1.
Florence
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Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the Metropolitan City of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants, Florence was a centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time. It is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, and has called the Athens of the Middle Ages. A turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful Medici family, from 1865 to 1871 the city was the capital of the recently established Kingdom of Italy. The Historic Centre of Florence attracts 13 million tourists each year and it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. The city is noted for its culture, Renaissance art and architecture, the city also contains numerous museums and art galleries, such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Palazzo Pitti, and still exerts an influence in the fields of art, culture and politics. Due to Florences artistic and architectural heritage, it has been ranked by Forbes as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, in 2008, the city had the 17th highest average income in Italy. Florence originated as a Roman city, and later, after a period as a flourishing trading and banking medieval commune. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, it was politically, economically, and culturally one of the most important cities in Europe, the language spoken in the city during the 14th century was, and still is, accepted as the Italian language. Starting from the late Middle Ages, Florentine money—in the form of the gold florin—financed the development of all over Europe, from Britain to Bruges, to Lyon. Florentine bankers financed the English kings during the Hundred Years War and they similarly financed the papacy, including the construction of their provisional capital of Avignon and, after their return to Rome, the reconstruction and Renaissance embellishment of Rome. Florence was home to the Medici, one of European historys most important noble families, Lorenzo de Medici was considered a political and cultural mastermind of Italy in the late 15th century. Two members of the family were popes in the early 16th century, Leo X, catherine de Medici married king Henry II of France and, after his death in 1559, reigned as regent in France. Marie de Medici married Henry IV of France and gave birth to the future king Louis XIII, the Medici reigned as Grand Dukes of Tuscany, starting with Cosimo I de Medici in 1569 and ending with the death of Gian Gastone de Medici in 1737. The Etruscans initially formed in 200 BC the small settlement of Fiesole and it was built in the style of an army camp with the main streets, the cardo and the decumanus, intersecting at the present Piazza della Repubblica. Situated along the Via Cassia, the route between Rome and the north, and within the fertile valley of the Arno, the settlement quickly became an important commercial centre. Peace returned under Lombard rule in the 6th century, Florence was conquered by Charlemagne in 774 and became part of the Duchy of Tuscany, with Lucca as capital. The population began to again and commerce prospered
2.
Coin
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A coin is a small, flat, round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by a government, Coins are usually metal or alloy, or sometimes made of synthetic materials. Coins made of metal are stored in large quantities as bullion coins. Other coins are used as money in transactions, circulating alongside banknotes. Usually the highest value coin in circulation is less than the lowest-value note. In the last hundred years, the value of circulation coins has occasionally been lower than the value of the metal they contain. Exceptions to the rule of face value being higher than content value also occur for some bullion coins made of copper, silver, or gold, while the Eagle, Maple Leaf, and Sovereign coins have nominal face values, the Krugerrand does not. The first coins were developed independently in Iron Age Anatolia and Archaic Greece, India, Coins spread rapidly in the 6th and 5th centuries BCE, throughout Greece and Persia, and further to the Balkans. Standardized Roman currency was used throughout the Roman Empire, important Roman gold and silver coins were continued into the Middle Ages. Fiat money first arose in medieval China, with the paper money. Early paper money was introduced in Europe in the later Middle Ages, the penny was minted as a silver coin until the 17th century. The first circulating United States coins were cents, produced in 1793, Coins were an evolution of currency systems of the Late Bronze Age, where standard-sized ingots, and tokens such as knife money, were used to store and transfer value. In the late Chinese Bronze Age, standardized cast tokens were made and these were replicas in bronze of earlier Chinese currency, cowrie shells, so they were named Bronze Shell. According to Aristotle and Pollux, the first issuer of coins was Hermodike of Kyme The earliest coins are associated with Iron Age Anatolia. Early electrum coins were not standardized in weight, and in their earliest stage may have been ritual objects, such as badges or medals, issued by priests. The first Lydian coins were made of electrum, a naturally occurring alloy of silver, most of the early Lydian coins include no writing, only an image of a symbolic animal. Anatolian Artemis was the Πὀτνια Θηρῶν, whose symbol was the stag, a small percentage of early Lydian/Greek coins have a legend
3.
Grain (unit)
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A grain is a unit of measurement of mass, and, for the troy grain, equal to exactly 7001647989100000000♠64.79891 milligrams. It is nominally based upon the mass of a seed of a cereal. From the Bronze Age into the Renaissance the average masses of wheat, rather, expressions such as thirty-two grains of wheat, taken from the middle of the ear appear to have been ritualistic formulas, essentially the premodern equivalent of legal boilerplate. Another book states that Captain Henry Kater, of the British Standards Commission, the grain was the legal foundation of traditional English weight systems, and is the only unit that is equal throughout the troy, avoirdupois, and apothecaries systems of mass. The unit was based on the weight of a grain of barley. The fundamental unit of the pre-1527 English weight system known as Tower weights, was a different sort of known as the wheat grain. The Tower wheat grain was defined as exactly 45⁄64 of a troy grain.79891 milligrams, 7000100000000000000♠1 gram is approximately 7001154323600000000♠15.43236 grains. The unit formerly used by jewellers to measure pearls, diamonds, or other stones, called the jewellers grain or pearl grain, is equal to 1⁄4 of a carat. The grain was also the name of a traditional French unit equal to 6995531150000000000♠53.115 mg. In both British Imperial and U. S. customary units, there are precisely 7,000 grains per avoirdupois pound, the grain is commonly used to measure the mass of bullets and propellants. The term also refers to a particle of gunpowder, the size of which varies according to requirements. In archery, the grain is the unit used to weigh arrows. In dentistry, gold foil, used as a material to restore teeth, is measured in grains, in North America, the hardness of water is often measured in grains per US gallon of calcium carbonate equivalents. Otherwise, water hardness is measured in the metric unit parts per million, one grain per US gallon is approximately 6995171000000000000♠17.1 ppm. Soft water contains 1–4 gpg of calcium carbonate equivalents, while hard water contains 11–20 gpg, though no longer recommended, grains are still used occasionally in medicine as part of the apothecaries system, especially in prescriptions for older medicines such as aspirin or phenobarbital. For example, the dosage of a standard 6996325000000000000♠325 mg tablet of aspirin is sometimes given as 7000500000000000000♠5 grains, in that example the grain is approximated to 6995650000000000000♠65 mg, though the grain can also be approximated to 6995600000000000000♠60 mg, depending on the medication and manufacturer. The apothecaries system has its own system of notation, in which the symbol or abbreviation is followed by the quantity in lower case Roman numerals. For amounts less than one, the quantity is written as a fraction, or for one half, therefore, a prescription for tablets containing 325 mg of aspirin and 30 mg of codeine can be written ASA gr
4.
Troy weight
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Troy weight is a system of units of mass customarily used for precious metals and gemstones. One troy ounce equals 31.1034768 grams exactly, there are only 12 troy ounces per troy pound, rather than the 16 ounces per pound found in the more common avoirdupois system. However, the pound has 7000 grains whereas the troy pound has only 5760 grains. Both systems use the same grain defined by the international yard, therefore the troy ounce is 480 grains, compared with the avoirdupois ounce, which is 437.5 grains. So the troy ounce is about 10% heavier than the avoirdupois ounce, although troy ounces are still used to weigh gold, silver, and gemstones, troy weight is no longer used in most other applications. One troy ounce of gold is denoted with the ISO4217 currency code XAU, troy weight probably takes its name from the French market town of Troyes in France where English merchants traded at least as early as the early 9th century. The name troy is first attested in 1390, describing the weight of a platter, the word troni refers to markets. Watson finds the dialect word troi, meaning a balance in Wrights Dialect Dictionary, troy weight referred to the tower system, the earliest reference to the modern troy weights is in 1414. Many aspects of the weight system were indirectly derived from the Roman monetary system. The Romans used bronze bars of varying weights as currency, an aes grave weighed 1 pound. One twelfth of an aes grave was called an uncia, or in English an ounce, before the adoption of the metric system, many systems of troy weights were in use in various parts of Europe, among them Holland troy, Paris troy, etc. Their values varied from one another by up to several percentage points, troy weights were first used in England in the 15th century, and were made official for gold and silver in 1527. The British Imperial system of weights and measures was established in 1824, the troy ounce in use today is essentially the same as the British Imperial troy ounce, adopted as an official weight standard for United States coinage by Act of Congress on May 19,1828. The British Imperial troy ounce was based on, and virtually identical with, the pre-1824 British troy ounce, the English troy ounce was officially adopted for coinage in 1527. Troy ounces have been used in England since about 1400, before that, various sorts of troy ounces were in use on the continent. The troy ounce and grain were also part of the apothecaries system and this was long used in medicine, but has now been largely replaced by the metric system. The only troy weight in widespread use today is the British Imperial troy ounce, both are currently based on a grain of 0.06479891 gram, with 480 grains to a troy ounce. The British Empire abolished the 12-ounce troy pound in the 19th century, the origin of the troy weight system is unknown
5.
United States dollar
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The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States and its insular territories per the United States Constitution. It is divided into 100 smaller cent units, the circulating paper money consists of Federal Reserve Notes that are denominated in United States dollars. The U. S. dollar was originally commodity money of silver as enacted by the Coinage Act of 1792 which determined the dollar to be 371 4/16 grain pure or 416 grain standard silver, the currency most used in international transactions, it is the worlds primary reserve currency. Several countries use it as their currency, and in many others it is the de facto currency. Besides the United States, it is used as the sole currency in two British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean, the British Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands. A few countries use the Federal Reserve Notes for paper money, while the country mints its own coins, or also accepts U. S. coins that can be used as payment in U. S. dollars. After Nixon shock of 1971, USD became fiat currency, Article I, Section 8 of the U. S. Constitution provides that the Congress has the power To coin money, laws implementing this power are currently codified at 31 U. S. C. Section 5112 prescribes the forms in which the United States dollars should be issued and these coins are both designated in Section 5112 as legal tender in payment of debts. The Sacagawea dollar is one example of the copper alloy dollar, the pure silver dollar is known as the American Silver Eagle. Section 5112 also provides for the minting and issuance of other coins and these other coins are more fully described in Coins of the United States dollar. The Constitution provides that a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and that provision of the Constitution is made specific by Section 331 of Title 31 of the United States Code. The sums of money reported in the Statements are currently being expressed in U. S. dollars, the U. S. dollar may therefore be described as the unit of account of the United States. The word dollar is one of the words in the first paragraph of Section 9 of Article I of the Constitution, there, dollars is a reference to the Spanish milled dollar, a coin that had a monetary value of 8 Spanish units of currency, or reales. In 1792 the U. S. Congress passed a Coinage Act, Section 20 of the act provided, That the money of account of the United States shall be expressed in dollars, or units. And that all accounts in the offices and all proceedings in the courts of the United States shall be kept and had in conformity to this regulation. In other words, this act designated the United States dollar as the unit of currency of the United States, unlike the Spanish milled dollar the U. S. dollar is based upon a decimal system of values. Both one-dollar coins and notes are produced today, although the form is significantly more common
6.
