names of family members who are reunited in Egypt, there is a list of names of all God’s family who will be at the heavenly reunion, Book of Life = Rev 20:12-15. Are you sure your name is written on that list? If not, talk, call me, Peggy.
C. Meets with Pharaoh
Before they could get settled in Goshen, Joseph’s relatives had to be formally presented to Pharaoh. Picture the scene, relatively uncultured nomadic shepherds being introduced at the White House. Joseph prepares them the best he can, Pharaoh is so gracious to them receives Jacob’s blessing.
READ Genesis 47:11,12…just as God had planned…
Ending: Whether God gives you a little pop quiz or a long end of the year final exam I pray that you will trust His good plans for you, believe His love for you, allow Him to change your life too.
© The Biblical Studies Foundation ( www.bible.org ) Winter 2001
http://feeds.bible.org/dianne_miller/patriarchs/patriarchs_message8.mp3
Lesson 9: Genesis 47:28-50:26
Dr. Peggy Banks, Minister to Women and Bible teacher at Northwest Bible Church substitute teaches for Dianne Miller in Lesson Nine. Her audio is included in the study.
Introduction
Last words, last words that people say before they die are usually remembered because they are so precious, so special. My mother’s last words to us as she went into triple by-pass surgery was “no stroke”. Her greatest fear, especially as a nurse, was to be paralyzed, we’re grateful God granted that request, no stroke but she died 6 days later, always remember her last words.
This last week, we’re looking at LAST WORDS…Jacob’s and Joseph’s. Encouraging to read that their last words were filled with HOPE and Faith in the Covenant=covenant keepers
Outline:
I. Jacob blesses Joseph’s sons - Genesis 48
II. Jacob blesses his twelve sons - Genesis 49:1-28
III. Jacob dies and is buried in Canaan - Genesis 49:29 -50:14
IV. Joseph forgives brothers - Genesis 50:15-21
V. Joseph dies with faith in Covenant - Genesis 50:22-26
I. Jacob blesses Joseph’s sons - Genesis 48
A. Jacob sick. Genesis 48:1,2. One day news came to Joseph “your dad is sick”. READ Genesis 48:1,2. Dad don’t sit up, you’re too weak, I’ll help you lie back down, Jacob is determined to sit up, he’s in the process of dying but while he was alive he would act as head of the family, God’s covenantal blessings needed to be passed to the next generation. This is the scene recorded in Hebrew 11:21.
B. Jacob reviews covenant. Genesis 48:3,4. His body is wearing out, but there is no problem with his memory, he reviews the past “sovereign, in control of all things, God appeared to me at Bethel, and the God of Abraham, Isaac became my God too and He gave me the Covenantal blessing”
C. Jacob no doubt at the end of his life is looking forward to the time when his sons would be multiplied, into tribes, proceeded to adopt Joseph’s two sons as his own, READ Genesis 48:5,6 on par with Reuben, Simeon and the rest. Reuben’s birthright, which was normally given to the eldest son, is now given to the two sons of Joseph= Joseph becomes a collective noun in Genesis 48:15,21. The two tribes, Ephraim/Manasseh would reflect that double portion, this explains why Joseph did not become head of a tribe, but his sons did.
D. Rachel. READ Genesis 48:7
Genesis 48:7 has long puzzled biblical interpreters. Why the mention of Rachel at this point in the narrative, and why the mention of her burial site? If we relate the verse to what precedes, then the mention of Rachel could be prompted by the fact that just as she had borne Jacob “two sons” at a time when he was about to enter the land, so also Joseph gave Jacob “two sons” just at the time when he was about to enter Egypt” 1
Or it’s possible that something in Joseph’s face, his mannerisms, reminded him of her, and his mind wandered to think about her, the love of his life, remembered that sorrowful time of her death, never forgot that moment.
E. Jacob turned his head, saw shadow of Joseph’s sons. READ Genesis 48:8,9. His old eyes were failing, cataracts, macular degeneration? Arms wrapped around them, kissed them, turned to Joseph remembered the long painful years when he thought he was dead READ Genesis 48:11. Boys were brought close for the blessing, Joseph positioned them by birth order but with prophetic insight Jacob crossed his hands, so that his right hand was on the head of the younger, and the left hand on the elder. READ Genesis 48:15,16 the blessing. This is the first of many biblical accounts of “laying on of hands” to bless or dedicate someone. This is the fourth consecutive generation of Abraham’s descendants to reverse the birth order in the blessing. How often God reverses our order, our plans of doing things. God is many things but one He is not= predictable. God and His ways will not be put in a box, He will not be described by a formula, His ways are not our ways.
Why was this blessing so important that the book of Hebrews included it? These boys belonged to Jacob, yes they were born in Egypt, educated there, but they were to be Hebrews, God’s chosen people, they needed their grandfather’s testimony, to know their grandfather’s God. Same today w/our children, our grandchildren must be taught the truths of our faith, so that one day the baton can be passed on to them and then on to their children…responsibility of all who are part of the community of faith. Application: what are you doing to pass on the faith?
F. Request. READ Genesis 48:21,22. Speaking to Joseph directly he gives the “ridge of land” mountain slope, area of Shechem that he had won in a battle from the Amorites that’s not recorded in Scripture. We’ll see some 400 years later, that’s where Joseph’s bones are buried.
II. Jacob blesses his twelve sons - Genesis 49:1-28
A. READ Genesis 49:1,2. Likely that this scene was immediately following Jacob’s blessing the grandsons. When Joseph saw how sick his father was, word was sent to all the brothers to come quickly, as they arrived, Jacob was sitting up in bed waiting for them. As Jacob looked around the room at his sons he knew them well, he had observed their strengths, weaknesses, their character. Now with the enabling of the Holy Spirit he would predict their futures as Tribes of the nation Israel. It seems each son’s life is reviewed then rebuked or rewarded. NOTE: Jacob’s style of speech is not the normative narration, and the sons were probably shocked to hear their father speak in poetic form. Sons are grouped according to their mothers, Leah, concubines, then Rachel.
1. Reuben: KEY word= instability Genesis 49:3,4 there were great hopes as the first born but he became unstable and uncontrollable and forfeited his position and birthright.
2,3. Simeon and Levi: Disgrace of Treachery Genesis 49:5,6 instead of standing together for GOOD they stood for wickedness, seemingly encouraging a violent streak in each other. Like Reuben they forfeited their family position because of sin, massacre at Shechem. I will scatter them=Simeon’s land was actually inside Judah’s territory. Levi’s scattering was very different, example of the mercy of God. God turned this curse into a blessing after the Levites opposed idolatry, stood w/Moses, they became the priests and were scattered through 48 cities in Israel.
4. Judah: Blessing of Sovereignty Genesis 49:8-12 He was the 4th son of Leah, already heard his father’s stern rebuke of his 3 older brothers, tremble when he heard his name for he had sinned too, slept w/his daughter-in law, suggested selling Joseph, amazingly instead of judgment he heard praise, pre-eminence, power, prosperity in his descendants’ future
His very name means Praise, Judah would be the family leader and his would be the royal tribe as the Lion was the king of the beasts, the Lion of the tribe of Judah would be King of Israel. Both Jews and Christians look at these verses as being messianic, referring to the Jewish Messiah. But Jacob could not have known himself that one day Jesus Christ would be called in Revelation 5:5 “lion of the Tribe of Judah”
Genesis 49:11,12 are Hebrew idioms describing a time of abundance, When Judah’s lion comes to reign the land would be so productive, so fruitful, vines would grow abundantly, wines presses would be full, a land of milk and honey. This prosperity is God’s doing, not based on merit but the sovereignty of God, His plan. If I were choosing the son through whom Messiah would come, I’d vote on Joseph. God chose Judah.
5. Zebulun: Position of Opportunity. Genesis 49:13. Positioned well for trade, merchant tribe.
6. Issachar: Weakness of Contentment. Genesis 49:14,15. Image of a strong donkey, useful, capable of hard work, yet docile, lazy, complacent. Later we see that while other tribes are fighting for possession of their land, Issachar is not mentioned.
Now Jacob comes to the sons of the concubines. The culture allowed them to be sons but would Jacob count them in the inheritance? Would they be included? Even though their prophecies are short, Jacob does include them, there is no distinction made between the children of the wives and the sons of the concubines.
7. Dan: Poison of Criticism. Genesis 49:16,17. Dan was evidently very shrewd, analytical and intellectually gifted. A family of Judges comes from Dan, most famous = Samson. But like a serpent, Dan could be sharp and critical, biting rather than helping.
8. Gad: Victory. Genesis 49:19. His name means to overcome, he chose his inheritance of the far side of the Jordan, but also fought with his brothers for their land. Gad stood with David during his time of rejection (I Chronicles 12). Captains in David’s army came from Gad.
9. Asher: Privilege of Prosperity. Genesis 49:20. They inherited a fertile strip of land along the Mediterranean coast, the breadbasket area, out of Asher, food for the kings were supplied. His lot was the good life, prosperity, abundance, affluence.
10. Naphtali: Gifts. Genesis 49:21. Picture a beautiful female deer, swift, graceful, sensitive, artistic that speaks beautiful words, reproducing herself in others.
11. Joseph: Joy of Fruitfulness. Genesis 49:22-26. Through his 2 sons Joseph would receive a double inheritance, although he was attacked and persecuted he remained strong in his faith because he relied on His God “The Mighty One of Jacob, the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, the God of his father” that’s who strengthened him. Joseph would be blessed by God with material blessings and spiritual blessings. Deborah, Joshua, Samuel, Gideon were all his descendants.
12. Benjamin: Possibility of Change. Genesis 49:27. After Joseph’s blessing this blessing seems insignificant, seems strange to give a beloved son this prophecy. He calls him a wolf, largest of all canines, powerful predator, fierce, ready to fight, whose strength could turn to cruelty and it did (Judges 20) in the Benjamite wars. His land was small, rugged but strategically close to Jerusalem. When the 10 tribes rebelled and split, Benjamin remained with Judah. Through Benjamin God gives the encouragement that w/ Him there is always the possibility of change. Saul, a Benjamite, became Paul the apostle.
III. Jacob dies and is buried in Canaan - Genesis 49:29-50:14
A. Dying request. READ Genesis 49:29-32. Jacob’s final words are filled with hope and faith in the Covenant that had been passed to him from his father Isaac. He wanted to be back in the Promised Land.
B. Death. READ Genesis 49:33. For Jacob death was not the end, it was a going home to be with his family, His God. It has always been true for Covenant Keepers, believers.
II Corinthians 5:8 NLT © 5:8 Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. Absent from the body and present with the Lord.
For the believer, for Jacob, there is no sting of death, only the sorrow of temporary separation for those left behind.
Jacob, this man who names mean trickster, supplanter, deceived his father for the blessing, walked life in his own strength in his own ability until he met God personally at Bethel, learned to worship, learned to trust, then 20 years later, as he faced another crisis in his life he met the Lord face to face, wrestled to the point of being broken, learned then to cling to God, Jacob became Israel, prince of God. His warnings and prophecies were all intended to bring these 12 sons to a new individual commitment to God so that he could pass the baton of faith to the NATION of Israel. Convinced that he had finished his race, done his part, gets back in bed, puts down his staff, lies back and gives up his spirit to be gathered to his people, not death, but a homecoming celebration. Application: will that be true for you?
C. Burial READ Genesis 50:1-3 Hebrews did not embalm bodies, normally buried the deceased the same day but Egyptians did embalm, at least the upper-class. Embalming would be necessary to transport Jacob’s body on the long trip back to Canaan. To honor his father’s request, Jacob gets permission from Pharaoh to travel. READ Genesis 50:7 it would seem over 100 people: family, brothers, wives, servants, soldiers left children, flocks and herds and traveled to Hebron. What an impact on the Egyptians this must have had. If Joseph had not grieved- he didn’t care. If all he did was grieve-his religion was no different than theirs. The trip back to Canaan was a sermon in itself, an opportunity to tell others of the true God and His promises made to His people. They grieved, but they grieved with hope of an eternity with God, with the Covenantal promises that were made forever.
IV. Joseph forgives brothers 50:15-21
A. Fear. Their father is dead, they’ve had elaborate funeral arrangements, buried the body in Canaan now they’ve come home, back to their routines, brothers start whispering to each other “Now that dad’s gone, what’s to prevent Joseph from getting revenge, he could have us arrested, even killed, or make us slaves like we did to him” They have reason to fear, they had committed a horrendous crime, but their fears were unnecessary, why? READ Genesis 50:17b
B. Forgiveness. Joseph wept because they were confessing a sin that was already forgiven, forgotten. What an arrow of hurt their suspicions must have been to him. Think of all the kindnesses he had shown them, how could they have doubted his love?
C. Foresight of God. Joseph again told them READ Genesis 50:19-21. What gave Joseph the ability to speak these powerful words? He knew God, He knew God’s ways, He knew God’s purposes. Two things specifically he trusted in 1. God is Sovereign- nothing happens by accident, God is in control. 2. God is good- He desires what is best for us always. On the surface it looked bad for Joseph, sold into slavery, forgotten, abandoned but God was preparing him, setting the stage for him to be ready to be God’s spokesman, God administrator “to preserve many people alive” both in Egypt and the world.
V. Joseph dies with faith in Covenant 50:22-26
Between Genesis 50:21 and 22 more than 50 years pass.
Joseph spends the rest of his life being involved with his family, his children, 3rd generation, means he saw his great-great grandchildren. What a wonderful “Papa” he must have been, exciting stories, little surprises in his pockets, telling them about God’s creation, Adam, Eve, the Flood, Noah, how their great-great…grandfather Abraham had visited Egypt, offering of Isaac on Mt Moriah, how God provided, Jacob, lots of stories about him, of a ladder reaching up to heaven, and all the other stories that Moses would write in the book we call Genesis. I think that’s why God created grandparents, to form a living link not just with the past but with the eternal future.
We don’t know how many of the eleven other brothers were still alive, but they gathered around him READ Genesis 50:24-26. He had been Prime Minister, he could have been buried in a pyramid but his last desire was that his bones return to the Promised Land because he believed in the Covenant. He believed in the Promises of God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Desire was fulfilled Moses (Exodus 13:19) “took the bones of Joseph with him” when they left Egypt, Moses carried them across the sands of Sinai (Joshua 24:32) Joshua buried Joseph’s bones in Shechem.
Pictures of Truth
God is Sovereign, He will accomplish His plans for us.
God’s plans are not our plans, He is in control and nothing takes Him by surprise.
God blesses His children each uniquely and individually.
ENDING: Wonder what will my/your last words be? Pray they will be filled with hope /faith.
© The Biblical Studies Foundation ( www.bible.org ) Winter 2001
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A two-pronged fitting to which one would attach a (ship's) line or rope? | Word List: Definitions of Nautical Terms and Ship Parts
Tweets by @schrisomalis
Nautical Terms
Ahoy, mateys! This be a fair and true listing of words having to do with ships and sailing, 225 of them in all. These terms come mainly from the great age of sailing ships, the 16th to 18th centuries, and almost all hail from the two great seafaring peoples of the day, those being the brave English and the most hated Dutch. Be fairly warned: I, being a landlubber of the most scurvy sort, know little of such nautical matters aside from what my word-books tell me, so if there are any sea-dogs out there who would deign to correct me on matters of seaman's cant and jargon, ye should holler from atop the crow's nest of your vessels. Ahoy!
Word
hardwood on either side of bowsprit through which forestays are reeved
belay
to secure a rope by winding on a pin or cleat
bilge
lower point of inner hull of a ship
binnacle
case in which a ship's compass is kept
bitts
posts mounted on a ship for fastening ropes
bluepeter
blue flag with white square in centre used as ship's signal
boatswain
ship's crewmember in charge of equipment and maintenance
bobstay
rope used on ships to steady the bowsprit
bollard
short post on a wharf or ship to which ropes are tied
boltrope
strong rope stitched to edges of a sail
bosun
anchor carried at bow of a ship
bowline
rope used to keep weather edge of a sail taut
bowsprit
spar that extends at bows of a ship
brails
ropes on edge of sail for hauling up
bream
to clean a ship's bottom by burning off seaweed
bulwark
the side of a ship above the deck
bumpkin
spar projecting from stern of ship
bunt
middle of sail, fish-net or cloth when slack
buntline
rope attached to middle of square sail to haul it up to the yard
burgee
small ship's flag used for identification or signalling
cable
heavy rope or chain for mooring a ship
cabotage
shipping and sailing between points in the same country
camber
slight arch or convexity to a beam or deck of a ship
capstan
upright device for winding in heavy ropes or cables
careen
to turn a ship on its side in order to clean or repair it
cathead
projection near the bow of a ship to which anchor is secured
chine
the intersection of the middle and sides of a boat
chock
metal casting with curved arms for passing ropes for mooring ship
clew
corner of sail with hole to attach ropes
coaming
raised edge around ship's hatches to keep water out
cocket
official shipping seal; customs clearance form
cofferdam
narrow vacant space between two bulkheads of a ship
cog
single-masted, square-sailed ship with raised stern
companionway
stairs from upper deck of ship to lower deck
cordage
ropes in the rigging of a ship
cringle
loop at corner of sail to which a line is attached
crosstrees
horizontal crosspieces at a masthead used to support ship's mast
davit
device for hoisting and lowering a boat
deadeye
rounded wooden block with hole used to set up ship's stays
deadwood
timbers built into ends of ship when too narrow to permit framing
demurrage
delay of vessel's departure or loading with cargo
dodger
shield against rain or spray on a ship's bridge
dogwatch
a short, evening period of watch duty on a ship
downhaul
rope for holding down or hauling down a sail or spar
dromond
large single-sailed ship powered by rowers
dyogram
ship's chart indicating compass deflection due to ship's iron
earing
line for fastening corner of a sail to the gaff or yard
ensign
part of ship's stern where name is displayed
fairlead
ring through which rope is led to change its direction without friction
fardage
wood placed in bottom of ship to keep cargo dry
fiddley
iron framework around hatchway opening
figurehead
ornament or (usually female) bust attached to the bow of a ship
flagstaff
flag pole at stern of a ship
fluke
part of an anchor that fastens in the ground
forebitt
post for fastening cables at a ship's foremast
forecabin
cabin in fore part of ship
forecastle
short raised deck at fore end of ship; fore of ship under main deck
forefoot
foremost end of ship's keel
foremast
mast nearest the bow of a ship
foresail
lowest sail set on the foremast of square-rigged ship
forestay
stay leading from the foremast to the bow of a ship
frap
to draw a sail tight with ropes or cables
freeboard
distance between waterline and main deck of a ship
futtock
spar on which head of fore-and-aft sail is extended
gaff-topsail
triangular topsail with its foot extended upon the gaff
gangway
either of the sides of the upper deck of a ship
garboard
plank on a ship�s bottom next to the keel
genoa
large jib that overlaps the mainsail
grapnel
small anchor used for dragging or grappling
groundage
a charge on a ship in port
gudgeon
metal socket into which the pintle of a boat's rudder fits
gunnage
number of guns carried on a warship
gunwale
upper edge of the side of a ship
gybe
to swing a sail from one side to another
halyard
rope or tackle for hoisting and lowering sails
hank
series of rings or clips for attaching a jib or staysail to a stay
hawse
distance between ship's bow and its anchor
hawsehole
sandstone material used to scrape ships' decks
inboard
inside the line of a ship's bulwarks or hull
jack
ship's flag flown from jack-staff at bow of vessel
jack-block
pulley system for raising topgallant masts
jack-cross-tree
single iron cross-tree at head of a topgallant mast
jackstaff
short staff at ship's bow from which the jack is hoisted
jackstay
iron or wooden bar running along yard of ship to which sails fastened
jackyard
spar used to spread the foot of a gaff-topsail
jib
small triangular sail extending from the head of the foremast
jibboom
spar forming an extension of the bowsprit
jibe
to change a ship's course to make the boom shift sides
jurymast
mast erected on ship in place of one lost
kedge
small anchor to keep a ship steady
keelhaul
to punish by dragging under keel of ship
keelson
lengthwise wooden or steel beam in ship for bearing stress
kentledge
pig-iron used as ballast in ship's hold
lagan
cargo jettisoned from ship but marked by buoys for recovery
lanyard
rope or line for fastening something in a ship
larboard
left side of a ship
lastage
room for stowing goods in a ship
lateen
triangular sail rigged on ship's spar
laveer
to sail against the wind
lazaret
space in ship between decks used for storage
leeboard
wood or metal planes attached to hull to prevent leeway
leech
a vertical edge of a square sail
loxodograph
device used to record ship's travels
luff
windward side of a ship; forward edge of fore-and-aft sail
lugsail
four-sided sail bent to an obliquely hanging yard
lutchet
fitting on ship's deck to allow mast to pivot to pass under bridges
mainmast
principal sail on a ship's mainmast
mainsheet
rope by which mainsail is trimmed and secured
mainstay
stay that extends from the main-top to the foot of the foremast
manrope
rope used as a handrail on a ship
martingale
lower stay of rope used to sustain strain of the forestays
mizzen
three-masted vessel; aft sail of such a vessel
mizzenmast
mast aft or next aft of the mainmast in a ship
moonraker
topmost sail of a ship, above the skyscraper
oakum
old ropes untwisted for caulking the seams of ships
orlop
lowest deck in a ship having four or more decks
outhaul
rope used to haul a sail taut along a spar
outrigger
spar extended from side of ship to help secure mast
painter
rope attached to bow of a boat to attach it to a ship or a post
pallograph
band by which a yard is fastened to a mast
patroon
captain of a ship; coxswain of a longboat
poop
enclosed structure at stern of ship above main deck
port
when facing forward, the left side of a ship
primage
fee paid to loaders for loading ship
purser
ship's officer in charge of finances and passengers
quarterdeck
part of ship's deck set aside by captain for ceremonial functions
quartering
sailing nearly before the wind
rake
the inclination of a mast or another part of a ship
ratline
small rope forming a rung of a rope ladder on a ship
reef
to reduce area of a sail by rolling or folding part of it
reeve
to pass a rope through a ring
roach
curved cut in edge of sail for preventing chafing
roband
piece of yarn used to fasten a sail to a spar
rostrum
spike on prow of warship for ramming
rowlock
contrivance serving as a fulcrum for an oar
royal
small sail on royal mast just above topgallant sail
scud
to sail swiftly before a gale
scupper
hole allowing water to drain from ship�s deck
scuttlebutt
cask of drinking water aboard a ship; rumour, idle gossip
scuttles
sail on the mast nearest the stern of a square-rigged ship
spar
any ship's mast, boom, yard, or gaff
spinnaker
large triangular sail opposite the mainsail
spirketting
inside planking between ports and waterways of a ship
sponson
platform jutting from ship�s deck for gun or wheel
sprit
spar crossing a fore-and-aft sail diagonally
spritsail
sail extended by a sprit
starboard
when facing forward, the right side of a ship
starbolins
sailors of the starboard watch
stay
large rope used to support a mast
staysail
fore-and-aft sail hoisted on a stay
steeve
to set a ship's bowsprit at an upward inclination
stemson
supporting timber of a ship
stern
back part of a ship
sternpost
main member at stern of a ship extending from keel to deck
sternway
movement of a ship backwards
stevedore
dock worker who loads and unloads ships
stokehold
ship�s furnace chamber
strake
continuous band of plates on side of a ship
stunsail
light auxiliary sail to the side of principal sails
supercargo
ship's official in charge of business affairs
taffrail
rail round the stern of a ship
thole
pin in the side of a boat to keep oar in place
tiller
handle or lever for turning a ship's rudder
timberhead
top end of ship's timber used above the gunwale
timenoguy
rope stretched from place to place in a ship
topgallant
mast or sail above the topmast and below the royal mast
topmast
ship's mast above the lower mast
topsail
ship's sail above the lowermost sail
tranship
to transfer from one ship to another
transire
ship's customs warrant for clearing goods
transom
transverse timbers attached to ship's sternpost
treenail
long wooden pin used to fix planks of ship to the timbers
trice
to haul in and lash secure a sail with a small rope
trunnel
wooden shipbuilding peg used for fastening timbers
trysail
ship's sail bent to a gaff and hoisted on a lower mast
tuck
part of ship where ends of lower planks meet under the stern
turtleback
structure over ship�s bows or stern
unreeve
to withdraw a rope from an opening
walty
inclined to tip over or lean
wardroom
| Cleat |
Which future Prime Minister was appointed UK chancellor of the exchequer in 1924? | Cleat Hitch | How to tie the Cleat Hitch for a Dock Line | Boating Knots
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Cleat Hitch for a Dock Line Tying
Do not bring the line around the near horn. Go around the far horn, then around the other, and back across the middle. Continue making several more figure 8 turns around each horn.
