1.
Federico de Madrazo
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Federico de Madrazo y Kuntz was a Spanish painter. Born in Rome, he was the son of the painter José de Madrazo y Agudo, while still attending the classes at the Royal Academy of San Fernando, he painted his first picture, The Resurrection of Christ, which was purchased by Queen Christina. Not long afterwards he painted Achilles in his Tent, and subsequently presented to the Academy The Continence of Scipio, while decorating the palace of Vista Alegre he took up portraiture. In 1852 he went to Paris, where he studied under Franz Winterhalter, in 1837 he was commissioned to produce a picture for the gallery at Versailles, and painted Godfrey de Bouillon proclaimed King of Jerusalem. The artist then returned to Rome, where he worked at various subjects, sacred and he received the Legion of Honour in 1846. He was made a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts on 10 December 1853, and in 1873, on the death of Schnorr. Three years after his father left office, he also became Director of the Museo del Prado and he originated in Spain the production of art reviews and journals, such as El Artiste, El Renacimiento, and El Semanario pintoresco. His brother, Luis de Madrazo, was known as a painter. Federicos best-known pupils were his sons, Raimundo and Ricardo, media related to Federico de Madrazo y Kuntz at Wikimedia Commons
2.
Museo del Prado
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The Prado Museum is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. Founded as a museum of paintings and sculpture in 1819, it contains important collections of other types of works. El Prado is one of the most visited sites in the world, and it is considered one of the greatest art museums in the world. The collection currently comprises around 8,200 drawings,7,600 paintings,4,800 prints, and 1,000 sculptures, in addition to a large number of other works of art and historic documents. As of 2012, the museum displayed about 1,300 works in the buildings, while around 3,100 works were on temporary loan to various museums. The museum received 2.8 million visitors in 2012 and it is one of the largest museums in Spain. The best-known work on display at the museum is Las Meninas by Velázquez, Velázquez and his keen eye and sensibility were also responsible for bringing much of the museums fine collection of Italian masters to Spain, now the largest outside of Italy. The museum is planning a 16% extension in the nearby Salón de Reinos and their efforts and determination led to the Royal Collection being enriched by some of the masterpieces now to be seen in the Prado. In addition to works from the Spanish royal collection, other holdings increased and enriched the Museum with further masterpieces, such as the two Majas by Goya. Among the now closed museums whose collections have been added to that of the Prado were the Museo del la Trinidad in 1872, in addition, numerous legacies, donations and purchases have been of crucial importance for the growth of the collection. Upon the deposition of Isabella II in 1868, the museum was nationalized and acquired the new name of Museo del Prado, the building housed the royal collection of arts, and it rapidly proved too small. The first enlargement to the museum took place in 1918, particularly important donations include Barón Emile dErlangers gift of Goyas Black Paintings in 1881. Between 1873 and 1900, the Prado helped decorate city halls, new universities, during the Second Spanish Republic from 1931 to 1936, the focus was on building up provincial museums. The art had to be returned across French territory in night trains to the museum upon the commencement of World War II, during the early years of the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, many paintings were sent to embassies. The main building was enlarged with short pavilions in the rear between 1900 and 1960, in 1993, an extension proposed by the Prados director at the time, Felipe Garin, was quickly abandoned after a wave of criticism. In the late 1990s, a $14 million roof work forced the Velázquez masterpiece Las Meninas to change galleries twice, in 1998, the Prado annex in the nearby Casón del Buen Retiro closed for a $10 million two-year overhaul that included three new underground levels. In 2007, the finally executed Rafael Moneos project to expand its exposition room to 16,000 square meters. A glass-roofed and wedge-shaped foyer now contains the shops and cafeteria
3.
Cerignola
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Cerignola is a town and comune of Apulia, Italy, in the province of Foggia,40 kilometres southeast from the town of Foggia. It has the third-largest land area of any comune in Italy, at 593.71 square kilometres, after Rome, Cerignola occupies the site of Furfane, a station on the Via Traiana between Canusium and Herdoniae. It was a municipium during the Roman Empire and was rebuilt after an earthquake in 1731. It is the town of philologist Nicola Zingarelli, founder of the Zingarelli Italian dictionary. Achille La Guardia, father of Fiorello LaGuardia, Mayor of New York, the Italian wine DOC of Rosso di Cerignola is designated for red wine production only. Grapes are limited to a harvest yield of 14 tonnes/ha with the finished wine required to have at least 12% alcohol. The wine is a blend of at least 55% Uva di Troia, 15-30% Negroamaro, if the wine is labeled as Riserva then the wine must have been aged at least two years in oak barrels/wood with a minimum alcohol level of 13%. The Chiesa Madre of St. Francis of Assisi, torre Alemanna, in the frazione Borgo Libertà. Church of Beata Vergine del Monte Carmelo, Cerignola has a station on the Pescara-Bari main railroad, served by regional trains. It has also a gate on the A14 Bologna-Taranto Motoryway and one on the A16 Napoli-Canosa Motorway, provincial roads connect it to the main centre in the region as well. Public bus service in the town is provided by STUC company, Cerignola is twinned with, Vizzini, Italy Montilla, Spain Nemours, France This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Cerignola
4.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
5.
Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
6.
Kingdom of France
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The Kingdom of France was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Western Europe. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe and a great power since the Late Middle Ages and it was also an early colonial power, with possessions around the world. France originated as West Francia, the half of the Carolingian Empire. A branch of the Carolingian dynasty continued to rule until 987, the territory remained known as Francia and its ruler as rex Francorum well into the High Middle Ages. The first king calling himself Roi de France was Philip II, France continued to be ruled by the Capetians and their cadet lines—the Valois and Bourbon—until the monarchy was overthrown in 1792 during the French Revolution. France in the Middle Ages was a de-centralised, feudal monarchy, in Brittany and Catalonia the authority of the French king was barely felt. Lorraine and Provence were states of the Holy Roman Empire and not yet a part of France, during the Late Middle Ages, the Kings of England laid claim to the French throne, resulting in a series of conflicts known as the Hundred Years War. Subsequently, France sought to extend its influence into Italy, but was defeated by Spain in the ensuing Italian Wars, religiously France became divided between the Catholic majority and a Protestant minority, the Huguenots, which led to a series of civil wars, the Wars of Religion. France laid claim to large stretches of North America, known collectively as New France, Wars with Great Britain led to the loss of much of this territory by 1763. French intervention in the American Revolutionary War helped secure the independence of the new United States of America, the Kingdom of France adopted a written constitution in 1791, but the Kingdom was abolished a year later and replaced with the First French Republic. The monarchy was restored by the great powers in 1814. During the later years of the elderly Charlemagnes rule, the Vikings made advances along the northern and western perimeters of the Kingdom of the Franks, after Charlemagnes death in 814 his heirs were incapable of maintaining political unity and the empire began to crumble. The Treaty of Verdun of 843 divided the Carolingian Empire into three parts, with Charles the Bald ruling over West Francia, the nucleus of what would develop into the kingdom of France. Viking advances were allowed to increase, and their dreaded longboats were sailing up the Loire and Seine rivers and other waterways, wreaking havoc. During the reign of Charles the Simple, Normans under Rollo from Norway, were settled in an area on either side of the River Seine, downstream from Paris, that was to become Normandy. With its offshoots, the houses of Valois and Bourbon, it was to rule France for more than 800 years. Henry II inherited the Duchy of Normandy and the County of Anjou, and married Frances newly divorced ex-queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, after the French victory at the Battle of Bouvines in 1214, the English monarchs maintained power only in southwestern Duchy of Guyenne. The death of Charles IV of France in 1328 without male heirs ended the main Capetian line, under Salic law the crown could not pass through a woman, so the throne passed to Philip VI, son of Charles of Valois
7.