Republic of Florence
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The Republic of Florence, also known as the Florentine Republic, was a medieval and early modern state that was centered on the Italian city of Florence in Tuscany. The republic originated in 1115, when the Florentine people rebelled against the Margraviate of Tuscany upon the death of Matilda, the Florentines formed a commune in her successors place. The republic was ruled by a council, known as the signoria, the signoria was chosen by the gonfaloniere, who was elected every two months by Florentine guild members. The republic had a history of coups and counter-coups against various factions. The Medici faction gained governance of the city in 1434, upon Cosimo de Medicis counter-coup against the faction that had sent him into exile the previous year, the Medici kept control of Florence until 1494. Giovanni de Medici re-conquered the republic in 1512, Florence repudiated Medici authority for a second time in 1527, during the War of the League of Cognac. The Medici re-assumed their rule in 1531, after an 11-month siege of the city, the republican government was disestablished in 1532, when Pope Clement VII appointed Alessandro de Medici Duke of the Florentine Republic, making the republic a hereditary monarchy. The city of Florence was established in 59 B. C. by Julius Caesar, the city had been part of the Marquisate of Tuscany before the death of Margravine Matilda in 1115. The city did not submit readily to her successor, Rabodo, the first official mention of the republic was in 1138 when several cities around Tuscany formed a league against Henry X of Bavaria. The country was part of the Holy Roman Empire. Florence prospered in the 12th century, trading extensively with foreign countries and this, in turn, provided a platform for demographic growth of the city. The growth of Florences population mirrored the rate of construction, many churches and this prosperity was shattered when Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa invaded the Italian peninsula in 1185. The Margraves of Tuscany re-acquired Florence and its townlands, the Florentines re-asserted their independence when Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI died in 1197. Florences population continued to grow into the 13th century, reaching 30,000 inhabitants, as has been said, the extra inhabitants supported the citys trade and vice versa. Several new bridges and churches were built, most prominently the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, the buildings from the era serve as Florences best example of Gothic Architecture. Politically, Florence was barely able to maintain peace between factions, the precarious peace that existed at the beginning of the century was destroyed in 1216 when two factions known as the Guelphs and the Ghibellines began to war. The Ghibellines were the rulers of Florence. The Ghibellines, who under Frederick of Antioch had ruled the city since 1244, were deposed in 1250 by the Guelphs, the Guelphs led Florence to prosper further
7.
Europe
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Europe is a continent that comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, yet the non-oceanic borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are arbitrary. Europe covers about 10,180,000 square kilometres, or 2% of the Earths surface, politically, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states of which the Russian Federation is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a population of about 740 million as of 2015. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable than close to the coast, Europe, in particular ancient Greece, was the birthplace of Western civilization. The fall of the Western Roman Empire, during the period, marked the end of ancient history. Renaissance humanism, exploration, art, and science led to the modern era, from the Age of Discovery onwards, Europe played a predominant role in global affairs. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European powers controlled at times the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to economic, cultural, and social change in Western Europe. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the west and the Warsaw Pact in the east, until the revolutions of 1989 and fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1955, the Council of Europe was formed following a speech by Sir Winston Churchill and it includes all states except for Belarus, Kazakhstan and Vatican City. Further European integration by some states led to the formation of the European Union, the EU originated in Western Europe but has been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The European Anthem is Ode to Joy and states celebrate peace, in classical Greek mythology, Europa is the name of either a Phoenician princess or of a queen of Crete. The name contains the elements εὐρύς, wide, broad and ὤψ eye, broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion and the poetry devoted to it. For the second part also the divine attributes of grey-eyed Athena or ox-eyed Hera. The same naming motive according to cartographic convention appears in Greek Ανατολή, Martin Litchfield West stated that phonologically, the match between Europas name and any form of the Semitic word is very poor. Next to these there is also a Proto-Indo-European root *h1regʷos, meaning darkness. Most major world languages use words derived from Eurṓpē or Europa to refer to the continent, in some Turkic languages the originally Persian name Frangistan is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as Avrupa or Evropa
8.
Units of measurement
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A unit of measurement is a definite magnitude of a quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law, that is used as a standard for measurement of the same quantity. Any other value of quantity can be expressed as a simple multiple of the unit of measurement. For example, length is a physical quantity, the metre is a unit of length that represents a definite predetermined length. When we say 10 metres, we actually mean 10 times the definite predetermined length called metre, the definition, agreement, and practical use of units of measurement have played a crucial role in human endeavour from early ages up to this day. Different systems of units used to be very common, now there is a global standard, the International System of Units, the modern form of the metric system. In trade, weights and measures is often a subject of regulation, to ensure fairness. The International Bureau of Weights and Measures is tasked with ensuring worldwide uniformity of measurements, metrology is the science for developing nationally and internationally accepted units of weights and measures. In physics and metrology, units are standards for measurement of quantities that need clear definitions to be useful. Reproducibility of experimental results is central to the scientific method, a standard system of units facilitates this. Scientific systems of units are a refinement of the concept of weights, science, medicine, and engineering often use larger and smaller units of measurement than those used in everyday life and indicate them more precisely. The judicious selection of the units of measurement can aid researchers in problem solving, in the social sciences, there are no standard units of measurement and the theory and practice of measurement is studied in psychometrics and the theory of conjoint measurement. A unit of measurement is a quantity of a physical property. Units of measurement were among the earliest tools invented by humans, primitive societies needed rudimentary measures for many tasks, constructing dwellings of an appropriate size and shape, fashioning clothing, or bartering food or raw materials. Weights and measures are mentioned in the Bible and it is a commandment to be honest and have fair measures. As of the 21st Century, multiple unit systems are used all over the world such as the United States Customary System, the British Customary System, however, the United States is the only industrialized country that has not yet completely converted to the Metric System. The systematic effort to develop an acceptable system of units dates back to 1790 when the French National Assembly charged the French Academy of Sciences to come up such a unit system. After this treaty was signed, a General Conference of Weights, the CGPM produced the current SI system which was adopted in 1954 at the 10th conference of weights and measures. Currently, the United States is a society which uses both the SI system and the US Customary system
9.
Hungarian forint
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The forint is the currency of Hungary. It is divided into 100 fillér, although fillér coins are no longer in circulation, the introduction of the forint on 1 August 1946 was a crucial step of the post-World War II stabilization of the Hungarian economy, and the currency remained relatively stable until the 1980s. Transition to market economy in the early 1990s deteriorated the value of the forint, since 2001, inflation is single digit and the forint was declared fully convertible. As a member of the European Union, the long term aim of the Hungarian government may be to replace the forint with the euro, the forints name comes from the city of Florence, where golden coins were minted from 1252 called fiorino doro. In Hungary, florentinus, also a currency, was used from 1325 under Charles Robert. Between 1868 and 1892 the forint was the used in Hungarian for the currency of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was subdivided into 100 krajczár, the forint was reintroduced on 1 August 1946, after the pengő was rendered almost worthless by massive hyperinflation in 1945–46—the highest ever recorded. The process was managed by the Hungarian Communist Party, which held the relevant cabinet seats, the forints success was exploited for political gains, contributing to the Communists takeover of complete power in 1948–49. The forint replaced the pengő at the rate of 1 forint = 4×1029 pengő—dropping 29 zeroes from the old currency, in fact, this was an imaginary exchange rate. With the highest value note being 100 million B. pengő, of more significance was the exchange rate to the adópengő of 1 forint =200 million adópengő. Historically the forint was subdivided into 100 fillér, although coins have been rendered useless by inflation and have not been in circulation since 1999. The Hungarian abbreviation for forint is Ft, which is written after the number with a space between, the name fillér, the subdivision of all Hungarian currencies since 1925, comes from the German word Heller. The abbreviation for the fillér is f, written also after the number with a space in between, after the democratic change of 1989–90, the forint saw yearly inflation figures of app. 35% for three years, but significant market economy reforms helped stabilize it. Since year 2000 the relatively high value of forint handicaps the strongly export-oriented Hungarian industry against foreign competitors with lower valued currencies, in 1946, coins were introduced in denominations of 2,10,20 fillérs and 1,2,5 forints. The silver 5 forint was reissued only in the next year,5 and 50 fillérs coins were issued in 1948. In 1967, a 5 forint coin was reintroduced, followed by a 10 forint in 1971 and 20 forint in 1982. In 1992, a new series of coins was introduced in denominations of 1,2,5,10,20,50,100 and 200 forint, production of the 2 and 5 fillér coins ceased in 1992, with all fillér coins withdrawn from circulation by 1999. From 1996, a bicolor 100 forint coin was minted to replace the 1992 version, since the latter was considered too big and ugly, silver 200 forint coins were withdrawn in 1998, the 1 and 2 forint coins remained in circulation until 29 February 2008
10.
Kingdom of Hungary
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The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed from the Middle Ages into the twentieth century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen I at Esztergom in about the year 1000, by the 12th century, the kingdom became a European middle power within the Western world. The House of Habsburg held the Hungarian throne after the Battle of Mohács until 1918, from 1867 territories connected to the Hungarian crown were incorporated into Austria-Hungary under the name of Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen. The monarchy ended with the deposition of the last king Charles IV in 1918, the kingdom was nominally restored during the Regency of 1920–46, ending with the Soviet occupation in 1946. From 1102 it also included Croatia, being in union with it. Today, the feast day of the first king Stephen I is a holiday in Hungary. The Latin forms Regnum Hungariae or Ungarie, Regnum Marianum, or simply Hungaria, were the used in official documents in Latin from the beginning of the kingdom to the 1840s. The German name Königreich Ungarn was used officially from 1784 to 1790, the Hungarian name was used in the 1840s, and then again from the 1860s to 1946. The non-official Hungarian name of the kingdom was Magyarország, which is still the colloquial, in Austria-Hungary, the unofficial name Transleithania was sometimes used to denote the regions of the Kingdom of Hungary. Officially, the term Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen was included for the Hungarian part of Austria-Hungary, the Hungarians led by Árpád settled the Carpathian Basin in 895, established Principality of Hungary. The Hungarians led several successful incursions to Western Europe, until they were stopped by Otto I, the principality was succeeded by the Christian Kingdom of Hungary with the coronation of St Stephen I at Esztergom on Christmas Day 1000. The first kings of the kingdom were from the Árpád dynasty and he fought against Koppány and in 998, with Bavarian help, defeated him near Veszprém. The Catholic Church received powerful support from Stephen I, who with Christian Hungarians, Stephen I of Hungary was canonized as a Catholic saint in 1083 and an Orthodox saint in 2000. After his death, a period of revolts and conflict for supremacy ensued between the royalty and the nobles, in 1051 armies of the Holy Roman Empire tried to conquer Hungary, but they were defeated at Vértes Mountain. The armies of the Holy Roman Empire continued to suffer defeats, before 1052 Peter Orseolo, a supporter of the Holy Roman Empire, was overthrown by king Samuel Aba of Hungary. This period of revolts ended during the reign of Béla I, Hungarian chroniclers praised Béla I for introducing new currency, such as the silver denarius, and for his benevolence to the former followers of his nephew, Solomon. The second greatest Hungarian king, also from the dynasty, was Ladislaus I of Hungary. He was also canonized as a saint, however, kingship over all of Croatia would not be achieved until the reign of his successor Coloman
11.