Cleat Hitch for a Dock Line Details
Uses: The Cleat Hitch secures a rope to a cleat. It is deceptively simple and an unwary skipper who invites visitors to cleat a mooring line may be astonished and dismayed by the unsatisfactory results. See also using a cleat hitch for Securing a Halyard .
First Horn: Initially the rope must be led round the most distant horn of the cleat followed by a turn in the same direction round the other horn. Starting round the wrong horn increases the risk of a jam.
Name: Some contributor's protest that the name "Hitch" is wrongly applied because there is no final Half Hitch. However, Cleat Hitch describes the purpose well – the rope is hitched to a cleat – and there are other "Hitches" that are sometimes used without a final Half Hitch, e.g., Tensionless and Lighterman's (Tugboat) .
No Round Turn: After passing the rope around two horns of the cleat, always cross over and make figure 8 turns afterwards. This is because the Figure 8 Turns lift the rope up against the horns and out of the way of the first turn. There is a risk if the initial turn continues around and under the first horn a second time (making a complete round turn). Now if a towline briefly becomes slack, the initial turn can separate away from the cleat and then clamp down on top of the second turn making it impossible to release the rope while there is load on the towline.
No Locking Hitch? Several skippers have written to emphasize various situations when a Locking Half Hitch must be avoided:
Large Vessels: The uniform practice on large vessels is to never add a final Half Hitch.
Towing: Never add a Half Hitch on either end of a towline. First, a towline should always be monitored. Second, the ability to quickly release either end is essential.
Sheeting a Sail: Avoid a Half Hitch for the sheet controlling a sail – rapid release may be critically important in preventing a disaster, e.g., a capsize.
Use a Locking Hitch? In other situations a locking hitch is commonly used, e.g., the dock lines for a yacht left in a harbor, the halyards cleated to the mast, and flag halyards.
Number of Turns: In most of Ashley's illustrations he shows astonishingly few turns. However, he was writing when tarred hemp was the rope of choice. Today's ropes may be stronger, thinner, slippery, and more elastic (nylon rope stretches by more than 5% when loaded to 20% of its rated breaking strain). Some modern illustrations still show only a single crossover followed by a Half Hitch. An intermittent load on a nylon rope may transmit tension to the Half Hitch and make release awkward. I am indebted to Kevin Redden for the following practical advice: two crossovers is the bare minimum, and only for temporary use in sheltered conditions. In all other situations, always add more – certainly enough to handle any storm load.
History: "Belaying a rope" means securing it or making it fast. Before cleats were common, a rope used to be secured to a vertical pin in a wooden beam called, of course, a "Belaying Pin". Ashley describes several variations including the use of a single hitch by itself ( ABOK # 1594, page 284).
Acknowledgements: Several people have written to provide suggestions about this knot. In particular it is a pleasure to thank Kevin Redden who explained the risk of using a full round turn and provided a recommendation about the number of crossover turns.
Disclaimer: Any activity that involves ropes is potentially hazardous. Lives may be at risk - possibly your own. Considerable attention and effort have been made to ensure that these descriptions are accurate. However, many critical factors cannot be controlled, including: the choice of materials; the age, size, and condition of ropes; and the accuracy with which these descriptions have been followed. No responsibility is accepted for incidents arising from the use of this material.
Copyright
| i don't know |
Which black American singer was known as 'The Hi De Ho Man'? | NPR's Jazz Profiles: Cab Calloway
Produced by Dan Gediman; Written by David Ossman
Cab Calloway -- the legendary "Hi De Ho" man -- was a energetic showman, gifted singer, talented actor and trendsetting fashion plate. A truly "larger than life" figure in American pop culture, immortalized in cartoons and caricatures, Calloway also led one of the greatest bands of the Swing Era.
Listen to writer Albert Murray talk about the significance of Cab Calloway
The middle-class Calloway family hoped their son would become a lawyer like his father. But young Cabell, born in Rochester, New York, on Christmas Day in 1907, and raised primarily in Baltimore, Maryland, wanted to be an entertainer. Cab did attend law school in Chicago, but the hours past sunset found him performing in local nighclubs.
It was in such a club where he met trumpeter Louis Armstrong, who taught him to sing in the scat style. Calloway's oldest sister Blanche was also a professional singer, and she helped him land a stage role on the road with the "Plantation Days" revue in 1925.
Eventually, Cab left law school to sing with a band called the Alabamians. While on the road, the group went head-to-head, (and state vs. state!) in a battle-of-the-bands with a mid-west ensemble, the Missourians. After the dust settled, The Missourians had won -- Cab would later join and then lead the group.
Listen to bassist Milt Hinton and music scholar Gunther Schuller tell how Cab came to lead the Missourians
In 1930, the Cotton Club emerged as a hip new club in Harlem known for its lavish stage shows and talented musicians like Duke Ellington (left). Cab's singing and showmanship captured the attention of the owner and his band was hired to replace the Ellington's band.
Listen to saxophonist and arranger Walter "Foots" Thomas talk about how the band got its big break at the Cotton Club
In 1931, Cab and his manager, Irvin Mills, put together a song that will forever be identified with Calloway -- "Minnie The Moocher." The tune sold over one million copies and the group soon broke every existing record for all-black band audiences.
Listen to saxophonist and arranger Walter "Foots" Thomas recall how "Minnie The Moocher" developed
The success of "Minnie the Moocher" and its steady gig at the Cotton Club had Cab's big band in constant demand. The group spent quite a bit of time on the road and when racism reared its ugly head Cab used proceeds from the Cotton Club and "Minnie" money to travel lavishly by chartered train.
Listen to Milt Hinton describe his travels with the Calloway Orchestra
By the late 1930s, Cab's band was one of the top grossing acts in jazz and had become a proving ground for such young talents as Dizzy Gillespie, Ben Webster, Cozy Cole, Chu Berry and Doc Cheatham. However, by the late '40s, Cab's bad financial decisions -- and gambling -- caught up with him, and the band broke up.
Cab went back to playing in small clubs and eventually landed a part in the Broadway play Porgy and Bess as the character Sportin Life -- a role Calloway would claim that George Gershwin based on him. The show was a huge success, breathing much-needed new life into Calloway's career.
Cab's scat singing, dancing, comedic personality and flashy elegance had made him a star and a million-selling recording artist. He continued to perform right up until his death in 1994 at the age of 88.
Gunther Schuller sums up Calloway's brilliance as an entertainer: "People still remember Cab Calloway as a dancer and vaudevillian with his wonderful white tuxedos and all of that -- and, as a great, great showman."
Listen to Murray explain Calloway's importance in jazz history
SHOW PLAYLIST
| Cab Calloway |
Which former home of the Earl of Shrewsbury is now an amusement park? | Cab Calloway Biography - life, family, children, wife, school, young, book, information, born, college
Cab Calloway Biography
Hockessin, Delaware
African American singer, songwriter, and bandleader
Best known for the song "Minnie the Moocher," Cab Calloway was a famous singer and bandleader beginning in the 1920s, and he remained active in music throughout his golden years.
Early years
Cabell Calloway III was born on December 25, 1907, in Rochester, New York, the second of Cabell and Eulalia Reed Calloway's six children. When he was six his family moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where his father practiced law and sold real estate. Young Cab enjoyed singing in church, but he was expected to follow in his father's footsteps and study law. Except, his older sister Blanche had found work singing with a show in Chicago, Illinois, and after graduating from high school Calloway appealed to her for advice. She sent him a train ticket, and when he arrived in Chicago she gave him acting lessons and found him a job as a singer. He attended Crane College briefly, but he was committed to show business.
Popular bandleader
By 1925 Calloway was working as a drummer with the Sunset Cafe band in Chicago. By his twentieth birthday he had organized his own orchestra and was singing lead vocals again. The group, Cab Calloway and his Alabamians, became popular in Chicago, and eventually was hired to play at the Savoy Ballroom in New York City. That engagement did not go well, and Calloway dissolved the band. He was about to return to Chicago when he landed a part in a Broadway comedy, Connie's Hot Chocolates, in which Calloway was praised for his rendition of "Ain't Misbehavin'."
After Broadway manager Irving Mills encouraged Calloway to form another band, Calloway put together another orchestra and immediately found work in New York nightclubs. In 1929 he was invited to fill in for Duke Ellington (1899–1974) at the Cotton Club, and for the next decade the two band-leaders played alternating engagements at the famous venue. It was during his Cotton Club years that Calloway developed his crisp, jazzy song-and-dance style.
Calloway was one of the first performers to purposely use scat singing, or random use of nonsense syllables. As with so many others, he began scat singing when he forgot a song's lyrics. Audiences loved the sound, however, so he began to write tunes with scat choruses. Calloway's trademark song "Minnie the Moocher" is one such composition. Its refrain—"hi de hi de hi de ho"—invites the audience to sing along. Recordings of "Minnie the Moocher" have sold millions of copies worldwide.
Musician, actor, author
Calloway was very popular in the 1930s and 1940s. He appeared in such films as International House and Stormy Weather. He helped to popularize the jitterbug with songs
Cab Calloway.
AP/Wide World Photos
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like "Jumpin' Jive," "Reefer Man," and "It Ain't Necessarily So." He even wrote a book, Hepster's Dictionary, which sold two million copies. Although Calloway is not always associated with the big-band era, he worked with many brilliant musicians who were attracted by the top salaries he was able to pay.
During World War II (1939–45) Calloway entertained troops in the United States and Canada. After the war he returned to club work and to Broadway, most notably as the character of Sportin' Life in Porgy and Bess. In the 1960s he took another Broadway role, that of Horace Vandergelder in the all-black version of Hello, Dolly! His work with Pearl Bailey (1918–1990) was the highlight of a long friendship—he had helped Bailey get a start in show business in 1945.
Popular in his eighties
Calloway's appearance in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers gave him the opportunity to perform "Minnie the Moocher" for an audience young enough to be his grandchildren. Dressed in a white suit with tails, he made the song the highlight of the film. Critics praised Calloway, and his popularity soared. Calloway continued to perform into his eighties, sometimes joined by his daughter Chris. The Philadelphia Inquirer observed that "his moves have slowed a bit since the '30s.… But every bit of his voice is still there—and every bit of the style and grace that made the legend."
Cab Calloway died in November 1994, five months after suffering a stroke. He was survived by his wife, Nuffie, whom he married in 1953. When once asked if he had any heroes in the music business, Calloway scoffed at the very idea. "I'll tell you who my heroes are," he said. "My heroes are the notes, man. The music itself. You understand what I'm saying? I love the music. The music is my hero."
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ddasd
May 21, 2006 @ 9:21 pm
Calloway's appearance in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers gave him the opportunity to perform "Minnie the Moocher" for an audience young enough to be his grandchildren. Dressed in a white suit with tails, he made the song the highlight of the film. Critics praised Calloway, and his popularity soared. Calloway continued to perform into his eighties, sometimes joined by his daughter Chris. The Philadelphia Inquirer observed that "his moves have slowed a bit since the '30s.… But every bit of his voice is still there—and every bit of the style and grace that made the legend."
Cab Calloway died in November 1994, five months after suffering a stroke. He was survived by his wife, Nuffie, whom he married in 1953. When once asked if he had any heroes in the music business, Calloway scoffed at the very idea. "I'll tell you who my heroes are," he said. "My heroes are the notes, man. The music itself. You understand what I'm saying? I love the music. The music is my hero."
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Who upset Elizabeth I by secretly marrying Elizabeth Throckmorton? | Elizabeth Raleigh (Throckmorton) (1565 - c.1647) - Genealogy
Elizabeth Raleigh
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"Bessy Throckmorton", "Lady Elizabeth Raleigh"
Birthdate:
Apr 26 1565 - Paulerspury, Northamptonshire, England
Death:
'F, #146601, b. 1565, d. 1647
Last Edited=20 Oct 2009
'Elizabeth Throckmorton was born in 1565.2 She married Sir Walter Raleigh in 1593.1 She died in 1647.2
' She was the daughter of Sir Nicholas Throckmorton and Anne Carew.1 From 1593, her married name became Raleigh.1
Citations
1.[S1281] Dr. Andrew Gray, "re: Sir Robert George Maxwell Throckmorton, 11th Bt.," e-mail message to Darryl Lundy, 28 February 2005. Hereinafter cited as "re: Robert George Maxwell Throckmorton."
2.[S3409] Caroline Maubois, "re: Penancoet Family," e-mail message to Darryl Roger Lundy, 2 December 2008. Hereinafter cited as "re: Penancoet Family."
'Born: 16 Apr 1565
'Died: 1618
'Notes: Bess was nineteen when she first appeared at Court. She was the daughter of Sir Nicholas Trhockmorton, Queen Elizabeth's first Ambassador to Paris, and her brother was also a courtier. Both their parents were dead and they relied on the Court for their livelihood. Bess was intelligent, forthright, passionate and courageous. Though Raleigh was in his early forties, the two fell madly in love. In the summer of 1591, Bess discovered she was pregnant and they secretly married. They were together, but catastrophe loomed. Raleigh's young wife, however, could no longer keep her pregnancy secret. Bess gave birth to a baby boy who was quickly put out to a wet nurse so she could resume her place as Lady-in-Waiting. When Sir Walter returned from the sea, he arranged for the baby and nurse to go to Durham House. However, on 31st May 1592, his marriage was discovered. The Queen had not granted permission for such a match and Raleigh was promptly arrested. Elizabeth expected Walter and Bess to sue for a pardon and, while their fate lay in the balance, she even confirmed the lease of Sherborne.
'However, the couple refused such a humiliating course of action and by 7 Aug, that same year, the Queen's favourite had fallen into five long years of disgrace. The couple's first child must have died, but Bess was soon pregnant again and their son, Wat, was born in 1593.
'Said to have carried the shriveled head of her husband in a red leather bag until the end of her days.
Father: Nicholas THROCKMORTON (Sir)
http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/THROCKMORTON1.htm#Elizabeth THROCKMORTON1
_________
'Elizabeth, Lady Raleigh (16 April 1565 – c. 1647), née Throckmorton, was Sir Walter Raleigh's wife, and a Lady of the Privy Chamber to Queen Elizabeth I of England. Their secret marriage precipitated a long period of royal disfavour for Raleigh.
Biography
'Elizabeth was the daughter of the diplomat Sir Nicholas Throckmorton and Anne Carew. She and her brother Arthur were courtiers to Elizabeth I, and Elizabeth is said to have been intelligent, forthright, passionate and courageous. In due course she and Raleigh, at least twelve years her senior, fell in love. Her pregnancy in the summer of 1591 led to their secret marriage; she gave birth to a baby boy named Damerei, after Sir Walter's claimed ancestors, and immediately returned to court. The child died aged six months old in October 1591 of plague.
'The marriage was discovered on 31 May 1592, and the Queen, who required ladies-in-waiting to get her permission to marry, had Raleigh arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London and Elizabeth expelled from court. She obtained quarters near her husband at the Tower, where their child probably died. Elizabeth expected the couple to sue for pardon, but they refused and Raleigh fell into disgrace for five years.[dubious – discuss]
'The couple remained devoted to each other, however. Their son Walter was born in 1593. They also had a son named Carew (which was both Elizabeth's mother's maiden name and the name of one of Walter's brothers) whose birthdate is unclear. During Raleigh's absences and imprisonments, Elizabeth capably managed the family business. After Raleigh's execution in 1618, she worked to re-establish his reputation.
'It is said that Elizabeth had her husband's head embalmed and carried it around with her for the rest of her life. Carew inherited the relic and when he died it was buried with him.[citation needed]
'Through both her parents, Elizabeth Throckmorton had connections to Henry VIII. Her father, Nicholas Throckmorton, was the cousin of Henry's sixth wife, Queen Catherine Parr. Anne Carew, Elizabeth' mother, was the daughter of Nicholas Carew and Elizabeth Carew née Bryan. Nicholas had been a close friend of Henry's, from childhood until his execution in 1539. Alison Weir alleges that Elizabeth Carew had earlier been the mistress of Henry VIII[citation needed], and that he had even given her jewels that should technically have belonged to the queen when she gave birth to her son. However, there are no contemporary references to a possibility of any of Elizabeth's children being fathered by Henry.
Fictional Depiction
'Elizabeth Throckmorton is the subject of Rosemary Sutcliff's novel Lady in Waiting (1956). Sutcliff usually refers to her as "Bess".
'Elizabeth Throckmorton was a featured character in the film Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), and was played by Abbie Cornish. The movie has Raleigh and her marrying prior to the Spanish Armada (1588), when in fact they married in 1591.
'In the film The Virgin Queen (1955) Elizabeth Throckmorton (referred to as Beth Throgmorton in the film) is portrayed by Joan Collins. Bette Davis portrays Queen Elizabeth.
'In the episode "Four Great Women and a Manicure" of The Simpsons, Marge plays her.
'She appears briefly in A Dead Man In Deptford, Anthony Burgess's speculative fictional account of the life of playwright Christopher Marlowe.
Ancestry
Ancestors of Elizabeth Raleigh
References
My Just Desire : The Life of Bess Raleigh, Wife to Sir Walter (ISBN 0-345-45290-9), by Anna Beer
Raleigh biography at U.S. National Park Service
Bessy Throckmorton,
Elizabeth, born 1565, to Sir Nicholas Throckmorton and Anne Carew,
in 1584 she became a Lady of the Privy Chamber to Queen Elizabeth I [born 1533, reigned 1558-1603],
she mar secretly 1591 to Sir Walter Raleigh [born 1552] and had issue,
he was sent to the Tower 1592 for this secret affair and marriage,
she was expelled from court, but was NOT sent to the Tower, rather she obtained quarters so she could be near her husband at the Tower,
he was excluded from the Queen's presence for more than 4 years after.
Bessy died 1647, age 82 yrs.
In 1591, Raleigh was secretly married to Elizabeth "Bess" Throckmorton (or Throgmorton). She was one of the Queen's ladies-in-waiting, eleven years his junior, and was pregnant at the time of their marriage. She gave birth to a son, believed to be named Damerei, who was given to a wet nurse at Durham House; the infant does not seem to have survived, and Bess resumed her duties. The following year, the unauthorized marriage was discovered and the Queen ordered Raleigh imprisoned and Bess dismissed from court. He was released from prison to divide the spoils from the captured Spanish ship Madre de Dios ("Mother of God").
It would be several years before Raleigh returned to favour. The couple remained devoted to each other. During Raleigh's absences, Bess proved a capable manager of the family's fortunes and reputation. They had two more sons, Walter (known as Wat) and Carew.