Prospero Colonna
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Prospero Colonna, sometimes referred to as Prosper Colonna, was an Italian condottiero in the service of the Papal States and the Holy Roman Empire during the Italian Wars. A member of the ancient noble family of the Colonna, he was born in Civita Lavinia, near Velletri and he was a cousin of Fabrizio Colonna. His first notable action as a leader was in 1484. After some other battle deeds, Prospero, who had joined Cardinal Giuliano della Roveres party, was imprisoned in Castel SantAngelo by Pope Alexander VI, once freed, he was soon imprisoned again for his allegiance to Charles VIII of France during his invasion of Italy. In the end, the King of France was victorious against the Pope and entered Rome, backed by Prospero and Fabrizio Colonna, during the brief French rule over the Kingdom of Naples, Prospero obtained the duchy of Traetto and the county of Forlì. However, when Charles returned beyond the Alps, Prospero helped King Ferdinand II of Naples to evict the French viceroy from Naples, the situation changed again with the new French invasion of Louis XII. While the Neapolitan king Frederick IV fled to the island of Ischia, Fabrizio and they were defeated and imprisoned in the Castel Nuovo of Naples. They were also excommunicated by Alexander VI, who took their castles in the Lazio, eventually ransomed, both cousins then entered the service of the Spanish general Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, viceroy of Naples. Prospero Colonna had an important role in the Spanish victory at Cerignola, after Alexander VIs death, he was also able to take back his territories in the Lazio. He commanded the cavalry at the Battle of Garigliano. Prospero then added Itri, Sperlonga, Ceccano and Sonnino to his fiefs and he married Covella di Sanseverino, who gave him an heir, Vespasiano. Confident in the constancy of the lady of his affections, Prospero took for his companion a gentleman of low degree, to whom she unfortunately transferred the love he thought was his own. In 1515, he was commander of the forces of Pope Leo X in north-western Italy near Villafranc when the army of Francis I, King of France, crossed the Alps preparatory to the Battle of Marignano. In a surprising and humiliating raid, Colonna and his staff were captured by a French cavalry force led by the Chevalier Bayard, as he was taken, he said of France, It is a country I have always wanted to visit. Continuing in the service of the Pope, Colonna gained a victory against France in northern Italy in 1522. His health was declining, however, and he died in 1523 in lHôtel Clemenceau at Milan
8.
Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard
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Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard was a French soldier, generally known as the Chevalier de Bayard. Throughout the centuries since his death, he has known as the knight without fear. He himself however, preferred the name given him by his contemporaries for his gaiety and kindness, le bon chevalier, or the good knight. The descendant of a family, the head of which had fallen in battle in nearly every generation for two centuries, Bayard was born at the Château Bayard, Dauphiné in southern France. He served as a page to the young Duke Charles I of Savoy, until March 1490, in 1490 he took service as a man-at-arms in the household of Louis de Luxembourg, the seigneur de Ligny, a favorite of King Charles VIII of France. As a youth, Terrail was distinguished for his looks, charming manner, in 1494, he accompanied King Charles VIII of Frances expedition into Italy to seize the Kingdom of Naples. This campaign is now known as the Italian War of 1494–1498 and he was knighted after the 1495 Battle of Fornovo, in which he captured a standard. Shortly afterwards, entering Milan alone in pursuit of the enemy, he was taken prisoner, in 1502, he was wounded at Canossa. In 1508, Bayard accompanied King Louis XII against rebellious Genoa, the Genoese broke and fled before the furious charge of Bayard and the French gendarmes. Genoa subsequently fell, and Bayard entered the city in triumph behind his king, in June of that year, King Louis played host to the Spanish king, Ferdinand. Weeks of festivities followed, including tourneys, banquets, and balls, Bayard was the champion of the first, and at the last became reacquainted with his former opponent at the Garigliano, Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, El Gran Capitán of Spain. In 1509, the League of Cambrai was formed between France, the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, and the Papacy, in an effort to wrest from Venice its territorial empire in northeastern Italy. For this campaign, the king commissioned Bayard to raise a company of horse, up until that time, French infantry had been a despised rabble. Later that year, Bayard was among the French forces under Jacques de La Palice sent to join their German ally, though the siege ultimately failed, what early success the allies enjoyed was largely due to the combination of cool-headed leadership and dashing bravado of Bayard. In 1510 the Duchy of Ferrara joined the alliance, Bayard was co-commander of the French contingent sent to garrison and aid the city and its Duke, Alphonso dEste. During his eight-month stay, Bayard won the admiration of the duke and his wife, according to his biographer, The Loyal Servant, the chevalier fully returned Lucrezias admiration, considering her a pearl among women. By 1511 the League of Cambrai had collapsed due to Papal fears of the power of France in Italy. To counter this, Pope Julius II declared the formation of the Holy League and this alliance put France at odds with not only the Papacy, but its erstwhile ally, the Holy Roman Empire, as well as Spain and ultimately the Swiss Confederation
9.
Arquebus
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The arquebus is an early muzzle-loaded firearm that appeared in late 15th century Europe, and was until the 17th century the primary firearm used in European armies. The arquebus was originally a hand cannon with a hook, a matchlock mechanism was added to it around 1475 and it became the first firearm with a trigger. The heavy arquebus, known as the musket, was developed around 1521 to penetrate plate armor, a standardized arquebus, the caliver, was introduced in the early 16th century. The name caliver is derived from the English corruption of calibre, the smoothbore matchlock arquebus is considered the forerunner to the rifle and other long gun firearms. Heavy arquebuses mounted on wagons were called arquebus à croc and these carried a ball of about 3.5 ounces. In the early 16th century, the arquebus had a confusing variety of meanings. Some writers used it to denote any matchlock shoulder gun, referring to light versions as caliver and heavier pieces fired from a fork rest as musket, others treated the arquebus and caliver synonymously, both referring to the lighter, forkless shoulder-fired matchlock. As the 16th century progressed, the term came to be clearly reserved for the lighter forkless weapon. When the wheel lock was introduced, wheel-lock shoulder arms came to be called arquebuses, while lighter, in the mid-17th century, the light flintlock versions came to be called fusils or fuzees. As a low-velocity firearm, the arquebus was used against enemies who were partially or fully protected by steel-plate armor. Plate armor worn upon the torso was standard in European combat from about 1400 until the middle of the 17th century, good suits of plate would usually stop an arquebus ball at long range. It was a practice to proof armor by firing a pistol or arquebus at a new breastplate. The small dent would be circled by engraving to call attention to it, however, at close range, it was possible to pierce even heavy cavalry armor, although penetration is heavily dependent on the power of the arquebus and the quality of the armor. This led to changes in usage, such as the three-quarter plate. The development of volley fire — by the Dutch in Europe, and by the Japanese, just as soon as the first rank has fired, then by the drill they will march to the back. The second rank either marching forward or standing still, will then fire just like the first, after that the third and following ranks will do the same. When the last rank has fired, the first will have reloaded, once volley firing had been developed, the rate of fire and efficiency was greatly increased and the arquebus went from being a support weapon to the primary focus of most early modern armies. The arquebus had a larger bore than its predecessors, until the middle of the 16th century, they were fired by a matchlock mechanism, after which the newer wheellock mechanisms were used instead
10.