New World
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The New World is one of the names used for the Earths Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas. The term was coined by Florentine explorer Amerigo Vespucci, the Americas were also referred to as the fourth part of the world. New World are meaningful in historical context and for the purpose of distinguishing the worlds major ecozones, and to classify plant and animal species that originated therein. One can speak of the New World in a context, e. g. when discussing the voyages of Christopher Columbus. For lack of alternatives, the term is still useful to those discussing issues that concern the Americas. The term New World is used in a context, when one speaks of Old World. Biological taxonomists often attach the New World label to groups of species that are exclusively in the Americas, to distinguish them from their counterparts in the Old World. New World monkeys, New World vultures, New World warblers, the label is also often used in agriculture. Common Old World crops, and domesticated animals did not exist in the Americas until they were introduced by contact in the 1490s. Other famous New World crops include the cashew, cocoa, rubber, sunflower, tobacco, and vanilla, there are rare instances of overlap, e. g. In wine terminology, New World has a different definition, Vespucci was finally convinced when he proceeded on his mapping expedition through 1501-02, covering the huge stretch of coast of eastern Brazil. But this opinion is false, and entirely opposed to the truth, Vespuccis letter was a publishing sensation in Europe, immediately reprinted in several other countries. The Venetian explorer Alvise Cadamosto had used the term un altro mundo to refer to sub-Saharan Africa, however, this was merely a literary flourish, not a suggestion of a new fourth part of the world. Cadamosto was quite aware sub-Saharan Africa was firmly part of the African continent, the Italian-born Spanish chronicler Peter Martyr dAnghiera often shares credit with Vespucci for designating the Americas as a new world. Peter Martyr used the term Orbe Novo in the title of his history of the discovery of the Americas as a whole, a year later, Peter Martyr again refers to the marvels of the New Globe and the Western hemisphere. Christopher Columbus touched the continent of South America in his 1498 third voyage, in another letter, Columbus refers to having reached a new heavens and world and that he had placed another world under the dominion of the Kings of Spain. The Vespucci passage above applied the New World label to merely the continental landmass of South America, although the proceedings of the Toro-Burgos conferences are missing, it is almost certain that Vespucci articulated his recent New World thesis to his fellow navigators there. In English usage the term New World was problematic and only accepted relatively late, while it became generally accepted after Vespucci that Columbuss discoveries were not Asia but a New World, the geographic relationship between the two continents was still unclear
12.
Africa
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Africa is the worlds second-largest and second-most-populous continent. At about 30.3 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earths total surface area and 20.4 % of its land area. With 1.2 billion people as of 2016, it accounts for about 16% of the human population. The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagos and it contains 54 fully recognized sovereign states, nine territories and two de facto independent states with limited or no recognition. Africas population is the youngest amongst all the continents, the age in 2012 was 19.7. Algeria is Africas largest country by area, and Nigeria by population, afarensis, Homo erectus, H. habilis and H. ergaster – with the earliest Homo sapiens found in Ethiopia being dated to circa 200,000 years ago. Africa straddles the equator and encompasses numerous climate areas, it is the continent to stretch from the northern temperate to southern temperate zones. Africa hosts a diversity of ethnicities, cultures and languages. In the late 19th century European countries colonized most of Africa, Africa also varies greatly with regard to environments, economics, historical ties and government systems. However, most present states in Africa originate from a process of decolonization in the 20th century, afri was a Latin name used to refer to the inhabitants of Africa, which in its widest sense referred to all lands south of the Mediterranean. This name seems to have referred to a native Libyan tribe. The name is connected with Hebrew or Phoenician ʿafar dust. The same word may be found in the name of the Banu Ifran from Algeria and Tripolitania, under Roman rule, Carthage became the capital of the province of Africa Proconsularis, which also included the coastal part of modern Libya. The Latin suffix -ica can sometimes be used to denote a land, the later Muslim kingdom of Ifriqiya, modern-day Tunisia, also preserved a form of the name. According to the Romans, Africa lay to the west of Egypt, while Asia was used to refer to Anatolia, as Europeans came to understand the real extent of the continent, the idea of Africa expanded with their knowledge. 25,4, whose descendants, he claimed, had invaded Libya, isidore of Seville in Etymologiae XIV.5.2. Suggests Africa comes from the Latin aprica, meaning sunny, massey, in 1881, stated that Africa is derived from the Egyptian af-rui-ka, meaning to turn toward the opening of the Ka. The Ka is the double of every person and the opening of the Ka refers to a womb or birthplace
13.
Fleur-de-lis
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The fleur-de-lis or flower-de-luce is a stylized lily that is used as a decorative design or symbol. Many of the saints are depicted with a lily, most prominently St. Joseph. The fleur-de-lis is represented in Unicode at U+269C in the Miscellaneous Symbols block and it remains an enduring symbol of France that appears on French postage stamps, although it has never been adopted officially by any of the French republics. According to French historian Georges Duby, the three represent the medieval social classes, those who worked, those who fought. It is unclear where the fleur-de-lis originated, among the Egyptians, Persians, Arabs and Greeks, this arabesque evoked warrior-like power. In France it is used in city emblems like in the coat of arms of the city of Lille, Saint-Denis, Brest, Clermont-Ferrand, Boulogne-Billancourt. The fleur-de-lis was the symbol of Île-de-France, the core of the French kingdom, many of the current departments use the ancient symbol on their coats to express this heritage. In Italy, the fleur de lis, called giglio is mainly known as the crest of the city of Florence, in the Florentine fleurs-de-lis, the stamens are always posed between the petals. This heraldic charge is known as the Florentine lily to distinguish it from the conventional design. As an emblem of the city, it is found in icons of Zenobius, its first bishop. Several towns subjugated by Florence or founded within the territory of the Florentine Republic adopted a variation of the Florentine lily in their crests, often without the stamens. The heraldic fleur-de-lis is still widespread, among the cities which use it as a symbol are some whose names echo the word lily, for example, Liljendal, Finland. This is called canting arms in heraldic terminology, other European examples of municipal coats-of-arms bearing the fleur-de-lis include Lincoln in England, Morcín in Spain, Wiesbaden in Germany, Skierniewice in Poland and Jurbarkas in Lithuania. The Swiss municipality of Schlieren and the Estonian municipality of Jõelähtme also have a fleur-de-lis on their coats, in Malta, the town of Santa Venera has three red fleurs-de-lis on its flag and coat of arms. Another suburb which developed around the area known as Fleur-de-Lys. The coat of arms of the medieval Kingdom of Bosnia contained six fleurs-de-lis, understood as the native Bosnian or Golden Lily and this emblem was revived in 1992 as a national symbol of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and was the flag of Bosnia-Herzegovina from 1992 to 1998. The state insignia were changed in 1999, the former flag of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina contains a fleur-de-lis alongside the Croatian chequy. Fleurs also appear in the flags and arms of cantons, municipalities, cities
14.
John the Baptist
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John the Baptist, also known as John the Baptizer, was a Jewish itinerant preacher in the early first century AD. John is revered as a religious figure in Christianity, Islam, the Baháí Faith. He is called a prophet by all of these traditions, and is honoured as a saint in many Christian traditions, John used baptism as the central symbol or sacrament of his messianic movement. Most scholars agree that John baptized Jesus, scholars generally believe Jesus was a follower or disciple of John and several New Testament accounts report that some of Jesus early followers had previously been followers of John. John the Baptist is also mentioned by the Jewish historian Josephus, according to the New Testament, John anticipated a messianic figure greater than himself. Christians commonly refer to John as the precursor or forerunner of Jesus, John is also identified with the prophet Elijah. John the Baptist is mentioned in all four canonical Gospels and the non-canonical Gospel of the Nazarenes, the Synoptic Gospels describe John baptising Jesus, in the Gospel of John it is implied in John 1, 32-34. The Gospel of Mark introduces John as a fulfilment of a prophecy from the Book of Isaiah about a messenger being sent ahead, John is described as wearing clothes of camels hair, living on locusts and wild honey. John proclaims baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin, and says another will come after him who will not baptize with water, Jesus comes to John, and is baptized by him in the river Jordan. The account describes how, as he emerges from the water, the heavens open, a voice from heaven then says, You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased. Later in the gospel there is an account of Johns death and it is introduced by an incident where the Tetrarch Herod Antipas, hearing stories about Jesus, imagines that this is John the Baptist raised from the dead. It then explains that John had rebuked Herod for marrying Herodias, Herodias demands his execution, but Herod, who liked to listen to John, is reluctant to do so because he fears him, knowing he is a righteous and holy man. The account then describes how Herods daughter Herodias dances before Herod, when the girl asks her mother what she should request, she is told to demand the head of John the Baptist. Reluctantly, Herod orders the beheading of John, and his head is delivered to her, at her request, Johns disciples take the body away and bury it in a tomb. There are a number of difficulties with this passage, the Gospel wrongly identifies Antipas as King and the ex-husband of Herodias is named as Philip, but he is known to have been called Herod. Although the wording clearly implies the girl was the daughter of Herodias, many texts describe her as Herods daughter, Herodias. Since these texts are early and significant and the reading is difficult, many see this as the original version, corrected in later versions and in Matthew. Josephus says that Herodias had a daughter by the name of Salome, scholars have speculated about the origins of the story
15.