Elizabeth Raleigh From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Robert Peake the Elder (ca. 1551-1619): Elizabeth Raleigh. ca. 1600 Elizabeth, Lady Raleigh (16 April 1565 – c. 1647), née Throckmorton, was Sir Walter Raleigh's wife, and a Lady of the Privy Chamber to Queen Elizabeth I of England. Their secret marriage precipitated a long period of royal disfavour for Raleigh. [edit] Biography Elizabeth was the daughter of the diplomat Sir Nicholas Throckmorton and Anne Carew. She and her brother Arthur were courtiers to Elizabeth I, and Elizabeth is said to have been intelligent, forthright, passionate and courageous. In due course she and Raleigh, at least twelve years her senior, fell in love. Her pregnancy in the summer of 1591 led to their secret marriage; she gave birth to a baby boy named Damerei, after Sir Walter's claimed ancestors, and immediately returned to court. The child died aged six months old in October 1591 of plague. The marriage was discovered on 31 May 1592, and the Queen, who required ladies-in-waiting to get her permission to marry, had Raleigh arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London and Elizabeth expelled from court. She obtained quarters near her husband at the Tower, where their child probably died. Elizabeth expected the couple to sue for pardon, but they refused and Raleigh fell into disgrace for five years.[dubious – discuss] The couple remained devoted to each other, however. Their son Walter was born in 1593. They also had a son named Carew (which was both Elizabeth's mother's maiden name and the name of one of Walter's brothers) whose birthdate is unclear. During Raleigh's absences and imprisonments, Elizabeth capably managed the family business. After Raleigh's execution in 1618, she worked to re-establish his reputation. It is said that Elizabeth had her husband's head embalmed and carried it around with her for the rest of her life. Carew inherited the relic and when he died it was buried with him.[citation needed] Through both her parents, Elizabeth Throckmorton had connections to Henry VIII. Her father, Nicholas Throckmorton, was the cousin of Henry's sixth wife, Queen Catherine Parr. Anne Carew, Elizabeth' mother, was the daughter of Nicholas Carew and Elizabeth Carew née Bryan. Nicholas had been a close friend of Henry's, from childhood until his execution in 1539. Alison Weir alleges that Elizabeth Carew had earlier been the mistress of Henry VIII[citation needed], and that he had even given her jewels that should technically have belonged to the queen when she gave birth to her son. However, there are no contemporary references to a possibility of any of Elizabeth's children being fathered by Henry. [edit] Fictional Depiction Elizabeth Throckmorton is the subject of Rosemary Sutcliff's novel Lady in Waiting (1956). Sutcliff usually refers to her as "Bess". Elizabeth Throckmorton was a featured character in the film Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), and was played by Abbie Cornish. In the film The Virgin Queen (1955) Elizabeth Throckmorton (referred to as Beth Throgmorton in the film) is portrayed by Joan Collins. Bette Davis portrays Queen Elizabeth in the episode "Four Great Women and a Manicure" of The Simpsons, Marge plays her
'Elizabeth Throckmorton1
'F, #146601, b. 1565, d. 1647
Last Edited=20 Oct 2009
'Elizabeth Throckmorton was born in 1565.2 She married Sir Walter Raleigh in 1593.1 She died in 1647.2
' She was the daughter of Sir Nicholas Throckmorton and Anne Carew.1 From 1593, her married name became Raleigh.1
Citations
1.[S1281] Dr. Andrew Gray, "re: Sir Robert George Maxwell Throckmorton, 11th Bt.," e-mail message to Darryl Lundy, 28 February 2005. Hereinafter cited as "re: Robert George Maxwell Throckmorton."
2.[S3409] Caroline Maubois, "re: Penancoet Family," e-mail message to Darryl Roger Lundy, 2 December 2008. Hereinafter cited as "re: Penancoet Family."
'Born: 16 Apr 1565
'Died: 1618
'Notes: Bess was nineteen when she first appeared at Court. She was the daughter of Sir Nicholas Trhockmorton, Queen Elizabeth's first Ambassador to Paris, and her brother was also a courtier. Both their parents were dead and they relied on the Court for their livelihood. Bess was intelligent, forthright, passionate and courageous. Though Raleigh was in his early forties, the two fell madly in love. In the summer of 1591, Bess discovered she was pregnant and they secretly married. They were together, but catastrophe loomed. Raleigh's young wife, however, could no longer keep her pregnancy secret. Bess gave birth to a baby boy who was quickly put out to a wet nurse so she could resume her place as Lady-in-Waiting. When Sir Walter returned from the sea, he arranged for the baby and nurse to go to Durham House. However, on 31st May 1592, his marriage was discovered. The Queen had not granted permission for such a match and Raleigh was promptly arrested. Elizabeth expected Walter and Bess to sue for a pardon and, while their fate lay in the balance, she even confirmed the lease of Sherborne.
'However, the couple refused such a humiliating course of action and by 7 Aug, that same year, the Queen's favourite had fallen into five long years of disgrace. The couple's first child must have died, but Bess was soon pregnant again and their son, Wat, was born in 1593.
'Said to have carried the shriveled head of her husband in a red leather bag until the end of her days.
Father: Nicholas THROCKMORTON (Sir)
http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/THROCKMORTON1.htm#Elizabeth THROCKMORTON1
_________
'Elizabeth, Lady Raleigh (16 April 1565 – c. 1647), née Throckmorton, was Sir Walter Raleigh's wife, and a Lady of the Privy Chamber to Queen Elizabeth I of England. Their secret marriage precipitated a long period of royal disfavour for Raleigh.
Biography
'Elizabeth was the daughter of the diplomat Sir Nicholas Throckmorton and Anne Carew. She and her brother Arthur were courtiers to Elizabeth I, and Elizabeth is said to have been intelligent, forthright, passionate and courageous. In due course she and Raleigh, at least twelve years her senior, fell in love. Her pregnancy in the summer of 1591 led to their secret marriage; she gave birth to a baby boy named Damerei, after Sir Walter's claimed ancestors, and immediately returned to court. The child died aged six months old in October 1591 of plague.
'The marriage was discovered on 31 May 1592, and the Queen, who required ladies-in-waiting to get her permission to marry, had Raleigh arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London and Elizabeth expelled from court. She obtained quarters near her husband at the Tower, where their child probably died. Elizabeth expected the couple to sue for pardon, but they refused and Raleigh fell into disgrace for five years.[dubious – discuss]
'The couple remained devoted to each other, however. Their son Walter was born in 1593. They also had a son named Carew (which was both Elizabeth's mother's maiden name and the name of one of Walter's brothers) whose birthdate is unclear. During Raleigh's absences and imprisonments, Elizabeth capably managed the family business. After Raleigh's execution in 1618, she worked to re-establish his reputation.
'It is said that Elizabeth had her husband's head embalmed and carried it around with her for the rest of her life. Carew inherited the relic and when he died it was buried with him.[citation needed]
'Through both her parents, Elizabeth Throckmorton had connections to Henry VIII. Her father, Nicholas Throckmorton, was the cousin of Henry's sixth wife, Queen Catherine Parr. Anne Carew, Elizabeth' mother, was the daughter of Nicholas Carew and Elizabeth Carew née Bryan. Nicholas had been a close friend of Henry's, from childhood until his execution in 1539. Alison Weir alleges that Elizabeth Carew had earlier been the mistress of Henry VIII[citation needed], and that he had even given her jewels that should technically have belonged to the queen when she gave birth to her son. However, there are no contemporary references to a possibility of any of Elizabeth's children being fathered by Henry.
Fictional Depiction
'Elizabeth Throckmorton is the subject of Rosemary Sutcliff's novel Lady in Waiting (1956). Sutcliff usually refers to her as "Bess".
'Elizabeth Throckmorton was a featured character in the film Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), and was played by Abbie Cornish. The movie has Raleigh and her marrying prior to the Spanish Armada (1588), when in fact they married in 1591.
'In the film The Virgin Queen (1955) Elizabeth Throckmorton (referred to as Beth Throgmorton in the film) is portrayed by Joan Collins. Bette Davis portrays Queen Elizabeth.
'In the episode "Four Great Women and a Manicure" of The Simpsons, Marge plays her.
'She appears briefly in A Dead Man In Deptford, Anthony Burgess's speculative fictional account of the life of playwright Christopher Marlowe.
Ancestry
Ancestors of Elizabeth Raleigh
References
My Just Desire : The Life of Bess Raleigh, Wife to Sir Walter (ISBN 0-345-45290-9), by Anna Beer
Raleigh biography at U.S. National Park Service
Bessy Throckmorton,
Elizabeth, born 1565, to Sir Nicholas Throckmorton and Anne Carew,
in 1584 she became a Lady of the Privy Chamber to Queen Elizabeth I [born 1533, reigned 1558-1603],
she mar secretly 1591 to Sir Walter Raleigh [born 1552] and had issue,
he was sent to the Tower 1592 for this secret affair and marriage,
she was expelled from court, but was NOT sent to the Tower, rather she obtained quarters so she could be near her husband at the Tower,
he was excluded from the Queen's presence for more than 4 years after.
Bessy died 1647, age 82 yrs.
In 1591, Raleigh was secretly married to Elizabeth "Bess" Throckmorton (or Throgmorton). She was one of the Queen's ladies-in-waiting, eleven years his junior, and was pregnant at the time of their marriage. She gave birth to a son, believed to be named Damerei, who was given to a wet nurse at Durham House; the infant does not seem to have survived, and Bess resumed her duties. The following year, the unauthorized marriage was discovered and the Queen ordered Raleigh imprisoned and Bess dismissed from court. He was released from prison to divide the spoils from the captured Spanish ship Madre de Dios ("Mother of God").
It would be several years before Raleigh returned to favour. The couple remained devoted to each other. During Raleigh's absences, Bess proved a capable manager of the family's fortunes and reputation. They had two more sons, Walter (known as Wat) and Carew.
Elizabeth Raleigh From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Robert Peake the Elder (ca. 1551-1619): Elizabeth Raleigh. ca. 1600 Elizabeth, Lady Raleigh (16 April 1565 – c. 1647), née Throckmorton, was Sir Walter Raleigh's wife, and a Lady of the Privy Chamber to Queen Elizabeth I of England. Their secret marriage precipitated a long period of royal disfavour for Raleigh. [edit] Biography Elizabeth was the daughter of the diplomat Sir Nicholas Throckmorton and Anne Carew. She and her brother Arthur were courtiers to Elizabeth I, and Elizabeth is said to have been intelligent, forthright, passionate and courageous. In due course she and Raleigh, at least twelve years her senior, fell in love. Her pregnancy in the summer of 1591 led to their secret marriage; she gave birth to a baby boy named Damerei, after Sir Walter's claimed ancestors, and immediately returned to court. The child died aged six months old in October 1591 of plague. The marriage was discovered on 31 May 1592, and the Queen, who required ladies-in-waiting to get her permission to marry, had Raleigh arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London and Elizabeth expelled from court. She obtained quarters near her husband at the Tower, where their child probably died. Elizabeth expected the couple to sue for pardon, but they refused and Raleigh fell into disgrace for five years.[dubious – discuss] The couple remained devoted to each other, however. Their son Walter was born in 1593. They also had a son named Carew (which was both Elizabeth's mother's maiden name and the name of one of Walter's brothers) whose birthdate is unclear. During Raleigh's absences and imprisonments, Elizabeth capably managed the family business. After Raleigh's execution in 1618, she worked to re-establish his reputation. It is said that Elizabeth had her husband's head embalmed and carried it around with her for the rest of her life. Carew inherited the relic and when he died it was buried with him.[citation needed] Through both her parents, Elizabeth Throckmorton had connections to Henry VIII. Her father, Nicholas Throckmorton, was the cousin of Henry's sixth wife, Queen Catherine Parr. Anne Carew, Elizabeth' mother, was the daughter of Nicholas Carew and Elizabeth Carew née Bryan. Nicholas had been a close friend of Henry's, from childhood until his execution in 1539. Alison Weir alleges that Elizabeth Carew had earlier been the mistress of Henry VIII[citation needed], and that he had even given her jewels that should technically have belonged to the queen when she gave birth to her son. However, there are no contemporary references to a possibility of any of Elizabeth's children being fathered by Henry. [edit] Fictional Depiction Elizabeth Throckmorton is the subject of Rosemary Sutcliff's novel Lady in Waiting (1956). Sutcliff usually refers to her as "Bess". Elizabeth Throckmorton was a featured character in the film Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), and was played by Abbie Cornish. In the film The Virgin Queen (1955) Elizabeth Throckmorton (referred to as Beth Throgmorton in the film) is portrayed by Joan Collins. Bette Davis portrays Queen Elizabeth in the episode "Four Great Women and a Manicure" of The Simpsons, Marge plays her
| Walter Raleigh |
Which style of acting was founded by Konstantin Stanislavsky? | Elizabeth: The Golden Age Reviews & Ratings - IMDb
IMDb
17 January 2017 8:34 AM, PST
NEWS
119 out of 153 people found the following review useful:
Good Fun but Flawed History
from United States
16 October 2007
Overall I enjoyed the movie. There have been too many recent films about the Tudors and Elizabeth in particular, but this film looks good and it keeps you entertained. It's set at the time of the Spanish Armada in 1588. Elizabeth is shown as tough, smart, and married to her country. She also suffers from bouts of insecurity and irrational jealousies. This film is more hagiographic and melodramatic than its predecessor.
The film tends to ignore the facts when they get in the way of the story. Elizabeth was 55 at the time of the Spanish Armada and she was never a looker. Blanchett's Queen is youngish and attractive. Blanchett's acting performance is powerful and impressive but also a bit stagy. The way the politics of the time are depicted is a bit too black and white. The Spanish look grim and are dressed in dark colors. They are portrayed as crazy, religious zealots. Spain had a right to be upset at English privateers / pirates who attacked their ships and stole their gold. Mary, Queen of Scots is shown as a dowdy, schemer who disliked Elizabeth. The reality was that Mary was a pretty bimbo who made bad choices when it came to men.
Parts of the film veer too much towards soap-opera. Sir Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen)becomes a favorite, but when Bess Throckmorton, one of the Queen's ladies-in-waiting and Raleigh get secretly married, Elizabeth becomes jealous and behaves badly. Later, Raleigh and Francis Drake are shown defeating the Spanish at sea. In reality Raleigh was looking after the coastal defenses in the South West of England and didn't marry Throckmorton until 1591. The real Raleigh was a brilliant man: soldier, explorer, writer, poet and courtier and probably deserves his own film. The film is good fun but it's simplistic, cartoon history.
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215 out of 349 people found the following review useful:
Elizabeth: Die Hard With a Vengeance
from Columbia, Maryland, USA
13 October 2007
This rates as high as it does for me because of the cinematography. It is dazzling and Blanchett can't be denied, but "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" is like a chick-flick with explosions plus costumes, super hair, and loud, intrusive music. The result is faux epic.
My wife summed it up well as we left the theater: "I feel like I've just flipped through a coffee table picture book for two hours and somebody turned up the stereo." History wrote this plot but Nicholson and Hirst thought they could do better. They couldn't, or certainly didn't. Freshmen composition classes come up with better stuff. Trite, forced, predictable. Did they even run this by an expert in English history? You gotta wonder. The script is oozing with 21st century mores and clichés. It made me think (during the movie, mind you) of the way Dutch painters depicted Homer and Aristotle in the garb of 17th century Holland. Are we that dumb? Sir Walter Raleigh is a caricature and Sir Francis Drake, never properly introduced, was a throwaway. Geoffrey Rush is wasted as Walsingham. Come to think of it, nearly everybody is wasted. Every single character is underdeveloped, with the possible exception of the title characterpossible exception.
"Golden Age" set the target high and then turned and fired in the opposite direction. Realizing the script had missed, Director tried to make up for it with window dressing. Substance would have served this queen better. With the colon in the title, I almost expected to see Bruce Willis saving the day.
You can see why "Golden Age" came out in October because it's not going to compete for Oscars in categories that anybody cares about. With all the budget they had for this movie, you'd Universal could have found better writers.
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137 out of 219 people found the following review useful:
A fairy tale about the "Faerie Queene"? I love it!
from Washington, DC
10 October 2007
Another Elizabeth I film? Why not? The Elizabethan Era's, indeed, a fascinating periods in English history - an era when England was relatively well off compared to other nations even if its wealth was unevenly distributed!
Director Kapur interestingly puts dramatic and chilling appeal and emphasis on Elizabeth's Golden Age to reveal her personality and struggles to keep her throne and save her country from falling into the hands of conspirators and invaders. Does he give his audience any insight into the Golden Age when English Literature, poetry, music, theater, architecture, scientific and technological advancement, and exploration expansion flourished? Nope. His film does offer some interesting hints that women did enjoy the freedom of movement (ah ha, even a queen's closest and dearest lady-in-waiting could play cuckold to her mistress' favorite man!) and that competing interests and ambitions of colonial powers made it easy for ambitious sailors to legalize acts of piracy! Serious crimes could well resort in severe tortures. Director Kapur does stress that she was the "peoples" queen!
The story continues from where Cate Blanchett's young, flighty, and reckless Elizabeth made her finale masculine-like entrance in the prequel, "Elizabeth", as the Virgin Queen with her face heavily laced with the 'white-as-milke' make-up - an image of a queen ready to lead her citizens.
At a deliberate slow pacing, the introduction with its scenes, characters and their dialog prepare the audience to receive Elizabeth as the Queen with a more focused, more rigid personality, in charge of hers and her country's destinies. Yep, a woman with ready suitors, but offering a sense that she is wedded to her Empire! She seems very philosophical in her ideals and yet we see her court filled with sorts of political characters. Elizabeth, then, is seen with roving eyes, easily distracted by the presence of attractive men. Indeed, it's a crafty way to introduce Elizabeth before Director Kapur plunges his audience into a compelling tale of treachery, assassination attempts and romance that affects the Virgin Queen during her reign.
The film carries a mix of intriguing historical facts, legends and myths in ways that one can only expect history teachers of English public schools to apply to make their lessons interesting, or hear from gossipy English peers, from history classes, wanting to impress their friends with stranger-than-fiction tidbits and hearsay of those times. This film does promise a refreshing tale to grasp! There are those tongue-in-cheek whims and antics that mischievously provoke thoughts of the political and religious changing tides of modern times. Director Kapur has certainly avoided the creation of a history epic, based on dull, dry substance!
Blanchett is magnificent in her strange, enigmatic and multi-dimensional character, constantly faced with the challenges of her foes plotting and counter-plotting to take her down at her Court, in her government, and, from foreign lands. She's seen as almost as a brutal ruler at times and on her consistent guard in her determination to hold on to her throne, alternating between her seemingly vicious whims, her heroism and tangled romantic emotions! Yet, she comes off gracefully as a person who has the heart to forgive. Oh yes, there's also that scene that prompts me to think of Joan of Arc! It's not hard to want to cheer for the Queen in her determination to fight against the religious intolerance, barbarism and fundamentalism of the Spanish Inquisition. Spain was a very powerful Catholic foe and the Church did try to destroy this Protestant Queen and to restore England back to Catholism!
The battle in the calm-to-storm scene is exhilarating to watch. We also witness her struggles in her attempt to balance her duties to her country and her vulnerability to infatuation and tempestuous relationship. Clive Owens superbly handles his role as the dashing Walter Raleigh indeed, one of the most colorful and controversial character of the times and of whom English history has spun numerous tales about. This film also charts Raleigh's colonizing dreams, his involvement in a love triangle, his sweeping in and out of the Queen's favor and his immense dislike for Catholics - that did historically determine his fate beyond this film's exposure. Geoffrey Rush returns as the loyal and polished spy master, Sir Walsingham and historically seen as the man who attracted conspiracy theories. Hhhmh, was he responsible for the birth of modern espionage? He's truly fascinating to watch. This film has a great stellar cast of actors who don't disappoint. There's so much on-screen chemistry oozing out between characters in this film. Oh yes, the villains are so agitating and annoying to the core.
The background music soundtracks come across as dramatically bold and nail-biting, poignant at times, and emotionally mystifying at others- appropriately matching the many guises, moods and whims of the Virgin Queen the cold and strong and always majestic personality vs .her sentimentally vulnerable images - and also effectively reinforce the moments of gripping horrors of the events witnessed or felt. The sounds do have an interesting mix. Some of the scenes really deliver visual cinematic effects that remind me of the paintings of the period. The somber settings work beautifully to support and give intensity to the horrifying scenes and moments. Just love the way the sets and backgrounds are crafted to avoid overshadowing the characters. Oh yes, I love the color schemes presented in this movie to bring credibility to the scenes! The naval battle and Sir Walters' underwater escapade are so fabulously and stunningly crafted - without going over-the-board with extreme flashy special effects and colors to highlight the events.
I was captivated from beginning to end. Oh yes, this film does entertain, sending me on a delightfully exciting spell-bound journey in my attempt to separate legend and myths from historical facts. Oh yes, this film will make English history fun to browse all over again. Yep, I was absolutely entertained!!!
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126 out of 215 people found the following review useful:
An Adult Popcorn Movie
12 October 2007
Don't believe the poor reviews "Elizebeth: The Golden Age" has received.
While it may be true the film is not historically correct, most of us do not go to the movies for a history lesson. We go to be entertained. On that basis, this film is a winner. It has romance, intrigue and betrayal. It is basically a melodrama.
The photography is great, although sometimes the director gets carried away with the camera movements. The orchestral score in fine, although it is overwhelming at times. The acting is absolutely first rate.
I thought that "Elizebeth: The Golden Age" was more entertaining than any of the "Pirates of the Carribian" movies. If you want an entertaining movie that is geared more towards adults than children, then you should check the movie out.
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50 out of 71 people found the following review useful:
A Huge Opportunity for Greatness
is Missed
Author: MistinParadise
15 October 2007
With a dream cast, a fascinating subject, and a budget larger than a pirate's booty, this film could have been great. But the chance is missed.
(Pros:) The cast is definitely the film's biggest asset. Cate Blanchett is incredibly brilliant even at times that the script fails to provide her with a worthy line. Her powerful performance is utterly captivating. Clive Owen's Walter Raleigh is as dashing as a man can be. As the man who charmed the Queen out of her heart and wits and dared to tell her not to act like a fool, Owen's Raleigh is daring at times, vulnerable at others, but always compelling and spectacular. Geoffrey Rush makes the best out of the very little that he's given to work with and Abbie Cornish and Samantha Morton are each great in their parts.
It's also worth a mention that the costumes and the locations are spectacular, paired with a few moments of good story-telling (only if those moments would last all through the film) they make a few absolutely extraordinary scenes. Another great characteristic of this film is it's subtlety, the emotions that are there yet not talked about, the wishes, feelings, disappointments, desires, and fears that are only hinted are the best parts of an otherwise disappointing story-telling.
