1.
Kingdom of England
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In the early 11th century the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, united by Æthelstan, became part of the North Sea Empire of Cnut the Great, a personal union between England, Denmark and Norway. The completion of the conquest of Wales by Edward I in 1284 put Wales under the control of the English crown, from the accession of James I in 1603, the Stuart dynasty ruled England in personal union with Scotland and Ireland. Under the Stuarts, the kingdom plunged into war, which culminated in the execution of Charles I in 1649. The monarchy returned in 1660, but the Civil War had established the precedent that an English monarch cannot govern without the consent of Parliament and this concept became legally established as part of the Glorious Revolution of 1688. From this time the kingdom of England, as well as its state the United Kingdom. On 1 May 1707, under the terms of the Acts of Union 1707, the Anglo-Saxons referred to themselves as the Engle or the Angelcynn, originally names of the Angles. They called their land Engla land, meaning land of the English, by Æthelweard Latinized Anglia, from an original Anglia vetus, the name Engla land became England by haplology during the Middle English period. The Latin name was Anglia or Anglorum terra, the Old French, by the 14th century, England was also used in reference to the entire island of Great Britain. The standard title for all monarchs from Æthelstan until the time of King John was Rex Anglorum, Canute the Great, a Dane, was the first king to call himself King of England. In the Norman period Rex Anglorum remained standard, with use of Rex Anglie. The Empress Matilda styled herself Domina Anglorum, from the time of King John onwards all other titles were eschewed in favour of Rex or Regina Anglie. In 1604 James VI and I, who had inherited the English throne the previous year, the English and Scottish parliaments, however, did not recognise this title until the Acts of Union of 1707. The kingdom of England emerged from the unification of the early medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdoms known as the Heptarchy, East Anglia, Mercia, Northumbria, Kent, Essex, Sussex. The Viking invasions of the 9th century upset the balance of power between the English kingdoms, and native Anglo-Saxon life in general, the English lands were unified in the 10th century in a reconquest completed by King Æthelstan in 927 CE. During the Heptarchy, the most powerful king among the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms might become acknowledged as Bretwalda, the decline of Mercia allowed Wessex to become more powerful. It absorbed the kingdoms of Kent and Sussex in 825, the kings of Wessex became increasingly dominant over the other kingdoms of England during the 9th century. In 827, Northumbria submitted to Egbert of Wessex at Dore, in 886, Alfred the Great retook London, which he apparently regarded as a turning point in his reign. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says that all of the English people not subject to the Danes submitted themselves to King Alfred, asser added that Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, restored the city of London splendidly
2.
Kingdom of Great Britain
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The Kingdom of Great Britain, officially Great Britain, was a sovereign state in western Europe from 1 May 1707 to 31 December 1800. It did not include Ireland, which remained a separate realm, the unitary state was governed by a single parliament and government that was based in Westminster. Also after the accession of George I to the throne of Great Britain in 1714, the early years of the unified kingdom were marked by Jacobite risings which ended in defeat for the Stuart cause at Culloden in 1746. On 1 January 1801, the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland were merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922, five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom, the name Britain descends from the Latin name for the island of Great Britain, Britannia or Brittānia, the land of the Britons via the Old French Bretaigne and Middle English Bretayne, Breteyne. The term Great Britain was first used officially in 1474, in the instrument drawing up the proposal for a marriage between Edward IV of Englands daughter Cecily and James III of Scotlands son James. The Treaty of Union and the subsequent Acts of Union state that England and Scotland were to be United into one Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain. However, both the Acts and the Treaty also refer numerous times to the United Kingdom and the longer form, other publications refer to the country as the United Kingdom after 1707 as well. The websites of the UK parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the BBC, additionally, the term United Kingdom was found in informal use during the 18th century to describe the state. The new state created in 1707 included the island of Great Britain, the kingdoms of England and Scotland, both in existence from the 9th century, were separate states until 1707. However, they had come into a union in 1603. Each of the three kingdoms maintained its own parliament and laws and this disposition changed dramatically when the Acts of Union 1707 came into force, with a single unified Crown of Great Britain and a single unified parliament. Ireland remained formally separate, with its own parliament, until the Acts of Union 1800, legislative power was vested in the Parliament of Great Britain, which replaced both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. In practice it was a continuation of the English parliament, sitting at the location in Westminster. Newly created peers in the Peerage of Great Britain were given the right to sit in the Lords. Despite the end of a parliament for Scotland, it retained its own laws. As a result of Poynings Law of 1495, the Parliament of Ireland was subordinate to the Parliament of England, the Act was repealed by the Repeal of Act for Securing Dependence of Ireland Act 1782. The same year, the Irish constitution of 1782 produced a period of legislative freedom, the 18th century saw England, and after 1707 Great Britain, rise to become the worlds dominant colonial power, with France its main rival on the imperial stage
3.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
4.
British Army
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The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom. As of 2017 the British Army comprises just over 80,000 trained Regular, or full-time, personnel and just over 26,500 trained Reserve, or part-time personnel. Therefore, the UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the Army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, day to day the Army comes under administration of the Ministry of Defence and is commanded by the Chief of the General Staff. Repeatedly emerging victorious from these decisive wars allowed Britain to influence world events with its policies and establish itself as one of the leading military. In 1660 the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were restored under Charles II, Charles favoured the foundation of a new army under royal control and began work towards its establishment by August 1660. The Royal Scots Army and the Irish Army were financed by the Parliament of Scotland, the order of seniority of the most senior line regiments in the British Army is based on the order of seniority in the English army. At that time there was only one English regiment of dragoons, after William and Marys accession to the throne, England involved itself in the War of the Grand Alliance, primarily to prevent a French invasion restoring Marys father, James II. Spain, in the two centuries, had been the dominant global power, and the chief threat to Englands early transatlantic ambitions. The territorial ambitions of the French, however, led to the War of the Spanish Succession and the Napoleonic Wars. From the time of the end of the Seven Years War in 1763, Great Britain was the naval power. As had its predecessor, the English Army, the British Army fought the Kingdoms of Spain, France, and the Netherlands for supremacy in North America and the West Indies. With native and provincial assistance, the Army conquered New France in the North American theatre of the Seven Years War, the British Army suffered defeat in the American War of Independence, losing the Thirteen Colonies but holding on to Canada. The British Army was heavily involved in the Napoleonic Wars and served in campaigns across Europe. The war between the British and the First French Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte stretched around the world and at its peak, in 1813, the regular army contained over 250,000 men. A Coalition of Anglo-Dutch and Prussian Armies under the Duke of Wellington, the English had been involved, both politically and militarily, in Ireland since being given the Lordship of Ireland by the Pope in 1171. The campaign of the English republican Protector, Oliver Cromwell, involved uncompromising treatment of the Irish towns that had supported the Royalists during the English Civil War, the English Army stayed in Ireland primarily to suppress numerous Irish revolts and campaigns for independence. Having learnt from their experience in America, the British government sought a political solution, the British Army found itself fighting Irish rebels, both Protestant and Catholic, primarily in Ulster and Leinster in the 1798 rebellion. The Haldane Reforms of 1907 formally created the Territorial Force as the Armys volunteer reserve component by merging and reorganising the Volunteer Force, Militia, Great Britains dominance of the world had been challenged by numerous other powers, in the 20th century, most notably Germany
5.
Infantry
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Infantry is the general branch of an army that engages in military combat on foot. As the troops who engage with the enemy in close-ranged combat, infantry units bear the largest brunt of warfare, Infantry can enter and maneuver in terrain that is inaccessible to military vehicles and employ crew-served infantry weapons that provide greater and more sustained firepower. In English, the 16th-century term Infantry describes soldiers who walk to the battlefield, and there engage, fight, the term arose in Sixteenth-Century Spain, which boasted one of the first professional standing armies seen in Europe since the days of Rome. It was common to appoint royal princes to military commands, and the men under them became known as Infanteria. in the Canadian Army, the role of the infantry is to close with, and destroy the enemy. In the U. S. Army, the closes with the enemy, by means of fire and maneuver, in order to destroy or capture him, or to repel his assault by fire, close combat. In the U. S. Marine Corps, the role of the infantry is to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy fire and maneuver. Beginning with the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century, artillery has become a dominant force on the battlefield. Since World War I, combat aircraft and armoured vehicles have become dominant. In 20th and 21st century warfare, infantry functions most effectively as part of a combined arms team including artillery, armour, Infantry relies on organized formations to be employed in battle. These have evolved over time, but remain a key element to effective infantry development and deployment, until the end of the 19th century, infantry units were for the most part employed in close formations up until contact with the enemy. This allowed commanders to control of the unit, especially while maneuvering. The development of guns and other weapons with increased firepower forced infantry units to disperse in order to make them less vulnerable to such weapons. This decentralization of command was made possible by improved communications equipment, among the various subtypes of infantry is Medium infantry. This refers to infantry which are heavily armed and armored than heavy infantry. In the early period, medium infantry were largely eliminated due to discontinued use of body armour up until the 20th century. In the United States Army, Stryker Infantry is considered Medium Infantry, since they are heavier than light infantry, Infantry doctrine is the concise expression of how infantry forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements. It is a guide to action, not a set of hard, doctrine provides a very common frame of reference across the military forces, allowing the infantry to function cooperatively in what are now called combined arms operations. Doctrine helps standardise operations, facilitating readiness by establishing common ways of accomplishing infantry tasks, doctrine links theory, history, experimentation, and practice
6.
Line infantry
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Line infantry is the type of infantry that composed the basis of European land armies from the middle of the 17th century to the middle of the 19th century. For both battle and parade drill it consisted of 2 to 4 ranks of soldiers drawn up side by side in rigid alignment. By extension, the term came to be applied to the regiments of the line as opposed to skirmishers, foot guards, militia. Line infantry mainly used three formations in its battles, the line, the square and the column, a line consisted of 2,3 or 4 ranks of soldiers. During the time period that line infantry were prevalent, the object was to cause the formation to rout, which was done by breaking it. The line was considered as the battle formation as it allowed for the largest deployment of firepower. Troops in skirmish formation, though able to cover and use initiative, were highly vulnerable to cavalry. Line infantry provided an anchor for skirmishers and cavalry to retreat to if threatened, against surrounding enemy cavalry, line infantry could swiftly adopt square formations to provide protection. Such squares were hollow, unlike the pikemen and old-style musketeers square, movement in line formation was very slow, and unless the battalion was superbly trained, a breakdown in cohesion was virtually assured, especially in any kind of uneven or wooded terrain. As a result, line was used as a stationary formation, with troops moving in column formations. Usually, columns would be adopted for movement and melee attacks, line infantry was trained in the manual of arms evolutions, the main objectives of which were fast deployment of a line, rapid shooting and manoeuvre. Line tactics required a strict discipline and simple movements, practiced to the point where they became second-nature, during training, the drill and corporal punishments were widely used. Line infantry quickly became the most common type of infantry in European countries, musketeers and grenadiers, formerly elite troops, gradually became part of the line infantry, switching to linear tactics. In the middle of the 17th century, the muskets of some line infantry were equipped with bayonets. Bayonets were attached to the muzzles of muskets and were used when line troops entered melee combat and they also helped to defend against cavalry. In many countries, the new fusils retained the name musket, both muskets and fusils were smoothbore, which lessened their accuracy and range, but made for faster loading, lesser amount of bore fouling and more robust, less complicated firearms. The bulk of the infantry had no protective equipment, as armor that could provide protection from musket fire were considered too expensive. Only the former elite troops could keep by tradition some elements of protection, for example, initially, soldiers equipped with firearms formed only a small part of the infantry branch of most armies, because of their vulnerability to hostile cavalry
7.
Kempston Barracks
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Kempston Barracks is a military installation at Kempston in Bedfordshire. The barracks were built in the Fortress Gothic Revival Style and completed between 1875 and 1876 and their creation took place as part of the Cardwell Reforms which encouraged the localisation of British military forces. The barracks became the depot for the two battalions of the 16th Regiment of Foot, following the Childers Reforms, the regiment evolved to become the Bedfordshire Regiment with its depot in the barracks in 1881. The barracks went on to be the depot for the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment in 1919, the building was used as a convalescent centre during the Second World War
8.