Cilice
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A cilice /ˈsɪlᵻs/, also known as a sackcloth, was originally a garment or undergarment made of coarse cloth or animal hair worn close to the skin. Cilices were originally made from sackcloth or coarse animal hair so they would irritate the skin, other features were added to make cilices more uncomfortable, such as thin wires or twigs. In modern religious circles, cilices are simply any device worn for the same purposes, the word derives from the Latin cilicium, a covering made of goats hair from Cilicia, a Roman province in south-east Asia Minor. The reputed first Scriptural use of this term is in the original Latin Vulgate of Psalm 35,13, Ego autem, cum mihi molesti essent. This is translated as hair-cloth in the Douay Bible, and as sackcloth in the King James Version, Sackcloth is often mentioned in the Bible as a symbol of mourning and penance, and probably was a form of hairshirt. However, sackcloth in the Bible was usually made of coarse, there is some evidence, based on analyses of both clothing represented in art and preserved skin imprint patterns at Çatalhöyük in Turkey, that the usage of the cilice predates written history. This finding has been mirrored at Göbekli Tepe, another Anatolian site, ian Hodder has argued that self-injuring clothing was an essential component of the Catalhöyük culturoritual entanglement, representing cleansing and lightness. In the Christian Bible, the prophets Elijah and John the Baptist wore sackcloth woven from the hair of horses, such garments or adornments have been worn at various times in the history of the Christian faith, to mortify the flesh or as penance for adorning oneself. Being made of cloth, generally woven from goats hair. Thomas Becket was wearing a hairshirt when he was martyred, St, prince Henry the Navigator was found to be wearing a hairshirt at the time of his death in 1460. They have been used for centuries in the Catholic Church as a form of bodily penance. St. Francis of Assisi, St. Ignatius Loyola and St. Therese of Lisieux are known to have used them, in modern times they have been used by Mother Teresa, St. Padre Pio, and Pope Paul VI. According to John Allen, an American Catholic writer, its practice in the Catholic Church is more widespread than many observers imagine, some high church Anglicans, including Edward Bouverie Pusey, wear hair shirts as a part of their spirituality. In the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, influenced by the revival, penitents were dressed in sackcloth and called in front of the chancel. In some Methodist churches, on Ash Wednesday, communicants, along with receiving ashes, also receive a piece of sackcloth as a reminder of our own sinful ways, there is no blood, no injury, nothing to harm a persons health, nothing traumatic. If it caused any harm, the Church would not allow it. In Molières play, Tartuffe, the character is shown to be a religious hypocrite when he wears a hair shirt with the hair lining facing outward, so that it can be seen. In Gustave Flauberts The Legend of St. Julian the Hospitaler, in Flannery OConnors novel Wise Blood, the protagonist Hazel Motes is discovered by his landlady to be wearing a barbed wire cilice around his torso after he has blinded himself
16.
Heraldry
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The beauty and pageantry of heraldic designs allowed them to survive the gradual abandonment of armour on the battlefield during the seventeenth century. Heraldry has been described poetically as the handmaid of history, the shorthand of history, in modern times, heraldry is used by individuals, public and private organizations, corporations, cities, towns, and regions to symbolize their heritage, achievements, and aspirations. Various symbols have been used to represent individuals or groups for thousands of years, similar emblems and devices are found in ancient Mesopotamian art of the same period, and the precursors of heraldic beasts such as the griffin can also be found. In the Bible, the Book of Numbers refers to the standards and ensigns of the children of Israel, the Greek and Latin writers frequently describe the shields and symbols of various heroes, and units of the Roman army were sometimes identified by distinctive markings on their shields. The Book of Saint Albans, compiled in 1486, declares that Christ himself was a gentleman of coat armour, the medieval heralds also devised arms for various knights and lords from history and literature. Notable examples include the toads attributed to Pharamond, the cross and martlets of Edward the Confessor, and the arms attributed to the Nine Worthies. These too are now regarded as an invention, rather than evidence of the antiquity of heraldry. The development of the modern heraldic language cannot be attributed to an individual, time. Yet no individual is depicted twice bearing the arms, nor are any of the descendants of the various persons depicted known to have borne devices resembling those in the tapestry. A Spanish manuscript from 1109 describes both plain and decorated shields, none of which appears to have been heraldic, in England, from the time of the Norman conquest, official documents had to be sealed. A notable example of an armorial seal is attached to a charter granted by Philip I, Count of Flanders. Seals from the part of the eleventh and early twelfth centuries show no evidence of heraldic symbolism. One of the earliest known examples of armory as it came to be practiced can be seen on the tomb of Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou. An enamel, probably commissioned by Geoffreys widow between 1155 and 1160, depicts him carrying a shield decorated with six golden lions rampant. He wears a helmet adorned with another lion, and his cloak is lined in vair. A medieval chronicle states that Geoffrey was given a shield of this description when he was knighted by his father-in-law, Henry I, in 1128, but this account probably dates to about 1175. Since Henry was the son of Geoffrey Plantagenet, it seems reasonable to suppose that the adoption of lions as an emblem by Henry or his sons might have been inspired by Geoffreys shield. Richard is also credited with having originated the English crest of a lion statant and it is from this garment that the phrase coat of arms is derived
17.
Ladislaus I of Hungary
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Ladislaus I or Ladislas I, also Saint Ladislaus or Saint Ladislas was King of Hungary from 1077 and King of Croatia from 1091. He was the son of King Béla I of Hungary. Géza and Ladislaus cooperated with Solomon for the next decade, Ladislauss most popular legend, which narrates his fight with a Cuman who abducted a Hungarian girl, is connected to this period. Gézas and Ladislauss relationship with Solomon deteriorated in the early 1070s, Géza was proclaimed king in 1074, but Solomon maintained control of the western regions of his kingdom. During Gézas reign, Ladislaus was his brothers most influential adviser, Géza died in 1077, and his supporters made Ladislaus king. Solomon resisted Ladislaus with the assistance of King Henry IV of Germany, Ladislaus supported Henry IVs opponents during the Investiture Controversy. In 1081, Solomon abdicated and acknowledged Ladislauss reign, but he conspired to regain the royal crown, Ladislaus canonized the first Hungarian saints in 1085. He set Solomon free during the canonization ceremony, after a series of civil wars, Ladislauss main focus was the restoration of public safety. He introduced severe legislation, punishing those who violated property rights with death or mutilation and he occupied almost all Croatia in 1091, which marked the beginning of an expansion period for the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. Ladislauss victories over the Pechenegs and Cumans ensured the security of his kingdoms eastern borders for about 150 years and his relationship with the Holy See deteriorated during the last years of his reign, as the popes claimed that Croatia was their fief, but Ladislaus denied their claims. Ladislaus was canonized on 27 June 1192 by Pope Celestine III, legends depict him as a pious knight-king, the incarnation of the late-medieval Hungarian ideal of chivalry. He is a saint in Hungary and neighboring nations, where many churches are dedicated to him. Ladislaus was the son of the future King Béla I of Hungary and his wife, Richeza. Ladislaus and his brother, Géza, were born in Poland. Ladislauss physical and spiritual makeup testified to Gods gracious will even at his birth, the almost contemporaneous Gallus Anonymus wrote that Ladislaus was raised from childhood in Poland and almost became a Pole in his ways and life. He received a Slavic name, Ladislaus is the Hungarian version of Vladislav, Béla and his family returned to Hungary around 1048. Béla received the so-called Duchy – which encompassed one-third of the kingdom – from his brother, the Illuminated Chronicle mentions that Andrews son, Solomon, was anointed king with the consent of Duke Bela and his sons Geysa and Ladislaus in 1057 or 1058. Béla, who had been Andrews heir before Solomons coronation, left for Poland in 1059 and they returned with Polish reinforcements and began a rebellion against Andrew
18.
Lira
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Lira is the name of several currency units. It is the current currency of Turkey and also the name of the currencies of Lebanon. It is the currency of Italy, Malta, San Marino and the Vatican City, all of which were replaced in 2002 with the euro, and of Israel. The term originates from the value of a Troy pound of high purity silver, the libra was the basis of the monetary system of the Roman Empire. When Europe resumed a monetary system, during the Carolingian Empire, the Roman system was adopted, particularly this system was kept during the Middle Ages and Modern Age in England, France, and Italy. In each of countries the libra was translated into local language, pound in England, livre in France. The Venetian lira was one of the currencies in use in Italy, during the 19th century, Egypt and the Ottoman Empire adopted the lira as their national currency, equivalent to 100 piasters or kuruş. When the Ottoman Empire collapsed in years 1918-1922, many among the successor states kept the lira as their national currency. In some countries, such as Cyprus, which have belonged to both empires, the Ottoman Empire and the British Empire, the lira and pound are used as equivalents. For Turkish lira, the Turkish lira sign is used, otherwise L, sometimes in a double-crossed script form or less often single-crossed, is usually used as the symbol. The Turkish lira was introduced in 1844 during the Ottoman reign, the Turkish Lira is now the currency of Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The Lebanese pound is called lira in Arabic, which is the language of Lebanon. The Syrian pound is called lira in Arabic, which is the language of Syria. The Jordanian dinar is widely called a lira, the Bulgarian and Romanian languages refer to the English pound as lira in opposition to Croatian which refers to the Italian currency as lira. Cipolla, Le avventure della lira, Bologna, Il Mulino,1975, stefano Poddi, La lunga storia della lira, stralcio, Fondazioni, n.2 marzo-aprile,2008. Stefano Poddi, La lunga storia della lira, articolo completo, Difesa e Lavoro, overview of Italian lira from the BBC
19.
Inflation
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In economics, inflation is a sustained increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy over a period of time resulting in a loss of value of currency. When the price rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods. Consequently, inflation reflects a reduction in the power per unit of money – a loss of real value in the medium of exchange. A chief measure of inflation is the inflation rate, the annualized percentage change in a general price index, usually the consumer price index. The opposite of inflation is deflation, Inflation affects economies in various positive and negative ways. Economists generally believe that high rates of inflation and hyperinflation are caused by a growth of the money supply. However, money supply growth does not necessarily cause inflation, some economists maintain that under the conditions of a liquidity trap, large monetary injections are like pushing on a string. Views on which factors determine low to moderate rates of inflation are more varied, low or moderate inflation may be attributed to fluctuations in real demand for goods and services, or changes in available supplies such as during scarcities. However, the view is that a long sustained period of inflation is caused by money supply growing faster than the rate of economic growth. Today, most economists favor a low and steady rate of inflation, the task of keeping the rate of inflation low and stable is usually given to monetary authorities. Rapid increases in quantity of the money or in the money supply have occurred in many different societies throughout history. By diluting the gold with other metals, the government could issue more coins without also needing to increase the amount of used to make them. When the cost of each coin is lowered in this way and this practice would increase the money supply but at the same time the relative value of each coin would be lowered. As the relative value of the coins becomes lower, consumers would need to give more coins in exchange for the same goods and these goods and services would experience a price increase as the value of each coin is reduced. Song Dynasty China introduced the practice of printing paper money in order to create fiat currency, during the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, the government spent a great deal of money fighting costly wars, and reacted by printing more money, leading to inflation. Fearing the inflation that plagued the Yuan dynasty, the Ming Dynasty initially rejected the use of paper money, historically, large infusions of gold or silver into an economy also led to inflation. This was largely caused by the influx of gold and silver from the New World into Habsburg Spain. The silver spread throughout a previously cash-starved Europe and caused widespread inflation, demographic factors also contributed to upward pressure on prices, with European population growth after depopulation caused by the Black Death pandemic
20.
