1.
Science
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Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. The formal sciences are often excluded as they do not depend on empirical observations, disciplines which use science, like engineering and medicine, may also be considered to be applied sciences. However, during the Islamic Golden Age foundations for the method were laid by Ibn al-Haytham in his Book of Optics. In the 17th and 18th centuries, scientists increasingly sought to formulate knowledge in terms of physical laws, over the course of the 19th century, the word science became increasingly associated with the scientific method itself as a disciplined way to study the natural world. It was during this time that scientific disciplines such as biology, chemistry, Science in a broad sense existed before the modern era and in many historical civilizations. Modern science is distinct in its approach and successful in its results, Science in its original sense was a word for a type of knowledge rather than a specialized word for the pursuit of such knowledge. In particular, it was the type of knowledge which people can communicate to each other, for example, knowledge about the working of natural things was gathered long before recorded history and led to the development of complex abstract thought. This is shown by the construction of calendars, techniques for making poisonous plants edible. For this reason, it is claimed these men were the first philosophers in the strict sense and they were mainly speculators or theorists, particularly interested in astronomy. In contrast, trying to use knowledge of nature to imitate nature was seen by scientists as a more appropriate interest for lower class artisans. A clear-cut distinction between formal and empirical science was made by the pre-Socratic philosopher Parmenides, although his work Peri Physeos is a poem, it may be viewed as an epistemological essay on method in natural science. Parmenides ἐὸν may refer to a system or calculus which can describe nature more precisely than natural languages. Physis may be identical to ἐὸν and he criticized the older type of study of physics as too purely speculative and lacking in self-criticism. He was particularly concerned that some of the early physicists treated nature as if it could be assumed that it had no intelligent order, explaining things merely in terms of motion and matter. The study of things had been the realm of mythology and tradition, however. Aristotle later created a less controversial systematic programme of Socratic philosophy which was teleological and he rejected many of the conclusions of earlier scientists. For example, in his physics, the sun goes around the earth, each thing has a formal cause and final cause and a role in the rational cosmic order. Motion and change is described as the actualization of potentials already in things, while the Socratics insisted that philosophy should be used to consider the practical question of the best way to live for a human being, they did not argue for any other types of applied science
2.
The arts
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The arts represent an outlet of expression that is usually influenced by culture in society and which in turn helps to change culture. As such, the arts are a manifestation of peoples internal creative impulse. Some art forms combine a visual element with performance or artwork with the written word, from prehistoric cave paintings to modern day films, art serves as a vessel for storytelling and conveying humankinds relationship with its environment. A debate exists in the arts and video game cultures over whether video games can be counted as an art form. In its most basic definition, art is a documented expression of a sentient being through or on an accessible medium so that anyone can view. The act itself of producing an expression can also be referred to as a certain art, or as art in general. If this solidified expression, or the act of producing it, is good or has value depends on those who access and rate it and this public rating is dependent on various subjective factors. Merriam-Webster defines the arts as painting, sculpture, music, theater, literature, etc. considered as a group of activities done by people with skill, and the study and application of the arts to the human environment. In Ancient Greece, all art and craft was referred to by the same word, thus, there was no distinction between the arts. Ancient Greek art brought the veneration of the form and the development of equivalent skills to show musculature, poise, beauty. Ancient Roman art depicted gods as idealized humans, shown with characteristic distinguishing features, in Byzantine and Gothic art of the Middle Ages, the dominance of the church insisted on the expression of biblical and not material truths. Eastern art has worked in a style akin to Western medieval art, namely a concentration on surface patterning. A characteristic of this style is that the colour is often defined by an outline. This is evident in, for example, the art of India, Tibet, religious Islamic art forbids iconography, and expresses religious ideas through geometry instead. The Artes Mechanicae were practised and developed in guild environments, the modern distinction between artistic and non-artistic skills did not develop until the Renaissance. In modern academia, the arts are usually grouped with or as a subset of the humanities, some subjects in the humanities are history, linguistics, literature, theology, philosophy, and/or logic. Drawing is a means of making an image, using any of a variety of tools. It generally involves making marks on a surface by applying pressure from a tool, common tools are graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax colour pencils, crayons, charcoals, pastels, and markers
3.
Prince Charles of Hesse-Kassel
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Prince Charles of Hesse-Kassel was a cadet member of the house of Hesse-Kassel and a Danish general field marshal. Brought up with relatives at the Danish court, he spent most of his life in Denmark and his mother was a daughter of King George II of Great Britain and Caroline of Ansbach and a sister of Queen Louise of Denmark. His father, the future landgrave, left the family in 1747, in 1755 he formally ended the marriage with Mary. The grandfather, William VIII, Landgrave of Hesse, granted the county of Hanau and its revenues to Mary, the young Prince Charles and his two brothers, William and Frederick, were raised by their mother and fostered by Protestant relatives since 1747. In 1756, Mary moved to Denmark, to care of the underage children of her sister, Queen Louise of Denmark. With her, she took her sons who were raised at the court at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen. The Hessian princes later remained in Denmark, becoming its important lords, only the eldest brother William returned to Hesse, in 1785, upon ascending the landgraviate. Charles began a career in Denmark. In 1758 he was appointed colonel, at the age of 20 major general, also in 1766, he was appointed Governor-General of Norway, a position he held until 1768 but which remained mostly titular, as he never went to Norway during this period. In 1763, his elder brother William married their first cousin, Charles followed suit on 30 August 1766 at Christiansborg Palace — his wife was Louise of Denmark, and Charles thus became brother-in-law to his cousin, King Christian VII. The marriage took place despite advice given against it, due to accusations of debauchery by Prince Charles. Shortly after, Charles fell into disfavour at court, and in early 1767 he and they would have their first child, Marie Sophie, there in 1767 and then their second child, William, in 1769. In 1768, Charles purchased the property and village of Offenbach-Rumpenheim from the Edelsheim family. In 1771 he had the manor expanded into a castle and princely seat and his mother Mary lived in the palace until her death in 1772. In 1781, Charles sold the Rumpenheim Palace to his younger brother, Charles took up residence at Gottorp Castle in Schleswig with his family. They would have their third child Frederick there in 1771, in 1770, King Christian VII gave his sister the estate of Tegelhof in Güby between the City of Schleswig and Eckernförde. From 1772 to 1776, Charles had a summer residence constructed on the site which he named Louisenlund in honour of his wife, in September 1772, Charles was appointed commander-in-chief of the Norwegian army and he and Louise moved to Christiana. The assignement was a consequence of the coup détat of King Gustav III of Sweden on 19 August 1772, while in Norway, Princess Louise gave birth to their fourth child Juliane in 1773
4.
Voltaire
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Voltaire was a versatile writer, producing works in almost every literary form, including plays, poems, novels, essays, and historical and scientific works. He wrote more than 21,000 letters and over two books and pamphlets. He was an advocate of civil liberties, despite the risk this placed him in under the strict censorship laws of the time. As a satirical polemicist, he made use of his works to criticize intolerance, religious dogma. Some speculation surrounds Voltaires date of birth, because he claimed he was born on 20 February 1694 as the son of a nobleman. Two of his older brothers—Armand-François and Robert—died in infancy and his brother, Armand. Nicknamed Zozo by his family, Voltaire was baptized on 22 November 1694, with François de Castagnère, abbé de Châteauneuf, and Marie Daumard, the wife of his mothers cousin, standing as godparents. He was educated by the Jesuits at the Collège Louis-le-Grand, where he was taught Latin, theology, and rhetoric, later in life he became fluent in Italian, Spanish, and English. By the time he left school, Voltaire had decided he wanted to be a writer, against the wishes of his father, Voltaire, pretending to work in Paris as an assistant to a notary, spent much of his time writing poetry. When his father out, he sent Voltaire to study law. Nevertheless, he continued to write, producing essays and historical studies, Voltaires wit made him popular among some of the aristocratic families with whom he mixed. In 1713, his father obtained a job for him as a secretary to the new French ambassador in the Netherlands, the marquis de Châteauneuf, at The Hague, Voltaire fell in love with a French Protestant refugee named Catherine Olympe Dunoyer. Their scandalous affair was discovered by de Châteauneuf and Voltaire was forced to return to France by the end of the year, Most of Voltaires early life revolved around Paris. From early on, Voltaire had trouble with the authorities for critiques of the government and these activities were to result in two imprisonments and a temporary exile to England. One satirical verse, in which Voltaire accused the Régent of incest with his own daughter, the Comédie-Française had agreed in January 1717 to stage his debut play, Œdipe, and it opened in mid-November 1718, seven months after his release. Its immediate critical and financial success established his reputation, both the Régent and King George I of Great Britain presented Voltaire with medals as a mark of their appreciation. He mainly argued for tolerance and freedom of thought. He campaigned to eradicate priestly and aristo-monarchical authority, and supported a constitutional monarchy that protects peoples rights, the author adopted the name Voltaire in 1718, following his incarceration at the Bastille
5.