Kempston
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Kempston is a town and civil parish located in Bedfordshire, England. Once known as the largest village in England, Kempston is now a town with its own town council. It has a population of about 20,000, and together with Bedford, it forms an area with around 100,000 inhabitants. Kempston serves principally as a town for Bedford. Until the 19th century Kempston was a rural parish. It was one of the largest in Bedfordshire with an area of 5,025 acres at the time of enclosure in 1804, and was in Redbournestoke Hundred. Historically there was no village, but instead settlement was divided between a number of hamlets called Ends, for example, Up End, Bell End, Wood End. Kempstons parish church, All Saints, was in Church End, in the 19th century East End, Bell End and Up End began to coalesce into a larger settlement. In 1870 developers began to attempt to land on the road from Kempston to Bedford under the name Kempston New Town. Construction was slow at first, but the new district began to expand steadily. A permanent military presence was established in the town with the completion of Kempston Barracks in 1876, in 1896 the parish was divided into Kempston Urban District 1,255 acres and the civil parish of Kempston Rural 3,770 acres. Kempston Rural was three times larger, but remained sparsely populated, Church End, with its original parish church, remains a small hamlet in the rural part of Kempston. The growth of Kempstons population levelled off in the decades of the 20th century. The 1951 population of just under 10,000 was 60% higher than that of 1931, in the half of the 20th century. In 1974 Kempston Urban District was abolished and Kempston reverted to being a parish, in the Borough of Bedford. For borough election purposes the town is divided into four wards called Kempston Central and East, Kempston North, Kempston South, Kempston Rural remains a civil parish and is part of Turvey Ward for borough election purposes. Note 1,1981 figures are provisional, note 2, The 2001 Kempston Urban figure is the combined total for the three urban wards of Kempston East, Kempston North and Kempston South. The name in its old form is kemestun which includes the Brittonic word cambio meaning bent or curved, therefore, the name meant when coined the enclosed settlement on the bend
9.
Nine Years' War
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It was fought on the European continent and the surrounding seas, Ireland, and in North America. Louis XIV of France had emerged from the Franco-Dutch War in 1678 as the most powerful monarch in Europe, Louis XIVs decision to cross the Rhine in September 1688 was designed to extend his influence and pressure the Holy Roman Empire into accepting his territorial and dynastic claims. The main fighting took place around Frances borders, in the Spanish Netherlands, the Rhineland, Duchy of Savoy, the fighting generally favoured Louis XIVs armies, but by 1696 his country was in the grip of an economic crisis. The Maritime Powers were also exhausted, and when Savoy defected from the Alliance all parties were keen for a negotiated settlement. By the terms of the Treaty of Ryswick Louis XIV retained the whole of Alsace, Louis XIV also accepted William III as the rightful King of England, while the Dutch acquired their Barrier fortress system in the Spanish Netherlands to help secure their own borders. In the years following the Franco-Dutch War Louis XIV of France – now at the height of his powers – sought to impose religious unity in France, and to solidify and expand his frontiers. Louis XIV, along with his chief advisor Louvois, his foreign minister Colbert de Croissy, Vauban had advocated a system of impregnable fortresses along the frontier that would keep Frances enemies out. To construct a system, however, the King needed to acquire more land from his neighbours to form a solid forward line. The King grabbed the necessary territory through what is known as the Réunions, a strategy that combined legalism, arrogance, the Treaty of Nijmegen and the earlier Treaty of Westphalia provided Louis XIV with the justification for the Reunions. These treaties had awarded France territorial gains, but because of the vagaries of the language they were notoriously imprecise and self-contradictory, unsurprisingly, these courts usually found in Louis XIVs favour. By 1680 the disputed County of Montbéliard had been separated from the Duchy of Württemberg, the Chamber of Reunion of Metz soon laid claims to land around the Three Bishoprics of Metz, Toul, and Verdun, and most of the Spanish Duchy of Luxembourg. The fortress of Luxembourg itself was blockaded with the intention of it becoming part of Louis XIVs defensible frontier. By forcibly taking the Imperial city the French now controlled two of the three bridgeheads over the Rhine, on the same day that Strasbourg fell French forces marched into Casale in northern Italy. Thus, the Reunions were carving territory from the frontiers of Germany, since Leopold Is intervention in the Franco-Dutch War Louis XIV had considered the Emperor his most dangerous enemy, yet the French king had little reason to fear him. Leopold I was weak in Germany, and was in danger along his Hungarian borders where the Ottoman Turks were threatening to overrun all central Europe from the south. Louis had encouraged and assisted the Ottoman drive against Leopold Is Habsburg lands, when the Turks besieged Vienna in the spring of 1683 Louis did nothing to help the defenders. Taking advantage of the Ottoman threat in the east Louis XIV invaded the Spanish Netherlands on 1 September 1683 and renewed the siege of Luxembourg, spains military options were highly limited, yet the Ottoman defeat before Vienna on 12 September had emboldened them. In the hope that Leopold I would now make peace in the east and come to their assistance, however, the Emperor had decided to continue the Turkish war in the Balkans and, for the time being, compromise in the west
10.
War of the Spanish Succession
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The War of the Spanish Succession was a major European conflict of the early 18th century, triggered by the death in 1700 of the last Habsburg King of Spain, the infirm and childless Charles II. Charles II had ruled over a vast global empire, and the question of who would succeed him had long troubled the governments of Europe, the English, the Dutch and the Austrians formally declared war in May 1702. By 1708, the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy had secured victory in the Spanish Netherlands and in Italy, France faced invasion and ruin, but Allied unity broke first. With the Grand Alliance defeated in Spain and with its casualties mounting and aims diverging, French and British ministers prepared the groundwork for a peace conference, and in 1712 Britain ceased combat operations. The Dutch, Austrians, and German states fought on to strengthen their own negotiating position, the Treaty of Utrecht and the Treaty of Rastatt partitioned the Spanish empire between the major and minor powers. The European balance of power was assured, in the late 1690s the declining health of King Charles II of Spain brought to a head the problem of his succession, a problem which had underlain much of European diplomacy for several decades. The empire was in decline, but remained the largest of the European overseas empires, unlike the French crown, the Spanish crowns could all be inherited by, or through, a female in default of a male line. The next in line after Charles II, therefore, were his two sisters, Maria Theresa, the elder, and Margaret Theresa, the younger, Maria Theresa had married Louis XIV in 1660 and by him she had a son, Louis, Dauphin of France. The testament of her father, Philip IV, reiterated this waiver and bequeathed the reversion of the whole of the Spanish dominions to his younger daughter, Margaret Theresa. However the French, using in part the excuse that the dowry promised Maria Theresa was never paid, nor was it clear whether a princess could waive the rights of her unborn children. Leopold I married Margaret Theresa in 1666, at her death in 1673 she left one living heir, Maria Antonia, who in 1685 married Max Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria. Shortly before her death in 1692, she gave birth to a son, if he chose, Louis XIV could attempt to assert his will on Spain by force of arms, but the Nine Years War had been an immense drain on Frances resources. To seek a solution and gain support, Louis XIV turned to his long-standing rival William of Orange. England and the Dutch Republic had their own commercial, strategic and political interests within the Spanish empire, however, the Maritime Powers were in a weakened state and both had reduced their forces at the conclusion of the Nine Years War. Louis XIV and William III, therefore, sought to solve the problem of the Spanish inheritance through negotiation, based on the principle of partition, to take effect after the death of Charles II. However, the bulk of the empire – most of peninsular Spain, the Spanish Netherlands, Sardinia, the Spanish Empire was now divided between the three surviving candidates. By this new treaty Archduke Charles would receive most of Spain, the Spanish Netherlands, Sardinia, and the overseas empire. For Leopold I, however, control of Spain and its empire was less important than Italy
11.
American Revolutionary War
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From about 1765 the American Revolution had led to increasing philosophical and political differences between Great Britain and its American colonies. The war represented a culmination of these differences in armed conflict between Patriots and the authority which they increasingly resisted. This resistance became particularly widespread in the New England Colonies, especially in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. On December 16,1773, Massachusetts members of the Patriot group Sons of Liberty destroyed a shipment of tea in Boston Harbor in an event that became known as the Boston Tea Party. Named the Coercive Acts by Parliament, these became known as the Intolerable Acts in America. The Massachusetts colonists responded with the Suffolk Resolves, establishing a government that removed control of the province from the Crown outside of Boston. Twelve colonies formed a Continental Congress to coordinate their resistance, and established committees, British attempts to seize the munitions of Massachusetts colonists in April 1775 led to the first open combat between Crown forces and Massachusetts militia, the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Militia forces proceeded to besiege the British forces in Boston, forcing them to evacuate the city in March 1776, the Continental Congress appointed George Washington to take command of the militia. Concurrent to the Boston campaign, an American attempt to invade Quebec, on July 2,1776, the Continental Congress formally voted for independence, issuing its Declaration on July 4. Sir William Howe began a British counterattack, focussing on recapturing New York City, Howe outmaneuvered and defeated Washington, leaving American confidence at a low ebb. Washington captured a Hessian force at Trenton and drove the British out of New Jersey, in 1777 the British sent a new army under John Burgoyne to move south from Canada and to isolate the New England colonies. However, instead of assisting Burgoyne, Howe took his army on a campaign against the revolutionary capital of Philadelphia. Burgoyne outran his supplies, was surrounded and surrendered at Saratoga in October 1777, the British defeat in the Saratoga Campaign had drastic consequences. Giving up on the North, the British decided to salvage their former colonies in the South, British forces under Lieutenant-General Charles Cornwallis seized Georgia and South Carolina, capturing an American army at Charleston, South Carolina. British strategy depended upon an uprising of large numbers of armed Loyalists, in 1779 Spain joined the war as an ally of France under the Pacte de Famille, intending to capture Gibraltar and British colonies in the Caribbean. Britain declared war on the Dutch Republic in December 1780, in 1781, after the British and their allies had suffered two decisive defeats at Kings Mountain and Cowpens, Cornwallis retreated to Virginia, intending on evacuation. A decisive French naval victory in September deprived the British of an escape route, a joint Franco-American army led by Count Rochambeau and Washington, laid siege to the British forces at Yorktown. With no sign of relief and the situation untenable, Cornwallis surrendered in October 1781, Whigs in Britain had long opposed the pro-war Tory majority in Parliament, but the defeat at Yorktown gave the Whigs the upper hand
12.
Second Boer War
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The Second Boer War, usually known as the Boer War and also at the time as the South African War, started on 11 October 1899 and ended on 31 May 1902. Great Britain defeated two Boer states in South Africa, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State, Britain was aided by its Cape Colony, Colony of Natal and some native African allies. The British war effort was supported by volunteers from the British Empire, including Southern Africa, the Australian colonies, Canada, India. All other nations were neutral, but public opinion in them was largely hostile to Britain, inside Britain and its Empire there also was significant opposition to the Second Boer War. The British were overconfident and under-prepared, the Boers were very well armed and struck first, besieging Ladysmith, Kimberley, and Mafeking in early 1900, and winning important battles at Colenso, Magersfontein and Stormberg. Staggered, the British brought in numbers of soldiers and fought back. General Redvers Buller was replaced by Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener and they relieved the three besieged cities, and invaded the two Boer republics in late 1900. The onward marches of the British Army were so overwhelming that the Boers did not fight staged battles in defense of their homeland, the British quickly seized control of all of the Orange Free State and Transvaal, as the civilian leadership went into hiding or exile. In conventional terms, the war was over, Britain officially annexed the two countries in 1900, and called a khaki election to give the government another six years of power in London. However, the Boers refused to surrender and they reverted to guerrilla warfare under new generals Louis Botha, Jan Smuts, Christiaan de Wet and Koos de la Rey. Two more years of attacks and quick escapes followed. As guerrillas without uniforms, the Boer fighters easily blended into the farmlands, which provided hiding places, supplies, the British solution was to set up complex nets of block houses, strong points, and barbed wire fences, partitioning off the entire conquered territory. The civilian farmers were relocated into concentration camps, where very large proportions died of disease, especially the children, then the British mounted infantry units systematically tracked down the highly mobile Boer guerrilla units. The battles at this stage were small operations with few combat casualties The war ended in surrender, the British successfully won over the Boer leaders, who now gave full support to the new political system. Both former republics were incorporated into the Union of South Africa in 1910, the conflict is commonly referred to as simply the Boer War, since the First Boer War is much less well known. Boer was the term for Afrikaans-speaking white South Africans descended from the Dutch East India Companys original settlers at the Cape of Good Hope. It is officially called the South African War and it is known as the Anglo-Boer War among some South Africans. In Afrikaans it may be called the Anglo-Boereoorlog, Tweede Boereoorlog, in South Africa it is officially called the South African War
13.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
14.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
15.