County of Holland
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The territory of the County of Holland corresponds roughly with the current provinces of North and South Holland in the Netherlands. The oldest sources refer to the not clearly defined county as Frisia, before 1101, sources talk about Frisian counts, but in this year Floris II, Count of Holland is mentioned as Florentius comes de Hollant. This title was used after Holland was united with Hainault, Bavaria-Straubing. The titles eventually lost their importance, and the last count, Philip II of Spain, around 800, under Charlemagne, the Frankish Empire covered a great deal of Europe. In much of this empire an important unit of administration, corresponding roughly to a shire or county in England, was the gau. A comes or Count ruled over one or more gaue, because of the low trade, the negative trade balance with the Byzantine Empire and the Muslim states, and the disappearance of currency, the economy was more or less reduced to bartering. The kings vassals could only be rewarded by giving them land, from this the system of Feudalism developed. The vassals, who were appointed by the king, strove for a system of inheritance. This become more and more the rule, and in 877 it was legalised in the Capitulary of Quierzy, upon the death of a king, the Frankish kingdom was frequently divided among his heirs. This partible inheritance often caused internal struggle which made centralized government problematic, the Viking Raids further undermined centralized government. At the end of the reign of Emperor Louis the Pious, the power had weakened because of the flood of 838. Upon Lothairs death in 855, the part of Middle Francia was awarded to his second son Lothair II. The Treaty of Ribemont in 880 added the Kingdom of Lotharingia — of which the Low Countries were part — to East Francia, which attempted to integrate it. However, there were no connections there were between the four German Stem Duchies of east Francia, the Franconia, the Saxony, the Bavaria. Lotharingia took a position with a large amount of self-determination. This became clear when Louis the Child, the last Carolingian of East Francia, while the Stem Duchies flocked to Duke Conrad I of Franconia, Lotharingia chose for the Carolingian Charles the Simple, king of West Francia. In Frisia the situation was complex, the power was in the hands of Roriks successor Godfrid the Sea King, who became embroiled in the high politics of the Frankish empire. He was allied with the children of the former Carolingian Lotharingian king Lothair II, the main actor in this murder was Everard Saxo, the count of Hamaland
21.
John III, Duke of Bavaria
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John III the Pitiless, Duke of Bavaria-Straubing, of the House of Wittelsbach, was first bishop of Liège 1389–1418 and then duke of Bavaria-Straubing and count of Holland and Hainaut 1418–1425. John was born in Le Quesnoy and he was the youngest son of Duke Albert I and Margaret of Brieg. His elder brother was William II of Bavaria, who succeeded their father as Count of Holland, Zeeland and his sister was Margaret of Bavaria, who married in 1385 with John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy. As the youngest son of three, John was destined for a career in the church, at the age of 15, he became Prince-Bishop of Liège, with the support of Pope Boniface IX. Johns rule was a disaster. His authoritarian style clashed with the nobles and burghers of the Prince-Bishopric and he was expelled several times and saw even a counter-bishop being elected. John turned for help to his brother and brother-in-law, in 1408 a Burgundian army led by his brother-in-law John the Fearless went to the aid of John III against the citizens of Liège, who were in open revolt. On the field of Othée, on 12 September 1408, the men of Liège were decisively defeated, the ensuing executions of leading insurgents led to Johns nickname the Pitiless. In 1418, John III married Elisabeth, Duchess of Luxembourg, no children came from this marriage. With the aid of Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, who was his wifes uncle, John III immediately started a war against his niece Jacqueline. John the Pitiless supported the city of Dordrecht and Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy, a siege of Dordrecht in 1419 was unsuccessful, so John IV of Brabant agreed to start a joint administration with John III. Jacqueline herself as a woman, did not get a share in the political responsibility, John IV of Brabant finally gave up Holland and Hainaut and left the rule to John the Pitiless. His niece Jacqueline went to England in 1421 and married the brother, Humphrey. She was unable to control over Holland and Hainaut much longer after Johns death. Bavaria-Straubing was divided between the dukes of Bavaria, the portion of which went to Bavaria-Munich. John the Pitiless was known for the culture of his court, Jan van Eyck was among the artists he engaged. John the Pitiless died of poison in 1425 in The Hague and his Court Marshal Jan van Vliet had allegedly poisoned the pages of the ducal prayer-book, and had still been executed in 1424
22.
Dordrecht
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Dordrecht, colloquially Dordt, historically in English named Dort, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the fourth largest city of the province, having a population of 118,782 in 2014. The municipality covers the entire Dordrecht Island, also often called Het Eiland van Dordt, bordered by the rivers Oude Maas, Beneden Merwede, Nieuwe Merwede, Hollands Diep, and Dordtsche Kil. Dordrecht is the largest and most important city in the Drechtsteden and is part of the Randstad. Dordrecht is the oldest city in the Holland area and has a rich history, the name Dordrecht comes from Thuredriht, Thuredrecht. The name seems to mean thoroughfare, a ship-canal or -river through which ships were pulled by rope from one river to another, as here from the Dubbel to the Merwede, or vice versa. Earlier etymologists had assumed that the drecht suffix came from Latin trajectum, a ford, the Drecht is now supposed to have been derived from draeg, which means to pull, tow or drag. Dordrecht is informally called Dordt by its inhabitants, in earlier centuries, Dordrecht was a major trade port, well known to British merchants, and was called Dort in English. The city was formed along the Thure river, in the midst of peat swamps and this river was a branch of the river Dubbel, which is part of the massive Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta complex, near the current Bagijnhof. Around 1120 reference to Dordrecht was made by a remark that count Dirk IV of Holland was murdered in 1049 near Thuredrech, Dordrecht was granted city rights by William I, Count of Holland, in 1220, making it the oldest city in the present province of South Holland. In fact, Geertruidenberg was the first city in the county of Holland to receive city rights. In the 12th and 13th centuries, Dordrecht developed into an important market city because of its strategic location and it traded primarily in wine, wood and cereals. Dordrecht was made more important when it was given staple right in 1299. In 1253 a Latin school was founded in Dordrecht and it still exists today as the Johan de Witt Gymnasium and is the oldest gymnasium in the Netherlands. From 1600 to 1615 Gerhard Johann Vossius was rector at this school, on 18–19 November 1421, the Saint Elisabeths flood flooded large parts of southern Holland, causing Dordrecht to become an island. It was commonly said that over 10,000 people died in the flood, the gathering is regarded as the first important step towards the free and independent Dutch Republic. Other important gatherings such as the Union of Brussels and the Union of Utrecht paved the way for independence of the Dutch Republic. The Union of Dordrecht was held in an Augustinian monastery, nowadays simply called het Hof
23.
Philip I of Castile
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Philip I called the Handsome or the Fair, was the first member of the house of Habsburg to be King of Castile. He was the first Habsburg monarch in Spain, the future King Henry VIII of England met Philip the Handsome on a visit Philip made to Henrys fathers court in London and regarded him as providing a model of leadership towards which he aspired. The two would become brothers-in-law since Philip married Joanna of Castile, and Henry married Joannas youngest sister, in 1482, upon the death of his mother, he succeeded to her Burgundian possessions under the guardianship of his father. A period of turmoil ensued which witnessed sporadic hostilities between, principally, the towns of Flanders and the supporters of Maximilian. Both sides came to terms in the Treaty of Senlis in 1493 and this smoothed over the internal power struggle as the two sides agreed to make the 15-year-old Philip prince in the following year. On 20 October 1496, he married Joanna, daughter of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile, in Lier, the matter became more urgent after Charles VIIIs invasion of Italy. Philips sister Margaret married John, Prince of Asturias, only son of Ferdinand and Isabella and heir apparent to the crowns of Castile. The double alliance was never intended to let the Spanish kingdoms fall under Habsburg control, at the time of her marriage to Philip, Joanna was third in line to the throne, with John and their sister Isabella married and hopeful of progeny. In 1500, shortly after the birth in Flanders of Joanna and Philips second child, the heir apparent, John, had died in 1497 very shortly after his marriage to Margaret of Austria. The crown thereby seemed destined to devolve upon his and Joannas elder sister Isabella, the succession to the Castilian and Aragonese crowns now fell to Joanna. Because Ferdinand could produce another heir, the Cortes of Aragon refused to recognize Joanna as heir presumptive to the Kingdom of Aragon, in the Kingdom of Castile, however, the succession was clear. Moreover, there was no Salic tradition which the Castilian Cortes could use to thwart the succession passing to Joanna. Philip and the majority of the returned to the Low Countries in the following year, leaving a pregnant Joanna behind in Madrid. Philips life with Joanna was rendered extremely unhappy by his infidelity and political insecurity, most historians now agree she was merely clinically depressed at the time, not insane as commonly believed. Before her mothers death, in 1504, husband and wife were living apart. In 1504, Philips mother-in-law, Queen Isabella of Castile, died, Isabella Is widower and former co-monarch, King Ferdinand II, endeavored to lay hands on the regency of Castile, but the nobles, who disliked and feared him, forced him to withdraw. Philip was summoned to Spain, where he was recognized as king, however, en route to Spain in January 1506, Philip and Joanna were caught in a tempest and shipwrecked off the Dorset coast, forcing them on shore near Melcombe Regis. The couple stayed as guests of Henry VII of England but were in fact hostages for the duration of their stay, after handing over Edmund, Philip and Joanna were allowed to leave England after a stay of six weeks
24.