Landsknecht
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Consisting predominantly of German mercenary pikemen and supporting foot soldiers, they achieved the reputation for being the universal mercenaries of early modern Europe. The Germanic compound Landsknecht combines land land, country, here in the sense of lowlands and knecht servant, vassal, the compound Lantknecht was used during the 15th century of bailiffs or court ushers. As early as 1500, the term was re-etymologized as Lanzknecht, suggesting a derivation from Lanze lance, the modern term Landser is possibly based on Landsknecht, as is the name of the French card game Lansquenet. The more common English-language plural form is Landsknechts, but the original German form Landsknechte is also in use, since it is a common noun, it may also be written with lower-case l, landsknechts. Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 to 1519, formed the first mercenary Landsknecht regiments in 1487 and he called upon Georg von Frundsberg, sometimes referred to as the Father of the Landsknechts, to assist him in their organization. Landsknechts later went on to fight in almost every 16th-century military campaign, French artillery or Spanish firepower dealt serious blows to the Swiss formations, and the Landsknecht pike blocks were there to fight off the depleted Swiss attack columns once this had occurred. The Landsknechts were conservative in their usage of weapons and contained a majority of pikemen. However, they inclined more to the use of firearms than the Swiss because Landsknechts relied less on the precipitous rush to close combat. As Imperial soldiers, they fought in formations mixed with Spaniards during the reign of King of Spain. These Spaniards made a widespread use of the arquebus and later. Landsknechte typically came from Swabia, Alsace, Tyrol and the Rhineland, in the 1490s, the well-trained Landsknechte managed to defeat significantly greater Frisian armies. Paul Dolstein wrote of the siege of Älfsborg in July 1502, fighting for the King of Denmark, We were 1800 Germans and we struck most of them dead. In 1521, the Spaniards recruited German infantrymen to defend their country against the French because, at the Battle of Bicocca and the Battle of Marignano, they performed well, defeating the famed Swiss Pikemen. The Imperial Landsknechts were instrumental in many of the Emperors victories, the same year, they also managed to defeat the peasants revolt in the Empire. At their peak in the early 16th century, the Landsknechte were considered as formidable soldiers who were often brave, however, these qualities may have declined afterward. Indeed, from the 1560s on, the reputation of the Landsknechte steadily decreased and their status also suffered from the rising reputation of the dreaded Spanish tercios which, however, were far less abundant and more expensive to train. It should also be noted that when serving in southern Europe, in the army of the Dutch rebels, many German mercenaries were hired but were forced to give up many Landsknechtes traditions in order to increase their discipline and their fighting abilities. They are attested as deployed in the armies of Kings John III of Navarre, in the same context, they are found fighting on Charles Vs side too where they performed strongly
11.
Gendarme (historical)
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A gendarme was a heavy cavalryman of noble birth, primarily serving in the French army from the Late Medieval to the Early Modern periods of European history. The word gendarme derives originally from the French homme darmes, plural of which is gens darmes, the plural sense was later shortened to gendarmes and a singular made of this, gendarme. Like most fifteenth century sovereigns, the Kings of France sought to possess standing armies of professionals to fight their incessant wars and these methods, though improvements on the old annual 40-day service owed by knights, were also subject to strain over long campaigns. Men in these units signed a contract which kept them in the service of the unit for periods of one year or longer, eventually more ordinances would set the general guidelines for the organization of companies of gendarmes, the troops in which were accordingly called the gendarmes dordonnance. These later archers had armour less heavy than the gendarmes, and a light lance and this organization was provisional, however, and one of the mounted archers was commonly replaced by another non-combatant, a servant. In 1434, the pay for the members of the company was set as 120 livres for gendarmes,60 for coutilliers,48 for archers, gendarme unit organization evolved over time. By the 1550s, advances in firearm technology dictated that a body of 50 light cavalry armed with an arquebus be attached to each gendarme company, the heavy cavalrymen in these companies were almost invariably men of gentle birth, who would have served as knights in earlier feudal forces. In many ways they still closely resembled knights—wearing a complete suit of armour, they fought on horseback. A gendarme company was formed by the crown, the king appointing a magnate to raise the company and be its captain, in this way, the bonds between the crown and the magnates were maintained, as the kings patronage essentially bought the loyalty of the nobility. Likewise, appointment of individual gentlemen to a company was mostly accomplished by patronage and recommendation. Recruits preferred positions in companies stationed in their province. The total number of gendarmes in the companies varied over the decades and this was generally increased by another 1,000 lances in wartime. When conflict ended, the reduction came either in the number of companies, the gendarme companies were permanently stationed in towns in the provinces throughout France, subject to be summoned during wartime and concentrated in the Royal armies. Some became closely associated with the towns where they were stationed, if these garrison towns did not have sufficient resources to support the gendarmes present, as was often the case, individuals often found lodging in nearby areas. Men who were away for these reasons were to be back to the company by the captains when ordered to do so by the provincial governor. Long-term absence was a problem in the companies. The French ordinances established regular infantry forces as well, but these were less successful. These created twelve ordonnance companies, for a total of 1,200 gendarmes, there was a twenty-fifth lance in the escadre, that of the squadron commander
12.
Battle of Seminara (1503)
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In 1501 the French army under Bérault Stuart dAubigny penetrated into Naples from the North, while the Spanish army commanded by Don Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba occupied the southern part. Frederick IV was overthrown and his kingdom divided between the two occupying forces, as stipulated in the treaty. There were soon signs of dissent growing between the Spanish and the French for the possession for the area that divided their territories and by June,1502, shortly after Portocarrero died, leaving Don Fernando de Andrade as his successor in command of the Spanish forces. On hearing about the Spanish reinforcements, Bérault Stuart dAubigny gathered together 200 horsemen and 800 infantry, faced with the arrival of Spanish reinforcements he lifted the siege of Terranova and marched towards San Martino, meanwhile Fernando de Andrade gathered all his troops in Seminara. After negotiating, both agreed to do battle the following Friday 21 April. On the agreed date both armies met up half way between Seminara and Gioia Tauro, in the ensuing battle the Spanish defeated the French army, who retreated northbound while being chased and harassed by the Spanish. Finally Bérault Stuart dAubigny would be besieged in Castel Angitola, where he surrendered 30 days later, after that he was taken to Castel Nuovo as a prisoner. Once the French army had defeated, the Province of Calabria was left under Spanish control. Juan de Mariana, José Sabau y Blanco, Madrid, Historia general de España Paolo Giovio, Vita di Consalvo Fernando di Cordova, Detto Il Gran Capitano. In Spanish by Pedro Blas Torrellas, jerónimo Zurita, Historia del rey Don Fernando el Católico. De las empresas, y ligas de Italia Hernán Pérez del Pulgar, crónicas del Gran Capitán Batista González, Juan. Guerra y Diplomacia en la Historia de España
13.