Regiment
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A regiment is a military unit. Their role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, in Medieval Europe, the term regiment denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted in one geographical area, by a leader who was often also the feudal lord of the soldiers. By the 17th century, a regiment was usually about a thousand personnel. In many armies, the first role has been assumed by independent battalions, battlegroups, task forces, brigades and other, similarly-sized operational units. By the beginning of the 18th century, regiments in most European continental armies had evolved into permanent units with distinctive titles and uniforms, when at full strength, an infantry regiment normally comprised two field battalions of about 800 men each or 8–10 companies. In some armies, an independent regiment with fewer companies was labelled a demi-regiment, a cavalry regiment numbered 600 to 900 troopers, making up a single entity. With the widespread adoption of conscription in European armies during the nineteenth century, the regimental system underwent modification. Prior to World War I, a regiment in the French, German, Russian. As far as possible, the battalions would be garrisoned in the same military district, so that the regiment could be mobilized. A cavalry regiment by contrast made up an entity of up to 1,000 troopers. Usually, the regiment is responsible for recruiting and administering all of a military career. Depending upon the country, regiments can be either combat units or administrative units or both and this is often contrasted to the continental system adopted by many armies. Generally, divisions are garrisoned together and share the same installations, thus, in divisional administration, soldiers and officers are transferred in and out of divisions as required. Some regiments recruited from specific areas, and usually incorporated the place name into the regimental name. In other cases, regiments would recruit from an age group within a nation. In other cases, new regiments were raised for new functions within an army, e. g. the Fusiliers, the Parachute Regiment, a key aspect of the regimental system is that the regiment or battalion is the fundamental tactical building block. This flows historically from the period, when battalions were widely dispersed and virtually autonomous. For example, a regiment might include different types of battalions of different origins, within the regimental system, soldiers, and usually officers, are always posted to a tactical unit of their own regiment whenever posted to field duty
16.
Essex Regiment
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The Essex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment served in conflicts such as the Second Boer War. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 44th Regiment of Foot, in 1958, the Essex Regiment was amalgamated with the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment to form the 3rd East Anglian Regiment. The lineage of the Essex Regiment is continued by C Company of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Anglian Regiment. The Essex Regiment was formed in 1881 by the union of the 44th and 56th Regiments of Foot, which became the 1st and 2nd battalions respectively of the new regiment. This merger was part of the Childers Reforms of the British Army, a large number of small Rifle Volunteer Corps had been formed in the county as a result of an invasion scare in 1859. In 1880, they were consolidated into four battalions, and in 1883 they were designated as the 1st–4th Volunteer Battalions of the Essex Regiment. Under the mobilisation scheme proposed by the Stanhope Memorandum of 1888, they constituted the Essex Volunteer Infantry Brigade, notably, the regiment participated in the Relief of Kimberley and the Battle of Paardeberg. The four Volunteer Battalions contributed two Special Service Companies to assist 1st Battalion and were awarded the battle honour South Africa 1900–02. As a result of the Haldane Reforms, the militia component. In 1910, the Essex and Suffolk Cyclist Battalion, which had raised in 1908, divided to become the 6th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment. During the First World War, the Essex Regiment provided 30 infantry battalions to the British Army, the 3rd battalion was mobilised to supply drafts to the two Regular battalions. On the outbreak of war, the Territorial battalions, all formed second line, three service battalions and one reserve battalion, were formed from volunteers in 1914 as part of Kitcheners Army. A further service battalion, was raised by the Mayor and Borough of West Ham, Reserve battalions were created as the war progressed, including the 14th, the 15th, 16th and 17th, the 18th and 1st and 2nd Garrison Battalions. The 1st Battalion took part in the first day of the Battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916, the battalion, which comprised W, X, Y, and Z companies, took up position in the British trenches at 3,30 am. At 8,40 am, the battalion received orders to advance and it was delayed by heavy enemy fire and congestion in the communication trenches. The Newfoundland Regiment advancing to the left of the Essex battalion was almost entirely wiped out as it advanced towards the German lines, at 10,50 am, the Essex companies were in position and received orders to go over the top. The companies came under artillery and machine gun fire almost as soon as they appeared over the parapet
17.
Royal Leicestershire Regiment
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The Leicestershire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, with a history going back to 1688. On 27 September 1688 a commission was issued to Colonel Solomon Richards to raise a regiment of foot in the London area, in its early years, like other regiments, the regiment was known by the name of its various colonels. Following a failed attempt to break the Siege of Derry in 1689 and it transferred to Portugal in 1704 and took part in the sieges of Valencia de Alcántara, Alburquerque and Badajoz in 1705 as well as the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo in 1706. It also saw action at the Battle of Almansa in April 1807 before returning to England in 1809 and it went to Scotland to suppress the Jacobite rising of 1715 and fought at the Battle of Sheriffmuir in November 1715. In 1726 the regiment moved to Minorca and in 1751 a royal warrant assigned numbers to the regiments of the line, following that war it also saw duty during Pontiacs Rebellion before eventually returning to England in 1767. The regiment embarked for Boston, landing there on New Years Day 1776 and it saw action at the Battle of Long Island in August 1776, the Battle of White Plains in October 1776 and the Battle of Fort Washington in November 1776. Several companies were captured at the Battle of Stony Point in July 1779 by a daring bayonet charge by Mad Anthony Wayne. The regiment was in action again at the Battle of Guilford Court House in March 1781, the regiment became the 17th Regiment of Foot. The regiment moved to Nova Scotia in 1783 before returning to England in 1786, in 1804 the regiment moved to India, and remained there until 1823. In 1825 the regiment was granted the badge of a tiger to recall their long service in the sub-continent. The Regiment was posted to New South Wales from 1830 to 1836, the regiment returned to India in 1837, and then took part in the Battle of Ghazni in July 1839 and the Battle of Khelat in November 1839 during the First Anglo-Afghan War. The regiment next came under fire at the Siege of Sevastopol in winter 1854 during the Crimean War, in 1858 a second battalion was raised. Together these formed a battalion, which became the 1st Volunteer Battalion of the Leicestershire Regiment in 1880. By 1900, when the unit provided a detachment of volunteers to serve alongside the Regulars during the Second Boer War, under the reforms the regiment became The Leicestershire Regiment on 1 July 1881. The 1st and 3rd battalions fought in the Second Boer War 1899 –1902, the 2nd Battalion was stationed as a garrison regiment in Ireland from 1896, and in Egypt from February 1900. In 1908, with the creation of the Territorial Force, the 1st Volunteer Battalion formed the 4th and 5th Battalions, there was a minor controversy in the same year, when new colours were issued to the 1st Battalion to replace those of the 17th foot. A green tiger had been shown on the old colours and the regiment refused to take the new issue into use, the issue was resolved when the regiment received permission for the royal tiger emblazoned on the regimental colours to be coloured green with gold stripes. In the First World War, the regiment increased from five to nineteen battalions which served in France and Flanders, Mesopotamia, the 1st Battalion landed at Saint-Nazaire as part of the 16th Infantry Brigade in the 6th Division in September 1914 for service on the Western Front
18.
Royal Anglian Regiment
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The Royal Anglian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army and is one of the four regiments of the Queens Division. The regiment came into being following the amalgamation of various county regiments, soldiers and officers of the regiment have been involved in nearly every conflict in the modern era. The regiment was reduced again in 1992 to two regular and two TA battalions with the loss of the 3rd and 5th Battalions, during the Yugoslav Wars,2 R ANGLIAN was deployed to Bosnia in April 1994 as part of the United Nations peacekeeping force UNPROFOR. In 1995 the 1st Battalion was sent to Croatia as part of 24 Airmobile Brigade between July and October of that year. Shortly after British forces intervened in Sierra Leone during its civil war, in March 2002,1 R ANGLIAN was sent to Afghanistan, where it was based in the capital Kabul as part of the International Security Assistance Force. The following February,2 R ANGLIANs A Company was posted to Kabul and they were replaced by C Company in June. In 20051 R ANGLIAN undertook tour in Iraq as part of Operation TELIC6 where the group was responsible for the Basra Rural South area of operations. C Company was detached to act as a Brigade Operations Company and was involved in several high-profile arrest operations. The remaining Territorial battalion of the regiment, the East of England Regiment was re-designated on 1 April 2006 as the 3rd Battalion, in Spring 20062 R ANGLIAN deployed to Iraq as part of Op TELIC8 and formed Basra City South Battlegroup. C company was detached to operate as part of Force Reserve and was involved in many high-profile arrest and strike operations. During the tour the Regiment mourned the loss of two soldiers, on 13 May 2006 Private Joseva Lewaicei and Adam Morris died as a result of injuries sustained from a bomb attack in Basra. A third soldier was badly injured, from March to September 2007, as part of 12th Mechanised Brigade,1 R ANGLIAN was deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation Herrick 6. This deployment was the subject of the Sky One documentary Ross Kemp in Afghanistan, a book has also been written by a former commanding officer about the battalion on this tour, Attack State Red, published by Penguin. They were stationed in Helmand Province, the fighting attracted much media attention due to the ferocity of the combat, with soldiers often having to resort to using bayonets. The battalion suffered nine casualties during its tour, five from attacks, the coroner at the soldiers inquest stated that the incident was due to flawed application of procedures rather than individual errors or recklessness. 1 R ANGLIAN operates in the infantry role under 7th Infantry Brigade and is based at Woolwich. 2 R ANGLIAN operates in the infantry role under 7th Infantry Brigade. 3 R ANGLIAN operates in the infantry role under 7th Infantry Brigade
19.
James II of England
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James II and VII was King of England and Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685 until he was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. He was the last Roman Catholic monarch of England, Scotland and Ireland, the second surviving son of Charles I, he ascended the throne upon the death of his brother, Charles II. Members of Britains Protestant political elite increasingly suspected him of being pro-French and pro-Catholic and he was replaced by his eldest, Protestant daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange. James made one attempt to recover his crowns from William. After the defeat of the Jacobite forces by the Williamites at the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690 and he lived out the rest of his life as a pretender at a court sponsored by his cousin and ally, King Louis XIV. James, the surviving son of King Charles I and his wife. Later that same year, he was baptised by William Laud and he was educated by private tutors, along with his brother, the future King Charles II, and the two sons of the Duke of Buckingham, George and Francis Villiers. At the age of three, James was appointed Lord High Admiral, the position was honorary, but would become a substantive office after the Restoration. He was designated Duke of York at birth, invested with the Order of the Garter in 1642, as the Kings disputes with the English Parliament grew into the English Civil War, James stayed in Oxford, a Royalist stronghold. When the city surrendered after the siege of Oxford in 1646, in 1648, he escaped from the Palace, aided by Joseph Bampfield, and from there he went to The Hague in disguise. When Charles I was executed by the rebels in 1649, monarchists proclaimed Jamess older brother as Charles II of England, Charles II was recognised as king by the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of Ireland, and was crowned King of Scotland at Scone in 1651. Although he was proclaimed King in Jersey, Charles was unable to secure the crown of England and consequently fled to France, like his brother, James sought refuge in France, serving in the French army under Turenne against the Fronde, and later against their Spanish allies. In the French army James had his first true experience of battle where, according to one observer, he ventures himself, in the meantime, Charles was attempting to reclaim his throne, but France, although hosting the exiles, had allied itself with Oliver Cromwell. In 1656, Charles turned instead to Spain – an enemy of France – for support, in consequence, James was expelled from France and forced to leave Turennes army. James quarrelled with his brother over the choice of Spain over France. In 1659, the French and Spanish made peace, James, doubtful of his brothers chances of regaining the throne, considered taking a Spanish offer to be an admiral in their navy. Ultimately, he declined the position, by the year the situation in England had changed. After Richard Cromwells resignation as Lord Protector in 1659 and the subsequent collapse of the Commonwealth in 1660, although James was the heir presumptive, it seemed unlikely that he would inherit the Crown, as Charles was still a young man capable of fathering children
20.