Dutch guilder
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The Dutch guilder or fl. was the currency of the Netherlands from the 17th century until 2002, when it was replaced by the euro. Between 1999 and 2002, the guilder was officially a national subunit of the euro, however, physical payments could only be made in guilder, as no euro coins or banknotes were available. The Netherlands Antillean guilder is still in use in Curaçao and Sint Maarten, in 2004, the Surinamese guilder was replaced by the Surinamese dollar. The Dutch name gulden was a Middle Dutch adjective meaning golden, the symbol ƒ or fl. for the Dutch guilder was derived from another old currency, the florin, called the florin in English. The exact exchange rate, still relevant for old contracts and for exchange of the old currency for euros at the bank, is 2.20371 Dutch guilders for 1 euro. Inverted, this gives EUR0.453780 for NLG1, before the introduction of the first guilder, there were regional and foreign golden coins that were likely referred to as gulden in Dutch. The first internationally accepted Dutch coin called gulden dates from 1517, even before that, the County of Holland had minted golden coins since 1378. An early guilder, a 10. 61-gram.910 silver coin, was minted by the States of Holland and this guilder was divided into 20 stuivers, each of 8 duiten or 16 penningen. The guilder gradually replaced other silver coin circulating in the United Netherlands, the florijn, the daalder, the rijksdaalder, the silver ducat. Between 1810 and 1814, the Netherlands was annexed to France, after the Napoleonic wars, the Kingdom of the Netherlands readopted the guilder. In 1817 it became decimalised, with one guilder equal to 100 cents, until 1948, the plural of cent used on coins was centen, after that it was cent. The Netherlands was initially on a standard, with the guilder equal to 605.61 milligrams of fine gold or 9.615 grams of fine silver. In 1840, the standard was adjusted to 9.45 grams. In 1875, the Netherlands adopted a standard with 1 guilder equal to 604.8 milligrams of fine gold. The gold standard was suspended between 1914 and 1925 and was abandoned in 1936, following the German occupation, on 10 May 1940, the guilder was pegged to the Reichsmark at a rate of 1 guilder =1.5 Reichsmark. This rate was reduced to 1.327 on 17 July of the same year, the liberating Allied forces set an exchange rate of 2.652 guilders =1 U. S. dollar, which became the peg for the guilder within the Bretton Woods system. In 1949, the peg was changed to 3.8 guilders =1 dollar, in 1961, the guilder was revalued to 3.62 guilders =1 dollar, a change approximately in line with that of the German mark. After 1967 guilders were made from nickel instead of silver, in 2002, the guilder was replaced by the euro at an exchange rate of 2.20371 guilders =1 Euro
25.
Florin (English coin)
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The florin or double leopard was an attempt in 1344 by English king Edward III to produce a gold coinage suitable for use in Europe as well as in England. It was 108 grains of pure gold and had a value of six shillings. The continental florin, based on a French coin and ultimately on coins issued in Florence, Italy, in 1252, was a standard coin widely used internationally. The obverse of the shows the King enthroned beneath a canopy. The reverse of the shows the Royal cross within a quatrefoil, a leopard in each spandrel. Only three examples of this coin are known to exist, two discovered on the River Tyne in 1857, and one discovered in January 2006, the latter coin was sold at auction in July 2006 for a record price for a British coin, of £460,000. The first two discovered are displayed in the British Museum, picture of double leopard and noble on www. ukcoinpics. co. uk
26.
Edward III of England
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Edward III transformed the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe. Edward was crowned at age fourteen after his father was deposed by his mother, Isabella of France, at age seventeen he led a successful coup against Mortimer, the de facto ruler of the country, and began his personal reign. After a successful campaign in Scotland he declared himself heir to the French throne in 1337. This started what would become known as the Hundred Years War, following some initial setbacks the war went exceptionally well for England, victories at Crécy and Poitiers led to the highly favourable Treaty of Brétigny. Edwards later years, however, were marked by international failure and domestic strife, largely as a result of his inactivity, Edward III was a temperamental man but capable of unusual clemency. He was in ways a conventional king whose main interest was warfare. Admired in his own time and for centuries after, Edward was denounced as an adventurer by later Whig historians such as William Stubbs. This view has been challenged recently and modern historians credit him with some significant achievements, Edward was born at Windsor Castle on 13 November 1312, and was often referred to as Edward of Windsor in his early years. The reign of his father, Edward II, was a problematic period of English history. One source of contention was the inactivity, and repeated failure. Another controversial issue was the kings patronage of a small group of royal favourites. The birth of an heir in 1312 temporarily improved Edward IIs position in relation to the baronial opposition. To bolster further the independent prestige of the prince, the king had him created Earl of Chester at only twelve days of age. In 1325, Edward II was faced with a demand from his brother-in-law, Charles IV of France, Edward was reluctant to leave the country, as discontent was once again brewing domestically, particularly over his relationship with the favourite Hugh Despenser the Younger. Instead, he had his son Edward created Duke of Aquitaine in his place, the young Edward was accompanied by his mother Isabella, who was the sister of King Charles, and was meant to negotiate a peace treaty with the French. While in France, however, Isabella conspired with the exiled Roger Mortimer to have Edward deposed, to build up diplomatic and military support for the venture, Isabella had Prince Edward engaged to the twelve-year-old Philippa of Hainault. An invasion of England was launched and Edward IIs forces deserted him completely, the king was forced to relinquish the throne to his son on 25 January 1327. The new king was crowned as Edward III on 1 February 1327 and it was not long before the new reign also met with other problems caused by the central position at court of Roger Mortimer, who was now the de facto ruler of England
27.
Gram
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The gram is a metric system unit of mass. Originally defined as the weight of a volume of pure water equal to the cube of the hundredth part of a metre. The only unit symbol for gram that is recognised by the International System of Units is g following the numeric value with a space, the SI does not support the use of abbreviations such as gr, gm or Gm. The word gramme was adopted by the French National Convention in its 1795 decree revising the system as replacing the gravet introduced in 1793. Its definition remained that of the weight of a centimetre of water. French gramme was taken from the Late Latin term gramma and this word, ultimately from Greek γράμμα letter had adopted a specialised meaning in Late Antiquity of one twenty-fourth part of an ounce, corresponding to about 1.14 grams. This use of the term is found in the carmen de ponderibus et mensuris composed around 400 AD, the gram was the fundamental unit of mass in the 19th-century centimetre–gram–second system of units. The gram is today the most widely used unit of measurement for non-liquid ingredients in cooking and grocery shopping worldwide. 1 gram =15.4323583529 grains 1 grain =0.06479891 grams 1 avoirdupois ounce =28.349523125 grams 1 troy ounce =31.1034768 grams 100 grams =3.527396195 ounces 1 gram =5 carats 1 gram =8. 1 gram is roughly equal to 1 small paper clip or pen cap, the Japanese 1 yen coin has a mass of one gram. Conversion of units Duella Gold gram Orders of magnitude Gram at Encyclopædia Britannica
28.
Coins of the pound sterling
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The standard circulating coinage of the United Kingdom is denominated in pounds sterling, and, since the introduction of the two-pound coin in 1994, ranges in value from one penny to two pounds. Since decimalisation, on 15 February 1971, the pound has been divided into 100 pence, from the 16th century until decimalisation, the pound was divided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence. British coins are minted by the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, Wales, the Royal Mint also commissions the coins designs. As of 30 March 2010, there were an estimated 28 billion coins circulating in the United Kingdom, the first decimal coins were circulated in 1968. These were the five pence and ten pence, and had values of one shilling, the decimal coins are minted in copper-plated steel, nickel-plated steel, cupro-nickel and nickel-brass. The two-pound coins, and, as of the 28th March 2017, all the circulating coins have an effigy of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse, and various national and regional designs, and the denomination, on the reverse. The exception, the 2008 one-pound coin, depicts the shield of arms on the reverse. All current coins carry a Latin inscription whose full form is ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA FIDEI DEFENSATRIX, meaning Elizabeth II, by the grace of God, Queen, in addition to the circulating coinage, the UK also mints commemorative decimal coins in the denomination of five pounds. Prior to decimalisation, the denomination was five shillings, that is. Crowns, therefore, had a value of 25p from decimalisation until 1981. Ceremonial Maundy money and bullion coinage of gold sovereigns, half sovereigns, some territories outside the United Kingdom, that use the pound sterling, produce their own coinage, with the same denominations and specifications as the UK coinage but local designs. In the years just prior to decimalisation, the circulating British coins were the half crown, the farthing had been withdrawn in 1960. There was also the Crown, which was legal tender but only minted on special occasions, all modern coins feature a profile of the current monarchs head. The direction in which they face changes with each successive monarch, for the Tudors and pre-Restoration Stuarts, both left and right-facing portrait images were minted within the reign of a single monarch. In the Middle Ages, portrait images tended to be full face, the English silver penny was derived from another silver coin, the sceat, of 20 troy grains weight, which was in general circulation in Europe during the Middle Ages. In the 12th century, Henry II established the silver standard for English coinage, of 92. 5% silver and 7. 5% copper. The coinage reform of 1816 set up a ratio and physical sizes for silver coins. Silver was eliminated from coins, except Maundy coins, in 1947, the history of the Royal Mint stretches back to AD886
29.
Silver coin
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Silver coins are possibly the oldest mass-produced form of coinage. Silver has been used as a coinage metal since the times of the Greeks, the ancient Persians used silver coins between 612-330 BC. Before 1797, British pennies were made of silver, as with all collectible coins, many factors determine the value of a silver coin, such as its rarity, demand, condition and the number originally minted. Ancient silver coins coveted by collectors include the Denarius and Miliarense, while more recent collectible silver coins include the Morgan Dollar, other than collectors silver coins, silver bullion coins are popular among people who desire a hedge against currency inflation or store of value. Silver has a currency symbol of XAG under ISO4217. The earliest coins of the world were minted in the kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor around 600 BC. The coins of Lydia were made of electrum, which is a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver, the concept of coinage, i. e. stamped lumps of metal of a specified weight, quickly spread to adjacent regions, such as Aegina. In these neighbouring regions, inhabited by Greeks, coins were made of silver. As Greek merchants traded with Greek communities throughout the Mediterranean Sea and these early Greek silver coins were denominated in staters or drachmas and its fractions. More or less simultaneously with the development of the Lydian and Greek coinages, the Chinese coins, however, were a different concept and they were made of bronze. The coins of the Greeks were issued by a number of city states. The coinage systems were not entirely the same from one place to another, however, the so-called Attic standard, Corinthian standard, Aiginetic standard and other standards defined the proper weight of each coin. Each of these standards were used in places throughout the Mediterranean region. In the 4th century BC, the Kingdom of Macedonia came to dominate the Greek world, the most powerful of their kings, Alexander the Great eventually launched an attack on the Kingdom of Persia, defeating and conquering it. Greek coins were now issued by kings, and only to an extent by cities. Greek rulers were now minting coins as far away as Egypt, the tetradrachm was a popular coin throughout the region. This era is referred to as the hellenistic era, while much of the Greek world was being transformed into monarchies, the Romans were expanding their control throughout the Italian Peninsula. The Romans minted their first coins during the early 3rd century BC, the earliest coins were - like other coins in the region - silver drachms with a supplementary bronze coinage
30.