Transylvania
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Transylvania is a historical region located in what is today the central part of Romania. Bound on the east and south by its borders, the Carpathian mountain range. The term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the regions of Crișana, Maramureș. The region of Transylvania is known for the beauty of its Carpathian landscape. It also contains major cities such as Cluj-Napoca, Brașov, Sibiu, in the English-speaking world it has been commonly associated with vampires, due to the influence of Bram Stokers famous novel Dracula and its many film adaptations. Transylvania was first referred to in a Medieval Latin document in 1075 as ultra silvam, Transylvania, with an alternative Latin prepositional prefix, means on the other side of the woods. Hungarian historians claim that the Medieval Latin form Ultrasylvania, later Transylvania, was a translation from the Hungarian form Erdő-elve. That also was used as an name in German überwald. The German name Siebenbürgen means seven fortresses, after the seven Transylvanian Saxons cities in the region and this is also the origin of the regions name in many other languages, such as the Bulgarian Седмиградско, Polish Siedmiogród and the Ukrainian Семигород. The Hungarian form Erdély was first mentioned in the 12th-century Gesta Hungarorum as Erdeuleu or Erdő-elve, the word Erdő means forest in Hungarian, and the word Elve denotes a region in connection with this, similarly to the Hungarian name for Muntenia. Erdel, Erdil, Erdehstan, the Turkish equivalents, or the Romanian Ardeal were borrowed from this form as well, the first known written occurrence of the Romanian name Ardeal appeared in a document in 1432 as Ardeliu. Transylvania has been dominated by different peoples and countries throughout its history. It was once the nucleus of the Kingdom of Dacia, in 106 AD the Roman Empire conquered the territory, systematically exploiting its resources. After the Roman legions withdrew in 271 AD, it was overrun by a succession of tribes, bringing it under the control of the Carpi, Visigoths, Huns, Gepids, Avars. From 9th to 11th century Bulgarians ruled Transylvania, there is an ongoing scholarly debate over the ethnicity of Transylvanias population before the Hungarian conquest. The Magyars conquered much of Central Europe at the end of the 9th century, according to Gesta Hungarorum, Transylvania was ruled by the Vlach voivode Gelou before the Hungarians arrived. The Kingdom of Hungary established a control over Transylvania in 1003. Between 1003 and 1526, Transylvania was a voivodeship in the Kingdom of Hungary, after the Battle of Mohács in 1526, Transylvania became part of the Kingdom of János Szapolyai
6.
Claude Louis, Comte de Saint-Germain
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Claude Louis, Comte de Saint-Germain, French general, was born on 15 April 1707, at the Château of Vertamboz. Educated at Jesuit schools, he intended to enter the priesthood and he left Bavaria on the death of Charles VII, and after brief service under Frederick the Great joined Marshal Saxe in the Netherlands and was created a field-marshal of the French army. He distinguished himself especially at Lauffeld, Rocoux and Maastricht and he resigned his commission in 1760 and accepted an appointment as field-marshal from Frederick V of Denmark, being charged in 1762 with the reorganization of the Danish army. He soon returned to France, bought an estate in Alsace near Lauterbach. A financial crisis swept away the funds that he had saved from his Danish service, Saint-Germain was presented at court by the reformers Turgot and Malesherbes, and was appointed minister of war by Louis XVI on 25 October 1775. He sought to lessen the number of officers and to establish order and his efforts to introduce Prussian discipline in the French army brought on such opposition that he resigned in September 1777. He accepted quarters from the king and a pension of 40,000 livres and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Saint-Germain, Claude Louis, Comte de
7.
Habsburg
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The House of Habsburg, also called House of Hapsburg, or House of Austria, was one of the most influential royal houses of Europe. The throne of the Holy Roman Empire was continuously occupied by the Habsburgs between 1438 and 1740, from the sixteenth century, following the reign of Charles V, the dynasty was split between its Austrian and Spanish branches. Although they ruled distinct territories, they maintained close relations. The House takes its name from Habsburg Castle, a built in the 1020s in present-day Switzerland, in the canton of Aargau, by Count Radbot of Klettgau. His grandson Otto II was the first to take the name as his own. The House of Habsburg gathered dynastic momentum through the 11th, 12th, by 1276, Count Radbots seventh generation descendant Rudolph of Habsburg had moved the familys power base from Habsburg Castle to the Duchy of Austria. Rudolph had become King of Germany in 1273, and the dynasty of the House of Habsburg was truly entrenched in 1276 when Rudolph became ruler of Austria, which the Habsburgs ruled until 1918. A series of dynastic marriages enabled the family to expand its domains to include Burgundy, Spain and its colonial empire, Bohemia, Hungary. In the 16th century, the separated into the senior Habsburg Spain and the junior Habsburg Monarchy branches. The House of Habsburg became extinct in the 18th century, the senior Spanish branch ended upon the death of Charles II of Spain in 1700 and was replaced by the House of Bourbon. It was succeeded by the Vaudemont branch of the House of Lorraine, the new successor house styled itself formally as the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, although it was often referred to as simply the House of Habsburg. His grandson Radbot, Count of Habsburg founded the Habsburg Castle, the origins of the castles name, located in what is now the Swiss canton of Aargau, are uncertain. There is disagreement on whether the name is derived from the High German Habichtsburg, or from the Middle High German word hab/hap meaning ford, the first documented use of the name by the dynasty itself has been traced to the year 1108. The Habsburg Castle was the seat in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries. The Habsburgs expanded their influence through arranged marriages and by gaining political privileges, in the 13th century, the house aimed its marriage policy at families in Upper Alsace and Swabia. They were also able to high positions in the church hierarchy for their members. Territorially, they often profited from the extinction of other families such as the House of Kyburg. By the second half of the 13th century, count Rudolph IV had become one of the most influential territorial lords in the area between the Vosges Mountains and Lake Constance
8.
Gian Gastone
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Gian Gastone de Medici was the seventh and last Medicean Grand Duke of Tuscany. He was the son of Grand Duke Cosimo III and Marguerite Louise dOrléans. His sister, Electress Palatine Anna Maria Luisa, arranged his marriage to the wealthy, the couple despised each other and had no children. As Grand Prince Ferdinando, Gian Gastones elder brother, predeceased Cosimo III and his reign was marked by the reversal of his predecessors conservative policy, he abolished taxes for poorer people, repealed penal laws which restricted Jews and discontinued public executions. The Medici were wanting in male heirs, his father, Cosimo III, Charles later transferred his claim to Francis Stephen of Lorraine pursuant to a preliminary peace that was finalized in 1738. Francis Stephen duly succeeded at Gian Gastones demise, on 9 July 1737, for the latter part of his reign, Gian Gastone chose to remain confined in his bed, tended by his entourage, the Ruspanti. On 24 May 1671, the first anniversary of his grandfather Ferdinando IIs death, Giovanni Battista Gastone de Medici was born in Florence to Grand Duke Cosimo III and he derived his baptismal name, Giovanni Battista Gastone, from his maternal grandfather, Gaston, Duke of Orléans. Cosimo and Marguerite Louise frequently quarreled, as a result, four years after his birth, Marguerite Louise returned home to France. Gian Gastone and his siblings were left in the care of their grandmother Vittoria della Rovere, Gian Gastone was tutored by Cardinal Henry Noris, whose company the prince hardly left. The Tuscan prince was an intellectual, being an antiquarian, a botanist. In addition, he could speak English, among other languages, Cosimo III considered compelling Gian Gastone to become a cardinal. Peter II of Portugal, however, had things in mind for him, he wanted Gian Gastone to marry his only daughter, Isabel Luísa. To marry her, Gian Gastone would have to convince his father to him an allowance of adequate stature. However, the Grand Duke refused and neither the nor the Portuguese marriage ever materialised. Out of sympathy, Gian Gastone befriended his unhappy sister-in-law, Duchess Violante Beatrice of Bavaria and her husband, Grand Prince Ferdinando, thought her too ugly and too dull for him. At the same time, Gian Gastone sank into a state of melancholy, in an attempt to rouse him from this condition, Cardinal Francesco Maria often summoned Gian Gastone to festivities at his villa, Lappeggi. However, these soirées had no effect and Gian Gastone continued to weep unceasingly in his private rooms, by 1697, Violante Beatrice and Ferdinando had been married for eight years and still lacked issue, as did Gian Gastones sister, the Electress Palatine. Concerned for the future of the dynasty, Cosimo urged the Electress to find Gian Gastone—currently the only one of his siblings unmarried—a suitable bride and she put forward Anna Maria Franziska, her brother-in-laws widow and potential heiress of the Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg
9.
University of Siena
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The University of Siena in Siena, Tuscany is one of the oldest and first publicly funded universities in Italy. Originally called Studium Senese, the institution was founded in 1240 and it had around 20,000 students in 2006, nearly half of Sienas total population of around 54,000. Today, the University of Siena is best known for its Schools of Law, on December 26,1240, Ildebrandino Cacciaconti, the then podestà of Siena, signed a decree imposing a tax on citizens of Siena who rented rooms to students of the local Studium Senese. The money from this tax went to pay for the salaries of the maestri of this new studium, moreover, the commune exempted teachers of law and Latin from military service and teachers of Latin were also excused from their duties as night watchmen. By the early 14th century, there were five teachers of Latin, logic and law, one of the most notable maestri of the School of Medicine was Pietro Ispano. Ispano was a philosopher, personal doctor to Emperor Frederick II. The studium of Siena was eventually promoted to the status of Studium Generale by Charles IV and this both placed the teachers and students under the safeguard of the imperial authority and also meant that the licences granted by the university were licences ubique docendi. These licences entitled the person receiving them to teach throughout Christendom, the Casa della Sapienza was built in the early 15th century as a center combining classrooms and housing for those enrolled in the Studium. It had been proposed by bishop Mormille in 1392, was completed twenty years later, room and board in 1416 cost fifty gold florins for a semester. By the mid-14th century, Siena had declined as a power in Tuscany, eclipsed by the rise in power of Florence, the city authorities, however, successfully asked the Medici to preserve the academy. Francesco and later Grand Duke Ferdinando I, reforms were made with new statutes, the post of Rettore, elected by students and city magistrates, was also instituted. In 1737, the Medici line became extinct and the rule of Tuscany passed to the French House of Lorraine, during the Risorgimento, the movement towards the unification of Italy as a single state, Sienese students organised groups which were openly patriotic. The troop’s flag is preserved in the Chancellor’s building. Having escaped this danger, the town went back to investing its resources in the university setting up new degrees, the bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena financed the construction of the biology department. The 20th century witnessed the growth of the University of Siena, during the start of the academic year, on November 7,1990 the Sienese academy celebrated its 750th anniversary. Since 2014 the Department of Economics and Statistics and the Department of Business and Law merged their undergraduate and graduate courses into the School of Economics, the academy lives as an integral part of the urban fabric in both space and time. Thus there is an equilibrium between city and university, where 20 thousand students lived among the 50 thousand Sienese. Recently, the University has returned historical buildings to the city, the Faculties of Engineering and Literature, for example, have found space for their departments in the large rooms of what was once the San Niccolò Psychiatric Hospital
10.