William III of England
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It is a coincidence that his regnal number was the same for both Orange and England. As King of Scotland, he is known as William II and he is informally known by sections of the population in Northern Ireland and Scotland as King Billy. William inherited the principality of Orange from his father, William II and his mother Mary, Princess Royal, was the daughter of King Charles I of England. In 1677, he married his fifteen-year-old first cousin, Mary, a Protestant, William participated in several wars against the powerful Catholic king of France, Louis XIV, in coalition with Protestant and Catholic powers in Europe. Many Protestants heralded him as a champion of their faith, in 1685, his Catholic father-in-law, James, Duke of York, became king of England, Ireland and Scotland. Jamess reign was unpopular with the Protestant majority in Britain, William, supported by a group of influential British political and religious leaders, invaded England in what became known as the Glorious Revolution. On 5 November 1688, he landed at the southern English port of Brixham, James was deposed and William and Mary became joint sovereigns in his place. They reigned together until her death on 28 December 1694, after which William ruled as sole monarch, Williams reputation as a staunch Protestant enabled him to take the British crowns when many were fearful of a revival of Catholicism under James. Williams victory at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 is still commemorated by the Orange Order and his reign in Britain marked the beginning of the transition from the personal rule of the Stuarts to the more Parliament-centred rule of the House of Hanover. William III was born in The Hague in the Dutch Republic on 4 November 1650, baptised William Henry, he was the only child of stadtholder William II, Prince of Orange, and Mary, Princess Royal. Mary was the eldest daughter of King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland, eight days before William was born, his father died of smallpox, thus William was the Sovereign Prince of Orange from the moment of his birth. Immediately, a conflict ensued between his mother the Princess Royal and William IIs mother, Amalia of Solms-Braunfels, over the name to be given to the infant. Mary wanted to name him Charles after her brother, but her mother-in-law insisted on giving him the name William or Willem to bolster his prospects of becoming stadtholder. William II had appointed his wife as his sons guardian in his will, however, Williams mother showed little personal interest in her son, sometimes being absent for years, and had always deliberately kept herself apart from Dutch society. Williams education was first laid in the hands of several Dutch governesses, some of English descent, including Walburg Howard, from April 1656, the prince received daily instruction in the Reformed religion from the Calvinist preacher Cornelis Trigland, a follower of the Contra-Remonstrant theologian Gisbertus Voetius. The ideal education for William was described in Discours sur la nourriture de S. H. Monseigneur le Prince dOrange, in these lessons, the prince was taught that he was predestined to become an instrument of Divine Providence, fulfilling the historical destiny of the House of Orange. From early 1659, William spent seven years at the University of Leiden for a formal education, under the guidance of ethics professor Hendrik Bornius. While residing in the Prinsenhof at Delft, William had a personal retinue including Hans Willem Bentinck, and a new governor, Frederick Nassau de Zuylenstein
21.
Reading, Berkshire
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Reading is a large, historically important town in Berkshire, England, of which it is the county town. The 19th century saw the coming of the Great Western Railway, Today Reading is a major commercial centre, with involvement in information technology and insurance, and, despite its proximity to London, has a net inward commuter flow. The first evidence for Reading as a settlement dates from the 8th century, by 1525, Reading was the largest town in Berkshire, and tax returns show that Reading was the 10th largest town in England when measured by taxable wealth. By 1611, it had a population of over 5000 and had grown rich on its trade in cloth, the 18th century saw the beginning of a major iron works in the town and the growth of the brewing trade for which Reading was to become famous. During the 19th century, the town rapidly as a manufacturing centre. It is ranked the UKs top economic area for economic success and wellbeing, according to such as employment, health, income. Reading is also a regional retail centre serving a large area of the Thames Valley. Every year it hosts the Reading Festival, one of Englands biggest music festivals, sporting teams based in Reading include Reading Football Club and the London Irish rugby union team, and over 15,000 runners annually compete in the Reading Half Marathon. In 2015, Reading had an population of 232,662. The town is represented in Parliament by two members, and has been continuously represented there since 1295, for ceremonial purposes the town is in the county of Berkshire and has served as its county town since 1867, previously sharing this status with Abingdon-on-Thames. It is in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway. Reading is 75 miles east of Bristol,25 miles south of Oxford,42 miles west of London,17 miles north of Basingstoke,13 miles south-west of Maidenhead and 20 miles east of Newbury. Reading may date back to the Roman occupation of Britain, possibly as a port for Calleva Atrebatum. However the first clear evidence for Reading as a settlement dates from the 8th century, the name probably comes from the Readingas, an Anglo-Saxon tribe whose name means Readas People in Old English, or less probably the Celtic Rhydd-Inge, meaning Ford over the River. In late 870, an army of Danes invaded the kingdom of Wessex, on 4 January 871, in the first Battle of Reading, King Ethelred and his brother Alfred the Great attempted unsuccessfully to breach the Danes defences. The battle is described in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and that account provides the earliest known record of the existence of Reading. The Danes remained in Reading until late in 871, when they retreated to their quarters in London. After the Battle of Hastings and the Norman conquest of England, William the Conqueror gave land in, in its 1086 Domesday Book listing, the town was explicitly described as a borough
22.
Dutch Republic
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It preceded the Batavian Republic, the Kingdom of Holland, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, and ultimately the modern Kingdom of the Netherlands. Alternative names include the United Provinces, Seven Provinces, Federated Dutch Provinces, most of the Low Countries had come under the rule of the House of Burgundy and subsequently the House of Habsburg. In 1549 Holy Roman Emperor Charles V issued the Pragmatic Sanction, Charles was succeeded by his son, King Philip II of Spain. This was the start of the Eighty Years War, in 1579 a number of the northern provinces of the Low Countries signed the Union of Utrecht, in which they promised to support each other in their defence against the Spanish army. This was followed in 1581 by the Act of Abjuration, the declaration of independence of the provinces from Philip II. In 1582 the United Provinces invited Francis, Duke of Anjou to lead them, but after an attempt to take Antwerp in 1583. After the assassination of William of Orange, both Henry III of France and Elizabeth I of England declined the offer of sovereignty, however, the latter agreed to turn the United Provinces into a protectorate of England, and sent the Earl of Leicester as governor-general. This was unsuccessful and in 1588 the provinces became a confederacy, the Union of Utrecht is regarded as the foundation of the Republic of the Seven United Provinces, which was not recognized by the Spanish Empire until the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. During the Anglo-French war, the territory was divided into groups, the Patriots, who were pro-French and pro-American and the Orangists. The Republic of the United Provinces faced a series of revolutions in 1783–1787. During this period, republican forces occupied several major Dutch cities, initially on the defence, the Orangist forces received aid from Prussian troops and retook the Netherlands in 1787. After the French Republic became the French Empire under Napoleon, the Batavian Republic was replaced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Holland, the Netherlands regained independence from France in 1813. In the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 the names United Provinces of the Netherlands, on 16 March 1815, the son of stadtholder William V crowned himself King William I of the Netherlands. Between 1815 and 1890 the King of the Netherlands was also in a union the Grand Duke of the sovereign Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. After Belgium gained its independence in 1830, the state became known as the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The County of Holland was the wealthiest and most urbanized region in the world, the free trade spirit of the time received a strong augmentation through the development of a modern, effective stock market in the Low Countries. The Netherlands has the oldest stock exchange in the world, founded in 1602 by the Dutch East India Company, while Rotterdam has the oldest bourse in the Netherlands, the worlds first stock exchange, that of the Dutch East-India Company, went public in six different cities. Later, a court ruled that the company had to reside legally in a city so Amsterdam is recognized as the oldest such institution based on modern trading principles
23.
Battle of Walcourt
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The Battle of Walcourt was fought on 25 August 1689 during the Nine Years War. The action took place near the ancient walled town of Walcourt near Charleroi in the Spanish Netherlands, and brought to a close a summer of uneventful marching, manoeuvring, and foraging. The battle was a success for the Grand Alliance – the only significant engagement in the theatre during the campaign of 1689, the Allied army was commanded by the Prince of Waldeck, the French army by the duc de Humières. The battle incurred some 2,000 French casualties against the Allied losses of less than 300, in September 1688, King Louis XIV’s forces invaded the Rhineland and besieged the German town of Philippsburg. What was supposed to be a campaign lasting months, evolved into the Nine Years War. By moving into the Rhineland, Louis dispelled fears in the Dutch Republic of an attack upon them. The Spanish Netherlands would later become the theatre of the war. William entrusted overall command of his 35,000 troops in the theatre to the 69-year-old Prince of Waldeck, administrative problems and the late arrival of contingents delayed the opening of the Allied offensive in the region until late June. Waldeck moved from near Tienen and headed towards Fleurus, the two spent the next two months marching and counter-marching in an attempt to gain a strategic advantage. By 24 August Waldeck had crossed the Sambre and had camped near the ancient town of Walcourt where he was satisfied to live upon enemy territory. On 25 August, Allied foragers, escorted by 600 English troops of Colonel Hodges’ Regiment were sent out to the surrounding countryside, Humières, in an effort to expel the intruders, fell upon the foraging parties and allied outposts about 2 miles south of Walcourt. The foragers were recalled and the Allied camp made readiness for action, for nearly two hours Hodges’ regiment was able to prevent the development of the French vanguard, and covered the retreat of the surprised foragers before retiring his troops to a nearby mill. By 11,00, Marlborough had arrived within sight of the engagement. Waldeck later commented to William – and the English, who are with him, have accomplished miracles, despite his troop’s failure to overcome Hodges’ small force, Humières decided to attack Walcourt itself, which had since been occupied by 600 men. The ground was not favourable to the French – although the defences of the town were antiquated, nevertheless, several attacks were pressed home, but the French suffered heavy casualties from the Allied enfilading guns. Despite the losses Humières persisted, and sent a party of Gardes Françaises to try to set alight Walcourt’s gates. The attempt failed, and the safety of the garrison was assured after Brigadier-General Thomas Tollemache brought the Coldstream Guards, Humières saw himself forced to widen the battle and now flung his men in an improvised attack against the right wing of the main Allied line beyond the town. Humières had been humiliated, but due to problems, Waldeck made little attempt to follow up his success
24.
Battle of Steenkerque
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The Battle of Steenkerque was fought on 3 August 1692, as a part of the Nine Years War. It resulted in the victory of the French under Marshal François-Henri de Montmorency, the battle took place near the village of Steenkerque in the Southern Netherlands,50 kilometres south-west of Brussels. Steenkerque is now part of the Belgian municipality of Braine-le-Comte, the French had achieved their immediate object by capturing of Namur. The French, not wishing to fight, took up a defensive position in accordance with the strategical methods of the time. The French army lay facing north-west with its right on the Zenne at Steenkerque and their supposition was that the enemy would not dare to attack it. William III had replaced Waldeck as supreme allied commander, the allied army was encamped about Halle. Of the 20 British regiments in the Allied army,8 were Scottish, including the famed Mackay Regiment, who had landed with William at Torbay in 1688. The Allies, who would probably have done as the French marshal desired, were by the fortune of war afforded the opportunity of surprising a part of the enemys forces. Accordingly, William set his army in motion before dawn on 3 August and he completely misled the enemy by forcing a detected spy to give Luxemburg false news. The Allied advanced guard of infantry and pioneers, under the Duke of Wurttemberg, the main body of the French army was farther back and forming up after the passage of some woods. Belatedly, Luxembourg became aware of the impending blow, when the fight opened, Luxembourg was completely surprised and he could do no more than hurry the nearest foot and dragoons into action as each regiment came on the scene. The march of the Allies main body was mismanaged, Wurttemberg started methodically cannonading the enemy while waiting for support and for the order to advance. The French worked with feverish energy to form a strong and well-covered line of battle at the threatened point. The allied main body had marched in the order with one wing of cavalry leading, the infantry following. On arrival at the field they were sorted out into infantry and cavalry. Only a few Allied battalions had come up to support the guard when the real attack opened at 12,30. Although the advanced guard had already been under arms for nine hours, the British and Danes stubbornly advanced and the second and third lines of the French infantry gave ground before them. However, Luxembourg was rapidly massing his whole force to crush them, during this time the confusion in the allied main body had reached its height
25.