Nickel silver
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Nickel silver, Mailechort, German silver, Argentan, new silver, nickel brass, albata, alpacca, or electrum is a copper alloy with nickel and often zinc. The usual formulation is 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc, Nickel silver is named for its silvery appearance, but it contains no elemental silver unless plated. The name German silver refers to its development by 19th-century German metalworkers in imitation of the Chinese alloy known as paktong, all modern, commercially important nickel silvers contain significant amounts of zinc, and are sometimes considered a subset of brass. Nickel silver was first known and used in China, during the Qing dynasty, it was smuggled into various parts of the East Indies, despite a government ban on the export of nickel silver. It became known in the west from imported wares called bai-tong or paktong, according to Berthold Laufer, it was identical with khar sini, one of the seven metals recognized by Jābir ibn Hayyān. In Europe, consequently, it was at first called paktong, the earliest European mention of paktong occurs in the year 1597. From then until the end of the century there are references to it as having been exported from Canton to Europe. German imitations of paktong, however, began to appear from about 1750 onward, in 1770 the Suhl metalworks were able to produce a similar alloy. In 1823 a German competition was held to perfect the production process, the brothers Henniger in Berlin and Ernst August Geitner in Schneeberg independently achieved this goal. The manufacturer Berndorf named the trademark brand Alpacca, which became known in northern Europe for nickel silver. In 1830 the German process of manufacture was introduced into England and that is why today the alloy has lost its original name and is generally known as German silver. In 1832, a form of German silver was also developed in Birmingham, after 1840, the development of electroplating caused nickel silver to become widely used. It formed an ideal, strong and bright substrate for the plating process and it was also used unplated in applications such as cheaper grades of cutlery. Nickel silver first became popular as a metal for silver-plated cutlery and other silverware. It is widely used in the production of coins and its industrial and technical uses include marine fittings and plumbing fixtures for its corrosion resistance, and heating coils for its high electrical resistance. In the 19th century, particularly after 1868, Plains Indian jewelers were able to easily acquire sheets of German silver and they used them to cut, stamp, and cold hammer a wide range of accessories and also horse gear. Nickel silver is the metal of choice among contemporary Kiowa and Pawnee metalsmiths in Oklahoma, many of the metal fittings on modern higher-end equine harness and tack are of nickel silver. Early in the century, German silver was used by automobile manufacturers before the advent of steel sheet metal, for example
31.
Florin (British coin)
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The British two shilling coin, also known as the florin or two bob bit, was issued from 1849 until 1967. It was worth one tenth of a pound, or twenty-four old pence and it should not be confused with the medieval gold florin, which was nominally worth six shillings. In 1968, in the run-up to decimalisation, the two shilling coin was superseded by the ten pence coin, which had the same value and initially the same size. It continued in circulation, alongside the ten pence coin, until 1992, in 1847 a motion was introduced in Parliament calling for the introduction of a decimal currency and the striking of coins of one-tenth and one-hundredth of a pound. The motion was withdrawn on the understanding that a one-tenth pound coin would be produced to test public opinion. The first florins were struck in 1849 as silver coins weighing 11.3 grams and these first coins would have come as rather a shock to the public, as for the first time in nearly 200 years a British coin featured a portrait of the monarch wearing a crown. Even more of a shock, including to Queen Victoria herself, was the omission of D G – Dei Gratia – from the coins inscription, the inscription around the obverse read VICTORIA REGINA1849. The godless florin may have also been minted in 1850 and 1851 with the date 1849, in 1851, the florin was redesigned in a most unusual way. The diameter was increased to 30 millimetres, and all the lettering on the coin was in Gothic script, the date was rendered in Roman numerals. The inscription on the obverse read victoria d g britt reg f d mdcccli, the Gothic Florin was produced each year until 1887. The diameter was reduced to 29.5 millimetres, all the inscriptions were in Latin letters and Arabic numerals. The inscription on the obverse read VICTORIA DEI GRATIA, while the reverse read FID DEF BRITT REG date, the Jubilee Head issue was released each year between 1887 and 1892. The diameter was reduced again, to 28.5 millimetres and this issue was released each year between 1893 and 1901. Following British custom, when Queen Victoria died and her son ascended to the throne, the florin of King Edward VII was minted each year from 1902 to 1910. It remained at 11.3 grams weight and 28.5 millimetres diameter, Florins bearing his left-facing effigy were minted in each year of the reign of King George V except 1910 and 1934. The design of the reverse was similar to Queen Victorias Jubilee florin, after the end of George Vs reign, the word florin no longer appears on British coins. Throughout 1936, coins of all denominations continued to be using the designs of George V. King George VIs florins, produced each year between 1937 and 1951, look much like the one planned for his brother Edward VIII
32.
Reserve currency
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A reserve currency is a currency that is held in significant quantities by governments and institutions as part of their foreign exchange reserves. The reserve currency is used in international transactions and often considered a hard currency or safe-haven currency. However, the U. S. dollars status as a currency, by increasing in value. International currencies in the past have included the Greek drachma, coined in the fifth century B. C. S. dollar, the Dutch guilder emerged as a de facto world currency in the 18th century due to unprecedented domination of trade by the Dutch East India Company. By the 1860s, most industrialised countries had followed the lead of the United Kingdom, at that point the UK was the primary exporter of manufactured goods and services and over 60% of world trade was invoiced in pound sterling. Attempts were made in the period to restore the gold standard. The British Gold Standard Act reintroduced the gold standard in 1925. This led to stability, followed by deflation, but because the onset of the Great Depression and other factors, global trade greatly declined. Speculative attacks on the pound forced Britain entirely off the standard in 1931. By the mid 1930s, many governments introduced tariffs and autarkic policies, after World War II, the international financial system was governed by a formal agreement, the Bretton Woods System. Economists debate whether a single reserve currency will always dominate the global economy, the argument is that, in the absence of sufficiently large shocks, a currency that dominates the marketplace will not lose much ground to challengers. However, some economists, such as Barry Eichengreen argue that this is not as true when it comes to the denomination of official reserves because the network externalities are not strong. As long as the market is sufficiently liquid, the benefits of reserve diversification are strong. The implication is that the world may soon begin to move away from a financial system dominated uniquely by the US dollar. In the first half of the 20th century multiple currencies did share the status as primary reserve currencies, the top reserve currency is generally selected by the banking community for the strength and stability of the economy in which it is used. Thus, as a currency becomes less stable, or its economy becomes less dominant and this can take a relatively long time, as recognition is important in determining a reserve currency. In 1944, when the US dollar was chosen as the reference currency at Bretton Woods. The G8 also frequently issues public statements as to exchange rates, in the past due to the Plaza Accord, its predecessor bodies could directly manipulate rates to reverse large trade deficits
33.
Rhine
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The largest city on the river Rhine is Cologne, Germany, with a population of more than 1,050,000 people. It is the second-longest river in Central and Western Europe, at about 1,230 km, with an average discharge of about 2,900 m3/s. The Rhine and the Danube formed most of the inland frontier of the Roman Empire and, since those days. The many castles and fortifications along the Rhine testify to its importance as a waterway in the Holy Roman Empire, in the modern era, it has become a symbol of German nationalism. The variant of the name of the Rhine in modern languages are all derived from the Gaulish name Rēnos, spanish is with French in adopting the Germanic vocalism Rin-, while Italian, Occitan and Portuguese retain the Latin Ren-. The Gaulish name Rēnos belongs to a class of river names built from the PIE root *rei- to move, flow, run, the grammatical gender of the Celtic name is masculine, and the name remains masculine in German, Dutch and French. The Old English river name was variously inflected as masculine or feminine, the length of the Rhine is conventionally measured in Rhine-kilometers, a scale introduced in 1939 which runs from the Old Rhine Bridge at Constance to Hoek van Holland. The river length is shortened from the rivers natural course due to a number of canalisation projects completed in the 19th and 20th century. The total length of the Rhine, to the inclusion of Lake Constance and its course is conventionally divided as follows, The Rhine carries its name without distinctive accessories only from the confluence of the Vorderrhein and Hinterrhein near Tamins-Reichenau. Above this point is the catchment of the headwaters of the Rhine. It belongs almost exclusively to the Swiss Canton of Graubünden, ranging from Gotthard Massif in the west via one valley lying in Ticino, traditionally, Lake Toma near the Oberalp Pass in the Gotthard region is seen as the source of the Vorderrhein and the Rhine as a whole. The Hinterrhein rises in the Rheinwald valley below Mount Rheinwaldhorn, the Vorderrhein, or Anterior Rhine, springs from Lai da Tuma, near the Oberalp Pass and passes the impressive Ruinaulta formed by the largest visible rock slide in the alps, the Flims Rockslide. A multiday trekking route is signposted along the young Rhine called Senda Sursilvana, the Hinterrhein/Rein Posteriur, or Posterior Rhine, starts from the Paradies Glacier, near the Rheinwaldhorn. One of its tributaries, the Reno di Lei, drains the Valle di Lei on politically Italian territory, after three main valleys separated by the two gorges, Roflaschlucht and Viamala, it reaches Reichenau. The Vorderrhein arises from numerous source streams in the upper Surselva, one source is Lai da Tuma with the Rein da Tuma, which is usually indicated as source of the Rhine, flowing through it. Into it flow tributaries from the south, some longer, some equal in length, such as the Reno di Medel, the Rein da Maighels, and the Rein da Curnera. The Cadlimo Valley in the Canton of Ticino is drained by the Reno di Medel, all streams in the source area are partially, sometimes completely, captured and sent to storage reservoirs for the local hydro-electric power plants. In its lower course the Vorderrhein flows through a gorge named Ruinaulta through the Flims Rockslide, the whole stretch of the Vorderrhein to the Rhine confluence near Reichenau-Tamins is accompanied by a long-distance hiking trail called Senda Sursilvana
34.
Rheingulden
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Florin derives from the city of Florence in Italy and frequently refers to the gold coin struck in 1252. Recent research indicates that the florin was once the dominant currency of Europe until accommodative policymaking led to the loss of its status as the de facto reserve currency. By 1419, the weight had been reduced and the alloy was substantially reduced. By 1626, the alloy had been reduced again, while the weight was more substantially reduced. In 1409, the Rheingulden standard was adopted for the Holy Roman Empires Reichsgulden
35.
French denier
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The denier or penny was a medieval coin which takes its name from the Frankish coin first issued in the late seventh century, in English it is sometimes referred to as a silver penny. Its appearance represents the end of coinage, which, at the start of Frankish rule, had either been Byzantine or pseudo-imperial. Silver would be the basis for Frankish coinage from then on, around AD755, amid the Carolingian Reforms, Pepin the Short introduced a new currency system which was eventually adjusted so that 12 pence equaled one shilling and 20 shillings equaled one pound. Later, three deniers equaled one liard, only the denier was an actual coin, the rest were money of account. This system and the denier itself served as the model for many of Europes currencies, including the British pound, Italian lira, Spanish dinero, in Ancien Régime France, the denier was used as a notional measure of interest rates on loans. Thus, a rate of 4% would be expressed as denier 25, a rate of 5% as denier 20, and so forth
36.