History of the Jews in Alsace
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The history of the Jews in Alsace is one of the oldest in Europe. It was first attested to in 1165 by Benjamin of Tudela, who wrote about a number of learned men in Astransbourg. At its peak, in 1870, the Jewish community of Alsace numbered 35,000 people, other medieval representations have survived through copies of the Hortus deliciarum and as architectural fragments in the Musée de l’Œuvre Notre-Dame. In 1286, Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg, one of the leading Jewish figures of his day, was imprisoned by the German king in a fortress near Ensisheim, in 1349, Jews of Alsace were accused of poisoning the wells with plague. On February 14, Saint Valentines day, thousands of Jews were massacred during the Strasbourg pogrom, Jews were subsequently forbidden to settle in the town and were reminded every evening at 10 oclock by a Cathedral bell and a municipal herald blowing the Grüselhorn to leave. Alsatian Jews then settled in the villages and small towns. An important political figure for the Jews of Alsace and beyond was the long-serving shtadlan Josel of Rosheim, with the annexation of Alsace to France in 1681, Catholicism was restored as the principal Christian current. However, the prohibition against Jews settling in Strasbourg, and the special taxes Jews were subjected to, were not lifted. In the 18th century, Herz Cerfbeer of Medelsheim, the merchant and philanthropist. The French Revolution then admitted Jews back into the town, by 1790, the Jewish population of Alsace was approximately 22,500, about 3% of the provincial population. Another 7500 Jews lived in neighboring Lorraine, together they comprised three-fourths of the 40,000 Jews who lived in France at the time. The Jews were highly segregated, subject to long-standing anti-Jewish regulations and they maintained their own customs, language, and historic traditions within the tightly-knit ghettos, they adhered to Talmudic law enforced by their rabbis. Jews were barred from most cities and instead lived in hundreds of small hamlets and they were also barred from most occupations, and concentrated in trade, services, and especially in moneylending. They financed about a third of the mortgages in Alsace, leading philosophers of the French Enlightenment, such as Denis Diderot and Voltaire, ridiculed and condemned French Jews as misanthropic, rapacious, and culturally backward. In 1777, a local judge forged hundreds of receipts, which he gave to Catholic peasants, tolerance grew during the French Revolution, with full emancipation given to Protestants in 1789, Sephardic Jews in 1790, and the Ashkenazi Jews of Alsace and Lorraine in 1791. When Napoleon created the Grand Sanhedrin in 1806, he appointed the Chief Rabbi of Strasbourg, Joseph David Sinzheim, however, local antisemitism also increased, and Napoleon turned hostile in 1806, imposing a moratorium on repaying all debts owed to Jews. In 1808 Napoleon imposed tight limits on Jewish money-lending, capping interest rates at 5%, napoleons decrees collapsed after he fell from power, but an undercurrent of antisemitism remained. In the 1830–1870 era, urban middle-class Jews made enormous progress toward integration and acculturation, by 1831, the state began paying salaries to official rabbis, and in 1846 a special oath required for Jews in court was discontinued
11.
Strasbourg
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Strasbourg is the capital and largest city of the Grand Est region of France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany in the region of Alsace. In 2014, the city proper had 276,170 inhabitants, Strasbourgs metropolitan area had a population of 773,347 in 2013, making it the ninth largest metro area in France and home to 13% of the Grand Est regions inhabitants. The transnational Eurodistrict Strasbourg-Ortenau had a population of 915,000 inhabitants in 2014, Strasbourg is the seat of several European institutions, such as the Council of Europe and the Eurocorps, as well as the European Parliament and the European Ombudsman of the European Union. The city is also the seat of the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine, Strasbourgs historic city centre, the Grande Île, was classified a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1988, the first time such an honour was placed on an entire city centre. The largest Islamic place of worship in France, the Strasbourg Grand Mosque, was inaugurated by French Interior Minister Manuel Valls on 27 September 2012. Economically, Strasbourg is an important centre of manufacturing and engineering, as well as a hub of road, rail, the port of Strasbourg is the second largest on the Rhine after Duisburg, Germany. Before the 5th century, the city was known as Argantorati, a Celtic Gaulish name Latinized first as Argentorate, after the 5h century, the city became known by a completely different name Gallicized as Strasbourg. That name is of Germanic origin and means Town of roads, Strasbourg is situated on the eastern border of France with Germany. This border is formed by the River Rhine, which forms the eastern border of the modern city. The historic core of Strasbourg however lies on the Grande Île in the River Ill, which flows parallel to, and roughly 4 kilometres from. The natural courses of the two eventually join some distance downstream of Strasbourg, although several artificial waterways now connect them within the city. This section of the Rhine valley is an axis of north-south travel, with river traffic on the Rhine itself. The city is some 400 kilometres east of Paris, in spite of its position far inland, Strasbourgs climate is classified as Oceanic, with warm, relatively sunny summers and cold, overcast winters. Precipitation is elevated from mid-spring to the end of summer, but remains largely constant throughout the year, on average, snow falls 30 days per year. The highest temperature recorded was 38.5 °C in August 2003. The lowest temperature recorded was −23.4 °C in December 1938. Nonetheless, the disappearance of heavy industry on both banks of the Rhine, as well as effective measures of traffic regulation in and around the city have reduced air pollution
12.
Society of Jesus
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The Society of Jesus Latin, Societas Iesu, S. J. SJ or SI) is a religious congregation of the Catholic Church which originated in Spain. The society is engaged in evangelization and apostolic ministry in 112 nations on six continents, Jesuits work in education, intellectual research, and cultural pursuits. Jesuits also give retreats, minister in hospitals and parishes, and promote social justice, Ignatius of Loyola founded the society after being wounded in battle and experiencing a religious conversion. He composed the Spiritual Exercises to help others follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, ignatiuss plan of the orders organization was approved by Pope Paul III in 1540 by a bull containing the Formula of the Institute. Ignatius was a nobleman who had a background, and the members of the society were supposed to accept orders anywhere in the world. The Society participated in the Counter-Reformation and, later, in the implementation of the Second Vatican Council, the Society of Jesus is consecrated under the patronage of Madonna Della Strada, a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and it is led by a Superior General. The Society of Jesus on October 3,2016 announced that Superior General Adolfo Nicolás resignation was officially accepted, on October 14, the 36th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus elected Father Arturo Sosa as its thirty-first Superior General. The headquarters of the society, its General Curia, is in Rome, the historic curia of St. Ignatius is now part of the Collegio del Gesù attached to the Church of the Gesù, the Jesuit Mother Church. In 2013, Jorge Mario Bergoglio became the first Jesuit Pope, the Jesuits today form the largest single religious order of priests and brothers in the Catholic Church. As of 1 January 2015, Jesuits numbered 16,740,11,986 clerics regular,2,733 scholastics,1,268 brothers and 753 novices. In 2012, Mark Raper S. J. wrote, Our numbers have been in decline for the last 40 years—from over 30,000 in the 1960s to fewer than 18,000 today. The steep declines in Europe and North America and consistent decline in Latin America have not been offset by the significant increase in South Asia, the Society is divided into 83 Provinces with six Independent Regions and ten Dependent Regions. On 1 January 2007, members served in 112 nations on six continents with the largest number in India and their average age was 57.3 years,63.4 years for priests,29.9 years for scholastics, and 65.5 years for brothers. The current Superior General of the Jesuits is Arturo Sosa, the Society is characterized by its ministries in the fields of missionary work, human rights, social justice and, most notably, higher education. It operates colleges and universities in countries around the world and is particularly active in the Philippines. In the United States it maintains 28 colleges and universities and 58 high schools and he ensured that his formula was contained in two papal bulls signed by Pope Paul III in 1540 and by Pope Julius III in 1550. The formula expressed the nature, spirituality, community life and apostolate of the new religious order, the meeting is now commemorated in the Martyrium of Saint Denis, Montmartre
13.