Battle of Garigliano (1503)
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The Battle of Garigliano was fought on December 29,1503 between a Spanish army under Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba and a French army commanded by Ludovico II, Marquis of Saluzzo. In mid-November 1503, the French and Spanish armies were separated by the Garigliano river, both armies camped in a marshy and unhealthy area. The Spanish had tried several times to cross the river using a makeshift bridge, the French, based at the rivers mouth near the ruins of Minturnae, enjoyed the advantage of an accessible supply-base in the nearby port of Gaeta. While the Spanish commander hesitated as to whether to attack or to retreat, he received reinforcements from Naples led by Bartolomeo dAlviano and he then decided to move some units in order to convince Ludovico that he was retreating towards the Volturno river. But Cordoba had devised a stratagem to cross the river using bridges made out of boats and barrels, dAlviano, commander of the Spanish vanguard, had the construction begin at dawn. By 10 AM some 4,000 Spaniards had crossed the Garigliano, the 300 Norman crossbowmen in Suio did not notice the move, so Gonzalo de Cordoba was also able to cross the river with 2,000 more, including 200 horsemen led by Prospero Colonna. He then ordered an attack on the French bridge, when dAlvianos troops reached Suio, the crossbowmen fled towards Castelforte, where they met 300 French troops. These also fled to Traetto, allowing dAlviano to occupy Castelforte, Gonzalo de Cordoba spent the night in that town. The French had numerous ill soldiers in their Traetto camp, so they were unable to send reinforcements, French captain Alegri then decided to destroy the bridge and to order a general retreat to Gaeta, abandoning all the sick soldiers and nine cannons in the camp. Informed about the French retreat, Gonzalo decided to continue the advance, Colonna and his horsemen made contact with the French at Scauri, but a courageous defence of a bridge by Chevalier Bayard allowed the French a safe retreat. After a series of clashes, the French took position near a bridge in Mola where they were able to push back Colonnas attempt to surround them. However, the arrival of the rest of the Spanish forced the Marquis of Saluzzo to order another retreat, the Spanish victory was decisive, as the offensive capacity of the French army was destroyed. After some days of siege in Gaeta, the French surrendered, spain had therefore gained a total supremacy over the Kingdom of Naples that would last several centuries. New York, World Publishing Company,1968
14.
Italian Wars
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Ludovico Sforza of Milan, seeking an ally against the Republic of Venice, encouraged Charles VIII of France to invade Italy, using the Angevin claim to the throne of Naples as a pretext. For several months, French forces moved through Italy virtually unopposed, Charles VIII made triumphant entries into Pisa on November 8,1494, Florence on November 17,1494, and Rome on December 31,1494. Upon reaching the city of Monte San Giovanni in the Kingdom of Naples, Charles VIII sent envoys to the town, the garrison killed and mutilated the envoys and sent the bodies back to the French lines. This enraged the French army so that reduced the castle in the town with blistering artillery fire on February 9,1495 and stormed the fort. This was the sack of Naples. News of the French Armys sack of Naples provoked a reaction among the city-states of Northern Italy, the League was specifically formed to resist French aggression. The League was established on 31 March after negotiations by Venice, Milan, Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. Later on the League consisted of the Holy Roman Empire, the Duchy of Milan, Spain, the Papal States, the Republic of Florence, the Duchy of Mantua and this coalition, effectively, cut Charles army off from returning to France. After establishing a government in Naples, Charles started to march north on his return to France. However, in the town of Fornovo he met the League army. In contemporary tradition, though, the battle counted as a Holy League victory, because the French forces had to leave, to the Italian coalition, however, it was at best a pyrrhic victory, in that its strategic outcome and long-term consequences were unfavorable. Although the League managed to force Charles VIII off the battlefield, it suffered much higher casualties and could not prevent the opposing army crossing the Italian lands as it returned to France. As a result of Charles VIIIs expedition, the states of Italy were shown once. In fact, the individual Italian states could not field armies comparable to those of the feudal monarchies of Europe in numbers. Thus, Charles VIII lost all that he conquered in Italy, King Charles VIII died on April 7,1498 and was succeeded to the throne of France by his cousin, Louis II, Duke of Orléans, who became Louis XII of France. Ludovico Sforza retained his throne in Milan until 1499, when Charless successor, Louis XII of France, invaded Lombardy, Louis XII justified his claim to the Duchy of Milan by right of his paternal grandfather, Louis duc dOrléans having married Valentina Visconti in 1387. Valentina Visconti was the heir to the Duchy of Milan in the Visconti dynasty, the marriage contract between Valentina Visconti and Louis, duc dOrléans, guaranteed that in failure of male heirs, she would inherit the Visconti dominions. However, when the Visconti dynasty died out in 1447, the Milanese ignored the Orleans claim to the Duchy of Milan, however, bitter factionalism arose under the new republic which set the stage for Francisco Sforza to seize control of Milan in 1450
15.
War of the League of Cambrai
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The War of the League of Cambrai, sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and by several other names, was a major conflict in the Italian Wars. Although the League was initially successful, friction between Julius and Louis caused it to collapse by 1510, Julius then allied himself with Venice against France. In the aftermath of the First Italian War, Pope Alexander VI had, with French assistance, in 1507, Julius returned to the question of the cities in Venetian hands, once again rebuffed by the Senate, he encouraged Emperor Maximilian I to attack the Republic. Julius, humiliated by the failure of the Imperial invasion, turned to Louis XII of France with an offer of alliance. On 10 December 1508, representatives of the Papacy, France, on 15 April 1509, Louis left Milan at the head of a French army and moved rapidly into Venetian territory. Consequently, when Louis crossed the Adda River in early May and Alviano advanced to him, Pitigliano, believing it best to avoid a pitched battle. Alviano, disregarding the new orders, continued the engagement, his army was surrounded and destroyed. DEste, having joined the League and been appointed Gonfalonier on 19 April, the newly arrived Imperial governors, however, quickly proved to be unpopular. In mid-July, the citizens of Padua, aided by detachments of Venetian cavalry under the command of the proveditor Andrea Gritti, the landsknechts garrisoning the city were too few in number to mount effective resistance, and Padua was restored to Venetian control on 17 July 1509. The success of the revolt finally pushed Maximilian into action, in early August, a massive Imperial army, accompanied by bodies of French and Spanish troops, set out from Trento into the Veneto. In mid-November, Pitigliano returned to the offensive, Venetian troops easily defeated the remaining Imperial forces, capturing Vicenza, Este, Feltre, although a subsequent attack on Verona failed, Pitigliano destroyed a Papal army under Francesco II of Gonzaga in the process. Francesco Guicciardini credited the victory to Alfonso himself. A new French advance soon forced Pitigliano to withdraw to Padua once again, faced with a shortage of both funds and men, the Senate decided to send an embassy to Julius in order to negotiate a settlement. The Senate argued over the terms for two months, but finally accepted them on February 24,1510 and this apparent reconciliation between Venice and the Pope did not stop the French from again invading the Veneto in March. Gritti garrisoned Padua for an attack by a combined Franco-Imperial army, but Louis, more concerned by the death of his advisor. His own forces being inadequate for the venture, the Pope hired an army of Swiss mercenaries, ordering them to attack the French in Milan, the Republic, facing a renewed French onslaught, readily accepted the offer. By July 1510, the new Veneto-Papal alliance was on the offensive, Julius now excommunicated Alfonso dEste, thus justifying an attack on the Duchy itself, in anticipation of his coming victory, the Pope traveled to Bologna, so as to be nearby when Ferrara was taken. The French army, however, had been left unopposed by the Swiss and was free to march south into the heart of Italy
16.