(Cons:) Sloppy editing, campy scenes, and poor writing are what mostly hurts the film. Unfortunately the film's precious time is spent on side-stories that could have easily been discarded, and consequentially, not enough time is spent on the development of the main story. Everything that happens after Sir Walter meets Elizabeth seems forced. Vague at times, the film seems to be in rush to hit certain notes at certain times. Elizabeth meets Walter and a few lines later she's mad about him, so is Bess and so on. The audience is not given the chance to feel or take in what's really happening, not even enough time to get to know the characters let alone feel what they are going through. At times, it seemed as though many of the scenes were cut short in the editing room and had lost their essence in the process. (If that's the case, lets hope the DVD includes the director's cut.)
The film could have benefited from more climax and action (the battle is barely touched), (other than a few great scenes) most of the story is told through conversations in closed areas. More than anything, the writers leaned on poetic lines to deliver their story. Also, for all it's subtlety, the film takes sides so obviously that it hurts any chances it had at reaching some level of realism or fairness. For instance, not only Phillip of Spain is utterly evil, he's one ridiculous, petty, dim character.
Overall, the cast certainly makes the experience worthwhile, and as long as one does not expect absolute greatness or historical accuracy, this film can be great entertainment for most.
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51 out of 75 people found the following review useful:
Cate Blanchett shines in biographical drama; some fiction added to the events
from Redondo Beach, CA
20 October 2007
Cate Blanchett reprises her role as the Virgin Queen, Elizabeth I, and is the film's greatest highlight. She exudes power, strength and influence in portraying the 16th century monarch. Her commanding presence on the screen really gives the majestic qualities that the real queen certainly had. At the same time, she gives us a personal glance inside the woman's heart, where she has suppressed from public view an inner vulnerability and melancholy. Elizabeth certainly endured many sorrows, and this portrayal gives us a glance inside the woman's who carried all this upon her shoulders, and is credited with raising England to prominent status on the world stage.
In addition to Blanchett, the supporting cast all turn in superior work. The sets, costuming, and period speech are all mastered well, creating a true feel for the era being depicted. Although many of the people and events are real, a few liberties have been taken apparently to spice up the drama. Such fictionalizing probably wasn't necessary; enough happened during this queen's rule to make the story interesting without it. One example: the flashy Sir Walter Raleigh was indeed a favorite of the queen, but this movie puts them in a romantic triangle that just gets in the way of other things going on. Also, Raleigh, better known as an explorer, was not the hero in the battle with the Spanish Armada.
Blanchett shines when she delivers the famous speech to the troops on the eve of the Spanish invasion. But even she is burdened by the director's preoccupation with Elizabeth as a suffering angst-filled woman facing middle-age with less bravery than facing the world's most powerful fleet at that time. We get endless views of her taking her wig off in secret, and staring at a mirror. The first time this device is used is fine to get the point across of her hopeless situation of never taking a husband (and the slow advance of time having its way), but we see her looking like a shriveled ghost in too many such scenes, and it's way overdone in this context. Her "real" hair sans the wig looks like an inebriated Edward Scissorhands was her hairdresser, and her pale complexion looks like somebody pasted white-out all over her face.
Those few mistakes notwithstanding, this is a fine biopic with superior acting by Blanchett, and is recommended.
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54 out of 82 people found the following review useful:
Ambitious period film.
from The San Francisco Bay Area
16 October 2007
I hadn't heard too much about this film, but had seen the posters for it, so I gave it a shot. And after leaving the theatre I really wasn't sure what to say about it.
There's a lot of good stuff in this film, but there're some pitfalls as well. On the plus side the sets and costumes are magnificent. A great deal of care and love when into the art direction to bring us an Elizabethan renaissance film, replete with court intrigue and foreign emissaries who threaten invasion because of high seas thievery courtesy Clive Owen's character. Visually this film is very lush and impressive, though somewhat confining at times. We're never really shown Elizabethan England, just the "important parts" that are salient to the story.
And, as Elizabeth's favorite playwright would say, "there's the rub". And by this I mean that the film is a bit all over the place. It's a costume drama, it's a romance, it's a period political thriller, it's a military epic, and so forth. It even skids the fantasy genre with some of the fancy camera work that was done. But, all in all, the film's primary thrust is to try and grab hold of all of these genres, and tie them together into some kind of cohesive and suscint manner.
The romance, the intrigue, the sisterly emotions, the rivalry between matriarchs, and the "battle scene" hearken back to a time when Hollywood used to crank out these kinds of movies with some regularity. But the context between those films and "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" are nearly day and night, even though both are striving for a high water mark in historical drama.
I thought "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" was technically a competent production. In fact, given the difficulties there must have been getting some of the shots I'll give it high marks as a pure production effort. But as a film I simply found it to be a touch too ambitious, and over-indulgent near the end.
That's not to say that I didn't enjoy a lot of the film, because I did. Blanchet's Elizabeth is a strong woman; full of zest, energy, and a bit of anger, which she levels at her adversaries. But she's also a chief of state, internationalist, and, of course, the queen of England. She doesn't wear several hats. She wears a crown. But even so, and this is where the film falls a bit short, she doesn't demonstrate a cohesive ability to command all. She shows she's in charge, but doesn't act like she's in charge until near the end.
The film was geared and aimed at a female audience (a thing which I had not expected), and so a lot of the energy is directed at that audience, with the appropriate emotional flourishes. Combined with some so-so CGI for the action sequences (and a horse with a perm which almost had me laughing), one wonders where the film was headed. Elizabeth didn't save England with her emotional power alone, and yet this is the gist of the film. It's a real let down in this regard.
The film is a mixed blessing. There's a lot of decent acting, and some exceptional performances by the leads. Married to a rather extravagant art director to bring to life palace, throne room, chambers, and galleons at sea, and one can easily see that this was meant to be a top notch production. But some of the logical loopholes where Blanchet's character is concerned conspire with some of the story loopholes to hold back a better film.
As a guy all I can say is that it's not something I'd watch again, and I'm not too sure I'd recommend it to any female audiences. But, if you don't mind your period dramas skirting the edge of high kamp, then splurge on a ticket, and see what "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" is all about.
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72 out of 118 people found the following review useful:
Cate Blanchett is wonderful
from United States
12 October 2007
This movie approaches the brink of becoming another corny, hokey Hollywood travesty but recovers to become an incredibly powerful and unique portrayal of Elizabeth I and her closest advisers and the political situation in Western Europe in the late 16th century. Cate Blanchett offers a masterful, powerful and provocative portrayal of the Virgin Queen which unlike most Hollywood portrayals of historical personages does not devolve into a laughable caricature. Elizabeth has feelings too and cares about ALL of her people, not just those who are of her religious persuasion. Also, the movie offers a credible portrayal of Elizabeth's relationship with her cousin Mary as well as a credible and comprehensible explanation of King Philip's decision to go to war against England. Whether Spain in 1585 was the most powerful country in the world as the movie purports is a matter for debate but the fact that there was a time in history when Spain actually wanted to invade England is amazing and is a story in itself. This movie is worth watching.
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49 out of 75 people found the following review useful:
Grand cinematic style but overall a disappointment
19 October 2007
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
We had been looking forward to seeing this film - and made a point of re-watching the original 'Elizabeth' from 1998 a week before making the trip to the theater.
I will say that this film is technically beautiful in the grand cinematic style which was once associated with the epic films from the bygone era of the Hollywood studios with it's fantastic costuming and sets.
But - I am sad to say that this film was a disappointment. It suffers from numerous over-dramatic sequences which rely much too heavily on symbolism. After all, how many times & ways should one be forced to view Cate Blanchett posed in an angelic persona?
Unfortunately, as one sits through this film, one must wonder what the writers & director were thinking. It is obvious that someone was unsure of which direction(s) they wished to steer this film toward - romance, war epic, drama,etc.
The awkwardness of this film projected a feeling that various pages of the script must have been stuck together as it continues along - giving it a feel that can only be described as disjointed and forced.
The problems with this film seem to be caused by a combination of a weak script, bad direction, and bad editing which resulted in this short-changed follow-up to the well-done original 1998 epic of 'Elizabeth'.
Cate Blanchett and the entire cast are good actors & do not disappoint in their character portrayals. But sadly, this film was not up to the performances of these fine actors and we left the theater wondering why the director, the editors, and screenwriters all failed to do their jobs.
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55 out of 89 people found the following review useful:
Majestic Storytelling
1 October 2007
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Most of the time it's the casting that makes a film and keeps us coming back for more. This is the case for "The Golden Age", the sequel to "Elizabeth", a film that turned Cate Blanchett into a star, introducing her considerable talents to the masses. In "The Golden Age", Blanchett is given more screen time and the opportunity to show the range she is capable of, giving us a portrayal that is complex, rich, exquisite, and ultimately glorious.
As a matter of fact, it's hard to imagine anyone else, having the power this actress is capable of showing on screen. She carries the film, and it's her ability to interact with such varied characters that gives the film its strength. It all depends on the chemistry between her and the talented actors that support her, particularly, Clive Owen's rogue pirate.
"The Golden Age" depicts another critical moment in the life of the Virgin Queen, as she must find the strength in herself to gather the support and strength she needs to save England from a brutal military attack by the Spanish Armada, the most powerful navy at the time. Elizabeth must deal with family issues, ethical issues, sentimental turmoil, another self-confidence crisis, and much more intrigue and attacks from both the Spaniards and their supporters on both sides of the ocean.
There are scenes in this film that will be remembered as perfect examples of what cinema can achieve, as the camera frames key characters during critical times in the story... Most impressive are all the scenes in which Cate participates, as she is able to show the amazing nature of a woman who endured much criticism and political turmoil and eventually transformed herself and her nation into one of the most powerful empires in the world.
There are interesting analogies in the film, particularly as Elizabeth adopts one life over another and allows her spirit to soar, vanquishing any negative impulses and nurture the surrogate child that her country becomes. According to the film, she finds herself incapable of finding an equal mate because of special circumstances, and then she rediscovers the strength that she has always possessed and turns into the leader everyone will respect, follow, and somehow adore.
"The Golden Age" is a very handsome film, with superb production, and some spectacular costumes, exquisitely worn by Ms. Blanchett. It's definitely on its way to becoming a classic, a proud example of what some might call an intimate epic.
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Which country star wrote the Patsy Cline hit Crazy? | Patsy Cline - Pianist, Singer - Biography.com
Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline was a celebrated country singer best known for her crossover hits, including "Crazy" and "Walking After Midnight."
IN THESE GROUPS
“The one thing I wanted to do more than anything else was sing country music.”
Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline - Crazy (TV-14; 2:23) In 1962, County Music legend Patsy Cline recorded Willie Nelson's song, "Crazy," a song he'd written while driving.
Synopsis
Patsy Cline was born Virginia Patterson Hensley on September 8, 1932, in Winchester, Virginia. Cline performed for nearly a decade before her breakthrough 1957 television appearance, singing "Walking After Midnight." She went on to many crossover pop and country hits, including "Crazy" and "She's Got You," becoming one of the leading Nashville figures before her death in a plane crash in 1963, in Camden, Tennessee.
Early Life
Country music legend Patsy Cline was born Virginia Patterson Hensley on September 8, 1932, in Winchester, Virginia. She helped break down the gender barrier in this musical genre. Known for her smooth-sounding, emotive voice, she started performing at a young age. Her father Samuel was a blacksmith. Her mother Hilda was only 16 years of age when she married Cline's father, who was more than 25 years older than his bride. The couple had three children together before splitting up. Hilda became a seamstress to help support her family.
Cline taught herself how to play piano around the age of 8. She later discovered her passion for singing. When she was sixteen, Cline dropped out of school to go to work. Her family desperately needed the money. She worked a number of places, including a poultry plant and a local soda shop. In her free time, Cline started her singing career. She performed on local radio stations and entered numerous singing contests.
Career Beginnings
In 1952, Cline began performing with bandleader Bill Peer's group. Peer encouraged her to change her first name to "Patsy" for their performances. She picked up the second part of her now famous moniker the following year after marrying Gerald Cline. Cline landed a recording contract in 1954, but her first few singles failed to catch on.
Cline's career hit a turning point in 1957. She landed a spot on the Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts show. Cline wowed audiences with her performance of "Walkin' After Midnight," winning the program's competition. After her appearance on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, the song hit the country and pop charts. Cline divorced her first husband around this time. She soon married Charles Dick. The couple had two children together, daughter Julie and son Randy.
Country Star
In the early 1960s, Cline enjoyed great success on the country and pop charts. She also joined the cast of the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee—a true sign of her place in country music. Now with Decca Records, she released some of her greatest hits. "I Fall to Pieces" hit the top of the country charts in 1961. It also became a top 20 single on the pop charts. Chart success soon struck again with the Willie Nelson-penned "Crazy." That same year, Cline survived a traumatic car crash.
In 1962, Cline again hit the number one spot on the country charts with "She's Got You." She started performing with Johnny Cash around this time, joining his tour. Cline performed with the likes of June Carter and George Jones during this time. She was supportive of other female country artists, such as Loretta Lynn, and she tried to help them with their careers.
Tragic Death and Legacy
Patsy Cline's own career was all too brief. She died on March 5, 1963, in a plane crash in Camden, Tennessee. After her death, the song "Sweet Dreams" was released and became a hit. Considered one of country music's greatest vocalists, she was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1973. Her life became the subject of the 1985 film, Sweet Dreams, starring Jessica Lange. Her music remains popular today with fans around the world. Some of her fans even make the pilgrimage to her hometown of Winchester, Virginia, to visit the Patsy Cline Historic Home.
Videos
| Willie Nelson |
Who is the ‘Coalminer’s Daughter’? | 'Crazy' : NPR
'Crazy'
Embed
Embed
Embed
Embed
As performed by Patsy Cline
Reporter: Linda Wertheimer
Interviewees: Charlie Dick, Patsy Cline's husband
Paul Kingsbury, music historian
Recordings Used: Crazy, Patsy Cline
Crazy, instrumental
Willie Nelson performs in 2004. Jana Birchum/Getty Images hide caption
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Willie Nelson performs in 2004.
Jana Birchum/Getty Images
Patsy Cline 's husband, Charlie Dick, helped to find that song for his wife. He says he was waiting for Patsy in a bar, and he found a record on the jukebox he wanted her to hear. It was by Paul Buskirk and His Little Men featuring Hugh Nelson. He then met Hugh Nelson, now known as Willie Nelson .
"Later that week on Saturday night, I was at the Opry, and I tried to buy that record someplace, and they didn't have it because it was on a small label. So he gave me one. And I took it home and listened to it about half the night and kept Patsy up half the night, and she didn't think too much of that. And that's when we finally got the demo on "Crazy." She didn't think too much of the song. She just didn't even want to hear Willie Nelson's name mentioned. And then Hank Cochran, who was a song plugger for the publishing company Willie was writing for, when he came over to bring this tape of "Crazy" that he thought was so good—Willie actually sat in the car; he didn't come in the house, 'cause I'd told him what Patsy said about me keeping her up all night. So he waited outside. He didn't want to lose a sale."
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By all accounts, it was not an easy sale. In 1960, when she was 28, Patsy Cline got the job she'd wanted all her life. She was part of the cast of the Grand Ole Opry. She saw herself as a country singer. She didn't particularly like the vulnerable heartbroken sound of songs like "Crazy." But a record producer, Owen Bradley, felt those songs were exactly right for Patsy Cline. Paul Kingsbury explains why. He's a music historian at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
"Patsy had incredible vocal technique. She was a very powerful singer and very versatile, capable of growling or purring, vaulting octaves with ease. But beyond just the raw technique, Patsy was able to give you a window into her soul. You feel that you're hearing exactly how Patsy feels, almost as if she were a neighbor coming over for a cup of coffee and spilling her heart out to you."
"Crazy" was recorded in the summer of 1961. Patsy Cline had been in a terrible car accident, a head-on collision in which she was thrown through the windshield. She was not quite ready to go back to work when Owen Bradley scheduled the first recording session for "Crazy," but she came in to hear what Owen Bradley had in mind for the record. He had planned a fairly complicated production for Willie Nelson's unusual piece of music. Paul Kingsbury again:
"Willie wrote and was writing at that time, early '60s, very different songs from typical country music fare. Instead of the usual three or four chords that were just major chords and sevenths, he was writing "Crazy" with jazzy minor seventh, major sevenths, minors. If you count the chords, there are about seven chords in "Crazy," very different for a country song at the time. And also Willie wrote some great lyrics. There are some wonderful alliteration in that, and Willie was going through his own romantic troubles with his wife, Martha, at the time, and you hear that in his songs like 'Crazy' and 'Hello Walls.'"
Owen Bradley had plans for "Crazy." He wanted to produce a new form of country music. He had a number of innovations in mind. He wanted a background vocal to add richness and sophistication, so he brought in The Jordanaires, who also recorded with Elvis Presley. He hired a young piano player, Floyd Cramer, who provided what the other musicians referred to as `tinkling.' He had a bass guitar, which added a kind of jazzy percussion to the mix. And he set aside a whole recording session just to work out the background sound, without Patsy's vocal. That was added a week later. That doesn't sound complex by today's standards, but at a time when four songs were produced in an average afternoon session, it was incredible attention to detail.
We asked three of the session musicians who were on the original recording of "Crazy" to talk to us about it. They are Bob Moore, the bass player, Gordon Stoker, the top voice of The Jordanaires, and guitarist Harold Bradley, whose brother Owen produced the record. As they always did, they worked that day from a demo, a fairly unadorned version of Willie Nelson singing "Crazy." Patsy Cline was there while the musicians and Owen Bradley tried out the song, and, Gordon Stoker told us, she was not impressed.
"I remember when Patsy heard the demo, she said, `Look, Hoss, there ain't no way I could sing it like that guy's a-singing it. I always got such a kick out of the way she talked. Phrasing. The phrasing of it. The way he cut his words off and choppy. She didn't want to do it like that. She wasn't going to do it that way.
"Yeah," Mr. Moore added. "Willie waits till the chord hits, and then he starts his phrasing, and then he'll end up with his phrasing ahead on that."
But what about the artistic disagreement — or at least tension — between Owen Bradley and Patsy Cline?
"When they got the hit "I Fall to Pieces," they didn't have any
more arguments. But before that, there were some arguments and disagreements. And one of the things, I think, was something Owen did was to make her slow down the songs. And she didn't want to slow them down. And when you slow them down, she'd put a lot of feeling in there, but sometimes I thought she just had a lot of feeling 'cause she was kind of mad at Owen because, you know, she wasn't really thrilled over doing something that slow."
"Well, you know," Mr. Stoker chimed in, "at first when Owen told us he was going to use The Jordanaires on her recording, she'd said, `Look, I don't want four male voices covering me up.' He said, `You just leave that to me, Patsy. You just leave that to me, and you'll be all right.'"
The tick-tack bass — an octave lower than a normal guitar, and it's an octave higher than a bass, in the middle between a percussive instrument and a musical instrument – was important to the unique sound of the recording.
"Right," Mr. Moore confirms. "And Harold could turn that treble on it up to where it was real treble, and it would pick up his pick, and you get a click. If you want to hear a real good example, right at the very end, Patsy says, `I'm crazy for loving'—right there, the band stops. And when she says, `you,' we come back in and play just a bar and three beats. And the tick-tack is very predominant right in that place."
"He defined his version of the Nashville sound with the tick-tack bass and the
chink guitar," Bradley adds.
"I remember how much I loved it," Mr. Stoker says. "I know I remember that. I
remember I was pleasantly surprised at how great she did it, with how much feeling she did it."
There is a music legend about "Crazy" that it was recorded in one take. That's true and not true. The studio musicians recorded their part after what they felt was a good amount of rehearsing and experimentation. But when Patsy Cline came in a week later to record the vocal of "Crazy," she did sing it only once. That one version is magical, and it's still selling records. Young women singers are still measuring their own efforts against hers. Country singer Kathy Mattea treasures the idea that a woman like Patsy Cline could walk into a studio and sing "Crazy" one time from the heart.
"One of the downsides of technology is that it has allowed us not to believe in magic anymore. And when music is at its best, it's like throwing up a butterfly net and catching a moment in time. And, you know, when you work it too hard and make it too perfect, you know, it's like you don't see the forest for the trees. Sometimes the flaws in something or the moments where it's not perfect are what makes it special."
Patsy Cline died in 1963 in the crash of a private plane flying home to Nashville on a rainy night. She was 31. Patsy Cline's "Greatest Hits" is still the best selling hits package by a female artist. A boxed set of her songs was a gold record, 30 years after she recorded "Crazy" in the summer of 1961.
| i don't know |
What is the name of the famous game reserve on the Serengeti Plain in Kenya? | Serengeti
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The Serengeti National Park
Serengeti National Park is undoubtedly the best-known wildlife sanctuary in the world, unequalled for its natural beauty and scientific value. With more than two million wildebeest, half a million Thomson's gazelle, and a quarter of a million zebra, it has the greatest concentration of plains game in Africa. The wildebeest and zebra moreover form the star cast of a unique spectacular - the annual Serengeti migration.
The name 'Serengeti' comes from the Maasai language and appropriately means an 'extended place'. The National Park, with an area of 12,950 square kilometres, is as big as Northern Ireland, but its ecosystem, which includes the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the Maswa Game Reserve and the Maasai Mara Game reserve (in Kenya), is roughly the size of Kuwait. It lies between the shores of Lake Victoria in the west, Lake Eyasi in the south, and the Great Rift Valley to the east. As such, it offers the most complex and least disturbed ecosystem on earth.
A unique combination of diverse habitats enables it to support more than 30 species of large harbivores and nearly 500 species of birds. Its landscape, originally formed by volcanic activity, has been sculptured by the concerted action of wind, rain and sun. It now varies from open grass plains in the south, savannah with scattered acacia trees in the centre, hilly, wooded grassland in the north, to extensive woodland and black clay plains to the west. Small rivers, lakes and swamps are scattered throughout. In the south-east rise the great volcanic massifs and craters of the Ngorongoro Highlands. Each area has its own particular atmosphere and wildlife.