Battle of Landen
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The French assaulted the Allied position three times before the French cavalry finally penetrated the allied defences and drove Williams army from the field in a rout. The battle was, however, quite costly for both sides, the French losing 9,000 men to the Allies 19,000, the French failed to follow up on their victory, allowing William to escape. William had no mind to retire over the Gete River and entrenched a line from Laar through Neerwinden to Neerlanden. On the right of line, the ground was broken. In the centre the open ground between Neerwinden and Neerlanden was solidly entrenched, in front of it Rumsdorp was held as an advance post, the left at Neerlanden rested upon the Landen brook and was difficult to access. Williams right was his dangerous flank, and Marshal Luxembourg was aware that the Allies front was somewhat long for the numbers defending it, the intervention of troops drawn from one wing to reinforce the other would almost certainly be too late. Elsewhere, delivering holding attacks or demonstrations, as might be necessary, would prevent the Allied centre. Marshal Luxembourg had about 80,000 men to Williams 50,000, opposite the entrenchments of the centre he drew up nearly the whole of his cavalry in six lines, with two lines of infantry intercalated. A corps of infantry and dragoons was held off for the attack on Neerlanden, the troops destined for the main attack,28,000 of all arms, formed up in heavy masses opposite Neerwinden. This proportion of about one-third of the force to be employed in the decisive attack in the event proved insufficient. The troops opposite the Allied centre and left had to act with the greatest energy to fulfill their containinment mission, at Laar-Neerwinden the eventual success of the attack was bought only at the price of the utter exhaustion of the troops. After a long cannonade the French columns moved to the attack, converging on Neerwinden, the edge of the villages was carried, but in the interior a murderous struggle began, every foot of ground being contested. After a time William himself, leading a counterattack, expelled the assailants from both villages. A second attack, pushed with the energy, was met with the same determination. Meanwhile, the French in other parts of the field had pressed their attacks home, the six lines of cavalry in the centre, after enduring the fire of the Allies for many hours, trotted over the open ground and up to the entrenchments to meet with certain defeat. At Neerlanden and Rumsdorp there was severe hand-to-hand fighting and they fell back slowly and steadily, defying pursuit—the English Coldstream Guards even captured a colour. However, at this crisis the initiative of a subordinate general, William had begun to move troops from his centre and left to the right in order to meet the great assault on Neerwinden. Feuquières, observing this, led the cavalry of the French centre once again straight at the entrenchments
26.
Siege of Namur (1695)
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The Siege of Namur,2 July –1 September 1695, was the second siege of the city of Namur in the Nine Years War. The Allied forces of the Grand Alliance retook the city from the French, the recapture of Namur has been called the most important event in the Nine Years War. The French captured the city of Namur in the first siege in 1692, under the command of the Duc de Luxembourg, namurs defensive works had been designed by Menno van Coehoorn, who oversaw the citadels defence during the first siege. His French counterpart, Vauban improved the defensive works significantly after the city was taken, given its strategic position at the confluence of the Sambre and Meuse rivers, the Citadel of Namur became the most strategically important fortress in the Spanish Netherlands. By 3 July, they had invested the city, Menno van Coehoorn, in a reversal of roles, directed the siege works against the city. By 18 July, Allied forces had overcome the fortifications that Vauban had built. Five battalions of English and Dutch troops launched an assault on the Brussels Gate of Namur, the general assault began on 3 August, and the Duc de Boufflers, the French commander, offered the surrender of the city. The offer was accepted, and the day as part of the terms of surrender a six-day truce was granted to attend to the wounded. The truce was guaranteed by an exchange of high-ranking officers as hostages, after the six days had expired, the returned to their camps. The Duke of Villeroi made an attempt to draw the attackers away from Namur by bombing the militarily unimportant target of Brussels, the bombardment lasted from 13 –15 August, and did not divert any Allied troops from the siege of Namur. Villerois army later attempted to lift the Allied siege of Namur, after a further month of resistance, Boufflers surrendered the citadel to the besieging army on 1 September, having lost 8000 of his 13,000 men. William had Boufflers detained, as Boufflers had violated the terms of surrender and treated Allied prisoners of war poorly after battles at Deinze, other regiments taking part included the Bedfordshire Regiment In Laurence Sternes novel Tristram Shandy, Tristrams uncle Toby injured his groin at the Siege of Namur. A major subplot of the novel involves his obsession with the siege and reenacting battles from the war with his trusty sidekick, the siege and Tobys reconstruction of it are featured in the film version of the novel, A Cock and Bull Story. Asbl Les Amis de la Citadelle de Namur, Vauban et Coehoorn saffrontent à Namur, Namurcitadelle. be, archived from the original on 21 October 2013 Brewer, Shandy, Dictionary of Phrase & Fable
27.
Treaty of Ryswick
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The Treaty of Ryswick, or Ryswyck, was signed on 20 September 1697 and named after Ryswick in the Dutch Republic. The treaty settled the War of the League of Augsburg, which pitted France against the Grand Alliance of England, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire and the United Provinces. Under the terms of the treaty, France renounced some recent territorial gains, the French representatives had their headquarters at The Hague, and the allies were based in Delft, the conference taking place in between the two towns in the Huis ter Nieuwburg, Ryswick. Soon, Spain gave way, and on 20 September a treaty of peace was signed between France and the three powers, England, Spain and the United Provinces. William then persuaded Leopold to make peace, and a treaty between France and the Holy Roman Empire was signed on the following 30 October, the basis of the peace was that all towns and districts seized since the Treaty of Nijmegen should be restored. France surrendered Freiburg, Breisach, and Philippsburg to the Holy Roman Empire, on the other hand, France regained Pondichéry, as well as Acadia, and Spain recovered Catalonia and the barrier fortresses of Mons, Luxembourg, and Kortrijk. The War of the Grand Alliance also played out in North America, the French colonies of Acadia and Canada, along with their Native allies, fought the northern English colonies and their Native allies. Still, the Treaty of Ryswick returned the territorial borders to where they had been before the war, the Iroquois nation, deserted by the English allies, continued to make war on the French colonies until the Great Peace of Montreal of 1701. Needle of Rijswijk Peace of Basel 1795 — Hispaniola Barrier Treaty Treaty of Utrecht Treaty of Ryswick and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Treaty Of Ryswick. History of European Diplomacy, 1451–1789324 pages online pp 141-54, eccles, W. J. Canada Under Louis XIV
28.
Carrickfergus
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Carrickfergus, colloquially known as Carrick, is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the shore of Belfast Lough,11 miles from Belfast. The town had a population of 27,903 at the 2011 Census and it is County Antrims oldest town and one of the oldest towns in Ireland as a whole. It is also a townland of 65 acres, a civil parish, the town is the subject of the classic Irish folk song Carrickfergus, a 19th-century translation of an Irish-language song from Munster, which begins with the words, I wish I was in Carrickfergus. The British peerage title of Baron Carrickfergus, which had become extinct in 1883, was bestowed upon Prince William on his day in 2011. The town is said to take its name from Fergus Mór, according to one tale, his ship ran aground on a rock by the shore, which became known as Carraig Fhearghais – the rock of Fergus. As an urban settlement, Carrickfergus far pre-dates the capital city Belfast and was for a period both larger and more prominent than the nearby city. Belfast Lough itself was known as Carrickfergus Bay well into the 17th century, Carrickfergus and the surrounding area was, for a time, treated as a separate county. Segments of the wall are still visible in various parts of the town. Archaeological excavations close to the foundations have yielded many artefacts that have helped historians piece together a picture of the lives of the 12th and 13th century inhabitants. The castle, which is the most prominent landmark of Carrickfergus, is known as one of the best-preserved Norman castles in Ireland. Sometime between 1203 and 1205, De Courcy was expelled from Ulster by Hugh de Lacy, as authorised by King John, De Lacy oversaw the final construction of the castle, which included the gatehouse, drum towers and outer ward. It was at time that he established the nearby St Nicholas Church. De Lacy was relieved of his command of the town in 1210, the Battle of Carrickfergus, part of the Nine Years War, took place in and around the town in November 1597. It was fought between the forces of Queen Elizabeth I and the Scots clan of MacDonnell, and resulted in a defeat for the English. In 1637 the Surveyor General of Customs issued a report compiled from accounts of customs due from each port, of the Ulster ports on the list, Carrickfergus was first, followed by Bangor, Donaghadee, and Strangford. In the same year the town sold its customs rights - which ran from Groomsport, County Down up to Larne and this in part led to its decline in importance as the province of Ulster grew. Nevertheless, the castle withstood several days of siege by the forces of William of Orange in 1689
29.
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
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General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Prince of Mindelheim, KG, PC, was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reigns of five monarchs. It was not until the accession of Queen Anne in 1702 that Marlborough reached the zenith of his powers and secured his fame and fortune. His marriage to the hot-tempered Sarah Jennings – Annes intimate friend – ensured Marlboroughs rise, first to the Captain-Generalcy of British forces, but his wifes stormy relationship with the Queen, and her subsequent dismissal from court, was central to his own fall. Incurring Annes disfavour, and caught between Tory and Whig factions, Marlborough, who had brought glory and success to Annes reign, was forced from office and went into self-imposed exile. He returned to England and to influence under the House of Hanover with the accession of George I to the British throne in 1714, Marlboroughs insatiable ambition made him the richest of all Annes subjects. His family connections wove him into the fabric of European politics and his leadership of the allied armies consolidated Britains emergence as a front-rank power. He successfully maintained unity among the allies, thereby demonstrating his diplomatic skills, Churchill was the son of Sir Winston Churchill of Glanvilles Wootton in Dorset, by his wife Elizabeth Drake, fourth daughter of Sir John Drake of Ash in the parish of Musbury in Devon. The Churchill family are stated by the Devon historian William George Hoskins to have originated at the estate of Churchill, in the parish of Broadclyst in Devon, although Winston had paid off the fine by 1651, it had impoverished him. From this episode may derive the Churchill family motto, Fiel Pero Desdichado, Winston Churchill and his wife Elizabeth Drake had at least nine children, only five of whom survived infancy. The eldest daughter, Arabella Churchill, was born on 28 February 1649, John Churchill, the two younger sons were George Churchill, an admiral in the Royal Navy, and Charles Churchill, a general who served on campaign in Europe with his eldest brother John. His descendant and biographer the Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, asserted that the conditions at Ashe might well have aroused in his mind two prevailing impressions, first a hatred of poverty. And secondly the need of hiding thoughts and feelings from those to whom their expression would be repugnant, after the Restoration of King Charles II in 1660 his fathers fortunes took a turn for the better, although he remained far from prosperous. The Kings own penury meant the old Cavaliers received scant financial reward, thus in 1665, Johns sister Arabella became Maid of Honour to Anne Hyde, the Duchess of York. Some months later John,15, joined her at court serving as page to Annes husband, James, Duke of York, the Duke of Yorks passion for all things naval and military rubbed off on young Churchill. Often accompanying the Duke inspecting the troops in the royal parks, on 14 September 1667, he obtained a commission as Ensign in the Kings Own Company in the 1st Guards, later to become the Grenadier Guards. That is unlikely, and even Sir Winston S. Churchill says There is, indeed, the known facts are that he was commissioned Ensign in September 1667, as above. By February 1671, John Churchill was back in London and duelling with Sir John Fenwick, but his liaisons with the insatiable temptress were indeed dangerous. You are a rascal, said Charles, but I forgive you because you do it to get your bread
30.
Battle of Schellenberg
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The Battle of Schellenberg, also known as the Battle of Donauwörth, was fought on 2 July 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession. The engagement was part of the Duke of Marlboroughs campaign to save the Habsburg capital of Vienna from an advance by King Louis XIVs Franco-Bavarian forces ranged in southern Germany. For this purpose, Marlborough selected the town of Donauwörth, rejecting a protracted siege, Marlborough decided in favour of a quick assault, before the position could be made impregnable. After two failed attempts to storm the barricades, the Allied commanders, acting in unison, finally managed to overwhelm the defenders. It had taken just two hours to secure the bridgehead over the river in a hard fought contest, but following the victory, the deliberate devastation of the Electors lands in Bavaria failed to bring Max Emanuel to battle or persuade him back into the Imperial fold. The Battle of Schellenberg was part of the Grand Alliances campaign of 1704 to prevent the Franco-Bavarian army from threatening Vienna, the capital of Habsburg Austria. However, when the Elector was notified on 5 June of Marlboroughs march from the Low Countries, holy Roman Emperor Leopold I was keen to lure the Elector back into the Imperial fold after he had switched allegiance to fight for King Louis XIV before the war. By 22 June Marlboroughs army had linked up with elements of the Margrave of Badens Imperial forces at Launsheim, by the end of June their combined strength totalled nearly 80,000 men. Once the Allies had combined their forces, the Elector and Marsin moved their 40,000 troops into the camp between Dillingen and Lauingen on the north bank of the Danube. The Schellenberg heights dominate the skyline to the northeast of Donauwörth – the walled town on the confluence of the Wörnitz, the western section of the lines ran steeply downhill from the fort to the city walls. Here, there was little to show in terms of defences, in 1703 Marshal Villars had advised the Elector to fortify his towns. And above all the Schellenberg, that fort above Donauwörth, the importance of which the great Gustavus taught us. DArco was entrusted with 12,000 men, most of whom were drawn from Bavarias best units including the Electors Guards, in addition, Donauwörth was held by a French battalion and two battalions of Bavarian militia. On the night of 1–2 July, the Allies were camped at Armerdingen,15 miles from Donauwörth, dArco knew of the whereabouts of the Allied camp at Armerdingen, and was confident he had at least a full day and night to prepare his defences. At 03,00 on 2 July the Allied advance guard began to camp for the march towards Donauwörth. Marlborough personally oversaw the advance of the assault force of 5, 850-foot. The Dutch General Johan Wijnand van Goor would lead this vanguard, in all, the Allies were deploying 22,000 men in the operation. There was, therefore, no time to be lost, as the Allies marched, work on the defences of Donauwörth and the Schellenberg were proceeding in earnest
31.