War of the League of Cognac
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Shocked by the defeat of the French in the Italian War of 1521, Pope Clement VII, together with the Republic of Venice, began to organize an alliance to drive Charles V from Italy. Francis, having signed the Treaty of Madrid, was released from his captivity in Madrid and returned to France, where he quickly announced his intention to assist Clement. Thus, in 1526, the League of Cognac was signed by Francis, Clement, Venice, Florence, and the Sforza of Milan, Henry VIII of England, thwarted in his desire to have the treaty signed in England, refused to join. The League quickly seized Lodi, but Imperial troops marched into Lombardy, the Colonna, meanwhile, organized an attack on Rome, defeating the Papal forces and briefly seizing control of the city in September 1526, they were soon paid off and departed, however. Charles V now gathered a force of landsknechts under Georg Frundsberg and a Spanish army under Charles of Bourbon, the two forces combined at Piacenza and advanced on Rome. Francesco Guicciardini, now in command of the Papal armies, proved unable to resist them, and his escape allowed by the Swiss Guards last stand. The looting of Rome, and the consequent removal of Clement from any role in the war. On 30 April 1527, Henry VIII and Francis signed the Treaty of Westminster, doria, however, soon deserted the French for Charles. The siege collapsed as plague broke out in the French camp, killing most of the army along with Foix, following the defeat of his armies, Francis sought peace with Charles. The final Treaty of Cambrai, signed on 5 August, removed France from the war, leaving Venice, Florence, Charles, having arrived in Genoa, proceeded to Bologna to meet with the Pope. Clement absolved the participants of the sack of Rome and promised to crown Charles, the Republic of Florence alone continued to resist the Imperial forces, which were led by the Prince of Orange. Alessandro de Medici was then installed as Duke of Florence, the Black Bands of Giovanni, Infantry and Diplomacy During the Italian Wars. Pisa, Pisa University Press, Edizioni Plus,2005, New York, St. Martins Press,1994. MHQ, The Quarterly Journal of Military History 18, no, translated by Isola van den Hoven-Vardon. New York, Oxford University Press,2002, garden City, New York, Doubleday, Doran & Co.1937. Weapons and Warfare in Renaissance Europe, Gunpowder, Technology, baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press,1997. Florence, The Biography of a City, New York, W. W. Norton & Company,1993. Pavia 1525, The Climax of the Italian Wars, a History of the Art of War in the Sixteenth Century
17.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
18.
Bari
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Bari is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, the city itself has a population of about 326,799, as of 2015, over 116 square kilometres, while the urban area has 700,000 inhabitants. The metropolitan area has 1.3 million inhabitants, Bari is made up of four different urban sections. To the south is the Murat quarter, the heart of the city, which is laid out on a rectangular grid-plan with a promenade on the sea. Modern residential zones surrounding the centre of Bari were built during the 1960s and 1970s replacing the old suburbs that had developed along roads splaying outwards from gates in the city walls, in addition, the outer suburbs developed rapidly during the 1990s. The city has an airport named after Pope John Paul II, Karol Wojtyła Airport. The city was founded by the Peucetii. Its harbour, mentioned as early as 181 BC, was probably the one of the districts in ancient times, as it is at present. The first historical bishop of Bari was Gervasius who was noted at the Council of Sardica in 347, the bishops were dependent on the Patriarch of Constantinople until the 10th century. Until the arrival of the Normans, Bari continued to be governed by the Byzantines, throughout this period, and indeed throughout the Middle Ages, Bari served as one of the major slave depots of the Mediterranean, providing a central location for the trade in Slavic slaves. The city was conquered and the Emirate extinguished in 871, due to the efforts of Emperor Louis II, in 885, Bari became the residence of the local Byzantine catapan, or governor. In 1025, under the Archbishop Byzantius, Bari became attached to the see of Rome and was granted provincial status, in 1071, Bari was captured by Robert Guiscard, following a three-year siege. Maio of Bari, a Lombard merchants son, was the third of the admirals of Norman Sicily. The Basilica di San Nicola was founded in 1087 to receive the relics of this saint, the saint began his development from Saint Nicholas of Myra into Saint Nicholas of Bari and began to attract pilgrims, whose encouragement and care became central to the economy of Bari. In 1095 Peter the Hermit preached the first crusade there, the Greeks were not brought over to the Latin way of thinking, and the Great Schism was inevitable. A civil war broke out in Bari in 1117 with the murder of the archbishop, control of Bari was seized by Grimoald Alferanites, a native Lombard, and he was elected lord in opposition to the Normans. By 1123, he had increased ties with Byzantium and Venice, Grimoald increased the cult of St Nicholas in his city. He later did homage to Roger II of Sicily, but rebelled and was defeated in 1132, Bari was occupied by Manuel I Komnenos between 1155 and 1158
19.
Gendarmerie
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A gendarmerie or gendarmery is a military component with jurisdiction in civil law enforcement. The term gendarmerie is derived from the medieval French expression gens darmes, in France and most Francophone nations, the gendarmerie is the branch of the armed forces responsible for internal security during wartime. This concept was introduced to several other Western European countries during the Napoleonic conquests, in the mid twentieth century, a number of former French mandates or colonial possessions such as Syria and the Republic of the Congo adopted a gendarmerie after independence. A somewhat related phenomenon has been the formation of units which fall under the authority of civilian police agencies. Since these are not strictly military forces, however, they are not considered gendarmerie, some of the more prominent modern gendarmerie organizations include the French National Gendarmerie, Italian Carabinieri, and Spanish Civil Guard. The word gendarme comes from the Old French gens darmes, meaning men-at-arms, during the Late Medieval to the Early Modern period, the term referred to a heavily armoured cavalryman of noble birth, primarily serving in the French army. The word gained policing connotations only after the French Revolution when the Maréchaussée of the Ancien Régime was renamed the Gendarmerie, historically, the spelling in English was gendarmery, but now the French spelling gendarmerie is more common. The Oxford English Dictionary uses gendarmery as the spelling, Merriam-Webster uses gendarmerie as the principal spelling. Gendarmes are often deployed in situations, sometimes in their own country. A gendarmerie may come under the authority of a ministry of defence, generally there is some coordination between a ministry of defence and a ministry of the interior over the use of gendarmes. A few forces which are no longer considered military retain the title gendarmerie for reasons of tradition, since different countries may make different use of institutional terms such as gendarmerie, there are cases in which the term may become confusing. For instance, in the French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland the gendarmeries are the civil police. In Chile, the word gendarmerie refers for historic reasons to the prison service, in some cases, a police services military links are ambiguous and it can be unclear whether a force should be defined as a gendarmerie. Some historical military units, such as South-West Africas Koevoet, were defined as police for political reasons. In 2014 the Mexican Federal Police, an armed force which has many attributes of a gendarmerie. The new force would initially number 5,000 personnel and was created with the assistance of the French gendarmerie, in countries where the gendarmerie and civilian police co-exist there may be rivalries and tensions between the forces. This was one of the reasons cited for the decision to disband the Belgian Gendarmerie, since the year 2000 four European countries—Belgium, Luxembourg, Greece and Austria—have replaced long-established gendarmeries with civilian police forces having no military links or functions. The GNA often take part in UN peace keeping missions, the use of military organisations to police civilian populations is common to many time periods and cultures
20.
Swiss mercenaries
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Their service as mercenaries was at its peak during the Renaissance, when their proven battlefield capabilities made them sought-after mercenary troops. There followed a period of decline, as technological and organizational advances counteracted the Swiss advantages, switzerlands military isolationism largely put an end to organized mercenary activity, the principal remnant of the practice is the Swiss Guard at the Vatican. In William Shakespeares Hamlet, Act IV, Scene 5, Swiss mercenaries are called Switzers, Swiss mercenaries were valued throughout Late Medieval Europe for the power of their determined mass attack in deep columns with the pike and halberd. Some Swiss also hired themselves out individually or in small bands and this was furthered by later successful campaigns of regional expansion. By the fifteenth century they were valued as mercenary soldiers. The standing mercenary army of king Matthias Corvinus of Hungary also contained Swiss pikemen units, the native term Reisläufer literally means one who goes to war and is derived from Middle High German Reise, meaning military campaign. The Valois Kings of France, in fact, considered it an impossibility to take the field of battle without Swiss pikemen as the infantry core of their armies. Until roughly 1490, the Swiss had a monopoly on pike-armed mercenary service. However, after that date, the Swiss mercenaries were increasingly supplemented by imitators, Landsknechts were Germans and became proficient at Swiss tactics, even surpassing them with their usage of the Zweihänder to crush opposing pike formations. This produced a force that filled the ranks of European armies with mercenary regiments for decades, after 1515 the Swiss pledged themselves to neutrality, other than regarding Swiss soldiers serving in the ranks of the Royal French army. The Landsknecht, however, would continue to serve any paymaster, even, the Landsknecht often assumed the bright soldiers outfits of the Swiss. Although the Swiss generally had a significant edge in a push of pike, the resulting combat was nonetheless quite savage. Period artists such as Hans Holbein attest to the fact that two such huge pike columns crashing into each other could result in a maelstrom of battle, with many dead. Never before had the Swiss suffered such heavy losses while being unable to inflict damage upon their foe. The early contingents of Swiss mercenary pikemen organized themselves rather differently than the cantonal forces, in the cantonal forces, their armies were usually divided into the Vorhut, Gewalthut and Nachhut, generally of different sizes. In mercenary service they became less likely to resort to outmaneuvering the enemy. Such deep pike columns could crush lesser infantry in combat and were invulnerable to the effects of a cavalry charge. The Swiss mercenaries did deploy crossbows, handguns and artillery of their own, however these always remained very subsidiary to the pike and halberd square
21.