The Serengeti's climate is usually warm and dry. The main rainy season is from March to May, with short rains falling from October to November. The amount of rainfall increases from about 508mm on the plains in the lee of the Ngorongoro Highlands to about 1,200mm on the shores of Lake Victoria. All is lush and green after the rains, but a gradual drying up follows which restricts plant growth and encourages the animals to migrate in search of permanent waters. With altitudes ranging from 920 to 1,850 metres - higher than most of Europe - mean temperatures vary from 15 degrees to 25 degrees Celsius. It is coldest from June to October, particularly in the evenings.
For centuries, the vast wilderness of the Serengeti Plains remained virtually unhabitated but about hundred years ago the nomadic Maasai came down from the north with their cattle. The first European to set foot in the area was the German explorer and naturalist Dr. Oscar Baumann, who passed by as an agent of the German Anti-Slavery Committee on his way to Burundi. He was followed by his compatriots who built Fort Ikoma in the north which was used as an administrative centre until it fell to the British in 1917.
The first professional hunters came in 1913. They found the wildlife plentiful, especially the lions, but saw no elephants. Seven years later, an American arrived in a strange new contraption known as a Ford motor-car and news of the wonders of the Serengeti had reached the outside world. Because the hunting of lions made them so scarse (they were considered 'vermin'), it was decided to make a partial Game Reserve in the area in 1921 and a full one in 1929. With the growing awareness of the need for conservation, it was expanded and upgraded to a National Park in 1951. Eight years later the Ngorongoro Conservation Area was established in the south-east as a separate unit.
Travellers are not the only ones who now flock to see the animals and birds of the Serengeti. It has become an important centre of scientific research. In the late fifties, Dr. Bernhard Grizmek and his late son Michael did a pioneering work in aerial surveys of wildlife. It resulted in the best-selling classic Serengeti Shall Not Die and a number of films which made the Park a household name.
The Serengeti Research Institute, founded in 1962 at Seronera, has continued their work, providing not only valuable information for the management and conservation of game parks but also original research in ecology and ethology. More is now known about dynamics of the Serengeti than any other ecosystem in the world.
Most visitors enter the Park from the south-east, dropping down from the escarpment of the Ngorongoro Highlands onto the open short grass plains. The road passes by the Olduvai Gorge, where Dr. and Mrs. Leakey found the 1.75 million-year-old remains of Australopithecus boisei ('Zinjanthropus') and Homo habilis which suggest that our species first evolved in this area. To the west, the Gorge reaches Lake Ndutu where a safari lodge is attractively set amongst trees by the water's edge.
In the open grass plains during the rainy months from November to May hundreds of thousands of wildebeest and Burchell's zebra congregate. The area is the starting point for one of the great wonders of the world: the Serengeti annual migration. Towards the end of May when the grass becomes dry and exhausted, the wildebeest start to mass in huge armies. All is far from peaceful, for it is the rutting season and each male tries to establish a stamping ground. Eventually, after several dummy runs, the animals begin their trek in a column several miles long to the permanent waters in the north of the Park. After moving westwards, the migration divides by some uncanny instinct, one group turning north-east and the other due north. Once started, little stops the stampede: hundreds often drown at a time in the broad Mara river in the north.
Although outnumbered eight to one, the zebra join in the migration, maintaining their family units of about a dozen members, each with a dominant stallion. Their yelping bark combines with the bleating of the wildebeest to give the typical sound of the migration. Lion, cheetah, hyena and hunting dog follow the wildebeest and zebra, making sure that only the fittest survive. In November, when the grazing is finished in the North, this army of animals surges back to the now green pastures of the south, where they calve and mate before starting the entire cycle again. Normally, the best time to see the animals here is during January and February.
Heading north into the Park, the grass becomes noticeably longer, and it is usual to see Grant's and Thomson's gazelles, as well as the occassional small groups of topi and kongoni. Ostriches and secretary birds stalk the grass, while a family of warthog often scurry away. Out of the vast sea of grass also rise great granite outcrops, known as 'kopjes', which have their own range of vegetation and wildlife.
Towards Seronera, the Park headquarters, the landscape becomes more varied. Hills rise out of plains criss-crossed by small rivers. Umbrella acacia trees appear, elegant and serene, contrasting with the twisted commiphora trees. Then at Seronera a beautiful lodge is built on a kopje, a sculpture of wood and stone set in a tranquil garden. Nearby camping sites offer an opportunity to share the experience of the early explorers.
Cheeky hyraxes and lizards play on the rocks and a profusion of birds - superb starlings, lilac-breasted rollers, barbets and ring-necked doves to name but a few - fill the air with their songs. But all around is some of the wildest bush in Africa. Giraffes nibble the tender leaves of the thorny acacias, buffalo lumber along, and all manner of game - Thomson's and Grant's gazelles, impala, topi and kongoni - graze nervously. At night the soaring cough of the leopard and the whooping laugh of the hyena interrupt the incessant ticking of the cicadas. And then there are famous black-maned lions of Seronera. No longer hunted like vermin, a pride of up to twenty can often be seen in a tawny heap.
From Seronera, the road to the west runs parallel to the Grumeti river, crossing extensive cotton soil plains. The riverine wood along its banks supports many black and white colobus monkeys while exceptionally large crocodiles take to its waters. In open clearings and on hills, a herd of roan antelope or Patterson's eland sometimes appear.
To the north, the landscape gradually becomes more hilly and wooded. Damaged trees show that this is becoming elephant country, while buffalo, zebra, giraffe and gazelles abound. Another beautiful lodge built on a kopje takes its name from nearby Lobo hill, which appropriately means in Maasai the 'place belonging to one man'. With magnificent views over rolling plains, it must be one of the most haunting and remote places on earth.
Apart from the rhinos, which have been decimated by poachers, and the hunting dogs, which are slowly declining, the Serengeti is alive and well. The wildebeest and buffalo populations have multiplied, benefitting the main predators - lion, cheetah, and hyena. But the ecosystem is delicate and volatile, easily affected by drought, disease or overgrazing. Every effort is therefore being made by the Tanzanian government to conserve this unique heritage for all mankind. For the time being at least, the 'Serengeti Shall Not Die'.
This information has been extracted from a pamphlet produced by the now defunct Tanzania Tourist Corporation (TTC). Interested readers wishing more information on Serengeti and other National Parks in Tanzania should visit the website of the Tanzania Tourist Board .
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From which country did Rwanda obtain independence in 1962? | kenya tanzania safari packages, Kenya Tanzania Combined Tours, East Africa Holiday Packages, Wildlife Tours, Tanzania Kenya Lodge Safaris, Luxury Tours in Africa, Maasai Mara Serengeti Safaris
16 Days Kenya Tanzania Safari Holiday and Wildlife Tours
Day 1 Nairobi, Kenya
Arrive in the Kenya capital of Nairobi. Known as “The Green City in the Sun”, Nairobi is a cosmopolitan city that hasn’t lost its authentic African flavor. This evening, relax at the stylish Norfolk Hotel. Brimming with the charm of the British colonial era, you will delight in this hotel's rich history and luxurious accommodations.
Day 2: Nairobi
Travel this morning to Karen, a suburb on the outskirts of the city, where you will visit the farmhouse of “Out of Africa” author Karen Blixen. You then get your first glimpse of the local wildlife when you have an opportunity to feed endangered Rothschild giraffes from a raised platform at the Rothschild Giraffe Sanctuary. With their sloping necks and black tongues just inches away, this is an experience you will never forget! An unforgettable experience is in store for you this afternoon as you visit the students at Tenderfeet Education Center. Supported by the Collette Foundation, Tenderfeet schools orphans and high risk children in Kibera. This evening, enjoy a mouth-watering dining experience at the famous Carnivore Restaurant. Be sure to bring your appetite and a sense of adventure! (BD)
Day 3: Nairobi - Amboseli National Park
Depart Nairobi for beautiful Amboseli National Park. Amboseli is famous for its open plains that are home to incredible wildlife including lions and elephants. On top of it all is the breathtaking snow-capped Mt. Kilimanjaro which dominates the landscape. Enjoy a game drive through this rugged park en route to your lodge.(BLD)
Day 4: Amboseli National Park
Rise early to sneak a peak at the animals during a morning game drive. With any luck you will see the “Big 5” that Kenya is known for: lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard, and rhino. Return to your hotel to relax a bit before returning to the park for an afternoon game drive and another opportunity for spectacular sightings. (BLD)
Day 5: Amboseli - Arusha - Tarangire, Tanzania
Say goodbye to Amboseli National Park this morning and travel to the East African country of Tanzania. You will cross the Tanzanian border at Namanga and continue into Tarangire National Park, an unspoiled paradise known for its distinctive Boabab trees and excellent game viewing. (BLD)
Day 6: Tarangire - Ngorongoro Crater
Your destination today is Ngorongoro Crater, one of the most fascinating spots in all of East Africa. Sprawling across 265 square kilometers, Ngorongoro Crater is the largest intact caldera in the world. Vast expanses of gray-green earth extend as far as the eye can see, interrupted only by herds of wild animals. In fact, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is said to host over 20,000 animals at any given time. (BLD)
Day 7: Ngorongoro Crater National Park
Descend into the crater for a full day of discovery. With the highest concentration of wildlife in East Africa, Ngorongoro is home to scores of zebra, wildebeest, and gazelles. You may even spot the endangered black rhino! In the middle of your safari, pause for a relaxed picnic lunch while surrounded by the beauty of the park. This afternoon you will have a unique opportunity to visit a Masai village to learn about their beliefs and traditional way of life. (BLD)
Day 8: Ngorongoro - Serengeti
An unforgettable day is in store for you today in the most famous of game parks: The Serengeti. The name “Serengeti” comes from the Masai word for “endless plains.” You’ll see the beauty of the landscape unfold around you as you travel to your lodge. Along the way enjoy a stop at Ol Duvai Gorge, also known as the Cradle of Mankind. This stunning landform is said to be one of the most important pre-historic sites in the world and has been instrumental in theories of human evolution. Enjoy a game drive on the Serengeti Plains at dusk. (BLD)
Day 9: Serengeti
Today you will enjoy a full day of sightseeing in the Serengeti with morning and afternoon game drives! Be sure to bring your camera! (BLD)
Day 10: Serengeti - Masai Mara, Kenya
Cross the border back into Kenya and travel to the Masai Mara Game Reserve. The Masai Mara is an extension of the great Serengeti Plain and is generally thought to be the most magnificent game viewing spot in all of Kenya. Here you are likely to see lions, giraffes, zebras, elephants, and other wildlife simply existing in their natural habitat. Your afternoon game drive is sure to be a highlight, followed by a night of relaxation in a luxurious tented camp. Your tent will provide all the deluxe amenities of a lodge with the priceless adventure of the wild. (BLD)
Day 11: Masai Mara
Experience the magic of the Masai Mara during a full day of activities. Journey through the open plains of the Masai Mara on morning and afternoon game drives in search of spectacular wildlife! (BLD)
Day 12: Masai Mara
An optional hot air balloon ride, giving you a birds-eye-view of the wide open plains, is available this morning. Then, enjoy both morning and afternoon game drives. Finally, enjoy a nature walk through the wilderness guided by a local Masai warrior and a visit to a local Masai village. This evening you will be treated to a traditional bush dinner followed by a traditional Masai dance performance. (BLD)
Day 13: Masai Mara - Nakuru
This morning you head north to Lake Nakuru. Known for its flamingo population and rhinos, Nakuru is one of Kenya’s most picturesque parks. Enjoy the scenery during your afternoon game drive before settling in for a lovely dinner and an evening at leisure. (BLD)
Day 14: Nakuru - Nanyuki
Travel today to the Equator and the world-famous Mt. Kenya Safari Club. Seated in the shadow of Mt. Kenya, this iconic resort boasts a rich history and beautiful grounds. The resort was once the private hunting lodge and retreat of movie star William Holden. You’ll feel like you’re living the life of the rich and famous as you lounge by the pool, wander the grounds, and enjoy afternoon tea in the Zebra Bar. Your visit to the Equator wouldn’t be complete without experiencing the phenomenon known as the Corealis effect. Watch and discover why water spins different directions on different hemispheres! (BLD)
Day 15: Nanyuki
The day is yours to spend at the sprawling Mt. Kenya Safari Club. Relax and enjoy your lovely surroundings and the spectacular views of Mt. Kenya, or participate in one of the numerous activities available. Join together for a spectacular farewell dinner this evening. (BLD)
Day 16: Nanyuki - Nairobi
Travel back to the city of Nairobi today where your tour ends. (B)
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The ancient town of Timbuktu is in which country? | The Legend of Timbuktu, Mali and Today
By Matt Rosenberg
Updated February 19, 2016.
The word "Timbuktu" (or Timbuctoo or Tombouctou) is used in several languages to represent a far-away place but Timbuktu is an actual city in the African country of Mali .
Where Is Timbuktu?
Located near the edge the Niger River, Timbuktu is situated near the middle of Mali in Africa. Timbuktu has a population of approximately 30,000 and is a major Saharan Desert trading post.
The Legend of Timbuktu
Timbuktu was founded by nomads in the twelfth century and it rapidly became a major trading depot for the caravans of the Sahara Desert .
During the fourteenth century, the legend of Timbuktu as a rich cultural center spread through the world. The beginning of the legend can be traced to 1324, when the Emperor of Mali made his pilgrimage to Mecca via Cairo. In Cairo, the merchants and traders were impressed by the amount of gold carried by the emperor, who claimed that the gold was from Timbuktu.
Furthermore, in 1354 the great Muslim explorer Ibn Batuta wrote of his visit to Timbuktu and told of the wealth and gold of the region.
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Thus, Timbuktu became renown as an African El Dorado, a city made of gold.
During the fifteenth century, Timbuktu grew in importance, but its homes were never made of gold. Timbuktu produced few of its own goods but served as the major trading center for salt trade across the desert region.
The city also became a center of Islamic study and the home of a university and extensive library. The city's maximum population during the 1400s probably numbered somewhere between 50,000 to 100,000, with approximately one-quarter of the population composed of scholars and students.
The Timbuktu Legend Grows
The legend of Timbuktu's wealth refused to die and only grew. A 1526 visit to Timbuktu by a Muslim from Grenada, Leo Africanus, told of Timbuktu as a typical trading outpost. This only incited further interest in the city.
In 1618, a London company was formed to establish trade with Timbuktu. Unfortunately, the first trading expedition ended up with the massacre of all its members and a second expedition sailed up the Gambia River and thus never reached Timbuktu.
In the 1700s and early 1800s, many explorers attempted to reach Timbuktu but none returned. Many unsuccessful and successful explorers were forced to drink camel urine, their own urine, or even blood to attempt to survive the barren Sahara Desert. Known wells would be dry or would not provide enough water upon an expedition's arrival.
Mungo Park was a Scottish doctor who attempted a trip to Timbuktu in 1805. Unfortunately, his expedition team of dozens of Europeans and natives all died or abandoned the expedition along the way and Park was left to sail along the Niger River, never visiting Timbuktu, but merely shooting at people and other objects on the shore with his guns as his insanity increased along his voyage. His body was never found.
In 1824, the Geographical Society of Paris offered a reward of 7000 francs and a gold metal valued at 2,000 francs to the first European who could visit Timbuktu and return to tell their story of the mythical city.
European Arrival in Timbuktu
The first European acknowledged to have reached Timbuktu was Scottish explorer Gordon Laing. He left Tripoli in 1825 and traveled for a year and a month to reach Timbuktu. On the way, he was attacked by the ruling Tuareg nomads and was shot, cut by swords, and broke his arm. He recovered from the vicious attack and made his way to Timbuktu and arrived in August 1826.
Laing was unimpressed with Timbuktu, which had, as Leo Africanus reported, become simply a salt trading outpost filled with mud-walled homes in the middle of a barren desert. Laing remained in Timbuktu for just over one month. Two days after leaving Timbuktu, he was murdered.
French explorer Rene-Auguste Caillie had better luck than Laing. He planned to make his trip to Timbuktu disguised as an Arab as part of a caravan, much to the chagrin of proper European explorers of the era. Caillie studied Arabic and the Islamic religion for several years. In April 1827, he left the coast of West Africa and reached Timbuktu a year later, even though he was ill for five months during the trip.
Caillie was unimpressed with Timbuktu and remained there for two weeks. He then returned to Morocco and then home to France. Caillie published three volumes about his travels and was awarded the prize from the Geographical Society of Paris.
German geographer Heinrich Barth left Tripoli with two other explorers in 1850 for a trek to Timbuktu but his companions both died. Barth reached Timbuktu in 1853 and did not return home until 1855 - he was feared dead by many. Barth gained fame through the publication of his five volumes of his experiences. As with previous explorers to Timbuktu, Barth found the city quite the anti-climax.
French Colonial Control of Timbuktu
In the late 1800s, France took control of the Mali region and decided to take Timbuktu away from the control of the violent Tuareg who controlled trade in the area. The French military was sent to occupy Timbuktu in 1894. Under the command of Major Joseph Joffre (later a famous World War I general), Timbuktu was occupied and became the site of a French fort.
Communication between Timbuktu and France was difficult, making Timbuktu an unhappy place for a soldier to be stationed. Nonetheless, the area around Timbuktu was well protected from the Tuareg so other nomad groups were able to live without fear of the hostile Tuareg.
Modern Timbuktu
Even after the invention of air travel, the Sahara was unyielding. The plane making an inaugural air flight from Algiers to Timbuktu in 1920 was lost. Eventually, a successful air strip was established; however, today, Timbuktu is still most commonly reached by camel, motor vehicle, or boat. In 1960, Timbuktu became part of the independent country of Mali.
The population of Timbuktu in a 1940 census was estimated at approximately 5,000 people; in 1976, the population was 19,000; in 1987 (the latest estimate available), 32,000 people resided in the city.
In 1988, Timbuktu was designated a United Nations World Heritage Site and efforts are underway to preserve and protect the city and especially its centuries-old mosques.
| Mali |
Which poet’s love is like a red, red, rose that’s newly sprung in June? | Timbuktu - Wikiquote
Timbuktu
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Sankore Mosque in Timbuktu- Kwame Nkrumah : The University of Sankore one of the foremost intellectually inspired in the world...If the University of Sankore had not been destroyed; ...If the University of Sankore had survived the ravages of foreign invasions, the academic and cultural history of Africa might have been different from what it is today.
Timbuktu , formerly also spelled "Timbuctoo" and "Timbuktoo" ( Berber : Tinbuktu; French : Tombouctou; Koyra Chiini : Tumbutu), is a city in the West African nation of Mali situated 20 km (12 mi) north of the River Niger on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert . The town is the capital of the Timbuktu Region , one of the eight administrative regions of Mali. It had a population of 54,453 in the 2009 census.
Quotes[ edit ]
At its zenith in the middle of the 15th Century Timbuktu was known all over the world as a repository for all sorts of knowledge, including Arabic Islamic writing, science, maths and history. What is so important about Timbuktu's literary patrimony is that it is a challenge to Western ideas that Africa is a land of song and dance and oral tradition. It reveals a continent with an immensely rich literary and scientific heritage.
Lydia Syson, an expert on Mali, quoted on BBC News, "Mali: Timbuktu heritage may be threatened, Unesco says" , April 3, 2012.
The popular statement, “From here to Timbuktu”, conjures up images of remote, distant parts of the earth . But Timbuktu is in fact a real city in the west African country of Mali .
Kristina Chetcuti, in All the way from Timbuktu (9 July 2012)
The ancient city of Timbuktu had known a lot of conquest and occupation in the past but people of Timbuktu are tolerant and pacifist and practice a tolerant Islam and live with tolerance toward other religions . The economy of that city is essentially based on tourist activity but since kidnapping of westerners, touareg revolution and Islamist militant invasions in northern regions of Mali there is no more tourism in the region of Timbuktu.
Mamadou Mangara, Governor of Timbuktu, in Visit of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Timbuktu.
...he was very touched by the destruction of shrines and the burning of ancient manuscripts of Timbuktu. He ends his address by this quote “the united nations will always be with Mali.
Ban Ki-moon , UN Secretary General in his address at Timbuktu quoted in "Visit of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Timbuktu."
Since the liberation of the ancient city of Timbuktu by the French army “operation serval” important leaders visited the historic city all focus on development, rebuilding, and restoration of its ancient historic sites.
In "Visit of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Timbuktu."
...the city was occupied by touareg revolutionaries and Islamist militants in 2012. During the occupation ancient city of Timbuktu was ruled under sharia law . Innocent people endured all manner of inhuman abuses and humiliation . During the occupation Islamists destroyed the identity of the people of Timbuktu, which are shrines . Among these shrines there is shrine of the saint “Sidi Mahamoud”, classified shrines of UNESCO in the world.
In "Visit of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Timbuktu."
...with the donations of United Nations , PAM, UNICEF , and FAO people of Timbuktu are surviving because we were in an open sky prison . In the sector of school and administration we salute the efforts of the United Nations and other partners for the action they have been doing in Timbuktu.
Within the framework of peace and security we thank the United Nations, above all populations are coming back to their homeland they also need assistance, actually we are in the process of reconciliation. Malian must be united as brothers and sisters and must walk hand by hand in order to sit on the table of brotherhood without racism or extremism .
It’s important to notice [that we notable of] Timbuktu's great problems are the issues of children schooling but actually we are happy that they are going to school thanks to the support of partners. All the population of Timbuktu thank you for the opportunity you are giving to our children to study.
We also hope that the United Nations, FAO, the Oummou Sangare foundation, UNICEF continue to work together with us to overcome our difficulties.
Without peace and security there is no development in Mali. It’s for Malians to work hand by hand on the table of brotherhood and overcome their difficulties in order to develop their country no one can do that for them.
Abdrahamane Ben Essayouti, Imam of Timbuktu, during Timbuktu’s Future discussed by local officials and visiting big wigs, quoted in "Visit of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Timbuktu."
Centres of learning at Walala, Djenna, and Timbuktu had a singular impact on African education in d medieval times .
Kwame Nkrumah at the University of Ghana inauguration in 1961, quoted in Multiculturalism and Hybridity in African Literatures (2000) , p. 55
In Timbuktu, nine mausoleums have been desecrated , including two at the Mosque of Djingareyber, the most important mosque in the town.