Battle of Blenheim
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The Battle of Blenheim, fought on 13 August 1704, was a major battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. The overwhelming Allied victory ensured the safety of Vienna from the Franco-Bavarian army, Louis XIV of France sought to knock Emperor Leopold out of the war by seizing Vienna, the Habsburg capital, and gain a favourable peace settlement. Vienna was also pressure from Rákóczis Hungarian revolt from its eastern approaches. Realising the danger, the Duke of Marlborough resolved to alleviate the peril to Vienna by marching his forces south from Bedburg, after securing Donauwörth on the Danube, Marlborough sought to engage the Electors and Marsins army before Marshal Tallard could bring reinforcements through the Black Forest. However, with the Franco-Bavarian commanders reluctant to fight until their numbers were deemed sufficient, the battle has gone down in history as one of the turning points of the War of the Spanish Succession. Bavaria was knocked out of the war, and Louis hopes for a victory came to an end. France suffered over 30,000 casualties including the commander-in-chief, Marshal Tallard, before the 1704 campaign ended, the Allies had taken Landau, and the towns of Trier and Trarbach on the Moselle in preparation for the following years campaign into France itself. By 1704, the War of the Spanish Succession was in its fourth year, Vienna had been saved by dissension between the two commanders, leading to the brilliant Villars being replaced by the less dynamic Marshal Marsin. In the courts of Versailles and Madrid, Viennas fall was confidently anticipated, a scarlet caterpillar, upon which all eyes were at once fixed, began to crawl steadfastly day by day across the map of Europe, dragging the whole war with it. Marlboroughs march started on 19 May from Bedburg,20 miles north-west of Cologne, the army consisted of 66 squadrons,31 battalions and 38 guns and mortars totalling 21,000 men. This force was to be augmented en route such that by the time Marlborough reached the Danube, whilst Marlborough led his army, General Overkirk would maintain a defensive position in the Dutch Republic in case Villeroi mounted an attack. In this assumption Marlborough proved correct, Villeroi shadowed the Duke with 30,000 men in 60 squadrons and 42 battalions, such a long march would almost certainly involve a high wastage of men and horses through exhaustion and disease. However, Marlborough was convinced of the urgency – I am very sensible that I take a deal upon me, he had earlier written to Godolphin, but should I act otherwise. Whilst Allied preparations had progressed, the French were striving to maintain, Tallard then returned with his own force to the Rhine, once again side-stepping Thüngens efforts to intercept him. The whole operation was a military achievement. On 26 May, Marlborough reached Coblenz, where the Moselle meets the Rhine, If he intended an attack along the Moselle the Duke must now turn west, but, instead, the following day the army crossed to the right bank of the Rhine. There will be no campaign on the Moselle, wrote Villeroi who had taken up a position on the river. A second possible objective now occurred to the French – an Allied incursion into Alsace, with Villeroi shadowing Marlboroughs every move, Marlboroughs gamble that the French would not move against the weakened Dutch position in the Netherlands paid off
32.
Battle of Ramillies
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The Battle of Ramillies /ˈræmɪliːz/, fought on 23 May 1706, was a battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. For the Grand Alliance – Austria, England, and the Dutch Republic – the battle had followed a campaign against the Bourbon armies of King Louis XIV of France in 1705. Although the Allies had captured Barcelona that year, they had forced to abandon their campaign on the Moselle, had stalled in the Spanish Netherlands. Yet despite his opponents setbacks Louis XIV was desirous of peace –, for this end and in order to maintain their momentum, the French and their allies took the offensive in 1706. Encouraged by these early gains Louis XIV urged Marshal Villeroi to go over to the offensive in the Spanish Netherlands and, with victory, gain a fair peace. Accordingly, the French Marshal set off from Leuven at the head of 60,000 men and marched towards Tienen, as if to threaten Zoutleeuw. Also determined to fight an engagement, the Duke of Marlborough, commander-in-chief of Anglo-Dutch forces, assembled his army – some 62,000 men – near Maastricht. With both sides seeking battle, they encountered each other on the dry ground between the Mehaigne and Petite Gheete rivers, close to the small village of Ramillies. In less than four hours Marlboroughs Dutch, English, and Danish forces overwhelmed Villerois, the Dukes subtle moves and changes in emphasis during the battle – something his opponents failed to realise until it was too late – caught the French in a tactical vice. With their foe broken and routed, the Allies were able to exploit their victory. Town after town fell, including Brussels, Bruges and Antwerp, with Prince Eugenes subsequent success at the Battle of Turin in northern Italy, the Allies had imposed the greatest loss of territory and resources that Louis XIV would suffer during the war. Thus, the year 1706 proved, for the Allies, to be an annus mirabilis, after their disastrous defeat at Blenheim in 1704, the next year brought the French some respite. Marlborough had to cope with the death of Emperor Leopold I in May and the accession of Joseph I, the resilience of the French King and the efforts of his generals, also added to Marlborough’s problems. Marshal Villeroi, exerting pressure on the Dutch commander, Count Overkirk, along the Meuse. With Marshal Villars sitting strong on the Moselle, the Allied commander – whose supplies had by now very short – was forced to call off his campaign on 16 June. What a disgrace for Marlborough, exulted Villeroi, to have made false movements without any result, with Marlborough’s departure north, the French transferred troops from the Moselle valley to reinforce Villeroi in Flanders, while Villars marched off to the Rhine. On 11 January 1706, Marlborough finally reached London at the end of his diplomatic tour and it seems that the Duke’s favoured scheme was to return to the Moselle valley and once more attempt an advance into the heart of France. But these decisions soon became academic, shortly after Marlborough landed in the Dutch Republic on 14 April, news arrived of big Allied setbacks in the wider war
33.
Battle of Oudenarde
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It took place at Oudenaarde and was a great victory for the allies. The commander of the armies was John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, whose chief deputy was the commander of the Empires army Prince Eugène of Savoy. Meanwhile, the two French army commanders were very quarrelsome, Louis Joseph, duc de Vendôme was a seasoned, experienced soldier. The Duke of Burgundy had considerably less experience and owed his position to the fact he was the grandson of the King, Marlboroughs army consisted of about 90,000 men just south of Brussels. Eugènes forces were assembled at Coblenz, in modern Germany and these two areas were somewhat far apart, while the French armys 100,000 soldiers were concentrated near Mons, in modern Belgium. At this time, the French commanders began quarrelling, Vendôme wanted to attack the city of Huy, which could draw Marlborough in pursuit. The eventual plan adopted, however, was to attack Flanders, the army moved eastward, until they reached the city of Braine-lAlleud, which was about 25 km south of Brussels, and also threatened the nearby city of Leuven. Marlborough placed his forces a few south of Leuven, in order to cover both threatened cities. The French army then remained inactive for more than a month and this apparently allowed the extremely behind schedule Eugène to bring his army from the Rhine River. On 5 July, however, the French unexpectedly moved west, taking the cities of Bruges and this extremely demoralized Marlborough and his army, and he did not recover until Eugène was at his side. The French army had the length of the Scheldt River from the French border to the newly taken city of Ghent. Only one British fortress remained, Oudenaarde, if they took that city, Marlboroughs army would be cut off from the coast, causing them to lose communications with England. Marlborough detected this objective, and also correctly guessed the method by which the French troops would attempt to take it and they would march down the east bank of the Scheldt, while leaving a large covering force between the two opposing armies. The French army marched on 8 July, toward the city of Lessines, however, Marlborough made one of the most inspired forced marches in history, taking the city on 10 July. This forced the French commanders to attempt simply to march across the Scheldt, again Marlborough ordered a forced march. This time, though, he ordered 11,000 troops to hold the crossing point across the Scheldt, under the command of his Quartermaster General. Cadogans force built 5 additional pontoon bridges to allow Marlborough to get his 100, 000-strong army across the river, Cadogan, a superb Irish cavalry commander, ordered some dragoons, under Danish General Jørgen Rantzau, to take prisoners from the French advance guard. Many of those troops escaped and alerted Lieutenant General Charles-Armand de Gontaut, duc de Biron, when de Biron advanced, he was disagreeably surprised by the large number of Allied cavalry already across the river, along with the approaching Allied infantry
34.
Battle of Malplaquet
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After a late start to the campaigning season owing to the unusually harsh winter preceding it, the allied campaign of 1709 began in mid June. Villars moved after him, under new orders from Louis XIV to prevent the fall of Mons at all costs – effectively an order for the aggressive Marshal to give battle. After several complicated manoeuvres, the two faced each other across the gap of Malplaquet, south-west of Mons. Boufflers was officially Villars superior but voluntarily serving under him, the allies had about 86,000 troops and 100 guns and the French had about 75,000 and 80 guns, and they were encamped within cannon range of each other near what is now the France/Belgium border. At around 1.00 pm Villars was badly wounded by a ball which smashed his knee. The decisive final attack was made on the now weakened French centre by British infantry under the command of the Earl of Orkney and this enabled the Allied cavalry to advance through this line and confront the French cavalry behind it. A fierce cavalry battle now ensued, in which Boufflers personally led the troops of the Maison du Roi. He managed no less than six times to drive the Allied cavalry back upon the redans, finally, by 3.00 pm Boufflers, realising that the battle could not be won, ordered a retreat, which was made in good order. The Allies had suffered so many casualties in their attack that they could not pursue him, by this time they had lost over 21,000 men, almost twice as many as the French. Villars himself remarked on the enemys Pyrrhic victory via the flip-side of King Pyrrhus famous quote, If it please God to give your majestys enemies another such victory, they are ruined. A first-hand account of the Battle of Malplaquet is given in the book Amiable Renegade, Captain Peter Drake, an Irishman who spent most of his life as a mercenary in the service of various European armies, served the French cause in the battle and was wounded several times. Drake wrote his memoirs at an advanced age, in contrast with the Dukes previous victories, however, the French army was able to withdraw in good order and relatively intact, and remained a potent threat to further allied operations. Nonetheless, news of Malplaquet, the bloodiest battle of the century, stunned Europe. For the last of his four great battlefield victories, the Duke of Marlborough received no letter of thanks from Queen Anne. The rumour post-battle that even Marlborough had died spawned one of the most popular French folk songs of all time, margery Allinghams mystery novel Sweet Danger includes a vital document hidden in the Malplaquet or Pontisbright drum. Battle of Malplaquet at Battlefield Anomalies, the French Army 1600–1900 Battle of Malplaquet at BritishBattles. com Amiable Renegade, The Memoirs of Captain Peter Drake
35.