Pike (weapon)
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A pike is a pole weapon, a very long thrusting spear formerly used extensively by infantry. Unlike many similar weapons, the pike is not intended to be thrown, pikes were used regularly in European warfare from the early Middle Ages until around 1700, and were wielded by foot soldiers deployed in close quarters. The pike found extensive use with Landsknecht armies and Swiss mercenaries, a similar weapon, the sarissa, was also used by Alexander the Greats Macedonian phalanx infantry to great effect. Generally, a spear becomes a pike when it is too long to be wielded with one hand in combat, the pike was a long weapon, varying considerably in size, from 3 to 7.5 metres long. It was approximately 2. 5–6 kg in weight, with sixteenth-century military writer Sir John Smythe recommending lighter rather than heavier pikes and it had a wooden shaft with an iron or steel spearhead affixed. The shaft near the head was often reinforced with metal strips called cheeks or langets. When the troops of opposing armies both carried the pike, it grew in a sort of arms race, getting longer in both shaft and head length to give one sides pikemen an edge in combat. It is a mistake to refer to a bladed polearm as a pike, such weapons are more generally halberds. The great length of the pikes allowed a concentration of spearheads to be presented to the enemy, with their wielders at a greater distance. This meant that pikemen had to be equipped with an additional, shorter weapon such as a sword, mace, in general, however, pikemen attempted to avoid such disorganized combat, in which they were at a disadvantage. To compound their difficulties in a melee, the pikeman often did not have a shield, the pike, due to its unwieldy nature, was always intended to be used in a deliberate, defensive manner, often in conjunction with other missile and melee weapons. As long as it kept good order, such a formation could roll right over enemy infantry, the men were all moving forward facing in a single direction and could not turn quickly or efficiently to protect the vulnerable flanks or rear of the formation. The huge block of men carrying such unwieldy spears could be difficult to maneuver in any way other than straightforward movement, as a result, such mobile pike formations sought to have supporting troops protect their flanks or would maneuver to smash the enemy before they could be outflanked themselves. There was also the risk that the formation would become disordered, according to Sir John Smythe, there were two ways for two opposing pike formations to confront one another, cautious or aggressive. The cautious approach involved fencing at the length of the pike, while the approach involved quickly closing distance. In the aggressive approach, the first rank would then resort to swords. Smythe considered the cautious approach laughable, after the fall of the last successor of Macedon, the pike largely fell out of use for the next 1000 or so years. The one exception to this appears to have been in Germany and he consistently refers to the spears used by the Germans as being massive and very long suggesting that he is describing in essence a pike
22.
Tercio
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A tercio or tercio español was a Spanish infantry organization during the time that Habsburg Spain dominated Europe in the Early Modern era. The tercio was a unit with command of up to 3000 soldiers, subdivided originally into ten, later twelve compañías, made up of pikemen, swordsmen. These companies were deployed in battle and were subdivided into units of thirty soldiers. These smaller units could be deployed individually or brought together to form what were sometimes called Spanish squares and these powerful infantry squares were also much used by other European powers, especially the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire. Moreover, the tercios were the first to efficiently mix pikes, the use of massed pikes by Spanish armies began in the War of Granada. The conflicts at the end of the 15th century and early 16th century evolved into a unique combination of combined arms centered around armored infantry. To counter the French heavy cavalry, a colonelcy could theoretically have up to 6,000 men, armies using tercio companies of up to 300 generally intended to field them in brigades of at least three, with one in the front and two behind. The rearward formations echeloned off on either side so that a called a colunella. The Spanish tercios rarely had more than 1500 men and they were called tercios, meaning thirds, because they were, in theory, made up originally of 1/3 pikemen, 1/3 swordsmen, and 1/3 of firearms. In time, the number of swordsmen was reduced, the only tercio to have 3,000 men was the Tercio de Galeras or the Galleys Tercio, dedicated only for deployment in galleys and galleons and specialized in naval warfare and amphibious operations. It was assigned in 1537 by royal assent to the Spanish fleets in the Mediterranean and is the ancestor of todays Spanish Navy Marines, the arquebusiers were usually split up in several mobile groups called sleeves and deployed relative to the cuadro, typically with one manga at each corner. Groups of tercios were typically arrayed in dragon-toothed formation and this enabled enfilade lines of fire and somewhat defiladed the army units themselves. From their inception, tercio formations were meant to co-ordinate their field operations with cavalry, mirroring military organization today, the Tercio was led by a Maestre de Campo appointed by the King as the commanding officer and guarded by eight halberdiers. Assisting him was the sergeant major and a Furir Major in charge of logistics and armaments, with led by a Captain, also of royal appointment. Companies had Sergeants, Furirs and Corporals in them, each company had corps of drums made up of drummers and fifers, sounding duty calls in battle, with the drum major and Fife major being provided by the Tercio headquarters. The Tercio staff included a component, chaplains and preachers. They all reported to the Maestre de campo directly, during the actions in the Netherlands the Tercios were reorganized into three Colonelcies, led by Colonels, but subdivided into the same 12 companies of 250, two of arquebusiers and 10 of pikemen. Colonels were also of royal appointment and they were made up of volunteers and built up around a core of professional soldiers and were highly trained
23.
Reconquista
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The Reconquista ended just before the European discovery of the Americas—the New World—which ushered in the era of the Portuguese and Spanish colonial empires. The concept of a Christian reconquest of the peninsula first emerged, in tenuous form, a landmark was set by the Christian Chronica Prophetica, a document stressing the Christian and Muslim cultural and religious divide in Iberia and the necessity to drive the Muslims out. Nevertheless, the difference between Christian and Muslim kingdoms in early medieval Spain was not seen at the time as anything like the clear-cut opposition that later emerged, both Christian and Muslim rulers fought amongst themselves. Alliances between Muslims and Christians were not uncommon, blurring distinctions even further were the mercenaries from both sides who simply fought for whoever paid the most. The period is looked back upon today as one of religious tolerance. In fact previous documents from the 10th and 11th centuries are mute on any idea of reconquest and their rebellious pursuit was thus a Crusade for the restoration of Churchs unity, where Franco stood for both Pelagius of Asturias and El Cid. Many recent historians dispute the concept of Reconquista as a concept created a posteriori in the service of later political goals. A number of historians have called it a myth, One of the first Spanish intellectuals to question the idea of a reconquest that lasted for eight centuries was José Ortega y Gasset, writing in the first half of the 20th century. However, the term is widely in use. In 711, Muslim Moors, mainly North African Berber soldiers with some Arabs, crossed the Strait of Gibraltar, from their stronghold of Narbonne, they launched raids into the Duchy of Aquitaine. At no point did the invading Islamic armies exceed 60,000 men and these armies established an Islamic rule that would last 300 years in much of the Iberian Peninsula and 770 years in Granada. After the establishment of a local Emirate, Caliph Al-Walid I, ruler of the Umayyad caliphate, tariq ibn Ziyad, the first governor of the newly conquered province of Al-Andalus, was recalled to Damascus and replaced with Musa bin Nusair, who had been his former superior. Musas son, Abd al-Aziz ibn Musa, apparently married Egilona, Roderics widow and he was suspected of being under the influence of his wife, accused of wanting to convert to Christianity, and of planning a secessionist rebellion. Apparently a concerned Al-Walid I ordered Abd al-Azizs assassination, Caliph Al-Walid I died in 715 and was succeeded by his brother Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik. Sulayman seems to have punished the surviving Musa bin Nusair, who soon died during a pilgrimage in 716. In the end Abd al-Aziz ibn Musas cousin, Ayyub ibn Habib al-Lakhmi became the emir of Al-Andalus, the conquering generals were necessarily acting very independently, due to the methods of communication available. Old rivalries and perhaps even full-fledged conspiracies between rival generals may have had influence over this development, in the end, the old successful generals were replaced by a younger generation considered more loyal by the government in Damascus. A serious weakness amongst the Muslim conquerors was the tension between Berbers and Arabs
24.