The University of Sankore one of the foremost intellectually inspired in the world...If the University of Sankore had not been destroyed; ...If the University of Sankore had survived the ravages of foreign invasions, the academic and cultural history of Africa might have been different from what it is today.
Kwame Nkrumah at the University of Ghana inauguration in 1961, quoted in "Multiculturalism and Hybridity in African Literatures (2000)", p. 55
Home of the prestigious Koranic Sankore University and other madrasas , Timbuktu was an intellectual and spiritual capital and a centre for the propagation of Islam throughout Africa in the 15th and 16th centuries. Its three great mosques, Djingareyber, Sankore and Sidi Yahia, recall Timbuktu's golden age. Although continuously restored, these monuments are today under threat from desertification .
UNESCO , in Timbuktu
The World Heritage properties situated in the northern parts of Mali have been subjected to destructive attacks since they were occupied by armed rebel groups in April this year [2012]. In Timbuktu, nine mausoleums have been desecrated , including two at the Mosque of Djingareyber, the most important mosque in the town.
the remnant of the priceless manuscripts in Timbuktu which was once a major intellectual centre.
...the single most important collection [priceless manuscripts] from pre-colonial West Africa .
Bruce Hall, in [ http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-21242689 Timbuktu’s treasure trove of African history (29 January 2013) on the remnant of the priceless manuscripts in Timbuktu which was once a major intellectual centre.
The Europeans came very late to Timbuktu," says Marie Rodet, lecturer at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. For centuries, they tried to reach the place because it was a mythological place of trade and Islamic scholars. It had been described in Arab manuscripts in the Middle Ages so they knew about the history but they never reached it because the population never allowed them.
Marie Rodet, lecturer at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, quoted on BBC News, "Who, What, Why: Why do we know Timbuktu?" , April 2, 2012.
It is a place where many, many things happened since the 12th Century. A place of knowledge... a place that tells us a lot about how great the African people were and continue to be. We need to save Timbuktu.
The head of the mission to rebuild Timbuktu, Lazare Eloundou Assomo, quoted on BBC News, "Timbuktu damage to Mali historic sites 'underestimated'" , June 11, 2013.
The city is quite calm nowadays, even though residual criminal acts remain. On terrorist issues we bet on Serval. People rely on Serval for this kind of issue, much more than on the UN soldiers.
Aboubacrime Cisse, president of the council of Timbuktu localities, quoted on Bloomberg, "Timbuktu Seeks Rebirth After Islamist Militants’ Destruction" , March 31, 2014.
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What was first founded in 1865 in Pulaski, Tennessee? | KKK founded - Dec 24, 1865 - HISTORY.com
KKK founded
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In Pulaski, Tennessee, a group of Confederate veterans convenes to form a secret society that they christen the “Ku Klux Klan.” The KKK rapidly grew from a secret social fraternity to a paramilitary force bent on reversing the federal government’s progressive Reconstruction Era-activities in the South, especially policies that elevated the rights of the local African American population.
The name of the Ku Klux Klan was derived from the Greek word kyklos, meaning “circle,” and the Scottish-Gaelic word “clan,” which was probably chosen for the sake of alliteration. Under a platform of philosophized white racial superiority, the group employed violence as a means of pushing back Reconstruction and its enfranchisement of African Americans. Former Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest was the KKK’s first grand wizard; in 1869, he unsuccessfully tried to disband it after he grew critical of the Klan’s excessive violence.
Most prominent in counties where the races were relatively balanced, the KKK engaged in terrorist raids against African Americans and white Republicans at night, employing intimidation, destruction of property, assault, and murder to achieve its aims and influence upcoming elections. In a few Southern states, Republicans organized militia units to break up the Klan. In 1871, the Ku Klux Act passed Congress, authorizing President Ulysses S. Grant to use military force to suppress the KKK. The Ku Klux Act resulted in nine South Carolina counties being placed under martial law and thousands of arrests. In 1882, the U.S. Supreme Court declared the Ku Klux Act unconstitutional, but by that time Reconstruction had ended and the KKK had faded away.
The 20th century witnessed two revivals of the KKK: one in response to immigration in the 1910s and ’20s, and another in response to the African American civil rights movement of the 1950s and ’60s.
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Who played the title character in Bugsy Malone? | The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow . Jim Crow Stories . The Ku Klux Klan | PBS
The Ku Klux Klan was originally organized in the winter of 1865-66 in Pulaski, Tennessee as a social club by six Confederate veterans. In the beginning, the Klan was a secret fraternity club rather than a terrorist organization. (Ku Klux was derived from the Greek "kuklos," meaning circle, and the English word clan.) The costume adopted by its members (disguises were quite common) was a mask and white robe and high conical pointed hat.
According to the founders of the Klan, it had no malicious intent in the beginning. The Klan grew quickly and became a terrorist organization. It attracted former Civil War generals such as Nathan Bedford Forrest, the famed cavalry commander whose soldiers murdered captured black troops at Fort Pillow.
The Klan spread beyond Tennessee to every state in the South and included mayors, judges, and sheriffs as well as common criminals. The Klan systematically murdered black politicians and political leaders. It beat, whipped, and murdered thousands, and intimidated tens of thousands of others from voting. Blacks often tried to fight back, but they were outnumbered and out gunned. While the main targets of Klan wrath were the political and social leaders of the black community, blacks could be murdered for almost any reason. Men, women, children, aged and crippled, were victims. A 103-year-old woman was whipped, as was a completely paralyzed man. In Georgia, Abraham Colby, an organizer and leader in the black community, was whipped for hours in front of his wife and children. His little daughter begged the Klansman, "Don't take my daddy away." She never recovered from the sight and died soon after. In Mississippi, Jack Dupree's throat was cut and he was disemboweled in front of his wife, who had just given birth to twins. Klansman burned churches and schools, lynching teachers and educated blacks. Black landowners were driven off their property and murdered if they refused to leave. Blacks were whipped for refusing to work for whites, for having intimate relations with whites, for arguing with whites, for having jobs whites wanted, for reading a newspaper or having a book in their homes.. Or simply for being black. Klan violence led one black man to write: "We have very dark days here. The colored people are in despair. The rebels boast that the Negroes shall not have as much liberty now as they had under slavery. If things go on thus, our doom is sealed. God knows it is worse than slavery."
Hear the tactics used to
oppress blacks after Emancipation.
A few state governments fought back. In Tennessee and Arkansas, Republicans organized a police force that arrested Klansmen and carried out executions. In Texas, Governor Edmund Davis organized a crack state police unit, 40 percent of whose officers were black. The police made over 6,000 arrests and stopped the Klan. Armed groups of black and whites fought or threatened Klansman in North and South Carolina. The federal government also exerted its influence, empowering federal authorities with the Enforcement Acts of 1870 and 1871. Klan activity ended by 1872 and disappeared until it was revived again in 1915.
-- Richard Wormser
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Only two elements are liquid at room temperature – mercury is one – what is the other? | General Chemistry Online: FAQ: The periodic table: What elements are liquids at room temperature?
What elements are liquids at room temperature?
Two elements are liquid at room temperature (298 K):
Bromine (Br), an reddish brown liquid with
a suffocating odor, melts at 265.9 K.
Mercury (Hg), a toxic metal, melts at 234.32 K.
(See Why is mercury a liquid at STP? )
Four elements melt just a few degrees above room temperature.
Francium (Fr), a radioactive and extremely reactive metal, melts around 300 K. The false color image at left shows 10,000 francium atoms in a laser trap. (For more about francium, see the Orozco group's francium research page at SUNY-Stony Brook.)
Cesium (Cs), a soft metal that violently reacts with water, melts at 301.59 K. Like francium, cesium's low melting point and softness is a consequence of the size of its atoms: Cs atoms are larger than those of any other known element . The positive charge of a Cs+ core is spread over the atom's large surface area, and less energy is required to push Cs atoms out of place in the metal.
Gallium (Ga), a grayish metal, melts at 303.3 K. Gallium's near-ambient melting point is sometimes demonstrated with a picture of a gallium rod liquefying in someone's bare hand. Wear gloves if you try this yourself: gallium causes skin rashes and can depress bone marrow function.
Rubidium (Rb), another soft reactive metal, melts at 312.46 K.
Further reading
L.J. Norrby, "Why is mercury liquid? Or, why do relativistic effects not get into chemistry textbooks?" Journal of Chemical Education, 68, 110-113 (1991).
D. S. Rustad, "How soft is mercury? (Letter to the Editor)", Journal of Chemical Education, 64, 470 (1987).
G. H. Wagner, "Gallium", Journal of Chemical Education, 29, 162 (1952).
| Bromine |
In maths the hexadecimal numeral system has a base of which number? | Gaseous Elements and Compounds
10.1 Gaseous Elements and Compounds
Learning Objective
To describe the characteristics of a gas.
The three common phases (or states) of matter are gases, liquids, and solids. Gases have the lowest density of the three, are highly compressible, and completely fill any container in which they are placed. Gases behave this way because their intermolecular forces are relatively weak, so their molecules are constantly moving independently of the other molecules present. Solids, in contrast, are relatively dense, rigid, and incompressible because their intermolecular forces are so strong that the molecules are essentially locked in place. Liquids are relatively dense and incompressible, like solids, but they flow readily to adapt to the shape of their containers, like gases. We can therefore conclude that the sum of the intermolecular forces in liquids are between those of gases and solids. Figure 10.1 "A Diatomic Substance (O" compares the three states of matter and illustrates the differences at the molecular level.
Figure 10.1 A Diatomic Substance (O2) in the Solid, Liquid, and Gaseous States
(a) Solid O2 has a fixed volume and shape, and the molecules are packed tightly together. (b) Liquid O2 conforms to the shape of its container but has a fixed volume; it contains relatively densely packed molecules. (c) Gaseous O2 fills its container completely—regardless of the container’s size or shape—and consists of widely separated molecules.
The state of a given substance depends strongly on conditions. For example, H2O is commonly found in all three states: solid ice, liquid water, and water vapor (its gaseous form). Under most conditions, we encounter water as the liquid that is essential for life; we drink it, cook with it, and bathe in it. When the temperature is cold enough to transform the liquid to ice, we can ski or skate on it, pack it into a snowball or snow cone, and even build dwellings with it. Water vaporThe distinction between a gas and a vapor is subtle: the term vapor refers to the gaseous form of a substance that is a liquid or a solid under normal conditions (25°C, 1.0 atm). Nitrogen (N2) and oxygen (O2) are thus referred to as gases, but gaseous water in the atmosphere is called water vapor. is a component of the air we breathe, and it is produced whenever we heat water for cooking food or making coffee or tea. Water vapor at temperatures greater than 100°C is called steam. Steam is used to drive large machinery, including turbines that generate electricity. The properties of the three states of water are summarized in Table 10.1 "Properties of Water at 1.0 atm" .
Table 10.1 Properties of Water at 1.0 atm
Temperature
vapor (steam)
0.005476 (at 127°C)
The geometric structure and the physical and chemical properties of atoms, ions, and molecules usually do not depend on their physical state; the individual water molecules in ice, liquid water, and steam, for example, are all identical. In contrast, the macroscopic properties of a substance depend strongly on its physical state, which is determined by intermolecular forces and conditions such as temperature and pressure.
Figure 10.2 "Elements That Occur Naturally as Gases, Liquids, and Solids at 25°C and 1 atm" shows the locations in the periodic table of those elements that are commonly found in the gaseous, liquid, and solid states. Except for hydrogen, the elements that occur naturally as gases are on the right side of the periodic table. Of these, all the noble gases (group 18) are monatomic gases, whereas the other gaseous elements are diatomic molecules (H2, N2, O2, F2, and Cl2). Oxygen can also form a second allotrope, the highly reactive triatomic molecule ozone (O3), which is also a gas. In contrast, bromine (as Br2) and mercury (Hg) are liquids under normal conditions (25°C and 1.0 atm, commonly referred to as “room temperature and pressure”). Gallium (Ga), which melts at only 29.76°C, can be converted to a liquid simply by holding a container of it in your hand or keeping it in a non-air-conditioned room on a hot summer day. The rest of the elements are all solids under normal conditions.
Figure 10.2 Elements That Occur Naturally as Gases, Liquids, and Solids at 25°C and 1 atm
The noble gases and mercury occur as monatomic species, whereas all other gases and bromine are diatomic molecules.
Many of the elements and compounds we have encountered so far are typically found as gases; some of the more common ones are listed in Table 10.2 "Some Common Substances That Are Gases at 25°C and 1.0 atm" . Gaseous substances include many binary hydrides, such as the hydrogen halides (HX); hydrides of the chalcogens; hydrides of the group 15 elements N, P, and As; hydrides of the group 14 elements C, Si, and Ge; and diborane (B2H6). In addition, many of the simple covalent oxides of the nonmetals are gases, such as CO, CO2, NO, NO2, SO2, SO3, and ClO2. Many low-molecular-mass organic compounds are gases as well, including all the hydrocarbons with four or fewer carbon atoms and simple molecules such as dimethyl ether [(CH3)2O], methyl chloride (CH3Cl), formaldehyde (CH2O), and acetaldehyde (CH3CHO). Finally, most of the commonly used refrigerants, such as the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and the hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), which were discussed in Chapter 3 "Chemical Reactions" , are gases.
Table 10.2 Some Common Substances That Are Gases at 25°C and 1.0 atm
Elements
Cl2 (chlorine)
*HCN boils at 26°C at 1 atm, so it is included in this table.
All of the gaseous substances mentioned previously (other than the monatomic noble gases) contain covalent or polar covalent bonds and are nonpolar or polar molecules. In contrast, the strong electrostatic attractions in ionic compounds, such as NaBr (boiling point = 1390°C) or LiF (boiling point = 1673°C), prevent them from existing as gases at room temperature and pressure. In addition, the lightest members of any given family of compounds are most likely gases, and the boiling points of polar compounds are generally greater than those of nonpolar compounds of similar molecular mass. Therefore, in a given series of compounds, the lightest and least polar members are the ones most likely to be gases. With relatively few exceptions, however, compounds with more than about five atoms from period 2 or below are too heavy to exist as gases under normal conditions.
Note the Pattern
Gaseous substances often contain covalent or polar covalent bonds, exist as nonpolar or slightly polar molecules, have relatively low molecular masses, and contain five or fewer atoms from periods 1 or 2.
While gases have a wide array of uses, a particularly grim use of a gaseous substance is believed to have been employed by the Persians on the Roman city of Dura in eastern Syria in the third century AD. The Persians dug a tunnel underneath the city wall to enter and conquer the city. Archeological evidence suggests that when the Romans responded with counter-tunnels to stop the siege, the Persians ignited bitumen and sulfur crystals to produce a dense, poisonous gas. It is likely that bellows or chimneys distributed the toxic fumes. The remains of about 20 Roman soldiers were discovered at the base of the city wall at the entrance to a tunnel that was less than 2 m high and 11 m long. Because it is highly unlikely that the Persians could have slaughtered so many Romans at the entrance to such a confined space, archeologists speculate that the ancient Persians used chemical warfare to successfully conquer the city.
Example 1
molecular motion.
order in the arrangement of the molecules or atoms.
Explain what is wrong with this statement: “The state of matter largely determines the molecular properties of a substance.”
Describe the most important factors that determine the state of a given compound. What external conditions influence whether a substance exists in any one of the three states of matter?
Which elements of the periodic table exist as gases at room temperature and pressure? Of these, which are diatomic molecules and which are monatomic? Which elements are liquids at room temperature and pressure? Which portion of the periodic table contains elements whose binary hydrides are most likely gases at room temperature?
Is the following observation correct? “Almost all nonmetal binary hydrides are gases at room temperature, but metal hydrides are all solids.” Explain your reasoning.
Is the following observation correct? “All the hydrides of the chalcogens are gases at room temperature and pressure except the binary hydride of oxygen, which is a liquid.” Explain your reasoning. Would you expect 1-chloropropane to be a gas? iodopropane? Why?
Explain why ionic compounds are not gases under normal conditions.
Answers
The molecular properties of a substance control its state of matter under a given set of conditions, not the other way around. The presence of strong intermolecular forces favors a condensed state of matter (liquid or solid), while very weak intermolecular interaction favor the gaseous state. In addition, the shape of the molecules dictates whether a condensed phase is a liquid or a solid.
Elements that exist as gases are mainly found in the upper right corner and on the right side of the periodic table. The following elements exist as gases: H, He, N, O, F, Ne, Cl, Ar, Kr, Xe, and Rn. Thus, half of the halogens, all of the noble gases, and the lightest chalcogens and picnogens are gases. Of these, all except the noble gases exist as diatomic molecules. Only two elements exist as liquids at a normal room temperature of 20°C–25°C: mercury and bromine. The upper right portion of the periodic table also includes most of the elements whose binary hydrides are gases. In addition, the binary hydrides of the elements of Groups 14–16 are gases.
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What name is given to the outward force on a rotating body? | Centrifugal force | Define Centrifugal force at Dictionary.com
centrifugal force
noun
1.
an outward force on a body rotating about an axis, assumed equal and opposite to the centripetal force and postulated to account for the phenomena seen by an observer in the rotating body.
Origin of centrifugal force
Examples from the Web for centrifugal force
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Aether and Gravitation William George Hooper
If this is the centripetal force pulling a planet or satellite in, it must be equal to the centrifugal force of this latter, viz.
Common Science Carleton W. Washburne
The centrifugal force has been overbalanced by the centripetal.
Common Science Carleton W. Washburne
The centrifugal force, which tends to make the machine fly off at a tangent to the curve at which it is turning.
Acrobats and Mountebanks Hugues Le Roux
British Dictionary definitions for centrifugal force
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noun
1.
a fictitious force that can be thought of as acting outwards on any body that rotates or moves along a curved path
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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centrifugal force
An effect that seems to cause an object moving in a curve to be pushed away from the curve's center. Centrifugal force is not a true force but is actually the effect of inertia, in that the moving object's natural tendency is to move in a straight line. See Note at centripetal force .
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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centrifugal force [(sen-trif-yuh-guhl, sen-trif-uh-guhl)]
A force that tends to move objects away from the center in a system undergoing circular motion. Centrifugal force keeps the water in a whirling bucket from spilling or throws a rider in a car against the door when the car goes around a sharp curve. Centrifugal force is actually a form of inertia .
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
People invent new words all the time, but which ones actually make it?
Word of the Day
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Who is the only son of Prince Rainier of Monaco? | winds.htm
frictional force
centrifugal force
The Coriolis 'force' is in fact a construct resulting from an imbalance of other forces, hence the inverted commas. The relative values of these four 'forces' govern the strength and direction of the wind. Understanding of these forces is crucial to any analysis of weather systems and the large-scale climatology of the Earth.
(1) Pressure gradient force.
This is the force resulting from differences in pressure between two places of similar elevation. We have already met this force in the rocket experiment ( Lecture 2 ). Pressure gradient force is equal to:
PGF = -1/r� Dp/Dx
where r is the air density,
Dp is the difference in poressure, and
Dx is the distance over which the pressure difference occurs.
This formula says that the pressure gradient force is:
directly proportional to the pressure gradient - that is, the higher the pressure gradient, the greater the force driving the winds.
inversely proportional to the air density, so that the force is greater at low air densities for same pressure difference (i.e. at high altitudes, wind speeds will be higher for a given pressure gradient).
The minus sign indicates that the pressure gradient force acts from areas of high pressure towards areas of low pressure.
Lines of equal pressure at a given elevation are shown by isobars. Close spacing indicates high pressure gradients and high winds, whereas wide spacing: low pressure gradient.
(2) Coriolis effect.
Wind directions are strongly influenced by the fact that the atmosphere is part of the rotating Earth system. The effect of the rotating Earth on moving bodies is termed the Coriolis effect after the French engineer Gaspard Gustave Coriolis (1792 - 1843), who conducted pioneering studies of rotational dynamics. Of all aspects of meteorology, the Coriolis effect is perhaps the most misunderstood, and generations of students have struggled with it. This is not because it is any harder than other aspects, but mainly because the explanations in many textbooks are misleading, if not downright wrong. For example, some books attempt to explain the Coriolis 'force' in terms of balls rolling over rotating turntables or similar analogies, but such explanations do not help, as the physics involved is completely different. Another explanation (featured in earlier versions of this web page!) attributes the Coriolis effect to conservation of angular momentum during changes of latitude: as bodies move from low latitudes to high latitudes, they travel closer to the axis of the Earth, and thus to areas with a lower rotational velocity. They thus carry angular momentum polewards, and are thus deflected (to the right in the northern hemisphere, to the left in the southern). This explanation (first proposed by the great George Hadley in the 18th Century), is appealing but also wrong, as it can only explain the deflection for north-south or south-north motions. The best discussion of the Coriolis effect is in three recent articles by Anders Persson in the journal Weather (see Reading List ). Understanding these still requires focused thought, but at least the explanations make sense (so it is a lot easier than trying to understand something that doesn't make sense!). The following discussion follows Persson. Ignore the stuff about rotating turntables and wandering polar bears in the textbooks.
Objects on a rotating body feel a pull away from the axis of rotation. This is because the objects have inertia, or a tendency to continue to travel in a straight line with a constant velocity. On a rotating body, this means that objects will 'want' to travel off at a tangent, resulting in an acceleration or 'pull' away from the axis of rotation. This is a familiar effect, well-known to children on roundabouts, and is known as the centrifugal force, C.
C = U2/R
where U = the rotational velocity (m sec-1), and R is the radius (metres).
For a rotating disc, C increases with distance from the centre. On the Earth, C is at a maximum at the equator (where U and R are greatest) and zero at the poles (where U and R are zero). Because the Earth is spherical (or nearly so), the centrifugal force is directed at right angles away from the Earth's axis, and so acts straight upwards at the equator, and slants increasingly towards the local horizontal with increasing latitude. At any given latitude, C can be divided into a vertical component, C(v), pointing straight up, and a horizontal component, C(h) pointing along the ground towards the equator. We have seen that the vertical component is 100% of the total at the equator. The horizontal component accounts for 100% of the total at the poles, but C is zero there. Thus, on the Earth, the horizontal centrifugal force is at a maximum at 45o North and South.