Dunkirk
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Dunkirk is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It lies 10 kilometres from the Belgian border, the population of the city at the 2012 census was 90,995 inhabitants. The name of Dunkirk derives from West Flemish dun and kerke, nowadays, Dunkirk is the worlds northernmost Francophone city. About 960AD Count Baldwin III had a wall erected, in order to protect the settlement against Viking raids. The surrounding wetlands were drained and cultivated by the monks of nearby Bergues Abbey, the name Dunkirk was first mentioned in a tithe privilege of 27 May 1067, issued by Count Baldwin V of Flanders. Count Philip I brought further large tracts of marshland under cultivation, laid out first plans to build a Canal from Dunkirk to Bergues and vested the Dunkirkers with market rights. However, in the course of the Western Schism from 1378, English supporters of Pope Urban VI disembarked at Dunkirk, captured the city and they were ejected by King Charles VI of France, but left great devastations in and around the town. Upon the extinction of the Counts of Flanders with the death of Louis II in 1384, Flanders was acquired by the Burgundian, the fortifications were again enlarged, including the construction of a belfry daymark. As Maximilian was the son of Emperor Frederick III, all Flanders was immediately seized by King Louis XI of France. However, the defeated the French troops at the 1479 Battle of Guinegate. The area remained disputed between Spain, the United Netherlands, England and France. At the beginning of the Eighty Years War, Dunkirk was briefly in the hands of the Dutch rebels, Spanish forces under Duke Alexander Farnese of Parma re-established Spanish rule in 1583 and it became a base for the notorious Dunkirkers. The Dunkirkers briefly lost their home port when the city was conquered by the French in 1646, in 1658, as a result of the long war between France and Spain, it was captured after a siege by Franco-English forces following the battle of the Dunes. The city along with Fort-Mardyck was awarded to England in the peace the following year as agreed in the Franco-English alliance against Spain and it came under French rule when Charles II of England sold it to France for £320,000 on 17 October 1662. The French government developed the town as a fortified port, the towns existing defences were adapted to create ten bastions. The port was expanded in the 1670s by the construction of a basin that could hold up to thirty warships with a lock system to maintain water levels at low tide. The basin was linked to the sea by a channel dug through coastal sandbanks secured by two jetties and this work was completed by 1678. The jetties were defended a few years later by the construction of five forts, Château dEspérance, Château Vert, Grand Risban, Château Gaillard, an additional fort was built in 1701 called Fort Blanc
36.
Leith
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Leith /ˈliːθ/, Scottish Gaelic, Lìte, is a district to the north of the city of Edinburgh at the mouth of the Water of Leith. The earliest surviving references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of Holyrood Abbey in 1128. The medieval settlements of Leith had grown into a burgh by 1833, historically part of Midlothian, Leith is sited on the coast of the Firth of Forth and lies within the council area of the City of Edinburgh. The port remains one of its most valuable enterprises, handling over 1.5 million tonnes of cargo a year in 2003, previous to the bridge being built in the late 15th century, Leith had settlements on either side of the river, lacking an easy crossing. South Leith was larger and was controlled by the lairds of Restalrig and it was based on trade and had many merchants houses and warehouses. This was where ships offloaded their cargoes at The Shore where they were collected by Edinburgh merchants, leithers were explicitly forbidden by statute to participate directly in the trade at the port, to ensure that landed goods were not sold elsewhere. North Leith was smaller but proportionately richer, coming under the jurisdiction of Holyrood Abbey and it was effectively a fishing village consisting of one street, now Sandport Street and Quayside Lane. Burgage plots ran down to the river from each house and this has traditionally been the shipbuilding side of Leith with several wet and dry docks built over time. The first dry dock in Scotland was built here in 1720, a small peninsula of land on the east bank also came under the same jurisdiction on what is now Sheriff Brae/Sheriff Bank. The first bridge to both banks of the river was built in 1493 by Abbot Bellenden, who controlled the church at North Leith. The bridge was a bridge, the revenue supplementing the churchs income. Reputedly Leiths oldest building, it was demolished in 1780 to allow ships to sail further upstream, the earliest evidence of settlement in Leith comes from several archaeological digs undertaken in the Shore area in the late 20th century. Amongst the finds were medieval wharf edges from the 12th century and this date fits with the earliest documentary evidence of settlement in Leith - the foundation charter of Holyrood Abbey. Leith has played a long and prominent role in Scottish history, as the major port serving Edinburgh, it has been the stage on which many significant events in Scottish history have taken place. Mary of Guise ruled Scotland from Leith in 1560 as Regent while her daughter, Mary, Mary of Guise moved the Scottish Court to Leith, to a site that is now Parliament Street, off Coalhill. According to the 18th-century historian William Maitland, her palace was situated on Rotten Row, now Water Street. Artifacts from the residence are held by the National Museum of Scotland. In June 1560, Mary of Guise died, and the Siege of Leith ended with the departure of the French troops in accordance with the Treaty of Leith, also known as the Treaty of Edinburgh
37.
Scotland
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Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It shares a border with England to the south, and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east. In addition to the mainland, the country is made up of more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles, the Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the Early Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, James VI, King of Scots, became King of England and King of Ireland, Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain. The union also created a new Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. Within Scotland, the monarchy of the United Kingdom has continued to use a variety of styles, titles, the legal system within Scotland has also remained separate from those of England and Wales and Northern Ireland, Scotland constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in both public and private law. Glasgow, Scotlands largest city, was one of the worlds leading industrial cities. Other major urban areas are Aberdeen and Dundee, Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third-largest city in Scotland, the title of Europes oil capital, following a referendum in 1997, a Scottish Parliament was re-established, in the form of a devolved unicameral legislature comprising 129 members, having authority over many areas of domestic policy. Scotland is represented in the UK Parliament by 59 MPs and in the European Parliament by 6 MEPs, Scotland is also a member nation of the British–Irish Council, and the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly. Scotland comes from Scoti, the Latin name for the Gaels, the Late Latin word Scotia was initially used to refer to Ireland. By the 11th century at the latest, Scotia was being used to refer to Scotland north of the River Forth, alongside Albania or Albany, the use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages. Repeated glaciations, which covered the land mass of modern Scotland. It is believed the first post-glacial groups of hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 12,800 years ago, the groups of settlers began building the first known permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first villages around 6,000 years ago. The well-preserved village of Skara Brae on the mainland of Orkney dates from this period and it contains the remains of an early Bronze Age ruler laid out on white quartz pebbles and birch bark. It was also discovered for the first time that early Bronze Age people placed flowers in their graves, in the winter of 1850, a severe storm hit Scotland, causing widespread damage and over 200 deaths. In the Bay of Skaill, the storm stripped the earth from a large irregular knoll, when the storm cleared, local villagers found the outline of a village, consisting of a number of small houses without roofs. William Watt of Skaill, the laird, began an amateur excavation of the site, but after uncovering four houses
38.
Stirling
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Stirling is a city in central Scotland. The market town, surrounded by farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its merchants and tradesmen, the bridge. Located on the River Forth, Stirling is the centre for the Stirling council area. It is proverbially the strategically important Gateway to the Highlands and it has been said that Stirling, like a huge brooch clasps Highlands and Lowlands together. Similarly he who holds Stirling, holds Scotland is often quoted, stirlings key position as the lowest bridging point of the River Forth before it broadens towards the Firth of Forth, made it a focal point for travel north or south. This invited control for, military advantage in times of unrest, unsurprisingly an excise man was installed in a covered booth in the centre of the bridge to collect tax from any entering the royal burgh with goods. According to a 9th century legend, when Stirling was temporarily under Anglo-Saxon sway, however the sound of a wolf roused a sentry who alerted his garrison to force a Viking retreat. This led to the wolf being adopted as a symbol of the town, even today it appears with a goshawk on the coat of arms along with the recently chosen motto, Steadfast as the Rock. Once the capital of Scotland, Stirling is visually dominated by Stirling Castle, the poet King was educated by George Buchanan and grew up in Stirling. He was later also crowned King of England and Ireland on 25th July 1603, modern Stirling is a centre for local government, higher education, tourism, retail, and industry. The 2011 census recorded the population of the city as 45,750, One of the principal royal strongholds of the Kingdom of Scotland, Stirling was created a royal burgh by King David I in 1130. In 2002, as part of Queen Elizabeths Golden Jubilee, Stirling was granted city status, Stirling was originally a Stone Age settlement as shown by the Randolphfield standing stones and Kings Park prehistoric carvings that can still be found south of the city. The site has been significant since at least the Roman occupation of Britain, due to its naturally defensible crag and tail hill. Coupled to this it enjoys a position which is not far from the Ochil Hills on the border between the Lowlands and Highlands. Its other notable feature is its proximity to the lowest ancient ford of the River Forth. It remained the rivers lowest crossing point until the construction of the Alloa Swing Bridge between Throsk and Alloa in 1885. It is supposed that Stirling is the fortress of Iuddeu or Urbs Giudi where Oswiu of Northumbria was besieged by Penda of Mercia in 655, as recorded in Bede and contemporary annals. Stirling was chartered as a burgh by King David in the 12th century
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Fort William, Highland
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Fort William is the second largest settlement in the Highlands of Scotland with around 10,000 inhabitants – and the largest town, only the city of Inverness is larger. Fort William is a major tourist centre, with Glen Coe just to the south, Aonach Mòr to the east and Glenfinnan to the west and it is a centre for hillwalking and climbing due to its proximity to Ben Nevis and many other Munro mountains. It is also known for its downhill mountain bike track. It is the start/end of both the West Highland Way and the Great Glen Way, around 726 people can speak Gaelic. Questions over the towns English name are various, the post-Glorious Revolution fort was named Fort William after William of Orange, and the settlement that grew around it was called Maryburgh, after his wife. This settlement was later renamed Gordonsburgh, and then Duncansburgh before being renamed Fort William, given these origins, there have been various suggestions over the years to rename the town. These proposals have led to nothing, questions over the towns Gaelic name are also quite interesting. The Gaelic name for the town is An Gearasdan, this is an adaptation of the French term garnison, French loanwords that took root during the Norman ascendancy in the British Isles and the Auld Alliance are far more common in the Scots language than in Gaelic. Historically, this area of Lochaber was strongly Clan Cameron country, the nearby settlement of Inverlochy was the main settlement in the area before the building of the fort, and was also site of the Battle of Inverlochy. In the Jacobite rising known as the Forty-Five, Fort William was besieged for two weeks by the Jacobites, from 20 March to 3 April 1746. However, although the Jacobites had captured both of the forts in the chain of three Great Glen fortifications they failed to take Fort William. During the Second World War, Fort William was the home of HMS St Christopher which was a base for Royal Navy Coastal Forces. More on the history of the town and the region can be found in the West Highland Museum on the High Street, on 2 June 2006, a fire destroyed McTavishs Restaurant in Fort William High Street along with the two shops which were part of the building. The restaurant had been open since the 1970s and prior to that the building had been Frasers Cafe since the 1920s, development work began in 2012 on new hotel accommodation and street-level shops and these opened in 2014. A Waterfront development was proposed by the Council, but there was no overwhelming support for this in the town, the development would have included a hotel, some shops and some housing, but it was stated early in 2008 that it was unlikely to be completed before 2020. It was announced in April 2010 that the project had been abandoned and they join in the intertidal zone and briefly become one river before discharging to the sea. The town and its suburbs are surrounded by picturesque mountains and it is also on the shore of Loch Eil. It is close to Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles, Glen Nevis, when the railway opened to Fort William on 7 August 1894, the station was given prime position at the south end of the town
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Jacobite rising of 1715