Savoy
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Savoy is a cultural region in Western Europe. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps between Lake Geneva in the north and Dauphiné in the south, the historical land of Savoy emerged as the feudal territory of the House of Savoy during the 11th to 14th centuries. The historical territory is shared between the countries of France, Italy, and Switzerland. Installed by Rudolph III, King of Burgundy, officially in 1003 and it ruled the County of Savoy to 1416 and then the Duchy of Savoy from 1416 to 1860. The territory of Savoy was annexed to France in 1792 under the French First Republic, victor Emmanuels dynasty, the House of Savoy, retained its Italian lands of Piedmont and Liguria and became the ruling dynasty of Italy. In modern France, Savoy is part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, following its annexation to France in 1860, the territory of Savoy was divided administratively into two separate departments, Savoie and Haute-Savoie. The traditional capital remains Chambéry, on the rivers Leysse and Albane, hosting the castle of the House of Savoy, the capital of the Duchy remained at the traditional Savoyard capital of Chambéry until 1563, when it was moved to Turin. The region was occupied by the Allobroges, a Celtic people that in 121 BC were subdued by the Roman Empire, the name Savoy stems from the Late Latin Sapaudia, referring to a fir forest. It is first recorded in Ammianus Marcellinus, to describe the part of Maxima Sequanorum. According to the Gallic Chronicle of 452, it was separated from the rest of Burgundian territories in 443 and this latter territory comprised what would become known as Savoy and Provence. From the 10th to 14th century, parts of what would ultimately become Savoy remained within the Kingdom of Arles. Beginning in the 11th century, the rise to power of the House of Savoy is reflected in the increasing territory of their County of Savoy between 1003 and 1416. The County of Savoy was detached de jure from the Kingdom of Arles by Emperor Charles IV in 1361, on February 19,1416, Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, made the County of Savoy an independent duchy, with Amadeus VIII as the first duke. Straddling the Alps, Savoy lay within two competing spheres of influence, a French sphere and a North Italian one, at the time of the Renaissance, Savoy showed only modest development. Its towns were few and small, Savoy derived its subsistence from agriculture. The geographic location of Savoy was also of military importance, during the interminable wars between France and Spain over the control of northern Italy, Savoy was important to France because it provided access to Italy. Savoy was important to Spain because it served as a buffer between France and the Spanish held lands in Italy, in 1563 Emmanuel Philibert moved the capital from Chambéry to Turin, which was less vulnerable to French interference. Vaud was annexed by Bern in 1536, and Savoy officially ceded Vaud to Bern in the Treaty of Lausanne of 30 October 1564
14.
P. T. Barnum
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Phineas Taylor P. T. Barnum was an American politician, showman, and businessman remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and for founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus. Barnum is widely, but erroneously, credited with coining the phrase Theres a sucker born every minute, born in Bethel, Connecticut, Barnum became a small-business owner in his early twenties, and founded a weekly newspaper, before moving to New York City in 1834. Barnum used the museum as a platform to promote hoaxes and human curiosities such as the Feejee mermaid, in 1850 he promoted the American tour of singer Jenny Lind, paying her an unprecedented $1,000 a night for 150 nights. After economic reversals due to bad investments in the 1850s, and years of litigation and public humiliation, he used a lecture tour, mostly as a temperance speaker and his museum added Americas first aquarium and expanded the wax-figure department. While in New York, he converted to Universalism and was a member of the Church of the Divine Paternity, Barnum served two terms in the Connecticut legislature in 1865 as a Republican for Fairfield. It may tenant the body of a Chinaman, a Turk, elected in 1875 as Mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut, he worked to improve the water supply, bring gas lighting to streets, and enforce liquor and prostitution laws. Barnum was instrumental in starting Bridgeport Hospital, founded in 1878, the circus business was the source of much of his enduring fame. He established P. T. Barnums Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan & Hippodrome, a circus, menagerie and museum of freaks. Barnum died in his sleep at home in 1891, and was buried in Mountain Grove Cemetery, Bridgeport, Barnum was born in Bethel, Connecticut, the son of inn keeper, tailor and store-keeper Philo Barnum and second wife Irene Taylor. He was the great grandson of Thomas Barnum, the English immigrant ancestor of the Barnum family in North America. His maternal grandfather Phineas Taylor was a Whig, legislator, landowner, justice of the peace, and lottery schemer, Barnum was adept at arithmetic but hated physical work. He started as a store-keeper, and he learned haggling and using deception to make a sale and he was involved with the first lottery mania in the United States. At the age of 19, he married Charity Hallett, the young husband had several businesses, a general store, a book auctioning trade, real estate speculation, and a statewide lottery network. He became active in politics and advocated against blue laws promulgated by Calvinists who sought to restrict gambling. Barnum started a paper in 1829, The Herald of Freedom, in Danbury. His editorials against church elders led to libel suits and a prosecution which resulted in imprisonment for two months, but he became a champion of the movement upon his release. In 1834, when lotteries were banned in Connecticut, cutting off his income, Barnum sold his store. Joice Heth died in 1836, no more than 80 years old, Barnum improved the attraction, renamed Barnums American Museum, upgrading the building and adding exhibits, and it became a popular showplace
15.
Theatre Royal Haymarket
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The Theatre Royal Haymarket is a West End theatre in the Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote acquired the lease in 1747, and in 1766 he gained a patent to play legitimate drama in the summer months. The original building was a further north in the same street. It has been at its current location since 1821, when it was redesigned by John Nash and it is a Grade I listed building, with a seating capacity of 888. The freehold of the theatre is owned by the Crown Estate, the Haymarket has been the site of a significant innovation in theatre. In 1873, it was the venue for the first scheduled matinée performance, famous actors who débuted at the theatre included Robert William Elliston and John Liston. It was the public theatre opened in the West End. The theatre cost £1000 to build, with a further £500 expended on decorations, scenery and costumes. It opened on 29 December 1720, with a French play La Fille a la Morte, potters speculation was known as The New French Theatre. In 1730, the theatre was taken over by an English company, among the actors who appeared there before 1737 when the theatre was closed under the Licensing Act 1737 were Aaron Hill, Theophilus Cibber, and Henry Fielding. In the eight to ten years before the Act was passed, the Haymarket was an alternative to John Richs Theatre Royal, Covent Garden and the opera-dominated Drury Lane Theatre. Fielding himself was responsible for the instigation of the Act, having produced a play called The Historical Register that parodied prime minister Robert Walpole, as the caricature, in particular, it was an alternative to the pantomime and special-effects dominated stages, and it presented opposition satire. Henry Fielding staged his plays at the Haymarket, and so did Henry Carey, hurlothrumbo was just one of his plays in that series of anti-Walpolean satires, followed by Tom Thumb. Another, in 1734, was his mock-opera, The Dragon of Wantley and this work punctured the vacuous operatic conventions and pointed a satirical barb at Walpole and his taxation policies. The piece was a success, with a record-setting run of 69 performances in its first season. The burlesque itself is very brief on the page, as it relied extensively on absurd theatrics, dances, the Musical Entertainer from 1739 contains engravings showing how the staging was performed. Carey continued with Pasquin and others, the Theatrical Licensing Act, however, put an end to the anti-ministry satires, and it all but entirely shut down the theatre. In 1749 a hoaxer billed as The Bottle Conjuror was advertised to appear at the theatre, the conjurors publicity claimed that, while on stage, he would place his body inside an empty wine bottle, in full view of the audience
16.
Horace Walpole
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Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford — also known as Horace Walpole — was an English art historian, man of letters, antiquarian and Whig politician. He had Strawberry Hill House built in Twickenham, south-west London and his literary reputation rests on his Gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto and his Letters, which are of significant social and political interest. He was the son of the first British Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole, as Horace Walpole was childless, on his death his barony descended to his cousin of the same surname, who was created the new Earl of Orford. Walpole was born in London, the youngest son of British Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole, like his father, he received early education in Bexley, he was also educated at Eton College and Kings College, Cambridge. Walpoles first friends were probably his cousins Francis and Henry Conway, to whom Walpole became strongly attached, at Eton he formed with Charles Lyttelton and George Montagu the Triumvirate, a schoolboy confederacy. More important were another group of friends dubbed the Quadruple Alliance, Walpole, Thomas Gray, Richard West, at Cambridge Walpole came under the influence of Conyers Middleton, an unorthodox theologian. Walpole came to accept the nature of Middletons attitude to some essential Christian doctrines for the rest of his life, including a hatred of superstition. Walpole ceased to reside at Cambridge at the end of 1738, according to one biographer his love for his mother was the most powerful emotion of his entire life. the whole of his psychological history was dominated by it. Walpole did not have any relationships with women, he has been called a natural celibate. Walpoles sexual orientation has been the subject of speculation, many contemporaries described him as effeminate. Biographers such as Timothy Mowl explore his possible homosexuality, including a passionate, some previous biographers such as Lewis, Fothergill, and Robert Wyndham Ketton-Cremer, however, have interpreted Walpole as asexual. Upon coming of age he became Comptroller of the Pipe and Clerk of the Estreats which gave him an income of £300 per annum, Walpole decided to go travelling with Thomas Gray and wrote a will whereby he left Gray all his belongings. They left Dover on 29 March and arrived at Calais later that day and they then travelled through Boulogne, Amiens and Saint-Denis, arriving at Paris on 4 April. Here they met many aristocratic Englishmen, in early June they left Paris for Rheims, then in September going to Dijon, Lyons, Dauphiné, Savoy, Aix-les-Bains, Geneva, and then back to Lyons. In October they left for Italy, arriving in Turin in November, then going to Genoa, Piacenza, Parma, Reggio, Modena, Bologna, and in December arriving at Florence. Here he struck up a friendship with Horace Mann, an assistant to the British Minister at the Court of Tuscany and wrote Epistle from Florence to Thomas Ashton, tutor to the Earl of Plymouth, a mixture of Whig history and Middletons teachings. In February 1740 Walpole and Gray left for Rome with the intention of witnessing the papal conclave upon the death of Pope Clement XII, Walpole wanted to attend fashionable parties and Gray wanted to visit all the antiquities. At social occasions in Rome he saw the Old Pretender James Francis Edward Stuart, Walpole and Gray returned to Florence in July
17.