Jinete
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Jinete is Spanish for horseman, especially in the context of light cavalry. The word Jinete designates, in Castilian, Catalan, Basque, Galician and the Provençal dialect of Occitan language, in Portuguese, it is spelled ginete. The term jennet for a small Spanish horse has the same source and they were to serve successfully in the Italian Wars under Gonzalo de Córdoba and Ramón de Cardona. During the period 1485-9, Castilian armies mustered between 11-13000 jinetes, some of these were provided by the Military Orders. The Master of Santiago provided 300, while the Master of Calatrava was responsible for a further 450, in May 1493, a number of standing companies were established in Castile called the guardas viejas. These included five captaincies of 100 jinetes, in 1496, the guardas reales of Castile included 130 jinetes. Out of 600 cavalry in the Spanish expeditionary force to Italy in 1495,500 were jinetes, in Mexico, jinete means rodeo rider, hence cowboy. It is also used in the Spanish Army to designate personnel belonging to the cavalry arm, in its original Spanish title The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez is Los Cuatro Jinetes del Apocalipsis. Canción de jinete is a poem by Federico García Lorca, the novel El jinete polaco by Antonio Muñoz Molina was published in 1991. Jineterismo Lanza Gineta, Spanish Light Cavalry of the Early Italian Wars
25.
Gaeta
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Gaeta is a city and comune in the province of Latina, in Lazio, central Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is 120 kilometres from Rome and 80 km from Naples, gaetas fortifications were extended and strengthened in the 15th century, especially throughout the history of the Kingdom of Naples. Present day Gaeta is a fishing and oil seaport, and a renowned tourist resort, NATO maintains a naval base of operations at Gaeta. It is the ancient Caieta, situated on the slopes of the Torre di Orlando, Gaeta was an ancient Ionian colony of the Samians according to Strabo, who believed the name stemmed from the Greek kaiétas, which means cave, probably referring to the several harbours. According to Virgils Aeneid, Caieta was Aeneas’ wet-nurse, whom he buried here, like the other Roman resorts, Caieta was linked to the capital of the Empire by Via Appia and its end trunk Via Flacca, through an opposite diverticulum or by-road. Its port was of importance in trade and in war. Among its antiquities is the mausoleum of Lucius Munatius Plancus, at the beginning of the Middle Ages, after the Lombard invasion, Gaeta remained under suzerainty of the Byzantine Empire. In the following years, like Amalfi, Sorrento and Naples, it would seem to have established itself as an independent port. As Byzantine influence declined in Southern Italy the town began to grow, for fear of the Saracens, in 840 the inhabitants of the neighbouring Formiæ fled to Gaeta. Though under the suzerainty of Byzantium, Gaeta had then, like nearby ports Naples and Amalfi, a republican form of government with a dux, as a strong bulwark against Saracen invasion. Around 830, it became a lordship ruled by hereditary hypati, or consuls, the first of these was Constantine, at this same time the episcopal see of Gaeta was founded when Constantine, Bishop of Formiae, fled thither and established his residence. He was associated with his son Marinus I and they were probably violently overthrown in 866 or 867 by Docibilis I, who, looking rather to local safety, entered into treaties with the Saracens and abandoned friendly relations with the papacy. Nevertheless, he expanded the duchy and began construction of the palace. Greatest of the hypati was possibly John I, who helped crush the Saracens at Garigliano in 915, the principle of co-regency governed the early dynasties, Docibilis associated John with him and John in turn associated his son Docibilis II with him. In 933, three generations were briefly co-ruling, John I, Docibilis II, and John II, on the death of Docibilis II, who first took the title dux, the duchy passed from its golden age and entered a decline marked by a division of territory. John II ruled Gaeta and his brother, Marinus, ruled Fondi with the equivalent title of duke, outlying lands and castles were given away to younger sons and thus the family of the Docibili slowly declined after mid-century. Allegedly, but improbably, from the end of the 9th century, in the mid-10th century, the De Ceremoniis of Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus lists the ceremonial title prince of Gaeta among the protocols for letters written to foreigners. Prince Pandulf IV of Capua captured Gaeta in 1032 and deposed Duke John V, assuming the ducal and consular titles
26.
Battle of Rocroi
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The battle is considered by many to be the turning point of the perceived invincibility of the Spanish tercio. The Habsburg Spanish army of about 27,000 men advanced from Flanders, through the Ardennes, the Spanish troops set siege to Rocroi, which lay athwart the route to the valley of the Oise. The French, under the command of 21-year-old Louis, duc dEnghien, reacted quickly, the Spanish failed to block the route to Rocroi, which passed through a defile bordered by woods and marsh. Enghien advanced through the defile and assembled his force along a ridge looking down on the town of Rocroi. The Spanish quickly formed up between the town and the ridge, the French army, some 23,000 strong, was arranged with two lines of infantry in the center, squadrons of cavalry on each wing and with a thin line of artillery at the front. The Spanish army was arranged, but with its infantry in their traditional tercios. The two armies bivouacked in their positions for the night, the French army attacked, but the French infantry in the centre were bested by the Spanish. The cavalry on the French left, advancing against Enghiens orders, was thrown back. But the cavalry on the French right, under the command of Jean de Gassion, Enghien was able to follow this up by attacking the exposed left flank of the Spanish infantry. Spanish cavalry made a successful counter-attack to drive off the French cavalry, the Spanish horse was put to flight, leaving the Spanish infantry to carry on the fight. The French were twice repulsed by the stubborn Spanish squares, so Enghien arranged for his artillery, Enghien then offered surrender conditions just like those obtained by a besieged garrison in a fortress. Having agreed to terms, the remains of the two tercios left the field with deployed flags and weapons. The total Spanish losses were about 7,000 dead, wounded, despite this, the battle was of great symbolic importance because of the high reputation of the Army of Flanders. They were given the treatment usually given to a garrison and retired from the field with their arms, flags. With the end of the Fronde, Cardinal Mazarin slowly turned the tide against the Spanish in France and in the Low Countries. Mazarins alliance with England resulted in the defeat of the Spanish at the Battle of the Dunes and consequently the taking of Dunkirk in 1658, although Spain looked to be all-powerful in 1652, the peace settlement reflected the demise of Spains mastery of Europe in the late 1650s. A2006 Spanish movie, Alatriste, directed by Agustín Díaz Yanes, the sedan chair belonging to the elderly Spanish infantry general Fontaines was taken as a trophy by the French and may be seen in the museum of Les Invalides in Paris. Fontaines was killed in the battle, Enghien is reported to have said, Had I not won the day I wish I had died like him
27.