Q: Why does this force not pull us towards the equator, analogous to the force we feel on a roundabout?
A: Because the Earth is not quite a sphere. The Earth bulges slightly at the equator, and is flattened at the poles, so it formas an oblate spheroid. Because of this, on most of the earth's surface, the straight down direction does not point to the Earth's centre, as it would on a perfect sphere. (The Earth's centre is straight down at the equator and at the poles) Because of this, the gravitational force G is tilted slightly poleward of straight down over most of the Earth. Because of this tilt, we can divide G into two components: a vertical component, pointing straight down, and a horizontal component, G(h), pointing along the ground towards the pole. For a stationary point on the Earth, the horizontal component of G exactly balances the centrifugal force C. There is thus no net force, and no tendency for objects to be flung off into space. (Indeed, the early Earth adopted its oblate shape so that the forces would be in balance)
Now, for a body moving over the surface of the Earth, this force balance breaks down. The body has a velocity which differs from that of the Earth below, and thus experiences a different value of C. Because of this, the body will experience a net force, and will thus be deflected from its original course. This is to the right in the northern hemisphere, and to the left in the southern hemisphere. Thus, the Coriolis 'force' is not an independent force at all, but arises from an imbalance between two 'real' forces, the centrifugal force C and the gravitational force G. The magnitude of the force imbalance - the Coriolis effect - is given by:
2W sin f V (metres sec-2)
where W is the angular velocity of the earth's spin (The Earth rotates through 360o day-1, or 15o hour-1. In this equation, W is expressed in radians per second: 2P radians = 360°, so W = 7.29 x 10-5)
f is the latitude, and
V is the horizontal velocity of the moving body (metres per second)
The Coriolis effect is thus directly proportional to:
(a) wind speed: i.e. air moving at 10 m sec-1 is subject to half the deflective force as air moving at 20 m sec-1.
(b) the sine of the latitude (sin 0o = 0; sin 90o = 1). Thus the Coriolis effect increases from zero at the Equator, and is largest at the poles.
The component 2W sin f is known as the Coriolis parameter f, which varies with latitude as follows:
Latitude��� 0°ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ 10°ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ 20°ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ 43°ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ 90°
�������� f���(x10-4)��� 0������ 0.25��� 0.5������ 1.0������ 1.46
Winds blowing due to the pressure gradient force will be deflected by the Coriolis effect until the deflection acts in the opposite direction to the pressure gradient force: only then will the deflection cease. Thus, for equilibrium, the pressure gradient force and the Coriolis effect will be in balance, and winds will therefore tend to parallel to the isobars. Such winds are known as geostrophic winds (in the northern hemisphere, the geostrophic ("Earth-turning") wind will blow along the isobars with the high pressure to right, and low pressure to left - the opposite is true in the southern hemisphere. Near the equator, the Coriolis force is negligible, and so winds will blow at right angles to isobars.
(3) Frictional force.�
Rough ground surfaces will slow winds down due the drag of the air over the surface. Because winds are slower near the ground, the Coriolis deflection will be less, and the winds will trend more towards the pressure gradient than is the case at altitude. Thus the wind direction near the ground will be different to that aloft (the geostrophic wind): the resulting change in wind direction with height is known as the Ekman spiral. Smooth water surfaces are generally associated with air flow at approximately 8o to the isobars, but for land surfaces the angle can be in excess of 25o. The layer of the atmosphere where friction is effective is known as the frictional boundary layer, with the free atmosphere above.
(4) Local Centrifugal Force.
In the discussion of the Coriolis effect, we examined the centrifugal force C associated with the Earth's spin. Centrifugal forces are also associated with local spinning systems (such as roundabouts), and are important in the atmosphere when winds blow around tightly curved isobars. Geostrophic winds generally blow in curved paths around regions of low or high pressure. For such a path, inertia (the tendency for masses to keep moving in a straight line) exerts an outward pull away from the centre of curvature (see above). For air rotating around a high pressure area, this outward pull is in the same direction as the pressure gradient force, and thus tends to accelerate the air to higher velocities than those calculated for the geostrophic wind. For air rotating around a low pressure system, the centrifugal acceleration opposes the pressure gradient force, so decelerates the air.
The local centrifugal force is given by:
v2/r,
where v is the wind velocity, and
r is the radius of the curve around which the wind is blowing.
The centrifugal force is only significant where windspeeds are high, and r is small, i.e. where isobars are tightly curved and pressure gradients are at very large.
Winds blowing at constant speed around curved isobars are termed gradient winds.
�
Vorticity
A final priciple which is essential to understanding the dynamics of wind systems is vorticity, which is a measure of the amount of spin in a rotating system. Vorticity (denoted by the Greek letter z zeta) is defined as:
z = 2w
w (omega) is the angular velocity of the spinning system (radians per second).
Note that this is similar to the formula for the Coriolis parameter. There is a good reason for this: air which is stationary with respect to the Earth still has vorticity because it is turning with the spinning Earth. In this case, its vorticity is 2W sin f. Systems which are rotating with respect to the Earth thus have two components of vorticity:
(1) relative vorticity, due to the rotation of the system with respect to the Earth, and
(2) planetary vorticity, which is the latitudinal value of the Coriolis parameter.
The total vorticity (absolute vorticity) of a system tends to remain constant (ignoring energy losses due to heat exchange or friction). This is due to the conservation of angular momentum. Momentum is a measure of the inertia of a body, or its tendency to remain in its current state of motion, and is defined as:
mass x velocity
(that is, heavy, fast moving objects - such as a lorry - possess greater momentum than light, slowly moving objects - such as a lecturer on a bicycle). When an object is moving in an arc, momentum is expressed as angular momentum, defined as:
= r m Vt
where r is the distance from the axis of rotation (metres)
m is the mass of the body (kg), and
Vt is the tangential velocity (metres per second),
Angular momentum is conserved (ignoring losses to friction and so on). Thus, for a spinning system, any changes in the radius of the system must result in changes in its velocity (assuming the mass stays constant). A familiar example of this is an ice skater in a spin: the skater begins a spin with arms outstretched, then draws them in towards her body, causing her to spin faster. To exit the spin, she extends her arms, thus reducing her angular velocity and allowing her to move on in a controlled manner. For air masses, a decrease in the radius of the system occurs during convergence, such as when uplift of air draws air inwards. Conversely, an increase in the radius occurs during divergence, such as when subsidence of air causes air to spread outwards. Thus, a converging and uplifting air mass (such as a cyclone or tornado) will gain positive or cyclonic relative vorticity in order to conserve angular momentum as air is drawn inwards (rotating anticlockwise in the northern hemisphere), whereas a spreading and subsiding air mass (such as an anticyclonic high pressure cell) will tend to acquire negative or anticyclonic vorticity (clockwise in the northern hemisphere).
Planetary vorticity can also be converted into relative vorticity if an air mass changes latitude. Because the Coriolis parameter f increases with latitude, the planetary vorticity will increase for a poleward moving air mass. To conserve the absolute vorticity, the relative vorticity must decrease, becoming less cyclonic (i.e. anticyclonic). Conversely, for equatorward-moving air masses, the planetary vorticity decreases, so the relative vorticity must become more cyclonic.
Example 1: Bath Plugholes
The swirling water in bath plugholes has fascinated generations of meteorologists and amateurs alike, who have proposed numerous explanations for the phenomenon. One popular misconception is that the water swirls in opposite directions in the northern and southern hemispheres. This is untrue (I've checked). The north-south anticlockwise-clockwise fallacy is based on the notion that the whirlpool is due to the Coriolis effect. Calculations of the magnitude of the Coriolis effect, however, show that for the typical length, velocity and time scales of emptying bathtubs, the amount of deflection is tiny (try it: use 2W sin f V, with f as 55o N and V as 0.1 m sec-1). A extreme form of the north-south plughole fallacy is that the water will change its spin if you shift the tub a short distance over the equator: we have seen that this cannot possibly be true because f = 0 at the equator, and does not increase appreciably for a considerable distance.
Another possible way of bolstering up the north-south opposite spin idea is to assume that the bath-plug whirlpool results from the acceleration of the planetary vorticity of the bathwater as the water converges. This would make the water rotate anti-clockwise in the northern hemisphere, and clockwise in the southern (i.e. increasing positive vorticity due to convergence). However, I calculate that for this effect to be significant on the timescales involved, you would need a plughole in the centre of a circular tub at least 14 metres across.
The real explanation for the bath-plug whirlpool is that it results from the acceleration of water currents running obliquely to the direct line to the plughole. Convergence (and the conservation of angular momentum) can easily produce the observed velocities. This explanation indicates that the whirlpool has its origins in the shape of your tub, and has nothing whatever to do with Coriolis.
For an entertaining debunking of the plughole myth, see Alistair Fraser's Bad Coriolis page (Part of the Bad Meteorology site, which looks at lots of incorrect explanations of weather phenomena) http://www.ems.psu.edu/~fraser/Bad/BadCoriolis.html
Example 2: Tropical Cyclones
All of the principles explored in this lecture (plus some from earlier lectures) can be illustrated using the example of tropical cyclones. Tropical cyclones (also known as hurricanes in the Caribbean; and typhoons in the west Pacific) are intense circular storms, spiralling around a low pressure centre. They are defined as having maximum sustained surface wind speeds over 33 m sec-1, and in many storms they exceed 50 m sec-1. The central pressure is commonly below 950 mb, and can be below 900 mb. Cyclones are typically 650 km in diameter, and Pacific examples may be much larger. Around 80 occur each year, causing on average 20,000 fatalities and immense damage to property and posing serious hazards to shipping, due to the effects of winds, high seas, flooding from heavy rainfall and storm surges.
The largest observed Tropical cyclone was in the Caribbean: Hurricane Gilbert, generated on 9th Sept 1988 east of Barbados. The central pressure was 888 mb, and maximum winds near the core were 55 m sec-1� (125 mph).� Over 500 mm rain fell on upland Jamaica in 9 hours. Gilbert was 3 times larger than the average Caribbean storm, with a maximum diameter of 3500 km, disrupting the ITCZ over 1 sixth of the earth�s circumference, and drawing in air from a vast region from Florida to the Galapagos Islands.
Such intense spinning storms require a special combination of circumstances for their formation:
ocean surface temperatures > 27.5° C;
significant Coriolis parameter.
At 27.5° C, convection suddenly becomes much more efficient, and warmer-than-27.5°C areas are often identifiable in satellite images by the strong development of rainstorms penetrating high into the atmosphere. Intense convection is a prerequisite for cyclone development, creating low pressure, convergence zones which draw in air from the surrounding area. Cyclones occur when intense convection combines with upper level divergence to produce uplift and low-level covergence. This uplift is not simply due to the buoyancy of heated air. Most of the energy for the storm comes from latent heat released by the condensation of water vapour in clouds. The need for an abundant moisture supply explains why tropical cyclones form over warm oceans, and dissipate rapidly over land. Uplift occurs in large numbers of cumulus cells arranged in spirals, which begin to converge and rotate around a central core area. Uplift is further ebcouraged by the release of latent heat as clouds form from the uplifting warm, moist air. This latent heating warms the core, typically through the action of 100-200 huge cumulonimbus towers, known as hot towers. The rapid uplift of air in this region intensifies low pressure at the centre of the system, and high pressure at high levels of the atmosphere, which encourages upper-air outflow. In turn, this sustains low-level inflow, convective uplift, and latent heat release in a positive feedback mechanism which feeds the developing storm.� Cyclones are, in effect, vast mechanisms for releasing and transporting the energy stored in hot, humid air.
A distinctive feature of tropical cyclones is the presence of a distinct eye, a central quiet amphitheatre a few tens of km across surrounded by the furious, rotating eye wall of towering cloud. We can explain the presence and characteristics of the eye using the principles we have covered in this and earlier lectures. First, the presence of the eye itself. We have seen that the pressure-gradient force, the Coriolis effect, and surface friction combine to give surface winds that spiral in towards the centre of a storm system. We have also seen that the conservation of angular momentum requires that if the radius of a rotating system decreases, its velocity must increase. Thus, for winds spiralling in towards a storm centre, the velocities will thus tend to rise continuously. However, as the velocity of a rotating wind system increases, so the centrifugal force - acting outward from the centre of rotation - also increases. There comes a point where the winds are fast enough for the outward-acting centrifugal force to exactly balance the net inward-acting forces. At this point, the winds cease to spiral inwards, but rotate around a circular path instead. This defines the eye wall, and the windless zone within is the quiet eye. The centrifugal force also limits the wind velocities in cyclones. Calculated geostrophic flows may be as high as 500 m sec-1, but actual winds are typically 75 m sec-1. Thus, centrifugal force is important in limiting the destructive effect of cyclones.
A feature of the eye is that it is warmer (by up to 5o) than the surrounding parts of the storm, providing its alternative name of the warm core. The eye is also an area of subsidence, in sharp contrast to the vigorous uplift experienced in the violent, outer parts of the system. The warmth and subsidence are related. Condensation of water droplets from vapour in rising cumulonimbus towers releases latent heat, so the rising air cools at the saturated adiabatic lapse rate ( Lecture 4 ). When the water droplets form precipitation, the water falls back to Earth but much of the heat released during condensation remains behind. Most of the warmed air spreads outward at the top of the storm, but some sinks into the centre, and during its descent, it warms at the dry adiabatic lapse rate. This means that the air arrives back at sea level warmer than when it began its ascent. This increase in temperature is not a 'free lunch': it merely results from energy transfers from one form to another. In the prelude to the storm, solar energy was used to evaporate water. This energy was transferred as latent heat during condensation, adding to the potential temperature of the air. Adiabatic descent completes the cycle, with the solar energy converted to a sensible temperature increase.
A significant Coriolis parameter is required to generate the spin necessary for cyclone formation. The spin can be achieved purely by the convergence of the air mass, generating positive relative vorticity from the planetary vorticity of a larger area. McIlveen (1992, p. 428) gives a formula for working out the wind velocity U of a cyclone produced by the convergence of a larger circular air mass:
U = (f R02)/2R
where f is the Coriolis parameter, R0 is the initial radius of the air mass, and R is the new, smaller radius. Taking U as 50 m sec-1, R as 30 km (typical for the ring of maximum winds in a tropical cyclone), and the value of f for 20o N or S, R0 would be 145 km. For 5o, the value would increase to 500 km. Thus, large areas of warm ocean are required to 'feed' cyclone development. In practice, the areas would be even larger because wind velocities are also eroded by friction at the sea surface. Nevertheless, the estimates indicate that tropical cyclones represent the condensed energy (vorticity, thermal and latent heat) of considerable areas of ocean. They also demonstrate why cyclones only form more than 5o poleward of the equator.
The two requirements of convection and spin thus determine the geographical distribution of cyclones and their annual cycles of occurrence. Cyclones form in late summer and autumn in the tropical oceans when the stored energy in the oceans is at a maximum. Cyclones occur in the northern hemisphere (Atlantic, Pacific, northern Indian Ocean) in June-November and in the southern hemisphere (South Pacific and southern Indian Ocean) in January-March.
Tracks of hurricanes generally move towards the west, then veer polewards and eastwards, but are also steered by mid-tropospheric winds. Some may reach the mid-latitudes and form vigorous frontal cyclones: in such cases, energy is carried far from the tropics. Cyclones therefore play an important role in transporting energy from the tropics towards the mid latitudes.
Cyclones and climate change
It is interesting to speculate on the effect of even a minor overall warming of the tropical oceans. There are large regions of water with temperature close to 27.5°C (either slightly warmer or slightly cooler), so even a small general temperature change could produce large changes in the area in which convection takes place. For example, the area of the tropical Pacific that has mean SST greater than 27°C is 20% larger than that greater than 27.5°C. Thus, a mere one-half degree uniform increase could produce a significant change in the amount of tropical convection, and the frequency of cyclones.
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According to Einstein what is the Fourth Dimension? | Albert Einstein and the Fabric of Time
Homepage | Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Forward | Contents | e-mail
Unfortunately it is very much a reality still today that the works of the really great spirits in science, such as Albert Einstein, Richard Feynman, and Stephen Hawking, and their most fundamental conclusions about the universe, remain unappreciated, even unnoticed by the majority of scientists. These three giants all made very similar conclusions regarding the timelessness of the Universe, yet even today the science of timelessness is overlooked.
�Time has no independent existence apart from the order of events by which we measure it.�
�Albert Einstein
The People of Timelessness Albert Einstein Stephen Hawking Hugh Everett David Bohm
Albert Einstein and the Fabric of Time
Surprising as it may be to most non-scientists and even to some scientists, Albert Einstein concluded in his later years that the past, present, and future all exist simultaneously. In 1952, in his book Relativity, in discussing Minkowski's Space World interpretation of his theory of relativity, Einstein writes:
Since there exists in this four dimensional structure [space-time] no longer any sections which represent "now" objectively, the concepts of happening and becoming are indeed not completely suspended, but yet complicated. It appears therefore more natural to think of physical reality as a four dimensional existence, instead of, as hitherto, the evolution of a three dimensional existence.
Einstein's belief in an undivided solid reality was clear to him, so much so that he completely rejected the separation we experience as the moment of now. He believed there is no true division between past and future, there is rather a single existence. His most descriptive testimony to this faith came when his lifelong friend Besso died. Einstein wrote a letter to Besso's family, saying that although Besso had preceded him in death it was of no consequence, "...for us physicists believe the separation between past, present, and future is only an illusion, although a convincing one."
Most everyone knows that Einstein proved that time is relative, not absolute as Newton claimed. With the proper technology, such as a very fast spaceship, one person is able to experience several days while another person simultaneously experiences only a few hours or minutes. The same two people can meet up again, one having experienced days or even years while the other has only experienced minutes. The person in the spaceship only needs to travel near to the speed of light. The faster they travel, the slower their time will pass relative to someone planted firmly on the Earth. If they were able to travel at the speed of light, their time would cease completely and they would only exist trapped in timelessness. Einstein could hardly believe there were physicists who didn�t believe in timelessness, and yet the wisdom of Einstein's convictions had very little impact on cosmology or science in general. The majority of physicists have been slow to give up the ordinary assumptions we make about time.
The two most highly recognized physicists since Einstein made similar conclusions and even made dramatic advances toward a timeless perspective of the universe, yet they also were unable to change the temporal mentality ingrained in the mainstream of physics and society. Einstein was followed in history by the colorful and brilliant Richard Feynman. Feynman developed the most effective and explanatory interpretation of quantum mechanics that had yet been developed, known today as Sum over Histories.
Just as Einstein's own Relativity Theory led Einstein to reject time, Feynman�s Sum over Histories theory led him to describe time simply as a direction in space. Feynman�s theory states that the probability of an event is determined by summing together all the possible histories of that event. For example, for a particle moving from point A to B we imagine the particle traveling every possible path, curved paths, oscillating paths, squiggly paths, even backward in time and forward in time paths. Each path has an amplitude, and when summed the vast majority of all these amplitudes add up to zero, and all that remains is the comparably few histories that abide by the laws and forces of nature. Sum over histories indicates the direction of our ordinary clock time is simply a path in space which is more probable than the more exotic directions time might have taken otherwise.
Other worlds are just other directions in space, some less probable, some equally as probable as the one direction we experience. And some times our world represents the unlikely path. Feynman's summing of all possible histories could be described as the first timeless description of a multitude of space-time worlds all existing simultaneously. In a recent paper entitled Cosmology From the Top Down, Professor Stephen Hawking of Cambridge writes; �Some people make a great mystery of the multi universe, or the Many-Worlds interpretation of quantum theory, but to me, these are just different expressions of the Feynman path integral.�
(below is not in book)
What is still not quite resolved in modern physics is how to properly combine Quantum theory with Einstein's Relativity Theory. It appears evident that time is purely a direction in space but how then do we explain the uncertainty of quantum mechanics? Why does it appear that God plays dice with the world. The two theories, each having been proven by their usefulness, do of course tell the same story about this one universe, but we just haven't learned yet to hear the story right. The best modern theory going is probably the No Boundary Proposal, put fourth by Stephen Hawking and Jim Hartle. This theory introduces a second reference of time which has been inappropriately named Imaginary time. Hawking, writes of the no boundary proposal, "The universe would be completely self contained and not affected by anything outside itself. It would neither be created nor destroyed. It would just BE."
In my book Everything Forever, and here at my website, I explain how fourth dimensional spatial directions travel through a series of independent three dimensional block-like spaces, which in science we call states, but they can also be thought of simply as patterns. Hawking has already proposed that imaginary time can be found at right angles to ordinary time. I further explain that it is possible in an objective way to understand the universe to be like a book or a movie film. Each moment is a separate universe just like each frame of a movie or page of a book is separate. Yet those separate states simultaneously form the larger whole of the movie or the book. Seeing each moment as a continually existing place sheds light on why particles would then travel as a quantum wave, rather than linearly from point a to point b. This is explained better elsewhere, but if each moment of ordinary time is a solid, static, "block of now", or field of space, then time each new moment is a distinctly different universe. What we call time is a spatial direction that travels through many static three dimensional universes.
In such a model, what we call time is created purely out of space. Special directions in space travel through each static three dimensional space, therein producing a new realm of space beyond three dimensions, which we call time. The interesting quality this produces, is how the inhabitants of this fourth dimension of space travel a linear path from past to future, but the surrounding environment of each path is shifting from one pattern to the next. This sends particles from one position in four dimensional space to the next without moving linearly. As a result, each individual observer in the fourth dimension experiences a continuous linear time, even though everything in their immediate environment is moving sequentially from place to place. Hence each temporal environment of four dimensional space is constructed relative to each independent observer.
One can imagine oneself smoothly traveling a direct and interconnected path through time, but in looking around at one's environment, one sees that all other directions of time are broken, causing particles to appear to sequentially leap from one place to another. Paradoxically, everyone observes their own path and experience of time to be linear, while all else around them is sequential. In fact, when we explore time as a direction through many 3D spaces , we find qualities of curvature, time dilation, and spatial contraction, precisely as relativity describes those qualities within our own spacetime.