Jacobite rising of 1745
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The Jacobite rising of 1745 was the attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for the exiled House of Stuart. The rising occurred during the War of the Austrian Succession when most of the British Army was on the European continent, the march south began with an initial victory at Prestonpans near Edinburgh. The Jacobite army, now in bold spirits, marched onwards to Carlisle, the Battle of Culloden ended with the final defeat of the Jacobite cause, and with Charles Edward Stuart fleeing with a price on his head, before finally sailing to France. 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 the British throne 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 Scottish Act of Security 1704 required that Queen Annes successor be Protestant, and 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, James IIs son, James Francis Edward Stuart, the Old Pretender, attempted to gain the British throne in 1715 but failed to do so. The accession of George I ushered in the Whig supremacy, with the Tories deprived of all political power, George II succeeded his father in 1727. In February 1742 Sir Robert Walpole resigned as Prime Minister after nearly 21 years, thereafter, the Whig Henry Pelham was Prime Minister until 1754. In 1743 war broke out between Britain and France, as part of the larger War of the Austrian Succession and it was signed by the Duke of Beaufort, Lord Barrymore, Lord Orrery, Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, Sir John Hynde Cotton and Sir Robert Abdy. Amelot replied that the French government would need proof of English support for Jacobitism before it could act. The Tory leaders had requested 10,000 French soldiers and arms for 10,000 of the officers on half pay and unemployed soldiers. The French were to land in Maldon in Essex, a section of coast not patrolled by the Royal Navy, obviating a crossing of the River Thames and counting on support from Jacobite sentiment there. They advised that Maurice of Saxony should command the French army because he was known to most of them and was a Protestant. A parallel expeditionary force for a Scottish landing under the command of Lord Marischal was requested as well, James Butler, Louis XVs Master of Horse, toured England ostensibly for purchasing bloodstock but in reality to gauge the health of Jacobitism in England. Before he left for England the French king briefed him personally to assure the Tory leaders that all of their demands would be met and he reported back that they showed great zeal for a revolution. John Sample, a spy for Walpole, told the Duke of Newcastle that plans for a French invasion had been orchestrated by Wynn, Butler returned to France in October and had an audience with Louis XV, who said he was satisfied. The next month Amelot told Sempill officially that Louis XV was resolved to restore the House of Stuart, the Declaration of King James was signed by James Francis Edward Stuart on 23 December 1743 and was to be published in the event of a successful French landing
18.
Frederick, Prince of Wales
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Frederick Lewis, Prince of Wales, KG was heir apparent to the British throne from 1727 until his death. He was the eldest but estranged son of King George II and Caroline of Ansbach, under the Act of Settlement passed by the English Parliament in 1701, Frederick was high in line of succession to the British throne. He moved to Great Britain following the accession of his father and he predeceased his father, however, and upon the latters death on 25 October 1760, the throne passed to Prince Fredericks eldest son, George III. The Elector was the son of Sophia of Hanover, granddaughter of James VI and I and first cousin and heiress-presumptive to the English Queen Anne. However, Sophia died before Anne at age 83 in June 1714, which elevated the Elector to heir-presumptive, Queen Anne died on 1 August the same year and this made Fredericks father the new Prince of Wales and first-in-line to the British throne and Frederick himself second-in-line. Fredericks other godfather was his grand-uncle Frederick I, King in Prussia, Frederick was nicknamed Griff within the family. He was left in the care of his grand-uncle Ernest Augustus, Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück, in 1722, Frederick was inoculated against smallpox by Charles Maitland on the instructions of his mother Caroline. The latter two titles have been interpreted differently since – the ofs are omitted and Snaudon rendered as Snowdon, Frederick arrived in England in 1728 as a grown man, the year after his father had become King George II. By then, George and Caroline had had several younger children, the long separation damaged their relationship, and they would never be close. He was not permitted to go to Great Britain until after his father took the throne as George II on 11 June 1727, Frederick had continued to be known as Prince Friedrich Ludwig of Hanover even after his father had been created Prince of Wales. In 1728, Frederick was finally brought to Britain and was created Prince of Wales on 8 January 1729. He served as the tenth Chancellor of the University of Dublin from 1728 to 1751, and he sponsored a court of opposition politicians. Frederick and his group supported the Opera of the Nobility in Lincolns Inn Fields as a rival to Handels royally sponsored opera at the Kings Theatre in the Haymarket. He enjoyed the natural sciences and the arts, and became a thorn in the side of his parents, Hervey and Frederick wrote a theatrical comedy together which was staged at the Drury Lane Theatre in October 1731. It was panned by the critics, and even the theatres manager thought it so bad that it was unlikely to play out even the first night and he had soldiers stationed in the audience to maintain order, and when the play flopped the audience was given their money back. Hervey and Frederick also shared a mistress, Anne Vane, who had a son called FitzFrederick Vane in June 1732, either of them or William Stanhope, 1st Earl of Harrington, another of her lovers, could have been the father. Jealousy between them may have contributed to a breach, and their friendship ended, Hervey later wrote bitterly that Frederick was false. Never having the least hesitation in telling any lie that served his present purpose, a permanent result of Fredericks patronage of the arts is Rule, Britannia
19.
Jemima Yorke, 2nd Marchioness Grey
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Jemima Yorke, 2nd Marchioness Grey and Countess of Hardwicke was a British peeress. She was a daughter of John Campbell, 3rd Earl of Breadalbane and Holland and her maternal grandparents were Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent and Jemima Crew. On 22 May 1740, she married Hon. Philip Yorke, Lady Mary, married Thomas Robinson, 2nd Baron Grantham and had issue. On 5 June that year, she succeeded as Marchioness Grey by a special remainder upon the death of her grandfather, the Duke of Kent. As she had no heirs, the title later became extinct upon her own death in 1797
20.
Giacomo Casanova
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Giacomo Girolamo Casanova was an Italian adventurer and author from the Republic of Venice. His autobiography, Histoire de ma vie, is regarded as one of the most authentic sources of the customs and norms of European social life during the 18th century. As was not uncommon at the time, Casanova, depending on circumstances, used more or less fictitious names and he often signed his works Jacques Casanova de Seingalt after he began writing in French following his second exile from Venice. He has become so famous for his complicated and elaborate affairs with women that his name is now synonymous with womanizer. He associated with European royalty, popes, and cardinals, along with such as Voltaire, Goethe. He spent his last years in Bohemia as a librarian in Count Waldsteins household, Giacomo Girolamo Casanova was born in Venice in 1725 to actress Zanetta Farussi, wife of actor and dancer Gaetano Casanova. Giacomo was the first of six children, being followed by Francesco Giuseppe, Giovanni Battista, Faustina Maddalena, Maria Maddalena Antonia Stella, and Gaetano Alvise. At the time of Casanovas birth, the city of Venice thrived as the capital of Europe, ruled by political and religious conservatives who tolerated social vices. It was a stop on the Grand Tour, traveled by young men coming of age. The famed Carnival, gambling houses, and beautiful courtesans were powerful drawing cards and this was the milieu that bred Casanova and made him its most famous and representative citizen. Casanova was cared for by his grandmother Marzia Baldissera while his mother toured about Europe in the theater and his father died when he was eight. Though the unguent applied was ineffective, Casanova was fascinated by the incantation, Perhaps to remedy the nosebleeds, Casanova, on his ninth birthday, was sent to a boarding house on the mainland in Padua. For Casanova, the neglect by his parents was a bitter memory, so they got rid of me, he proclaimed. Conditions at the house were appalling, so he appealed to be placed under the care of Abbé Gozzi, his primary instructor. Casanova moved in with the priest and his family and lived there through most of his teenage years and it was also in the Gozzi household that Casanova first came into contact with the opposite sex, when Gozzis younger sister Bettina fondled him at the age of eleven. Bettina was pretty, lighthearted, and a reader of romances. The girl pleased me at once, though I had no idea why and it was she who little by little kindled in my heart the first sparks of a feeling which later became my ruling passion. Although she subsequently married, Casanova maintained an attachment to Bettina
21.
Madame de Pompadour
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She took charge of the king’s schedule and was a valued aide and advisor, despite her frail health and many political enemies. She secured titles of nobility for herself and her relatives, and built a network of clients and she was particularly careful not to alienate the Queen, Marie Leszczyńska. On February 8,1756, the Marquise de Pompadour was named as the lady in waiting to the queen, a position considered the most prestigious at the court. She was a patron of architecture and decorative arts, such as porcelain. She was a patron of the philosophes of the Enlightenment, including Voltaire, Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, otherwise known as Reinette to her friends, was born on 29 December 1721 in Paris to François Poisson and his wife Madeleine de La Motte. It is suspected that her father was either the rich financier Pâris de Montmartel or the tax collector Le Normant de Tournehem. Her younger brother was Abel-François Poisson de Vandières, who became the Marquis de Marigny. Poisson was intelligent, beautiful and refined and she spent her early childhood at the Ursuline convent in Poissy where she received a good education. At the age of 9 in 1730 she returned to Paris under the care of her mother Madame Poisson, the fortune teller told her then that she would one day be the mistress of King Louis XV. From then on Madame Poisson thought, her daughter was destined for greatness and she must provide the means and opportunities to help her achieve it. So her mother took charge of her education at home by hiring tutors who taught her to recite entire plays by heart, play the clavichord, dance, sing, paint. She became an actress and singer, and also attended Pariss Club de lEntresol. On 15 December 1740, Tournehem made his nephew his sole heir, disinheriting all his nephews and nieces. These included the estate at Étiolles, a gift from her guardian. With her husband, she had two children, a boy who died a year after his birth in 1741 and Alexandrine-Jeanne, born 10 August 1744 and died June 1754. Contemporary opinion supported by artwork from the considered the young Mme dÉtiolles to be beautiful, with her small mouth. Her young husband was soon infatuated with her and she was celebrated in the world of Paris. She founded her own salon, at Étiolles, and was joined by many philosophes, as Jeanne Antoinette became known in society, King Louis XV came to hear of her
22.