Pike and shot
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Pike and shot is a historical infantry combat formation, that is generally considered evolved in the period from the Italian Wars to the evolution of the bayonet in the late seventeenth century. The infantry formations of the period were a mix of pike and early firearms, the French army of the Valois kings was particularly formidable due to its combination of all of these elements. The French dominance of warfare at this time presented a challenge to those states which were opposed to Valois ambitions. The chastened Spanish undertook a thorough reorganization of their army and tactics under the great captain Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, at first, this mixed infantry formation was referred to as a colunella, and was commanded by a colonel. It interspersed formations of men in close order armed with the pike and looser formations armed with the firearm, the arquebusiers could shoot down their foes, and could then run to the nearby pikemen for shelter if enemy cavalry or pikes grew near. The Spanish colunellas continued to show valuable flexibility as the Great Italian Wars progressed, the colunellas were eventually replaced by the tercios in the 1530s by order of Charles I of Spain. The tercios were originally made up of one third pikemen, one third arquebusiers, tercios were administrative organizations and were in charge of up to 3000 soldiers. These were divided into ten companies that were deployed in battle and these companies were further subdivided into small units that could be deployed individually or brought together to form great battle formations that were sometimes called Spanish squares. As these squares matured in usage during the century, they generally took on the appearance of a “bastioned square” – that is. The large square in the center was made up of the pikemen,56 files across and 22 ranks deep, the outer edges of the central pike square were lined with a thin rank of arquebusiers totaling 250 men. At each corner of this great pike square were the squares of arquebusiers, called mangas. Finally, two groups in order, each of 90 men and armed with the longer musket, were placed in front of, and to the sides of. The tercios for all armies were usually of 1,000 to 2,000 men, tercio type formations were also used by other powers, chiefly in the Germanic areas of the Holy Roman Empire. To modern eyes the tercio square seems cumbersome and wasteful of men, however, in a time when firearms were short-ranged and slow to load, it had its benefits. It offered great protection against cavalry – still the dominant fast-attack arm on the battlefield – and was extremely sturdy and it was very hard to isolate or outflank and destroy a tercio by maneuver due to its great depth and distribution of firepower to all sides. The individual units of pikemen and musketeers were not fixed and were re-ordered during battle to defend a wing or to bring greater fire power or pikes to bear in a certain direction. Finally, its meant that it could run over shallower formations in a close assault – that is. The word tercio means a third and this entire formation would be flanked by cavalry
28.
Firearm
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A firearm is a portable gun - a barreled weapon that launches one or more projectiles, often driven by the action of an explosive force. The first primitive firearms originated in 13th-century China when the fire lance was combined with projectiles. The technology gradually spread through the rest of East Asia, South Asia, older firearms typically used black powder as a propellant, but modern firearms use smokeless powder or other propellants. Most modern firearms have rifled barrels to impart spin to the projectile for improved flight stability, modern firearms can be described by their caliber or in the case of shotguns their gauge, by the type of action employed together with the usual means of deportment. The word firearms usually is used in a sense restricted to small arms, shooters aim firearms at their targets with hand-eye co-ordination, using either iron sights or optical sights. The accurate range of pistols generally does not exceed 100 yards, while most rifles are accurate to 550 yards using iron sights, some purpose-built sniper rifles are accurate to ranges of more than 2,200 yards. The smallest of all firearms is the handgun, there are three common types of handguns, single-shot pistols, revolvers, and semi-automatic pistols. Revolvers have a number of firing chambers or charge holes in a revolving cylinder, semi-automatic pistols have a single fixed firing chamber machined into the rear of the barrel, and a magazine so they can be used to fire more than one round. Each press of the fires a cartridge, using the energy of the cartridge to activate the mechanism so that the next cartridge may be fired immediately. This is opposed to double-action revolvers which accomplish the end using a mechanical action linked to the trigger pull. Prior to the 19th century, virtually all handguns were single-shot muzzleloaders, with the invention of the revolver in 1818, handguns capable of holding multiple rounds became popular. Certain designs of auto-loading pistol appeared beginning in the 1870s and had largely supplanted revolvers in military applications by the end of World War I. By the end of the 20th century, most handguns carried regularly by military, police and civilians were semi-automatic, both designs are common among civilian gun owners, depending on the owners intention. A long gun is any firearm that is larger than a handgun and is designed to be held. Early long arms, from the Renaissance up to the century, were generally smoothbore firearms that fired one or more ball shot. Most modern long guns are either rifles or shotguns, both are the successors of the musket, diverging from their parent weapon in distinct ways. A rifle is so named for the spiral fluting machined into the surface of its barrel. Shotguns are predominantly smoothbore firearms designed to fire a number of shot, shotguns are also capable of firing single slugs, or specialty rounds such as bean bags, tear gas or breaching rounds
29.
Battle of Nagashino
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The Battle of Nagashino took place in 1575 near Nagashino Castle on the plain of Shitarabara in the Mikawa Province of Japan. Takeda Katsuyori attacked the castle when Okudaira Sadamasa rejoined the Tokugawa, and when his plot with Oga Yashiro for taking Okazaki Castle. Takeda Katsuyori attacked the castle on 16 June, using Takeda gold miners to tunnel under the walls, rafts to ferry samurai across the rivers, on 22 June the siege became a blockade complete with palisades and cables strewn across the river. The defenders then set Torii Suneemon to get help and he reached Okazaki, where Ieyasu and Nobunaga promised help. Conveying that message back to the castle, Torri was captured, however, Torri was still able to shout out relief was on the way before he was killed. Both Tokugawa Ieyasu and Oda Nobunaga sent troops to assist Sadamasa and break the siege, Nobunagas skillful use of firearms to defeat Takedas cavalry tactics is often cited as a turning point in Japanese warfare, many cite it as the first modern Japanese battle. In fact, the charge had been introduced only a generation earlier by Katsuyoris father. Furthermore, firearms had already used in other battles. Nobunagas innovation was the wooden stockades and rotating volleys of fire which led to a victory at Nagashino. According to the Shinchō kōki, Nobunaga and Ieyasu brought a force of 38,000 men to relieve the siege on the castle by Katsuyori. Of Takedas original 15,000 besiegers, only 12,000 faced the Oda-Tokugawa army in this battle, the remaining 3000 continued the siege to prevent the garrison in the castle from sallying forth and joining the battle. Oda and Tokugawa positioned their men across the plain from the castle, behind the Rengogawa, the stockades served to blunt the force of charging cavalry. Of Odas forces, an estimated 10,000 Ashigaru arquebusiers,3,000 of the best shots were placed in three ranks under the command of Sasa Narimasa, Maeda Toshiie, and Honda Tadakatsu. Okubo Tadayo was stationed outside the palisade, as was Sakuma Nobumori, shibata Katsuie and Toyotomi Hideyoshi protected the left flank. A night attack on the eve of the battle by Sakai Tadatsugu killed Takeda Nobuzane, the Takeda army emerged from the forest and found themselves 200–400 meters from the Oda-Tokugawa stockades. The short distance, the power of the Takeda cavalry charge and the heavy rain. Takedas cavalry was feared by both the Oda and Tokugawa forces, who had suffered a defeat at the Mikatagahara, the horses slowed to cross the stream and were fired upon as they crested the streambed within 50 meters of the enemy. This was considered the distance to penetrate the armor of the cavalry
30.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
31.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
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