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The Jacobite rising of 1715, was the attempt by James Francis Edward Stuart to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled House of Stuart. The Glorious Revolution of 1688–89 resulted in the Roman Catholic Stuart king, James II of England and VII of Scotland, James daughter and her husband, who was also Jamess nephew, ascended to the British thrones as joint sovereigns William and Mary. In 1690 Presbyterianism was established as the religion of Scotland. The Act of Settlement 1701 settled the succession of the English throne on the Protestant House of Hanover, the Act of Union 1707 applied the Act of Settlement to Scotland. With the death of Queen Anne in 1714, the Elector of Hanover, George I, the accession of George I ushered in the Whig supremacy, with the Tories deprived of all political power. Bolingbroke became the Pretenders Secretary of State and accepted an earldom from him, the Pretender believed the Duke of Marlborough would join him when he landed in Scotland, writing to the Duke of Berwick on 23 August, I think it is now more than ever Now or Never. Despite receiving no commission from James to start the rising, the Earl of Mar sailed from London to Scotland, on 6 September at Braemar Mar raised the standard of James the 8th and 3rd, accompanied by 600 supporters. Some of Mars tenants travelled to Edinburgh to prove their loyalty, in northern Scotland, the Jacobites were successful. They took Inverness, Gordon Castle, Aberdeen and further south, Dundee, in Edinburgh Castle were arms for up to 10,000 men and £100,000 paid to Scotland when she entered the Union with England. Lord Drummond, with 80 Jacobites, tried under the cover of night to take the Castle, by October, Mars forces had taken control of all Scotland above the Firth of Forth, apart from Stirling Castle. However Mar was indecisive and the capture of Perth and the south by 2,000 men were probably decided by subordinates. Mars indecisiveness gave the Hanoverian forces under the command of the Duke of Argyll time to increase their strength, on 22 October Mar received his commission from James appointing him commander of the Jacobite army. The Jacobite army outnumbered Argylls forces by three-to-one and Mar decided to march on Stirling Castle, on 13 November at Sheriffmuir, the two forces joined in battle. The fighting was indecisive but nearing the end of the battle the Jacobites numbered 4,000 men, compared to Argylls 1,000. Mars army began to close in on Argylls forces, who were poorly protected, on the same day as the Battle of Sherrifmuir, Inverness surrendered to Hanoverian forces, and a smaller Jacobite force led by Mackintosh of Borlum was defeated at Preston. Amongst the leaders of a Jacobite conspiracy for a rising in western England were three peers and six MPs, on the night of 2 October the government arrested the leaders and on the following day easily obtained Parliaments permission for these arrests. Included among those arrested was the head of the English Jacobites, the government sent reinforcements to Bristol, Southampton and Plymouth to ensure they did not fall into Jacobite hands. A diversionary rising had been planned in Northumberland to accompany the main rising in the West, the rising in the West was forestalled by prompt Government action, but the rising in Northumberland went ahead on 6 October 1715
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War of Jenkins' Ear
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The War of Jenkins Ear was a conflict between Britain and Spain that lasted from 1739 to 1748, with major operations largely ended by 1742. Its unusual name, coined by Thomas Carlyle in 1858, refers to an ear severed from Robert Jenkins, despite stories to that effect, there is no evidence that the severed ear was exhibited before the British Parliament. The seeds of conflict began with the separation of an ear from Jenkins following the boarding of his vessel by Spanish coast guards in 1731, the war resulted in heavy British casualties in North America. After 1742, the war was subsumed by the wider War of the Austrian Succession, peace arrived with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748. This provided British traders and smugglers potential inroads into the closed markets in Spanish America. But Britain and Spain were often at war during this period, fighting one another in the War of the Quadruple Alliance, the Blockade of Porto Bello and the Anglo-Spanish War. In the Treaty of Seville, following the Anglo-Spanish War, Britain had accorded Spanish warships the right to stop British traders, over time, the Spanish became suspicious that British traders were abusing the contract and began to board ships and confiscate their cargoes. After very strained relations between 1727 and 1732, the situation improved between 1732 and 1737, when Sir Robert Walpole supported Spain during the War of the Polish Succession. But the causes of the problems remained and, when the opposition against Walpole grew, Walpole gave in to the pressure and approved the sending of troops to the West Indies and a squadron to Gibraltar under Admiral Nicholas Haddock, provoking an immediate Spanish reaction. In response, King Philip V of Spain annulled the right and had all British ships in Spanish harbours confiscated. The Convention of Pardo, an attempt to mediate the dispute, on 14 August, Britain recalled its ambassador to Spain and officially declared war on 23 October 1739. Despite the Pacte de Famille, France remained neutral, Walpole was deeply reluctant to declare war and reportedly remarked of the jubilation in Britain they are ringing their bells, soon they will be wringing their hands. After boarding, Fandiño cut off the ear of the Rebeccas captain, Robert Jenkins. Fandiño told Jenkins, Go, and tell your King that I will do the same, in March 1738, Jenkins was ordered to testify before Parliament, presumably to repeat his story before a committee of the House of Commons. According to some accounts, he produced the severed ear as part of his presentation, the incident was considered alongside various other cases of Spanish Depredations upon the British Subjects, and was perceived as an insult to Britains honour and a clear casus belli. The conflict was named by essayist and historian Thomas Carlyle, in 1858, one hundred, Carlyle mentioned the ear in several passages of his History of Friedrich II, most notably in Book XI, chap VI, where he refers specifically to the War of Jenkinss Ear. More than one year later, all diplomatic means having been exhausted, on 20 July, Vice Admiral Edward Vernon and a fleet of warships departed Britain, bound for the West Indies, to attack Spanish ships and possessions. Waterhouse spotted several small vessels in the port of La Guaira and decided to attack, the governor of the Province of Venezuela, Brigadier Don Gabriel de Zuloaga had prepared the port defences, and Spanish troops were well-commanded by Captain Don Francisco Saucedo
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Caribbean
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The Caribbean is a region that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands and the surrounding coasts. The region is southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and the North American mainland, east of Central America, situated largely on the Caribbean Plate, the region comprises more than 700 islands, islets, reefs and cays. These islands generally form island arcs that delineate the eastern and northern edges of the Caribbean Sea, in a wider sense, the mainland countries of Belize, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana are often included due to their political and cultural ties with the region. Geopolitically, the Caribbean islands are usually regarded as a subregion of North America and are organized into 30 territories including sovereign states, overseas departments, and dependencies. From December 15,1954, to October 10,2010, there was a known as the Netherlands Antilles composed of five states. The West Indies cricket team continues to represent many of those nations, the region takes its name from that of the Caribs, an ethnic group present in the Lesser Antilles and parts of adjacent South America at the time of the Spanish conquest. The two most prevalent pronunciations of Caribbean are KARR-ə-BEE-ən, with the accent on the third syllable. The former pronunciation is the older of the two, although the variant has been established for over 75 years. It has been suggested that speakers of British English prefer KARR-ə-BEE-ən while North American speakers more typically use kə-RIB-ee-ən, usage is split within Caribbean English itself. The word Caribbean has multiple uses and its principal ones are geographical and political. The Caribbean can also be expanded to include territories with strong cultural and historical connections to slavery, European colonisation, the United Nations geoscheme for the Americas accords the Caribbean as a distinct region within the Americas. Physiographically, the Caribbean region is mainly a chain of islands surrounding the Caribbean Sea, to the north, the region is bordered by the Gulf of Mexico, the Straits of Florida and the Northern Atlantic Ocean, which lies to the east and northeast. To the south lies the coastline of the continent of South America, politically, the Caribbean may be centred on socio-economic groupings found in the region. For example, the known as the Caribbean Community contains the Co-operative Republic of Guyana. Bermuda and the Turks and Caicos Islands, which are in the Atlantic Ocean, are members of the Caribbean Community. The Commonwealth of the Bahamas is also in the Atlantic and is a member of the Caribbean Community. According to the ACS, the population of its member states is 227 million people. The geography and climate in the Caribbean region varies, Some islands in the region have relatively flat terrain of non-volcanic origin and these islands include Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, the Cayman Islands, Saint Croix, the Bahamas, and Antigua
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North America
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North America is a continent entirely within the Northern Hemisphere and almost all within the Western Hemisphere. It can also be considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, and to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea. North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers, about 16. 5% of the land area. North America is the third largest continent by area, following Asia and Africa, and the fourth by population after Asia, Africa, and Europe. In 2013, its population was estimated at nearly 565 million people in 23 independent states, or about 7. 5% of the worlds population, North America was reached by its first human populations during the last glacial period, via crossing the Bering land bridge. The so-called Paleo-Indian period is taken to have lasted until about 10,000 years ago, the Classic stage spans roughly the 6th to 13th centuries. The Pre-Columbian era ended with the migrations and the arrival of European settlers during the Age of Discovery. Present-day cultural and ethnic patterns reflect different kind of interactions between European colonists, indigenous peoples, African slaves and their descendants, European influences are strongest in the northern parts of the continent while indigenous and African influences are relatively stronger in the south. Because of the history of colonialism, most North Americans speak English, Spanish or French, the Americas are usually accepted as having been named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci by the German cartographers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann. Vespucci, who explored South America between 1497 and 1502, was the first European to suggest that the Americas were not the East Indies, but a different landmass previously unknown by Europeans. In 1507, Waldseemüller produced a map, in which he placed the word America on the continent of South America. He explained the rationale for the name in the accompanying book Cosmographiae Introductio, for Waldseemüller, no one should object to the naming of the land after its discoverer. He used the Latinized version of Vespuccis name, but in its feminine form America, following the examples of Europa, Asia and Africa. Later, other mapmakers extended the name America to the continent, In 1538. Some argue that the convention is to use the surname for naming discoveries except in the case of royalty, a minutely explored belief that has been advanced is that America was named for a Spanish sailor bearing the ancient Visigothic name of Amairick. Another is that the name is rooted in a Native American language, the term North America maintains various definitions in accordance with location and context. In Canadian English, North America may be used to refer to the United States, alternatively, usage sometimes includes Greenland and Mexico, as well as offshore islands
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Marines
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Marine forces evolved to specialize in the skills and capabilities required for amphibious warfare. In the earliest day of naval warfare, there was little distinction between sailors and soldiers on a warship, in ancient China, the first well-known naval battles took place during the Warring States period, where kings ruling regional states battled against one another. Chinese naval warfare in ancient period featured grapple-and-hook, as well as ramming tactics with ships called stomach strikers. The Roman Navys two fleet legions, I Adiutrix and II Adiutrix, were among the first distinct naval infantry units, Marines of Italy was created as Fanti da Mar in 1550 in the Republic of Venice. The third oldest marine corps in the world was founded as the Terço of the Navy of the Crown of Portugal in 1618, predecessor to the modern Portuguese Marine Corps. The word marine is from the English adjective marine, meaning of the sea, via French marin, of the sea from Latin marinus itself from mare, from Proto-Indo-European *móri. The word marine was used for the forces of England. Typically, foreign equivalents are called naval infantry or coastal infantry, the word marine/marina means navy in many European languages such as Dutch, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Danish and Norwegian. Marine units primarily deploy from warships using boats, landing craft, hovercraft, specialist units are also trained in combat diving/combat swimming and parachuting. As well as operations, marine troops are also used in a variety of other. The Argentine Marine Corps is a part of the Argentine Navy, Argentine marines have the same rank insignia and titles as the rest of the navy. It is composed of a marine force, a southern marine force, a river operations battalion. The Argentine Marine Corps dates from 1827 when an infantry battalion was raised. This was expanded in 1880 but seven years later the corps was merged with the existing coast artillery, a series of reorganizations followed until responsibility for coastal defense was passed to the Argentine Army in 1898. Between 1935 and 1938 the marines reappeared in the form of five battalions of Marine Infantry, in 1968 the Infanteria de Marina was reorganized as a separate corps distinct from both Navy and Army. The 5th Battalion of the Argentine Marines fought in the Falklands War, the Bolivian Naval Force includes about 2,000 naval infantry personnel and marines. These are organised in the Almirante Grau Battalion, located at Tiquina on Lake Titicaca, the Corps of Naval Fusiliers, with about 15,000 men, is subordinate to the Brazilian Navy. The marine corps is composed of a brigade and some guard
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West Indies
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Indigenous peoples were the first inhabitants of the West Indies. In 1492, Christopher Columbus became the first European to arrive at the islands, after the first of the voyages of Christopher Columbus to the Americas, Europeans began to use the term West Indies to distinguish the region from the East Indies of South Asia and Southeast Asia. In the late century, French, English and Dutch merchants and privateers began their operations in the Caribbean Sea, attacking Spanish and Portuguese shipping. These African slaves wrought a demographic revolution, replacing or joining with either the indigenous Caribs or the European settlers who were there as indentured servants. The Dutch, allied with the Caribs of the Orinoco would eventually carry the struggles deep into South America, first along the Orinoco and these interconnected commercial and diplomatic relations made up the Western Caribbean Zone which was in place in the early eighteenth century. In 1916, Denmark sold the Danish West Indies to the United States for US$25 million in gold, the Danish West Indies became an insular area of the US, called the United States Virgin Islands. Between 1958 and 1962, the United Kingdom re-organised all their West Indies island territories into the West Indies Federation and they hoped that the Federation would coalesce into a single, independent nation. West Indian is the term used by the U. S. government to refer to people of the West Indies. Tulane University professor Rosanne Adderly says he phrase West Indies distinguished the territories encountered by Columbus, … The term West Indies was eventually used by all European nations to describe their own acquired territories in the Americas. Despite the collapse of the Federation … the West Indies continues to field a joint cricket team for international competition, the West Indies cricket team includes participants from Guyana, which is geographically located in South America. More than Slaves and Sugar, Recent Historiography of the Trans-imperial Caribbean, a Concise History of the Caribbean. Martin, Tony, Caribbean History, From Pre-colonial Origins to the Present
Kingdom of England (1688–1707)
Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800)
United Kingdom (1801–1958)
British Army