Louis XV of France
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Louis XV, known as Louis the Beloved, was a monarch of the House of Bourbon who ruled as King of France and Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five, Cardinal Fleury was his chief minister from 1726 until the Cardinals death in 1743, at which time the young king took sole control of the kingdom. During his reign, Louis returned the Austrian Netherlands, territory won at the Battle of Fontenoy of 1745, Louis also ceded New France in North America to Spain and Great Britain at the conclusion of the Seven Years War in 1763. He incorporated the territories of Lorraine and Corsica into the kingdom of France and he was succeeded by his grandson Louis XVI in 1774. French culture and influence were at their height in the first half of the eighteenth century, however, many scholars believe that Louis XVs decisions damaged the power of France, weakened the treasury, discredited the absolute monarchy, and made it more vulnerable to distrust and destruction. Evidence for this view is provided by the French Revolution, which broke out 15 years after his death, norman Davies characterized Louis XVs reign as one of debilitating stagnation, characterized by lost wars, endless clashes between the Court and Parliament, and religious feuds. A few scholars defend Louis, arguing that his negative reputation was based on propaganda meant to justify the French Revolution. Jerome Blum described him as a perpetual adolescent called to do a mans job, Louis XV was born in the Palace of Versailles on 15 February 1710 during the reign of Louis XIV. His grandfather, Louis Le Grand Dauphin, had three sons with his wife Marie Anne Victoire of Bavaria, Louis, Duke of Burgundy, Philippe, Duke of Anjou, and Charles, Duke of Berry. Louis XV was the son of the Duke of Burgundy and his wife Marie Adélaïde of Savoy, the eldest daughter of Victor Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy. At birth, Louis XV received a title for younger sons of the French royal family. In April 1711, Louis Le Grand Dauphin suddenly died, making Louis XVs father, the Duke of Burgundy, at that time, Burgundy had two living sons, Louis, Duke of Brittany and his youngest son, the future Louis XV. A year later, Marie Adélaïde, Duchess of Burgundy, contracted smallpox and her husband, said to be heartbroken by her death, died the same week, also having contracted smallpox. Within a week of his death, it was clear that the two children had also been infected. The elder son was treated by bloodletting in an unsuccessful effort to save him. Fearing that the Dauphin would die, the Court had both the Dauphin and the Duke of Anjou baptised, the Dauphin died the same day,8 March 1712. His younger brother, the Duke of Anjou, was treated by his governess, Madame de Ventadour. The two year old Dauphin survived the smallpox, on 1 September 1715, Louis XIV died of gangrene, having reigned for 72 years
23.
Seven Years' War
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The Seven Years War was a war fought between 1754 and 1763, the main conflict occurring in the seven-year period from 1756 to 1763. It involved every European great power of the time except the Ottoman Empire and spanned five continents, affecting Europe, the Americas, West Africa, India, and the Philippines. The conflict split Europe into two coalitions, led by the Kingdom of Great Britain on one side and the Kingdom of France on the other. Meanwhile, in India, the Mughal Empire, with the support of the French, faced with this sudden turn of events, Britain aligned herself with Prussia, in a series of political manoeuvres known as the Diplomatic Revolution. Conflict between Great Britain and France broke out in 1754–1756 when the British attacked disputed French positions in North America, meanwhile, rising power Prussia was struggling with Austria for dominance within and outside the Holy Roman Empire in central Europe. In 1756, the major powers switched partners, realizing that war was imminent, Prussia preemptively struck Saxony and quickly overran it. The result caused uproar across Europe, because of Austrias alliance with France to recapture Silesia, which had been lost in a previous war, Prussia formed an alliance with Britain. Reluctantly, by following the diet, most of the states of the empire joined Austrias cause. The Anglo-Prussian alliance was joined by smaller German states, Sweden, seeking to re-gain Pomerania joined the coalition, seeing its chance when virtually all of Europe opposed Prussia. Spain, bound by the Pacte de Famille, intervened on behalf of France, the Russian Empire was originally aligned with Austria, fearing Prussias ambition on the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, but switched sides upon the succession of Tsar Peter III in 1762. Naples, Sicily, and Savoy, although sided with the Franco-Spanish alliance, like Sweden, Russia concluded a separate peace with Prussia. The war ended with the Treaty of Paris between France, Spain and Great Britain and the Treaty of Hubertusburg between Saxony, Austria and Prussia, in 1763. The Native American tribes were excluded from the settlement, a subsequent conflict, Prussia emerged as a new European great power. Although Austria failed to retrieve the territory of Silesia from Prussia its military prowess was noted by the other powers. The involvement of Portugal, Spain and Sweden did not return them to their status as great powers. France was deprived of many of its colonies and had saddled itself with heavy war debts that its inefficient financial system could barely handle. Spain lost Florida but gained French Louisiana and regained control of its colonies, e. g. Cuba and the Philippines, France and Spain avenged their defeat in 1778 when the American Revolutionary War broke out, with hopes of destroying Britains dominance once and for all. The Seven Years War was perhaps the first true world war, having taken place almost 160 years before World War I and it was characterized in Europe by sieges and the arson of towns as well as open battles with heavy losses
24.
The Hague
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The Hague is a city on the western coast of the Netherlands, and the capital city of the province of South Holland. With a population of 520,704 inhabitants and more than one million including the suburbs, it is the third-largest city of the Netherlands. The Rotterdam The Hague Metropolitan Area, with a population of approximately 2.7 million, is the 12th-largest in the European Union and the most populous in the country. Located in the west of the Netherlands, The Hague is in the centre of the Haaglanden conurbation and lies at the southwest corner of the larger Randstad conurbation. The Hague is the seat of the Dutch government, parliament, the Supreme Court, and the Council of State, but the city is not the capital of the Netherlands, which constitutionally is Amsterdam. King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands plans to live at Huis ten Bosch and works at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague, the Hague is also home to the world headquarters of Royal Dutch Shell and numerous other major Dutch companies. The Hague originated around 1230, when Count Floris IV of Holland purchased land alongside a pond, in 1248, his son and successor William II, King of the Romans, decided to extend the residence to a palace, which would later be called the Binnenhof. He died in 1256 before this palace was completed but parts of it were finished by his son Floris V, of which the Ridderzaal and it is still used for political events, such as the annual speech from the throne by the Dutch monarch. From the 13th century onwards, the counts of Holland used The Hague as their administrative centre, the village that originated around the Binnenhof was first mentioned as Haga in a charter dating from 1242. In the 15th century, the smarter des Graven hage came into use, literally The Counts Wood, with connotations like The Counts Hedge, s-Gravenhage was officially used for the city from the 17th century onwards. Today, this name is used in some official documents like birth. The city itself uses Den Haag in all its communication and their seat was located in The Hague. At the beginning of the Eighty Years War, the absence of city walls proved disastrous, in 1575, the States of Holland even considered demolishing the city but this proposal was abandoned, after mediation by William of Orange. From 1588, The Hague also became the seat of the government of the Dutch Republic, in order for the administration to maintain control over city matters, The Hague never received official city status, although it did have many of the privileges normally granted only to cities. In modern administrative law, city rights have no place anymore, only in 1806, when the Kingdom of Holland was a puppet state of the First French Empire, was the settlement granted city rights by Louis Bonaparte. After the Napoleonic Wars, modern-day Belgium and the Netherlands were combined in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands to form a buffer against France, as a compromise, Brussels and Amsterdam alternated as capital every two years, with the government remaining in The Hague. After the separation of Belgium in 1830, Amsterdam remained the capital of the Netherlands, when the government started to play a more prominent role in Dutch society after 1850, The Hague quickly expanded. The growing city annexed the rural municipality of Loosduinen partly in 1903, the city sustained heavy damage during World War II
25.