Florin (Australian coin)
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The Australian florin was a coin used in the Commonwealth of Australia before decimalisation in 1966. The denomination was first minted in 1910, to the same size, Florins minted from 1910 to 1945 were produced with a.925 sterling silver content, weighing 11.31 grams with an actual silver weight of 10.46 grams. Florins minted from 1946 through 1963 were produced with a.500 silver content, the florin was worth 24 pence. The coin was minted until 1963, with some years omitted as follows, no florins were minted for the years,1920, 1929–30,1937, 1948–50,1955. Also, commemorative florins were issued for the following dates,1927, 1934–35,1951. Two different designs were issued in each of the commemorative years, also, no coins of any denomination were minted for the year 1965, in preparation for decimalisation. When Australia decimalised officially, on 14 February 1966, the florin was equal to 20 cents, during World War II, between 1942–1944, florin production was supplemented by coinage produced at the San Francisco branch of the United States Mint. These coins bear a small S mint mark below the Australian coat of arms, the image on the reverse of the coin was the coat of arms of Australia. This comes in two forms, all with the kangaroo, emu and the containing the coat of arms. Those issued between 1910 and 1936 have a star above the coat of arms, and the Southern Cross constellation within the shield. Those issued between 1938 and 1963, inclusive, have the crown above, the six states represented in the shield. H, Birmingham M, Melbourne S, San Francisco Ian W. Pitt, ed. Renniks Australian Coin,2006 Standard Catalog of World Coins. Florins article on Cruzis Coins Online Coin Club / Coins from Australia / Coin Type, Florin Australian Florin Values Australian Florins The Australian Florin
37.
History of coins in Italy
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Italy has a long history of different coinage types, which spans thousands of years. Italy has been influential at a point of view, the florin. Today, Italy adopts the euro currency, spite the fact that the first Italian coinage systems were used in the Magna Graecia and Etruscan civilization, the Romans introduced a widespread currency. Unlike most modern coins, Roman coins had intrinsic value, while they contained precious metals, the value of a coin was higher than its precious metal content, so they were not bullion. Estimates of their range from 1.6 to 2. The florin was struck from 1252 to 1523 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard and it had 54 grains of gold. The fiorino doro of the Republic of Florence was the first European gold coin struck in sufficient quantities to play a significant commercial role since the seventh century. In the fourteenth century, one hundred and fifty European states, the most important of these was the Hungarian forint because the Kingdom of Hungary was a major source of gold mined in Europe. The early modern Italian coins were similar in style to French francs, especially in decimals. They corresponded to a value of 0.29 of gold or 4.5 grams of silver, the Papal States scudo was the coinage system used in the Papal States until 1866. Between 1798 and 1799, the revolutionary French forces established the Roman Republic, in addition, the states of Ancona, Civitavecchia, Clitunno, Foligno, Gubbio, Pergola and Perugia changed their coinage system to that of the Roman Republic. In 1808, the Papal States were annexed by France, when the Popes authority was restored in 1814, the scudo was restored as the currency. However, the coinage of the states was not resumed. In 1849, another Roman Republic was established which issued coins centrally, in 1866, the scudo was replaced by the lira, equivalent to the Italian lira. The exchange rate used was 5.375 lire =1 scudo, the Parman lira was Parmas official currency before 1802, and later revived from 1815 to 1859. The Duchy of Parma had its own system until it was made a part of France in 1802. This lira was subdivided into 20 soldi, each of 12 denari, with the sesino worth 6 denari, the currency was replaced by the French franc. After the re-establishment of Parman independence, the Parman currency system was introduced in 1815, also called the lira, it was subdivided into 20 soldi or 100 centesimi
38.
Soldo
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Soldo was the name an Italian medieval silver coin, issued for the first time in the late 12th century at Milan by Emperor Henry VI. The name derives from the late Roman coin solidus and it quickly became widespread in Italy where it was coined in Genoa, Bologna, and numerous other cities. In Venice, the soldo was minted from the reign of Francesco Dandolo onward, remaining in use also after the dissolution in 1797 and during the Austrian occupation. In the 14th century Florence, a soldo equaled 1⁄20 of a lira and 12 denari, as time passed, the soldo started to be coined in billon and, from the 18th century, in copper. During the reign of Leopoldo II of Tuscany, it was worth 3 quattrini, the Napoleonic reformation of Italian coinage made it worth 5 cents, while 20 soldi were needed to form a lira. The term, used in times to designate the pay of soldiers
39.
Venetian grosso
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The Venetian grosso is a silver coin first introduced in Venice in 1193 under doge Enrico Dandolo. It originally weighed 2.18 grams, was composed of 98. 5% pure silver and its name is from the same root as groschen and the English groat, all deriving ultimately from the denaro grosso. Its value was allowed to float relative to other Venetian coins until it was pegged to 4 soldini in 1332, in 1332,1 grosso was the equivalent of 4 soldini, or 48 dinarii. The Renaissance of the 12th century brought wealth and economic sophistication, Venice struck silver pennies based on the coinage of Verona, which contained less than half a gram of 25% fine silver. Domestic transactions predominantly used these coins or their Veronese counterparts, about 1180, however, Verona modified its coinage, upsetting this practice. For foreign trade, Venetian merchants favored Byzantine coinage or coins of the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, saladin’s conquest of Jerusalem in 1187 and the progressing debasement of the Byzantine aspron trachy, however, made this less viable. Elsewhere in Western Europe the situation was similar, a few efforts were made to reverse the decline of the Carolingian penny which had been their currency for four hundred years. In Lombardy, Frederick Barbarossa struck denari imperiali at double the weight of the pennies of Milan, the consistent fineness of the English sterling, or short cross penny, which Henry II introduced in 1180 made it a popular trading currency in Northern Europe. But it remained for Doge Enrico Dandolo of Venice to make the breakthrough with a higher denomination coin of fine silver called a grosso. These coins had two advantages over the old pennies, first, minting and handling costs were reduced by substituting one large coin for tens of smaller ones. Second, the purity of their silver made them acceptable outside of Venice, even though coinage of the grosso might have begun a few years earlier, the influx of silver used to pay for the crusaders’ ships led to its first large scale mintage. The coin had 2.2 grams of 98. 5% fine silver and it was initially called a ducatus argenti since Venice was a duchy, but is more widely known as a grosso or matapano, a Muslim term referring to the seated figure on its reverse. The designs for the grosso came from the seal and the Byzantine aspron trachy. The obverse shows the figures of the doge and Saint Mark the Evangelist. On the right, Saint Mark holds the gospel, which is his usual attribute, the doge holds the “ducal promise” Enrico Dandolo was the first doge to swear this coronation oath. The legend names the doge on the left, with his title, the legend on the right names the saint as S. M. VENETI, i. e. Saint Mark of Venice. The reverse shows Christ facing, sitting on a throne, the legend abbreviates his Greek name as, IC XC. A beaded bordure on both sides of the coin prevented silver from being shaved from the edge of the coin, indeed, around 1237 the doge’s coronation oath included a promise that he would not change the coinage without authorization from the council
40.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
41.
Inglis Palgrave
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Sir Robert Harry Inglis Palgrave, FRS, FSS was a British economist. Robert Harry Inglis Palgrave was born on 11 June 1827 and he was the son of Francis Palgrave and his wife Elizabeth Turner, daughter of the banker Dawson Turner. His brothers were Francis Turner Palgrave, William Gifford Palgrave and Sir Reginald Palgrave and he was educated at Charterhouse School and the University of Cambridge. In 1843, at the age of 16, he joined the bank of Deacon, Williams and he then in 1845 joined Dawson Turner Turner and Gurney in Yarmouth, the banking firm of his grandfather Dawson Turner. He was also a director of Barclay and Co. and a clerk of the House of Commons, in 1877 he became financial editor of The Economist and became editor-in-chief on the death of Walter Bagehot the same year, a position he held until 1883. He produced the three volume Palgraves Dictionary of Political Economy and also edited the historical works of his father. He also edited The Banking Almanac until his death, and for a time was editor of The Bankers’ Magazine and he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in June 1882. He was knighted in 1909 on the completion of his dictionary. He married in 1859 Sarah Maria Brightwen, daughter of George Brightwen of Saffron Walden and he died on 25 January 1919. Palgrave, Robert Harry Inglis, The New Palgrave, A Dictionary of Economics, v.3, works written by or about Inglis Palgrave at Wikisource
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Wikisource
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Wikisource is an online digital library of free content textual sources on a wiki, operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Wikisource is the name of the project as a whole and the name for each instance of that project, the projects aims are to host all forms of free text, in many languages, and translations. Originally conceived as an archive to store useful or important historical texts, the project officially began in November 24,2003 under the name Project Sourceberg. The name Wikisource was adopted later that year and it received its own domain name seven months later, the project has come under criticism for lack of reliability but it is also cited by organisations such as the National Archives and Records Administration. The project holds works that are either in the domain or freely licensed, professionally published works or historical source documents, not vanity products. Verification was initially made offline, or by trusting the reliability of digital libraries. Now works are supported by online scans via the ProofreadPage extension, some individual Wikisources, each representing a specific language, now only allow works backed up with scans. While the bulk of its collection are texts, Wikisource as a whole hosts other media, some Wikisources allow user-generated annotations, subject to the specific policies of the Wikisource in question. Wikisources early history included several changes of name and location, the original concept for Wikisource was as storage for useful or important historical texts. These texts were intended to support Wikipedia articles, by providing evidence and original source texts. The collection was focused on important historical and cultural material. The project was originally called Project Sourceberg during its planning stages, in 2001, there was a dispute on Wikipedia regarding the addition of primary source material, leading to edit wars over their inclusion or deletion. Project Sourceberg was suggested as a solution to this, perhaps Project Sourceberg can mainly work as an interface for easily linking from Wikipedia to a Project Gutenberg file, and as an interface for people to easily submit new work to PG. Wed want to complement Project Gutenberg--how, exactly, and Jimmy Wales adding like Larry, Im interested that we think it over to see what we can add to Project Gutenberg. It seems unlikely that primary sources should in general be editable by anyone -- I mean, Shakespeare is Shakespeare, unlike our commentary on his work, the project began its activity at ps. wikipedia. org. The contributors understood the PS subdomain to mean either primary sources or Project Sourceberg, however, this resulted in Project Sourceberg occupying the subdomain of the Pashto Wikipedia. A vote on the name changed it to Wikisource on December 6,2003. Despite the change in name, the project did not move to its permanent URL until July 23,2004, since Wikisource was initially called Project Sourceberg, its first logo was a picture of an iceberg