There is one quote I have found from Einstein which is more or less a contemplative mental thought about the notion of infinite spaces, which doesn't directly relate to my own approach of describing a shape to all possible spaces, but it does at least open up the subject of an infinite number of spaces to speculation. And it also shows the open minded nature of Einstein's thoughts about empty space, which some have thought were closed.
When a smaller box s is situated, relativity at rest, inside the hollow space of a larger box S, then the hollow space of s is a part of the hollow space of S, and the same "space," which contains both of them, belongs to each of the boxes. When s is in motion with respect to S, however, the concept is less simple. One is then inclined to think that s encloses always the same space, but a variable part of the space S. It then becomes necessary to apportion to each box its particular space, not thought of as bounded, and assume that these two spaces are in motion with respect to each other...
Before one has become aware of this complication, space appears as an unbounded medium or container in which material objects swim around. But it must be remembered that there is an infinite number of spaces, which are in motion with respect to each other...
The concept of space as something existing objectively and independent of things belongs to pre-scientific thought, but not so the idea of the existence of an infinite number of spaces in motion relatively to each other. This latter idea is indeed unavoidable, but is far from having played a considerable role even in scientific thought.
I can testify that Einstein's speculations revealed here concerning infinite spaces in motion do at least carry us in the right direction in how they suggest space might have an unseen and possibly infinite content. Similar ideas were introduced by David Bohm, who claimed there are two kinds of order in nature , what he called explicate order and implicate order. Implicate order for Bohm was a way of acknowledging how quantum mechanics reveals a hidden order where our world is influenced by the whole of all possible states . However, that order is much more visible than Bohm ever realized, as explained in part two.
Unfortunately it wasn't until Einstein died that scientists began to consider the a Many Worlds Theory in science. It's safe to say that in Einstein's time we were still getting used to the idea of the Big Bang, adjusting to the ever more visible vast sea of other galaxies, and the possibility of alien life on other planets. The universe and reality were still primarily considered purely solid and material based. Quantum theory, which eventually led to the theory of many worlds, had not yet fully withstood the test of time. Einstein even rejected its implications, saying "God does not play dice" with the world, even as he himself established that there is more to the universe than a single evolving moment of now.
In my explorations of timelessness I reveal that ordinary space is not merely full of other empty spaces, but empty space is actually the whole of all physical realities; all the universes of the many worlds theory. Profound as it may be, if the theories I propose are correct, space is full, rather than empty. Material things are less than the fullness of space. In fact, it may be that space must include all possibilities in order to seem empty to us. So in summary, the universe we see is just a fragment nested in a timeless (everything) whole, rather than a single material world magically arisen above some primordial nothing. All universes exist without beginning or end in the ultimate arena of time, and each moment we experience exists forever.
Find out more about timelessness at:
Ch27 God, Infinity, and Nature As One
This page last updated April 10th, 2007.
References
[1] Einstein, Albert, Relativity; The Special and the General Theory. Crown Trade Paperbacks (1961).
[2] Einstein, Albert, Letter to Michele Besso's Family. Ref. Bernstein, Jeremy., A Critic at Large: Besso. The New Yorker (1989).
[3] Feynman, Richard, P., Quantum Mechanics and Path Integrals. Mcgraw Hill, New York (1965).
[4] Hawking, Stephen W., Cosmology from the Top Down. [ arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0305562 ] (2003).
[5] Hawking, Stephen W., Hartle, James B., Wave function of the Universe. Phys. Rev. D 28, 2960 (1983).
[6] Hawking, Stephen W., A Brief History of Time. Bantam (1988).
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| Time |
Which Spaniard painted the Naked Maja? | EPIC: Einstein's 4-D Time Theory Confirmed by NASA - YouTube
EPIC: Einstein's 4-D Time Theory Confirmed by NASA
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Einstein's theory of the existence of a four-dimensional space-time vortex around Earth was proven correct by a recent NASA study.
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At the mouth of which English river is Spurn Head? | Spurn Head legal definition of Spurn Head
Spurn Head legal definition of Spurn Head
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Spurn+Head
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References in periodicals archive ?
The elevated water level moved along the coast with its crest starting at Spurn Head around 16.
Holidays: The 22 villages lost to the sea
Head out with your binoculars The Spurn Head Heritage Coast consists of a long curving hook of shingle and sand arcing southwards into the mouth of the Humber.
Catch it while you can: A peaceful parish that's disappearing by the day; The exploitation of natural gas reserves under the North Sea have helped to transform the ancient community of Easington. Martin Limon pays a visit
Chingley Golden Heart, River Picnic, Spurn Head, Carberry Belle, Stoney Bridge and Mr Worth are just some of the popular horses that graced the old racecourse.
The racecourse that launched many a career; For Echo columnist Brian Lee, Cowbridge and the Vale will always be associated first and foremost with point-topoint racing, a pastime still popular to this day..
Over the years, some very good horses have graced the Howick turf and these include Sylvester 11, Spurn Head, Sally On, Mr Worth, Fitz, Fixed Price, Hobo, Mandryka and more recently Chesnut Annie who is a nine-times course winner.
| Humber |
The Tripitaka are scriptures central to which faith? | Spurn Head | Flickr
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Spurn Head
Photos from a day trip to Spurn Head, an extraordinary sandy spit stretching for miles in to the North Sea at the mouth of the River Humber.
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Which BBC sitcom features various members of the Pearson family in Tyne and Wear? | More changes are planned for Tyne and Wear Metro in 2013 - Chronicle Live
News
More changes are planned for Tyne and Wear Metro in 2013
NEARLY three years ago Tyneside’s Metro system was awarded a much-needed cash boost to upgrade trains, tracks and stations.
Share
A metro train and (inset) a lady using one of the new ticket machines
Share
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+ Subscribe
Thank you for subscribing!
Could not subscribe, try again laterInvalid Email
NEARLY three years ago Tyneside’s Metro system was awarded a much-needed cash boost to upgrade trains, tracks and stations.
Over the next year the system will face even bigger changes, as new ticket machines and barriers go up.
With the face of the 30-year-old system changing for most trains and stations it’s set to be an even busier 12 months.
Some £152.5m has gone into the system with more than that still to come.
As project planners gear up for another year of vital but somewhat disruptive railway work, we look at where the cash has gone so far, and what is to come next.
Three years into system revamp
THE £385m Metro: all change modernisation programme is near the end of its third year, by which it will have delivered the following:
10 Stations refurbished or underway
18.5km of track renewed or refurbished
18km of new cable ducting installed
17 bridges repaired
225 new ticket machines installed
13 gatelines at key stations
3 bridges removed completely and replaced with embankment
8 escalators replaced
5 sets of points renewed or refurbished
1 new Metrocar wash installed
1 Wheel lathe installed at Metro depot
1.2km of earthwork embankments repaired
Stations refurbishments at, Wallsend, Walkergate, including a lift being put in for the first time, South Gosforth, Ilford Road, West Jesmond, Percy Main and Hadrian Road.
This completes the run of nine stations from Chillingham Road to Tynemouth.
New escalators will also go in at Monument, Gateshead and Regent Centre.
The last 10 stations out of 60 will get new machines in the next three months.
By December 2013 some 35 trains will have been refurbished, or just under 40% of the programme.
There is also bridge replacement at Carville Road, Wallsend, plus associated works to complete track works between Byker and Tynemouth, with point motor replacement at various locations from February to April. Overhead line replacement will take place from Hebburn to Gateshead Stadium in April.
Immensely proud of the modernisation
TRANSPORT authority chairman David Wood says the coming year will be a dramatic one for the Metro.
The Newcastle councillor said: “I am immensely proud of what has been achieved through the modernisation of Metro so far.
“The Integrated Transport Authority, with myself as chair, fought hard to win funding from the last Labour Government and to ensure that the coalition continue to maintain that commitment.
“Understandably, passengers have had to experience some disruption while multi-million pound projects are delivered around them, but new smart ticket machines, new lifts and escalators, and growing numbers of refurbished trains and stations are proof that any disruption will have been worth it to make sure Metro is still going strong decades from now.
“Most of the £385m modernisation is actually behind the scenes and passenger may not notice new track and technology but it is the key to a reliable and convenient service. Some of the wider benefits the ITA and partners have brought the region are also hidden from view but could not be more vital right now – investment in the region’s engineering and construction industries, sustaining and creating hundreds of jobs.”
New ticket gates beat cheats
ELECTRONIC ticket gates roll out in 2013.
The new gates, which are being installed at 13 key stations, are similar to those on the London Underground.
Nexus, which owns, manages and is modernising Metro, will activate the gates during 2013 and this allow the public to access Metro using a new smartcard – the Pop card.
The introduction of electronic gates means that more Metro stations will be staffed. All stations with gates have to be staffed while the gates are in operation to provide passengers with assistance.
Passengers will have to ‘touch’ their smartcard on a card reader or insert their paper ticket into the front of the gate in order to activate it and gain access to the station. This will enable Nexus to cut down on fare evasion, which costs £1m a year in lost revenue.
Metro stations without gates have had smartcard validators installed and passengers will use these to ‘touch in’ and ‘touch out’ on every journey they make to pay the correct fare from their card.
Plans for the future
EVEN before work has finished on the nine-year regeneration project Metro bosses at Nexus are looking for what happens in the decade after that.
They are currently considering the next expansion of the system, though the days of multi-million pound Government hand outs are likely to have returned by then.
The Metro could be expanded to new parts of the region after transport bosses unveiled a decade worth of expansion plans.
New city centre trams could be introduced as part of long-term plans being considered by the Tyne and Wear Integrated Transport Authority.
Nine new lines, a mixture of trains, trams and special bus routes, are to be put before the board next week, with members being told they have a “once in a generation” opportunity to radically change the future of the rail system.
The plans include the potential for a new tram train line travelling from Newcastle city centre to the west end, a section of Tyneside not connected to the Metro system.
Film caught the moment
THE project to replace the busy Metro junction at South Gosforth took six days this autumn, but you can see how it was done in just 100 seconds.
A short film posted on YouTube races through the work in ‘timelapse’ technology, showing the small army of engineers and specialist machinery needed.
Nexus made the film – found by searching 'South Gosforth Metro Junction' on YouTube to help explain the work involved in its big modernisation projects. CLICK HERE TO VIEW
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| Hebburn |
Which record label turned down the Beatles after an audition in 1962? | More changes are planned for Tyne and Wear Metro in 2013 - Chronicle Live
News
More changes are planned for Tyne and Wear Metro in 2013
NEARLY three years ago Tyneside’s Metro system was awarded a much-needed cash boost to upgrade trains, tracks and stations.
Share
A metro train and (inset) a lady using one of the new ticket machines
Share
Get daily updates directly to your inbox
+ Subscribe
Thank you for subscribing!
Could not subscribe, try again laterInvalid Email
NEARLY three years ago Tyneside’s Metro system was awarded a much-needed cash boost to upgrade trains, tracks and stations.
Over the next year the system will face even bigger changes, as new ticket machines and barriers go up.
With the face of the 30-year-old system changing for most trains and stations it’s set to be an even busier 12 months.
Some £152.5m has gone into the system with more than that still to come.
As project planners gear up for another year of vital but somewhat disruptive railway work, we look at where the cash has gone so far, and what is to come next.
Three years into system revamp
THE £385m Metro: all change modernisation programme is near the end of its third year, by which it will have delivered the following:
10 Stations refurbished or underway
18.5km of track renewed or refurbished
18km of new cable ducting installed
17 bridges repaired
225 new ticket machines installed
13 gatelines at key stations
3 bridges removed completely and replaced with embankment
8 escalators replaced
5 sets of points renewed or refurbished
1 new Metrocar wash installed
1 Wheel lathe installed at Metro depot
1.2km of earthwork embankments repaired
Stations refurbishments at, Wallsend, Walkergate, including a lift being put in for the first time, South Gosforth, Ilford Road, West Jesmond, Percy Main and Hadrian Road.
This completes the run of nine stations from Chillingham Road to Tynemouth.
New escalators will also go in at Monument, Gateshead and Regent Centre.
The last 10 stations out of 60 will get new machines in the next three months.
By December 2013 some 35 trains will have been refurbished, or just under 40% of the programme.
There is also bridge replacement at Carville Road, Wallsend, plus associated works to complete track works between Byker and Tynemouth, with point motor replacement at various locations from February to April. Overhead line replacement will take place from Hebburn to Gateshead Stadium in April.
Immensely proud of the modernisation
TRANSPORT authority chairman David Wood says the coming year will be a dramatic one for the Metro.
The Newcastle councillor said: “I am immensely proud of what has been achieved through the modernisation of Metro so far.
“The Integrated Transport Authority, with myself as chair, fought hard to win funding from the last Labour Government and to ensure that the coalition continue to maintain that commitment.
“Understandably, passengers have had to experience some disruption while multi-million pound projects are delivered around them, but new smart ticket machines, new lifts and escalators, and growing numbers of refurbished trains and stations are proof that any disruption will have been worth it to make sure Metro is still going strong decades from now.
“Most of the £385m modernisation is actually behind the scenes and passenger may not notice new track and technology but it is the key to a reliable and convenient service. Some of the wider benefits the ITA and partners have brought the region are also hidden from view but could not be more vital right now – investment in the region’s engineering and construction industries, sustaining and creating hundreds of jobs.”
New ticket gates beat cheats
ELECTRONIC ticket gates roll out in 2013.
The new gates, which are being installed at 13 key stations, are similar to those on the London Underground.
Nexus, which owns, manages and is modernising Metro, will activate the gates during 2013 and this allow the public to access Metro using a new smartcard – the Pop card.
The introduction of electronic gates means that more Metro stations will be staffed. All stations with gates have to be staffed while the gates are in operation to provide passengers with assistance.
Passengers will have to ‘touch’ their smartcard on a card reader or insert their paper ticket into the front of the gate in order to activate it and gain access to the station. This will enable Nexus to cut down on fare evasion, which costs £1m a year in lost revenue.
Metro stations without gates have had smartcard validators installed and passengers will use these to ‘touch in’ and ‘touch out’ on every journey they make to pay the correct fare from their card.
Plans for the future
EVEN before work has finished on the nine-year regeneration project Metro bosses at Nexus are looking for what happens in the decade after that.
They are currently considering the next expansion of the system, though the days of multi-million pound Government hand outs are likely to have returned by then.
The Metro could be expanded to new parts of the region after transport bosses unveiled a decade worth of expansion plans.
New city centre trams could be introduced as part of long-term plans being considered by the Tyne and Wear Integrated Transport Authority.
Nine new lines, a mixture of trains, trams and special bus routes, are to be put before the board next week, with members being told they have a “once in a generation” opportunity to radically change the future of the rail system.
The plans include the potential for a new tram train line travelling from Newcastle city centre to the west end, a section of Tyneside not connected to the Metro system.
Film caught the moment
THE project to replace the busy Metro junction at South Gosforth took six days this autumn, but you can see how it was done in just 100 seconds.
A short film posted on YouTube races through the work in ‘timelapse’ technology, showing the small army of engineers and specialist machinery needed.
Nexus made the film – found by searching 'South Gosforth Metro Junction' on YouTube to help explain the work involved in its big modernisation projects. CLICK HERE TO VIEW
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Which general had a surname meaning ‘of France’? | French Surname Meanings and Origins
French Surname Meanings and Origins
French Surname Meanings and Origins
Uncover Your French Heritage
Share
By Kimberly Powell
Coming from the medieval French word 'surnom' translating as "above-or-over name," surnames or descriptive names trace their use in France back to 11th century, when it first became necessary to add a second name to distinguish between individuals with the same given name. The custom of using surnames did not become common for several centuries, however.
Most French surnames can be traced back to one of these four types:
1) Patronymic & Matronymic Surnames
Based on a parent’s name, this is the most common category of French last names. Patronymic surnames are based on the father's name and matronymic surnames on the mother's name. The mother's name was usually used only when the father's name was unknown.
Patronymic and matronymic surnames in France were formed in several different ways. The typical form of attaching a prefix or suffix that means "son of" (e.g. de, des, du, lu, or the Norman fitz) to a given name was less common in France that in many European countries, but still prevalent.
continue reading below our video
How to Uncover French Heritage With Surnames
Examples include Jean de Gaulle, meaning "John, son of Gaulle," or Tomas FitzRobert, or "Tomas, son of Robert." Suffixes meaning "little son of" (-eau, -elet, -elin, elle, elet, etc.) may have also been used.
The majority of French patronymic and matronymic surnames have no identifying prefix, however, being direct derivations of the parent's given name, such as August Landry, for "August, son of Landri," or Tomas Robert, for "Tomas, son of Robert."
2) Occupational Surnames
Also very common among French surnames, occupational last names are based on the person’s job or trade, such as Pierre Boulanger [baker], or "Pierre, the baker." Several common occupations found prevalently as French surnames include Berger (shepherd), Bisset (weaver), Boucher (butcher), Caron (cartwright), Charpentier (carpenter), Fabron (blacksmith), Fournier (baker), Gagne (farmer), Lefebvre (craftsman or blacksmith), Marchand (merchant) and Pelletier (fur trader).
3) Descriptive Surnames
Based on a unique quality of the individual, descriptive French surnames often developed from nicknames or pet names, such as Jacques Legrand, for Jacques, "the big."Other common examples include Petit (small), LeBlanc (blonde hair or fair complexion), Brun (brown hair or dark complexion) and Roux (red hair or ruddy complexion).
4) Geographical Surnames
Geographical or habitational French surnames are based on a person’s residence, often a former residence (e.g. Yvonne Marseille - Yvonne from the village of Marseille). They may also describe the individual's specific location within a village or town, such as Michel Léglise (church), who lived next to the church. The prefixes "de," "des," "du," and "le" which translate as "of" may also be found used in geographical French surnames.
Alias Surnames or Dit Names
In some areas of France, a second surname may have been adopted in order to distinguish between different branches of the same family, especially when the families remained in the same town for generations. These alias surnames can often be found preceded by the word "dit." Sometimes an individual even adopted the dit name as the family name, and dropped the original surname . This practice was most common in France among soldiers and sailors.
Germanic Origins of French Names
As so many French surnames are derived from first names, it is important to know that many common French first names have Germanic origins , coming into fashion during German invasions into France. Therefore, having a name with Germanic origins does not necessarily mean that you have German ancestors !
Official Name Changes in France
Beginning in 1474, anyone who wished to change his name was required to get permission from the King. These official name changes can be found indexed in:
L' Archiviste Jérôme. Dictionnaire des changements de noms de 1803–1956 (Dictionary of changed names from 1803 to 1956). Paris: Librairie Francaise, 1974.
| Charles de Gaulle |
Which general burned Atlanta in the American Civil War? | French Surname Meanings and Origins
French Surname Meanings and Origins
French Surname Meanings and Origins
Uncover Your French Heritage
Share
By Kimberly Powell
Coming from the medieval French word 'surnom' translating as "above-or-over name," surnames or descriptive names trace their use in France back to 11th century, when it first became necessary to add a second name to distinguish between individuals with the same given name. The custom of using surnames did not become common for several centuries, however.
Most French surnames can be traced back to one of these four types:
1) Patronymic & Matronymic Surnames
Based on a parent’s name, this is the most common category of French last names. Patronymic surnames are based on the father's name and matronymic surnames on the mother's name. The mother's name was usually used only when the father's name was unknown.
Patronymic and matronymic surnames in France were formed in several different ways. The typical form of attaching a prefix or suffix that means "son of" (e.g. de, des, du, lu, or the Norman fitz) to a given name was less common in France that in many European countries, but still prevalent.
continue reading below our video
How to Uncover French Heritage With Surnames
Examples include Jean de Gaulle, meaning "John, son of Gaulle," or Tomas FitzRobert, or "Tomas, son of Robert." Suffixes meaning "little son of" (-eau, -elet, -elin, elle, elet, etc.) may have also been used.
The majority of French patronymic and matronymic surnames have no identifying prefix, however, being direct derivations of the parent's given name, such as August Landry, for "August, son of Landri," or Tomas Robert, for "Tomas, son of Robert."
2) Occupational Surnames
Also very common among French surnames, occupational last names are based on the person’s job or trade, such as Pierre Boulanger [baker], or "Pierre, the baker." Several common occupations found prevalently as French surnames include Berger (shepherd), Bisset (weaver), Boucher (butcher), Caron (cartwright), Charpentier (carpenter), Fabron (blacksmith), Fournier (baker), Gagne (farmer), Lefebvre (craftsman or blacksmith), Marchand (merchant) and Pelletier (fur trader).
3) Descriptive Surnames
Based on a unique quality of the individual, descriptive French surnames often developed from nicknames or pet names, such as Jacques Legrand, for Jacques, "the big."Other common examples include Petit (small), LeBlanc (blonde hair or fair complexion), Brun (brown hair or dark complexion) and Roux (red hair or ruddy complexion).
4) Geographical Surnames
Geographical or habitational French surnames are based on a person’s residence, often a former residence (e.g. Yvonne Marseille - Yvonne from the village of Marseille). They may also describe the individual's specific location within a village or town, such as Michel Léglise (church), who lived next to the church. The prefixes "de," "des," "du," and "le" which translate as "of" may also be found used in geographical French surnames.
Alias Surnames or Dit Names
In some areas of France, a second surname may have been adopted in order to distinguish between different branches of the same family, especially when the families remained in the same town for generations. These alias surnames can often be found preceded by the word "dit." Sometimes an individual even adopted the dit name as the family name, and dropped the original surname . This practice was most common in France among soldiers and sailors.
Germanic Origins of French Names
As so many French surnames are derived from first names, it is important to know that many common French first names have Germanic origins , coming into fashion during German invasions into France. Therefore, having a name with Germanic origins does not necessarily mean that you have German ancestors !
Official Name Changes in France
Beginning in 1474, anyone who wished to change his name was required to get permission from the King. These official name changes can be found indexed in:
L' Archiviste Jérôme. Dictionnaire des changements de noms de 1803–1956 (Dictionary of changed names from 1803 to 1956). Paris: Librairie Francaise, 1974.
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