Weesp
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Weesp is a town and a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It had a population of 18,255 in 2014, Weesp lies next to the rivers de Vecht and Smal Weesp and also next to the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal. It is in a called the Vechtstreek. It is only 3 km from the end of the Amsterdam metro, the town is surrounded by open grassland. The most famed product of Weesp is Van Houten chocolate, before cocoa production, the local economy had been based on beer breweries, jenever distilleries, production of Weesper porselein, and trade, due to its location on a branch point of waterways. In the 21st century, the economy is very diverse, there were large facilities of Solvay Pharmaceuticals, until February 2010 when Abbott Laboratories of North Chicago, IL, USA acquired Solvay Pharmaceuticals. The local specialty is the Weesper Mop cookie, which is based on mashed almond, Weesp is a popular stop for tourists. It has a historical center with canals and many buildings dating from the seventeenth and eighteenth century. Weesp has three full-size historical windmills and it features a bastion and fortifications that are part of the Defense line of Amsterdam and the Dutch Water Line. These structures have never attacked, though. The scenic river Vecht and the roads that line it attract yachters. The Naardermeer area, the first nature reserve in the Netherlands, is at 15 minutes cycling distance from Weesp, until the early Middle Ages the region around Weesp was an uninhabited peat bog. Weesp was granted city rights in 1355 and celebrated its 650th anniversary as a town in 2005, from the late Middle Ages, the river Vecht was a defensive line for the County of Holland and it remained a military defensive line until the Second World War. Weesp was strongly fortified, more than its size would justify - for most of its history it had a few thousand inhabitants, the defensive lines consisted of inundation zones, which would be flooded in wartime. Behind them were fortified towns, forts, barracks and other military structures, the most comprehensive was the Defence Line of Amsterdam, a circular inundation zone around Amsterdam, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After the Second World War, new housing was built in the west, in the 1970s a suburb was built on the south. Another suburb was built in the north which recently expanded with plans for further expansion, before the reformation the church was dedicated to Saint Laurens. It is still in use for Protestant services, in the tower it has a famous carillon by Pieter Hemony cast in 1671
26.
Charles Louis Auguste Fouquet, duc de Belle-Isle
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Charles Louis Auguste Fouquet, duc de Belle-Isle was a French general and statesman. Born in Villefranche-de-Rouergue, Belle-Isle was the grandson of Nicolas Fouquet and his family was in disgrace because of Fouquet’s brash ambition in the eyes of Louis XIV. Determined to blot out his family’s prior disgrace, he entered the army at an age and was made proprietary colonel of a dragoon regiment in 1708. He rose during the War of the Spanish Succession to the rank of brigadier, in the War of the Polish Succession he commanded a corps under the orders of Marshal Berwick, capturing Trier and Traben-Trarbach and taking part in the Siege of Philippsburg in 1734. When peace was made in 1736, Louis XV gave Belle-Isle the governments of three important fortresses, Metz, Toul, and Verdun offices that he would hold until his death. This was in recognition of both his military services and of his part in the negotiations for the cession of Lorraine. Belle-Isle’s military and political reputation was now at its height, and he was one of the principal advisers on military. The long tradition of Franco-Austrian rivalry had crystallized around Belle-Isle, who had emerged as the leader of the bloc of French policy makers towards the House of Austria. French aggression was in part made possible by the precedent set by the Frederick II of Prussia. His aggressive strategy towards Austria was predicated on the defeat of an impotent and disorganized Austria. Belle-Isle was named Maréchal de France in 1741 and received control of a large army, the truth of this story is open to question, for no one knew better than Belle-Isle the limitations imposed upon commanders by the military and political circumstances of the times. He was, according to one scholar, “the most important single influence on French policy in the year of 1741. ”However. Following his initial victories, Belle-Isle suffered regression and defeat and his aggressive policies had proved disastrous, however the daring French retreat from Prague would distinguish Belle-Isle’s military brilliance and bravery. But by never allowing himself to be cut off, he was able to reach the safety of Eger, after losing 1500 men. His subordinate, François de Chevert, and his 5000 men, the means by which this was obtained supposedly included Chevert threatening to burn down the city. He was forced to remain a year in England, in spite of the demands of Louis XV, during the French campaigns of 1746-47, Belle-Isle was in command of the Army at Piedmont on the Alpine frontier. His troops conquered Antibes and Nice, only to suffer a defeat at the Battle of Assietta. The disastrous battle would claim the life of Belle-Isle’s younger brother, the soldier and diplomatist, the Chevalier de Belle-Isle, following the defeat, French forces were weakened and demoralized
27.
Willem Bentinck van Rhoon
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Willem, Count Bentinck, Lord of Rhoon and Pendrecht was a Dutch nobleman and politician, and the eldest son from the second marriage of William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland. He was created Count Bentinck of the Holy Roman Empire in 1732, Bentinck played a leading role in the Orangist revolution of 1747 in the Netherlands. Bentinck was the first son in the marriage of William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland, in 1719 Willem and his younger brother Charles were sent to the Netherlands to complete their education under the guardianship of Johan Hendrik, Count of Wassenaar. He first enrolled at Leiden university and completed his studies in The Hague, from 1725 till 1728 he went on the usual Grand Tour through most of western Continental Europe. After his return to the Netherlands and his elevation to the States of Holland in 1727 he made a marriage with Charlotte Sophie of Aldenburg in 1733. As the social status of the spouses was considered too unequal Bentinck bought his elevation to the rank of Imperial Count of the Holy Roman Empire in 1732 from the German emperor. This led to a series of lawsuits between the former spouses which brought success to Willem, but meanwhile were a heavy burden on his finances. As an Orangist Bentinck was in opposition to the regime during the Stadtholderless period and he championed the cause of William IV, Prince of Orange who was stadtholder of the province of Friesland in the Dutch Republic, but was denied that dignity in most of the other provinces. He acted as agent of the Prince in the coup in September 1748, in which the city government of Amsterdam was overturned, the courtiers managed to thwart most of Bentincks attempts at political reform. Bentinck was more successful in his career, which started with a mission in 1747 to coordinate military efforts against France with Great Britain. At the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle where the eponymous peace Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle was negotiated and his relationship with the Princess and her favorites remained tense, however, and Bentinck never regained his political influence. When the duke of Brunswick gained more and more influence Bentinck actively opposed him and he openly denounced the Act of Advisorship which gave the duke the factual power to continue his regency over William V, after the latter had come of age in 1766. This put an end to any illusion Bentinck might have had of regaining his old position at the court of the stadtholder. Willem Bentinck was the father of the British naval officer and mechanical inventor John Bentinck, molhuysen and P. J. Blok, Nieuw Nederlandsch Biografisch Woordenboek, Deel 1, pp. 302–303 Israel, J. I. The Dutch Republic, Its Rise, Greatness and Fall, 1477–1806, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-873072-1 hardback, ISBN 0-19-820734-4 paperback
28.
Joseph Yorke, 1st Baron Dover
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Yorke was the third son of Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke, by Margaret, daughter of Charles Cocks. Philip Yorke, 2nd Earl of Hardwicke, Charles Yorke and James Yorke were his brothers, Yorke served in the War of the Austrian Succession as an aide-de-camp to the Duke of Cumberland, and fought in the Battle of Fontenoy in 1745. He became a Major-General in 1758, a Lieutenant-General in 1760, in 1749 he was appointed Secretary to the British Embassay in Paris. Two years later he became Minister Plenipotentiary to the United Provinces, the post was upgraded to that of ambassador in 1761. During this period he sat in the House of Commons for East Grinstead between 1751 and 1761, for Dover between 1761 and 1774 and for Grampound between 1774 and 1780. He was appointed a Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1761, in 1788 he was raised to the peerage as Lord Dover, Baron of the Town and Port of Dover, in the County of Kent. Lord Dover married Christiana Charlotte Margaret, daughter of Johan Henrik, Baron de Stöcken and he died in December 1792, aged 68, when the barony became extinct. Lady Dover only survived her husband by three months and died in March 1793
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Hellevoetsluis
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Hellevoetsluis is a small city and municipality on Voorne-Putten Island in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 46.27 km2 of which 14.71 km2 is water and it includes the population centres Nieuw-Helvoet, Nieuwenhoorn and Oude en Nieuwe Struiten, all former municipalities. Hellevoetsluis is located on the Haringvliet with the sea, beach and dunes close by, on the southern edge of the Rijnmond and Europoort areas. The name translates as lock at the foot of the Helle, the Helle was a small local river which disappeared over time. The history of Hellevoetsluis has always connected with water. Thanks to its strategic situation the town grew from the beginning of the 17th century to be the homeport for the Dutch war fleet, in later years the port was fortified more and more and Hellevoetsluis therefore became a unique combination of fortified town and naval port. The Admirals Maarten Tromp, Michiel de Ruyter and Piet Heyn had their base here. The Kanaal door Voorne was built in 1830 from Hellevoetsluis to Nieuwesluis and it was a period when the town grew and flourished, the shipping industry provided prosperity. In the first half of the 20th century, however, Hellevoetsluis went into decline, ocean-going ships became too large to use the canal and the Nieuwe Waterweg was dug, making the Canal through Voorne redundant. The naval base was relocated to Den Helder in the 1930s, the Government shipyard was closed and they also used the canal as a base for Biber submarines. After World War II Hellevoetsluis grew considerably, as a New Town the population doubled in the 1970s. Today 43,000 inhabitants live in houses with abundant green areas nearby. It is home to commuters working in Europoort or Rotterdam. The city is home to Water Tower Hellevoetsluis, designed by architect N. Biezeveld, education up to secondary school level, a library, community centres, health care, modern facilities for water sport are all available. Following the construction of the Haringvliet locks, the Haringvliet is ideal water for surfing and sailing, there are also extensive mooring facilities. Close by are the beach and the dunes at Voorne, a nature reserve, Hellevoetsluis is one of the largest water sports centres in the country. There are 2,000 mooring places, spread over five harbours, the old town centre, the fortress, has many terraces that look out upon the busy harbour and plenty of bars and restaurants serving international food. There are also restaurants and bars outside the fortress, a petting zoo, a sailing school, a fitness centre, tennis courts, a sauna, etc. are nearby
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Zutphen
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Zutphen is a town in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. It lies some 30 km north-east of Arnhem, on the Eastern bank of the river IJssel at the point where it is joined by the Berkel, the name Zutphen appears to mean zuid-veen, or in English, south-fen. In 2005, the municipality of Zutphen was merged with the municipality of Warnsveld, the municipality had a population of 47,052 in 2014. About 300 AD a Germanic settlement was the first permanent town on a complex of low river dunes, whereas many such settlements were abandoned in the early Middle Ages, Zutphen on its strategic confluence of IJssel and Berkel stayed. After the incorporation of the IJssel lands in Charlemagnes Francia, Zutphen became a centre of governance under a count. The Normans raided and ravaged it in 882, afterwards a circular fortress was built to protect the budding town against Viking attacks. In the eleventh century Zutphen was a residence for a number of years, a pfalz was built, together with a large chapter church. The counts of Zutphen acquired a lot of power, until the line of counts became extinct in the twelfth century. After the death of her father and her brother, Ermgard, the settlement received town rights between 1191 and 1196, making it one of the oldest towns in the country. This allowed it to govern and have a judicial court. Only Utrecht, and Deventer preceded it in receiving town rights, Zutphen, in turn, became the mother town of several other towns in Guelders, such as Arnhem, Doetinchem, Doesburg, Lochem, Harderwijk, Venlo and Emmerich. It also became part of the Hanseatic League, a group of towns with great wealth, during the 12th century coins were minted in Zutphen by the Counts of Guelders and Zutphen, Henry I and Otto I. Although the city had minting rights for a few centuries this was actively used during four periods, 1478-1480, 1582-1583, 1604–1605. The largest and oldest church of the city is the St. Walburgis church, the present Gothic building contains monuments of the former counts of Zutphen, a fourteenth-century candelabrum, an elaborate copper font, and a monument to the Van Heeckeren family. The chapter-house of library contains a library which includes some valuable manuscripts. It is considered one of only 5 remaining medieval libraries in Europe and its fortifications were dismantled in 1874. In World War II the town was bombed several times by the allied forces because the bridge over the IJssel was vital to support the German troops at Arnhem after the Operation Market Garden, after two weeks of battle the town was liberated on 14 April 1945. After the war a renovation program started, the city center includes many monumental buildings dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries, and some even date back to the 13th century such as a retirement home area
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Bad Schwalbach
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Bad Schwalbach is the district seat of Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. Bad Schwalbach is a spa town some 20 km northwest of Wiesbaden and it lies at 289 to 465 m above sea level in the Taunus, along the small river Aar. Over 56 percent of the area is forest. Bad Schwalbach’s Stadtteile are Adolfseck, Bad Schwalbach, Fischbach, Heimbach, Hettenhain, Langenseifen, Bad Schwalbach was first mentioned in a document in 1352 as Langinswalbach. The first reliable report of the springs came in 1568 from the Worms doctor Tabernaemontanus. Although Langenschwalbach was utterly destroyed in the Thirty Years War, it was rebuilt. At first, the water would be sold by the jug or barrel throughout Europe by mail order, only a few seekers of healing undertook the arduous journey to the Taunus. The health resort started at the beginning of the 19th century only after the improvement of road conditions through construction, the Aartalbahn from Wiesbaden to Langenschwalbach, finished in 1889, also contributed substantially to its founding. Many crowned heads, princes and counts then came to take the waters, in a wood near Bad Schwalbach in late 1800 or early 1801, Katharina Pfeifer is said to have borne the outlaw Schinderhannes a child. The Kurbahn, which operates on the rails of the former Moortransportbahn in the spa park, provides access to the town’s. From April to October, the trains are run by the Bad Schwalbacher Kurbahn Verein e. V. on all Sundays and holidays, from Moorbadehaus Station the line leads to the Moorgruben by way of Golfhaus, Schwalbenbrunnen and Waldsee. Bad Schwalbachs only museum was reopened in 2002 with new exhibits, through its exhibits, it attempts to lead visitors through Bad Schwalbach’s history and its life as a health resort. Among other things, the museum includes the museum, once displayed in private rooms. The pharmacy museum contains the oldest pharmacy in the Taunus, fully furnished, the museum also houses the town archive. Also worth seeing are the seven fountains and many temples, among them the Elisabethentempel and it affords a good view over the town. The largest employer is the Schwälbchen Molkerei Jakob Berz AG, Bad Schwalbach lies on Bundesstraße 260, also known as the Bäderstraße, as well as Bundesstraßen 54 and 275. The nearest Autobahn interchange is on the A6615 km away, there is also another interchange 20 km away at Idstein on the A3. Bad Schwalbach also lies on the Aartalbahn, but there has no regular passenger service since 1986
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Altona, Hamburg
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Altona is the westernmost urban borough of the German city state of Hamburg, on the right bank of the Elbe river. From 1640 to 1864 Altona was under the administration of the Danish monarchy, Altona was an independent city until 1937. In 2006 the population was 243,972, founded in 1535 as a village of fishermen in then Holstein-Pinneberg. In 1640, Altona came under Danish rule as part of Holstein-Glückstadt, Altona was one of the Danish monarchys most important harbour towns. The railroad from Altona to Kiel, the Hamburg-Altona–Kiel railway, was opened in 1844, members did business both in Hamburg and in Altona itself. All that remains after the Nazi Holocaust during World War II are the Jewish cemeteries, but in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, the Holstein-Pinneberg and later Danish Holstein had lower taxes and placed fewer civil impositions on their Jewish community than did the government of Hamburg. Along with all of Schleswig-Holstein, Altona became part of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1867, in 1871 Altona and the nearby city Hamburg were hit by cholera, with a minimum of 16 casualties in Altona. During the Weimar era following World War I, the city of Altona was disturbed by major labor strikes, inflation in Germany was a major problem. In 1923 Max Brauer, the mayor of Altona, directed that city personnel be paid in part with gas meter tokens, as these coins did not lose value from inflation. The most notable event at this time is the Altona Bloody Sunday on July 17,1932 when several persons were shot by the force during a demonstration of Nazi groups. After police raids and a court, on August 1,1933 Bruno Tesch and others were found guilty. In the 1990s, the Federal Republic of Germany reversed the convictions of Tesch, the Greater Hamburg Act removed Altona from the Free State of Prussia in 1937 and merged it with the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg in 1938. On 1 February 2007 the Ortsämter in Hamburg were dissolved, in Altona the precincts of Blankenese, Lurup and Osdorf had existed and had local offices. The border of Altona to the south is the River Elbe, and across the river the state Lower Saxony, to the east is the borough Hamburg-Mitte and to the north is the borough Eimsbüttel. The western border is with the state of Schleswig-Holstein, according to the statistical office of Hamburg, the area of Altona is 77.5 km² or 29.9 sq mi in 2006. 16. 4% were children under the age of 18, and 18. 6% were 65 years of age or older,12,545 people were registered as unemployed. In 1999 48% of all households were made up of individuals, there were 37 elementary schools and 30 secondary schools in Altona and 635 physicians in private practice and 67 pharmacies. Simultaneously with elections to the parliament, the Bezirksversammlung is elected as representatives of the citizens
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Duchy of Schleswig
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The region is also called Sleswick in English. Roman sources place the homeland of the Jute tribe north of the river Eider and that of the Angles to its south, who in turn abutted the neighbouring Saxons. During the early Viking Age, Haithabu - Scandinavias biggest trading centre - was located in this region and its construction, and in particular its great expansion around 737, has been interpreted as an indication of the emergence of a unified Danish state. In May 1931 scientists of the National Museum of Denmark announced the finding of eighteen Viking graves with the remains of eighteen men in them, the discovery came during excavations in Schleswig. The skeletons indicated that the men were bigger proportioned than twentieth-century Danish men, each of the graves was laid out from east to west. Researchers surmised that the bodies were entombed in wooden coffins originally, towards the end of the Early Middle Ages, Schleswig formed part of the historical Lands of Denmark as Denmark unified out of a number of petty chiefdoms in the 8th to 10th centuries. The southern boundary of Denmark in the region of the Eider River, the Treaty of Heiligen was signed in 811 between the Danish King Hemming and Charlemagne, by which the border was established at the Eider. During the 10th century there were wars between East Francia and Denmark. In 1027, Conrad II and Canute the Great again settled their mutual border at the Eider. In 1115, king Niels created his nephew Canute Lavard - a son of his predecessor Eric I - Earl of Schleswig, in the 1230s, Southern Jutland was allotted as an appanage to Abel Valdemarsen, Canutes great-grandson, a younger son of Valdemar II of Denmark. Feuds and marital alliances brought the Abel dynasty into a connection with the German Duchy of Holstein by the 15th century. The latter was a subordinate to the Holy Roman Empire. The title Duke of Schleswig was inherited in 1460 by the kings of Norway who were also regularly elected kings of Denmark simultaneously. This was an anomaly – a king holding a ducal title, the title and anomaly survived presumably because it was already co-regally held by the kings sons. Between 1544 and 1713/20 the ducal reign had become a condominium, with the royal House of Oldenburg, a third branch in the condominium, the short-lived House of Haderslev, was already extinct in 1580 by the time of John the Elder. On the west coast the Danish diocese of Ribe stopped about 5 km north of the present border and this line corresponds remarkably well with the present border. In the 17th century a series of wars between Denmark and Sweden—which Denmark lost—devastated the region economically, however the nobility responded with a new agricultural system that restored prosperity. In the period 1600 to 1800 the region experienced the growth of manorialism of the common in the rye-growing regions of eastern Germany
